Lu Bai blinked at the dancing bed curtains and gauze.
Had she been seeing things just now? Why did it seem like she'd glimpsed a man behind the young mistress?
"Stop him!"
Shen Fuyan's voice, shocked and furious, came from behind the bed curtains.
She frowned, biting her lip as she looked at Pei Yanwei, who was holding her.
The moment Lu Bai pushed the door open, Pei Yanwei had scooped her up and dodged into the layers of gauze.
Who would have thought that in the middle of the night, Xuan Wenyang would suddenly barge in?
Wasn't he lying in bed, about to die?
Shen Fuyan's body was rigid, yet Pei Yanwei behind her was perfectly at ease, even bending down to turn her face and gently nuzzle her lips.
"Commandant…"
Shen Fuyan squeezed out a trace of pleading from the corner of her lips.
"What are you afraid of?"
Pei Yanwei's eyes were full of bloodlust.
"If he dares to come in, this Commandant will finish him off with one stroke!"
Seeing Shen Fuyan's hand instantly tighten, the chill in Pei Yanwei's eyes deepened.
"What? Feeling sorry for him?"
Outside the door, Xuan Wenyang was struggling with the maids.
Inside the bed curtains, Shen Fuyan was forced against the man's solid chest, pink cheeks streaked with tears.
"That kind of scum isn't worth the Commandant's hand," she said softly. "I'm only worried the Commandant will be impeached because of it."
Pei Yanwei was greatly pleased to hear this, and happily bent down again: "I knew you were a good girl."
Xuan Wenyang, buoyed by drink, ultimately still barged in.
"Shen Fuyan!" he shouted recklessly. "I'm your husband, why won't you buy ginseng to save me?"
Shen Fuyan stared at the shadowy figure outside the bed curtains, her body somewhat tense.
"You're drunk, don't come here making a drunken scene."
She said with disgust.
"Lu Bai, escort the Second Master back to his courtyard."
"I'm not going back!"
Xuan Wenyang pushed Lu Bai so hard she staggered. Thinking of how the doctor had said his foundation was damaged and he'd have difficulty with heirs in the future, he wished he could drag Shen Fuyan out and beat her soundly.
"You come out here! What are you hiding in the bed curtains for? Sneaking a man behind my back? Hm?"
His eyes were bloodshot. Thinking of Shen Fuyan with another man, he clenched his fists tightly.
"Born a Xuan, dead a Xuan ghost. You think you can just hide and be done with it?"
"Xuan Wenyang, if you have even a shred of heart left, think about the vows you made to me before we married, think about how I've treated your Xuan family these past three years!"
Shen Fuyan had no choice but to pull aside a corner of the gauze and reveal half her face.
Before she could finish speaking, her body went rigid—she felt a pair of scorching palms behind her, slowly sliding along her waist toward the fullness in front.
Shen Fuyan swallowed nervously, her eyes reddened by the waves of softness coursing through her body.
When Xuan Wenyang saw her face, he sobered up halfway.
Then, seeing her tearful, about-to-cry gaze, his blood ran cold, and he suddenly realized he'd been spouting a bunch of nonsense.
"No… Fuyan, I was drunk just now."
He tried to come closer to touch her face, but Shen Fuyan sharply stopped him.
"Don't come over!"
Her voice trembled. Her right hand weakly grabbed Pei Yanwei's mischief-making large hand, but he caught it in turn, stroking it finger by finger, more shameful than the most intimate of acts.
Xuan Wenyang's face darkened: "You and I have feelings for each other. Why is it that just because I'm taking a Lowly Concubine, you oppose it so fiercely? You're still my wife, the matriarch of this Xiang residence!"
"Second Master jests. Take whoever you like."
Shen Fuyan's entire attention was on the hands she and Pei Yanwei had clasped together. She had no mind left to bother with Xuan Wenyang's talk of love and affection—she only wanted to hurry and send him away.
"You're still not fully recovered from your serious illness, so you'd better go back to your courtyard and rest early. Making a drunken scene here—did you never consider how I'd feel being woken up in the middle of my sleep?"
Her tone was firm, yet Xuan Wenyang was overjoyed. "You're worried about me, aren't you? Fuyan, you really do still have feelings for me. I was wrong tonight. I'll leave now—you rest well."
Once he left, Shen Fuyan immediately ordered Lu Bai to go out and close the door, then turned around with shame and anger to glare at Pei Yanwei.
"What is the Commander doing?!"
A murderous gleam scattered in Pei Yanwei's eyes. "My mood was just interrupted. This Commander will take it back double."
He seized Shen Fuyan's lips, plundering fiercely for quite a while before finally releasing her with satisfaction.
"Don't let Xuan Wenyang touch you."
Shen Fuyan thought to herself that she never let Xuan Wenyang touch her in the first place—but Pei Yanwei was truly overbearing. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was the legitimate husband!
"Did you hear me?"
Seeing her silent, Pei Yanwei's face darkened, and he looked about to press down on her again.
"I heard you, I heard you!" Shen Fuyan pushed him away with a red face. "I'm going to sleep. The Commander should go back and rest early too—didn't you already stir up a big fuss at your residence today?"
"Mm."
Pei Yanwei took it as her caring about him. He touched her face, then walked straight to the window, intending to flip out through it.
"Commander Pei!"
Shen Fuyan hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping.
"You… these days, station more men at your side. Don't fall into danger even in your own residence."
She warned him gently.
Pei Yanwei paused, but did not turn back.
"Thank you, Madam."
With a faint chuckle, he disappeared into the night.
Not far away, the Jinyiwei on the roof beams whispered among themselves.
"The Commander is sneaking into the Chancellor's residence again at night. If that old thief Xuan Hong finds out, he'll be furious."
"Who told the Commander to have his heart set on Miss Shen? You don't know—before Miss Shen married, the Commander would often stand outside the Shen residence watching for entire nights. After she married, on every first and fifteenth of the month, the Commander would still come here and silently stay for a night."
"Let's go, let's go. The Commander's coming."
Pei Yanwei approached, his thin lips slightly curved—clearly in a good mood.
"You," he pointed at someone casually, "come here. There's something I need you to do."
The chosen Jinyiwei stepped forward and listened to the instructions for a long while, his expression slightly surprised.
This inner household matter… never mind. It concerned Miss Shen after all—he could not take it lightly.
The next morning, Shen Fuyan was summoned by Madam Bai, who wanted to have Chen Ge'er adopted under her name.
"I said it last time—I cannot do something like 'three years as a bride, a four-year-old child.'"
Shen Fuyan could not help but sneer.
The Chancellor's residence had played a clever game, making her raise a kept mistress's child and continue toiling like an ox for the household!
"You still think you're some noble young lady? Believe it or not, I'll have Wenyang divorce you!"
The Old Madame, goaded to desperation by her attitude, spat vicious words.
Shen Fuyan raised her face and smiled. "Divorce me if you want. This kept mistress existed before I even entered the household. If you want to make a scene, go right ahead!"
"Insolence!" The Old Madame was so angry she fell backward. "Whether you're willing or not today, Chen Ge'er will be adopted! Someone, hold the Second Madam down and make her put her fingerprint on it!"
Someone brought out the already-prepared adoption contract, just waiting for Shen Fuyan to sign it.
"Who dares?!"
Shen Fuyan stood in the room like a green crane, and with one fierce shout, she immediately cowed the surrounding servants into not daring to step forward.
She picked up a teacup with one hand and casually flung it. The cup struck a servant's face, making him howl like a ghost.
"You!" Old Madame collapsed, clutching her chest in fury.
Shen Fuyan went straight back to her room.
That evening, Xuan Wenyang hurried over: "Fuyan, how dare you lay hands on someone in Mother's courtyard! You are utterly unfit as a wife!"
"It seems the drunken nonsense you spouted yesterday was all bullshit," Shen Fuyan sneered. "I signed the adoption contract—on what grounds do you expect me to comply?"
"Yesterday's drunken words don't count," Xuan Wenyang said, irritated by the spineless figure he had cut the day before and unwilling to admit it. "If you had not been childless, Mother would not have been so eager to have Chen Ge'er recorded as the legitimate son."
"Xuan Wenyang!" Shen Fuyan's tone suddenly turned cold. "Why exactly am I childless—don't you know best of all!"
Xuan Wenyang was startled, his imposing air instantly deflating.
Why would Shen Fuyan say such a thing? Did she know about the medication?