Ji Yunshu thought Zhao Heng would go mad when he couldn’t find the person he was looking for, but to her surprise, the residence remained calm and peaceful over the next few days.
This gave her a lingering sense of unease.
Consequently, she became quite diligent during these few days, going to the Main Courtyard every morning to pay her respects to Madam Yao.
If Zhao Heng and Yao Ruolan were up to anything, Madam Yao would likely be the first to know.
Then, she was surprised to discover that Madam Yao’s health was improving at a visible rate.
The woman who had been bedridden just a few days ago was now able to sit in a chair and chat and laugh with her.
Madam Yao was a clever woman; she naturally understood that even if the two of them were destined to be adversaries, there was no need to maintain an air of open hostility on the surface.
Thus, she quickly shifted her attitude toward Ji Yunshu.
Whatever she thought in her heart remained unspoken, but her expression grew increasingly kind.
She even went so far as to thoughtfully tell Ji Yunshu that she didn’t need to come every day to pay her respects.
Thinking of this, Ji Yunshu couldn’t help but feel that life was truly like a play, and it all depended on one’s acting skills.
At the moment, she wore a look of joy as she spoke. “Mother’s health seems to have recovered; it is truly as they say, ‘illness leaves as slowly as pulling silk.'”
She looked as though she was genuinely happy for Madam Yao’s recovery.
The smile on Madam Yao’s face also seemed more sincere than usual. “Yes, it is also thanks to you coming to see me every day.”
Ji Yunshu quickly replied, “This daughter-in-law has done nothing. I wouldn’t dare take the credit.”
Madam Yao sighed and suddenly said with deep earnestness, “You are a good child. It’s a pity Heng Ge’er didn’t have the fortune to keep you. Now that you’ve become Shen Ge’er’s wife, we are still one family. Mother apologizes to you for Heng Ge’er’s previous lack of sense. Please don’t hold it against him.”
Ji Yunshu hadn’t expected Madam Yao to play the family card with her. Her internal guard immediately shot up, though she maintained a beaming smile. “Why does Mother bring up the past? It is enough that you do not blame me for acting rashly back then.”
Madam Yao said with heartfelt emotion, “I believe it’s best for a family to speak openly about things. You don’t know this, but Shen Ge’er has never been close to me. Especially after his accident all those years ago, he locked himself away in his courtyard and hardly comes out a few times a year. My heart worries for him, but I never know what to do. Now that he finally has you, you must advise him well in the future.”
As she spoke, her attitude was sincere, and a faint worry lingered between her brows.
This consummate acting left Ji Yunshu in awe.
When she returned to Qionghua Courtyard and spoke of it to Zhao Shen, she still felt a lingering sense of dread. “You have no idea. When she spoke, she was the very image of a devoted mother. It nearly gave me goosebumps.”
Zhao Shen leaned back in his wheelchair, seemingly recalling something. After a long while, he spoke softly, “When I was young, she was very good to me. Almost better than she was to Zhao Heng. If I fell ill, she would stay up all night watching over me. If I was a picky eater, she would personally go to the kitchen to cook the dishes I liked. When I first started my studies, she even held my hand to teach me how to write…”
This was the first time Ji Yunshu had heard Zhao Shen speak of his childhood, especially regarding Madam Yao, so she pricked up her ears and listened intently.
Seeing the young girl’s eyes wide with curiosity, Zhao Shen couldn’t help but chuckle. “That woman, Madam Yao… how should I put it? She isn’t like a typical stepmother who just puts on a show for others or resorts to over-indulging a child to ruin them. She can act a part until she believes it is real herself. That is why I never suspected her.”
Ji Yunshu was skeptical. “But she said you weren’t close to her.”
“Once I grew a bit older and learned that my mother died because of her, I could no longer bring myself to be close to her. But she wept to my father, claiming she had only gone to see my mother because she was terrified by the sudden discovery of her pregnancy. She claimed she never expected it would lead to my mother’s death and promised to use the rest of her life to repent and atone for her sins.”
Ji Yunshu realized that Madam Yao had one great advantage: she was never stingy with apologies after doing something wrong, which made her appear exceptionally sincere.
She felt that if she were Zhao Shen, she probably wouldn’t have suspected Madam Yao either.
As a woman, accidentally becoming involved with a married man and finding oneself pregnant—it would be normal to lose one’s head and make mistakes in a moment of panic.
And if she could sincerely repent afterward and treat Zhao Shen better than her own son, and it wasn’t just a performance… that wasn’t something an ordinary person could do.
Zhao Shen’s voice continued beside her ear, “I once believed her words—even after my legs were broken and I became Disabled.”
Ji Yunshu couldn’t help but pity Zhao Shen. Just what kind of rotten luck did he have to encounter a stepmother like Madam Yao?
But then she thought of her own fate in the book—marrying a man only to become a stepping stone for others, resulting in the ruin of her family and her own death. It didn’t seem much better.
“Then how did you later come to suspect her?”
“I… after I returned, I mentally retraced every person and every event. She left no flaws. However, she and Zhao Heng were the most direct beneficiaries of my accident. And Zhao Heng lacks the cunning and depth to pull all of this off without leaving a single trace.”
Ji Yunshu greatly admired Zhao Shen. Although his reasoning was somewhat arbitrary, his conclusion was likely correct.
“Her illness has recovered. I wonder what she’ll do next? Fortunately, she doesn’t know she’s been exposed.”
Ji Yunshu felt that the sensation of watching the other party perform was quite entertaining.
Although facts proved that killing off a protagonist was difficult, the advantage of knowing the plot at least allowed her to know everyone hiding in the shadows.
Seeing her interested expression, Zhao Shen smiled. “The fact that her illness recovered so quickly means she has already convinced Zhao Heng. I expect she will soon begin looking for a new marriage prospect for him.”
Ji Yunshu was surprised. “Is Zhao Heng that easily convinced? What about Yao Ruolan?”
Zhao Shen asked in confusion, “Why would you think Yao Ruolan could stop Zhao Heng’s marriage?”
If she could have stopped it, why would the marriage with Ji Yunshu have happened in the first place?
In fact, if Ji Yunshu hadn’t made a scene on the wedding night and insisted on switching the marriages, no matter how much Zhao Heng liked Yao Ruolan, she could only have been a concubine.
He found Ji Yunshu’s attitude toward Yao Ruolan very strange.
There was no jealousy or resentment toward the woman who had stolen her fiancé.
Instead, she seemed to place an extraordinary amount of importance on her.
This importance wasn’t just because of Zhao Heng; it was as if Yao Ruolan herself possessed something worth noting.
But Yao Ruolan was merely an orphaned girl living in the Marquis’s residence. Years ago, the men of the Yao family were executed for their crimes, and all the female relatives were exiled to the Northern Lands.
She was only brought back by Madam Yao after an amnesty was granted.
Such a woman had nothing unique about her.
The only thing worth mentioning was that Zhao Heng was obsessed with her to the point of losing his mind.
And Zhao Shen did not want to mention the feelings between those two.
He felt that Zhao Heng being with Yao Ruolan on Ji Yunshu’s wedding night was an insult to Ji Yunshu.
And now, Ji Yunshu was his wife.
Ji Yunshu naturally couldn’t understand Zhao Shen’s thoughts. To her, Zhao Heng and Yao Ruolan were the male and female leads of this world.
Because the book was written from the female lead’s perspective, Yao Ruolan’s importance was even higher than Zhao Heng’s.
“How should I put it?” Ji Yunshu rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment before saying, “You can think of it as… some people are simply born as favorites of Heaven.”
Zhao Shen hadn’t expected to hear such an explanation. He asked with an indescribable expression, “You mean Yao Ruolan?”
It wasn’t that he wanted to question Ji Yunshu’s words, but Yao Ruolan…
By the time she was born, the Yao family’s glory days had already passed, and she was exiled as a child due to her family’s crimes. When she finally met with an amnesty, both her parents had already passed away. Being taken into the Marquis’s residence by Madam Yao was nothing more than living under someone else’s roof.
Such a background destined her to be unable to find a good match. No matter how much Zhao Heng liked her, it would be difficult for him to marry her as his primary wife.
How could someone like that be called a favorite of Heaven?