Shen Zhixi told Mama Cui about the “keeping a mistress in a golden house” plan, leaving Mama Cui stunned for a long time.
“Good heavens, you have such a bold heart.”
“If I weren’t bold, where would the child come from? This matter is settled, and no one can talk me out of it. I must have a child with Tang Zhou. Right now, besides Tang Zhou, I can’t stand anyone else. Mama Cui, have some pity on me. If you don’t want me to end up lonely in my old age, then help me get Tang Zhou.”
“Oh, heavens!”
Mama Cui grabbed Shen Zhixi’s arm, looking her up and down.
“You, a young lady, openly talking about having a child with a man—aren’t you ashamed?”
“Why should I be ashamed? What, can only men say such things, and not women? I just happen to fancy Tang Zhou’s face. He’s sure to give me a beautiful child. I’ve set my mind on him.”
“You…”
Just as they were speaking, Butler Feng suddenly came to deliver a message.
He said that Young Master Fang Shuo would be leaving Yanzhou tomorrow and wanted to invite Shen Zhixi to dinner tonight.
Shen Zhixi agreed.
“Mama Cui, I’m heading to the shop first. There are still many accounts to settle. You must remember to come to the bamboo forest cottage tomorrow morning. Whether I can win Tang Zhou over depends heavily on you, Mama Cui.”
“Oh, just go already. What’s all this talk about winning him over? It makes me blush just hearing it.”
“…Then I’ll be waiting for you at the bamboo forest cottage tomorrow morning.”
“Just go, hurry up and leave.”
…
After settling the accounts, it was nearly evening again.
Shen Zhixi stretched and asked Yuanyang, who had brought in tea, “Has that Qin Mu come by today?”
“It’s strange, really. When you were staying indoors before, he came to inquire every day. Now that you’re finally going out, he’s stopped coming.”
“He’s probably scheming something bad.”
“Could he be planning to harm you?”
“Whoever he’s targeting, he won’t just let it go after seeing me and Young Master Fang acting intimately and dining together yesterday. Let’s not think about it for now. Come on, let’s go to the appointment.”
Fang Shuo arrived early once again.
As soon as Shen Zhixi sat down, Fang Shuo furrowed his brows and stared intently at her. “That scoundrel Qin Mu has been investigating me since last night. Boss Shen, he really seems to see me as a rival. I’ll finish loading the goods today and set off for Yuejing City tomorrow, but I have a feeling it won’t go smoothly.”
“Is Young Master Fang asking me to take responsibility for you?”
Shen Zhixi knew Fang Shuo was a girl, so she didn’t hold back much in her words and actions.
“Boss Shen, how do you plan to take responsibility for me?”
“Hmm…” Shen Zhixi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. “How about we tie Qin Mu up and give him a beating to vent your anger?”
“Huh?”
Just as Fang Shuo was puzzled, someone rushed into the private room of the restaurant, looking panicked as they shouted at Fang Shuo, “Young Master, it’s terrible! The warehouse at the dock is on fire, and it can’t be put out. All the goods we bought from Boss Shen are inside—cosmetics, perfumes, incense. They’ll all be ruined once the fire reaches them!”
Fang Shuo shot to her feet, knocking over the chair behind her.
She made as if to run out but was stopped by Shen Zhixi. “Don’t panic. Didn’t I say we’d tie him up and give him a beating to vent your anger?”
Dock.
The raging fire was particularly conspicuous in the darkness of the night. The blaze was so intense that even though it was close to the Yangtze River and near a water source, it could not be extinguished in time. The burning warehouse belonged to the Shen family and had been temporarily lent to Fang Shuo for storing goods. Its proximity to the dock made it convenient for loading the goods onto the ship early the next morning.
Two streets away, Qin Mu stood furtively behind a wall, peeking out to watch the fire ahead.
The fire was indeed fierce, but it paled in comparison to the fire in his eyes—a blaze of excitement that seemed on the verge of consuming him.
“Shen Zhixi, I told you, you won’t get rid of me that easily. Anyone who dares to compete with me for the Shen family won’t get away unscathed. Since you’ve shown no mercy, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
The only thing troubling him was why the servant he had sent to set the fire hadn’t returned yet.
The fire had already grown so large—he should have returned long ago after starting it.
Suddenly.
Footsteps sounded behind him. His first thought was that his servant had returned, but then he realized something was off. Even if he had returned, he should have come from the front, not from behind.
Instinctively, his heart tightened.
He whipped his head around, only to find a foul-smelling sack being pulled over him from head to toe.
“Ah!” he screamed, struggling with both hands to break free. “Who is it? Who’s there? Who?”
No one answered. The sack was unusually long, covering half his body before a rough rope was tightened around his waist, trapping him inside.
Then, he was hoisted onto someone’s shoulder.
He had no idea where he was being taken. The person carrying him ran for a while before finally setting him down. Before he could even steady himself on the ground, several heavy blows from sticks rained down on him.
“Ah—!”
His screams were pitiful, more piercing than the cries of a slaughtered pig.
“Stop, stop! What are you doing? Halt! Do you know who I am? I’m the fiancé of Shen Zhixi, the wealthiest person in Yanzhou! How dare you hit me?!”
His words only made things worse. The beating intensified.
On the second floor of a nearby alley courtyard, Shen Zhixi and Fang Shuo leaned against the windowsill, amused by the commotion below.
“As expected of Boss Shen, I truly underestimated you. When I saw you yesterday, I thought you might go easy on him out of respect for your families. But this is well deserved—a shameless scoundrel like him deserves a good beating. Still, Boss Shen, when did you find out he was planning to set the warehouse on fire?”
Shen Zhixi chuckled softly, stepping away from the window and returning to the room. She sat down and poured herself a cup of tea.
“After leaving the restaurant yesterday, I had someone keep an eye on him. This morning, after you transported the goods to the warehouse, my people reported seeing him nearby. I guessed he would set a fire, so I quietly had all the goods moved out this afternoon.”
Fang Shuo followed her and sat down beside her.
“If you knew all along, why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“If I had told you, you would have sent guards or moved the goods. Qin Mu has been monitoring your movements, so he would have noticed. Then, we wouldn’t have had tonight’s grand spectacle.”
“Brilliant.”
Fang Shuo grinned, looking at Shen Zhixi before adding, “But why didn’t you go along with his plan? You could have let my goods burn. After all, the payment has already been settled. If my goods were destroyed, I’d have to replace them and buy from you again. Wouldn’t that mean more profit for you?”
“What do you mean, Miss Fang? Yesterday, you risked offending that scoundrel Qin Mu to stand up for me. How could I possibly disregard such loyalty?”
“Miss Fang…”
Fang Shuo was stunned, astonished that Shen Zhixi knew she was actually a woman.
Unexpectedly, Shen Zhixi suddenly leaned closer, extending a finger to lightly touch her neck. “I’ve never seen a man without an Adam’s apple. I knew from the first glance that you weren’t a man.”
Fang Shuo shrank back, her face flushing red.
The two looked at each other and smiled in unison.
Back at the Shen residence, Shen Zhixi calmly went to take a bath.
Yuanyang, however, grew somewhat anxious, repeatedly asking when they would return to the bamboo forest cottage.
“Don’t worry, we’ll go back after midnight.”
“After midnight?” Yuanyang widened her eyes, puzzled. “Why? What about Tang Zhou? Didn’t you say you would take care of him so his injuries heal quickly? Right now, he must be starving, hasn’t taken his medicine, and no one has applied the ointment for him. Wouldn’t he…”
“What’s there to worry about? Missing one day of medicine won’t kill him. This is all to set the stage for tomorrow morning’s act. If we’re going to put on a show, it has to be convincing—otherwise, we won’t easily fool him.”