Shen Sangning brushed the dust off the trunk. “I brought this back from Jinling six years ago.”
Inside were keepsakes she had brought from Jinling at age twelve, along with some business notes.
“My father disliked me touching these, so I didn’t bring them when I married.”
“I don’t need to care about his feelings anymore. I want to take this with me.” A genuine smile spread across Shen Sangning’s face as she spoke.
There are only two situations where one must submit to others: when forced by circumstances, or when constrained by care.
Now Shen Sangning needed neither.
Pei Ruyan gazed at the trunk without further questions. “Alright.”
In her previous life, Shen Sangning had fallen out with Bo Mansion on her Huimen day and failed to retrieve this trunk. When she remembered to fetch it the next day, she discovered Shen Yi had discarded it overnight.
She never found it again, even by age forty.
So much time had passed that she could no longer recall exactly what the trunk contained.
“The key is most likely lost,” she said dejectedly.
Pei Ruyan studied the peculiarly shaped lock – an exquisitely crafted crow design – with a thoughtful expression. His shifting gaze seemed to chase some distant memory. “Let’s move it back first.”
He summoned house servants and errand boys to load both the spirit tablet and the trunk onto the carriage.
As the noon banquet was about to commence in the front courtyard, Shen Sangning led Pei Ruyan forward.
Walking side by side, Shen Sangning reflected on Pei Ruyan’s words and actions throughout the day, warmth blooming in her chest.
Suddenly feeling somewhat awkward, she said, “Thank you for today – both for accompanying me for Huimen and for standing up for my mother. I’ll remember this.”
Pei Ruyan kept his eyes forward, unconsciously slowing his pace. “Unnecessary.”
Such things required no thanks – they were simply what ought to be done.
Accompanying one’s wife for Huimen was expected, just as defending her was natural.
Regardless of affection, marriage made two people one entity. At least, this was what Pei Ruyan had been taught since childhood.
“Will you feel uncomfortable during the banquet?” Shen Sangning asked.
After the earlier conflict over the spirit tablet, though Shen Yi wouldn’t dare show displeasure, she worried Pei Ruyan might feel ill at ease.
If he felt uncomfortable, she would gladly leave early with him.
After all, every additional moment in this house was torment.
Besides, having secured fifteen thousand taels today, she hadn’t come away empty-handed.
“No.” Pei Ruyan suddenly chuckled softly.
His laughter was so faint Shen Sangning thought she might have imagined it.
Yet it was inexplicably pleasant to hear. Unaware her ears had turned pink, she turned to look at him. “Did you just laugh?”
Pei Ruyan sidestepped the question, countering, “Does my lady believe I would feel uneasy?”
Without waiting for her reply, he continued, “I suppose I’m not that sort of person.”
His voice flowed like a gentle stream, calming yet sobering Shen Sangning.
Pei Ruyan’s conduct today had moved her, making her consider his feelings more carefully.
She had forgotten that the kindness and gentleness he displayed were essentially matters of courtesy.
In aristocratic circles, for the sake of connections, interests, and propriety, even after crossing swords moments before, one could still maintain perfect composure.
This was how heirs of prominent families had always conducted themselves.
Every interaction required decorum, never revealing joy or anger before others.
Yet when it comes to safeguarding their own interests, they can reveal a wolf-like nature—resorting to threats, inducements, and even unscrupulous means to achieve their goals.
And when the time comes for reconciliation, they can effortlessly gloss over conflicts with an air of nonchalance.
Only such individuals have the potential to become influential ministers of their era, ultimately emerging unscathed from the treacherous whirlpools of power and intrigue.
Shen Sangning was lost in thought for a long while, failing to notice that Pei Ruyan had suddenly stopped walking.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
They happened to be standing beneath the shade of a tree. When Shen Sangning looked up, she met his profound, dark eyes.
Those eyes could be bright, could be distant, could carry a hint of restrained anger.
Shen Sangning couldn’t help but wonder: What would they look like when he gazed upon someone he truly loved?
She tilted her head upward, about to answer, when a coquettish voice suddenly came from nearby.
“Mother~”
It was Shen Miaoyi’s voice.
Shen Sangning glanced around—they were right outside the back garden.
Then, Liu Shi’s shrill voice carried over:
“Miaomiao, why do you need that money for business? Since when have you wanted to go into business?”
This was followed by Shen Miaoyi’s resolute reply: “Mother, you don’t understand. This is foresight. It’s true that merchants hold low status, but having money has its uses too.”
So she had returned to ask for silver.
Shen Sangning nearly laughed aloud—because all the money Shen Yi could possibly provide was now in her hands.
Instinctively, she pulled Pei Ruyan into hiding.
So absorbed in eavesdropping, she suddenly looked up and noticed Pei Ruyan’s slightly furrowed brows and tightly pressed lips.
They stood very close now, face to face, nearly touching.
A flicker of hesitation seemed to pass through Pei Ruyan’s eyes as he whispered, “Eavesdropping is not the conduct of a gentleman.”
He appeared ready to say more, but Shen Sangning covered his mouth.
Rising on her toes, she kept one hand over his lips while making a shushing gesture with the other, her ears still intently focused on the conversation.
Liu Shi’s voice continued from inside: “If you need silver, the Weisheng Family possesses immense wealth and has been currying favor with your father. Won’t all that be yours eventually? Why bother imitating merchant behaviors?”
“Have you forgotten how that wretched girl came back from Jinling reeking of money, earning your father’s disgust?”
Though the words were harsh, Shen Sangning’s expression remained unchanged.
This mother and daughter were truly greedy—how could they assume the Weisheng Family’s wealth would all go to Shen Miaoyi?
It wasn’t as if the Weisheng Family had died out with no heirs.
Even if there were no heirs, it would never fall to Liu Shi and her daughter!
Suddenly, warmth enveloped Shen Sangning’s hand as Pei Ruyan grasped it and moved it away from his lips.
His gaze was stern, even gradually darkening, his refined features clouded with anger.
He too was likely appalled by the shamelessness of Liu Shi and her daughter.
Liu Shi’s voice grew even more piercing: “Miaomiao, just listen to your mother. You’re now the legitimate Second Young Madam of the Guogong Manor—why would you ever need to worry about money?”
“Mother!”
Shen Miaoyi felt utterly frustrated. Since her rebirth, she had held the advantage of foresight, yet found those around her impossible to guide!
“If I don’t do this, Shen Sangning certainly will! Then she’ll be the one profiting from this silver!”
Liu Shi thought her daughter had gone mad. “She’s now the Heir Apparent’s Wife—why would she lack money? If she wants to degrade herself like this, let her! It’ll only damage her reputation anyway.”
Shen Miaoyi said irritably, “You simply don’t understand—someone as restless as her, when she fails to bear children in the future and the Heir dislikes her, she’ll be utterly impoverished! She’ll definitely find a way out!”
“When I rise to prominence someday, I don’t want her to have a single coin to get by!”