Pei Ruyan rose, set down the wine pot, and walked solemnly to the desk, seating himself with an air of gravity. “I have official documents to attend to. I’ll rest in the study tonight.”
Fine.
He claimed he needed to be with his work.
Shen Sangning desperately wanted to ask: Where did all these documents come from? Wasn’t this just an excuse to avoid consummating their marriage?
Though rejected, Shen Sangning refused to give up. “Then I’ll keep you company in the study.”
Just as persistent suitors can wear down even the most resistant maiden, the reverse held true too.
Hmph! She refused to believe that conceiving a child could be so difficult!
With that, she lay down fully clothed on the hard couch, closing her eyes as if settling in for the night.
After a long silence with no movement from Pei Ruyan, she was surprised he hadn’t expelled her.
Curious, she cautiously cracked open her eyes, just in time to meet Pei Ruyan’s gaze as he looked up from his desk.
Their eyes locked.
Caught peeking, Shen Sangning flusteredly grabbed the nearby blanket, draping it over herself. “It’s a bit cold.”
Pei Ruyan’s restrained gaze seemed to penetrate her thoughts, making Shen Sangning feel as exposed as if she were naked.
She pulled the blanket over her head, plunging herself into darkness.
Though she had been a formidable matriarch who commanded respect in her previous life, for some reason, Pei Ruyan completely overwhelmed her presence now.
The occasional rustle of turning pages in the study felt hypnotic—soft yet inexplicably soothing.
Midnight.
The study remained brightly lit. Pei Ruyan glanced up and noticed the bundled figure on the hard couch hadn’t moved for some time.
Setting aside his Tao Te Ching, he rose and approached the couch with silent steps.
“Shen Sangning.”
He called her name calmly. When no response came from beneath the blankets, he slowly drew them back to reveal her face.
The young woman’s fair skin and delicate features appeared sweet and pure in slumber, her lips curved slightly as if dreaming of something pleasant.
Pei Ruyan’s gaze softened, his breath unconsciously stilling as he quietly observed his wife.
Noticing a silver butterfly earring had fallen beside her.
The next moment, it rested between his fingers.
Unaware of these events in her dream, Shen Sangning only vaguely sensed her breathing had eased.
She was watching two daughters-in-law quarrel, pondering whether to mediate fairly or take sides.
Suddenly she awoke, disoriented for a moment before remembering: she had been reborn yesterday.
“Awake?” Pei Ruyan, already changed into fresh clothes, entered from outside. “Time to serve tea to Father and Mother.”
Shen Sangning didn’t inquire where he’d returned from, for the mere mention of serving tea to her mother-in-law resurrected that long-unfelt sense of being controlled.
Having been a mother-in-law herself for so long, she was now a bride again.
Pei Ruyan’s mother was Ningguo Duke’s Wife Yu Shi, who controlled the ducal household’s management. Hailing from an eminent family, she possessed a domineering personality.
Yu Shi had always looked down on Shen Sangning’s background from a declining earldom. Even in her previous life, Shen Sangning had known this mother-in-law would be hard to please. Then Shen Miaoyi’s marriage swap scheme made Yu Shi detest Shen Miaoyi intensely, directing all her hostility toward her.
Any pretext could become grounds for punishment, and Shen Sangning had often been collateral damage.
Having witnessed Yu Shi’s tactics, and with no marriage swap this time, Shen Sangning knew the matriarch’s fury would be aimed squarely at her.
Moreover, judging by Pei Ruyan’s attitude in her past life, hoping he’d mediate mother-in-law conflicts was futile—he had never once intervened on Shen Miaoyi’s behalf.
Shen Sangning dared not be late. She swiftly rose from the couch, “Hurry, let’s go.”
Yu Shi resided in Ronghe Hall, the closest courtyard to the front estate.
Before even entering the courtyard, the gossip of several young maids by the corridor drifted out:
“Did you hear? Last night, the Heir rested in the study. The young mistress was abandoned on her wedding night, yet she shamelessly went to the study to spend the night.”
“Both are young ladies from the Chengan Earl’s Residence, but the treatment of the second young mistress is entirely different. Last night, Fuhua Garden called for water three times!”
“As for the Heir’s side, not even once.”
The maids chatted with increasing enthusiasm, completely unaware of anyone behind them.
Shen Sangning sighed inwardly; the maids in the matriarch’s courtyard certainly knew a lot. She glanced at Pei Ruyan’s darkening expression, unsure how to comfort him.
After all, he was the one who hadn’t taken the initiative last night.
Moreover, Pei Che was destined to be a military general—his physical stamina was truly incomparable.
As Shen Sangning pondered this, a cold male voice sounded beside her—
“I was unaware that where my wife rests has become a subject for your discussions.”
At these words, the maids turned pale with fright and immediately knelt, “Heir, please forgive us! We would never dare again!”
Even Shen Sangning was surprised. She hadn’t expected Pei Ruyan’s anger to stem not from the number of times water was called, but because of her.
Pei Ruyan’s brow remained tightly furrowed, his temper unappeased by the maids’ pleas for mercy. “Deduct half a year’s allowance and go receive your punishment.”
The maids hastily complied, fleeing as if for their lives.
Upon stepping into Ronghe Hall’s courtyard, Shen Sangning noticed the pale figure outside the main hall.
It was Shen Miaoyi, her hair styled in a Married Woman’s Hair Knot, wearing a White Quju Dress. Her flushed face carried the charm of a newlywed, and she held her head high as if finally vindicated.
It seemed she hadn’t been troubled by Yu Shi this time.
Over there, Shen Miaoyi also spotted Shen Sangning and Pei Ruyan’s stern expressions. Seeing no intimacy between the newlyweds, her heart, which had been anxious all night, settled.
Recalling the cold indifference she had endured in her previous life—now destined to fall upon Shen Sangning—Shen Miaoyi couldn’t suppress the curl of her lips, assuming the demeanor of a victor.
“Sister.”
Shen Miaoyi called out softly, approaching Shen Sangning first.
In their past life, Shen Sangning and Shen Miaoyi had fallen out over the marriage swap. Without that incident now, they maintained the superficial relationship of “good sisters.”
Shen Miaoyi naturally linked arms with Shen Sangning, asking pointedly, “Sister, you look weary. Did you not rest well last night?”
Disgusted inwardly, Shen Sangning smiled and gently removed her arm, then intimately linked arms with Pei Ruyan instead. “Miaoyi seems quite spirited. I wonder where Second Brother has gone?”
Shen Sangning believed that, regardless of their marital relations, Pei Ruyan wouldn’t shake her off in public.
Indeed, Pei Ruyan did not withdraw his arm, allowing Shen Sangning to hold it.
“After serving tea earlier, my husband went out,” Shen Miaoyi replied. She had stayed behind hoping to witness Shen Sangning’s humiliation when Yu Shi gave her trouble.
Observing the couple’s physical contact before her, she had expected Pei Ruyan to pull away—just as he had rejected her in their past life. Yet, to her surprise, he made no move to do so, permitting Shen Sangning to cling to him.
Noticing this, Shen Miaoyi’s forced smile stiffened.
But then she recalled the rumors in the residence: last night, no water had been called to the Heir’s courtyard—they hadn’t consummated the marriage!
This display now must be an act!
Unlike herself, who had just been reborn and could already grasp Pei Che’s heart! Thinking this, Shen Miaoyi’s mood lifted once more.
After all, noble households always inspect the Virginity Cloth. Since Shen Sangning’s Virginity Cloth bore no bloodstain, she would surely be ridiculed!
Just like her former self in the past life—but this time, it was Shen Sangning’s turn.
What “legitimate daughter of the Count’s household”? In the end, she’d just be a mocked and discarded woman!