Even though Liu Shi was crying as if her heart was breaking, Zhao Surui, in Shen Shiqing’s body, stubbornly forced her to send someone back to the capital to retrieve the books Shen Shiqing had lent out before letting her leave.
After all the back and forth, it was already night by the time Liu Shi departed. When Tu Nan returned from seeing her off, she found her mistress already directing A Chi and several young maids to open the chests in the room.
Zhao Surui leaned in to look, utterly astonished.
He had originally assumed Shen Shiqing’s chests were filled with her clothes and valuables, never expecting them to be packed solidly with books.
Six large rosewood chests, each half a zhang long, three chi wide, and over three chi tall, contained thousands of volumes in total. Each chest required three or four young maids working together to drag it.
Staring at these chests as if they were his national treasury, Zhao Surui remarked leisurely, “Didn’t you exhaust many oxen hauling these out of the manor? The Xie Family just let you move them out like that?”
With a cursory glance, he noticed several books that appeared older than his grandfather—likely quite valuable. Given the Xie Family’s nature, if they had allowed Shen Shiqing to peacefully leave Ning’an Lord Manor with such precious items, he, Zhao Surui, would willingly go without meat for three days.
Hearing her mistress’s question, A Chi smiled and said, “It was a coincidence. On the day we were moving out, Princess Leqing had invited the Xie Family’s ladies over. You sent me early that morning to inquire about moving the luggage, and I happened to run into the Chief Steward from the princess’s residence. The heir’s wife, afraid of being found out, quickly sent some servants to help us move the things, and no one stopped us from leaving.”
Zhao Surui nodded, thinking that Shen San Fei did have some luck on her side.
Picking up a copy of Huainan Wan Bi Shu, he flipped through it, nearly dislodging a few paper bookmarks tucked inside. Glancing at them, he saw elegant, flowing handwriting detailing what seemed like an alchemical formula he couldn’t understand, signed with the name “Shen Lizhen.” Assuming it was left by one of Shen San Fei’s brothers or uncles, he closed the book and tossed it back, then asked A Chi, “Do you know which of these books are the most valuable?”
A Chi moved to another chest. “This chest mostly contains rare editions, so they’re probably more valuable. But after you copied them by hand, you rarely touched the originals, as long as we stored them carefully.”
Seeing her mistress’s keen interest, A Chi added cheerfully, “These are only part of your collection. If you’d like to see more, Chui Yun is keeping a few more chests of books for you. You once said these books were left to you by your father, and even if you had to abandon everything else, these must be preserved. A couple of years ago, you even mentioned that if you ever had the money, you’d revise and print the finest ones among them, so everyone in the world could see them.”
Shen San Fei might be pedantic and incompetent… but she was still Shen Shao’s daughter.
Remembering that these were Shen Shao’s legacy, Zhao Surui’s urge to sell them for money faded. He sat back down in his chair discontentedly and turned to Tu Nan beside him, saying, “Tu Nan, I’m a bit hungry. Get me something to eat.” He didn’t forget to add, “Make sure there’s plenty of meat.”
Tu Nan acknowledged and left. Under the lamplight, Zhao Surui sat watching the maids carefully organizing the books.
A-Chi carefully straightened a handwritten copy of “The Alchemist’s Shortcut Methods,” turned her head, and said with a smile, “Miss, if the weather is good tomorrow, let’s sun the books.”
No money to be made? Zhao Surui immediately lost interest.
If these weren’t thousands of books but thousands of horses, not just sunning them—even driving them all the way to the Kunlun Mountains wouldn’t tire Zhao Surui.
“Do as you please, just don’t disturb my peace.”
“Mm.” A-Chi nodded with a smile.
Zhao Surui turned away disdainfully. Shen Sanfei’s head was full of books, and the maids she taught would beam with joy at the sight of books too. Seeing that there wasn’t even a place to sit in the study, he stepped out and happened to meet Tu Nan entering the courtyard, carrying a lantern in one hand and a food box in the other.
Shen Shiqing usually ate in the study, and Zhao Surui had done the same before. Glancing at the constant comings and goings in the study, Zhao Surui pointed to the unlit side room and said, “Let’s eat there.”
A bowl of soup-filled dumplings, a plate of cold-tossed bean sprouts, and a plate of thinly sliced pig ear strips. Zhao Surui ate a dumpling, the solid meatball filling rolling into his mouth, and nodded in satisfaction.
Another bite of the ear strips, a mouthful of bean sprouts, two more dumplings, and a sip of hot soup—only two words: comfort.
Tu Nan, worried her young lady might catch a chill, brought a brazier and placed it nearby for warmth. After finishing the dumplings, Zhao Surui pushed the bowl and chopsticks aside and saw her still silently bustling about.
“Tu Nan.”
“Young lady.”
“Today, I drove away Liu Shi and retrieved those rare books. What do you think of what I said?”
Ah, yes—fed and satisfied, our Zhaode Emperor was itching for praise again.
Tu Nan set down the incense burner she was using to fumigate the room and said slowly, “Every word the young lady spoke was naturally reasonable.”
Having said that, she stood to the side without moving.
Zhao Surui curled his lip. “That’s it?”
Even if she didn’t praise him as “wise and mighty,” she could at least say something like “clear-sighted and decisive.”
Tu Nan collected the bowl and chopsticks, holding them in her hands. A faint smile touched her face, but her tone remained slow, as if weighing each word carefully: “In the past, the young lady thought Madam Liu, though old-fashioned, was kind-hearted. She often said that using Liu Shi as a mirror, one could see that a woman must never be confined to a narrow world. Tu Nan believes the young lady was right. Today, though Madam Liu’s advice for the young lady came from good intentions, not a single word of it was useful. The young lady, angered by her stubbornness and ignorance, cutting ties with her—that is also right. The young lady is always right.”
“Hmph! Using others as a mirror?” Zhao Surui sneered. “Using others as a mirror, yet ending up having to seek help with a blood letter in a Buddhist hall? What can be reflected from that Liu Shi? Only five words—’must never be like this.'”
Tu Nan fell silent again.
As night fell, what Tu Nan prepared for her young lady was no longer tea to refresh the mind but a honeyed jujube drink made from processed red dates and honey. Zhao Surui took a sip, found it pleasantly sweet, and drained the cup in one go.
If that Shen Sanfei were before him now, he would have cursed a hundred times more harshly.
Guarding a pile of books left by ancestors yet having not an ounce of self-preservation—losing the family fortune was only a matter of time.
“Walking alone in this world, every bit of peace, every moment of tranquility, is exchanged. Some pay with flesh and blood, others with sordid schemes. Your young lady, in the past, paid with her own life and fortune.”
If Zhao Su Rui hadn’t entered this body, Shen Shiqing’s life would likely have been claimed by heaven as payment for her seven years of inaction.
Tu Nan remained silent.
Only Zhao Su Rui drank an entire pot of honeyed jujube beverage.
“Since the Xie Family is currently overwhelmed with their own troubles, we shouldn’t remain idle either. Tu Nan, do you know of any interesting places nearby?”
Noticing a young maid in the courtyard, Tu Nan called her over to take the bowls before responding:
“The surrounding area is mostly farmland. There are several persimmon trees and a maple grove on the nearby mountain with quite pleasant scenery. If you’re interested, miss, you could take a stroll there.”
Hearing there was a grove, Zhao Su Rui immediately became excited:
“Do we have any bows and arrows?”
Tu Nan replied: “We have one fifteen-pound light bow and over thirty arrows.”
The Zhaode Emperor, who was accustomed to wielding sixty-pound war bows on the battlefield, instantly lost interest.
Fifteen pounds? Mere child’s play for women.
Looking down at Shen San Fei’s slender wrists, he felt another wave of frustration.
With this frail physique, she probably couldn’t even draw a fifteen-pound bow.
At this moment, Zhao Su Rui desperately wanted to return to his own body. He longed to ride his blood-sweating steeds, wield his sixty-pound black-horned birch bark great bow, hunt deer on horseback, and toss the hunted prey into the elephant enclosure to watch his tigers fight over the carcasses.
The more he thought about it, the more distressed he became.
Zhao Su Rui sighed: “Forget it. Do we have any horses?”
If hunting wasn’t possible, at least riding should be feasible?
Tu Nan said: “We have several nags and over a dozen mules for pulling carts, all brought by the previous matrons. This estate originally only had a few mill-donkeys and three oxen.”
So this meager foundation—so pitifully thin it could hardly be thinner—was the modest estate he had managed to establish since arriving here?!
Zhao Su Rui collapsed into his chair, speechless. Even if he emptied the entire Dayong national treasury, he wouldn’t feel this impoverished!
His thoughts turned to the books in Shen San Fei’s study. He could sell the books first to buy horses and weapons, then simply reclaim the books later—after all, it would just mean changing hands twice.
Just as the Zhaode Emperor, driven by desperation for horse money, was considering challenging the Dayong Legal Code in female form, sudden commotion erupted outside.
Then she heard someone rushing in.
“Young madam! Pei Feng sent me to report—the second young master has come to our estate on horseback!”
Second young master? Hearing this, Tu Nan immediately tightened her grip on the sword at her waist. She was about to escort her mistress to safety when she saw the young lady dart out like an arrow.
Horses!
That man came on horseback!
Zhao Su Rui was ecstatic, hiking up his robes as he sprinted.
Selling Shen San Fei’s books would require reclaiming them later, but directly seizing available horses would be much simpler, wouldn’t it?
“Tu Nan, gather our people! Tie him up for me! Protect the horses at all costs!”
“A Chi, secure the rear courtyard! Kill anyone who acts suspiciously!”
A Chi hurried out just in time to see her typically bookish, painting, incense-blending, pigment-mixing delicate young lady dash away like the wind, moving too fast for anyone to catch up.
At the estate’s inner gate, a man was pointing his horsewhip at a maidservant blocking his path.
“This estate belongs to the Xie Family. How dare you stand in my way?”
Pei Feng remained silent, merely standing guard at the entrance with a long spear in hand.
Suddenly, the door opened from inside, and a woman in a moon-white satin robe hurried out.
Xie Feng’an recognized her at once as Shen Shiqing, his wife in name.
Watching Shen Shiqing’s hurried steps, a surge of triumph rose in Xie Feng’an’s heart. Over the years, Shen Shiqing had been utterly cold toward him, but after being confined at this Zhuangzi for some time, she had finally learned to lower her head before him.
Unfortunately, Wan Niang was carrying his child, and with the Xie Family in turmoil, he had to marry Wan Niang immediately so that his uncle would intervene to save his father.
The cool moonlight, like water, fell upon Shen Shiqing’s pale face, lending her an ethereal, otherworldly aura. Proud of his own romantic and sentimental nature, Xie Feng’an couldn’t help but feel a stir in his heart.
If Shen Shiqing were willing to be obedient from now on, he could keep her as a concubine. In a couple of years, once Wan Niang had given birth and settled down, he could bring Shen Shiqing back into the mansion.
Surveying his concubines—some charming and coquettish, some gentle and amiable, some delightfully naive, others bold and straightforward—Wan Niang was tender and affectionate, though not well-educated. Truly, he lacked someone as refined and elegant as Shen Shiqing. When the time came, he would take his concubines for a stroll along the Qinhuai River, letting his peers witness the grace and beauty of a daughter raised by a Grand Academician.
In that brief moment of their encounter, Xie Feng’an had already imagined a great deal.
He watched “Shen Shiqing,” and “Shen Shiqing” watched him—or rather, the horse behind him.
Long, well-proportioned legs, sleek coat, spirited eyes… Though it couldn’t be called a “famous steed,” it was undoubtedly a fine horse.
As Xie Feng’an saw “Shen Shiqing” approach him, he was about to speak when he heard an angry shout:
“Who are you? How dare you impersonate the young master of the Xie Family? Guards, seize this villain pretending to be my husband!”