Shen Qing was in a foul mood and extremely worried about Zihan’s safety, so her tone was a bit—no, *very*—aggressive.
“Lord, if I recall correctly, didn’t the Marquis just tell you to stay away from ‘inexplicable women’ like me?
If you want female company, you have six women in your rear courtyard.
There’s no need to keep clinging to me.”
Yu Jiuqing seemed taken aback that Shen Qing would say such a thing.
His brows furrowed instantly, a clear look of irritation in his eyes.
“Why would I go looking for them?
What are they to me?”
Shen Qing couldn’t help but laugh, a laugh born of pure anger.
She yanked on her sleeve, trying to pull it free, but failed.
“Then may I ask you, Lord, what am I to you?”
Yu Jiuqing froze, seemingly at a loss for words.
His almond-shaped eyes darkened as he stared at her.
‘What’s he looking at?
Does he want to see whose eyes are bigger?’
Shen Qing kept telling herself to stay calm.
‘This damn man is dead set on keeping me in his sight.’ But she couldn’t just let him keep her under house arrest like this.
Taking a light breath, she forced a gentle smile.
“Please forgive my disrespectful attitude, Lord.
It’s just that I’m so worried about Zhu Yuan and Chen Ying.
They were punished last night, and I still don’t know how they are.
“Ever since I entered the mansion, they’ve taken great care of me.
The three of us are like sisters.
Please, Lord, be merciful and let me go back to see them.”
Yu Jiuqing seemed somewhat stunned by Shen Qing’s complete one-eighty.
His brows knitted even tighter, and his perfectly shaped, thin lips pressed into a firm line.
Shen Qing was determined to get out today.
She turned to him proactively, her hands about to touch the man before her.
“Lord…”
However, before her fingers could even brush against his robes, the man in front of her swatted her hands away as if by reflex.
Shen Qing faltered.
‘He won’t let me touch him?’
‘Is it because he hasn’t fully confirmed that I’m Shen Qing, so now he’s acting all chaste?’
‘But he’s already brought six women into his home.
What’s the point of pretending to be so proper now?’
Shen Qing paused for a moment, then, as if she hadn’t noticed his rejection, she spoke in a softer tone, “Lord, please let me go see Zhu Yuan and Chen Ying.
I promise I’ll come right back after I’ve checked on them.”
Yu Jiuqing’s gaze lowered, his long lashes casting faint shadows on his fair face.
After a long moment, he asked in a slightly hoarse voice, “I heard you’re already married with children back in your hometown?”
Shen Qing blinked.
‘He must have investigated me.’ That she was married with children was the story she had told Sumei Xue.
After all, in the Daqi Dynasty, it would be strange for a woman her age to still be unwed.
She had told Sumei Xue that her hometown was in Mei State.
Because her family was poor, and she’d heard from the women there that the great houses in the Capital City paid much higher wages than elsewhere, she had come to the capital alone to find work and help support her family.
And knowing Yu Jiuqing’s personality, now that he suspected her, he would have surely sent someone to verify the truth of her story after his initial investigation.
Mei State was some distance from the Capital City; a round trip by horse at top speed would take at least two days.
Yu Jiuqing only had to wait another two days to find out if she was telling the truth or not, so why couldn’t he stop himself from asking now?
‘This wasn’t like Yu Jiuqing at all.’
Shen Qing opened her mouth, about to say something, when Yu Jiuqing suddenly took a soft breath and said, “Never mind.
You can go out, but you must agree to one condition.”
As he spoke, his beautifully curved, almond-shaped eyes stared deeply at Shen Qing.
She found herself momentarily stunned, and as if bewitched, she slowly nodded.
“Alright.”
…
Meanwhile, after Chen Li led Jiang Chengyi out of Qingzhu Courtyard, he seemed to have finally regained his composure. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
He reverted to his usual role as the meticulous Grand Steward of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, bowing to Jiang Chengyi.
“Marquis, before your arrival, the Lord instructed me to prepare breakfast for you.
Please, follow me to eat before you return home.”
Jiang Chengyi raised an eyebrow, quite surprised.
‘Looks like that fellow Yu Jiuqing has a shred of conscience after all.’
‘It wasn’t as if he was dying to eat breakfast at the Prime Minister’s Mansion.
It’s not like the Wei Qi Marquis Mansion doesn’t have breakfast!’
He snorted, affecting an air of someone who had been snubbed but was now too good for them.
“Forget it.
I’ll go home and eat the breakfast my wife prepared for me.
“But if you’ve prepared the same breakfast that Yu Jiuqing just had, I might consider taking a bite.”
‘Alright, he admitted it.
He’d been completely captivated by that enticing aroma!’
Chen Li’s expression immediately became indescribable.
After a moment, he couldn’t help but grit his teeth slightly.
“Marquis, you don’t understand.
That breakfast was made by that arrogant, domineering woman!
She did it on purpose to torment the Lord, making it so salty it was practically inedible.
It’s not that I don’t want to serve it to you.”
Jiang Chengyi was stunned.
‘Although he’d guessed from the conversation between Yu Jiuqing and the woman that she had made the breakfast, was she really that bold?
Daring to provoke Yu Jiuqing like that?’
And yet…
He remembered how, in the past, whenever Ah Qing fought with Yu Jiuqing, she would deliberately cook all sorts of food so disgusting it would make you question your life choices.
And Yu Jiuqing, able to endure what no ordinary person could, would eat every last bite without a change in his expression.
He only knew about this because one time, he had visited the Prime Minister’s Mansion while the two were fighting.
Feeling peckish, he had a bowl of the tremella, red date, and pear sweet soup that Ah Qing had made for Yu Jiuqing, and that heavenly bitter concoction left him with a trauma he could never forget.
And yet the man eating the very same soup had looked at him with displeasure and said in a cool voice, “I told you not to eat that.
It was prepared for me by my wife.”
Recalling the past, Jiang Chengyi’s expression grew distant.
‘Is this a coincidence?
Or…
or could that woman be…?’
‘Impossible!
If she were Ah Qing, why would she act like she didn’t know them?
And why would her interactions with Yu Jiuqing be so strange?’
Although Ah Qing and Yu Jiuqing’s marital life was a private matter, the servants of the Prime Minister’s Mansion would have inevitably witnessed things.
If someone was determined to learn the details of their interactions, it wouldn’t be impossible.
In fact, there had been women in the past who tried to pass themselves off as Ah Qing, even mimicking some of her habits and mannerisms.
Jiang Chengyi shook his head violently, trying to banish the thought.
‘If Ah Qing had really returned, she would never refuse to acknowledge them!’
‘That woman definitely isn’t Ah Qing!’
Although he sincerely hoped Yu Jiuqing had some other purpose for keeping that woman by his side, if he was truly being fooled by an impostor, then Jiang Chengyi would have to snap him out of it—even at the risk of being cut down by Yu Jiuqing’s sword!
…
Shen Qing had been worried that Yu Jiuqing would make some outrageous demand, but unexpectedly, he only required that two guards follow her closely.
Shen Qing agreed at once.
When she finally left Qingzhu Courtyard, even the air outside seemed fresher.
Last night, in a fit of pique, she hadn’t forced a confrontation with Yu Jiuqing, but she had later considered having a proper talk with him.
However, perhaps because ten years had passed, she suddenly realized she could no longer see through the man Yu Jiuqing had become.
Sometimes, the look in his eyes—so gloomy and restrained it was almost terrifying—sent a secret shiver of fear through her.
If he were to confirm that she really was Shen Qing, the woman she was today had no idea what he would do.
But there were still too many unanswered questions—what was the deal with those six women?
How had Zihan been all these years?
And how had the relationship between father and son deteriorated to this state?
She had to investigate these matters herself; she couldn’t just take Yu Jiuqing’s word for it.
She knew very well that deep down, she wanted to have a future with Yu Jiuqing.
Therefore, she had to untie the knots of doubt in her heart, one by one, before she could have a proper talk with him.
After all, she had been absent from his life for ten years.
That long decade was a complete blank to her.
How had he changed in those ten years?
Was he still the same as before?
She had no way of knowing.
Shen Qing first returned to the courtyard where she had been living.
Sumei Xue, it turned out, wasn’t a completely cold-hearted superior.
Although she had punished Zhu Yuan and Chen Ying for a night, she had also given them half a day off to recover.
So, both Zhu Yuan and Chen Ying were in their room.
When they saw Shen Qing, their eyes lit up.
“Shen Qing!
The Lord finally let you come back?!”
Unlike Zhu Yuan, Chen Ying hadn’t witnessed the strange interactions between Shen Qing and Yu Jiuqing, so she was much more worried.
She fired off a volley of questions, “Shen Qing, what on earth did you do to offend the Lord?
I heard he took you away last night to interrogate you personally.
I was scared to death!”
Shen Qing just gave a faint smile and gently pushed Chen Ying, who was trying to sit up in bed, back down.
“It’s fine.
It was just a misunderstanding.
Look, aren’t I perfectly alright now?”
Chen Ying froze, her eyes instinctively flicking to the two guards who had accompanied Shen Qing and were now standing watch outside their door.
For a moment, she was at a loss for words.
Shen Qing truly did seem to be completely fine.
‘But what was the deal with those two guards?
Could the Lord have assigned them to Shen Qing?’
‘What…
what was going on between Shen Qing and the Lord?’
Just then, a set of footsteps approached from outside.
It was Mu Shuangshuang, returning.
She was startled by the two guards at the door, but then she saw Shen Qing inside the room—looking not only unchanged from the day before, but seemingly in even better spirits.
Mu Shuangshuang froze on the spot.
‘Wasn’t she taken away by the Lord for questioning yesterday?
Why is she just standing here, perfectly fine?!’
‘Could it be true, what some of the other maids in the mansion have been whispering?
Has the Lord taken a fancy to her?!’
At this thought, a wave of frustration and resentment surged through Mu Shuangshuang.
Losing control for a moment, she stormed up to Shen Qing and hissed through gritted teeth, “You hussy!
You’re already married with children, yet you still dare to seduce the Lord!
Do you…
do you have no shame!”