Yan Qi abruptly decided to spend the night at Wutong Courtyard.
Chu Zhao hesitated for a few breaths between hanging this grandson on the wall and agreeing to let him stay. In the end, she chose the latter.
How could she turn down a tonic that had delivered itself to her door?
She also wanted to see what Yan Qi was up to after that unfilial descendant, Chu Nanxing, had tipped him off.
And then…
An hour passed. Chu Zhao opened her eyes on the bed and turned her head toward the man sitting motionless in the darkness beyond the screen.
The room was shrouded in darkness, and no lamps had been lit.
Yet she could still feel the man’s unusually intense gaze fixed on her, never wavering.
“Why aren’t you asleep?” Yan Qi asked softly.
Propping her head on one hand, Chu Zhao lay on her side, her tone part teasing, part mocking. “I’m lonely in my bed. Why don’t you come keep me company?”
The man didn’t move. Just as Chu Zhao thought he would sit there until dawn, his shadow stretched across the darkness. He walked slowly toward her, circled around the screen, paused briefly, then sat down beside the bed.
“Go to sleep.” His voice was utterly calm, as if he were soothing a child.
Chu Zhao: “…” What on earth was this grandson up to?
Still suspicious, she closed her eyes.
Perhaps because the man was sitting right beside her, his cool, clear scent lingered beneath Chu Zhao’s nose. With every breath, it was like the finest Calming Incense, easing the pain of the cracks in her soul. Gradually, she really did begin to feel drowsy.
Yan Qi sat beside her without moving, his gaze fixed on her sleeping face.
Countless emotions lay buried in his eyes. There was curiosity, and also… an expectation he kept hidden from everyone.
She slept soundly through the night.
A lazy hum escaped Chu Zhao’s lips. Eyes still closed, she rolled over, arching her back as Weiwei’s shoulder blades shifted. Like a cat, she stretched her limbs long and languid, then curled back in on herself, finishing with a deeply satisfying stretch.
“That’s an unusual way to stretch,” the man remarked, his voice rough and low.
Only then did Chu Zhao open her eyes. She glanced lazily toward the bedside and raised a brow in surprise. “You sat here all night?”
Dawn light filtered through the screen, falling diagonally across the man and splitting his profile in two.
The lit half seemed covered in frost and snow, cool and distant; the shadowed half was partly concealed, its contours sharpened by the darkness.
The dividing line ran straight down from between his brows. One eye seemed to belong to the human world, the other to the depths of the underworld.
Chu Zhao’s gaze lingered on his face. To be fair, that grandson, Yan Fuwei, really was handsome! But then she reconsidered and mentally spat, Ptui, ptui, ptui. This boy looked almost exactly like Yan Fuwei. If she praised his face, wouldn’t that be the same as praising Yan Fuwei?
Instead of answering, Yan Qi asked, “Did you have a pleasant dream last night?”
Chu Zhao narrowed her eyes. “You mean, did our Ancestor appear in my dream last night?”
She found it rather amusing. She hadn’t expected that the young rascal had kept watch over her all night for such an absurd reason.
Chu Zhao had wanted to use the flimsy excuse that “the Ancestor had shown her favor” to brush off a few things. But Chu Nanxing was one thing—he was a little fool—but the Prince of You… Was Yan Fuwei’s grandson really that easy to fool too?
A thought struck her.
He had been sending people to search for her Black-Iron Phoenix Hairpin. Now he was so concerned about whether Ancestress Xuanzhao had truly manifested. Could it be that he felt guilty?
“Last night, the Ancestor made a brief appearance, said one thing, and left,” Chu Zhao bluffed. “She said, ‘My descendants are unfilial, and there are always troublemakers trying to harm and scheme against me. Go kill seventeen or eighteen descendants of my enemies and offer them as a blood sacrifice to my spirit in heaven. Give me a proper replenishment.’”
Chu Zhao watched him with a malicious glint in her eyes and saw the man’s expression darken.
Yan Qi gave her a long look without saying a word, then rose and left.
Chu Zhao blinked and laughed aloud, muttering, “He’s got a fair bit of self-control, I’ll give him that.”
She got up, washed, and ate. She had just finished breakfast when Chu Nanxing arrived.
“Um, Older Cousin… what do you intend to do about Great-aunt’s funeral arrangements? And Duke Shen’s…”
“Shen Yuzhu isn’t dead, is she?” Chu Zhao replied lazily. “Whoever’s father died can take responsibility for him. I’m a married-out daughter, the Princess Consort—I have no say in it.”
Chu Nanxing’s expression turned complicated. Then he slapped his thigh and declared solemnly, “Good! Duke Shen treated Great-aunt and you like that, Older Cousin. We won’t acknowledge him as our father! Anyone who dares call you unfilial, I’ll be the first to deal with them!”
“Don’t be afraid, Older Cousin. I sent a letter to Father last night. He’s already on his way to the capital! With Your Highness and the Chu Family behind you, no one can bully you!”
Chu Zhao gave him a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. “Heh.”
Waiting for you useless good-for-nothings? The day would be over before you got anything done.
Madam Chu was dead, and Xiaokugua was dead too. Duke Shen had certainly played a part in what happened, but Chu Zhao wasn’t satisfied with a single one of those “dutiful descendants” in the Chu Family.
“Your father’s arrival is timely. I imagine he has a copy of Madam Chu’s dowry inventory.”
“Send him word: Madam Chu is divorcing her husband. If a daughter of the Chu Family is to be buried, then she must be given a grand funeral and laid to rest with the Chu Family!”
Chu Nanxing gaped at her.
Never mind that Duke Shen and Madam Chu were both dead—this business of divorcing one’s deceased mother’s husband was unheard of, ancient or modern!
The Shen clan would surely raise a fuss.
And Older Cousin wanted to have Great-aunt buried with the Chu Family… Chu Nanxing thought of the old diehards in the clan. He opened his mouth, then stopped himself.
Chu Zhao glanced at him. How could she not guess what was troubling the boy?
She took a sip of tea and said lazily, “The Ancestor appeared last night. This was her wish.”
“Really?!”
“Just pass the message along,” Chu Zhao said with a cold laugh. “If anyone in the Chu Family questions or objects, they can wait and see whether the ‘Ancestor’s family law’ strikes them down!”
Chu Nanxing immediately perked up. “I’ll write another letter right away and tell Father to hurry!”
Meanwhile, Duke Shen’s Residence had been in chaos all night.
The situation wasn’t brought under control until members of the second and third branches of the Shen Residence arrived.
“This is utter nonsense! He was Duke Shen, for heaven’s sake. Why would Yan Hua use sorcery to kill his wife, or steal his own daughter’s blessed fortune? It makes no sense!”
“Madam Chu was the one whose womb was no good. She resented having given birth to a fool and wanted to raise the daughter born of a lowly concubine instead. How does that have anything to do with a vengeful ghost taking possession of someone’s body?”
“Clearly, Madam Chu was mad. She killed her husband and then took her own life. There are no ghosts in this world!”
“If there really is a ghost, let her show herself in broad daylight!” Yan Ze cursed.
He didn’t believe in any supernatural nonsense. “Give the order: anyone in this estate who dares spread such foolish talk again is to be beaten to death and sold off!”
Third Master Shen’s face was grim, but he seemed more composed than his brother. “Shen Changming is right. Whatever the truth may be, the Shen Residence cannot accept these rumors! Elder Brother died unjustly. After killing her husband, Sister-in-law took her own life. We in the Shen Residence are the victims!”
The brothers understood each other without a word.
Now that Shen Jue was dead, and had left no children, the title of Duke Shen would naturally belong to one of the two brothers.
But before they could fight over the title, they had to put an end to the rumors.
Practicing sorcery and murdering one’s wife were both grave crimes. If the matter reached His Majesty, the title might well be taken away.
As the two men discussed what to do, Shen Yuzhu was helped into the room. A veil covered her face, but the awful red blotches could still be seen beneath it. She looked as if she could barely draw breath, her eyes full of fear and alarm.
“Second Uncle… Third Uncle…”
“I’m innocent, Second Uncle. I truly knew nothing about the things Concubine Liu and Father did…” She made as if to kneel.
The brothers exchanged a glance. Yan Ze stepped forward and helped her up, his voice full of sorrow. “Second Young Lady, you’ve been so frightened you’re talking nonsense. Poor child. There are no ghosts in this world.”
“We know what happened. It’s a tragedy that your father was struck down by the person who shared his bed!”
“Your mother was always in good health. How could her temperament suddenly change, leaving her with madness that led her to commit the terrible crime of killing her husband? Shen Yuzhu, think carefully. Could someone else have taken the opportunity to harm your mother? Perhaps… drugged her?”
Shen Yuzhu froze. Her lips trembled. Meeting the smiling yet threatening gazes of Second Master Shen and Third Master Shen, she lowered her head abruptly. She understood.
The face of “Shen Zhaozhao” appeared in her mind, fear and hatred surging together.
Her “mother” was dead, and her own face was ruined…
It was all because of “Shen Zhaozhao.”
Why couldn’t that wretch have stayed stupid for the rest of her life? Why should that wretch become the Princess Regent, enjoying glory and wealth, while she, Shen Yuzhu, was reduced to a pile of broken tiles?
It wasn’t fair!
“It was… Shen Zhaozhao… It was her!”
Shen Yuzhu raised her head, her eyes filled with hatred. “She was the one who harmed my mother!”