After a month in the mansion, A Chun had finally learned her way around Shenfu.
Except for Renshoutang, where Shen Weizhen lived.
A Chun didn't even dare pass by his doorway.
Since the accidental collision last time, A Chun hadn't seen Shen Weizhen again.
"Back then, the master passed away suddenly, leaving no words for the mistress or the young master," Qiu Shuang combed A Chun's hair. "At that time, the young master had just passed the provincial examination as the Jieyuan. Before the celebration banquet could even be held, he rushed overnight to Nanwuzhou."
A Chun softly hummed in acknowledgment.
She knew.
Shen Shiru had fallen ill abruptly.
Originally, his term of office had ended, and the emperor had already issued an edict. If not for this sudden illness, Shen Shiru should have gone to Jingcheng to report his duties and receive a promotion.
When Shen Weizhen traveled thousands of miles to Nanwuzhou, the first thing he did was demand to open the coffin for an autopsy.
At that time, A Chun was not yet thirteen. Her mother, Shen Yun'e, fearing Shen Weizhen might kill her, hid her away carefully, not daring to let Shen Weizhen see her. Everything about that conflict was relayed to A Chun by others—
Shen Weizhen, cold-blooded and unyielding, brought a coroner and, disregarding Shen Yun'e's protests, insisted on removing Shen Shiru's body from the already sealed coffin.
When the coffin was opened, Shen Yun'e wept bitterly, knelt on the ground, and begged, admitting she shouldn't have followed Shen Shiru without a proper status. She pleaded for Shen Weizhen to direct his anger at her instead of desecrating his own father's remains.
This plea did not sway Shen Weizhen. He politely addressed her as "Aunt" but refused to acknowledge her relationship with Shen Shiru.
Nanwuzhou was already hot, and it was August. Shen Shiru's body had been left for over ten days and had begun to swell, rot, and even breed maggots. As soon as the coffin was opened, Shen Yun'e fainted. Shen Weizhen, as Shen Shiru's biological son, watched expressionlessly as the coroner cut open and examined his own father's body. He even personally inspected the dissected stomach, remaining eerily calm and sending chills down everyone's spine.
To this day, even after entering Houfu, just hearing Shen Weizhen's name makes Shen Yun'e feel nauseous.
A Chun didn't feel the same way.
She had always felt Shen Shiru's illness was suspicious. As soon as he had breathed his last, A Chun urged Shen Yun'e to find a coroner to perform an autopsy and check for poisoning. Unfortunately, she was too young and her words carried little weight. Shen Yun'e, timid by nature, dared not desecrate Shen Shiru's body and chose instead to wait for someone from Jingcheng to take charge.
…
"Old Ancestor cares for you, miss. She specifically asked me to tell you that next year is the Spring Imperial Examination. The young master is focused on his studies and rarely stays in the mansion. Please don't overthink it," Qiu Shuang selected hairpins, carefully adorning A Chun's hair, racking her brains to comfort her. "Look, how beautiful the red coral on this hairpin is. The young master must have carefully chosen it for you."
A Chun smiled along with her words. "Yes."
When she entered Houfu, she had no jewelry of her own, relying entirely on Old Ancestor's gifts.
Old Ancestor saw that Shen Weizhen didn't like her. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them not to meet even once in a month. The day before yesterday, as soon as Shen Weizhen returned home from the academy, Old Ancestor summoned him.
Yesterday, although Shen Weizhen didn't see A Chun, he sent over many pieces of jewelry.
The hairpins Qiu Shuang was putting in her hair were among them.
A Chun knew this was his way of not wanting to trouble Old Ancestor.
She also didn't want to trouble Old Ancestor, so she happily accepted them.
Later, when she went to Muhetang to pay her respects, A Chun would wear these hairpins and praise her brother's kindness to her in front of Old Ancestor.
"Where is Mother?" A Chun asked Qiu Shuang. "Has she gone to sleep again?"
Qiu Shuang replied, "Yes, she just took her medicine and is now resting."
"Mother will sleep for about two hours. Don't let anyone disturb her," A Chun instructed. "Later, tell Chao Rong not to let Mother eat too much greasy food. She's on medication now and can't digest it well."
Qiu Shuang nodded in agreement.
Shen Yun'e had always been in poor health. After the arduous journey to the capital, they consulted a renowned physician who prescribed a new formula, and she was still slowly recuperating.
For Mother to recover fully, money was indispensable.
This was also why A Chun wanted to come to the capital.
She needed to win the favor of the Old Ancestor, leverage the influence of the Houfu, and choose a well-off family for herself. Being a wife would be best, but if that truly wasn't possible, becoming a concubine wouldn't matter either. A Chun knew her family background was humble and had no extravagant hopes. She only wished for the other party to be wealthy, generous, and willing to pay for her mother's medical treatment.
As long as Mother could be healthy and alive, A Chun cared little about anything else.
After paying respects to the Old Ancestor, it happened to be the day of the poetry gathering at Liufangzhu. The Old Ancestor was eager for A Chun to blend in with the sisters, so she asked the most steady third young lady, Shen Zongshu, to take A Chun along.
A Chun was not well-educated. Compared to reading, writing, or painting, she preferred horseback riding, archery, fishing, and hunting.
Shen Shiru doted on her greatly and had personally taught her to read and write during her Enlightenment Education. However, realizing her interests lay elsewhere, he regretfully let go and no longer constrained her.
Thus, A Chun had read very few poems, let alone composed any.
Even the term "poetry gathering" was something she heard for the first time.
A Chun only knew of temple fairs.
Shen Zongshu was the daughter of the second branch and was already engaged. She was the eldest among the sisters, the most compassionate toward the poor and weak. At today's poetry gathering, many noble young ladies and gentlemen friendly with Shenfu were present. A Chun didn't recognize any of them and relied entirely on Shen Zongshu to introduce them one by one with great care.
She tried hard to remember every face.
Especially those gentlemen—perhaps her future husband was among them.
There were also things beyond her abilities. When it came time for everyone to compose poems, A Chun sat quietly, watching Sister Shen Zongshu write.
A Chun couldn't understand why "fish" had to be followed by "play," why "willow" had to be "disordered," or why "new cicadas" still needed to "lazily groom."
Cicadas lived only one year, crawling out from underground and dying within a few days. Weren't they all new? Could there be new cicadas and old cicadas? Besides, cicadas were insects with no hair or hands—how could they groom themselves?
She recognized every character, but when put together, they made no sense.
While A Chun watched helplessly, Shen Weizhen was speaking with the Old Ancestor in Muhe Hall.
"I know you don't like that mother and daughter," the Old Ancestor sighed. "To be honest, it's my fault. Back then, Shen Yun'e had just been widowed. Your father wrote home, saying she had once saved his life and was now alone and helpless, suffering from bullying—truly pitiful. He wanted to take her as a concubine. I thought it inappropriate and refused. Who knew he would quietly keep her outside? Sigh! Without any status, he even fabricated the excuse of a 'distant cousin'… That sudden illness you had when you were six nearly took your life. Who would have thought it was such a coincidence? Shen Yun'e was about to give birth, and your father—"
"Old Ancestor," Shen Weizhen interrupted, "please say no more."
When he was six, he nearly died. The imperial physicians they summoned shook their heads, saying there was no cure and to prepare for the worst. Madam Li cried her heart out, hoping only that Shen Shiru could come to see him. If the worst happened, Shen Weizhen could at least see his father.
But Shen Shiru was in Nanwuzhou.
Shen Weizhen had barely managed to claw his way back from the brink of death, only to find his father absent when he awoke. It wasn’t until after his recovery that he learned the father he so admired was in Nanwuzhou, accompanying his "distant cousin." That distant cousin had just given birth to a daughter named A Chun, and both mother and child were safe and sound.
And it only grew worse from there.
Shen Shiru was upright and principled, unwilling to curry favor with the powerful. His blunt honesty often led to impeachment, and over the course of more than a decade, he was repeatedly promoted and demoted, spending most of his time in provincial posts and rarely returning to the capital. Shen Weizhen had seldom spent time with his father, only hearing from others that Shen Shiru often accompanied Shen Yun’e and her daughter back to Nanwuzhou. Some had even seen him personally teaching A Chun how to write and playing with her.
…
"Since Jinghui has already entered the Houfu, I will treat her as my own younger sister," Shen Weizhen said. "Old Ancestor, rest assured, I will not withhold anything that is rightfully hers."
The Old Ancestor looked at him, feeling a pang of guilt toward this grandson.
A Chun was innocent, and Shen Weizhen was even more so.
Yet, with Shen Shiru now gone and matters having reached this point, any words of comfort would be futile.
Now, Shen Shiru nominally had no concubines—only his wife, Li Deshu, and their sole eldest son, Shen Weizhen.
"Shen Yun’e did, after all, save your father’s life," the Old Ancestor said. "I am old and do not expect you to treat them as proper relatives. Just look after them a little. In the end, A Chun is still…"
Her voice trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.
"I understand," Shen Weizhen said. "I will do my utmost to find a doctor to treat my cousin’s illness, as repayment for saving a life."
He paused, his gaze shifting to the celadon vase on the table—slender and smooth, like a stroke of Tianshui Azure beneath the blazing sun.
Shen Weizhen looked away and continued, "Jinghui has also reached the age for marriage discussions. During this time, I will select a suitable husband for her and prepare a generous dowry, marrying her off with the honors befitting a younger sister."
Having secured his promise, the Old Ancestor smiled and urged him, "The Spring Imperial Examination is what matters. Do not divert your attention to these matters. And as for choosing a husband for her—quickly, try this white tea. It was sent from Minyue, said to be from Yongjia Mountain. Look at its silver-white color—it’s quite exquisite."
She knew that Shen Weizhen valued his promises. If he agreed, he would surely follow through.
Regardless of her parents’ actions, the child A Chun truly seemed pitiful and sensible.
It was precisely because she was too sensible that the Old Ancestor couldn’t bring herself to have her killed. After Shen Shiru’s funeral arrangements were completed, they had agreed to act as though the mother and daughter had never existed. Yet, upon hearing that the young girl had taken on work and chopped firewood to save her mother, she couldn’t bear it.
Even the proud Madam Li couldn’t bear it either.
That was why they brought the mother and daughter into the mansion to care for them.
Shen Weizhen finished a cup of tea and rose to leave.
Madam Li was still angry with him. For years, she had been preoccupied with Shen Weizhen’s marriage, and as soon as he had completed the mourning period, she began arranging marriage discussions.
Shen Weizhen had always avoided women and was indifferent to marriage. Now, with this misunderstanding, he was even more unwilling to discuss it.
Unaware of the details, Madam Li frowned and asked why he had suddenly changed his mind.
In the end, Shen Weizhen used the excuse of "the upcoming Spring Imperial Examination, focusing on preparation" to stop her questioning and avoid unnecessary trouble.
In Shen Weizhen’s eyes, women were trouble.
Lust was the root of all evil.
From Muhe Hall to Renshoutang, taking the shortcut meant passing through that damned rockery and lotus pond. Shen Weizhen had been detouring for days, and today was no different. He walked through the long corridor, passed the moon gate, crossed Liufang Islet, entered the rose garden, and then traversed a bamboo grove before arriving.
It was quite convenient.
Today was unfortunate. Just as he passed through the moon gate, a gentle breeze carried the scent of roses, mingling with the bright, dazzling sunlight that enveloped him entirely.
Without needing any prompting, Shen Weizhen turned his gaze to the side. Amidst the pale pinks, soft purples, deep greens, and faint reds beneath the flower trellis stood a slender figure in a light shade of goose-yellow.
Like staring directly into the blazing sun, Shen Weizhen’s vision blurred for a moment. That splash of goose-yellow burst like the juice of a citrus fruit, stinging his eyes and dizzying his head.
Shen Weizhen’s expression darkened as he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his demeanor cold and aloof.
A Chun, dressed in her goose-yellow gown, had already spotted Shen Weizhen.
Startled, she immediately bowed in greeting. "Young Master."
…Why did she have to run into her elder brother at a time like this?
Shen Weizhen’s face was icy, and A Chun assumed he was most likely angry.
She had originally prepared many pleasantries for Shen Weizhen, worried that the words she had thought up were too plain. She had carefully weighed each phrase, ensuring they were as handsome and proper as her elder brother’s appearance. Yet now, face to face, she couldn’t utter a single one, only lowering her head, not daring to breathe too loudly.
Shen Weizhen gave a curt "Hmm," unwilling to engage in conversation with her, let alone look at her. He simply wanted to pass by this unlucky rose-covered wall as quickly as possible.
Shen Xiangmei from the third branch stood nearby, momentarily stunned before bursting into laughter. She asked A Chun, "Why are you calling Big Brother 'Young Master'?"
Only then did Shen Weizhen notice her.
Why was Shen Xiangmei here as well?
Frowning slightly, Shen Weizhen saw that A Chun was not alone with Fifth Miss Shen Xiangmei but also with Sixth Sister Shen Linying from the second branch, along with their maidservants.
So many people were gathered beneath this rose-covered wall.
Before he could speak, Shen Linying chimed in, teasing yet curious. "Yes, Jinghui, Big Brother just gave you such lovely pearl flowers. Why won’t you call him 'Brother'? Could it be that the pearl flowers he gave you aren’t to your liking?"
Shen Weizhen saw panic flash across A Chun’s face.
She was always flustered, like a startled rabbit. Perfectly fine, yet somehow she always seemed to attract so many frights, and coincidentally, he was always there to witness them.
"The things Young… Brother gave are naturally all good," A Chun struggled to explain, nearly at her wit’s end. How could she say it was because she knew Shen Weizhen disliked her, so she didn’t dare call him "Brother"?
She racked her brains. "It’s just—"
"I was busy earlier and didn’t have time to see Jinghui," Shen Weizhen interrupted. "This is my first time meeting Jinghui. She doesn’t recognize me, so naturally, she wouldn’t know I’m her brother."
After speaking, he expressed his displeasure. "Xiangmei, Linying is young, so it’s understandable. But as Jinghui’s elder sister, you know she just arrived here and hasn’t yet met everyone. Instead of helping your sister, you mock her—is that what an elder sister should do? If it weren’t me standing here, would you still just stand by and watch without introducing her?"
Shen Xiangmei feared this brother the most and immediately lowered her head, twisting her handker nervously as she admitted her mistake.
Shen Linying shrank back like a quail, not daring to speak.
Shen Weizhen lectured, "A family must support one another to endure."
A Chun dared not make a sound either.
Yet, after this scolding, she felt slightly better.
So, was Shen Weizhen this stern with all his younger sisters? Then… perhaps his coldness wasn’t directed solely at her?
Lost in her thoughts, she heard Shen Weizhen say, "Jinghui, come with me. I have something to say to you."
Without even glancing at her, he turned and walked away, his tall frame and long strides unconcerned with whether she followed.
A Chun, fearing any neglect, quickened her pace. Her skirt was too long and its hem too wide, making movement difficult. The Huanpei at her waist jingled incessantly, striking her thighs painfully, reminding her of the impropriety of running.
She lowered her head to untangle the entwined Huanpei, clutched them in her hand, lifted the hem of her skirt, and hurried to catch up.
Upon reaching the octagonal pavilion, A Chun felt uneasy, unsure what her elder brother wished to say to her alone—whether it would be a reprimand or something else.
In her line of sight, she saw Shen Weizhen already standing still. After waiting a moment, he turned around.
Her elder brother was looking at her.
No, he was looking at the rose-covered wall behind her.
Shen Weizhen closed his eyes briefly, remained silent for a moment, then opened them again, gazing at her, his expression still cold.
A Chun grew increasingly anxious.
"Jinghui," Shen Weizhen said, "you are now the young lady of the Houfu. With the Old Ancestor's reminder, I will inevitably treat you as my own sister—do not allow others to bully you."
Given the distinction between closeness and distance, Shen Weizhen, as the eldest brother, could not stand idly by.
A Chun explained, "Fifth Sister and Sixth Sister did not bully me. They were just teaching me to recite poetry earlier."
Shen Weizhen had no desire to discuss it further with her.
Having delivered his reminder, he was about to leave when her words prompted him to ask, "What poetry?"
"…I can't remember."
A Chun tried hard to recall but could not.
Shen Shiru had once said, "Our A Chun has a clever mind, but it simply won't absorb poetry and books—all her wit is spent on climbing mountains and exploring seas."
"…It seems like," A Chun strained to remember but failed, feeling ashamed, "something about summer insects… no… fish and ice? It was a beautiful line of poetry. Unfortunately, I am naturally untalented in poetry and verse, so I didn't remember it. I apologize to Fifth Sister and Sixth Sister for their teaching."
Shen Weizhen's brows furrowed even tighter.
He understood but was unwilling to say it directly.
This sister, dull by nature, happened to have a pair of bright, shimmering eyes.
Shen Weizhen avoided her expectant gaze.
"I understand," he said. "You only need to remember one thing: although I do not like you, you are, after all, my sister, Shen Weizhen's sister."