Although she thought this way in her heart, Shen Wangshu still obediently agreed aloud. Otherwise, Nanny Liang would be nagging in her ear all day long for at least the next half month.
One of the greatest advantages of marrying Chen Ting was that she didn’t have to deal with a mother-in-law. Shen Wangshu persisted in paying her morning respects to the old madam for several days, but later the elderly lady held her hand kindly and said there was no need to come every day. As for the main branch, they were merely relatives through an aunt, which was even less of an issue. During the day, Chen Hao went to school and Chen Ting went on duty. Xuanji Courtyard was left with only her alone—her days couldn’t have been more pleasant.
Three days later, Carpenter Li sent someone to deliver the batch of soap molds she had custom-made. Shen Wangshu went to inspect the results.
The soap placed in a cool, well-ventilated area had already solidified nicely. She scooped out a lump of ordinary soap and rubbed it between her hands to test it. The familiar fragrance wafted up, and the cleansing effect was quite good.
A success on the first try—worthy of her.
Meixue, standing nearby, said curiously, “Is it finished? What about the others?”
Shen Wangshu replied, “The medicinal soap and milk soap need to be used for a while before we can tell the effects, but they should be more or less the same.”
One of the Li family’s servants who had delivered the boxes also watched the process and sighed. “This thing does seem more effective than ordinary soap pods, but the ingredients aren’t cheap. If it’s sold, I’m afraid it could only be marketed to wealthy families.”
Shen Wangshu instructed people to cut the solidified soap into pieces and place them under the sun to dry. “No rush. I’ll think about selling it after I’ve confirmed the effects.”
Although she was confident it wouldn’t fail, it was her first attempt and she hadn’t dared to make too much, afraid of wasting the pork fat. She packed one bar of each of the three types of soap and had the servant take them back, asking Carpenter Li to try them as well.
At the military training ground outside the city, the man looked coldly at the letter on the table. Chen Long knelt below and said in a low voice, “General, we’ve found out. This Flying Swallow tattoo is a mark of people from Prince Bao’s residence in the capital. Twenty years ago, when Prince Bao wiped out an entire southern family, one of the death soldiers bore this exact tattoo.”
Chen Hu, utterly confused, said, “We have nothing to do with Prince Bao at all. Why would he send someone to assassinate the general? Could it be the emperor’s orders?”
Chen Long glanced at his master hesitantly and, steeling himself, said, “Prince Bao has not entered the palace recently… This matter concerns the madam’s true identity.”
Chen Ting had already read what his subordinates had uncovered. He simply wanted to hear it once more in person, his face betraying no emotion.
Chen Long continued, “The madam’s original name was Shen Wangshu, the second legitimate daughter of the Shen family who escaped the night the Marquis of Yongning’s residence was confiscated. She was taken back to the Xiahou residence by Prefect Xiahou for temporary protection. Later, when His Majesty bestowed the marriage, the Xiahou family had Shen Wangshu—who had already changed her surname publicly—marry you in place of their legitimate daughter, Xiahou Fu.”
“And then? What does this have to do with the assassin?” Chen Hu asked.
“When the madam was in the capital, she grew up together with the heir of Prince Bao. They were… childhood sweethearts. It’s said the two families even had a verbal engagement. And now, the heir of Prince Bao is in Moyun.” Chen Long no longer dared to look at his master’s expression. “Most likely, the assassin was sent by him.”
“……” Even someone as tactless as Chen Hu knew better than to ask questions at this moment. The general’s face was already black as the bottom of a pot.
That heir of Prince Bao clearly knew the true identity of the Zhen’guo General’s newly wed wife. This was a provocation.
Chen Ting left without saying a word, leaving the Chen brothers staring at each other.
Chen Hu asked softly, “Brother, do you think the madam knows about this?”
“…How would I know?” Chen Long secretly broke into a cold sweat for Shen Wangshu. “But she’d better not know.”
Otherwise, it would mean openly putting a green hat on their general. What man could tolerate that? When the general flew into a rage, sending that pair of doomed lovers together to hell would be the least of it.
Chen Hu’s expression shifted again and again before he finally spat out a curse. “Damn it, what kind of mess is this?”
Was their general truly a cursed star? Leaving aside the fact that none of the previous imperial marriages had gone smoothly, he had finally married a wife in peace—only to find that her heart belonged to another man, and she might even be secretly longing to run away.
That was just too miserable… Wouldn’t he be laughed to death if word got out?
Chen Long shot his brother a warning glare. “Watch your mouth. Don’t spread this matter once you’re outside.”
Chen Hu hurriedly swore, “Of course not. I know what I’m doing. I won’t let a single word leak.”
Chen Long gave a brief hum, then heard Chen Hu ask again, “So what now? That brat is in Moyun and dared to send people to assassinate the general. Should we teach him a lesson?”
“Don’t act rashly without the general’s orders,” Chen Long stopped him. “We still don’t know why the heir of Prince Bao came here. Acting prematurely would only alert the enemy.”
“Alright then,” Chen Hu agreed.
After returning to the ducal residence, Chen Ting did not immediately go to see Shen Wangshu. In fact, he was in a state of suppressed agitation. After riding hard back to the residence, he went without a word to the bamboo grove behind the study—to that building he forbade anyone from entering.
It was a pitch-black room with no windows on any side. In the center stood nothing but a massive black iron block. Upon closer inspection, the block was covered with deep claw marks from violent destruction. When the door closed, the last trace of light vanished.
In the darkness, a pair of eerie golden eyes suddenly lit up. The sound of black iron hand guards rubbing together echoed, as if something terrifying had been released. In the next instant, chilling sounds of metal colliding filled the entire room.
The noise lasted for nearly an hour. Finally, the man stopped, breathing heavily. When he restrained himself enough to put the hand guards back on, he was drenched in sweat, as though he had been pulled straight out of water.
Standing alone in the room, he raised a hand that had not yet fully returned to normal and murmured softly, “I suppose so. A monster like me—who would ever want me?”
Even venting his emotions had to be done alone in a place like this, not daring to let anyone know.
If one day she were to see his true form, would she abandon everything and flee with that heir of Prince Bao?
Chen Ting closed his eyes and sat quietly, waiting for the surging anger to subside. Only after his eyes and hands had returned to those of a normal person did he push the door open and leave.
By then, night had already fallen.
He felt hunger in his stomach and guessed that the mealtime had already passed… He wondered whether she had waited for him to eat.
These past few days, the two of them had been sharing the same bed, and they ate together whenever possible, just like an ordinary married couple. Every time he returned to the room, she would lift her small face to greet him. Although nothing had happened at night, Chen Ting felt that living such a quiet, ordinary life wasn’t bad at all. Having someone by his side indeed made him feel less lonely.
But now he knew that back in the capital, she had someone she loved. If not for that accident, they might even have married.