“Is there anything else?” Wen Jiashu asked calmly.
Shen Yunhuai clenched his fists and exhaled softly. “Mu Si, go tell Xu Ning and Lin Che—I’m not going.”
“Why aren’t you going?” Wen Jiashu asked, a little surprised.
Because I don’t want to be thrown into a latrine and fed to maggots!
What came out of his mouth, however, was: “Before leaving, Eldest Brother told me to study properly at home. He said he would test me when he returns. I haven’t memorized the essay yet, and I’m afraid he’ll punish me, so I’d better not go.”
He spoke with righteous seriousness.
[If I didn’t know he’s a playboy, I almost believed him.]
Wen Jiashu’s mouth twitched. “Good. The Marquis will surely be very pleased when he hears this. Then go back and study.”
But setting aside the fact that Madam Meng had spoiled him, Shen Yunhuai’s foundation wasn’t bad—and he was quite intelligent.
If he was willing to turn over a new leaf, his tragic fate might not be unchangeable.
Wen Jiashu shook her head. What was she even thinking?
Changing fate against heaven wasn’t so easy.
The Shen family siblings were all destined to be cannon fodder.
Without someone to guide them onto the right path, those who were meant to die would still die.
Shen Yunhuai left, and Mu Si was still waiting outside.
“Third Master, your two friends were complaining when they left, saying you broke your promise. They want you to treat them to drinks as compensation.”
“Useless playboy friends—ditch them.”
Mu Si was stunned. “Third Master… are you alright?”
Wasn’t the Third Master the one who enjoyed hanging out with these playboy friends the most?
This didn’t sound like something he would say.
Mu Si even suspected: had his master been possessed by something unclean?
“I’m perfectly fine!” Shen Yunhuai said with a lazy, roguish smile. “From today onward, I’m going straight. Anyone who calls me to gamble, I’ll fight them!”
How could he possibly lose his mother’s relics?
Absolutely not.
From now on, he must stay away from those friends who drag him into gambling.
Mu Si looked at him in understanding. “Third Master… how long will this vow last? Three hours?”
Last time, the Third Master had sworn in front of the Marquis that he would reform and study seriously—he couldn’t even last half an hour before climbing out the wall to escape.
The Marquis had nearly broken his legs over it.
Shen Yunhuai knocked him on the head. “Do you really look down on me that much? I’m still young. I don’t want to die yet—you don’t understand my suffering.”
He didn’t understand what it felt like to know you were going to die—and die miserably at that.
It was like swallowing filth straight from a latrine. Disgusting beyond belief.
“Third Master, you’re back?”
When Shen Yunhuai returned to his room, his concubine attendant was already there.
Chun Jiao wore a sheer gauze dress, the view beneath it faintly visible. She stepped up to him. “Third Master, are you hot? Would you like this servant to help you undress?”
Shen Yunhuai was a true playboy.
He had four or five concubine attendants in his quarters.
He was long past being a “clean” man.
In the past, he would have pulled her into his arms for some flirtation and then rolled straight onto the bed—indulging in daylight lust.
But now, he suddenly felt it was meaningless.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
“This servant brought soup for you because of the heat. Would Third Master like to drink it and cool down with me afterward?” Chun Jiao’s position was that of a servant, but her figure was delicate and alluring. Ever since she followed Shen Yunhuai, she had been well kept.
Her skin was smooth, fair, and supple.
She tugged at her collar, revealing a large expanse of pale skin, her invitation obvious.
But Shen Yunhuai wasn’t interested.
“I still need to study. You may go.”
Chun Jiao froze.
Although Shen Yunhuai was indecent, he was usually decisive. So she didn’t dare linger.
“Yes, this servant will take her leave.”
After she left, Shen Yunhuai’s expression darkened.
His concubine attendants were all arranged by his stepmother.
Since he was fifteen, she had said he was grown and should learn about women, so she selected a group of servants and made him choose a few to stay in his room.
Now that he knew his stepmother intended to ruin him…
Could these women also be her people?
His eyes narrowed, a cold glint surging within.
…
Chun Jiao returned to Madam Meng’s quarters.
She knelt on the ground. “Old Madam, this servant was useless. I couldn’t obtain any useful information. Third Master didn’t touch me today, so I couldn’t whisper anything into his ear.”
All of them were Madam Meng’s people.
They were usually responsible for seducing the Third Master and influencing him according to Madam Meng’s wishes.
Chun Jiao felt frustrated today.
Shen Yunhuai hadn’t come to her room for several days, and she was genuinely lonely.
Thinking of Shen Yunhuai’s figure on the bed made her cheeks flush.
She really missed Third Master.