Loyal and Brave Marquis Manor, Buddhist Hall.
Shen Ruoyue knelt on a prayer cushion, inwardly irritated to the extreme, yet she still had to close her eyes and pretend to chant blessings alongside the other nuns.
Although soft cotton padding had been placed beneath her knees, holding the same posture for so long had long since numbed her legs.
What was worse, the content of these scriptures disgusted her.
Pray for Shen Zhiyi?
What a joke!
She wanted Shen Zhiyi cursed for all eternity!
Shen Ruoyue merely moved her lips silently without actually making a sound, but the lengthy and monotonous chanting had already left her mouth dry and parched.
She secretly opened her eyes and glanced to the right.
That hateful matron was still there!
But as she hurriedly withdrew her gaze, it collided directly with the matron’s eyes.
Nanny Baohua immediately spoke up.
“Miss Yue, praying and reciting scriptures place the utmost importance on sincerity. If your heart is not in it, where is your sincerity or repentance?”
Shen Ruoyue’s face paled slightly. Supporting her forehead weakly, she said softly,
“Yue’er truly feels somewhat unwell, which is why my mind wandered.”
For these seven days, Chen Wanran had specifically sent her most trusted matron to supervise Shen Ruoyue’s prayers and chanting. It left her unable to slack off even a little—she had been forced to keep up the act for seven entire days.
At that moment, Leng Zhu smoothly interjected,
“Amitabha.”
“If the benefactor is feeling unwell, you may rest at the side for a while.”
Nanny Baohua replied calmly,
“These past seven days, Miss Yue has already rested no fewer than ten times due to ‘illness.’ She cannot even complete one full day of prayer. If Miss Yue is not sincerely repenting, then should the Marquis and Madam learn of this, I fear Miss Yue may never leave this Buddhist hall.”
“Besides, behaving so lazily and deceitfully—aren’t you afraid Buddha will punish you?”
Shen Ruoyue, who had just been about to rest, immediately froze mid-motion.
She shot Leng Zhu a pleading look for help, only to see Leng Zhu frown slightly and fall silent.
Left with no choice, Shen Ruoyue continued kneeling and chanting.
Another two hours passed before the recitations finally ended. Once Nanny Baohua departed, Shen Ruoyue at last rose from the cushion.
Her legs were so weak and sore she nearly couldn’t stand.
After the surrounding nuns withdrew from the main hall, Shen Ruoyue immediately threw herself into Leng Zhu’s arms.
“Mother, Yue’er’s life is so bitter…”
“Ever since Shen Zhiyi returned to the manor, Yue’er hasn’t had a single good day. First kneeling punishment in the ancestral hall, now repentance in the Buddhist hall…”
Tears blurred her eyes as she sobbed.
“In two more days it’ll be Shen Zhiyi’s recognition banquet. They’re even making Yue’er apologize to Shen Zhiyi in front of all those noble young masters and ladies. How can Yue’er continue living after such humiliation…?”
“They’re clearly doing this on purpose—to put Yue’er in her place and trample all over me!”
“Mother, Yue’er doesn’t want to lose face like this. Please help Yue’er…”
Leng Zhu gently patted her daughter’s back, heart aching terribly.
She had witnessed all the suffering her daughter endured these days. Chen Wanran and Shen Zhiyi, that mother-daughter pair, had gone too far!
Thinking back carefully, strange things had constantly happened ever since Shen Zhiyi returned to the manor.
In the past, Ruoyue had always succeeded effortlessly in everything she did. Before Ruoyue was born, Leng Zhu had once consulted a master who foretold that Ruoyue possessed a fate of immense wealth and honor, destined to receive help from benefactors all her life and never suffer setbacks.
And indeed, the past fifteen years had proven exactly that.
But now…
No matter what they did, they could not drive Shen Zhiyi from the Marquis Manor. Instead, Yue’er was enduring unbearable humiliation.
For some reason, Leng Zhu herself had recently suffered repeated heart palpitations. Even during her secret meetings with Shen Honglang, she constantly felt as though unseen eyes were watching them.
Though everyone around them remained the same and nothing outwardly appeared unusual, she could not shake the eerie feeling creeping through her heart.
The more she thought about these matters, the more uneasy she became.
After much consideration, Leng Zhu ultimately concluded that something about Shen Zhiyi was affecting Yue’er’s fortune.
If this continued, their entire family would eventually suffer.
A dark glint flashed through Leng Zhu’s eyes.
Shen Zhiyi absolutely could not be allowed to stay!
Still soothing Shen Ruoyue gently, she spoke softly,
“Yue’er, don’t worry. How could Mother possibly stand by and watch you be humiliated like this?”
A mysterious smile curled at her lips. Her eyes were venomous, like a snake slowly flicking out its poisonous tongue while staring at prey.
“Shen Zhiyi still dreams of acknowledging her ancestry?”
“A person should know their place and not covet what belongs to others.”
“It’s time she learned that what doesn’t belong to her will never belong to her in this lifetime.”
“And if she insists on overestimating herself and smashing an egg against a rock—”
“Then she will fall forever into the Avici Hell, never to rise again!”
Two days later.
“Hey, have you heard? The eldest daughter of the Loyal and Brave Marquis Manor isn’t actually their biological child! The real daughter has been brought back!”
“Who could’ve imagined? Miss Shen is practically a fairy descended from heaven—beautiful and kind-hearted—and yet she isn’t even truly part of the Shen family. In my opinion, the Shen family simply lacks the fortune to deserve her!”
“How could anyone not know? I heard the real daughter is ugly and completely uncultured—a total country peasant woman. Otherwise, why would Young Master Wang want to break off the engagement?”
“Break off the engagement? I haven’t heard about that! Hurry and tell us more!”
“Apparently the one Young Master Wang truly likes is Miss Ruoyue. But the newly returned one refused to let go of such an excellent husband candidate. She even tried to hit Miss Ruoyue over it. Fortunately, the Marquis intervened and stopped her.”
“Good heavens—just as expected of a country bumpkin, lower than pigs and dogs! Miss Ruoyue must be suffering terribly in the Marquis Manor now. I only hope she isn’t being bullied!”
“Bullied? She’s probably already being abused! If only I could enter the Marquis Manor myself—I’d definitely protect Miss Ruoyue and stop that wicked woman!”
“…”
As invitation cards for the banquet were distributed, news that the true daughter of the Loyal and Brave Marquis Manor had been found spread through the capital like wildfire.
Whether among noble families or common folk, everyone in the streets and alleys discussed the matter enthusiastically.
Without question, public opinion overwhelmingly favored Shen Ruoyue.
Amid endless gossip both public and private, the recognition banquet arrived as scheduled.
Loyal and Brave Marquis Manor, front garden.
Several young noblemen gathered beneath a wall.
“Brother Wang, weren’t you planning to break off the engagement? Why haven’t you acted yet?”
“Exactly. Don’t tell me you actually want to marry that illiterate country peasant?”
“How come your face turns red after just a few words? Don’t tell me you’re shy?”
“How about using today’s banquet to publicly annul the engagement? With the whole capital witnessing it, surely that country woman wouldn’t dare cling to you shamelessly in front of everyone?”
“That’s not necessarily true. Beggars by the roadside don’t stop begging just because people are watching. In my opinion, if she clings stubbornly to Brother Zimo, he should slap her in public and kick her aside. Against thick-skinned people like that, the simplest and roughest methods work best. Guarantee she’ll never dare bother you again.”
The group burst into loud laughter while Wang Zimo, standing at the center, looked increasingly conflicted.
The last time he came to the Marquis Manor demanding an exchange of engagements, only a handful of people had been present. Yet somehow the news still spread—and even reached his parents’ ears.
His parents had furiously scolded him for being incomparably foolish, and he had suffered severe punishment because of it.
Over these past days, his parents repeatedly ordered him to visit the Marquis Manor and apologize to Shen Zhiyi, only to be turned away each time.
This time, his mother had especially warned him again and again to use the banquet as an opportunity to properly mend things with Shen Zhiyi and salvage their precarious engagement.
His parents’ words echoed in his ears. Wang Zimo tried suppressing his inner disgust and impatience, wanting to defend Shen Zhiyi as his mother instructed.
But the crowd’s mocking laughter was simply too piercing.
Several times he wanted to speak, yet in the end he could not bring himself to do it. His constantly shifting expression eventually flushed bright red.
“Why aren’t you saying anything, Brother Wang? Don’t tell me you really plan to marry that ugly, uncultured woman?”
“Hahaha, what nonsense are you talking about? Brother Zimo’s clearly furious from embarrassment!”
“I absolutely refuse to believe Zimo would truly marry that country peasant. That’s even more horrifying than him marrying a pig!”
The engagement between the Marquis Manor’s daughter and the son of the Minister of Personnel had already become a major topic of discussion. The group’s laughter grew louder and louder, drawing even more people into shameless speculation and mockery.
Just then, a sharp voice interrupted them.
“What nonsense are all of you spouting? It’s obviously my Zhiyi who wants to break off the engagement with Wang Zimo!”