It was Zhao Chengyu who shifted the topic: “There’s been quite a stir in the capital lately. It seems they’re investigating you.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Miao lifted her gaze, her cool eyes showing not a trace of panic.
“Let them investigate,” she said indifferently. “I welcome it.”
Only when they investigated could she better proceed with her next steps.
Zhao Chengyu was slightly taken aback.
He had saved her back in the capital.
All this time, he had never dared to ask too much—where she came from, her true identity, or what past lay hidden beneath the coldness and pain deep in her eyes.
“Ah Yu,” Shen Miao tapped the table lightly with her fingertips, her voice calm yet concealing a turbulent chess game beneath: “What I want has never been to hide in the shadows.”
She looked up at him, her gaze sharp and resolute: “Shen Gongzi must stand in the open, visible to all under heaven.”
Only by shining so brightly that no one could ignore her would she, in the future, have the right to stand eye-to-eye with that lofty figure in the capital.
Zhao Chengyu looked at her, his heart suddenly burning with emotion.
The more he understood her, the more his heart ached for her.
“Alright.”
Shen Miao turned her attention back to the shop on the table and returned to the main topic: “By the way, I’ve already decided on the shop’s name.”
“What is it?”
“Nianqing Ge.”
As the three words fell lightly from her lips, an almost imperceptible, irrepressible sorrow flashed in her eyes, and her fingertips tightened slightly.
She was remembering her past self, who had died tragically.
She was remembering the dignity that had been trampled upon at will.
She was remembering that heart-burning, bone-eroding betrayal.
She was remembering that child who had died before ever being born.
Seeing the undisguised hatred in her eyes, Zhao Chengyu softly agreed: “Alright, Nianqing Ge. I’ll take care of it right away and make sure it becomes the most dazzling shop in Jiangnan.”
He turned to leave, pausing briefly without looking back, and gently tossed out a sentence: “Ah Shen, now that you’ve established yourself in Jiangnan, there are some things you don’t need to handle personally. Your health has just recovered; it’s not worth exhausting yourself.”
Shen Miao stood where she was, her fingertips tightening slightly as she watched his departing figure, a faint, almost imperceptible warmth passing through her heart.
She said to herself: It is worth it.
For revenge, for dragging those who wronged and trampled upon her, one by one, into hell to taste all the suffering she endured—everything was worth it.
She raised her eyes and looked northward.
Xiao Jingyuan, Su Manrou.
Enjoy your comfortable lives in the capital!
Here in Jiangnan, I have already paved a road to hell for you—a road of eternal damnation.
…
Zhao Chengyu worked quickly, or perhaps it was because he always handled matters for Shen Miao with an urgency, as if wanting to complete them swiftly so she would have fewer worries.
Nianqing Ge was located right in the middle of Zhuque Street, the busiest street in Jiangnan.
Three shopfronts were connected, with carved beams and painted rafters, elegant and grand.
Above the doorframe hung a gilded plaque, the three characters “Nianqing Ge” written with a clear, sharp, and forceful brushstroke, personally inscribed by a renowned calligrapher from Jiangnan whom Zhao Chengyu had specially invited.
Shen Miao looked up at the plaque, then turned her head and smiled at the person beside her: “You must have gone to quite some trouble for this calligraphy.”
Zhao Chengyu stood beside her in white robes, the wind gently lifting his sleeves, making him appear refined and gentle.
Following the direction of her fingertip, he tilted his head slightly in thought, a faint smile in his eyes: “It was alright.”
In truth, it had indeed taken some effort.
After all, those literati were often reluctant to associate with people from the jianghu like them.
“Heh,” Shen Miao chuckled softly, pressing her lips together. Even if he didn’t say it, it didn’t mean she didn’t know.
Perhaps it was because the plans in her mind were gradually taking shape, easing the tension that had tightened her heartstrings for days, that the smile on her face lately carried a bit more warmth than before.
Thinking of Zhao Chengyu’s discreet and thorough assistance during this time, a faint sense of ease rippled in her eyes. She teased, “You’ve worked hard this past month. How about after the opening, I treat Young Master Zhao to a drink? I wonder if Young Master Zhao would honor me with his presence?”
“When?” Zhao Chengyu responded almost immediately, as if afraid she might change her mind the next moment. He added softly, “I’m available anytime you call.”
Shen Miao’s eyes deepened with a smile. “Good, I’ll be sure to notify you then.”
“Agreed.”
Zhao Chengyu looked at her, his voice gentle yet unusually earnest.
…
Over the past month, Zhao Chengyu had been busy with the shop’s affairs.
Shen Miao, on the other hand, was occupied with sketches for various garments. To make the shop’s opening day truly remarkable, she incorporated many designs that had once astonished the world in her previous life.
The day before the opening, Zhao Chengyu personally led trusted members of the Water Transport Guild to tidy up Nianqing Ge inside and out, ensuring everything was in perfect order.
He turned to Shen Miao, his tone gentle and meticulous. “I know you dislike noise and being disturbed by crowds, so I prepared a quiet room for you in the deepest part of the loft. Would you like to come with me to see it?”
“Sure.”
Shen Miao followed him as they ascended the stairs.
As soon as she stepped into the room, her eyes flickered slightly.
A soft couch was placed by the window, a warm stove radiating cozy heat. On the desk, her usual wolf-hair brushes and garment design papers were neatly arranged. Even the water beside the tea stove carried the crisp, clean scent of mountain springs.
Shen Miao was momentarily stunned. She looked up at him. “You even brought water from Mount Hui’s spring?”
Zhao Chengyu lowered his gaze with a smile, his tone natural and straightforward. “I know you’re particular about tea and ordinary water won’t do, so I had someone fetch it overnight.”
He walked to the window, where the view perfectly captured the activity at the shop’s entrance below.
“This place is quiet and safe. You can work here overseeing the shop or handling matters with peace of mind in the future.”
Shen Miao stepped to his side, gazing toward the entrance, and nodded softly. “Yes, this spot is indeed excellent.”
She instinctively turned to say something more to him.
Already standing close, as she moved, the top of her head lightly brushed against his chin. Zhao Chengyu felt a fleeting, tingling sensation.
His warm breath mingled in the narrow space between them, brushing against Shen Miao’s cheek with a gentle warmth.
Shen Miao’s heart skipped a beat, and she panicked, hastily stepping back to create distance.
In her fluster, she misstepped and ended up stepping squarely on his foot.
She froze for a moment, blurting out, “Zhao Chengyu, you stepped on my foot.”
Zhao Chengyu: “…”
He looked down at his foot, caught between amusement and exasperation. After a pause, he replied softly, “Ah… oh, sorry.”
Following his gaze, Shen Miao’s cheeks flushed bright red. She quickly withdrew her foot, her voice stumbling. “I… I…”
Why did she have to act so foolishly at a time like this?
Embarrassed and flustered, she turned her face away and muttered under her breath, “It’s true—standing next to a foolish person makes you foolish too.”
Without waiting for his response, she turned and hurried down the stairs, fleeing the loft as if escaping.
Zhao Chengyu stood alone in place, watching her hurriedly retreating figure, his fingertips lightly brushing the spot on his chin where her hair had just brushed against.
He felt both helpless and amused, yet a soft warmth bloomed in his chest.
This Shen Miao—so vibrant, so lively, no longer bristling with thorns.
She shone so brightly he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
…
On the day of the opening.
“Ah Shen, everything is ready. Is there anything else you’d like to instruct?”