The crowd who had come with their own agendas slunk out of the mansion with their tails between their legs.
They had walked quite a distance before someone finally spoke: "Who was that man?"
"No idea..."
Chuzheng herself hadn’t been here long; she only knew that the maid who often followed her around was called Ying Xiang.
The rest were all household servants, with no real standing.
So how did a handsome man suddenly pop out of nowhere today...
"With looks like that, he has to be some young master from a big family."
"If I had a beauty like that by my side, I wouldn’t even look at those misshapen melons and cracked dates."
"...Those ’misshapen melons and cracked dates’ you’re talking about are our juniors."
"..."
-
Inside the mansion.
Shi Yi and the others had left. He glanced at the person beside him from the corner of his eye, then jerked his gaze away as if shocked by electricity. He reached out and pushed the bowl on the table toward her. "Drink this first."
Chuzheng: "..."
She really didn’t feel like drinking it.
Seeing Chuzheng not move, Shi Yi asked nervously, "What’s wrong?"
"You drink it for me." Chuzheng pushed the bowl over to him.
Shi Yi furrowed his brows and pushed it back. "But this is for you." Ying Xiang had said her body wasn’t feeling well and told him he had to watch her finish it.
"I don’t want to drink it." Chuzheng pushed it back over.
Shi Yi pushed it back again. "No."
"Shi Yi!"
"Miss."
"Do you like me?"
Shi Yi had never expected Chuzheng to ask something so bluntly. He was stunned for quite a while before he clumsily nodded. "...Mm... mm."
Chuzheng pushed the bowl toward him again. "Then drink it for me."
"Miss..."
"Don’t you like me?" Chuzheng said with perfect confidence. "You won’t help me with something this small, and you call that liking me?"
"..." He felt like he’d dug a pit for himself and jumped right in.
After drinking it, Shi Yi realized it was just a bowl of sugary water with a bit of spice.
He had no idea what it was supposed to do...
Shi Yi took the empty bowl to find Ying Xiang.
"The miss drank it?" Ying Xiang was quite surprised. As expected, you still had to rely on good looks!
"...No."
Ying Xiang: "..."
Ying Xiang lifted the empty bowl, wordlessly indicating: and the stuff that was inside?
Shi Yi drew in a small breath. "I drank it..."
Ying Xiang: "..."
Shi Yi: "Then..."
Ying Xiang seemed to know what he wanted to ask. "Young Master Shi Yi, don’t worry. It’s just ginger sugar water. It won’t hurt you if you drink it."
Ginger sugar water?
Shi Yi had no idea what this thing did. Drive out the cold?
"The miss has a cold constitution. She has to drink some every month, otherwise she’ll be in a lot of pain... Ay, forget it, even if I tell you, you won’t understand. I’ll go boil some more."
Every time, the miss would say she was fine.
But she’d always been in so much pain before. How could she be fine?
Ying Xiang bustled out with a new bowl. This time she didn’t give it to Shi Yi, but took it to Chuzheng herself.
It took a long bout of coaxing before she managed to get Chuzheng to drink it.
"Miss, this is for your own good," Ying Xiang said carefully. "Your body is already sensitive to the cold. This is good for your health. Just think, in the future if you have children, you wouldn’t want them to suffer, right?"
Chuzheng: "???"
What does that have to do with children?
How could I possibly have children!
After listening to Ying Xiang nag, Chuzheng hurriedly shooed her out.
Too hard.
She needed a Good Person Card to soothe her fragile little soul.
Chuzheng knew Ying Xiang was probably outside. If Ying Xiang saw her, she’d nag and worry on and on again.
So Chuzheng chose to push open the window, climb out, then slip along the wall to the neighboring window. She curled her fingers and knocked.
"Mi...ss?"
Shi Yi pushed open the window and saw Chuzheng standing outside.
"What are you doing?"
Chuzheng grabbed the window frame and climbed in. Shi Yi instinctively reached out, and Chuzheng landed steadily in his arms.
Shi Yi still wasn’t very used to this kind of contact; his first reaction was to put some distance between them.
Unfortunately, Chuzheng didn’t give him the chance. Her arms wrapped around his waist, holding him tightly.
Shi Yi had no choice but to shift his attention. "There’s a door over there. Why did you have to come in from here..."
Chuzheng put on a serious face. "Don’t you think this is exciting?"
"Hm?"
-
Imperial City, Third Prince’s Mansion.
Ever since Chuzheng divorced him, Changsun Hang had stepped into a streak of endless bad luck; nothing he did went smoothly.
The now all-important Yann Qin in the Imperial City found him extremely displeasing, which led everyone else to go with the wind.
As for affairs in the palace, he couldn’t get near any of them now.
In the original plot, he could still rely on the Kou Family, who worked behind the scenes without drawing attention.
But now the Kou Family could barely protect themselves. Back then, Kou Da had used the ledgers to threaten others. Now that he no longer had those ledgers in his hands, would those people who’d promptly chosen a side and retrieved their own evidence let Kou Da off?
More people felt that Changsun Hang had simply played a good hand of cards into a mess.
Who didn’t know how much Yann Qin cared about that younger sister?
Right now, Yann Qin had no intention of becoming Emperor at all. If he pleased that person, would he really have to worry about Yann Qin not supporting him in taking the throne?
It was useless for Changsun Hang to regret now.
Chuzheng was no longer in the Imperial City.
While Changsun Hang was having a hard time, life was no better for Zhen Rou in the West Garden.
The West Garden was cold and desolate, freezing in winter and scorching in summer, overrun with insects. She couldn’t eat her fill or dress warmly, and the servants in the mansion took the opportunity to mock her.
On top of that, after Zhen Rou’s miscarriage, her body hadn’t been properly nursed, and now it had left her with chronic ailments.
At first there was still an old nanny looking after her, but later that old nanny disappeared as well.
There was only Zhen Rou left in the West Garden, and she only saw another human being when someone came to deliver food each day.
Sometimes the person delivering food forgot, and Zhen Rou could only go hungry.
This was truly what it meant to cry to heaven with no answer and to the earth with no response.
He didn’t know how much time had passed before Changsun Hang remembered there was still such a person. By then, Zhen Rou had already gone mad.
Clutching a pillow, she babbled and screamed for her child.
Seeing Zhen Rou, Changsun Hang was reminded of how he’d ended up in this state because of her. The more he looked, the angrier he became, and he had her driven out of the mansion.
A crazy woman, and one with some looks at that—needless to say, what kind of fate awaited her once she was thrown out.
But Zhen Rou never got to experience it.
Not long after she left the mansion, she was taken away by someone.
From then on, no one ever saw her again.
"Third Prince... Third Prince..."
"What is it?" Changsun Hang’s temper was violent. Hearing someone squawking made his mood even worse. The murderous glint in his eyes made his face look ferocious.
The servant bringing the news trembled, thinking, you’re a Prince who’s completely lost power, what are you putting on airs for!
The servant had originally planned to be more tactful, but after being scared by the Third Prince, he blurted out directly, "Third Prince, just now this servant heard that the Minister’s Mansion is preparing a dowry. They say Miss Yann is getting married."
Changsun Hang froze for a moment. "Getting married? Who is she marrying?"
Servant: "I don’t know."
Changsun Hang grabbed whatever was at hand and hurled it at him. "Then go find out! What do I feed you for!"
The servant was quick-witted; the moment Changsun Hang grabbed something, he bolted outside and avoided being hit.
Changsun Hang’s attention was all on the matter of Chuzheng getting married, so he didn’t notice the servant’s behavior.
He’d become like this, and she still had the gall to marry again in such glory?