Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Shen Jin was being jostled about in the lively crowd. She had turned back, intending to tease Xue Huaicong with a joke, only to catch sight of someone she should not have seen.

Her husband from her previous life-Lu Chenzhou, now the Imperial Censor-in-Chief!

When she saw that Lu Chenzhou was looking at her as well, her heart gave an involuntary thump.

But after thinking it over, she realized that since her rebirth, she had never met Lu Chenzhou. Presumably, he would not recognize her. So she turned back around and simply acted as if she had never known him either.

Lu Chenzhou had also lived through this life once before, and after planning ahead for so long, he had never imagined that his reunion with Shen Jin would happen under such circumstances.

She was a married woman. How dared she show her face in a place like the pleasure quarters!

Back when she had been a Marchioness, every word and action of hers had been proper and disciplined. Now that she had married into a modest household, did she no longer care for propriety, righteousness, honor, or shame?

Even if Xue Huaicong was still young and prone to fooling around, as a censor of the court, he had no business bringing female family members to such places for amusement. If anyone saw them, what kind of disgrace would that be!

As Xue Huaicong’s direct superior, Lu Chenzhou felt it necessary to remind him to cultivate himself and manage his household properly. He raised the jade-ribbed folding fan in his hand and tapped Xue Huaicong on the shoulder.

Xue Huaicong had been whispering with Shen Jin when someone suddenly struck his shoulder. He quickly turned to look and found himself face-to-face with Lu Chenzhou.

The moment he saw his superior standing there, he hurriedly bowed and cupped his fists, about to pay his respects.

But Lu Chenzhou lifted his fan halfway through the gesture to stop him, saying that since they were out in public, there was no need for such formality. He could simply call him Brother Lu.

Xue Huaicong glanced around. This truly was not the place to address him as “Lord Censor-in-Chief,” so he overstepped the usual bounds and called him Brother Lu.

“I had no idea Brother Lu had also graced this place with your presence. What a pleasure.”

Lu Chenzhou lowered his gaze slightly and glanced toward the person beside him. Only after a moment did he point at Shen Jin and ask, “And how should this one be addressed?”

If they had run into each other anywhere else, Xue Huaicong would certainly have taken Shen Jin by the hand and introduced her openly.

But they were in a theater district now, and Shen Jin was dressed as a man. It would not do to state her identity outright, so he answered Lu Chenzhou with the excuse they had agreed on before coming. “This is a younger cousin of mine.”

A younger cousin?

Lu Chenzhou pressed his lips together faintly. He had known Xue Huaicong was skilled at writing essays, but he had not known the man was even better at spinning lies on the spot.

The Xue Family’s bloodline had withered. In Xue Huaicong’s father Xue Yi’s generation, there had been only one remaining son. Where exactly had this younger cousin sprung from?

“And may I ask your cousin’s surname and given name? Where does he reside? Has he studied? Has he ever sat for the examinations?”

Xue Huaicong had only meant to brush the matter aside casually. He had not expected Lu Chenzhou to pursue the question to the end. Since he had never been used to lying or making things up, Lu Chenzhou’s questions left him momentarily stumped, unsure how to answer.

Shen Jin reacted a step faster. She gave Lu Chenzhou a slight bow and said, “Xue Sanlang greets Brother Lu. I originally lived in Gusu and only entered the capital last year. I am sixteen this year. I have studied a little and know a few characters, but I have not yet sat for the examinations.”

Xue Sanlang? What a fine Xue Sanlang. Xue Huaicong had married himself quite the clever wife. Her ability to lie on the spot was truly no less impressive than his.

Lu Chenzhou’s expression darkened slightly as he looked at Shen Jin. “Since you have studied a little and know a few characters, you ought to understand propriety, righteousness, honor, and shame. For someone like you, fooling around at home would be one thing. But how could you follow your cousin to a place like this?”

His words were so strange that Shen Jin almost had the illusion he had seen through her identity. But before coming, she had checked herself in the mirror. Even her earlobes had been disguised. It should not be so easy for anyone to tell she was a woman. So she boldly shot back, “My cousin and I have always been close. After I entered the capital, we often ate and lived together. What is so strange about coming to the theater district together to watch a play?”

Lu Chenzhou had not expected her to be so sharp-tongued. He froze for a moment and was about to speak again when Xue Huaicong suddenly said from the side, “Brother Lu, this matter cannot be blamed on my cousin. I was afraid he would be bored at home, so I brought him out to the theater quarter for some amusement.”

“It is precisely because you indulge her like this that she dares to act without restraint.”

Lu Chenzhou truly could not stand Xue Huaicong’s attitude toward Shen Jin. As a woman, she ought to abide by feminine virtue. Since Xue Huaicong had entered the Censorate, he was not only responsible for impeaching and correcting the faults of officials, but should also hold himself to a stricter standard.

So he said to Xue Huaicong, “The ancients said that friendship lies in sincerity, and a wife should be chosen for virtue. Now you lack both. How are you to establish yourself in the future? If you are willing to accept advice, you should quickly take this cross-dressed cousin of yours home.”

Hearing this, Shen Jin and Xue Huaicong could not help exchanging a look. They had not expected Lu Chenzhou to have truly seen through her identity.

Still, his words were far too inappropriate.

What did he mean, a wife should be chosen for virtue? Was she suddenly not virtuous simply because she had followed Xue Huaicong to the theater quarter to watch a play?

It was clear how narrow his judgment of people was. No wonder he had supported the wrong side with Prince Lang back then.

Shen Jin sneered inwardly. Unable to help herself, she lifted her brows and glared at Lu Chenzhou. “I heard that in the previous dynasty, women could not only go out to enjoy themselves and drink merrily until dawn, but could even enter court as officials, be enfeoffed as marquises, and serve as ministers and generals. Our present dynasty enjoys peace throughout the realm, with wealth and prosperity far surpassing the previous one. Yet Brother Lu says a woman must never step beyond the inner quarters to be considered virtuous. Are you implying that the present dynasty is inferior to the previous one?”

How could Lu Chenzhou dare say such a thing? Only if he had grown tired of living would he dare criticize the present dynasty as being worse than the last.

Only Shen Jin, relying on Xue Huaicong’s support, would dare twist right and wrong and spout such nonsense.

How had he never realized before that she was this capable?

Lu Chenzhou was so furious at Shen Jin that he choked on his words. He shot her an angry glare, then decided that, as an appointed official of the court, there was no need to lower himself to argue with a mere young woman like her. Leaving behind only, “A glib tongue and a shameless face,” he stopped paying attention to Shen Jin and Xue Huaicong and turned back to watch the play.

Shen Jin had no desire to waste more words on him either. In fact, she would have preferred not to see him at all. Seeing that he did not answer, she also turned back and watched the play together with Xue Huaicong.

Today’s performance was a southern play brought over from the Zhejiang region, a rare sight in the capital. Because of that, the audience below watched with utmost concentration.

Lu Chenzhou had always enjoyed such performances as well, but after that quarrel with Shen Jin, all his interest was gone. If not for the fact that Prince Jin and the others were still present, he would have flung his sleeves and left on the spot.

Unfortunately, the crowd was packed too tightly. Even if he wanted to move over to Prince Jin’s side, he could not. As he was being jostled about, he suddenly felt warm, smooth skin brush against his hand, not rough like an ordinary man’s, but clearly the softness only a woman would have.

And in the entire hall, the only person who could be a woman was Shen Jin.

Lu Chenzhou’s eyes darkened. He had not expected Shen Jin to be so bold. Not only did she behave improperly and offend public decency, she even dared seduce him in full view of everyone. Did she even know how to write the word shame?

The more Lu Chenzhou thought about it, the angrier he became. Seeing that the back of Shen Jin’s hand was still brushing against his wrist and arm, now touching, now not, he lowered his eyes in fury and was just about to reach out and push her away when he saw that the hand hanging at her side was tightly gripping a paper fan. The other end of that paper fan was held in Xue Huaicong’s palm, swaying gently from time to time with the movement of the crowd.

Then he looked at Shen Jin again. Her lovely eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the actors onstage. She had not looked at him even once!