Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Mother arranged for me to meet my prospective match in the pavilion in the rear courtyard.

Before long, an exceedingly plump man waddled over. Because of his size, he needed two young servants supporting him on either side, the rolls of fat around his waist quivering with every step.

He let go of the servants and, with great difficulty, cupped his hands to me.

“Second Miss Shen, a pleasure.”

“…”

For a moment, I forgot how to speak. My mind went completely blank.

I did my utmost to restrain myself and warned myself not to judge a person by their appearance.

But… but…

That face was piled with flabby flesh. When he spoke, the large mole at the corner of his mouth trembled, and a single black hair growing from it looked ready to spread its wings and fly away.

My stomach churned violently.

Was this the husband Father and Mother had chosen for me?

Though I was not as beautiful as Shen Qinghe, I was still the Second Miss of the Shen Family, at least delicate-featured and proper.

How had it come to this… How had it come to this…

The moment the meeting ended, I immediately sent my maid to ask Mother whether we had been deceived by the matchmaker.

After my maid left, I gulped down two cups of tea, forcing myself to calm down.

Suddenly, a muffled snicker came from across from me.

I looked up warily. The person who had arrived was actually Jiang Yunzhou!

Although I despised this man to the extreme, the instant I saw his face, I had to admit it felt as if my eyes had been washed clean by a clear spring.

Having learned my lesson, I rose and gave a proper salute.

“Greetings, Marquis.”

“Marquis, this is the Shen Family’s rear courtyard. What are you doing here?”

Jiang Yunzhou kept his face taut as he looked at me once, then again.

Then he suddenly clutched his stomach and burst into laughter.

“Shen Qingwu, how did your meeting with your future husband go? Hahaha!”

“You…”

“Stop pretending.” Jiang Yunzhou laughed so hard his stomach hurt, pointing at me. “The moment you opened your mouth, I knew you had been reborn too.”

“…”

“When is the wedding? When the time comes, I will prepare a generous gift for you and wish you a harmonious marriage and many children soon. Haha, cough, cough, cough!”

Jiang Yunzhou choked on his own laughter and reached for the tea, but I slapped my hand over the cup.

“You’re not allowed to drink. Choke to death!”

I was so furious my face flushed crimson. Clenching my fists, I simply laid everything bare.

“So what if you were reborn? My sister still doesn’t want you!”

“Don’t tell me you still can’t let go of her, so you snuck in to see her and got turned away at the door?”

Those words stabbed Jiang Yunzhou right in the heart.

The corners of his eyes reddened, but he forced himself to maintain his dignity.

“Qinghe has her difficulties. I don’t blame her.”

“As for you…”

An evil smile tugged at his lips.

“Shen Qingwu, why don’t you kneel down and kowtow to me a few times, then say a few nice words? Perhaps I will soften my heart and choose a different husband for you.”

I instinctively felt something was wrong with those words.

“What do you mean?”

“You still don’t know?” He looked surprised. “The condition I gave for agreeing to break off the engagement with your sister was…”

“Your marriage will be decided by me.”

“Lord Shen agreed on the spot.”

“…”

The flowers and trees in the rear courtyard stood silent as a cool breeze brushed across my cheeks.

The tea on the table had long since gone cold.

For some reason, I was not as disappointed or upset as I had imagined. My heart was far too calm.

In my last life, they made me my sister’s sacrifice.

It was the same in this life. There was no difference.

“You disgusted me for an entire lifetime, so I will make sure you learn what it feels like to marry someone you don’t like!”

Jiang Yunzhou was still chattering away.

I could no longer hear a thing.

In any case, my life had already rotted once before.

I would cross that bridge when I came to it. If my life rotted again, just how much worse could it get?

Out of the corner of my eye, I seemed to see someone climbing over the wall again.

Seeing that I was ignoring him, Jiang Yunzhou grew displeased and waved a hand in front of my eyes.

“Hey, Shen Qingwu, are you so angry you’ve gone stupid?”

I narrowed my eyes.

“It seems that wall needs to be raised. Otherwise, any random nobody can just wander in.”

Jiang Yunzhou followed my gaze and looked over.

After the man climbed over the wall, he dusted the dirt from his clothes in distaste.

He was tall and slender, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe. Though we were too far away for me to see his features clearly, judging by the contours of his face, he had to be an exceptionally handsome young man.

I looked at him a few more times and laughed self-mockingly.

“This one is good-looking. I like him.”

“Marquis, if I say a few nice words to you and kowtow a few times, will you decide to marry me to him instead?”

Jiang Yunzhou seemed not to have heard me. His expression abruptly turned solemn.

The man noticed me and waved from afar.

“Miss Shen!”

I nodded politely. He immediately ran toward me, looking utterly delighted.

Once Jiang Yunzhou saw the man’s face, he lifted his robe and dropped to his knees, calling out in a clear voice,

“I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!”

I had not even had time to react.

Xiao Yi was already standing before me, his face flushed as he tried hard to steady his breathing.

His beautiful phoenix eyes were like clear amber, glittering brilliantly beneath the sunlight.

“Miss Shen, it has been a long time since we parted at the Princess’s Flower-Viewing Banquet.”