Chapter 4

Chapter 4

That night, rain poured down until dawn.

In my hazy sleep, I felt as if I had lost myself, unable to tell my past life from a dream.

I dreamed of the day Chen Jing died.

He died in the line of duty, on the road to suppress bandits. When the imperial troops found him, he was still holding an abducted official’s child in his arms.

That child had been shielded tightly against him and escaped with his life.

Chen Jing had always been cold by nature, distant and aloof with others.

There had never been any women lingering around him, and with me, he had always been respectful and courteous.

Even toward our son and daughter, he had never shown much warmth.

I had never imagined that he would give up his own life to protect someone else’s child.

Early the next morning, Anle woke me. “Miss, that heartless man has come to call!”

It took me a beat to realize that the “heartless man” Anle meant was Chen Jing.

I dressed, washed up, and went to see him.

Some things were already settled beyond changing, but I still wanted an answer.

When I saw Chen Jing, he was dressed in a sapphire-blue brocade robe. Gone was his former shabby, impoverished look. Standing there with his hands behind his back, he was still very young, yet already carried the oppressive authority of someone steeped in officialdom.

Sure enough, he had been reborn too.

I walked over.

The moment Chen Jing saw me, he gave a slight nod and stated his purpose. “Miss Shen, these are the things you gave me before. I am now returning them in full. In addition, this silver shall count as my compensation to you.”

I casually swept my gaze over the writing set, rare books, mutton-fat jade paperweight, and the rest of the things he had brought…

They were indeed all items I had given him before.

I smiled and asked, “Why?”

In my previous life, he caught my embroidered ball. After our grand wedding, he was just as gentle and considerate as he had been before our marriage.

Though there had been no vows of eternal love between us, nothing unpleasant had ever happened either.

The Shen family supported him with all our strength, greasing palms, scattering silver everywhere, paving the road for him and helping him rise swiftly through the ranks.

And he had played the part of a qualified son-in-law of the Shen family.

I truly did not understand why, after being reborn, he had become so cold.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar face before me, I unconsciously reached out, wanting to touch the young husband I once knew.

There was nothing romantic in the gesture.

It was merely nostalgia.

Who would have thought that Chen Jing would suddenly raise a hand and brush me away?

The ground was slick from the rain, moss growing beneath my feet. I lost my balance and stumbled to the side.

Just as I thought I was about to crash into the Taihu rock, an arm tightened around my waist, and someone caught me firmly.

I turned back and saw Ji Ningsheng’s face.

He had changed into clean clothes and washed his face. This man… was actually remarkably handsome. Unlike Chen Jing’s scholarly bearing, his looks leaned more toward masculine, dashing vigor.

My hand clutched at his lapel, but perhaps because his body was too lean and resilient, I grasped at empty air.

Once he saw that I had steadied myself, Ji Ningsheng immediately withdrew his hand and took a step back, maintaining distance from me. “Miss Shen, please be careful.”

At that moment, however, I was not the only one shocked by Ji Ningsheng’s appearance. Chen Jing froze as well.

He recognized Ji Ningsheng.

In our previous life, they had served in the same court. Later, Ji Ningsheng became a famous great general. It was impossible for Chen Jing to have no impression of him.

“It’s you…”

Then Chen Jing said, “You two…”

He looked at me, a trace of anger showing in his eyes. “The one who caught the embroidered ball yesterday was him?”

I could not help finding it funny. “Chen Jing, if the embroidered ball had hit someone else, you wouldn’t be reacting this strongly, would you?”

Chen Jing pressed his lips together. In the end, he said nothing more. He inclined his head in farewell. “Miss Shen, no matter what, I wish you well. However, some people are destined not to live very long.”

He turned and left.

Ji Ningsheng, standing beside me, was naturally completely lost.

Still, he was quite good at comforting people. “That gentleman just now was yesterday’s Newly Appointed Zhuangyuan. Is he an old acquaintance of yours, Miss Shen? Please try to take it in stride.”