Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After County Lady Jiale fell into the water, the Commandery Princess was beside herself with worry.

The grand, imposing flower-viewing banquet had no choice but to end in a hurry.

Before the sun had even begun to sink, I was already seated in the carriage back to the manor.

Unlike usual, this time I rode in the same carriage as the mistress of the household.

My sisters took another carriage.

Shen Yanci drove the horses outside the curtain.

A sleep-inducing incense burned inside the carriage. The mistress leaned against a cushion with her eyes closed, looking as if she had no intention of speaking to me.

I huddled in the corner, barely daring to breathe.

The carriage had traveled for quite a while before she suddenly spoke.

“County Lady Jiale is the Empress Dowager’s niece. You saved her today, and she will remember that debt. For the marquis household, that is a good thing.”

“Today’s matter can be counted as you bringing honor to the household.”

I froze for a moment and was just about to say a few polite words in reply when her voice abruptly turned cold.

“But those marks on your body, even if they were only mosquito bites, even if your eldest brother helped you out of the situation, rumors have already started outside.”

“…Yes.”

Madam Shen looked at me with a smile that did not reach her eyes.

“Fortunately, you have already come of age. I have arranged a marriage for you.”

“Zhang Ping, the son of a merchant family in Huaian. His looks may be ordinary, but he is honest, and his family is quite well-off. Marrying him would not be unfair to you.”

She cast me a sidelong glance.

“Next month, you will marry into his family.”

The moment she finished speaking, the carriage came to a sudden stop.

The mistress pitched forward, slamming her forehead hard against the carriage wall.

“Ow! That hurts…”

It was the first time I had ever seen her lose composure.

I forcefully suppressed the twitching corners of my mouth, holding back my laughter.

Shen Yanci’s voice drifted in from beyond the curtain, calm and bland.

“A kitten just darted across the street. In my haste, I could only rein in the horses. Mother, are you all right?”

From childhood to adulthood, Shen Yanci had always been the child other families held up as an example.

The mistress had always been gentle and pleasant toward him, never once speaking a harsh word.

It was the same now.

As I watched her straighten her hair and makeup with a stern face, my heart sank to the bottom.

This was ancient times. Women had never had any say in matters of marriage.

With just a few casual words, Madam Shen could marry me off to a strange man I had never even met.

What was I supposed to do?!

That night, after returning to the manor, I carried a plate of pastries toward Shen Yanci’s courtyard.

The moment I entered the courtyard gate, I saw a woman standing there.

She was exquisitely beautiful, with delicate brows, long eyes, and a gaze full of feeling.

Slender shoulders, a willow waist, and an excellent figure.

Right on cue, the bullet comments floated past.

[Wow… The author really is the Male Lead’s own mother. Even the bed-warming maid assigned to the Male Lead is top tier.]

[Poor Female Supporting Character. Her scenes got stolen by Background Character A.]

[The commenter above just reminded me. We still don’t know the background of that mysterious woman who took the Male Lead’s first time.]

[Why am I getting more excited the more the plot collapses?]

I pretended not to see them and smiled at the woman.

“The kitchen just made some snowflake cakes. They’re soft and delicious, so I brought them for Elder Brother to try. It is also to thank him for helping me out today.”

Ruyan looked at me, probably recalling what had happened at the flower-viewing banquet.

She had already been of one mind with the mistress, and now the disgust in her eyes was even more obvious.

She did not even curtsy. Lifting her chin, she curved the corners of her eyes.

“Young Master does not like sweet, cloying things like this. Ruyan thanks you on his behalf for the thought, Miss.”

“But forgive Ruyan for speaking bluntly. At the flower-viewing banquet, Miss bared her shoulder and threw herself at Young Master. Now you are here delivering pastries. What exactly are you scheming? Do you truly think no one can see through it?”

“In the future, Miss had best stop hovering around Young Master, lest you dirty…”

I had been cold-shouldered in the marquis household for many years.

But this was the first time I had faced such naked malice head-on.

I was just about to speak when the curtain was lifted.

“Who is outside?”

Shen Yanci’s voice came from inside the room, faint and unreadable.

Ruyan’s expression changed instantly.

The sharpness and arrogance from moments ago receded like the tide, replaced by a face full of obedience.

She turned back, her voice soft as water.

“Young Master, it is Miss Lian here to deliver pastries.”

She glanced at me and smiled.

“This servant was just telling her that Young Master’s stomach has been unwell, so he cannot eat sweets. But Miss insisted on bringing them over, and this servant could not very well stop her…”

“Who said I don’t like them?”

Holding a scroll of scripture in one hand, Shen Yanci lifted the curtain and stepped out.

He took the pastries from my hands, his tone mild. “That was thoughtful of you, Younger Sister.”

Then he turned to Ruyan and said coolly, “You have no sense of rank or propriety. Go back to Mother. From now on, there is no need for you to appear in my courtyard again.”

Ruyan’s face went white, then whiter. In the end, her entire face flushed red, and she ran out crying.

The bullet comments started flooding again.

[Did this Background Character A get the Female Supporting Character’s script? Why is she even getting face-slapping scenes now?]

[So what? In the end, she’s still the kind of character who has to make way for the Female Lead.]

[Something feels a little strange. Not sure yet. Let’s keep watching…]

I had nothing to say to that and prepared to head back.

But Shen Yanci stopped me.

He looked at me, his expression shifting, his meaning unclear.

“Does Lian-mei usually use this kind of fragrance?”

After falling into the water today, my head had been heavy and muddled, and my nose was slightly blocked.

My usual clothing care was handled by Xiaocui and the others.

Apart from the scent of powder and rouge Ruyan had left behind just now, I truly could not tell what I smelled like.

So faced with Shen Yanci’s sudden question, I could only nod vaguely.

“What is it, Ah-Xiong?”

Shen Yanci smiled.

“I only thought the scent was rather special.”

He paused, his gaze settling on my face.

“It seems I smelled it not long ago.”