Chapter 3

I laughed coldly to myself.

The filthy creature actually had the nerve to ask me.

I smiled. “We had meant to taste the new tea. But Mother was anxious to find Rou a husband and sent for me to discuss it.”

“Naturally, I had to tell her all about the eligible young gentlemen. Even a few words about each takes time. We had to give up on tea today.”

He suppressed his displeasure and spoke as though it were of no consequence.

“In that case, you can have your tea another day.”

I glanced at him. “I doubt there will be time for that. Mother is concerned about Rou’s marriage and wants me to keep her informed about suitable young men. I shall be busy for days. When would I find time to drink tea?”

Qi Wenkai grew agitated. “Marriage? Isn’t she only fifteen? Why the rush?”

I looked at him blankly. “Mother is concerned. I can only do as she asks. Surely you don’t expect me to contradict her?”

For a moment he could find no answer. He fell silent.

A few days later, Shen Rou and I were drinking tea indoors.

Halfway through my cup, I smiled and asked her,

“Would you like to see something interesting?”

I clapped my hands. A maid led in a frightened-looking, middle-aged shopkeeper.

Shen Rou gave me a puzzled look.

I patted her sleeve, then asked the man gravely, “Tell me. What exactly does the powder Master Qi bought at your medicine shop do?”

The shopkeeper trembled. “It is… a drug to heighten pleasure between a man and a woman.”

Shen Rou gave a little cry and covered her face.

She looked at me in bewilderment, plainly unable to understand why I wanted her to hear this.

I handed the maid a packet with a little powder left in it. Holding it out, she pressed him.

“Look at this. Is it the preparation the master ordered at your shop?”

The shopkeeper cautiously opened the packet and soon identified it.

“Yes, madam. This is precisely the preparation Master Qi purchased from my humble shop.”

I nodded and waved to the maid to take him out again.

Looking at Shen Rou’s confused face, I let out a long sigh.

“I asked you to be here because this concerns you.”

“Qi Wenkai did not buy that drug for amusement in the bedchamber. He means to use it against you.”

“The day I invited you to tea, I went to the heated pavilion early to attend to a small matter. That was when I saw him putting the drug into the incense burner.”

“I became suspicious and sent a maid to investigate in secret. At last we uncovered what was wrong.”

Only then did Shen Rou understand. She was both shocked and furious.

Helplessly, she caught my sleeve. “Ruoyin, what should I do?”

I gently patted her hand. “Don’t be afraid. I’ve thought it through. For the time being, stay in Mother’s rooms. Whenever you go out, be sure to keep your maids with you.”

“I’ve found several suitable men. You and Mother can take your time choosing. Once this is over and you are married, none of his vile ideas will do him any good.”

Shen Rou nodded again and again, her face full of gratitude.

As I saw her off, I reminded her to tell no one about this.

If a scandal of this kind got out, Qi Wenkai would suffer little, but people would inevitably gossip about Shen Rou.

After all, in my last life, when I saw the disarray in the heated pavilion, my first thought had been that she had no self-respect.

While I was lost in that memory, Shen Rou suddenly turned and threw her arms around me. “Ruoyin, thank goodness I have you.”

My body went a little rigid.