Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Shen Si’s presence was overwhelming. At a measured distance, Ji Hanyi had still been able to maintain her composure, but now that they were suddenly standing so close, she could no longer bear it. Instinctively, she took another step back.

The moment she did, her body stiffened. She raised her eyes and found Shen Si gazing down at her. Darkness swirled in his eyes, laced with a biting chill, as if she had done something wrong again.

Her feet froze. All she could think about was escaping as quickly as possible.

Without realizing it, her voice had grown even softer in front of him. She tightened her fingers in agitation, her tone still gentle. “Thank you, Lord Shen. My aunt is still waiting outside for me. I cannot keep her waiting too long.”

Shen Si heard the faint tremor in Ji Hanyi’s voice. He did his best to soften his gaze so she would not be frightened of him, and lowered his voice as well. “Won’t you take a look?”

Only then did Ji Hanyi realize what he meant. She trusted Shen Si. Even without checking, she believed there could be no mistake in what he had given her.

Still, she gently unfolded the Divorce Agreement. The moment she saw the official seal, all the tension left her face.

From this day forward, she truly had nothing more to do with the Xie Family or Xie Yuheng.

The joy that welled up inside her made her forget, for a moment, how nervous she was with Shen Si standing only a single step away. She looked up, intending to thank him again, only to remember how many times she had already said those words to him.

Yet she had never been able to repay him for any of it.

The words died on her lips. An awkward sense of helplessness rose within Ji Hanyi once more.

Part of her wished she would never see Shen Si again, while another part hoped that someday, he might need her help in return.

But that day would probably never come.

She stared absently at Shen Si, countless thoughts churning in her heart. Then she noticed his shoulders angling slightly toward her. Startled, she took another step back.

Shen Si stilled.

He silently watched the bewilderment in her eyes. Her full lips were slightly parted, and the way she looked at him felt like a wordless invitation.

She was free now. All she had to do was take one small step toward him, and he would cross the rest of the distance himself.

He only needed to know whether she had any feelings for him.

If she had not moved away, then here in this room, with no one else around, he could have closed the distance between them completely and confessed everything in his heart without the slightest reserve.

But after being rejected once before, even moving closer to her was difficult for him.

And she had avoided him again.

He had been only a breath away from kissing her.

Struggling to suppress the emotions straining through his taut body, Shen Si silently straightened. Then, as if nothing had happened, he reached behind Ji Hanyi and took out a rolled painting. Holding it out to her, he said, “Tang Yu’s Autumn Clearing over Streams and Mountains.”

Ji Hanyi stared blankly. Her emotions were still trapped in that previous moment. For an instant, she had actually felt that there was something extraordinarily intimate between her and Shen Si.

His sleeve had brushed over her fingertips. His long, slender fingers were now right before her eyes. The pleasant scent of agarwood clinging to him filled her breath. He seemed to be everywhere around her.

At that moment, an impossible, deeply hidden fancy even arose in her heart. She found herself thinking that perhaps Shen Si treated her differently from everyone else – when he had merely been reaching for a painting.

Ji Hanyi was frightened by her own thoughts and dared not pursue them any further. She would be leaving soon, and Old Madam Shen had already taken a liking to her Third Younger Sister. How could she harbor such thoughts?

Shame and guilt flooded her. Ji Hanyi no longer dared to look at Shen Si.

She did not even have the courage to unroll the painting before her. Hastily shaking her head, she lowered her eyes and refused. “They are still waiting for me. I cannot delay any longer.”

Shen Si looked down at Ji Hanyi’s lowered face. Beneath her dark hair, her fair, smooth cheeks were tilted so far down that he could barely make out her features. Her thick lashes trembled ceaselessly, while a sliver of light danced across the tip of her delicate nose. Her faint fragrance was the same intoxicating scent from his dreams, where her face had been flushed and her expression shy and alluring.

The more unadorned and delicate she appeared, the more striking the resilience in her eyes became.

Her desire to leave was obvious. She would not even open something she liked. She wanted to leave this place – to get away from him.

Shen Si could barely maintain the indifference he had always forced himself to display before her. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to pull her tightly into his arms and let her hear how fiercely his heart beat for her. He wanted her to understand how much he needed her, how much he longed for her, and how desperately he wished to spend every day by her side.

But in the end, he still did not ask her to stay.

He had no right to do so. She was free, and if she wanted to leave, he could not force her.

He still had time to approach her slowly. Her divorce had only just been finalized. He could not pressure her into accepting him now.

He would give her time to think. He had poured all his feelings into the painting, hoping she would understand.

He merely placed the scroll in her hands and said quietly, “All right.”

When he saw the obvious relief on her face and watched her slender shoulders relax, he gave her one last, searching look. “Don’t forget to look at it.”

Ji Hanyi’s thoughts were in complete disarray as she left Shen Si with the painting in her arms.

Shen Si stood before the window and silently watched her receding figure. Her pale silhouette swayed in the finest light of the afternoon, dappled shadows falling across her, yet she still possessed that sweet, gentle allure.

When Ji Hanyi climbed back into the carriage, Madam Zhang had clearly grown impatient. She gave Ji Hanyi a cool glance but ultimately said nothing about the delay.

Instead, she looked at the scroll in Ji Hanyi’s arms and asked, “What is that?”
Ji Hanyi replied, “Marquis Shen was going to throw away some paintings. I spotted one I liked, so I brought it back with me.”

Madam Zhang had only asked in passing, so she did not press further. Once the carriage set off, she looked at the box in Gu Wanyun’s hands and said, “Hurry and open it. Let’s see what’s inside.”

Only then did Gu Wanyun come back to her senses. She hurriedly opened the carved yellow rosewood box, revealing a gold bracelet decorated with powder-pink peonies in colored glass.

Madam Zhang’s eyes widened. She picked up the bracelet and held it close for a careful look. It gleamed with gold and felt satisfyingly heavy in her hand. She could not help exclaiming, “As expected of the Shen Residence. Even their first-meeting gifts are this extravagant.”

Then she turned to Gu Wanyun with a face full of delight. “What else could this mean? Why would First Madam Shen give you something so precious if not to win your favor and establish a closer relationship with you ahead of time?”

“First Madam Shen is constantly at Old Madam Shen’s side. How could she not know what Old Madam Shen has in mind?”

As she spoke, tears of excitement sprang to Madam Zhang’s eyes. She pulled Wanyun into a tight embrace. “Wanyun, you’re about to soar onto the highest branch and become a phoenix.”

“Your father will be able to return to the capital as well. At long last, he’ll be able to hold his head high.”

Held tightly in her mother’s arms, Gu Wanyun felt as though she had fallen into a dream. For a moment, she could no longer tell dream from reality.

She had met Marquis Shen today. He had seemed like an immortal banished to the mortal world, lofty and untouchable. A man of such exalted status, with so much power in his hands, would one day become her husband.

She had thought it was all a dream, but Old Madam Shen had treated her with such affection, and First Madam Shen had been exceptionally warm toward her and had even given her such a valuable gift. She had heard that Marquis Shen almost never returned to the residence in the mornings, yet today, although they said he had gone out early, he had come back midway through the morning and even visited Old Madam Shen.

Had he returned especially to see her?

Gu Wanyun’s heart began to race.

After they returned to the Gu Residence, Old Madam Gu naturally wanted to hear all about the visit.

The younger members of the Gu Family and everyone from the Second Branch had gathered in Old Madam Gu’s quarters. Naturally, they were all eager to hear what had happened.

Seated in the center, Madam Zhang held Gu Wanyun’s hand and recounted everything with animated delight: how Old Madam Shen had treated Gu Wanyun, how respectfully the servants and matrons of the Shen Residence had behaved, how Marquis Shen had made a special trip back, and what First Madam Shen had given her.

Everyone in the room listened with undisguised envy.

Second Madam Liu glanced at the obvious smugness on Madam Zhang’s face. Though she continued smiling and chatting, she felt deeply uncomfortable inside.

Madam Zhang’s eldest son, Gu Yong, was nothing particularly impressive. He traveled elsewhere on merchant ships and rarely came home even once in an entire year. Her second son, Gu Yan, however, was capable, and now even her daughter, the Third Young Lady, had received such an incredible stroke of fortune. It would be a lie to say Madam Liu felt no envy or jealousy.

But there was nothing she could do. Some people were simply blessed with such good fortune.

It was a pity her own daughter had married so early. Otherwise, perhaps she might have had such an opportunity as well.

At the head of the room, Old Madam Gu looked pleased, her expression relaxed. She said to Gu Wanyun, “It is no easy feat to win Old Madam Shen’s favor. You must be sure to seize this opportunity.”

Gu Wanyun bit her lip shyly and gave a soft murmur of assent.

Madam Zhang already felt as though she had one foot through the gates of the Shen Residence. All that remained was for the Shen Family to come and make a formal marriage proposal. She added with a beaming smile, “If this truly comes to pass, our Gu Family will no longer be the same.”

“There is no need to rush Young Master Yan’s marriage now. We can wait and find him an even better match later.”

Her meaning was obvious. She intended to wait until Gu Wanyun had married into the Shen Family.

Old Madam Gu nodded, then said, “The match must still be suitable. What good would marrying a young lady from a powerful family do if you cannot handle her?”

Madam Zhang smiled. “What could there possibly be that I cannot handle? As long as the match benefits Young Master Yan’s future official career, what does it matter if I have to yield to her a little?”

Ji Hanyi did not attend the family gathering. She was busy visiting her mother and placing the Divorce Agreement in her hands.

Madam Gu stared at the Divorce Agreement. Although she remained silent, tears still slipped from her eyes.

Sitting beside her mother, Ji Hanyi wiped away her tears and softly explained her plans. “Second Uncle sent me another letter the day before yesterday. He said Second Aunt goes to the house next door every day to clean and prepare it. Second Uncle already has several grandchildren through his daughters, so it will be very lively there in the future. If we live next door to Second Uncle, no one will be able to bully us.”

Ji Hanyi lowered her head as she spoke. The light from outside illuminated her lovely profile with a soft glow, and her voice was very gentle. “All these years, I have used Father’s name to send paintings to Baoshan Tower, and I’ve saved up a considerable amount of silver. I also own two shops and have put aside some additional savings.”

“There is no changing my divorce now, but we can go to Father’s hometown and live a different kind of life.”

“I am not heartbroken in the least about divorcing the Xie Family. In truth, I planned this long ago. Over the years, I have also corresponded regularly with Second Uncle.”

“Although I have never met Second Uncle, Father always wanted to bring him to the capital so he could live a comfortable life. But Second Uncle refused to come and even returned the silver Father sent him. That is why I believe Second Uncle must be a good man.”

“When something happened to Father back then, didn’t Second Uncle also write to Mother and say he was willing to have Mother come live with him?”

“If Mother still has reservations, we can go there and take a look first, then decide what to do.”