Chapter 171
Chapter 171
Madam Lin and Xie Jin left the courtyard. The composure they had maintained did not fall away until they climbed into the carriage, whereupon their expressions turned grim and icy.
Sitting beside Madam Lin, Xie Jin could not help saying, “Ji Hanyi has already been reduced to living like this, and judging by her clothes, she is still wearing the same old things. Where did she get the gall to speak to us that way?”
Madam Lin narrowed her eyes and said coolly, “Someone who puts on airs and doesn’t know what’s good for her only does so because she thinks we’re begging for her help. She’ll come around once she’s suffered a little.”
After a moment’s thought, Madam Lin continued, “We could pay some visits to the First Madam of the Gu Family. Perhaps we can find a way to have her persuade Ji Hanyi.”
Xie Jin paused, then promptly nodded. “The First Madam of the Gu Family looked as though she wanted to ingratiate herself with the Xie Family today. We could certainly make use of that.”
A mocking smile appeared in Madam Lin’s eyes. “She’s from an insignificant little household. Show her the slightest favor and she’ll be beside herself with gratitude.”
Xie Jin smiled as well.
Meanwhile, Ji Hanyi watched Madam Lin leave. She knew Madam Lin and Xie Jin would not let the matter rest. They might return to pester her or even resort to some other scheme.
With the matter weighing on her mind, she realized she likely could not remain here for long.
Rongchun also looked worried. “I never expected First Madam Gu to bring people from the Xie Family here. Wasn’t she deliberately trying to make trouble for you, Miss?”
“I think you should go back and tell Old Madam about this. Ask her to put a stop to it.”
Ji Hanyi merely shook her head and returned to her room without a word.
Setting aside the fact that her maternal grandmother could no longer rein in Eldest Maternal Aunt, even if she could, the Xie Family already knew Ji Hanyi was living here. It was too late to tell her now.
That afternoon, Shen Si was on his way to visit the Empress.
As he walked, he wearily rubbed between his brows. He had not wanted to make this trip.
When he entered the Empress’s chambers, Sun Baoqiong was indeed sitting beside her.
Upon seeing Shen Si, Sun Baoqiong hurriedly rose and gave him a gentle, graceful curtsy.
Shen Si merely nodded, his gaze already turning toward the Empress on the bed.
The Empress wore a forehead band and reclined weakly against the pillows, looking thoroughly ill. Shen Si, however, knew she was not sick. She had used this ploy more times than he could count since they were young.
He walked over and nevertheless observed the proper formalities, greeting her and asking after her health.
When the Empress saw the resignation in Shen Si’s eyes, she knew he had realized she was feigning illness again.
But without resorting to such a method, getting Shen Si to visit her would have been harder than climbing to heaven.
She maintained her sickly appearance, determined to play the act through to the end. “Fortunately, Baoqiong was here to talk with me today. Otherwise, lying here in bed would have been dreadful.”
Shen Si gave only a noncommittal hum. Without sparing Sun Baoqiong a single glance, he sat down in the chair beside the bed.
The Empress looked again at Sun Baoqiong, who still stood quietly to one side without speaking. Although she could tell that Sun Baoqiong had feelings for her younger brother, the young woman neither tried to force intimacy nor hovered around him, making conversation for conversation’s sake.
She was gracious and sensible, with all the poise and breeding expected of a young lady from a distinguished family. After spending time with her these past few days, the Empress had grown very fond of her.
How could her younger brother be with a divorced woman? Just how much whispering and finger-pointing would he have to endure behind his back?
If the woman were someone no one recognized, perhaps they could still keep the matter quiet. Unfortunately, most people in the capital knew her.
For the Shen Family, it would be like a drop of ink falling on pristine white silk, ruining a perfectly fine bolt of brocade. Anyone who saw it would find the sight displeasing.
There were countless women in the world and countless women with spotless reputations. Any of them would do – anyone but a divorced woman.
In any case, the Empress would never allow her younger brother to suffer such an indignity.
Her brother was outstanding in every respect. How could a woman like that possibly be worthy of him?
She coughed twice more before saying, “You will sit here today and keep me company with Baoqiong. We can talk for a while.”
“Just look at me. I can’t go anywhere like this. I only wanted you to stay and talk with me.”
Shen Si glanced at the Empress, then rose and bowed to her with elegant courtesy. “I truly have no gift for conversation. If Her Majesty the Empress is unbearably bored, why not summon the two young ladies from the Shen Residence to keep you company?”
The Empress nearly choked on her anger. Before she could say anything else, Shen Si had already turned away, utterly disregarding the words of his elder sister.
She rubbed her aching forehead, exasperated. How had he grown into such an aloof and stubborn man?
Though they were siblings, their temperaments could not have been more different. In truth, the Empress had many regrets as well. Their age gap was too great, and they had never had much chance to sit together and speak intimately while growing up.
She wanted to give her brother the very best of everything. He was her only brother – how could she bear to see him suffer the slightest grievance?
But as she watched Shen Si’s retreating figure, she knew he understood everything. It was simply that their views had always been at odds. As his elder sister, she did not wish to force him. Yet if it had been any other girl of unblemished reputation, she could have accepted even the most ordinary family background.
Sun Baoqiong, seated nearby, watched Shen Si leave. From the moment he entered until the moment he departed, his gaze had never once lingered on her.
She simply had not caught his eye.
But she was not upset. To Shen Si, she was only a woman he had met a handful of times. Why should he like her? All she knew was that, whether in family background or talent, she was the woman best suited to him.
She also knew that taking the initiative to approach him would probably only earn his distaste.
Whether Shen Si liked her was unimportant. Were marriages between great houses not all like this? They had always been alliances between families, with a match between two households of equal standing deemed a union made in heaven.
Before she came, her mother had told her that it did not matter even if Shen Si did not like her. Marriage was about treating one another with courtesy and joining two clans. She would marry the finest man in the capital, bask in honor, possess a dignity envied by all, and stand beneath the protection of imperial power. Her descendants would inherit that glory and bring prosperity to the family. That was enough.
She had come to the capital for one purpose alone: to marry the finest man in the city.
And that man could only be Shen Si.
Whether in family background or ability, only Shen Si was worthy of her.
Her goal was clear. As long as the Empress and the Empress Dowager found her good enough, nothing else mattered.
Sun Baoqiong was not disheartened. She also knew that the Empress was only pretending to be ill to give her more time with Marquis Shen. Still, she went over and consoled her softly. “Lord Shen is always busy with official duties. Even a short delay must mean setting aside a great many matters. Please don’t be upset, Aunt.”
“I’ll stay and talk with you. There are all sorts of amusing stories from Xuanzhou. Would you like to hear some?”
The Empress looked at Sun Baoqiong. The girl was so considerate, showing not the slightest trace of disappointment or melancholy and even turning around to comfort her.
She sighed softly. This was how a daughter of a great clan ought to conduct herself – composed, dignified, and capable of shouldering the weighty affairs upon which an entire clan’s fortunes rose or fell.
She smiled, her fondness for Sun Baoqiong deepening.
After Shen Si left the palace, Wen’an hurried over and told him how the Xie Family had come looking for Ji Hanyi that day.
Shen Si’s steps faltered. His gaze shifted slightly before he gave a cold laugh. If they insisted on barging in and courting death, then so be it. A lesson would do them good.
Standing on the palace road, he looked up at the sun. His thoughts returned to Ji Hanyi. With the Xie Family coming after her, she must have been frightened and anxious.
On impulse, he decided not to return to his office and headed for Wanbao Alley instead.
It was not as though anything desperately urgent had happened. He simply wanted very much to see her right then.