Chapter 172
Chapter 172
When Shen Si arrived, Ji Hanyi was dozing with her head resting on the low table by the heated platform.
She had originally been painting. Perhaps spring naturally made one drowsy, and with the Xie Family’s visit that day weighing on her mind, she had been unable to focus. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep over her painting.
Rongchun knew that Ji Hanyi was going to marry Marquis Shen, so she naturally regarded him as her mistress’s future husband. When she saw Marquis Shen waiting outside, she invited him to sit in the outer chamber. But when Marquis Shen suddenly lifted the curtain and entered, she did not dare stop him.
When Rongchun woke Ji Hanyi, she did not catch a word of what the maid said. Her vision was still blurry, and all she could make out was a dark figure approaching. She blinked a few times before finally seeing Shen Si step through the thick curtain.
Shen Si was still dressed in his scarlet official robes. The vivid color made his features appear as flawless as carved jade, lending a striking allure to his handsome face. Yet his bearing remained cool, aloof, and noble. Ji Hanyi’s mind was still blank with sleep, and she nearly lost herself in his beauty.
Shen Si found Ji Hanyi staring dazedly at him, her almond-shaped eyes still misty. The creases from her sleeve were imprinted on her fair cheek. She sat beneath the broad window, the damp light after the drizzle falling across her pale blue shoulders. She looked so proper and unadorned, yet there was also a touch of sweet, delicate softness about her.
Shen Si sat down across from Ji Hanyi. His gaze fell on the landscape painting, not even half finished, atop the low table. Glancing aside, he noticed several crumpled balls of paper on the floor before finally meeting her eyes. “Did I disturb you?”
Ji Hanyi had come fully awake by then and hurriedly shook her head. “No.”
Clad in official robes, Shen Si appeared even more solemn and imposing than usual. He possessed the distant authority of someone long accustomed to holding a high position. Ji Hanyi unconsciously straightened her posture, then leaned forward to pour him tea.
Her soft, pale fingertips moved before his eyes. Shen Si watched them quietly before saying, “I know the Xie Family came to see you. You needn’t be afraid. They won’t come here again.”
Ji Hanyi had been planning to move elsewhere and had meant to discuss it with Shen Si. After all, their relationship was no longer quite what it had been before.
Hearing him say this, she relaxed and nodded softly.
Shen Si picked up the teacup. His gaze flicked toward the identical white jade cup decorated with hibiscus blossoms in front of Ji Hanyi. The two cups belonged to the same tea set. He lowered his eyes and took a sip.
Only after seeing him drink did Ji Hanyi belatedly remember that Shen Si never used other people’s tea sets when he was away from home. His attendants always carried everything he might need with them.
But since he had already drunk from it, she swallowed the words that had risen to her lips.
Shen Si looked up at Ji Hanyi again. “I should go and meet your mother.”
Ji Hanyi raised her head. “Perhaps you should wait until the marriage is settled.”
Although she trusted Shen Si’s capabilities, she also knew that with her current status, marrying into the Shen Family would hardly be easy. There was no telling what complications might arise.
Shen Si’s dark eyes rested on her, seemingly tinged with amusement. “Don’t worry. It will be settled very soon.”
The way he put it made it sound as though she were impatient to marry him. Ji Hanyi wanted to explain that this was not what she had meant, but Shen Si had already set down his teacup and risen to his feet.
His tall, refined figure stood before her. Looking down, he said, “I’m going to see your mother now. My status when meeting her this time is different, and since I’m already here, I ought to pay her a visit. Will you come with me?”
Shen Si wanted to meet her mother right now. Truthfully, Ji Hanyi had no idea how to handle such a situation.
In truth, their marriage had never been a match between equals, nor had it come about because they loved each other. As Ji Hanyi saw it, her relationship with Shen Si was more like a transaction. She could help him, while relying on him to give her mother and herself a peaceful, secure life. Shen Si also needed her help to escape an imperially decreed marriage.
Even if Shen Si had chosen not to meet her mother, she would not have thought anything of it.
Yet hearing him ask about it now, and seeing how thoughtful and considerate he was, Ji Hanyi could not help feeling fortunate. Shen Si, whom she had always trusted, might be aloof, but he had always been the best of men.
She hurriedly rose and went to his side, saying softly, “Let’s go together.”
They walked out one after the other. Shen Si lifted the curtain, then remained where he was and looked at her.
Watching his movements, Ji Hanyi realized he was holding the curtain for her. The man who had always seemed as cold as stone in her eyes could be so attentive after all.
She paused briefly, then lowered her gaze and walked lightly past him.
Shen Si lowered his head, his gaze following Ji Hanyi as she moved. It skimmed over the delicate curve beside her ear, fell to her slender shoulders, then lingered on the elegant, straight line of her back beneath her moon-white robes.
His long fingers released the curtain, and he followed her outside.
Ji Hanyi did not head straight to the front hall. She stopped beneath the corridor and told Rongchun to hurry ahead and inform her mother. Only then did she walk slowly onward beside Shen Si.
The damp chill left by the rain brushed over them, clearing her mind considerably.
From the corner of his eye, Shen Si kept watching Ji Hanyi. She looked slender and plainly dressed, without a single hairpin or bangle adorning her. Yet he remembered that Ji Hanyi had loved dressing up when she was little.
His gaze fell to the fingers resting at her waist. They were so slender that his palm could envelop them perfectly. When he had held them that night, they had felt soft and almost boneless – and truly warm.
Ji Hanyi did not notice Shen Si looking at her at all. All she could think about was how to keep things from becoming too awkward with this age-old glacier of a man present, and how to help her mother feel less constrained around him.
They traveled the rest of the way in silence. By the time they reached the front hall, her mother was already waiting there.
When Madam Gu saw Shen Si enter alongside her daughter, she seemed, for one fleeting moment, to see the two of them walking together as they had in the past. Looking at them now, they actually seemed quite well matched.
But Madam Gu knew perfectly well that if Shen Si had not needed her daughter’s help, Ji Hanyi would never have had the chance to marry into the Shen Family.
Her eyes brimming with smiles, Madam Gu greeted him warmly and even rose to welcome him herself.
Shen Si was exceedingly deferential before Madam Gu. He invited her to take the seat of honor, then thanked her for agreeing to let Ji Hanyi marry him.
Madam Gu said repeatedly, “The Shen Residence once showed the Ji Family great kindness. The Master of our household owed his entire career to the patronage of Marquis Shen’s father. It is Hanyi’s good fortune to be of help to Marquis Shen.”
Shen Si was tall and imposing, and even standing still, he possessed an innate air of noble distinction. His features had always been cool and severe, but now his expression softened as he said in a low voice, “It is my good fortune that Hanyi is marrying me. I will protect her well from now on. You may rest assured, Madam.”
As Madam Gu watched Shen Si’s lowered gaze, both the promise in his words and the deep resolve in his eyes made one thing clear: Shen Si was someone her daughter could trust.
She had originally intended to say a few words entrusting her daughter to his care, but after hearing his promise, she could finally put her mind at ease.
The fact that Shen Si had made a special trip to meet her as soon as her daughter agreed was enough to make him ten thousand times better than Xie Yuheng.
In truth, she had always hoped Ji Hanyi would find someone to share her life with. A woman who never married would inevitably face many hardships. Now that Shen Si was by Ji Hanyi’s side, Madam Gu trusted his character and felt at ease entrusting her daughter to him.