Chapter 179
Chapter 179
Shen Si’s words stunned Old Madam Shen so badly that she nearly forgot to breathe.
The implication could not have been clearer: he intended to establish a separate household and live apart from the family.
Old Madam Shen was completely dumbfounded.
All this for Ji Hanyi. Shen Si had actually gone this far for her.
Shen Si’s seemingly all-seeing gaze turned to her once more. “Mother should know that everything I have done was so I could marry Hanyi. No matter what methods I must use, I will marry her.”
His voice was calm, but the resolve behind it was unmistakable. How could Old Madam Shen fail to understand what he meant?
He had played his hand remarkably well.
He had given Ji Hanyi status so that no one would look down on her when she married into the Shen Family, while also making the match appear socially equal to outsiders. Then he had acted first and informed her afterward, allowing news of the marriage to spread so widely that she would have no choice but to compromise for the sake of the family’s reputation.
Her son had never intended to seek her approval. He was determined to marry Ji Hanyi, even if he had to defy everyone to do it.
Old Madam Shen closed her eyes briefly before looking at Shen Si again. “What exactly is so wonderful about her?”
Shen Si leaned back in his chair, gazing at the brilliant sunlight beyond the window. His voice dropped low. “Only I know what makes her so precious. I have carried her in my heart for many years, and I cannot forget her. That alone is enough.”
His deep, dark eyes returned to his mother. “One day, Mother will see her worth as well.”
Old Madam Shen sneered. “A woman divorced by her husband’s family is hardly someone I could ever admire.”
Shen Si pushed himself up by the armrests and straightened his robes. His voice remained composed. “After what the Xie Family did, even if she had not divorced, I would still have gotten her out of there.”
“This was not her fault. I was the one who forced the Xie Family to initiate the divorce.”
Old Madam Shen’s eyes widened. She could not believe Shen Si would do such a thing.
Shen Si continued, “Please see that the Three Letters and Six Rites are completed with the Cheng’an Marquis’s Residence within the next fortnight. Once the wedding date arrives, I will marry her. Whether the formalities have been completed or not, I will go to the Cheng’an Marquis’s Residence and bring her home.”
With that, Shen Si had no intention of staying any longer. He turned and walked away.
Old Madam Shen stared blankly at his retreating figure, then suddenly called after him, “When will you bring her to meet me?”
Shen Si paused for a moment before replying quietly, “After the wedding, Mother will naturally see her.”
Old Madam Shen pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a long sigh. So he would not even let her meet Ji Hanyi beforehand, as though he feared she might do something to the woman.
Her son had forced her hand and left her no other choice.
As soon as Shen Si stepped outside, Wen’an hurried over and lowered his voice. “Her Majesty the Empress has asked you to enter the palace now, Marquis.”
Then Wen’an added even more quietly, “Grand Princess Rongqing is also with Her Majesty the Empress.”
A faint look flickered through Shen Si’s eyes. He knew what had to come would come eventually, and he continued walking out.
That night, Ji Hanyi bathed early and lay on her bed reading. She was not especially worried. As long as she was with Shen Si, they could face whatever came together. What obstacle could there be that they could not overcome?
Since she had agreed to Shen Si, she had already prepared herself for anything.
Rongchun, however, asked anxiously, “News of the marriage has spread throughout the capital, though no one knows the bride is you yet, Miss. What will happen when the Shen Family finds out? Will they make things difficult for you?”
Ji Hanyi believed Shen Si would arrange everything properly and told Rongchun not to worry.
As Rongchun dried Ji Hanyi’s long hair, she could not help asking curiously, “What was inside the box the Grand Princess gave you, Miss?”
Ji Hanyi paused briefly before saying softly, “It’s a residence in the north of the city. The Grand Princess gave it to me as part of my dowry.”
Rongchun exclaimed in surprise, then quickly lowered her voice. “As expected of the Grand Princess. What incredible generosity.”
Ji Hanyi agreed that the Grand Princess was indeed generous, though Shen Si might have had something to do with it as well.
Still, everyone at the Cheng’an Marquis’s Residence seemed very kind. She ought to visit them often in the future.
She was already drowsy and yawning when Ruohong suddenly entered to announce that Shen Si had arrived.
Ruohong was the maid Shen Si had sent over and was stationed outside Ji Hanyi’s room. Though she was still a stranger, Ji Hanyi trusted her because she had come from Shen Si.
At Ruohong’s announcement, Ji Hanyi truly did not want to move. She was still in her underclothes, and her long hair hung loose around her shoulders, only half dry. But Shen Si must have come for a reason, so she forced herself to sit up and languidly urged Rongchun to hurry over and dress her.
As it happened, there was something she wanted to ask Shen Si as well.
But then Ruohong added, “Lord Shen said you might already be asleep, so he will simply wait outside the curtain and say a few words from there.”
Ji Hanyi’s mind went blank. “Lord Shen is outside the curtain?”
Ruohong answered, “Yes. He is standing right beside this servant.”
Ji Hanyi froze, nearly unable to collect herself.
Her gaze drifted involuntarily toward the curtain nearby. The moment she imagined Shen Si standing just beyond it, tension seized her, sending a prickle across her scalp.
Of course. Ruohong was a maid Shen Si had sent. How could she possibly dare stop him?
Ji Hanyi hurried Rongchun into dressing her, then gathered her still-damp hair behind her with a ribbon before preparing to step into the outer room.
She could not truly speak to him through a curtain.
The curtain lifted, and the first thing she saw was Shen Si’s tall, broad figure. The damp chill of the night still clung to him. Dressed entirely in black, he lowered his head to look at her.
His distinctive agarwood scent washed over Ji Hanyi, inexplicably reminding her of what had happened that night. Unease fluttered through her.
She looked up hesitantly, but when her eyes met Shen Si’s unfathomable gaze, she could not get a single word out.
Shen Si took a step forward, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on her. His eyes swept over her long, slightly damp hair, loosely gathered behind her with a pink ribbon. It set off her fair, jade-pale beauty, making her seem as exquisite as lustrous jade and crystalline dew. In that instant, he was utterly captivated by her.
He remembered how nervous she had clearly been at the Grand Princess’s residence yesterday, yet how hard she had tried to remain calm and composed. His gaze softened, and everything in him seemed to melt for her.
When Ji Hanyi retreated a step at his approach, he said hoarsely, “It’s cold outside, and your hair is still wet. We can speak in here.”
With that, he moved closer, inch by inch, stepping deep into her private chambers in the dead of night, entering the most intimate sanctuary of a young woman as though he were stepping into her heart. Heat began to surge through his body.
Since Shen Si had already entered with the night’s chill still clinging to him, Ji Hanyi could only agree and tell Rongchun to bring hot tea at once.
Ji Hanyi sat on the hibiscus-patterned chaise, while Shen Si took the carved armchair beside it.
A small table stood between them, laid with tea, a plate of dried persimmon cakes, and a small platter of fruit.
Shen Si lowered his eyes. The entire room was steeped in Ji Hanyi’s scent, a soft and subtle fragrance that set his heart ablaze.
He knew he had deliberately chosen to visit at this hour out of selfish motives.
At least for now, of everyone around her, he was the one allowed closest.
Shen Si looked at Ji Hanyi and spoke first. “Our marriage has been settled. The wedding will be held in the middle of the fourth month.”