Chapter 187
Chapter 187
The Empress quietly watched Shen Si’s expression.
She recalled that a few days ago, Shen Si had come to her with the same look and said that he only asked for this one thing, that without Ji Hanyi, he might never marry again.
So she wanted to make Ji Hanyi retreat upon realizing the difficulties, so she insisted on meeting Ji Hanyi face to face.
The Empress’s eyes flickered, then she closed them helplessly.
At this moment, she was unwilling to say another word to Shen Si.
She didn’t want to speak anymore.
The room was filled with a frozen silence.
Shen Si gripped Ji Hanyi’s hand and led her straight out of the private room.
Outside were the noble ladies from earlier, and when they saw Shen Si actually leading Ji Hanyi out, each of them widened their eyes in shock.
Then they saw Shen Si cast a faint glance at them, his eyes chillingly cold. As sheltered young ladies, they had never seen such an icy, terrifying expression before. Though it was only a casual look, they were all so frightened that they froze, not daring to even breathe.
It wasn’t until the two of them descended the stairs and their figures disappeared that the ladies came to their senses. One after another, they rushed to ask Shen Suyi what was going on.
How could Marquis Shen come out of Her Majesty the Empress’s room holding Ji Hanyi’s hand?
This was so unbelievable that they couldn’t even convince themselves to accept it – it seemed like sheer fantasy.
Shen Suyi was equally shocked. To her, that scene was simply horrifying.
Her Fifth Uncle, who wouldn’t even let a maid get close to him – when had he gotten together with Ji Hanyi, and was even holding her hand?
Her mind went blank, and she couldn’t respond to any of the urgent questions around her.
Li Shuyu also stared wide-eyed, unable to believe it, and recalling the deliberate glance Marquis Shen had shot at them earlier, a chill ran down her spine.
Sun Baoqiong quietly walked to the railing and looked down at the departing backs of Shen Si and Ji Hanyi on the path below. Surrounded by blooming flowers, they walked away through the spring peach blossoms, gradually receding from sight.
Her own gaze grew colder inch by inch.
To lose to a woman like that – with a background inferior to hers, and having been married before – she indeed found it hard to accept.
Just then, a laughing and nonchalant voice sounded behind her: “Baoqiong.”
Sun Baoqiong paused, and when she turned around, she saw Cheng Cong, the Heir to the Marquisate of the Yongqing Marquis’s Residence, walking toward her.
When Sun Baoqiong saw Cheng Cong, her expression froze for a moment, then she politely and distantly called out, “Cousin.”
Cheng Cong gave a light laugh, following Sun Baoqiong’s gaze, and then said nonchalantly, “Is that woman surnamed Ji making you unhappy, cousin?”
Sun Baoqiong said nothing.
Cheng Cong turned to look at Sun Baoqiong again, laughing softly and speaking in a very low voice, “Make her disappear, or ruin her – then cousin can marry Shen Si, can’t you?”
Sun Baoqiong’s face stiffened, and she looked into Cheng Cong’s eyes, which seemed both deeply affectionate and carelessly indifferent.
Shen Si led Ji Hanyi straight toward the carriage, his hand gripping hers tightly, giving Ji Hanyi enough security.
Once Ji Hanyi was seated in the carriage, her heart relaxed.
Shen Si hadn’t come up yet, but Ji Hanyi heard a young voice from outside the carriage: “Uncle.”
Shen Si turned around and saw the Crown Prince coming toward him.
Earlier, he had seen Ji Hanyi going alone to see the Empress, and worried that she couldn’t handle it, he had rushed over, so he had hurried.
Shen Si walked over to the Crown Prince.
Ji Hanyi slightly lifted the curtain beside her to look at Shen Si, seeing him standing together with a figure in bright yellow.
Judging by the earlier address, the person talking with Shen Si now was likely the Crown Prince.
As Ji Hanyi watched this scene, she felt somewhat dazed, remembering the Empress’s words.
In the past, the Shen Si she had known was only within the confines of the Shen Residence. Only today did she seem to glimpse his truer reality.
The people around Shen Si were all imperial relatives and nobility, all of high status. Even the Lady of the Commandery Mingchang, who was to be betrothed to Shen Si, was the most eye-catching one among those many noble ladies just now.
Whether in talent, beauty, or family background, she was the one everyone believed best suited to Shen Si.
Possessing something beyond one’s station would inevitably invite resentment and jealousy. Ji Hanyi understood what Her Majesty the Empress had meant.
Even if she and Shen Si truly married, things would be difficult at first.
Ji Hanyi stared distractedly at Shen Si’s retreating figure, then lowered the curtain. Inside the dim carriage, she cast down her eyes.
Shen Si did not linger outside for long. He soon returned to the carriage and sat beside Ji Hanyi, ordering the coachman to take them back.
His gaze shifted to Ji Hanyi’s downcast face.
Even in such dim light, there was no hiding the fair, luminous quality about her.
With her eyes lowered so demurely and the little green jade drop at her ear shimmering, she looked so soft and lovely that, for a moment, Shen Si’s heart ached with tenderness and burned with desire.
He thought that if they married, he would pull her into his arms and seat her on his lap, letting her rest her cheek against his chest as he held and comforted her in the closest way possible.
Shen Si knew Ji Hanyi must have suffered some grievance today. He asked quietly, “Did Li Shuyu and Commandery Princess Fengning upset you?”
Ji Hanyi froze, then looked up at Shen Si.
His gaze was deep and still as a bottomless pool. The way he looked at people could shake them to their core. His own expression was perfectly calm, yet anyone caught in his gaze would find it impossible to remain so.
Shen Si’s low voice sounded again. “The next time they encounter you, they won’t dare behave that way again.”
Ji Hanyi stared at him. Did Shen Si know everything that had happened upstairs just now?
Deep down, she did feel a little wronged.
At the banquet and before Her Majesty the Empress, that feeling had not been so pronounced. She knew that if she showed even the slightest hint of vulnerability, others would seize on that moment of weakness and trample her without restraint.
But now, sitting before Shen Si and hearing how he had stood up for her, all the hurt inside her surged forth like floodwaters bursting through a dam. Her eyes reddened.
She did not want Shen Si to see, so she merely lowered her head and stared at the fingers resting on her knees.
She had already agreed to help Shen Si and had prepared herself for everything she might face. How could she allow herself to feel wronged?
Shen Si had asked for her help because he trusted her, and the kindness he had shown her was beyond measure.
She gave a hoarse murmur of acknowledgment, her fingers tightening slightly.
Shen Si looked down at her hands. She was clenching them so tightly that her knuckles had turned pale. His gaze then moved to her lowered eyelids. Her long lashes trembled faintly, lending her a fragile, heartrending softness.
Shen Si reached out and took Ji Hanyi by the chin, slowly lifting her downcast face. The darkness concealed the redness around her eyes, but he could still see the faint glimmer of tears in their depths.
His heart clenched abruptly. Cupping her smooth, soft cheek in his palm, he said in a low voice, “From now on, you have me to rely on in everything.”
Ji Hanyi fell into a momentary daze as Shen Si’s broad palm rested against her cheek. She tried to draw back slightly, still unused to such intimate gestures.
Shen Si noticed the movement. His fingers paused, but he did not withdraw his hand.
She would have to get used to it eventually.
There would be even greater intimacy between them in the future. She could not keep avoiding him forever.
Ji Hanyi had already retreated into the corner against the carriage wall, yet she still failed to escape Shen Si’s hand. Instead, he leaned closer and closer until his breath nearly brushed her face. Then she heard his husky voice ask, “Is there something you want to say to me?”
Ji Hanyi hesitated, but finally voiced the question in her heart. “Lord Shen, why did you choose me?”