Chapter 249
Chapter 249
Shen Si pressed Shen Changying’s hand down. He understood why Fourth Brother had brought the young man here.
Even if he meant to seek justice for Ji Hanyi, he could not take his anger out on Shen Changying. The young man was his nephew, not an outsider, and he had played no part in the affair. He had done nothing wrong.
After a few more words, Shen Si sent First Master and Shen Changying home.
Before leaving, Shen Su paused. “Changling is suppressing bandits in Shui County. Did you see him there, Fifth Younger Brother?”
“He insisted on going off to win military honors, but that pampered fool has no business fighting bandits. Those men are vicious and desperate. How could he possibly manage? I have been worried sick these past few days. I asked people to inquire after him, only to hear that he seldom returns to camp or the yamen and spends every day leading men in skirmishes. I have no idea how he is faring. My heart has been in my throat, and his mother worries about him every day.”
Shen Si looked at Shen Su in the darkness, deep concern etched across his face. “When I arrived, he had already taken the head of a minor bandit chief. That counts as a military achievement.”
“Do not worry about him, Fourth Brother. He performed very well this time. I relied on his help myself, and he will receive credit for what he has done.”
Only then did the worry on Shen Su’s face give way to relief and pride. “I never expected him to earn praise from you. The fact that he now wants to distinguish himself is heartening.”
“That child used to be a constant source of worry. At last, he cares about his future. He has finally grown sensible.”
Shen Si nodded slightly. When he returned to their rooms, Ji Hanyi sat before the dressing table while a matron stood behind her, combing oil through her hair. Her graceful figure rested on an embroidered stool. Shen Si stood a short distance away and watched her profile in silence for a long while, then turned and went to the study first.
When Ji Hanyi finished preparing for bed and still did not see him, she had hot water drawn for a bath.
Only she and Rongchun remained in the bathing room. Rongchun carefully examined Ji Hanyi’s skin and relaxed only after seeing that the marks had almost completely faded.
Shen Si had not returned by the time Ji Hanyi emerged. On learning that he was in the study, she went to bed first.
When Ji Hanyi had first arrived at the Shen Residence, she assumed its rules would be stricter than those of the Xie Residence. There, she had been required to wait until after the hour of the boar before retiring if Xie Yuheng had not yet returned.
She expected the same rules here. Instead, although Shen Si’s courtyard appeared highly disciplined, Nanny Fang was exceedingly indulgent toward her and always urged her to rest early rather than wait for him.
After considering it, Ji Hanyi suspected Shen Si had given those instructions.
She found the arrangement quite agreeable and accepted it without guilt.
As Rongchun applied salve, Ji Hanyi lay on her stomach reading. Rongchun could not help asking, “Doesn’t Madam feel upset? While you were recuperating these past two days, people in the residence were spreading gossip about you. Even I cannot let it go.”
Propping up her head, Ji Hanyi replied softly, “There is nothing to be done even if we cannot let it go. It has already happened. I cannot torment myself over it.”
“Besides, when I insisted on investigating the matter at the Old Madam’s today, it was not because I wanted someone punished. Every great household has its rumors and gossip.”
“I wanted to use the opportunity to explain everything clearly in front of them all and let them see with their own eyes that I was perfectly well. You can silence people for a time, but not forever. If the rumor is cut off at its root, no one will mention it again.”
“If I hid myself away and did nothing but try to silence everyone, it would only give them more to talk about.”
Rongchun understood at once. “Madam thought of everything.”
Ji Hanyi did not answer. She closed the book, slipped it beneath her pillow, and inexplicably thought again of Baihe’s death. “When we returned that day, did you say anyone else saw us?”
Rongchun thought for a moment and shook her head. “Before we came back, the Marquis had every servant along the route sent away. I followed you the entire way and did not see a single soul. No one else could possibly have seen.”
Ji Hanyi nodded and asked no more.
She was growing sleepy. After drinking the medicine Nanny Fang brought, she went to sleep.
It was the middle of the night when a warm body finally pressed close behind her. A broad palm slid over her waist, slowly turning her to face him.
Ji Hanyi was still lost in sleep. She dimly felt her chin being tipped up before a damp kiss descended.
She cracked her eyes open and saw Shen Si, cool and distant as the night itself, staring intently at her without expression.
Far too sleepy to respond, she pushed at his chest and tried to turn away.
Shen Si held her firmly by the small of her back, refusing to let her move. A low, muffled groan escaped his throat.
Their hurried encounter in the palace had brought him no relief at all. Only holding her at night eased his need in the slightest.
These past few days, he had not dared touch her. She had fallen from a horse and suffered small abrasions all over her body, and he feared she might also have injured her bones. Even when he held her at night, he did so with the utmost care.
At most, he could steal a few kisses while she slept, enough to make the ache marginally more bearable.
Now thoroughly roused by him, Ji Hanyi opened drowsy eyes. “Did you only just come back?”
Shen Si murmured an assent. His gaze fell to the loosened neckline of her white sleeping robe. Smooth pale skin and soft fullness showed faintly beneath it, while the magnolia embroidered on her undergarment made the glimpse all the more intimate. His throat worked. He eased his body slightly away from hers and asked, “Did I wake you?”
Eyes closed, Ji Hanyi answered hoarsely, “No.”
Shen Si withdrew the hand resting at her waist. “Does your body still hurt?”
Half asleep, she replied lazily, “A little.”
His heart aching, Shen Si held her hand. “I will have an Imperial Physician examine you tomorrow.”
Ji Hanyi gave a languid hum of agreement.
Watching her drift toward sleep, Shen Si asked, “How did you think of that method in the kitchen?”
Ji Hanyi nestled sleepily against him, her husky voice soft. “I once read a story about a County Magistrate whose official seal was stolen. Every constable denied knowing anything, so the magistrate had a great bell brought in. He claimed it could detect lies and would ring by itself when touched by a liar.”
“He made each constable enter a dark room alone and touch the bell, then examined their palms afterward.”
“The magistrate had coated the bell in ink beforehand. The thief was too guilty to touch it, so the man whose hand remained clean was the culprit.”
Shen Si smiled. She certainly knew how to adapt an old lesson to a new purpose. Cradling Ji Hanyi’s face, he could not resist kissing her pale cheek.
She truly was irresistible.
Ji Hanyi no longer had the energy even to open her eyes. Annoyed that he was disturbing her sleep, she dodged him and turned her back.
Shen Si looked at her small retreating figure, which seemed distinctly cold and heartless. He reached toward her, but stopped halfway and drew his hand back.
Glancing down at himself, he felt his lower abdomen drawn so tight he could barely endure it. This was how he had spent every night of late. In the end, he could only rise alone and go to the bathing room.