Chapter 254

Chapter 254

Spoken in Shen Si’s deep voice and accompanied by his grave expression, those words extinguished every thought Ji Hanyi had of coaxing or pleading her way out of it.

She reached for the pill, but Shen Si brought it directly to her lips. His black eyes burned into hers, and his husky voice carried the force of a command. “Open your mouth.”

Ji Hanyi froze. The hand suspended between them dropped in resignation.

The pill was small but intensely bitter. She struggled to swallow it, covering her mouth as she nearly retched. Only when Shen Si brought warm tea to her lips did it finally go down.

She coughed twice, a faint flush spreading over her face.

Holding her slender shoulders, Shen Si had not expected her to find it so difficult. The pill was no larger than half a fingernail. Next time, he would have the Imperial Physician make them smaller.

Seeing the reddened corners of her eyes and the tears gathered there, his heart softened. He drew her into his arms and soothed her quietly for a while.

Shen Si had only just bathed. His inner robe remained faintly damp and carried a pleasant scent to Ji Hanyi’s nose.

The hand against her back was warm and strong, its touch almost gentle.

As though under a spell, she lifted her head. Shen Si’s face remained as distant as ever. She lowered her eyes again.

Once he had comforted her, Shen Si lifted her legs onto his lap and examined the injury on her knee.

It had nearly healed, though a red mark remained. He placed a hand over it, then turned to Ji Hanyi’s clear black-and-white eyes. One of her hands braced beside her, her head tilted away in embarrassment.

She looked especially soft and lovely. Warmth stirred in Shen Si’s heart. He fetched the salve and applied another layer, while the corner of his eye followed the blush spreading slowly across her face.

He enjoyed seeing her this way, shy before him. Was this not how a woman ought to react to a man?

After the bed curtains were lowered, Shen Si asked what she had done that day. Ji Hanyi had always slept easily. Eyes closed, she answered between yawns.

Then she tried to turn away and sleep.

Shen Si held her waist and refused to let her move. Though he knew everything she did in the residence, he wanted her to speak with him a little longer.

They had little time alone. These days, he yearned to return home, but his duties rarely allowed him to come back early.

Feeling him restrain her, Ji Hanyi lazily stopped moving.

Shen Si both loved and resented the way she cared only for sleep. He was grateful that she could still rest so soundly after what she had endured, yet frustrated that she slept through what little time they had together.

His days at court were a thousand times busier than hers, but the moment he returned, all his attention went to her. Ji Hanyi had never noticed.

Wei Wu had also been captured. Shen Si had returned late today because of him; otherwise, he might have come home earlier. With everything piling up at once, whenever Shen Si wanted a little intimate time with Ji Hanyi, the moment was somehow wrong.

He sighed softly and tightened his arms around her yielding body. Slipping a hand beneath the hem at her waist, he caressed her smooth skin. “How long did Mother keep you this morning?”

Nestled against his chest, Ji Hanyi felt his warm hand roaming over her. She lacked the strength to push it away and answered faintly, “Not long.”

After a pause, she added, “Mother wants me to learn household management from Sister-in-law. Sister-in-law suggested I begin with the kitchen.”

Shen Si tilted her chin up and looked into her sleepy face. “Do you want to manage it?”

His fingers pinched a little too firmly. Ji Hanyi lifted her hazy eyes. “If I do not want to, may I refuse?”

Shen Si’s thumb stroked her soft, smooth cheek, and his voice grew hoarse. “If you do not wish to do it now, you can wait until later.”

Ji Hanyi understood. If she did not manage it now, she would still have to do so eventually.

Besides, if she suddenly abandoned the task, the Old Madam would probably find fault again. She answered languidly, “Then I may as well take it over now.”

“I told Sister-in-law I would wait until I finished the paintings for His Majesty the Emperor.”

“And this is not the right moment to assume control of the kitchen.”

Shen Si listened, studying her indolent manner. It was not that he wanted her to suffer rather than live at ease.

But setting aside his own duties as the heir of the Shen Family, one day the household would divide, and Ji Hanyi would have to manage their inner household.

He had not yet shown her how much private property he held, nor did she know the full extent of the Shen Family’s assets. If she knew, she would understand that someone had to manage them. For now, he only wanted her to grow accustomed to the work. Once she was ready, he would place all his private holdings in her hands.

Most of Shen Si’s private wealth came from the rewards, fertile fields, and estates bestowed by His Majesty after Shen Si became a Marquis. None of it belonged to the Shen Residence’s accounts. After years under his management, its value had more than doubled. Sooner or later, Ji Hanyi would manage it all.

Compared with that, overseeing the kitchen was a light responsibility.

Though Shen Si said nothing, guilt lingered. He leaned closer to Ji Hanyi’s face and murmured, “Yucui Pavilion has released some new jewelry. I will have it brought tomorrow for you to choose from.”
Ji Hanyi already owned several boxes of jewelry. During the day’s inventory, she had found that Shen Si had prepared a great deal more. She had never cared much for ornaments and shook her head. “I already have plenty.”

Shen Si quietly studied her half-closed eyes. Her voice was soft and lazy, as though she were merely humoring him. Discontent stirred in his heart.

He could not name the feeling. He only knew that he was offering her his eager heart, trying to please her and coax another few words from her, while Ji Hanyi responded with lukewarm distraction.

Her eyes closed again, faint fragrance carried on her gentle breaths. She must have been tired. He could not bear to say more.

Drawing a deep breath, Shen Si saw that she had fallen soundly asleep and finally left her in peace.

Ji Hanyi woke early the next morning. When she saw Shen Si rise, she sat up as well and went to help him dress. He meant to tell her to sleep longer, but seeing her come to his side, he held his tongue. Such moments of closeness between husband and wife were too rare.

Ji Hanyi was not particularly skilled. Her movements were smooth enough, but she was unaccustomed to serving someone and worked slowly. Every maid in the courtyard knew the Marquis’s temperament: he valued efficiency. Each morning, his dressing and washing had to be completed by a precise time, and he even left the courtyard at nearly the same moment each day. No maid dared delay him.

Ji Hanyi’s pace would plainly make him late. Two maids nearby started forward to help, only to be stopped cold by a single cool glance from the Marquis.

Shen Si watched Ji Hanyi’s movements. They were not efficient, but he liked the feel of her fingertips brushing him, the concentration in her eyes, and the faint blush on her cheeks when he bent so she could straighten his collar.

It gave him a sense of intimacy between husband and wife.

Even the ordinary morning ritual of washing and dressing felt warm.

He also enjoyed observing every expression on Ji Hanyi’s face.

“You may use the study whenever you wish,” he said. “You can keep your things there as well.”

Ji Hanyi paused and looked up. “I saw many documents inside last night. They are all the Marquis’s belongings. What if I disturb something important?”

Shen Si smiled faintly. “It does not matter. The desk is large. Organize my things for me, then place yours there.”

Ji Hanyi asked uncertainly, “You want me to organize them?”

She feared his papers were important and should not be touched casually.

Shen Si raised a brow. “Only the cleaning maids are otherwise permitted inside my study.”

Ji Hanyi understood and readily agreed.

After Shen Si left, she washed and dressed.

While she sat at the dressing table, Nanny Fang brought several invitations and placed them in her hands.

They had arrived over the past month. First Ji Hanyi had entered the palace, then recuperated from her illness, so Nanny Fang had not shown them to her. Yesterday had also been crowded with other matters. Now, while Ji Hanyi’s hair was being arranged, the nanny finally delivered them.

Ji Hanyi looked through the invitations. There were spring banquets, tea gatherings, and requests for acquaintance-more than a dozen in barely one month.

Several had even come from Xie Jin.

Amused, Ji Hanyi had Rongchun burn those.

She examined the rest, kept one in her hand, and set the others aside.

Most had been sent by people hoping to form a connection. Ji Hanyi was busy and had no desire to cultivate new acquaintances just now.

The invitation she retained came from the Marquis of Pingnan’s Residence. The Marquis of Pingnan had won illustrious military merit, and his mother was celebrating her birthday. Ji Hanyi ought to attend such an occasion.

She had also received a letter from the Cheng’an Marquis’s Residence. Madam Su, Qin Che’s legitimate wife, asked whether she intended to go. If she did, Madam Su would find her there and introduce her to her own friends and the ladies of the Marquis of Pingnan’s Residence.

Madam Su added that this would be Ji Hanyi’s first public appearance since marrying Shen Si, and the Grand Princess had asked her to look after Ji Hanyi.

Ji Hanyi suspected Madam Su had written because she worried Ji Hanyi would know few people at the Marquis of Pingnan’s Residence and might find herself alone. The thoughtful letter ensured she would have a companion at the banquet.

Thinking of how carefully the Grand Princess had arranged everything, warmth filled Ji Hanyi’s heart. She placed the letter beside the invitation.

By the time she finished reading, she was nearly ready. She set off for Old Madam Shen’s quarters.

The first light of morning was spreading. Early spring had already passed, and the dew was no longer heavy. Vegetation flourished, and a pleasant floral fragrance filled the air.

Ji Hanyi gathered her sleeves and walked at an unhurried pace. When she reached her mother-in-law’s quarters, she had arrived neither early nor late, but precisely on time.

Old Madam Shen sat upright on a sandalwood arhat bed. At Ji Hanyi’s arrival, her expression revealed nothing. “You have come a quarter-hour earlier these past two days.”

Ji Hanyi replied, “I would not dare forget Mother’s instruction.”

Old Madam Shen nodded, again seated Ji Hanyi beside her, and ordered a maid to serve her tea.

Madam Bai watched from the other side, unable to identify the feeling in her heart.

Once Ji Hanyi arrived, Old Madam Shen dismissed everyone else and kept her alone.