Chapter 272
Chapter 272
Meanwhile, Shen Si led Ji Hanyi out of the Marquis of Pingnan’s Residence and boarded a carriage alone with her.
Shen Si casually started to hand the scroll to a servant, but Ji Hanyi treasured paintings as dearly as life. She quickly took it back and held it to her chest. “This is Yun Youzi’s *Treading to Song*. Second Young Lady Cui gave it to me. It is extremely precious, so I should hold it myself.”
Shen Si quietly watched her embrace the scroll. Leaning back at ease, he said, “That painting once belonged to me.”
“An object from our household has merely returned to our hands.”
“If you enjoy collecting paintings so much, all those in my study belong to you as well.”
Ji Hanyi stared. She had not expected the painting to have belonged to Shen Si, yet somehow it had ended up in Second Young Lady Cui’s room…
She did not wish to imagine things, but she could not stop herself.
Shen Si seemed to read her thoughts. He said evenly, “Cui Jinjun learned that I possessed the original *Treading to Song* and asked to buy it from me.”
“I own many paintings and had no need of his silver, so I refused. Whenever he had time, he pestered me. I encountered him everywhere until he became tiresome.”
“Later, he was injured and still came dragging his wounded leg. I saw he would not relent until I gave it to him, so I did.”
“Not for nothing, of course. I made him pay dearly.”
Ji Hanyi understood. She had wondered why a military man like Heir Cui understood the collection of paintings. So the scroll had come from Shen Si.
She tried to imagine the stern, commanding Heir Cui pestering Shen Si over a painting…
Truthfully, she could not.
And he had sought the painting for Second Young Lady Cui. Such devotion from an elder brother was rare.
Perhaps partly to test Shen Si, Ji Hanyi continued, “Heir Cui begged for this painting to give Second Young Lady Cui. He truly is a good brother.”
“He wins glory in battle and cherishes his younger siblings at home.”
Shen Si’s expression remained cool. He gave Ji Hanyi a deep look but did not answer. He merely took the scroll from her and passed it outside, instructing Wen’an to store it carefully.
Ji Hanyi studied Shen Si’s face. She could not read a trace of emotion. His expression remained as cool and distant as ever, without even the slightest flicker in his eyes.
Had he not once wished to marry Second Young Lady Cui? Why did her name now provoke no reaction at all?
As Ji Hanyi wondered, Shen Si caught her hand. The carriage rolled forward, and his low voice sounded beside her. “After we dine at a restaurant, I will take you for a walk through the streets.”
Ji Hanyi looked at him. “Are you not busy?”
Shen Si met her gaze. “No.”
He placed her hand on his knee and stroked her palm with his thumb. After a long silence, he asked, “Do you admire Cui Jinjun?”
The sudden question startled Ji Hanyi. After considering it, she decided a man like Heir Cui truly was admirable.
How many elder brothers would go to such lengths merely because their sister liked a painting?
She nodded honestly. “Nearly everyone at the Marquis of Pingnan’s Residence has fought at the frontier. Heir Cui deserves admiration.”
The moment she finished, Shen Si gave a faint scoff. He pulled her into his arms, one large hand settling against her neck. His eyes, deep as the sea, looked down at her, and his voice was thin ice. “You admire him so much that even with your own husband before you, you could not take your eyes off him?”
Shen Si’s fingertips touched her cheek. His voice was heavy with brooding darkness. “Hanyi, do not do that again.”
Ji Hanyi’s mind went blank. Of every possibility she had imagined, she had never expected Shen Si to say this. His gaze was terrifying. His phoenix eyes, cold by nature, narrowed beneath such stern authority that she felt like a prisoner under interrogation.
His voice sounded angry, yet his austere face and unchanging brows made the words feel more like a lesson in how she should behave.
Ji Hanyi did not believe she had done anything wrong. She had not even noticed her behavior. Now that Shen Si raised it so severely, she felt wronged.
Besides, he had asked whether she admired Heir Cui. Her impression of the man was good. He was a general who had defended the frontier. Why should she not admire him?
Ji Hanyi said nothing. She no longer wished to speak to Shen Si. Finding him suddenly unreasonable, she turned her face away.
Dusk had nearly fallen, leaving the carriage dim. Shen Si looked down at Ji Hanyi’s unconvinced expression and laughed coldly in anger.
She stared at another man and still believed herself justified.
Her husband stood before her, yet she never studied him this intently. All her attention went to someone else.
He had barely finished explaining how Cui Jinjun pestered him for the painting before she began praising the man.
She knew perfectly well which of them was being unreasonable.
Since their marriage, how many times had she called him husband? Only when he demanded it in bed would she reluctantly say the word a few times.
The thought angered him further. He gripped her waist and drew her onto his thighs, then caught her small chin and pulled her close. Frowning, he asked, “Do you still believe you did nothing wrong?”
His fingers hurt her. He drew her face toward his, his voice cold, his noble features stern and distant, as he always appeared in public-aloof and scrutinizing.
For an instant, Ji Hanyi felt like one of Shen Si’s prisoners being questioned.
She wanted to argue, but his expression was frightening. She abandoned the thought. If Shen Si had raised the matter, perhaps there had been something to it, though she had not noticed.
Ji Hanyi did not wish to quarrel. He had tried so many cases that she could never defeat his reasoning. She pushed at his chest. “I never said that.”
Shen Si saw the denial in her eyes despite the obedience of her words. She clearly did not mean what she said. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. His chest rose several times before he forced his emotions down.
When he opened his eyes again, pain stirred deep within his heart. He released her chin but kept a firm hand on her waist. “It must not happen again.”
The simple sentence was a command, leaving no room for discussion. Ji Hanyi was expected to remember it.