Chapter 4: When Patience Runs Dry, Recklessness Prevails

Shen Yanxi looked at Lu Jin, whose expression suggested he truly remembered nothing, and suspicion lingered in her heart. Had he really forgotten, or was he just trying to fool her?

“That day, Young Master Lu awoke for a moment and said he wished to repay me as a beast of burden. I asked if he’d be willing to marry into the Shen family, and he agreed at once. After that, I brought you home…” Shen Yanxi stared at Lu Jin without blinking. Let’s see if you’re truly forgetful or just pretending.

Absurd! What kind of ridiculous plot is this? If someone wrote it into a novel, they'd be scorned!

Lu Jin asked, “Why don’t I remember anything like that?”

“Aren’t you the one who forgot?” Shen Yanxi replied with utmost seriousness.

Lu Jin was speechless.

A total knockout!

“Is Miss Shen so desperate to marry?” Lu Jin still found it hard to believe. She was a great beauty—was it necessary to resort to such a contrived story? Did people here have odd tastes? With her family background, even if she were plain, suitors would be lining up.

Shen Yanxi glared at him. Aren’t you supposed to be a scholar? Why are you so blunt?

Desperate to marry? If it weren’t for that wretched emperor, would I have resorted to such measures?

And he actually believes it? Well, believing saves me from embarrassment.

Lu Jin failed to notice the slyness in Shen Yanxi’s gaze and looked awkward. If he’d realized, he would have complained—so this is the real Shen Yanxi, a cold beauty with a hidden edge!

If she wasn’t desperate, why choose me? What merit or virtue do I have? As a mere scholar, I’m hardly a match for the Shen family. The more he thought, the more puzzled he became.

“That day at the clinic, it was indeed I who brought you into the Shen household. I asked if you’d marry in, and you agreed…” Shen Yanxi recounted the events simply. Too many details had faded from Lu Jin’s memory, and now she couldn’t bring herself to speak them. The courage she’d had then was gone.

Thinking of this, Shen Yanxi’s mood darkened. No one wishes their marriage to be handled so carelessly. She’d been muddled then; now it felt like a joke.

“That’s far too hasty, isn’t it?” Lu Jin’s mouth dropped in shock. Are women in this world so bold? Dragging strangers home? Was his appearance truly so extraordinary, a modern-day Pan An?

Shen Yanxi glared at him again. How could he say such things—what did he mean, hasty?

“Ahem, what I mean is, how could I agree to something so absurd?” Lu Jin coughed awkwardly.

“Shouldn’t you ask yourself?” Shen Yanxi responded, puzzled.

Her retort left Lu Jin with nothing to say. Where did she learn to argue so mercilessly?

If he knew, why ask her? How did this end up in a dead loop?

“Miss Shen, aren’t you afraid I might be up to no good, with ulterior motives?” Lu Jin changed his approach.

“Oh? What motives?” Shen Yanxi’s eyes burned with inquiry as she stared at him.

“My motive…” Damn, what motive? I have none. I just want to figure out what happened. Nearly fell into her trap.

“I mean, Miss Shen, you’re beautiful, surely it’s not hard to find a husband? Why choose me?”

“It was just a coincidence…” Shen Yanxi lowered her head as she spoke. It was indeed a spur-of-the-moment scheme.

Well, aren’t you just fishing for trouble? Lu Jin was dumbfounded.

He’d been talking for ages, yet he hadn’t gotten any answers. This wouldn’t do!

Lu Jin leaned forward, his gaze drifting to Shen Yanxi’s belly—nothing obvious there.

Noticing his expression, Shen Yanxi flared up and slapped the table with her fan.

He was getting too impudent. Where was he looking? When she’d questioned him before, he’d hardly dared lift his head; now, he was so bold—was this his true nature?

Angry as she was, Shen Yanxi’s heart raced. Was he a lecher after all?

“Miss Shen, you still haven’t answered my question. If you have some secret difficulty, you might as well say it. If I can help, I will.”

Come on, lay your cards on the table.

“What do you mean?” Shen Yanxi played dumb. He was really persistent—was he trying to make a fool of her? She’d already told him; if he forgot, was that her fault?

Fine, press me then.

“How many months?” Lu Jin hinted with his eyes.

Shen Yanxi was confused—what did he mean, how many months?

Still pretending!

“How many months pregnant?” Lu Jin pressed on.

…

Shen Yanxi’s thoughts whirled. Following his gaze, it took her ages to grasp his meaning.

With a loud smack, the fan struck the table, making it tremble.

Shen Yanxi’s face flushed crimson, her eyes red-rimmed, finger pointed at Lu Jin, unable to utter a word. Of all the things she’d imagined, she never expected him to insult her so brazenly. What did he take her for?

“You, you…”

“Miss, Miss!” Hearing the commotion inside, the maids rushed in.

“We’re leaving!” Shen Yanxi declared, striding outside with a frosty countenance, heedless of anything else.

The sound of scattered footsteps faded away, and the room returned to silence.

Lu Jin finally snapped out of his daze as he gazed at the empty chamber. He was doomed—was he possessed just now? This was no world where one could joke so lightly with a young lady.

Lu Jin sat dumbly in his chair, while Caiyun and two young servants stood lost and bewildered, unsure what to do.

The first formal meeting between Shen and Lu—failed.

Shen Yanxi walked with the force of the wind, paying no mind to the heavy raindrops that had begun to fall. Her face was covered in water; it was impossible to tell if it was rain or tears.

“How could he insult me so?” Shen Yanxi seethed.

The maid trailing behind hurried forward with an umbrella, still clueless as to what had transpired between their mistress and the young master to leave her so furious.

New Moon Residence was close to Brook Garden, just a few steps away. But Brook Garden was vast, and Shen Yanxi made no attempt to avoid the rain or accept the umbrella. By the time she returned, she was soaked through. Inside and outside, maids and matrons didn’t dare breathe loudly. Anyone could see something serious was brewing in the Shen household.

Shen Yanxi sat on the couch, not bothering to change her clothes. She took the teacup handed to her by a maid, hoping to quell her distress. But her hands shook so much that tea spilled over the table and couch.

The attending maid tried to clean up, but Nanny Yuan Hui hurried in and sent them outside to kneel in the rain. The maids who’d accompanied Shen Yanxi to New Moon Residence were already kneeling nearby, scattered across the ground. When the mistress is humiliated, the servants are to blame—that’s the rule in great households.

Yuan Hui was called nanny, but she was only in her thirties, younger than Shen Yanxi’s mother by several years. She married young, had a child at sixteen, and had plenty of milk. Her looks were pleasant, and to help support her family, she came to the Shen house as Shen Yanxi’s nurse. After Shen Yanxi was weaned, Yuan Hui remained because she was steady and Yanxi was fond of her.

In fact, Shen Yanxi had two nannies; Yuan Hui was just one. The other rarely visited, only occasionally coming to see Shen Yanxi.

Yuan Hui cleaned up the spilled tea, then took a linen towel soaked in hot water and wrung out, wiping Shen Yanxi’s face. Shen Yanxi sat motionless on the couch, letting her nurse tend to her. Yet her eyes seemed to hold a spring of clear water—no matter how much Yuan Hui wiped, she could not dry her tears.