Translator – Xiao He Lian
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
Chapter 16.1
The carriage was rumbling along, and Shen Zhen fell on him. Upon smelling the fragrance of sandalwood, she couldn’t help but jump up immediately.
Seeing his frown, she hurriedly sat upright and fiddled with the hem of her skirt.
Lu Yan felt unhappy and his expression became much colder. Seeing that she was being honest, he rubbed his temples with his index finger and took a nap.
The gentle breeze blew up and down the curtains of the carriage, and Shen Zhen looked at the scenery outside through the gap. Chang’an really hasn’t changed at all, it’s still so prosperous, the streets are bustling with people, playing music and singing, having the time of their lives.
It’s just that no one cares about the Yunyang Marquis Mansion that used to be there.
After crossing Zhuque Street, they went through Yanfu Lane. When passing a mansion, Shen Zhen suddenly raised her hand and grasped the curtain. The street view shifted back, but her gaze gradually drifted away with the shrinking mansion.
That was the Li Mansion, the residence of Li Di, the current minister of the Ministry of Industry, and her eldest sister’s husband’s family.
When she thought of her eldest sister, Shen Zhen felt a little sad in her heart. But before the teardrops welled up, she thought that she could not cry, so she relaxed her grip, put down the curtain, and returned her gaze.
Just don’t look at it, don’t think about it, don’t reminisce about it, then everything will be fine.
Shen Zhen took a deep breath, but before she could breathe out, Lu Yan’s hand grabbed her face.
His thumb rested on her chin, his hand was neither light nor heavy and he said in a deep voice, “What’s wrong?”
Shen Zhen looked at his cold eyes and knew that now was not the time to speak. She shook her head and whispered: “No, it’s nothing. Please rest, My Lord.” In Shen Zhen’s view, once her request was rejected by him, it will be difficult to ask again in the future.
So she needs to wait.
Lu Yan didn’t say a word or look at her the rest of the way. He returned to Chengyuan and went straight back to the study.
Shen Zhen saw that he was acting uncharacteristically and it was really puzzling.
She obviously helped him today…but why…
After the dusk faded, it turned dark. A lamp was lit in the corner of the wall, illuminating the bare willow branches and the unchanging green pines. The murmurs in the courtyard gradually faded away, leaving only the sound of the gurgling in the bathtub.
Before the hour of haishi1(the period of the day from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m), Lu Yan opened the door of the clean room.
What caught his eye was Shen Zhen, who was leaning on the edge of the tub and sleeping. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, and a large area of skin was exposed. The mottled red marks on her body are all traces of his evil deeds.
Lu Yan walked to her side silently, looked down at her, only to see that there was still a thumbprint on her lower jaw. But he had only pinched her gently, it was that she was too delicate.
He reached out and tested the water temperature. It was cold.
He sighed, bent down and fished her out. Shen Zhen woke up and instinctively fluttered twice. After meeting his eyes, she relaxed her strength and hung onto him obediently.
Lu Yan took off his cloak, covered her with it, and sent her back into the room.
Shen Zhen shuddered because of the cold and gathered her clothes.
She was naked just now and subconsciously thought he would do something, but he just put her down, turned around and went out again, without saying a word.
Now Shen Zhen finally realized something was wrong.
Once his eyes were stained with that coldness, the air in the room became oppressive and made it difficult to breathe.
She closed her eyes and started to think back from the moment she left the house in the morning. Everything was as usual. Where did it go wrong?
Shen Zhen thought about it and felt that she didn’t say anything wrong the whole day…
She was anxiously thinking about how to talk to him tonight.
While pondering, she heard the sound of his footsteps returning.
Shen Zhen couldn’t help but lie down quickly and closed her eyes. It’s just that her eyelashes trembled slightly, and it was obvious that she was faking sleep.
Lu Yan turned off the light and slowly lay down.
Listening to his gradually calming breathing, Shen Zhen couldn’t help but move closer to him again. Without saying a word, she tentatively held his hand.
Lu Yan didn’t pull away or use any force, as if he was truly fallen asleep.
Shen Zhen held his hand all the way up, moved his palm upward, and spread it flat next to her pillow. Then, she lightly rubbed her ear against it twice.
Seeing that he didn’t move, she reached out and tugged on his clothes again, calling softly, “My Lord.”
This look was exactly the same as when she made a mistake when she was a child and begged her eldest sister to help her. Before reaching her goal, she will keep grinding on like this.
After a long time, the cold and hard heart next to her that was like a blade was made into a blunted knife by her.
He turned sideways and glanced at her, a little annoyed. He didn’t know whether he was annoyed with himself or her.
When they passed by Yanfu lane just now, he noticed all her little movements.
He knew very well as to why she was trying to please him at the moment and what she wanted to say.
But there was no way he would agree to her going to the Li Mansion, not to mention how many people in Chang’an were staring at the eldest lady of the Shen family.
Let alone Li Di.
His father-in-law had just been dismissed by the Emperor as Minister of the Ministry of Industry. In this situation, it was lucky that he was not implicated. Who would have thought that he would actually be promoted.
It was only three years since he became a Jinshi 2(a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).
An eighth-grade supervisory censor suddenly turned into a fourth-grade minister of the Ministry of Industry. As a son of a poor family, it is absolutely impossible for him to succeed if no one promotes him.
After returning from his thoughts and looking at the Shen Zhen in front of him, he withdrew his hand and said slowly: “Shen Zhen, go to sleep.”
As soon as the words fell, Shen Zhen swallowed all the words she had wanted to say. She knew that he would not let her speak.
She slowly turned around and closed her eyes.
Lu Yan’s eyes fell on her fair back.
The delicate body and the slightly undulating butterfly valley all aroused his pity.
He stretched out his hand and caressed it twice.
****
