Translator – Xiao He Lian
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Chapter 73.1
May 30th, the 17th year of Yuanqing.
The wind chimes under the eaves swaying gently in the breeze, making tiny sounds. As the sun set, thick clouds came and covered the quiet Shen residence.
Sparse raindrops fell on the ground, rustling, and soon it began to rain heavily.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Qingxi put down the bamboo broom in her hand, frowned and thought: The Crown Prince just sent two maids over this morning, who is it now…
After a while, Qingxi walked into Chunjin Hall, opened the curtain and said, “Miss, someone is here to see you.”
“Who is it?” Shen Zhen was bending over to feed her white pigeons.
“It’s Miss Sun and Miss Wang.” Qingxi curled her lips and continued, “The people from the East Palace came in the morning, and they came in the afternoon. They are really all clairvoyant and clairaudient.”
Shen Zhen smiled, knowing in her heart that they were so attentive only because they wanted to come and see how she was doing.
Or maybe they wanted to see if there were any men in her house.
Shen Zhen reached out and patted the pigeon’s head, then sighed, “Let them in.”
As soon as Sun Mi and Wang Rui entered the room, they looked around constantly.
Wang Rui said, “Third Miss, why didn’t you tell us that you returned to Chang’an?”
“I just returned to the capital yesterday and before I had time to tell you, I ran into you.” After saying that, Shen Zhen raised her hand and poured tea for the two of them, “Have some tea.”
Wang Rui laughed awkwardly, then said, “It was a coincidence yesterday. Qingqing said that Zhuyue Pavilion had some new hairpins and asked us to go take a look. I didn’t expect to meet you.”
“It’s a coincidence indeed.”
Wang Rui added, “Hey, last year when your family had an accident, I happened to have a cold, and my mother wouldn’t let me go out. I hope Third Miss won’t blame me.”
Shen Zhen looked into her eyes and said, “Of course not.”.
Wang Rui picked up the teacup in front of her, took a sip, and said nonchalantly, “Oh, by the way, who paid back the eight thousand copper coins for you?”
Shen Zhen secretly exerted force with her fingertips and said lightly: “He was my father’s former student.”
“Really?” Wang Rui smiled and took her hand. “Then, Third Miss must have suffered a lot during this period.”
“Under the care of others, it wasn’t that bad.”
At this time, Sun Mi took the lead in handing over a note, “Shen Zhen, Fourth Miss Xu will hold a flower viewing banquet in Qujiang next month. Since you are back, you should come along.”
“I won’t go.” Shen Zhen pushed back: “I am different from you. I still need to look after the shop every day. I appreciate your kindness.”
Sun Mi was impatient and immediately said, “Xu Yiqing begged her fourth sister to invite you to go with her out of consideration for our past friendship, but you refused without even looking at the invitation?”
Wang Rui pushed her elbow and said, “Third sister, you don’t know but Xu Yiqing did this especially for you.”
“Third sister, I’m sure you’ve heard about the recent rumors in the capital. Our reputation as women is greater than heaven, why don’t you take this opportunity to clarify it? This will prevent people from misunderstanding.”
After that, Wang Rui looked at Sun Mi again. Sun Mi frowned and said, “Shen Zhen, if you are short of money, just tell me. At worst, I can go home and get it and give you some.”
“The clear is clear by nature, and the turbid is turbid by nature1(A person who is innocent in his mind is innocent even if he does not say anything to clarify himself; and a person who is a bad person is still a bad person in his heart even if he denies a bad thing he did.). I have nothing to explain. Thank you all for your kindness.” Shen Zhen pushed the invitation back.
Sun Mi got anxious and said, “Shen Zhen! You really don’t know what’s good for you!”
Shen Zhen didn’t respond.
Wang Rui saw Shen Zhen’s stubborn attitude and knew that it was useless to persuade her any further, so she said, “Third sister, we’ll leave this invitation here. Don’t rush to reject it. Think about it carefully. After all, these rumors will not do you any good.”
Wang Rui pulled Sun Mi out of Shen Residence.
Sun Mi swung the palm leaf fan in her hand, “Why should Shen Zhen show off to us? She doesn’t even think of her reputation outside. We personally sent her the invitation, which is already giving her enough face. If it were someone else, who would be willing to be with her?”
Ever since the news of Shen Zhen’s return to the capital spread, rumors in the capital were like a raging fire touched by oil, the fire spread so quickly that it was impossible to extinguish.
Some people said that Shen Zhen became someone’s concubine, some said that she went to Yangzhou to become a thin horse2(The farmers would buy beautiful girls from poor families and train them, teaching them singing, dancing, chess, calligraphy and painting. When they grew up, they would be sold to rich men as concubines or to their husbands and wives, making a profit from the business. Because poor girls were often skinny, the name “skinny horse” came from this.) and some said that she became someone’s mistress.
She was able to return to the capital today because she was saved by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Wang Rui lowered his voice, “Could the rumors outside be false?”
“Tsk.” Sun Mi said, “How come you are like Xu Yiqing and speak for her? I heard from my mother that when the Yunyang Marquis’s mansion was confiscated, the branch of the Shen family did not take a penny in order to avoid suspicion! Shen Zhen’s uncles were unwilling to help, so how could there be a kind-hearted person who would repay her 8,000 strings of cash without asking for anything in return! In my opinion, she must have become someone’s concubine.”
“Don’t forget, that face of hers has caused a lot of trouble in the past.”
“That does make some sense.” Wang Rui whispered, “But she is also lucky to be looked after by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”
Sun Mi smiled and said,“It’s just merely looking after her.”
The sound outside the wall eventually faded away. Qingxi stared at the invitation on the table and asked, “Miss, are you planning to go?”
“No.” Shen Zhen shook his head. “Although I can’t guess what they are up to, one thing is for sure, the Xu family’s daughter definitely doesn’t have this good intention to help me right my reputation.”
Although Xu Yiqing always appears to be selfless and righteous, in fact, she always uses others to get things done.
Just like yesterday, she met them by chance as soon as she arrived.
Coincidence? She didn’t think so.
Among all the famous noble ladies in the capital, Wang Rui is the one with the biggest mouth, and the one with whom she has the deepest grudge is Sun Mi… How could she be so unlucky that she ran into them all as soon as she went out?
She is afraid that the news has not been spread fast enough …….
Since Shen Zhen knew that her heart is not as deep as Xu Yiqing, she thought: Since I can’t beat her, I might as well stay away from her and avoid causing trouble for myself.
As for reputation, the man’s face flashed before her eyes and she couldn’t help but clench her palms…it was true that she was someone’s mistress.
After dinner, the heavy rain stopped suddenly, and someone knocked on the door of Shen Residence once again. Shen Zhen frowned and asked, “Who is it again?”
“I will go out and take a look. If it is still those people again, I will tell them that the young lady has gone to bed.”
Shen Zhen nodded.
After a while, Qingxi returned. Before she could finish her words, Shen Zhen suddenly put down the embroidered handkerchief in her hand and walked out quickly.
Not far away, outside the gate, a man was striding towards her.
The man’s temple was as sharp as a knife and eyes as cold as ice, but a hint of tenderness suddenly appeared in the corners of his fierce eyes. When their eyes met, he called her.
“Third sister.” Su Heng paused, “I’m late.”
