Chapter 38: Unwilling to Treat It Lightly

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Unwilling to Treat It Lightly

’As long as it isn’t me or Zhiqiu, it’s not a problem.’

Mrs. Shen hadn’t planned on having her niece’s servants send things to her son. Seeing Cui Lingyao behave with such propriety and understand the need to avoid suspicion, she was even more gratified. She reached out, tapped the space between her brows, and smiled. "My dear, you’re truly a young lady now."

’She’s become so much more sensible.’

Cui Lingyao: "..."

She touched her forehead. Thinking of everything the body’s original owner had done left a strange taste in her mouth.

Mrs. Shen only ate two pieces of the pastry; Nanny Qian sent the rest to the study in the front courtyard.

It was placed on Shen Tingyu’s desk.

This was the second time Shen Tingyu had received Lotus Cake from the kitchen of the small courtyard.

The first time, he hadn’t even glanced at it.

This time, however, he lifted the lid of the food box after Nanny Qian had left.

The pastries inside were shaped like lotuses, pink and tender-looking.

Just like the young lady who made them.

Truly exquisite and lovely.

It made one reluctant to treat them with anything less than care.

When Shen Er came in, he saw his master—usually so prim and proper—staring at a plate of pastries as if he were in a trance...

’How odd,’ he thought.

As his personal attendant, he knew better than anyone how much his master detested their cousin.

’What’s this? A change of heart today?’

’I’ve only ever heard that a persistent man can win over even the fiercest woman.’

’Is it the other way around for our master?’

Remembering his purpose, Shen Er collected his thoughts and reported, "Young Master, the Madam requests your presence."

Shen Tingyu’s eyes flickered. "Did she say what it’s about?"

"No, but I heard..."

Shen Er leaned in closer and whispered, "The Marchioness Guangping came by this morning."

The Marquis Guangping Mansion was Shen Tingyu’s maternal grandparents’ home.

The eldest legitimate daughter of the mansion had entered the palace a few years ago and had given birth to the Emperor’s youngest son.

The Emperor, overjoyed to have a son in his later years, was lavish with his rewards.

He not only bestowed upon her the title of Imperial Concubine, but the status of Marquis Guangping and his son at court also rose with her tide.

Now, the second legitimate daughter of their mansion had also reached marriageable age.

Among all the unmarried young gentlemen in the Capital City, Shen Tingyu stood out. He had made a name for himself at a young age; at eighteen, he was personally selected by His Majesty for third place in the imperial examinations. In the three years since, he first entered the Hanlin Academy, then moved to the Ministry of Personnel to serve as an Assistant Minister. He was now a Standard Fourth Rank official with a boundless future.

He was, by all accounts, the most eligible bachelor.

Madams with marriageable daughters dreamed of making him their perfect son-in-law.

This included his mother’s family.

Guessing his mother was calling him over to bring up the same old subject again, Shen Tingyu’s brow furrowed slightly. He closed the lid on the food box and strode out of the study.

***

That afternoon, Shen Hanyue and Shen Hanyun came to the small courtyard together.

Cui Lingyao brought out her best tea to serve her guests.

The three of them sat around a pot of light tea and a few plates of fruit, talking for the whole afternoon.

Shen Hanyue relayed, one by one, the pieces of information she had asked her older brother to find out.

Cui Lingyao had already heard all of this from Shen Tingyu that morning, but she still listened quietly.

After she finished, Shen Hanyue took a sip of tea and offered her opinion. "I think the Wu Family is a good choice. They’re right here in the Capital City, and he’s ambitious. After you’re married, you can urge him to study hard. You won’t have to worry about him failing to earn a title."

Shen Hanyun also nodded in agreement. "That way, once we sisters are all married, we can look out for each other."

They were all from the Duke Mansion, and Shen Hanyue in particular was the legitimate eldest daughter of the Princely Heir. She was destined to marry into a prominent family and become its matriarch.

’This is the benefit of marrying into a less prominent family.’

’With a few cousins for support, I wouldn’t have to worry about being mistreated.’

Cui Lingyao was touched.

If it weren’t for her conversation with Shen Tingyu that morning, she might have chosen the Wang family.

But now...

She was starting to have a change of heart.

Seeing this, Shen Hanyue thought she was undecided and said, "Don’t rush into a decision. In two days, the Duke Zhao Mansion is hosting a large banquet. We can go then and see what this Mr. Wu looks like. My brother said..."

Her voice trailed off, as if she felt it was improper to continue.

Shen Hanyun was curious and urged, "What did our brother say?"

"..." Shen Hanyue hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "My brother said that Mr. Wu is not good-looking... that his face and lips protrude a bit."

It wasn’t right to gossip about someone’s appearance behind their back.

Especially coming from the ever-so-refined Eldest Young Master Shen.

Cui Lingyao raised an eyebrow, finding that this actually made the man’s image more vivid in her mind.

’Quite down-to-earth of him.’

Shen Hanyun didn’t understand. "What does ’face and lips protrude a bit’ mean?"

"...It means buck teeth. You know what buck teeth are, right?"

Shen Hanyue shot her cousin an exasperated glance. "One of the grooms in our mansion is like that. You’ve even seen him."

Shen Hanyun immediately remembered and shook her head in alarm. "Oh, that’s unacceptable! So ugly it could scare someone to death."

In her eyes, no matter what her cousin’s flaws were, you couldn’t find a single fault with her face. She absolutely could not be paired with such a crude-looking man.

The thought of her cousin spending her days and nights, sharing a bed, with a man who looked like a stable hand made Shen Hanyun gasp. "We should definitely look at other options," she advised. "How can the person you spend your life with be so ugly?"

Cui Lingyao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’The original owner’s cousins were all wonderful people.’

’No matter how much they might have disapproved of one another, none of them bore any true malice.’

’In her original world, Cui Lingyao had lost her parents at a young age. She was adopted by the Lu Family, which had only one son, Lu Chen. She had only ever known a sibling bond.’

’Later, in Great Yue, the Changping Marquis Mansion had a full three branches to its family. Not counting her own biological brother, Cui Lingyao had six male cousins, but all three branches combined couldn’t muster a second daughter.’

’Cui Lingyao had never had the chance to experience what it was like to have sisters.’

’She never expected that by swapping bodies, she would gain two female cousins out of thin air.’

She smiled and agreed, "Alright, I’ll listen to Yun’er. No marrying an ugly one. We’ll look at some others."

Shen Hanyun was relieved, but seeing her speak so affectionately made her feel a little awkward.

The sisters agreed to go to the Zhao Family’s banquet together in two days to help size up the prospects. They would have to take a good look at those young gentlemen.

The three sisters’ tea party didn’t end until the sky began to grow dark.

Cui Lingyao saw her guests off, had dinner as usual, rested for a moment, and then went into the bathing chamber.

Soaking in the warm water, she finally relaxed completely.

’If Xie Jinbai really has people watching me, then this is the only safe place.’

She began to seriously ponder what she should do.

’Without a doubt, marrying Shen Tingyu is the best choice.’

’He’s already seen through my identity and promised to help cover for me.’

’My biggest secret is no secret to him. So if I marry him, I won’t have to be on guard every single day. Life would be much easier.’

’With his intelligence, he might actually be able to make Xie Jinbai drop his suspicions completely.’

’It’s practically perfect.’

’But there’s just one problem.’

’Shen Tingyu won’t take a concubine.’

’He insists on marrying me as his primary wife.’

’But being the primary wife of a great, noble clan is just too exhausting.’

Cui Lingyao had been a Princess Consort for three years; she knew all too well how many trivial matters awaited the matriarch in charge of a large household each day.

’Being a Princess Consort was not easy.’

’Being the Shen Family’s Consort would be no easier. There would be several elders watching over me, and my every word and deed would be scrutinized.’

’Even if Shen Tingyu, by his own sheer will, insisted on making me his wife...’

’...there would still be plenty of difficulties after the wedding.’

This was the biggest reason for Cui Lingyao’s indecision.