HWMP 02

Chapter : 02

It Is Late at Night, So Mind Your Manners

Yicui looked at Shen Hua, who seemed to be barely clinging to life, and offered her words of comfort.

“Once the mourning period is over and you marry into the He family, Young Master He will protect you. As long as Young Master He is by your side, you won’t have to suffer any injustice.”

Yicui thought those words might bring her some comfort, but Shen Hua merely let out a mocking chuckle before replying firmly.

“He Chu will ask to break off the engagement tomorrow.”

Yicui was startled and her eyes widened.

“N-no way. Young Master He rushed over to offer his condolences as soon as he received the news yesterday, and he spent the entire time worrying about you. The marriage between the two families was arranged long ago. How could Young Master He abandon his promise and become such a heartless man?”

Condolences?

He had clearly come under the pretext of offering condolences to assess the situation in the Shen household.

Even He Chu, who had always been considerate and gentle, was nothing more than a hypocrite.

He Chu had agreed to marry Shen Hua purely for the sake of her wealth.

But now that the main branch had fallen into decline, the He family would naturally hurry to withdraw and completely change their attitude, choosing instead to ally themselves with the second branch.

They were probably worried that if they hesitated, Shen Hua might cling to the He family after all.

Then who could Shen Hua turn to for help?

Even if she reported the matter to the authorities, nothing would change.

After all, Shen Wei’s body had to be buried soon, and refusing to accept an adopted son would be considered both unfilial and a grave offense against the wishes of the family.

With no power of her own, Shen Hua could not bring down the second branch.

That was an undeniable reality.

Shengjing, the Yangling Marquis Residence

The interior had been lit with lamps long ago, making it as bright as daylight.

Thin wisps of smoke rose gently from the incense burner, filling the room with a fresh fragrance.

Cui Yun sat upright with a cold expression as he read a book.

Even the movement of his hand as he turned the pages carried the refined bearing of a young master from an eminent family.

Suddenly, the fingertips holding the page twitched.

Cui Yun raised his head and looked toward the window.

A faint sound came from outside.

Then someone smashed through the window and entered the room.

Yet Cui Yun showed no sign of surprise. He calmly withdrew his gaze.

He put down the book he had been holding, but he showed no intention whatsoever of entertaining his unexpected guest.

“What a distinguished guest.”

His voice was every bit as cold as his face, which seemed to have been covered in snow.

If not for his frigid temperament, the women of Shengjing would undoubtedly have been even more captivated by him.

Xie Xun raised an eyebrow as he walked over and stopped on the opposite side of Cui Yun’s desk.

Despite having broken through the window to enter, he showed not the slightest embarrassment.

In truth, Xie Xun and Cui Yun could hardly be called close friends.

However, he had deliberately come here because he had a favor to ask.

“Marquis Cui, I have a favor to ask. Please bring someone here for me. She is Shen Hua, the daughter of Shen Wei, the owner of the Shen family embroidery workshop in Fengzhou.”

Xie Xun had received an imperial order to suppress bandits and would soon have to depart for war.

There was no time to waste, so he explained the matter briefly and clearly.

Xie Xun clasped his hands and respectfully bowed toward Cui Yun.

However, his voice carried an indescribable sense of emptiness.

“That girl’s elder brother, who passed away at such a young age, was my friend. If you would take good care of her, I will certainly repay you generously as soon as I return.”

Xie Xun had expected that persuading Cui Yun would take considerable effort.

Yet Cui Yun merely stared at him for a moment before nodding.

“Very well.”

“……”

Xie Xun, who had prepared an entire speech to persuade him, was suddenly left speechless.

At that moment, Cui Yun slightly furrowed his brows.

“However… I heard that you are close friends with the Heir of Prince Gong. Why did you come to me with this request instead of asking him?”

Xie Xun was slightly caught off guard by the unexpected question, but soon replied bluntly.

“Ji Huo is notorious for being a libertine who loses all sense whenever he sees a beautiful woman. I’m worried that girl, whose health is already poor, might be frightened by his behavior. Since I have no idea when I’ll return to Shengjing, I simply cannot leave Shen Hua in Ji Huo’s care and feel at ease.”

Xie Xun glanced sideways at Cui Yun.

Since he was asking him for a favor anyway, he decided to flatter him a little.

“But Marquis Cui is different, isn’t he? Everyone in Shengjing knows that you are as cold and indifferent as moonlight and never keep women by your side.

“Among the young masters of the great families, there is even a joke that if a celestial beauty approached you without a single thread of clothing on, you wouldn’t even bat an eyelid.

“That is why I thought you would be the perfect person to entrust this matter to.”

Rather than praise, his words were closer to an insult implying that Cui Yun was incapable of acting like a normal man.

Yet Cui Yun’s expression did not change in the slightest.

After Xie Xun left, Ji Qing, who had been waiting outside, entered the room respectfully.

“Marquis, shall I investigate the Shen family’s daughter?”

“No need.”

Xie Xun had spent many years stationed on the frontier, but he was still a son of the Duke of Fuguo’s household.

There was no way he lacked someone to whom he could entrust such a simple matter.

In other words, Xie Xun was clearly hiding something.

Looking back, there were so many flaws in what Xie Xun had just said that none of it made sense.

But there was one thing Cui Yun knew for certain.

In all of Shengjing, there was no one more tight-lipped than him.

Cui Yun had not the slightest interest in Xie Xun’s secret, nor did he intend to investigate it.

“The journey to Fengzhou is long. I will bring that woman here myself. You stay in Shengjing.”

“No.”

Cui Yun opened his book again and turned a page with his slender fingers.

His gaze remained fixed on the densely written classical text as he added in an emotionless voice,

“I will go myself.”

Cui Yun never made a deal that left him at a disadvantage.

If he could make Xie Xun, the son of the Duke of Fuguo, owe him a personal debt, then this amount of effort was more than worth it.

It was only after the night had grown deep that Cui Yun finished arranging his thoughts and rose to leave for the courtyard.

Ji Qing followed behind him with a lantern, illuminating the dark path.

At that moment, the coquettish voice of a woman came from not far away.

“I made some sweet soup, and Grandmother told me to bring some to Older Brother, so I brought you a little.”

She lowered her head slightly, looking both shy and somewhat nervous.

Cui Yun frowned and turned toward the woman.

There were simply too many female relatives from his maternal side who had come to seek shelter with the Cui family. He could not possibly remember every one of them.

Naturally, he did not even know the name of the woman standing before him.

Their intentions were obvious.

But as a well-educated young master of an eminent family, he could hardly raise his voice and harshly drive them away.

Instead, his voice came out utterly devoid of emotion—so cold that it could instantly extinguish any romantic feelings burning in the woman’s heart.

“No one is allowed to enter my study freely. It is late at night. Conduct yourself properly.”

The next day, at the second quarter of the Chou hour, the sound of the night watchman’s gong could be heard outside.

The sky was still dark, but the Shen residence was already brightly illuminated inside and out, as bright as daytime.

Today was the day Shen Wei would be buried.

Given the circumstances, they could not hold a grand adoption ceremony, but they could not omit it entirely either.

In the ancestral hall where the Shen family’s ancestral tablets were enshrined, there were also the tablets of Shen Hua’s biological mother, Madam Shen Chun, and her elder brother Shen Zhi, who had died young.

The adoption ceremony proceeded according to Fengzhou custom.

With the elders of the Shen family present, Shen Qu bowed before the ancestral tablets and burned incense for Madam Shen Chun and Shen Zhi.

Then, following proper ritual etiquette, he offered tea to Madam Shen Xue.

Standing to one side, Shen Xuewen could not conceal the delight in his eyes.

However, he deliberately put on a sorrowful expression and earnestly instructed Shen Qu.

“Now that you have become a son of the main branch, you must be filial to your mother. The heavy responsibility of the family and its rise or fall now rests on your shoulders.

“You must not disappoint the expectations of the clan elder, who has always cared for you.

“See your uncle, your father’s elder brother, off on his final journey peacefully.”

Shen Qu respectfully saluted Shen Xuewen and replied,

“Yes, Uncle.”

Hearing that form of address, Shen Hua let out a cold smile.

It was precisely at that moment that the clan elder approached with Shen Qu and spoke to her with his usual benevolent expression.

“Yangyang, aren’t you happy that your former elder brother, Qu’er, has now become the adopted son of the main branch?”

But Shen Hua’s response was icy.

“It makes me sick.”

“……”

The clan elder was utterly dumbfounded.

Yet Shen Hua continued calmly.

“To think that I have to face that man every day with a body that is already so sick… Perhaps I really don’t have much time left to live.

“Everyone says that you, Elder, care about me, but seeing what happened today, I truly don’t understand it at all.”

The clan elder had never imagined that Shen Hua would speak so sharply.

Yet, on another level, he could understand it.

Shen Wei had doted terribly on his daughter, who was constantly taking medicinal decoctions because of her poor health.

It was only natural that she had grown spoiled and unruly.

Shen Hua’s casual words immediately darkened the expressions of everyone gathered there.

“The sons of my Second Uncle were so difficult to see even during the holidays.

“They are all supposedly outstanding scholars, each one talented enough to aim for the top honors in the imperial examinations.

“So why on earth would such accomplished gentlemen lower their heads and insist on becoming my elder brothers? I simply cannot understand it.

“Then again, the main branch may not have much else, but it certainly has plenty of wealth.

“The second branch, on the other hand, has everything except one thing—money.

“Who would have thought that beneath the refined appearance of these gentlemen, their hearts had already rotted away long ago?”

The clan elder’s expression visibly darkened.

He raised his voice and scolded her.

“Enough! Shut your mouth! Have you no sense of propriety? What kind of nonsense are you saying?”

Yet Shen Hua turned toward him with an innocent, puzzled expression.

“I wasn’t even talking about you, Elder. Why are you getting so angry?”

Shen Hua was weak enough for anyone to trample upon, and she had no powerful backing whatsoever.

All alone, she could not possibly contend with these people who were as vicious as demons.

If she was destined to face some terrible fate tomorrow anyway, and ultimately meet a miserable end, then perhaps she might as well act according to her own feelings every moment she still had.

Shen Hua had always been proud by nature, and she possessed one particular talent above all others:

She was exceptionally good at ruining other people’s moods.

The clan elder was so furious that he grabbed the back of his neck in frustration.

At that moment, Madam Shen Xue fiddled with the white flower pinned in her hair and spoke.

“It seems Elder didn’t know, but Yangyang’s temperament has become increasingly strange these days.

“Yesterday, she even talked back to me, her own mother.

“I truly don’t know what to do with Yangyang anymore.”

Shen Xuewen stood silently, desperately concealing the coldness in his eyes.

Shen Qu, on the other hand, hurriedly stepped forward in a gentle voice, apparently trying to mediate the situation.

“Father has only just passed away. Yangyang must be distressed, which is why her words came out somewhat harshly.

“I will teach her properly from now on, so Elder and Mother, please don’t be angry.”

Shen Qu turned toward Shen Hua with a gentle look in his eyes.

“Take this. It is the first gift I’m giving you as your biological elder brother.

“I had to prepare it in a hurry because we were short on time. If you don’t like it, I’ll give you something better next time.”