It Was A Fake Marriage, But Jiu Qian Sui Took It Seriously - Chapter 27

The next morning, Shen Qing Li woke up with the man’s voice from her dream still clear in her mind.

He said there would be a time to repay, but what did he mean by that?

Shen Qing Li felt troubled—last time she had given him the best thing she had. What else could she repay him with?

He didn’t care about material things.

But she had nothing else besides money.

After thinking for a long time, her eyes lit up. She immediately got up and asked Chun Hua to bring her painting tools.

She decided to paint a portrait of him.

In a dark robe with a sword in hand, standing in the sunlight, with mountains and flowing water in the background…

She wanted to capture him like that.

She painted for several days but was never satisfied with the result.

Chun Hua entered the room, picking up discarded paper from the floor, and said, “Miss Shen, your Second Lady’s cousin is here.”

Hearing this, Shen Qing Li looked up and put away the painting on the table: “Please invite her in.”

Jiang Yuying entered Shen Qing Li’s room with a joyful expression: “Qing Li, my mother said that your mother invited my mother, you, me, and Yurong to the banquet at the Princess’ residence.”

She raised her eyebrows, knowing her mother was always considerate and even took care of the third family.

“Thank you, Qing Li.”

“No need to thank me. My mother is very happy. She rarely gets invited to such banquets, thanks to your mother.” Jiang Yuying happily took a box from her maid’s hands, “This is a pair of bloodstone earrings my mother specially picked for you at Yumanlou yesterday. I know you have many good things, but this is a token of our appreciation.”

Shen Qing Li accepted the gift box, feeling warmth in her heart. There were still people in the Marquis’ residence who knew gratitude.

Jiang Yuying cheerfully said, “Open it and see if you like it. It’s really beautiful. I heard it’s bloodstone from the Western Jin dynasty, used to make a set of hair ornaments for the palace nobility, with only this pair of earrings left. There’s no other pair like it in the world.”

Shen Qing Li opened the box, revealing a pair of teardrop-shaped long earrings with slender necks and smooth curves, the bl00d-red stone appearing to have gold flakes inside, shimmering with a golden light.

Such high-quality bloodstones were indeed rare, and she couldn’t help but take a closer look, growing fonder of them.

She immediately had Chun Hua fetch a pair of jade bracelets as a return gift. Jiang Yuying, who had come to deliver a gift, couldn’t accept a return gift and quickly refused, running away.

Watching her leave, Shen Qing Li smiled. These jade bracelets would be given to Yuying when she got married; she was always generous to those who treated her well.

Jiang Yuying’s smile vanished as she left the side courtyard. After a moment’s hesitation, she bit her lip and ran back to her mother’s room, where her aunt was still present.

Seeing her return, Lady Lu Shi’s smile widened as she took her hand: “Did you deliver the gift?”

Jiang Yuying glanced at Qian Shi and nodded slightly.

Lady Lu smiled proudly and patted Jiang Yuying’s hand: “My Yuying has grown up. Such a beautiful girl, I will definitely find you a very good husband.”

Jiang Yuying’s uneasiness gradually turned into shyness… “Qing Li, don’t blame your sister; she had no choice,” Lady Lu said with a cunning smile.

Lady Lu swayed her plump waist and left. Glazed walked beside her and whispered, “I heard the emperor give a bloodstone headpiece to the Grand Princess, made from the bloodstone gifted by Western Jin. I wonder where Princess An Ning of Western Jin got these earrings.”

“Since it’s from Western Jin, it’s not strange for Princess An Ning to secretly keep some,” Lady Lu snorted. “I don’t know what this little wretch did to offend Princess An Ning, but the banquet will be interesting.”

The Grand Princess, the emperor’s younger sister, was very arrogant in her youth but had become more restrained in recent years. However, anyone who offended her, even unintentionally, rarely had a good outcome.

That bloodstone headpiece was unique in the Great Zhou Dynasty. If Shen Qing Li wore even one earring of it, the Grand Princess wouldn’t be pleased.

Thinking about how the little wretch would suffer, Lady Lu’s recent frustrations vanished. She dared to break off her son’s engagement, and she would make sure Qing Li couldn’t hold her head up in the entire capital.

As Lady Lu walked towards her courtyard, she saw Jiang Yingwan hurrying into the ancestral hall.

What business could she have with her mother-in-law at this time?

The oppressive heat of midsummer had passed, and the afternoon weather was no longer stifling.

Jiang Yingwan, accompanied by Tian Xing, arrived at the ancestral hall.

Tian Xing gently tugged at her sleeve: “Madam, are you sure you don’t want to tell Miss Shen?”

Jiang Yingwan sighed deeply. She hadn’t slept well these past few days, and more gray hair had appeared at her temples: “Tian Xing, the more I think about this, the more uneasy I feel. Jiu Qian Sui treats Qing Li differently.”

Tian Xing was puzzled: “So what? If Jiu Qian Sui takes care of Miss Shen, her life will be better.”

It wasn’t just her; many people in the Marquis’ residence speculated that Jiu Qian Sui might have feelings for Miss Shen.

Without Jiu Qian Sui’s deterrence, they wouldn’t have been able to stay in the Marquis’ residence after the broken engagement.

But since then, Jiu Qian Sui hadn’t made any more moves, and the rumors gradually faded.

Jiang Yingwan said: “My father only cares about his career. If he hadn’t noticed something, he wouldn’t have remained silent about such a big matter. If he wanted money from me, he had many ways to get it.”

She hoped she was overthinking it.

Tian Xing didn’t understand: “Jiu Qian Sui is famously uninterested in women. Why are you so worried? Besides, you said the Marquis values his career. Maybe he misunderstood Jiu Qian Sui, which is why he didn’t react.”

That possibility couldn’t be ruled out…

She looked up at the sky, which was blue with a few thin clouds, just like that day.

Shen Qing Li had been rescued from the battlefield by then-Prince Jun Mo Ran and fell seriously ill with a high fever that wouldn’t subside.

Young Prince Jun Mo Ran, in ordinary military attire, had an inexplicable ferocity about him, like a lurking leopard ready to strike at any moment.

Her daughter loved to cling to him, but Jiang Yingwan always felt a bit afraid of the young prince.

The last time she saw him was when he returned to the capital on imperial orders. Qing Li had a high fever, and Jiang Yingwan left the tent to prepare medicine. When she returned, she saw the young prince… kissing Qing Li on the lips.

“Clang.” The medicine spilled on the ground, and her fingers trembled as she pointed at him. For the sake of her daughter’s reputation, she didn’t dare make a sound.

The young prince, seeing someone had entered, immediately drew his sword, his eyes filled with a deadly glare, as if the intruder would lose their head in the next moment.

Those eyes, hardened by battlefield slaughter, were something she would never forget.

She hadn’t told her husband about this. Despite his lack of favor, he was still a prince of the royal family and the emperor’s youngest brother. Her husband, a man from a humble background, couldn’t afford to offend him.

Moreover, her husband had said that this man was cold-blooded and ruthless. If he grew older, he would be someone extraordinary.

When they first arrived in the capital, Qing Li had mentioned seeking out Jiu Qian Sui, hoping his past kindness would help them find a house.

She preferred to rely on the Marquis’ residence, even at a financial loss, rather than get too entangled with that man.