Chapter 34: Jiang Shiyuan Doesn’t Want You Anymore

Su Liluo was still deep in thought when Shen Luchu suddenly whipped his head around like a madman and stared her down.

“Su Liluo, was it you? Did you pull another stunt?”

“Oh?”

Su Liluo crossed her arms, as if she had just discovered something wildly entertaining. She blinked and said, “So the heir-apparent isn’t blind after all? You’ve known all along that I was playing tricks?”

“Then why were you always siding with me? What did you want, Your Grace? Eating from the bowl and still eyeing the pot?”

The fury burning in Shen Luchu’s chest was suddenly strangled, as if someone had grabbed him by the throat—he couldn’t say a single word.

He had never had any real feelings for Su Liluo.

He associated with her only to satisfy the demands of his mother, the Princess Wenhe. She had taken a liking to the Minister’s household and to Su Liluo herself—and was using Su Liluo to suppress Jiang Shiyuan.

Su Liluo and Jiang Shiyuan were at odds. Even though he knew it was Su Liluo who constantly made things difficult, he still chose to believe her, to listen only to her. For no reason—other than wanting Jiang Shiyuan to become more obedient.

He liked the obedient Jiang Shiyuan, the compliant Jiang Shiyuan. He didn’t like the version of her that had a spine.

“Nothing to say now, huh?”

Su Liluo looked at Shen Luchu with utter disdain. Suddenly, she changed her mind.

She wasn’t going to tell him that Jiang Shiyuan was already engaged. Letting him stew in uncertainty was much more entertaining.

Besides, whether Jiang Shiyuan would marry Pei Ziye or not—wasn’t certain either.

“Shen Luchu, this is what you get for being greedy.”

“That Jiang Shiyuan—who admired you more than anyone else in the capital—she doesn’t want you anymore.”

Su Liluo spoke slowly, deliberately, each word laced with mockery.

Shen Luchu looked like he’d been struck by lightning. He stood rooted to the spot, his face draining of all color.

Hahahahaha.

It was too funny.

Su Liluo burst into triumphant laughter, tossed down her things, and strode away.

Even after walking quite a distance, she still hadn’t stopped laughing.

She’d thought that only defeating Jiang Shiyuan would feel satisfying, but who knew that knocking Shen Luchu down a peg could feel just as good?

Maybe it was because she couldn’t stand his pompous facade either.

With a bright smile, Su Liluo walked on. Zhi Chun, worried, said, “Miss, what are you doing? Have you forgotten? Our Minister’s household is in the middle of marriage talks with the Marquis of Wenyuan’s family. Offending Young Lord Shen like that—won’t you be the one who suffers in the end?”

Su Liluo shrugged indifferently. “With a family background like the Marquis of Wenyuan’s, do you think that dear stepmother of mine and those precious sisters of mine would let me marry in? They’re just using me as bait. Once the deal is sealed, they’ll slap some excuse on me and have one of them take my place. Isn’t that exactly how she stole her sister’s engagement and became my father’s wife? I’m not stupid.”

“Besides, I don’t care for Shen Luchu. If my darling sister wants him, she can have him.”

Zhi Chun’s heart ached a little at those words.

If only the madam were still alive.

If the madam were here, Miss wouldn’t have been sent off to her mother’s side of the family, to such a remote and desolate place—forced to become who she was now.

Su Liluo caught the look of pity on Zhi Chun’s face and waved it off. “Did you find out what Pei Ziye is doing tomorrow?”

She was fuming. Jiang Shiyuan had won today!

She had to turn the tables.

She planned to “accidentally” run into Pei Ziye again tomorrow.

Zhi Chun looked confused. “Why does Miss dislike Miss Jiang so much?”

She had been with Su Liluo for years, and every year it was the same—constant competition with Jiang Shiyuan, in the open or in secret. Whatever Jiang Shiyuan liked, whether it was a person or an object, Su Liluo would make sure to snatch it.

“Do I need a reason to dislike her? I just can’t stand her. I want to beat her.” Su Liluo ground her teeth.

Zhi Chun pursed her lips and silently muttered to herself: But you’ve never actually beaten her, have you?

When Jiang Shiyuan learned the zither, you poached her teacher, but she taught herself and wowed the entire hall.

She raised a cat; you got a big wolfhound—only for her cat to end up riding on your dog’s back.

She started a fragrance shop; you opened one too—and lost money every year, couldn’t even pay the staff.

“Zhi Chun! What kind of face is that? You don’t think I can beat Jiang Shiyuan, is that it?!”

Su Liluo narrowed her eyes and was about to snap when she caught a glimpse of a bright rose-colored figure from the corner of her eye.

Who else would wear something that gaudy but Pei Ziye?

Sure enough, Pei Ziye seemed to have noticed her too and turned to leave—but Su Liluo was quicker and shouted from afar, “Brother Pei——!”

That one word “Brother,” drawn out with the perfect rise and fall of tone, froze him in place.

Pei Ziye scratched his head: What now? Looks like this woman really is here for me.

…

Meanwhile, though Su Liluo had long vanished, Shen Luchu remained frozen where he stood, unmoving.

He felt as if his blood was flowing in reverse, his senses dulled, and in his ears, only one sentence echoed:

“Jiang Shiyuan doesn’t want you anymore.”

Moyu, watching his strange expression, felt his heart lurch.

Why did the young lord look like he’d just lost everything?

“Young Lord?” he called gently.

Shen Luchu’s chest visibly trembled at the sound, and after a long pause, he managed to swallow and catch his breath.

He stared at the little trinkets scattered on the ground, his expression terrifyingly dark.

Moyu, unsure of what to do, spoke from the heart after years of following him: “Young Lord, I think Miss Jiang is truly angry this time. If you’d be willing to visit her in person and talk things over…”

“Where did she get the nerve?!”

Shen Luchu’s cold sneer cut him off.

Between them, Jiang Shiyuan had always been the follower, the add-on. If there was to be an end, it would be his decision—who was she to walk away?

“If she doesn’t want to see me—then I’ll make her come to see me. I’ll make her beg to see me!”

Shen Luchu clenched his jaw, the tension in his jawline sharp enough to cut.

Moyu felt an ominous premonition rise: “Young Lord, what are you planning to do?”

But Shen Luchu didn’t answer. He turned and strode out of the Marquis of Wenyuan’s estate.

Jiang Shiyuan, who gave you the audacity to be so unruly?

Without me, you don’t even have a place to speak in this capital!

You’ll regret this!!

---

Will Jiang Shiyuan regret it?

No. Jiang Shiyuan does not regret it.

From the moment she heard him say “disgusting” that day, she no longer wished to see Shen Luchu again—nor have anything to do with him.

The hairpin today only reminded her of one thing.

Jiang Shiyuan gathered everything that had anything to do with Shen Luchu.

Ten years of acquaintance. Shen Luchu hadn’t given her much, but oddly enough, his father, the Marquis Shen, had gifted her many things.

Ink, brushes, paper, jewels—all exceptionally fine.

She wasn’t sure when it began, but sometime after that incident, the Marquis began including a New Year’s gift for her alongside Shen Luchu’s.

Perhaps that was when the old marquis began viewing her differently.

She could feel it—Marquis Shen was fond of her. The kind of fondness a kindly elder has for a deserving junior.

And Jiang Shiyuan liked him too. He smiled just like her father—gentle and scholarly. He was open-minded, and he greatly admired her mother. Admired how she had the courage to challenge convention.

He collected all sorts of stories about her mother and would copy them out for Jiang Shiyuan.

She separated Shen Luchu’s things from those of the marquis, her hand lingering on one old manuscript.

After a moment of hesitation, she placed that manuscript into a box and had the items delivered—Shen Luchu’s to the Marquis of Wenyuan, and the marquis’s to his office.

She had her own way of remembering her parents. She didn’t need anyone else’s help.

Just as she finished sorting, Hong Dou came running in excitedly, holding a scroll in her arms.

“Miss! Look what I’ve got!”

Whoosh! With a dramatic flourish, she unrolled the scroll—but it slipped from her hands and tumbled several meters across the floor.

Jiang Shiyuan’s heart nearly stopped. The terror of last night’s Pei Family Laws still haunted her vividly.

“Wh-what is that?”