Chapter 6

Shen Qingtan woke up struggling from a nightmare, her body drenched in cold sweat. Her eyes stared blankly at the bright red wedding canopy.

It took a long moment before her mind cleared, and she realized she had been reborn—it wasn’t that she was still imprisoned in Zhao Jue’s villa.

She calmed herself, exhaling a long breath.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps nearby.

Like a startled bird, she turned her head in fear and met a pair of deep black eyes.

Shen Qingtan froze, opening her mouth to explain. “I…”

“Nightmare?” Zhao Yi caught the guarded, defensive look in her eyes the moment she turned to him.

He handed her a pale-blue porcelain cup and said gently, “Have some warm water?”

Her throat was dry. She propped herself up and took the cup with both hands. “Thank you.”

Looking at her pale face, Zhao Yi’s voice softened even more. “We’re husband and wife. No need to be so polite.”

She answered softly and drank the water. The pounding in her chest eased a little.

Zhao Yi took back the cup and glanced at her—leaning weakly against the bedpost, black hair cascading down her waist, her thin figure looking delicate and frail.

“It’s still early. Why not rest a bit longer?” he said, worried she couldn’t handle seeing Zhao Jue and Shen Mingzhu serving tea together. “We can go later. The elders know my health isn’t great; they won’t mind me skipping morning greetings.”

“Second Master, today is my first day here. If we make a room full of elders wait for me, it’ll cause gossip,” Shen Qingtan replied. She knew he was thinking of her, but for that very reason, she wanted to think of him too.

There had already been an uproar over the bride switch, not to mention her ten years of childhood friendship with Zhao Jue.

If she delayed the tea ceremony on her very first day, people would think she didn’t want to marry Zhao Yi—and they’d whisper about him behind his back.

Besides, the tea ceremony later would definitely be a show worth watching.

She smiled gently. “Some things must be faced. As long as Second Master accepts me as his wife, I have nothing to fear.”

Zhao Yi was momentarily silent, looking at her calm face—there was no resentment or unwillingness, only serenity, as if she had truly accepted marrying him. A woman’s position was weak; even if she disliked her husband, she couldn’t easily divorce. For her, marrying him seemed the only path left.

“…As you wish,” he said quietly.

After Zhao Yi left the inner room, Shen Qingtan shook the little bell beside the bed. Chun Jiao and Qiu Chan, waiting outside, came in to help her dress.

Seeing them, Shen Qingtan raised an eyebrow, unsurprised.

Before marriage, she had four maidservants who had grown up with her.

Tingxue and Liuyue were injured and recovering at home, unable to follow her as part of her dowry.

The other two didn’t want to serve as dowry maids; they each took a portion of the dowry and married into the steward’s family at the marquis’s residence.

Madam Shen had wanted to assign her four new dowry maids, but she only accepted two, leaving the other two positions for Tingxue and Liuyue.

Too many people with divided loyalties only caused trouble.

Now, Shen Mingzhu had sent Chun Jiao and Qiu Chan back, instead of returning the two maids originally meant for her—clearly trying to steal Tingxue and Liuyue.

Anything that belonged to her—good or bad—Shen Mingzhu wanted to take.

After dressing, Shen Qingtan went to the outer room, where Zhao Yi was sitting at a table waiting for her to eat breakfast.

Two sets of dishes were laid out, each with four or five items.

One set was in front of Zhao Yi, the other across from him—for her.

She paused in surprise.

“I have a light taste,” Zhao Yi explained. “Others aren’t used to it, so I usually eat separately.”

She nodded and sat across from him. With the maids serving them, they ate quietly.

After breakfast, they walked together toward the main hall.

Along the way, Zhao Yi carefully explained the relationships within the household and some taboos to avoid.

At the entrance of the main hall, the First Madam and Second Madam arrived almost at the same time with their maids.

The Second Madam, seeing the First Madam’s calm face, deliberately called out, “Elder Sister-in-law, you don’t look well. Did you lose sleep over yesterday’s events?”

The First Madam glanced at her. “Yes, I couldn’t sleep—too happy.”

The Second Madam’s face stiffened, assuming she was just being stubborn.

She sighed and muttered, “Such a clear-cut engagement, yet at the last moment things turned upside down. Poor Jue’er and Qingtan grew up together, and now… sigh. Luckily Yi’er and Jue’er are close and made peace privately. Let’s not say it was a ‘bride swap’—sounds so ugly. Better to call it fate. My Jue’er will accept it.”

Hearing her act like she was the wronged one, the First Madam smirked. “Yes, fate indeed. Can’t have a crooked upper beam and a straight lower one, can we?”

The Second Madam’s face flushed. She had stolen her elder sister’s engagement in the past, using underhanded means to marry into the family.

The First Madam was from a military family—she had no patience for scheming and could cut deep with a single sentence.

The Second Madam was furious, but thinking of the hundred-plus trunks of dowry stored in her branch’s storeroom, she felt better.

She was about to retort when the First Madam ignored her and went into the hall with her maid.

Grinding her teeth, the Second Madam followed. The old lady was chatting warmly with the First Madam.

The Second Madam quickly put on a smile. “Mother.”

The old lady glanced at her coldly and said nothing.

The Second Branch’s schemes clearly hadn’t considered her feelings.

Embarrassed, the Second Madam stood beside the First Madam.

Soon, the men of the household arrived.

The old Duke had been summoned to the palace that morning, so he would miss the tea ceremony.

One by one, the younger generation arrived and took their seats.

Then, Zhao Jue and Shen Mingzhu entered together.

The household had already heard rumors from the night before, so when the two appeared, everyone’s eyes went straight to Shen Mingzhu.

Nervously clutching her handkerchief, she didn’t dare look at the elders, stealing glances at Zhao Jue.

Zhao Jue didn’t notice her unease. He was used to Shen Qingtan being poised and confident in front of elders at banquets.

He led Shen Mingzhu forward to offer tea.

The old lady interrupted, “Follow the rules. Wait for your second brother and sister-in-law to serve tea first.”

Zhao Jue’s jaw tightened. “Yes, Grandmother.”

Shen Mingzhu’s face turned pale—she could hear the old lady’s disapproval.