Shen Zhen’s tears were no different from pearls falling from the broken thread of a necklace. Nothing could stop them from sliding down her pallid cheeks. Yet, Lu Yan continued to wipe at them, anguished more by her pain than by his own.
“Stop crying now”, he whispered in despair.
Shen Zhen misunderstood him. Remembering he loathed crying, she bit her lower lip cruelly, stifling her sobs. She could not bear the idea Lu Yan would scold her in front of her sister.
Shen Ran looked down on the scene in front of her, bitterness choking her some more. That man’s movement might have been as gentle as they wanted, just one look at Shen Zhen’s expression was enough to convince her her younger sister was not afraid of Lu Yan, but terrified. Shen Ran did not dare think of the reason behind such terror.
Seeing as Shen Zhen had finally stopped crying, Lu Yan stood up, leisurely turning to Moyue and transforming into a gracious host. He wanted the Western Wing to be prepared for a restful morning tea. His eyes slowly brushing over Shen Ran, he spoke in his cold, elegant manner.
“Since the Eldest Miss Shen has come to visit, she will not leave without having a cup of tea with me.”
Upon hearing what she construed as a thinly veiled threat, Shen Zhen grabbed onto the sleeve, shaking it lightly.
“Your Lordship … Please …”
Seeing her confused eyes, Lu Yan could not help sighing in uneasiness. It was her eldest sister! What was Shen Zhen imagining he was planning to do with her? Squeezing her tender, frozen palm, he tried to reassure her silently, hoping she would understand his intentions.
Shen Ran knew she would never be left alone with Shen Zhen. That man would not tolerate anyone coming between his source of pleasure and himself. Bile rushed into her mouth once more.
Being led into the Western Wing, Shen Ran let herself fall on her knees in front of a low table, observing the fine tea set in front of her. They must have taken out the best porcelain to remind her that Shen Zhen’s purity, honor and happiness was paid back more than generously. After all, which married woman of a grand family could boast to be living in such material ease and luxury.
An indistinct smile hovered over Lu Yan’s lips, seated at he was, a cup of tea in his hand.
“It is truly wondrous the Eldest Miss Shen has found the time to visit this humblest abode of mine, taking into account much is happening in the Li Household at this time. I am most gratified.”
But of course! The way he spoke could only choke one to death with fury.
Shen Ran had been raised in Chang’an’s high society. She had witnessed the most virulent verbal exchanges among the greatest women of their world. Rarely had she been called on to partake, it being a known fact that the Yunyang Marquisate was above such lowly skirmishes. This did not imply she did not understand the meaning behind veiled words such as Lu Yan’s. He was mocking her for being weak, with no resources, trampled underfoot, humiliated by her husband’s family and yet, daring to come and present herself as her sister’s protector. She could not protect herself, who gave her the arrogance to believe she would be invited to give her opinion on how Lu Yan managed her youngest sister’s affairs?!
Shen Ran stared at the man in front of her, her nails scraping the flesh of her palm, threatening to draw blood. How little she knew that the rage, suffering and bloodthirstiness that seeped through her eyes made a lasting impression on Lu Yan, if only because they were so like Shen Zhen’s.
But she would not care even if she knew. She rather mused about how apt everything was! The Lu Household’s Sanlang was no ordinary, leisurely nobleman, a man made of straw with no content. Oh, no. Even at its highest, with their father not being in prison and the Yunyang Marquisate well-alive, the Shen Household would never have been able to complete with the likes of Lu Yan. Let alone now …
Surprisingly, Shen Ran smiled, her contorted features relaxing and making her face bloom in beauty. She had a strong taste for the ridiculous. And what was there funnier than a forsaken wife of some small official facing the Emperor’s beloved nephew?! It was worthy of a play! She was very fond of plays.
Shen Ran might have wished to overturn the table and launch at Lu Yan, scratching at his eyes with one of her hairpins. But she could only endure the pain that corroded her loins. After all, this man held her youngest sister’s life between his fingers. Clenching her fists and swallowing the little pride she had left, she gracefully bowed her head, apologizing with charming elegance.
“I have come uninvited today. I hope the Young Master will forgive the inconveniences I have caused. However, I hope the Young Master will understand my eagerness in coming to see my younger sister.
Lu Yan picked the teapot up and politely poured Shen Ran a cup.
“But of course.”
She did not dare throw the cup at his face, though she itched to do so. She wondered as much about what he would tell her as about how she would respond to avoid any penalties Shen Zhen would face as a result of her sister’s actions. Lu Yan for his part, rushed in.
“She was planning to leave Chang’an with Shen Hong on the ninth of October. I stopped her at the city gates and used the counterfeited house registration I found on her to threaten her.”
He was coldly, mathematically retelling the circumstances that had led Shen Zhen into his bed.
Shen Ran’s heart sank and only then did she remember his other identity. Not only was he the heir to the Grand Duchy of Zhen, he was also official at the Supreme Court. Counterfeiting documents, fleeing from a scene of crime, arson. All were felonies. Once the government had caught Shen Zhen, according to the laws of Jin, the severest of tortures could be used to extract confessions, such as where she had gotten the counterfeited documents from.
Finally, Shen Ran understood why her Zhen’er had been driven to accept the disgrace of becoming a mistress. Shen Ran’s eyes filled with tears once more.
“It was I who counterfeited the documents. It was I who set fire to the courtyard. She is innocent.”
“Oh, I know”, Lu Yan immediately interrupted her.
“Where you got those documents from, I also know.”
Shen Ran froze. Speaking to a man of such power was suffocating. His tone was slow and bored. Every word he spoke had been prepared in advance, forcing his opponents to step back into a wall.
“But, indeed, I have not asked you hear to rehash old matters”, he hissed, rubbing at his chest in pain.
After a long silence, Shen Ran braced herself and stuttered through her words.
“I will pay Young Master Lu back in the name of the Shen family.”
Lu Yan did not answer, observing Shen Ran through his eyelashes and caressing his chin pensively. His expression no changing, he changed the subject.
“Has Eldest Miss Shen ever considered what would have happened to her and Shen Hong if she had left Chang’an on the ninth of October? How would she have lived, alone, without protection?”
Shen Ran remained silent, trembling in rage. How dared he?! How dared her throw such cruel accusations at her?! Had she ever considered it?! She had been thinking about it every day of her life, ever since the Yunyang Marquisate fell! Every day of her life had been spent in anguish, fear, hope. Every night ever since had been lulled with nightmares!
The Li Household had reduced her to abject slavery as soon as her father had been disgraced. Her mother-in-law, disregarding the laws of nature and of their dynasty, had grabbed for her dowry with both hands, disgusting, lowly witch that she was. Immediately after Shen Ran had been robbed by her closest, that ridiculous debt had been brought to the forefront. The deadline given to repay the debt had been too short for Shen Ran to gather goods to be loaned off for money. She had had no time to prepare a plan. Her sister had been about to be sold off. So, she fell to devious means, trying to sneak her siblings out of Chang’an with some money and hoping to gather her wits about herself in the meantime.
Lu Yan took a sip of tea, his eyes never leaving Shen Ran’s face that had become the mask of a monster.
“You cannot protect her.”
Of course, she could not! No matter what she said, no matter what she did, she was facing an omnipotent man. A man who dared imply that Shen Zhen was safest with him, under his control, left to cater to his sickening fantasies. But to Shen Ran , there was no difference between him and the sordid patrons who visited brothels. Her sister was suffering from it.
Shen Ran stopped being cautious around him. It would obviously not change anything to the situation. This man was as unapologetic as he was obviously corrupt. She stared directly into his eyes, throwing all his filth right back at him.
“And what does this protection, as Lord Lu calls it, entail? A lifetime of being a mistress? Or does he plan to wait for a day he is in an especially good mood to have her cross the threshold to the Zhen Grand Duchy as a concubine?”
“Eldest Miss Shen.”
Lu Yan’s heart tightened painfully, the only relief to his suffering the rubbing of his jadeite ring against his flesh as he turned it restlessly.
“I have never considered making a concubine out of her.”
He meant he would be keeping her as a mistress, therefore? How wonderful it was to keep a mistress! On could enjoy all the benefits of ruining a poor, innocent woman while also remaining as pure and untouched as snow in the eyes of society! Shen Ran sneered in deep contempt. All the men in this world were the same. All of them should have been bled like swine, their flesh roasted and distributed to feed the poor. At the very least, they would have some use like that. She resisted the urge to stab a hairpin through his throat, enunciating every word with deliberation.
“The Shen Household and the Zhen Grand Duchy have no friendship between them. However, they do not have any complaints either. Why does the Young Master—”
Knowing what she was about to say, Lu Yan realized it was truly useless to talk in riddles. So he spoke as honestly as he could.
“That Yangzhou Governor’s corruption case had dragged the Mu Household down, and along with it, the Third Imperial Prince. Although the Central Judicial Office has not tried the case publicly, the Mu Household’s downfall is obvious.”
Shen Ran stared at him blankly for a split of an instant, not understand why he was talking of such unconnected matters with her.
“As soon as the Mu Household fell, His Majesty had the guards guarding the gates to the Eastern Palace removed. The doctor who is actually treating His Highness, the Crown Prince was brought back by me from Yangzhou. He is an extremely talented doctor, a genius.”
The Mu fell and the Crown Prince gained immense benefits. Shen Ran naturally understood what it meant if the Crown Prince regained his footing. The more she thought about it, the colder the sweat that trickled down her back.
“What does Lord Lu mean by telling me this?”
Lu Yan admired the amber glimmer cast by his tea, took a slow sip. He wanted to appear as in control as he felt erratic. The woman in front of him did not notice hos his fingers trembled. His voice was threateningly soft as he finally spoke the deepest thought of his mind.
“Would I have spent so much effort on a mere mistress?”
He smiled sadly at himself. He could not even keep a mere mistress … His words gave birth to a strange idea in Shen Ran’s mind. The cup in her hand slipped from her fingers, rolling to the ground.
“Does the Young Master mean ..?”
Looking at an extremely shocked Shen Ran, he did not bat an eyelash as he answered with purpose.
“Yes.”
Standing up abruptly, very determined to leave this lunatic’s dwelling before he got more extravagant ideas into his head, Shen Ran spat:
“Lord Lu should not be joking with such matters. Grand Duke Zhen nor Princess Royal Jing’an will never agree.”
Was it only Shen Ran who thought the idea to be absurd ..? Or did Lu Yan also doubt himself at that moment? Whatever the case, neither one dared mention the actual word.
After Shen Ran had departed as she had come, in a sweep of her long skirt, Lu Yan had decided to go console Shen Zhen. As he had walked through the door, he had found her shrivelled up on herself, sobbing silently. Lu Yan sneered. She would cry herself dry if she continued like that. His heart had not stopped throbbing painfully throughout his little stay I the Western Wing, informing him that Shen Zhen was tossing herself, and him, to death. Seeing him walk in, Shen Zhen quickly jumped to her feet, inelegantly wiping her face with her sleeves.
“Your Lordship, where did Big Sister go?”
“Home”, he simply retorted.
Biting her lip, she could not but probe further.
“What did Your Lordship tell Big Sister?”
Such a defensive tone! The corner of Lu Yan’s lips twisted downwards the slightest bit. Lifting his hand, he flicked her forehead mercilessly, making a red mark appear immediately.
“What are you so scared of? Are you afraid I would make your eldest sister angry?”
Oh, no! What Shen Zhen was afraid of was that he would insult, humiliate, coerce her eldest sister. But she did not dare speak back, so she simply rubbed at her forehead, hopping for the best.
“Your Lordship would not do so.”
Hearing as much, Lu Yan could not help but smile, somewhat happy that she would knowingly speak of his character. At the very least, it meant she took some interest in it, forgetting she had no other choice if she wished to survive!
“Oh, and when have you gotten to know me so well?”
Shen Zhen choked on her saliva, refusing to talk back. But a simple look at his expression convinced her indeed that he must not have been too harsh to her sister, or at the very least, has not injured her. It is just that as much as Shen Zhen had grown to know him and his methods, she could not guess the depth of his dishonesty nor could she imagine all the methods he could use to achieve his goals.
Before she had even had the time to sit, Shen Ran had been accused of having broken into Chengyuan, then he had thrown the crime of document forgery at her face and finally, he had placated her with some prime political knowledge. He had gone from a changing, unpredictable rogue to the just and awe-inspiring Lord Lu! No one would have imagined that when Shen Ran had asked him whether he was planning of making a concubine out of Shen Zhen, the hands on his knees had clenched tremblingly, their blue veins bulging threateningly. He had been panicked.
Shen Ran’s words had been a sword imperiously splitting the peaceful road under his feet. Two roads had appeared on the horizon. And he did not know which to take. She had forced him to face a problem he had desperately wished to avoid at all price—
Lu Shiyan, do you want her as a concubine … or a wife?
