Xie Shangjia's Prank

Xie Shangjia twirled his fingertips uncomfortably and pouted, "Why would I want to think of that? I've regressed from 31 to 18, wasting thirteen years. It's something no one could ever hope for."

Chen Qianyue took a sip of tea and said calmly, "Xie Shangjia, you have lost your memory, not really returned to the age of eighteen. Even if you did, you are no longer a child. Don't you think your words are ridiculous?"

"How am I being ridiculous?" Xie Shangjia was dissatisfied, his voice rising a few degrees.

"Isn't it good to live according to one's heart? I'm just an ordinary person, what's wrong with being free and happy?"

The teacup in Shen Qianyue's hand fell on the table with a crisp sound. She looked up at him with a gaze as sharp as a blade.

"If you are frivolous and unruly, and you are not fit for great responsibility, how can you place the people of the world in such a position if you consider yourself ordinary? Now that you are in this position, you should strive for your duties. If you cannot do the job, you should resign and let someone more capable take over."

She met Xie Shangjia's eyes, which were full of youthful vigor. His gaze was penetrating, almost scrutinizing, as if he wanted to see through this layer of skin and see the forgotten soul.

Xie Shangjia could hardly believe his ears. To use a very classic phrase, in his entire life, no one had ever dared to say this to him to his face.

"Chen Qianyue!" he almost shouted.

These words were too humiliating for an eighteen-year-old boy, especially when they came from Shen Qianyue's mouth. The feeling was even worse. He even felt like his whole body was on fire, and his face was definitely red.

Shen Qianyue stood, lowering her eyes to glance at Xie Shangjia who was sitting.

"You can do it, but you can't say it?"

Xie Shangjia held his breath and said in a muffled voice, "Then what do you say we should do? Even if I were to go to court now, I wouldn't understand anything."

Anyway, it’s definitely right to go against Shen Qianyue.

The warm room was quiet for a moment. Xie Shangjia's situation was unexpected, and Shen Qianyue was caught off guard, but this accident must not be allowed to develop and must be controlled.

"There's no point in arguing right now. You haven't recovered from your cold yet, so you need to rest. You are not allowed to leave the house without my permission."

Xie Shangjia's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help muttering in his heart, why is Miss Shen becoming more and more murderous and decisive? This is the Shangshu Mansion, and it should be her territory.

You ordered the wrong person. I, Xie Shangjia, was born with a rebellious nature!

After Shen Qianyue finished speaking, she no longer looked at the expression on his face, turned around and left, pushed the door open with her bare hands, paused slightly before leaving, and did not look back.

"Remember to take the medicine on time. If the charcoal is low, have someone add more."

The door closed, isolating the inside and outside, and the only sound in the room was the faint crackling of the charcoal brazier.

Xie Shangjia walked to the edge of the couch with his head down, and fell heavily into the soft quilt. He felt dizzy and had a dull pain in his head.

In the following days, Xie Shangjia finally understood what it meant to "keep one's word." When Shen Qianyue said he was under house arrest, he really couldn't escape.

Shangshu Mansion became Xie Shangjia's battlefield. He was like a trapped beast forcibly locked in a cage, and Shen Qianyue was the tamer who could decide his freedom.

In the pavilion.

"Chen Qianyue, what kind of medicine is this? It's more miserable than my first half of life! I'm dying, you know."

Xie Shangjia deliberately exaggerated.

Chen Qianyue kept flipping through the book and ordered, "Jinyu, go buy some good kumquat preserves for Master Xie."

This name was changed by Xie Shangjia two days ago on the grounds that "it makes adults feel uneasy and is not conducive to recovery."

The mansion was full of loyal servants who knew him well, so Shen Qianyue just let him do as he pleased.

Jinyu pursed her lips and smiled, then leaned close to whisper a few words into Shen Qianyue's ear.

A smile flashed across Shen Qianyue's eyes: "Bring them back together."

Seeing Jinyu walking away, Xie Shangjia suddenly became sarcastic: "Hey, you two are playing around, you think I don't exist, right?"

Shen Qianyue didn't even raise her eyes and said "hmm" calmly.

Xie Shangjia was bored and threw stones into the frozen pond. Wherever Shen Qianyue went, he followed her.

"Chen Qianyue, what kind of incense is that in your study? It's so vulgar, it gives me a headache. Change it, change it quickly."

Xie Shangjia slumped in the mahogany armchair without any manners, while Shen Qianyue sat in the main seat, dealing with household affairs, the summary of letters sent by the pawnshop, and the monthly bills of the mansion.

Shen Qianyue ordered someone to call the maid in charge of burning incense, and asked nonchalantly: "If you don't like the scent of osmanthus, why plant a whole yard of it?"

"Why are there so many questions? It's definitely not planted by me! I'll have someone cut it down tomorrow so that I don't have to look at it as an eyesore." Xie Shangjia said casually.

Shen Qianyue frowned: "Those are all the famous breeds you carefully selected and bred in the past, worth a fortune, Young Master Xie, please don't give up so easily."

Xie Shangjia didn't believe it: "Do you think I'm stupid? Planting a yard full of things you don't like in the backyard? You must be planting them because you like them."

Shen Qianyue said calmly, "Why would I lie to you? Those osmanthus flowers were already there before I entered Xie's house."

Xie Shangjia suddenly leaned in and asked, "What kind of flowers do you like?"

"What does it have to do with you?" Shen Qianyue was concentrating on looking at the account book and was too lazy to pay attention to him.

Xie Shangjia smiled playfully: "Sister Shen, have you forgotten? I am your husband."

The incense-burning maid who had just entered the room lowered her head and smiled secretly. The adults in the past were not so lively and vivid.

"Madam, Master, I brought several kinds of incense. Which one would you like to exchange?"

Xie Shangjia crossed his legs and pointed at Shen Qianyue: "Let her choose, as long as it's not the one now."

Shen Qianyue didn't even raise her head: "Spring message in the snow."

After lighting the incense, the maid left.

The cool fragrance of plum blossoms spread faintly, and Xie Shangjia felt much more comfortable instantly.

He was a person who couldn't sit still. He had been feeling anxious during these days of recuperation, but no one in the mansion listened to his orders.

Every time he tried to sneak out, he was always "politely" asked to go back by a few strong servants who had obviously given orders in advance.

"Chen Qianyue, when will you let me out?" Xie Shangjia slumped in the chair, exhausted.

Shen Qianyue followed his gaze and glanced at the flock of flying birds outside the window, her tone flat.

"Although the cold has healed, my memory is still damaged, so I still need to rest. If there's anything I can pass on a message."

Xie Shangjia said listlessly, "Miss Miaoyin, the third daughter of Minister Chen's family, do you recognize her? I want to see her."

Shen Qianyue was silent for a long time, and finally responded: "Okay, if you are obedient, I will take you to see her when you recover."

Xie Shangjia couldn't help but ask, "How is she...doing now?"

"Not bad."

Xie Shangjia observed her expression carefully: "Why aren't you angry when I mention her?"

He had seen too many mistresses fly into a rage because their husbands had a new love, or get rid of that person without making a sound, but how could Shen Qianyue not be at all upset... No, she was best at military strategy and had a keen insight into people's hearts.

"You wouldn't have... secretly taken Madam Miaoyin..." Xie Shangjia lowered his voice, his eyes filled with surprise and suspicion.

Shen Qianyue closed the last of the document, looked up at him, and curved her lips slightly: "Maybe it's because... I don't love you that much."

Xie Shangjia felt an unspeakable sense of loss in his heart: "Don't love me? Then why did you marry me?"

Shen Qianyue straightened her clothes and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Xie Shangjia asked.

"Toilet."

As Shen Qianyue walked away, Xie Shangjia's eyes rolled, and he became more and more evil. His gaze fell on the documents on the desk, and finally on the plate of juicy grapes in front of him.

He picked out a few of the most purple-red ones, crushed them hard with his fingertips, walked to the desk, and glanced at the documents. He saw the military book that Shen Qianyue often read. With a mischievous look of pride, he smeared the sticky fruit juice on the pages.

After doing all this, he sat back in the chair with his arms folded, as if he had won a battle, waiting for Shen Qianyue to come back, and anger appeared on his cold face.

With a glance, he saw a yellowed book sticking out from under the table. Curiosity drove him to pull it out. On the first page was written: "Miss Shen likes plum blossoms and osmanthus flowers, drinks Longjing tea, likes purple and gold clothes, and loves people with literary talent and elegance." The date of writing was ten years ago.

He is 31 years old now, so he was 21 ten years ago. At that time... he was already in love with Shen Qianyue?

Are you kidding me?

Xie Shangjia flipped through the pages, discovering that the booklet contained almost everything about Shen Qianyue: building dams, gaining recognition for her military tactics, accompanying Prince Dingwu on military training missions to the frontier, and building houses and schools in devastated areas...

Every detail was covered until a specially marked page was reached.

Today is my 24th birthday. I confessed my love to her and learned that she was already engaged. I should have thought of this earlier, but we haven't gotten married in all these years, so I just kept thinking about it...

Xie Shangjia felt a sharp pain in his heart. He raised his hand and pressed it on his heart. His eyes felt inexplicably sore.

Who's engaged? Shen Qianyue? But the servants said they'd only been married five years. Why...

As the footsteps outside the door approached, Xie Shangjia hurriedly put the booklet back to its place and covered it, pretending nothing had happened.

Shen Qianyue was tidying up the desk, and her movements paused slightly. She noticed that the documents were placed differently, and she looked up at Xie Shangjia.

The other person looked up and down, refusing to look at her.

"You moved the paperwork."

Xie Shangjia immediately denied it: "I didn't!"

Shen Qianyue still sat down and carefully reviewed all the documents, and finally the military books that she often read.

The writing on the inner pages has been soaked with grape juice and is difficult to discern.

"Is it fun?"

There was no emotion in her voice.

Xie Shangjia's momentum inexplicably weakened a bit: "...It's not fun."

Shen Qianyue took out a plain white handkerchief and carefully wiped the juice off her fingertips bit by bit with unhurried movements. Then, she threw the book and the handkerchief into the wastebasket.

With a "clang" sound.

It was as if what he threw away was not the military book she read most often, but a piece of trash. She didn't even look at him and turned away.

After she left, the smug look on Xie Shangjia's face froze, and the discomfort in his heart became even stronger. He walked to the trash can and silently picked up the military books and silk handkerchief inside.

The days in Shangshu Mansion passed in a strange stalemate. Although Xie Shangjia had recovered from the cold, the gate of the mansion was still tightly controlled.

Xie Shangjia hadn't seen Chen Qianyue for several days. Sometimes, even though she clearly saw him, she no longer took the initiative to ask about his health, but just passed by him casually, as if she was seeing grass or trees.

He was bored and wandered to the rockery at the North Corner Gate to rest. Suddenly, he heard deliberately subdued conversation coming from outside the wall.

"Do you really not remember anything? Have you forgotten everything about Miss Shen?" A strange male voice said anxiously.

"It's absolutely true! They were arguing about divorce just two days ago!" Another person vividly described what he had seen and heard.

"Heaven help my lord! This is great news! Come with me to report to the prince. Let's take this opportunity..."

Xie Shangjia's heart skipped a beat and he became alert instinctively. He held his breath and leaned against the wall, wanting to hear more clearly, but a light cough came from behind him.