Chapter 182 The Heartless Man:
Rong Xie knew very little about Miss Shen. Although they had both lived in the Shen family manor and Rong Xie often sneaked out to play in the plum garden, he didn't know anything about Miss Shen and didn't even know her name.
Miss Shen held an extremely special status in the Shen family manor. She was once the undisputed "eldest daughter" of the Shen family, the eldest daughter of Master Shen, with a prestigious status and absolute authority. Rong Xie glimpsed her former glory from the Shen family's later attitude towards her. Even though she gave birth to a son out of wedlock and refused to reveal her husband's name, returning to the Shen family manor in such a sorry state, no one dared to speak ill of her to her face. Her former boudoir, with its independent plum garden, was still reserved for her, and no one dared to touch it.
Miss Shen's prestige stemmed from her temperament and her talent for cultivating immortality—although this became insignificant after Rong Xie entered the Spirit Mirror Sect and saw the world, at that time, in the eyes of the remote Shen family, Miss Shen was a deity reincarnated.
The jokes that ordinary people love to watch are nothing more than gods falling to earth, celestial beings falling from the clouds, tigers falling to the plains, and dragons swimming in shallow waters. It's not that there's any malice towards the people involved; it's just that ordinary people are naturally interested in dramatic changes. Of course, to some extent, when gods are in heaven or celestial beings are on cloud nine, they will always be arrogant and hurt others. Even if they don't, they can't avoid being compared by busybodies. Once they are compared, even if the person involved doesn't mean it, they will be remembered and will be ridiculed in the same way when they fall to the dust.
Miss Shen was like that in the Plum Garden.
No one dared to speak ill of Miss Shen to her face, but Miss Shen was not comfortable. She often wore a cold expression and did not associate with anyone else in the manor. She also scolded Shen Bingsi for not associating with others. The more aloof they were, the more out of place they became, and the fiercer the gossip behind their backs became. Miss Shen gradually felt that she could not stay in the Shen family manor for a moment longer. So, after Shen Bingsi passed the Lingjing Sect's assessment, she left Plum Garden and never returned.
Rong Xie never asked Shen Bingsi whether Miss Shen had contacted him later. The Shen family was Shen Bingsi's minefield, and it would explode at the slightest touch. Miss Shen was an even bigger minefield, and even Rong Xie dared not mention her name.
Rong Xie thought that he would never have any connection with Miss Shen again in this lifetime.
I never imagined that after so many years, I would still have such a deep entanglement with this name.
"What? Plum Garden?" After figuring out where Rong Xie was going, Elder Yunfeng stroked his beard and pondered, "I've never heard Shen Bingsi mention these things before... However, young friend Rong, you've grown up with him since you were little, you know him better than anyone else, your intuition is probably right. How about this, I'll send one of my disciples to take you to the Shen family manor, and he'll be at your beck and call during this time."
Rong Xie was overjoyed: "Thank you very much, Elder Yunfeng."
"Sigh, if the old Taoist priest hadn't been tied up, I would have gone to take a look..."
Elder Yunfeng sent a high-ranking disciple, Shu Yang, to escort Rong Xie to the Shen family manor by flying on his sword. Shu Yang's swordsmanship was excellent, and his flight was smooth. However, his skill was slightly inferior to Shen Bingsi's, and it took him two days to reach the Shen family manor.
Rong Xie's heart was in constant turmoil. He knew that if he delayed any longer, the situation might change. At this moment, he could only secretly pray that Shen Bing Si could successfully resolve her inner conflict.
When the Shen family manor reappeared before his eyes, Rong Xie's state of mind was completely different from the last time. Back then, he only wanted to get away from here as soon as possible and never come back.
But now... he wished he could turn this place upside down.
"Has the Second Young Master returned?" Rong Xie asked everyone he met as he entered the Shen family manor, but from the gatekeepers to the young masters and ladies, they all just shook their heads.
Shen Bingsi is not the same as before. His Dao heart is broken and he can no longer fly on his sword. Naturally, he cannot come to the Shen family manor with the same grand presence as before. Moreover, he is not here to demand an explanation and does not want to involve too many people. Perhaps he will sneak into the plum garden when the Shen family is not paying attention.
With this in mind, Rong Xie headed straight for the plum garden. Although the Shen family was somewhat bothered by Rong Xie, an outsider, barging around their estate, they couldn't do anything about it. After all, Rong Xie was now a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a reputation, and his return was accompanied by a Golden Core sword cultivator, making quite a grand entrance.
"Senior Brother Shuyang, please wait a moment longer. I need to find something here," Rong Xie said.
“Junior Brother Rong, please go ahead and search. Master sent me here to follow your orders. Just give the instructions,” replied Shu Yang, a senior disciple.
"Thank you." Rong Xie bowed to Shu Yang and strode into the plum garden.
Plum Garden has remained unchanged all these years.
Every plant and tree in the plum garden remains exactly as it was when Shen Bingsi left.
The ruins remain ruins, with traces of repairs still visible in some places. The weeds in the yard have grown quite tall, covering the steps and the dog hole under the wall.
Previously, the Shen family dared not touch the garden because of Miss Shen's prestige. Now, the person they are worried about has become Shen Bingsi.
Fortunately, that's the case.
Rong Xie used magic to part the weeds and walked all the way to the front of the main hall.
The cobwebs under the eaves and the dust on the window paper all pointed to one fact—no one had been here recently.
Rong Xie used magic to pull open the bolt and push the door open.
As the dust settled, Rong Xie took out a talisman, conjuring a protective shield to keep the dust away, and quickly entered the room.
In the center of the main room was a square table where Miss Shen and Shen Bingsi used to eat. They never spoke while eating, so when Shen Bingsi ate with Rong Xie, he didn't speak at first either. When Rong Xie asked him why, Shen Bingsi said, "Miss Shen requires me to refrain from speaking while eating or sleeping." However, he later completely forgot about these rules.
Rong Xie looked around. It didn't seem like anyone had been in the main room. The front and back windows were all closed, and there were no signs of dust falling on the bed.
"How could this be..."
Shen Bingsi really didn't come here, and Rong Xie couldn't help but wonder if he had guessed wrong.
This was the only answer he could think of. If Shen Bingsi's knot wasn't in the plum garden, then where could it be?
Rong Xie was standing inside the room when he suddenly heard a noise coming from the outside.
He turned around, his heart pounding, hoping to see that familiar figure.
But no, the person peeking into the main room through the pile of weeds was Wang the wet nurse.
"Rong-ge'er?" When Wang the wet nurse saw Rong Xie, her face lit up with that ingratiating smile again, her hands tucked into her sleeves. "You're back?"
Rong Xie's eyelids twitched, wondering why Granny Wang was being so polite, and he simply hummed in response.
"Wang Mu... I heard he went to your mansion in Lanyuan with you?" Granny Wang asked tentatively as she sidled closer.
"Hmm." Rong Xie had almost forgotten about this. Wang Mu had indeed been staying in Lan Yuan, which was very reassuring. He was the one who took care of everything at the residence, and now he was also familiar with Steward Wang of the Lan Yuan villa, and would sometimes go over to help.
"I received his letter back. Who would have thought that he could climb to such a high position as the Grand Secretary? It's all thanks to you!" Granny Wang praised.
Rong Xie finally understood why Granny Wang was so respectful to him: "It's because he's hardworking and diligent."
"Hey, of all the children I've nursed, Rong-ge'er is the most successful. It's all thanks to Rong-ge'er's help that that rascal Wang Mu has managed to amount to something." As she spoke, Wang the wet nurse peeked into the house. "What are you doing in this haunted garden? This unlucky place, ptooey ptooey ptooey—I almost forgot, the second young master lives here too. You must be here to get something for him, right?"
“No, I…” Rong Xie suddenly realized that there were some things he didn’t know, but Granny Wang did.
Since starting his own business and dealing with all sorts of people, Rong Xie has come to understand a principle: there are all kinds of people in the world, some people you admire and some people you hate. But often, it is those people you hate who are good at doing things that Rong Xie himself cannot do.
"Do you know anything about Miss Shen?" Rong Xie asked. "Who was her husband back then? So many years have passed, and there hasn't been a single trace of him?"
At this point, Granny Wang immediately perked up and straightened her back: "Tsk, Rong-ge'er has really asked the right person. In this family, no one knows Miss Shen better than me! This old woman has watched Miss Shen grow up!"
Rong Xie did not expose the fact that Wang the wet nurse was actually the same age as Miss Shen.
Although Granny Wang didn't know who Miss Shen's husband was, she had heard some rumors about him. It was said that he was also a rising star in the cultivation world and originally had a good chance of entering one of the three major sects, but a change occurred in his family and he had to return home to take charge of the family affairs.
Miss Shen originally had a good chance of passing the tests of the three major sects, but she gave it up for this man and returned to his home with him—which was said to be a great family.
The prominent family had many rules, and the rising star had the common flaws of scions of prominent families: he was weak-willed and did whatever his elders said without daring to disobey. Miss Shen, on the other hand, was fiery and could not stand such treatment, so the marriage between the two ultimately fell through.
“But Miss Shen has given birth to a child,” Rong Xie frowned. “This young master from a prominent family is of terrible character. Great families value their reputation the most. Their family is abusing their power and causing an unmarried pregnancy. Aren’t they afraid of ruining their own reputation?”
“Oh, that’s right.” Granny Wang nodded. “But the young lady is very proud. Even if you break her legs, she won’t reveal who that nobleman’s son is. I guess that the nobleman’s family took advantage of the young lady’s temper and deliberately made her suffer this loss. I heard that the reason that nobleman’s family made things difficult for the young lady was because they thought the young lady’s background was not good enough to be relied on. After kicking the young lady out, they quickly arranged for that nobleman’s son to marry a noblewoman of equal social standing.”
"Is that so?" Rong Xie frowned upon hearing this. However, on the other hand, he also doubted the veracity of Wang Nanny's detailed description, which lacked any knowledge of the family in question. Rong Xie asked, "But how did you know this? Miss Shen refuses to say, so where did these details come from?"
“No secrets stay hidden forever!” Granny Wang said smugly. “It was the year Miss Shen returned with her second young master that Miss Shen somehow got wind of the fact that the young master from that wealthy family was getting married soon. The old woman overheard Miss Shen in the courtyard teaching the second young master that his father was a heartless man who had long wanted to dump them. She said that if the second young master had any ambition, he should rip out his heart so that he could never be heartless again.”
"..."
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