Chapter 4 (Revised) Coveting my brother is an enemy.
Traveling with Cui Huai in a carriage had taken a toll on Shen Yunzhi's energy, and much of her initial excitement had dissipated. It wasn't until she caught sight of a young man wearing a square scarf and a sapphire blue robe standing outside the Jianchun Pavilion that she knew he must be Zhou Tao, the sixth son of the Zhou family, and she regained her spirits.
"Miss, it seems to be that Zhou Liulang." Qiuyue lowered her voice.
Shen Yunzhi nodded, and taking advantage of the fact that she hadn't gotten close yet, she boldly began to scrutinize the young man who looked like a scholar.
Zhou Liulang stood quietly outside the pavilion, showing no signs of anxiety.
As they got closer, they could see his face clearly, and indeed, as his aunt had said, he had delicate features and a handsome appearance.
Shen Yunzhi had a good impression of Zhou Tao.
However, she didn't immediately draw any conclusions about what personality was more important.
"My name is Zhou Tao. May I ask if you are Miss Shen?"
Upon noticing Shen Yunzhi and Qiu Yue, Zhou Tao stepped forward and politely inquired in a gentle voice.
Shen Yunzhi smiled slightly and bowed her head slightly as she greeted him, "Young Master Zhou."
Zhou Liulang didn't dare to look closely, but he felt a sudden brightness before his eyes and heard the young lady speak in a clear voice, which filled him with joy.
Shen Yunzhi said, "The carriage ran into trouble halfway there. Please forgive me if I am late, Young Master Zhou."
"No, that's not true." Zhou Liulang smiled shyly. "I just came down too early."
The two chatted briefly about carriages, which eased the awkwardness of their first meeting. Taking advantage of the beautiful spring weather, they decided to stroll through the nearby peach grove to admire the blossoms. On their way to the grove, Shen Yunzhi and Zhou Tao chatted casually. Zhou Tao's refined manners, without any pretense of literary talent, further improved Shen Yunzhi's impression of him.
In February, the peach blossoms are in full bloom.
Strolling along the forest path, the air is filled with the fragrance of flowers, and it feels as if you are in a pink sea of clouds, like a dream.
Zhou Liulang secretly glanced at Shen Yunzhi several times.
The more I looked at her, the more I felt that Miss Shen was more beautiful than a peach blossom on a branch, captivating and enchanting.
"Miss Chen..." Zhou Liulang called out, but as soon as he finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of a black snake with white spots slithering past under a peach tree out of the corner of his eye. He exclaimed in surprise, "Snake! There's a snake!"
Shen Yunzhi heard his shout first, and then noticed the snake under the tree.
At the same moment, perhaps startled, the snake suddenly lunged at her. She was caught off guard and stood there dumbfounded.
Then I only saw a few flashes of white light before my eyes.
For some unknown reason, the white-spotted black snake that was heading straight for her was shattered into several pieces and fell at her feet.
Shen Yunzhi, her face pale, looked at the handsome young man in front of her who was sheathing his sword.
Qiuyue hurriedly ran forward, calling out, "Miss!"
This sound brought Shen Yunzhi back to her senses.
Her heart pounded, and she stepped back a few paces to avoid the snake that was torn to pieces on the ground. Remembering what she had done, she curtsied and thanked him, saying, "Thank you for saving me, young master."
"I am deeply grateful for your help, but I do not know your honorable name?"
"When I get home, I will definitely tell my elders about what happened today and express my sincere gratitude to my benefactor."
The young man smiled warmly.
"It was nothing, I'm glad you're alright."
"We are the Liang family." A delicate voice interrupted at this moment. A young woman with gentle features, dressed in a pink dress, walked slowly closer and said with a smile, "But it is indeed most important that you are safe, Miss. My elder brother only came to your aid when he saw that there was danger."
Shen Yunzhi looked at this gentle and kind young woman and was taken aback.
She recognized her; it was Liang Zhi.
The beloved daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, and the future heir apparent of Cui Huai.
It turned out that the person who saved her was Liang Zhengting, the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo, who had a close personal relationship with Cui Huai.
This time, she didn't want to get involved with Cui Huai again.
As if by a cruel twist of fate, he went out to look around and unexpectedly received kindness from someone close to Cui Huai.
"Thank you, Young Master Liang." With her anger subsiding, Shen Yunzhi lowered her eyes and bowed to Liang Zhengting once again to express her gratitude. Fortunately, her face was pale from the shock, so no one noticed her unusual expression.
"Young Master Liang! Miss Liang!"
Zhou Liulang, who had disappeared a moment ago, arrived late and greeted Liang Zhengting and Liang Zhi with a cupped-hand salute.
"Thank you for saving me, Prince Liang."
“Miss Shen is a cousin of the Prince of Chu’s family, and I am Zhou Tao, the sixth son of the Zhou family.”
While thanking them, Zhou Liulang enthusiastically introduced Shen Yunzhi and his own identity to the Liang siblings.
A hint of surprise flashed in Liang Zhi's eyes, but she smiled and said, "So you are Brother Huai's cousin. I had heard that Brother Huai had a cousin who came to the capital, but I had not had the chance to meet her until today. It is fate that we meet here today."
Unable to offer any words of agreement, Shen Yunzhi forced a slight smile as a response.
Looking at Zhou Liulang's attentive manner towards the Liang siblings, she sighed inwardly. This first meeting had truly been a complete failure.
...
Using the excuse of being frightened and unwell, Shen Yunzhi bid farewell to the Liang siblings and left with Qiuyue.
Once out of the peach blossom grove, Qiuyue could no longer contain her anger and began to berate Zhou Tao, her tone full of disdain: "Bah! This servant sized up this sixth young master of the Zhou family; he seemed so refined and decent-looking, I thought he was a good person, but look what happened! I've truly seen the light today! When trouble struck, instead of protecting Miss, he simply abandoned her and ran away. If it weren't for Young Master Liang's righteous rescue, wouldn't Miss have been bitten by that snake? What if the snake had been poisonous?"
Thinking of what had just happened, Qiuyue felt an urge to spit on Zhou Liulang to his face.
Who would dare marry such an irresponsible person?
Qiu Yue was filled with righteous indignation, while Shen Yunzhi was much calmer.
You can know a person's face but not their heart. Even Cui Huai was like this, let alone Zhou Liulang, whom you met for the first time.
“Keep your voice down. We’re outside right now. If the Zhou family hears us, it will put your aunt in a difficult position,” Shen Yunzhi sighed. “Actually, it’s not a bad thing. Since we know he’s unreliable, it saves us some trouble.”
"Miss is absolutely right. If you marry this kind of person without thinking, you'll be miserable and upset for the rest of your life!"
Qiuyue pouted and echoed.
Shen Yunzhi smiled helplessly.
After thinking for a moment, she instructed Qiuyue, "I will speak to my aunt about today's matter myself."
"Yes, Miss." Qiuyue obediently responded to Shen Yunzhi's instructions.
The master and servant then headed towards Jianchun Pavilion.
Uncle Li, who had gone to rent a horse-drawn carriage, arrived just in time.
Uncle Li arrived just in time, and Shen Yunzhi had no intention of staying any longer. She and Qiuyue boarded the carriage and returned to the Chu Prince's Mansion.
"Why are you back so early?"
When Princess Chu saw Shen Yunzhi return to the manor early, she couldn't help but ask, "Is something the matter?"
She gestured with her eyes for the maids and servants inside the room to leave.
She gestured for Shen Yunzhi to come to her side and said gently, "Yunzhi, tell your aunt what happened."
Shen Yunzhi said, "It's nothing serious, Aunt, don't worry. It's just that when I was walking in the peach blossom grove, I encountered a black snake with white spots. The snake lunged at me, but fortunately, Young Master Liang came to my rescue, and I was unharmed."
That's a very tactful way of putting it.
However, Princess Chu understood after a moment's thought.
At that time, Yunzhi must have been with Zhou Liulang.
The person who saved her was not Zhou Liulang, but someone else, and Zhou Liulang was not mentioned at all, which shows that Zhou Liulang did not care about her safety at the time.
No wonder you came back so early.
"Auntie knows."
Princess Chu grasped Shen Yunzhi's hand, thought for a moment, and asked, "Young Master Liang... is he from the Liang family of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?"
Shen Yunzhi shook her head: "I don't know either."
"However, Zhou Jia Liulang referred to that young master Liang as Liang Shizi."
Princess Chu smiled and said, "That's it then. Since he is the heir apparent of the Liang family, then it can only be the Liang family of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. But if we go to express our gratitude, we mustn't get his identity wrong, or it would be embarrassing." She pondered for a moment, then patted Shen Yunzhi's hand gently and said, "Leave this matter to your aunt. Yunzhi was frightened today, so go back and rest first. Later, your aunt will have someone invite the imperial physician to prescribe some calming medicine for you, so you won't have nightmares."
Exhausted, Shen Yunzhi thanked her aunt and then got up to take her leave.
Back at Yunxi Courtyard, she was exhausted and took a nap. When she woke up, Qiuyue had already prepared the calming soup.
"Miss, I just heard that Consort Ye was sent away by the young master."
Watching Shen Yunzhi drink the calming soup, Qiuyue presented her with a plate of candied fruit and casually chatted with her about some idle gossip she had heard.
Shen Yunzhi paused slightly in her hand as she tossed the candied fruit: "Why?"
Qiuyue said, "This servant doesn't know either. When I asked them, they couldn't tell me either."
As Shen Yunzhi ate the candied fruit, she recalled the incident of Cui Huai using Chinese medicine at the family banquet last night, and how Aunt Ye was suddenly sent away today.
To say that the two things are completely unrelated...
Cui Huai never cared about the concubines in the Prince of Chu's harem.
My aunt didn't really pay much attention to it.
It is obvious—
Aunt Ye was the one who drugged Cui Huai, which is why she was suddenly not tolerated.
Thinking of this, Shen Yunzhi suddenly felt a jolt.
She choked on a piece of candied fruit and coughed violently.
"Miss, please slow down."
Shen Yunzhi had just taken medicine and shouldn't drink too much water, so Qiuyue poured her a small half-cup of warm water and handed it to her, then gently patted her back to help her recover.
It took a long time to finally stop the coughing.
After recovering from the shock, Shen Yunzhi closed her eyes and held her forehead, but her head was throbbing in waves.
In his previous life, Cui Huai never dismissed Aunt Ye.
It turns out that's how it is!
Shen Yunzhi's head was buzzing.
Just then, Cui Lizhu arrived at Yunxi Courtyard.
Cui Lizhu, having somehow heard about what happened in the peach blossom grove at Jianchun Pavilion, came specifically to warn Shen Yunzhi: "Liang Zhengting saved you, and you should be grateful, but stay away from that Liang Zhi. Don't blame me for not warning you; she also likes my elder brother and is the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. If she knew about your little schemes, do you think she would really tolerate you?"
His words were arrogant and merciless.
Seeing that Shen Yunzhi remained silent for a long time, Cui Lizhu angrily said, "I'm talking to you!"
In her previous life, Shen Yunzhi didn't know much about Liang Zhengting and Liang Zhi.
She couldn't judge Cui Lizhu's words, but was curious as to why Cui Lizhu said that, so she said softly, "Miss Liang looks gentle and lovely. I have no grudge against her, so why can't she tolerate me?"
Choi Yeo-joo sneered: "You coveting my brother is my enemy."
She paused, then continued, "Liang Zhi and the Seventh Princess are very close. The Seventh Princess has liked Liang Zhengting for many years, and she's even more cunning than Liang Zhi. Any young lady in the capital who gets close to Liang Zhengting will suffer her torment. She'll soon find out that Liang Zhengting saved you, so you'd better watch yourself."
Princess Cui Xuan, the seventh princess, is known to be willful and capricious.
They weren't without their disagreements; Cui Lizhu doesn't remember, and Cui Xuan probably doesn't either, but she always does.
When she first arrived in the capital, Cui Huai came to her rescue during a snowball fight, which was actually Cui Xuan leading a group to bully her.
You don't need a special reason to bully her; just disliking her is enough.
Later, she lived a secluded life in the Chu Prince's residence and never saw Cui Xuan again. Cui Xuan wouldn't have bothered to come to the Chu Prince's residence to cause her trouble. Besides, Cui Lizhu looked down on her, and Cui Xuan looked down on her even more. The high and mighty princess would not take a cousin who was living under someone else's roof seriously.
This accidental rescue by Liang Zhengting may indeed attract Cui Xuan's attention again.
But there's no rush.
The most important thing right now is that Choi Yeo-joo, who has always disliked her, wouldn't suddenly become friendly to her for no reason. She wants to figure out the reason.
Enduring Cui Lizhu's sarcasm, Shen Yunzhi asked softly, "Why did Lizhu help me?"
"Help you? What a joke!"
Choi Yeo-joo almost rolled her eyes. "I just don't want you to get bullied one day and then take the opportunity to complain to my older brother and gain his sympathy."
A note from the author:
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