3 The Refined Lady Sister-in-Law × The Beautiful, Delicate Sickness
Actually, Shen Gui’s question was more of a casual remark; he didn’t genuinely care about what she was thinking.
Yet his gaze lingered on Xinyi.
She wore a pale silk dress, her skin as white as snow and her features delicate, with eyes especially dark and glossy. Perhaps from being confined indoors for so long, her exposed wrists were so pale they almost shimmered, as if a gust of wind might topple her.
Noticing his scrutiny, Xinyi gave a deliberately shy smile, her voice soft and gentle. “I was thinking about when I might fully recover, so I can bear an heir for my husband. After all…”
“After all, the Marquis treats me so well, always considering my well-being, and since our marriage, he has never taken another.”
Shen Gui fell silent.
He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he sensed a faint trace of irony in her words.
Yet before him stood a fragile woman, looking timid and delicate—so much so that it seemed she needed immense courage just to glance up at him.
How could she harbor any sarcasm? Clearly, she adored him deeply.
Moreover, the existence of Ah Wu was still a secret.
Since he had never brought it up, and Xinyi was often too ill to leave her room, how could she possibly know about it? Unless someone had deliberately told her.
So he pushed away his unwarranted suspicions, his tone softening. “I specially called you here today to personally give you the herbs I procured from Youzhou.”
At that moment, he seemed to remember the younger brother standing outside in the rain and instructed the maid outside, “Bring Shen Rujie in.”
Turning back, their eyes met, and he quietly added, “Waiting in the rain without moving—others might think I’m a harsh elder brother.”
“The Marquis would never be so,” Xinyi thought silently. Yes, that’s true—he only detests him, and it’s common knowledge among the servants.
Those serving the master naturally know how to do their tasks; thus, Shen Rujie’s courtyard was seldom cleaned, and though his meals weren’t mere scraps, they could never compare to those of the other young masters and ladies of the Marquis’s household.
The window was half-open when a cold breeze suddenly blew through.
Instinctively, Xinyi rubbed her arms and looked up to see Shen Rujie enter.
He was soaked through and through.
Strands of rain-drenched black hair clung to his pale face, dripping water, mingled with a faint scent of metallic blood in the air.
Knowing he was unwelcome, he kept his distance and simply greeted in a faint voice, “Brother.”
From the moment Shen Gui saw him, he couldn’t help but frown.
His face showed no concern, only undeniable disdain. “I just asked you to fetch some herbs from Youzhou. How did you come back looking like this?”
“Brother’s orders must not be delayed, so I traveled day and night,” Shen Rujie replied.
His face was pure and innocent, without a trace of resentment or complaint, as if this was to be expected.
Xinyi clicked her tongue in admiration and whispered to the system, “He’s so adaptable—he doesn’t even get angry hearing this.”
To suffer such hardship, be injured, receive no sympathy, stand soaked in the rain, and then come inside only to be scolded condescendingly…
Putting herself in his shoes, Xinyi immediately felt a surge of injustice.
Absolutely intolerable!
The system responded, “Exactly, so keep it up, host.”
“…”
Shen Gui was accustomed to his unemotional demeanor and too lazy to waste time on pretense.
He placed the warm jade on the table and ordered coldly, “Enough. Put down the herbs and go rest. You don’t need to leave the mansion for the next couple of days—stay and recover.”
At this, Shen Rujie replied faintly, “Thank you for your concern, brother.”
He placed a narrow sandalwood box on the table, lingered no longer, and turned away.
*
Xinyi couldn’t stay long with Shen Gui either, as he clearly had little to say to her. He was always like this when he had no new favorite; now that he had Zheng Wu, it was even more so.
Blushing, she quickly said some gentle words, and before she could feel too embarrassed, she hugged the sandalwood box and left.
Ah Ying held an umbrella and teased her softly, “Madam and the Marquis have been married two years, yet you still can’t help blushing before him—like a maiden yet to leave her chamber.”
She had worried that Madam might be reminded of that painful matter when seeing the Marquis.
But on reflection, which man didn’t have concubines? If Madam refused in tears, she’d only be gossiped about as jealous.
Xinyi felt an inexplicable guilt.
Of course, she blushed. Even with the original body, she had held her breath for half a minute, and if she stayed longer, she might have turned purple.
So she lowered her gaze and smiled faintly, “Yes, the Marquis… does have many virtues.”
At least, even if thrown into a crematorium, he could still warm the furnace.
The night rain drizzled on and off until dawn.
Xinyi heard the rain in her dreams, but the soft bedding let her sleep deeply.
Until…
Suddenly, the ringing of an alarm clock in her mind woke her.
Rubbing her ears drowsily, she resisted it for a few seconds before sitting up in anger. “!!!”
What was this?
“System, come out! Why would there be an alarm clock in ancient times?”
She had been naive.
She thought she could sleep well here, but the cursed capitalism wouldn’t let her!
The system replied lazily, “Host, maintain your character. Wu Xinyi is a talented lady confined to the boudoir. She must rise at six to study and practice calligraphy, play the zither at noon, paint in the afternoon, and sometimes embroider sachets under lamplight at night.”
“…”
“…”
“What did you say? Say that again.”
“Host, better get up soon, or I’ll deduct your points.”
Xinyi scoffed, “Don’t joke—I have points?”
Her progress was still at zero; what points could she have? If you want to scare me, at least come up with something believable.
“It’s your salary from the Temporal Bureau, linked to the system mall via your bank card, directly exchangeable for points,” the system added lazily. “Instant exchange.”
“…”
She despised capitalists with all her being!
When Ah Ying entered with a basin and comb as usual, she saw her lady sitting on the bed with hair loose, head bowed, face wet with tears.
“Madam, what’s wrong?” Ah Ying quickly set down her things and helped her, worried. “Did you have a nightmare or chest discomfort?”
Xinyi leaned weakly on her shoulder, her voice barely a whisper, “Nothing. Just couldn’t sleep. I really want to get up and study.”
Ah Ying sighed with relief, “You are already diligent enough, and you don’t have to take imperial exams. You can sleep more.”
But seeing Xinyi’s continued gloom, she tentatively suggested, “If you really want to study, how about waking just a bit earlier tomorrow?”
“…”
Xinyi dared not say anything foolish and obediently sat before the bronze mirror for Ah Ying to comb her hair.
Strangely, through the mirror, her sleepy eyes seemed to glimpse a female college student rising at six in the morning.
Ah Ying smiled brightly, touched the white jade pearl earring dangling by her ear, then happily selected a simple floral hairpin.
“Madam, would you like to wear this flower today?”
Xinyi forced a smile and glanced, then nodded without objection, “Alright.”
After helping her layer by layer change into an elaborate, ethereal dress, most of her drowsiness had dissipated.
She then sat by the window at the desk, her slender fingers gripping a thick, bound ancient book.
She read until noon.
The system tried to persuade her to switch to practicing calligraphy, but Xinyi, feeling tired, pretended not to hear.
Sometimes she appeared to be reading, but was actually daydreaming.
But when she seemed to be writing, she truly was.
After lunch, Ah Ying brought her the brewed tonic.
It contained the rare herb from Youzhou, with little bitterness but a refreshing fragrance of grass and wood.
Xinyi drank it all without hesitation and asked the system, “Will this really help the original body recover?”
It should have been brewed last night, but the herb required over five hours of simmering to fully activate its efficacy.
So Ah Ying had instructed the kitchen maids to start brewing it early in the morning.
“It is effective. Host, feel free to drink,” the system assured.
Leaning on the windowsill, Xinyi’s mind suddenly recalled Shen Rujie’s battered appearance.
She hesitated, “If I brought him some medicine now, would that be seen as unnecessary flattery? Could it help improve our relationship?”
“That counts as gratitude,” the system replied.
It withheld the latter part: although Shen Rujie would think you a fool.
*
In a secluded, desolate annex of the Marquis’s estate,
The young man drank half a bowl of ginger tea to dispel cold, then washed and hung to dry the blood-stained clothes he had removed the night before. Because it took effort, a recent wound hidden under his sleeve had reopened by about an inch.
But his expression remained unchanged.
As if numb to this level of pain—which was true for everyone in the household.
No one felt pity for him.
Much less offer sincere kindness or concern—those were useless, and he did not need them.
Suddenly,
The slightly ajar door was tapped twice.
Shen Rujie’s first reaction was a surge of suppressed anger, because usually only Shen Qianqian came to bother him.
She was a full sister to Shen Gui, equally disdainful of him but with different methods—Shen Gui was more hypocritical; Shen Qianqian more straightforward.
But soon, the murderous glint in his eyes calmed.
No, that wasn’t right—
If it were her, she wouldn’t have knocked so gently.
Frowning, Shen Rujie walked over and pulled the door open.
He then paused slightly, seemingly seeing someone unexpected.
“Sister-in-law?”