Chapter 45

Chapter 45: So, It’s Him

Sheng Zhi Wan also noticed the things Qi Shu Xian carried in his hands, and her eyes immediately filled with mockery.

She wasn’t surprised that Madam Cui had gifted Meng Yang the Silver Thread charcoal, for it had happened exactly this way in her past life. Only back then, Madam Cui had used Meng Yang’s pregnancy as an excuse.

At that time, deep into winter, Sheng Zhi Wan had suffered terribly from the cold. She had even asked Qi Shu Xian to borrow some charcoal back from Meng Yang, promising to purchase new supplies to return the next day.

How humiliating, having to beg and promise repayment for something originally bought with her own silver ingots! Now, recalling this, Sheng Zhi Wan felt an overwhelming sense of how humble and pitiful she’d been.

Yet, how had Qi Shu Xian reacted then?

With utter annoyance, he’d said: “It’s just charcoal. How can you fuss over something so trivial?”

But now, when she no longer cared, he instead came carrying charcoal himself.

“It seems the Cold Poison gave you a difficult night,” Sheng Zhi Wan’s voice dripped with open scorn.

Surprisingly, Qi Shu Xian’s irritation gradually calmed under her gaze.

Softening his tone, he stepped closer, attempting to embrace her, saying, “Zhi Wan, can’t we reconcile? Can’t things go back to how they were before?”

But the instant he moved toward her, Sheng Zhi Wan retreated two steps away!

Qi Shu Xian grasped only empty air.

Sheng Zhi Wan’s eyes held only cold indifference. “No need! The peace and harmony you talk about—the past you want—was always bought by my constant compromises. Before, you didn’t notice, and I didn’t mind. But now, I do. You should return to your Endless Courtyard. Someone there truly needs your devoted attention!”

She finished her words and walked straight past him.

Qi Shu Xian stood frozen in place, utterly astonished.

He hadn’t expected Sheng Zhi Wan to harbor such thoughts.

She viewed everything she’d given him, his mother, and the entire Duke Qi household as mere grievances. Yet, wasn’t this the fate of every married woman?

A woman’s husband was supposed to be her heaven.

She wouldn’t yield, even when he offered her an easy way out.

Qi Shu Xian set down the charcoal and turned away, striding swiftly out of Pinglan Residence.

…

Qi Shu Xian did not want anyone else to learn he had been poisoned, so that night, he still returned to Endless Courtyard.

Meng Yang felt deep discomfort upon hearing he’d come directly from Pinglan Residence.

Yet seeing the pain he endured as the Cold Poison took effect, she remembered it was all for her sake.

So this was truly loving someone?

She wanted only his happiness, yet hated whenever he showed kindness to another. She wanted his eyes and heart fixed solely upon herself.

Meng Yang clutched her chest, finally deciding she would no longer wait passively.

Having earned Madam Cui’s favor, she’d frequently been invited to dine in Evening Tide Courtyard. That evening, she once again dined there, finally voicing her desire to open a shop in town.

Madam Cui’s initial reaction was displeasure.

Duke Qi’s household was already struggling to manage its finances. Even the silver for her medicines had been drawn from Fei Rui’s dowry!

And Fei Rui’s dowry, after being passed to Sheng Zhi Wan, wasn’t much left now. Qi Shu Xian had even resorted to selling properties gifted by His Majesty…

Thinking this, Madam Cui nearly spat blood again from sheer frustration.

The household was in crisis. Meng Yang, a mere peasant girl, could not help, yet now she wanted silver to open a shop?

Absolutely impossible!

But then Meng Yang described her idea of a “Hotpot Shop,” and Madam Cui’s resolve quickly wavered.

“Is there truly such a novel way of eating?” Madam Cui asked, intrigued. “Where did you come up with such strange ideas?”

“Madam, please don’t laugh at my humble roots. Back home, my family often gathered around a pot over a fire in winter. That’s how the idea came to me,” Meng Yang smiled shyly.

She had become fairer and prettier since arriving, especially pleasing Madam Cui with her gentle and obedient demeanor.

Though Sheng Zhi Wan had also been respectful and gentle before, her noble status had always made Madam Cui feel uneasy and inadequate in front of her.

“If you have ideas, tomorrow have the steward accompany you to look at shop properties,” Madam Cui finally agreed.

Madam Cui considered it a perfect arrangement. Though engaging openly in trade was beneath a noble household, Meng Yang wasn’t even officially a concubine yet.

If she really could bring money into Duke Qi’s household, wasn’t it something worth trying?

When Sheng Zhi Wan heard this news, she was unsurprised. She merely instructed Ting Lan to send word to Shopkeeper Lin, urging him to keep a close eye on Meng Yang’s every move outside.

Yet she hadn’t expected Meng Yang to be so impatient.

On the very afternoon of inspecting potential shops, Meng Yang dismissed the steward and had Qing Xing deliver a secret letter to the Imperial Army.

“The letter was delivered to a centurion named Jiang Mang,” Ting Lan relayed Shopkeeper Lin’s findings.

Sheng Zhi Wan paused mid-stroke.

A single drop of ink fell to the paper, spreading slowly across the surface.

Jiang Mang.

So, it was him.