On the Tenth Day of Seeing Her Wife

Come to think of it, she’d been away from Qingzhu Tower for several hours. It was about time to go see the beauty.

And she really did need to think about how to settle her.

If she stayed at Qingzhu Tower, with that face of hers, she’d definitely be able to make a fortune.

But for some reason, Lu Ling really didn’t want Shen Wanxin making a living off her looks. That would be such a waste.

If that face drew too much attention and some high official took a liking to her and carried her off as a concubine... that would be terrifying!

Even Shen Wanxin eating a meal had attracted human traffickers, let alone certain officials and nobles.

Wasn’t that just moving her from one fire pit into another?

Lu Ling immediately grew wary. The beauty was someone she had saved; she ought to be responsible for her safety.

She couldn’t just think about money!

“Second sister-in-law, Mother’s back at the residence. If you have something to do, you can still go show your face before her.” After saying that, Lu Ling took off running. “I’ve got something else to handle, so I’ll head out first. I’ll be back at the residence tonight.”

The moment she finished speaking, she turned and left the yamen, moving especially fast.

Xu Anqing didn’t even have time to see her off. By the time she looked up, Lu Ling was already gone in a hurry.

Only then did Xu Anqing say, puzzled, “This girl says she hasn’t found the right match, but she really doesn’t look like she’s still looking.”

When Lu Ling returned to Qingzhu Tower, the first thing she did was go find He Chou.

She instructed Liu Yuer to take Shen Wanxin to her estate in the eastern part of the city.

That was her private property; ordinarily, she only used it to escape the summer heat or winter cold.

Today, at last, it would be used to hide a beauty in a golden house.

The reason she wanted to hide Shen Wanxin was that she had a feeling the beauty’s identity wasn’t simple. Even if she wasn’t some high official’s daughter, she was at least connected to Xu Wang Manor in some way.

Now even Second Sister-in-law had said that everyone from Xu Wang Manor was dead.

If the beauty were found to have any connection to Xu Wang Manor, she might bring danger upon herself.

Lu Ling didn’t want to get tangled up in trouble just because she’d saved someone, and she definitely couldn’t abandon the matter halfway. Hiding the beauty for now and keeping her out of sight was the best choice.

Once the storm passed, she could let the beauty come out and walk around.

It was just that the beauty only had one hundred days left to live.

Out of pity, Lu Ling even had He Chou specially record the address of her estate and come by punctually every day to take her pulse.

After making all the arrangements, she had Liu Yuer help the beauty into the carriage.

At that moment, Shen Wanxin was only half-awake. It seemed she had also sensed that something was wrong with her body; as she stepped out the door, she deliberately grabbed Lu Ling’s shoulder.

Not only was her grip tight, it was just like her personality—always carrying a fierce, clawing edge.

Lu Ling turned around. “What is it?”

“Where are you planning to take me?” Shen Wanxin’s tone was accusatory.

Lu Ling wanted to pry her hand away, but found that she only tightened her grip. Then she glanced at Liu Yuer beside her, who was supporting her; that other hand, by contrast, stayed obediently still and didn’t make a fuss.

Why was she so different with her?

So she simply teased her. “Taking you back to the countryside to shovel manure.”

“How about it? It’s good exercise too.”

Unexpectedly, Shen Wanxin only frowned slightly, then readily accepted it. “Fine. As long as it isn’t your manure, I’m willing to shovel it as repayment.”

Lu Ling: ...

“What do you mean, as long as it isn’t mine? Do you hate me that much? I’m clearly your lifesaver!” Lu Ling lost all composure on the spot.

Shen Wanxin sneered. “From the start, you and I were never equal, Miss Lu. Must I spell that out for you?”

“But I do acknowledge that you saved me. In the future, I’ll repay you double.”

She really did see her situation clearly.

Lu Ling curled her lip. Fine, she had bought her; the indenture contract was in her hands; it was true that she was her creditor. But there was no need to draw such a hard line, was there?

Could it be that Shen Wanxin’s natural hostility toward her was because of this class gap?

She was pretty rebellious, too.

Since that was the case, Lu Ling’s own temper flared. “That won’t do. You can only shovel my manure.”

Lu Ling gave Shen Wanxin a mischievous wink.

Shen Wanxin stared at her for a long moment; in the end, she closed her eyes, as if accepting the reality before her.

When she opened them again, she suddenly complied. “Yes. Wanxin will wash clean all of Miss Lu’s stinky chamber pots and stinky night urns.”

The corners of Lu Ling’s mouth began to twitch. There was really no need to emphasize the word stinky so loudly.

She really does have a lot of opinions about me.

Even Liu Yuer, standing nearby, couldn’t help feeling a little awkward. What was all this about shoveling manure at midday? And now they’d turned it into a fiasco.

But it was rare to see the young lady come out on top, and it actually felt kind of refreshing.

Today, she’d been lightly sniped at again; achievement unlocked.

Lu Ling, speechless, climbed into the carriage. When Shen Wanxin got on, however, Liu Yuer also climbed up.

But Shen Wanxin still hadn’t moved.

Lu Ling couldn’t help lifting the curtain to look at her. “Why aren’t you getting in?”

Shen Wanxin, standing beside the carriage with an expressionless face, said, “I’m only a manure-shoveling maid. I’m not qualified to ride in the young lady’s carriage.”

As she spoke, she prepared to follow the carriage at a run.

Wang Xianglan was stunned, staring at Lu Ling in disbelief.

Lu Ling was a little embarrassed and angry. “It was just a joke; your temper’s a bit too much.”

“Get in!”

Shen Wanxin kept her gaze and nose straight ahead, not glancing to the side, looking only at the road in front of her.

Stubborn as a mule!

People on the street had already started noticing Shen Wanxin.

Because her looks were too striking, people were already stopping nearby to size her up.

Lu Ling couldn’t hold back; she climbed straight out of the carriage and grabbed Shen Wanxin’s hand. “Fine, you don’t have to shovel manure!”

“Hurry up and get in. You don’t want people staring at you like you’re some kind of monkey just because you’re too pretty.”

Shen Wanxin still held her ground. “I wouldn’t dare. Wanxin is afraid that if I share a room with Miss, I’ll be unable to resist making a move again, and then Miss will sneak in hidden weapons to ambush me.”

The moment she said that, Lu Ling immediately understood.

So that was what she was hung up on; she’d already developed a bit of PTSD over it.

There was no helping it. She’d been ambushed by that man surnamed Wu, which was what landed her in this mess.

Maybe even her poisoning had something to do with that Wu surname.

“Well, that’s a long story. Back then, didn’t you use force too? I was just counterattacking,” Lu Ling tried to explain.

But Shen Wanxin said, “Precisely because of that, avoiding sharing a room is for Miss’s safety.”

Bullshit! You just don’t want to come near me at all! Lu Ling roared inwardly.

If she weren’t the creditor, Shen Wanxin probably wouldn’t even bother giving her a proper look.

“Are you getting in or not?” Lu Ling was angry now, too.

Seeing the two of them deadlocked on the street, Liu Yuer cautiously poked her head out from behind the curtain and timidly suggested, “How about Miss Shen gets in, and Young Lady Lu takes another carriage?”

Then she lowered her voice. “He Dafu specifically told me to take extra care of Miss Shen, saying her days are numbered...”

By the time she finished, pity was already impossible to hide from her face.

Poor Miss Shen didn’t even know it herself.

Lu Ling fell silent at that.

They said that kind of poison was extremely rare; trying to refine an antidote would probably be harder than climbing to the sky.

Just as Lu Ling was lost in thought, Shen Wanxin respectfully cupped her hands toward Liu Yuer. “Thank you for your kindness, Sister Yu.”

Her tone was so gentle, so grateful, so sincere.

Being called sister by such a beautiful woman, Liu Yuer couldn’t help covering her mouth. “Wanxin, there’s no need to be polite. The young lady really isn’t a bad person; it’s just that you didn’t know the beginning and end of it at the time, so you misunderstood her. Besides, when the young lady threw things at you, it was only to protect herself.”

“Of course, Wanxin understands.” Shen Wanxin said modestly, “The young lady was forced into it.”

But there was absolutely no respect in her tone toward Lu Ling.

That made Lu Ling wonder when the two of them had gotten so close.

In the end, as more and more people gathered around them, even Wang Xianglan couldn’t help reminding her, “Young Lady, there are more and more people.”

Helpless, Lu Ling could only drag Shen Wanxin over to the carriage and shove her up the folding step. “Fine, I admit defeat, my Miss Shen.”

The moment Lu Ling stepped back down from the carriage, Shen Wanxin was pushed forward two steps. She took advantage of that momentum, lightly rose onto her toes, and with a flick of her back foot, flew straight into the carriage, instantly avoiding everyone’s line of sight.

Wang Xianglan seized the chance to drive the carriage away.

Watching the dust trail behind the carriage, Lu Ling couldn’t help stomping her foot. “This girl—if you want to kick me off the carriage, just say so!”

Still, she got into the carriage behind them and headed to her estate.

Yunshui Villa.

Before they reached Yunshui, Liu Yuer gently patted Shen Wanxin’s hand and said, “The young lady really does mean well. You don’t have to reject her so much.”

“I know the young lady is my lifesaver,” Shen Wanxin said softly, “but there are some things that even a lifesaver can’t cross.”

Liu Yuer couldn’t help asking, puzzled, “What did the young lady do to you?”

After that, Shen Wanxin turned back into a mute gourd and said nothing.

She only clutched her chest tightly, as if remembering something. Her exquisite profile turned deathly pale; she pressed her lips together and stayed silent, making Liu Yuer wonder whether the young lady had done something to Miss Shen while she was unconscious.

At that very moment, Lu Ling was holding up a mirror and looking at herself, wondering whether her face was really that unlikeable.

No matter how she looked at it, her features were naturally attractive; they weren’t ugly enough to be offensive to the eye.

“Does she really hate me that much?” Lu Ling said in exasperation.