In Shao Shang's previous life, if the nation's heartthrob got engaged to a notorious little troublemaker, the news would spread in about three hours. In this lifetime, it took three days for the news of her engagement to Ling Buyi to circulate among the aristocratic families in the Capital City.
The initial three days of calm misled the Cheng family into thinking the worst post-engagement scenario was sharing meals with the new son-in-law. But from the fourth day onward, they faced a barrage of public criticism like a volley of arrows. Apart from long-time friends like Wan Songbai and well-meaning onlookers, most others cast them sour and scornful glances. The shallow ones openly made snide remarks, saying things like, "Cheng Xiaowei, what luck to climb such heights—don’t forget us little folks!" The more sophisticated ones offered congratulations to their faces but mocked the Chengs for social climbing behind their backs.
"Father, don’t mind them. They’re just jealous," Shao Shang comforted him.
"Nonsense! Of course I know that. If Ling Buyi proposed to their daughters, they’d pack the dowry and marry them off overnight!" Cheng Shi fumed, nearly smashing his wine cup in anger.
The Cheng brothers fared slightly better—
Cheng Yong, who always believed in keeping friendships light as water, surrounded himself with either bookish peers oblivious to gossip or those genuinely happy for the family.
Cheng Song, stationed in Wan Songbai’s military camp and naturally jovial, saw any acidic remarks quickly silenced by his comrades.
Cheng Shao Gong, desperate to avoid being assigned by his mother to chaperone his younger sister and Ling Buyi, fiercely countered every jab thrown his way. Soon, the Teacher at his academy forbade further discussion to prevent escalation.
In contrast, Madam Xiao proved far wiser. As if anticipating this, she simply stayed home, either teaching Shao Shang calligraphy or managing the summer millet estate with Cheng Yang. Why not bring her daughter along? This time, it wasn’t favoritism—Ling Buyi visited daily, and taking Shao Shang away would leave him to terrify her husband and sons.
Truthfully, Shao Shang struggled too.
Regardless of her and Lou Yao’s physical ages, she was psychologically older. To her, Lou Yao was like a hometown sidekick or a shy lab junior; she never sought dominance but naturally steered their interactions. Ling Buyi, however, was different. From a young age, he’d been independent—whether in studies or warfare, he had his own ideas. Far from deferring to Shao Shang like Lou Yao, he expected her to follow his lead.
For instance, back in Hua County, when Shao Shang wanted to sneak wine, Lou Yao, though aware cold wine in early spring wasn’t ideal, would fetch it after her playful reasoning. But when she made the same request now, Ling Buyi flatly refused, citing health risks from chilled wine in early summer, lecturing her on organ damage and the need for exercise. Her "youth is for recklessness" argument fell flat, replaced by his warnings about small indulgences leading to greater vices.
Yet he knew negotiation well. When she neared her limit, he’d relent—allowing just one cup, after sipping half himself. The result? After all her efforts, Shao Shang got barely a mouthful of ice-cold wine!She was fuming, while the young man opposite her lowered his long lashes and sighed softly, "I'll concede today."
—Shao Shang really wanted to hit him. But she knew she couldn’t, because she was no match for him.
To put it simply, Shao Shang had strong opinions, but Ling Buyi’s were even stronger; Shao Shang was naturally resolute and decisive, yet Ling Buyi was even more ruthless and unyielding in his actions; if Shao Shang was a diamond drill bit, Ling Buyi was the diamond drill press.
The Great Sage Equal of Heaven possessed immense power, yet he was still crushed beneath the Five Finger Mountain. So Shao Shang wondered—now that Laozi's alchemy furnace burned bright, the Imperial plaque in the Hall of Celestial Kings stood firm, and the Queen Mother's peaches of immortality flourished—why must that heartless old scoundrel Buddha still bully her, a meek and law-abiding girl?
—Damn it, Ling Buyi had driven her to compose doggerel! Looking back, her instinctive desire to keep her distance from him before even knowing his temperament had been like a little monster’s intuition.
Though they had only spent four short days together, Shao Shang had already sensed that Ling Buyi was not happy.
His silence wasn’t because he had nothing to say, but because he didn’t want to speak. His rudeness to the noble ladies that day wasn’t due to a sharp tongue, but because he couldn’t be bothered to keep up appearances—better to be cutting and settle things once and for all. When he chose to be polite and courteous to someone, he could be as gentle as a spring breeze, considerate in every way.
Take Lou Yao, for example—when he saw the beautiful new brocade woven by his family’s craftsmen, he simply picked out a few rolls he thought were nice and brought them over. But the things Ling Buyi sent ranged from Cheng Mu’s favorite dried meat and goldware to the finely crafted, sturdy little bows and arrows for Cheng Xiaozhu and Cheng Xiaoou. He even gifted Cheng Yang, whom he had never spoken a word to, summer brocade that perfectly complemented her complexion—every gift tailored to the Cheng Family’s preferences.
Shao Shang truly couldn’t understand why such a handsome young man, in the prime of his life, with everything at his fingertips, could still be so unhappy and melancholy. If it were her, she’d be strutting around like a peacock!
She didn’t understand her fiancé. She couldn’t read the undercurrents in his deep, dark eyes, nor could she decipher his actions.
But she had never been one to pry into others’ thoughts. If she dug too deep, she might learn that the gossips in town had even nastier things to say about her—wouldn’t that just add to her anger? Or discover that the sweetheart next door actually despised her, the ill-reputed little troublemaker, but was too well-mannered to show it—wouldn’t that make her want to vomit blood?!
So, as long as she didn’t provoke him—Shao Shang thought to herself.
That said, Ling Buyi had never once raised his voice at her. Most of the time, his expression was gentle, his words soft. Yet that little monster’s intuition kept her from overstepping. Take the incident with the chilled wine—she had thrown a tantrum, insisting on drinking it. Ling Buyi didn’t scold her, but simply had someone report it to Cheng Shi and his wife, who then banned her from all alcohol, hot or cold—not even a sip of sweet fermented rice wine—until she relented. When she wasn’t in the right, Shao Shang rarely held out for long. Knowing when to quit had been her survival tactic for years.
Other than that, Ling Buyi indulged her in everything, never restricting her actions.
Sometimes, he would patiently watch her practice calligraphy, grinding ink and laying out paper for her, guiding her strokes and wrist movements—often for hours at a time, until Cheng Shi and his wife next door had to send Madam Qing Cong to remind him it was time to go home.Sometimes Shao Shang would make small wooden models of things like waterwheels and farming tools based on her drawings. But her palms were small, her fingers soft, and she lacked proper tools, so she could never cut or whittle large pieces of wood into the shapes she wanted.
Ling Buyi had only glanced at her efforts on the first day before telling her to practice calligraphy for now and leave the handicrafts for later. The next day, he brought her a set of exquisite iron tools wrapped in deerskin—small axes, knives, ink markers, iron rulers, claw hammers, wood files, hand drills, even two small saws of different lengths, along with a pair of soft, well-fitting leather gloves...
"I thought you'd just do it for me," Shao Shang said cheerfully, delightedly running her fingers over each little tool as if the warmth from their forging still lingered. Only then did she learn that Ling Buyi kept several highly skilled blacksmiths in his employ.
"I'll handle the tasks requiring strength. When I'm not here, have the servants do them. The rest is up to you." Ling Buyi took her small hand and carefully fitted a glove onto it, checking the fit.
"These are things you want to do, things you enjoy. You should have your way. But..." His tone shifted slightly as he added calmly, "If you hurt yourself, all of this will be forbidden."
Shao Shang knew he meant well and nodded eagerly—at times like these, she felt Ling Buyi understood her better than even the ever-obedient Lou Yao. He didn't think her strange, nor did he discourage her under the guise of keeping her safe. After all, nothing in this world was completely safe—one could even choke to death while eating.
Ling Buyi seemed particularly fond of her lively, radiant expressions. Sometimes he'd even watch with amusement when she stamped her feet in a temper. Shao Shang gradually realized he was rather indulgent with her, which made her more willing to tolerate his corrections—like stopping her from drinking cold wine, or skipping vegetables, or walking barefoot along the corridors...
But some things were beyond tolerance.
On the fifth day, the Lou Family hesitantly sent out wedding invitations. Since Ling Buyi was among the guests, he suggested his fiancée accompany him, but Shao Shang flatly refused.
"I've already told Father and Mother I won't be going that day. You all can go without me," Shao Shang pouted. In truth, Cheng Shi and his wife also approved of her absence—they only planned to attend themselves to show there was no ill will between the Cheng and Lou families, though they found the situation extremely awkward.
Ling Buyi studied her for a moment before saying, "You should go. I'll come fetch you when the time comes."
Head lowered, Shao Shang muttered, "I'm not going."
Ling Buyi glanced around. A Zhu, sensing the chill in his gaze, immediately understood and hurriedly ushered all the maids away, leaving just the two of them in the room.
Witnessing this battlefield-like clearing of the area, Shao Shang turned away stubbornly. "No matter what you say, I'm not going!"
Ling Buyi slowly walked over, turned her small shoulders to face him, and gazed at her steadily. "Speak properly. Give me a reasonable explanation, and I won't make you go."At this moment, Shao Shang deeply missed her strong and robust body from her previous life. Now, held firmly by the young man's powerful grip, she couldn't move at all. She had no choice but to say, "What's there to ask? I was once engaged to A Yao, and now he's marrying someone else. If I go to congratulate him, how would that look? It's so embarrassing! What would Ancheng Jun's family think? They'd probably assume I'm there to cause trouble!"
Ling Buyi looked at her: "So, you plan to never see A Yao again for the rest of your life?"
"Of course not!" Shao Shang blurted out. "It's just... just a matter of time, that's all..."
"By your logic, I shouldn't attend the Lou Family's wedding banquet either. After all, I've just become engaged to you. Meeting under such circumstances would also be awkward. If Lou Yao sees me, he might think I'm there to cause trouble," Ling Buyi said slowly.
"That's completely different! Don't use my own words against me!" Shao Shang said anxiously. "The Lou Family holds you in such high regard, and A Yao sees you as an elder brother. How can you not go? A Yao always thinks the best of people—he would never suspect you of ill intentions!"
Ling Buyi fell silent. He gazed quietly at the girl, then suddenly smiled self-deprecatingly. "...Do you still have feelings for A Yao in your heart? Are you still reluctant to let go of the engagement with the Lou Family?"
Shao Shang squirmed uncomfortably. She couldn't very well say, "Oh, you guessed right, how clever of you!"
"Outsiders may praise me endlessly, but in your heart, I probably don't measure up to Lou Yao," Ling Buyi said indifferently. "Have you ever even wished that I would marry He Zhaojun, so you and Lou Yao could be together..."
"No! I've never thought that!" Shao Shang shouted.
The moment the words left her mouth, even she was startled.
Back when she was desperate for a solution, she had imagined Yuan Shen marrying He Zhaojun, the Emperor arranging for a prince to marry her, or even one of Lou Yao's older brothers divorcing his wife to marry her. But she had never once thought of Ling Buyi marrying He Zhaojun.
"You're just saying that," Ling Buyi said coldly.
"No, no, it's true," Shao Shang said urgently. Even she, carefree as she was, knew this wasn't something to joke about. "I think... I think..." She searched for the right words. "I think you're a very, very good person. You've saved so many people and helped me countless times. You deserve the very best bride in the world! Not those so-called noble ladies who are all sharp tongues, not He Zhaojun, and not me either..."
Ling Buyi's expression softened, his gaze warm like ice melting in spring.
"Right now, I only see A Yao as my... my dear friend, my closest friend!" Seeing his silence, Shao Shang feared he still misunderstood and hurried to explain. "If I'm lying even a little, may I end up like this cup!" With that, she grabbed the ceramic cup used for washing brushes from the desk and hurled it to the ground.
With a loud crash , the cup shattered into pieces, splashing water onto Shao Shang's skirt.
"Don't move!" Ling Buyi barked sharply.
Shao Shang naturally didn't dare move. In those days, people went barefoot or wore only socks indoors—stepping on broken shards would be no joke.
A Zhu, hearing the noise, rushed to enter, but Ling Buyi called out, "It's nothing. Don't come in—just bring me a broom." A Zhu desperately wanted to barge in but remembered Madam Xiao's instructions to obey Ling Buyi's orders whenever possible.Ling Buyi took the bamboo broom from outside, lightly flicked his left hand to wrap the wide, flowing sleeve around his left arm, tucking the end into his palm. At the same time, his slender yet strong fingers gently lifted the right sleeve. Then, to the girl's utter astonishment, this young and powerful minister, renowned in the Capital City for his beauty and unapproachable demeanor, actually began sweeping the floor in front of her?!
Shao Shang was dumbfounded.
Although Ling Buyi had been independent since childhood, it was clear he had never done menial labor. At first, his sweeping motions were clumsy, unable to coordinate left and right. But for the capable, nothing is impossible—within moments, he grasped the technique and swiftly swept the broken pottery shards aside. He then laid a cushion over the wet spot, allowing Shao Shang to step out.
Holding up her skirt, Shao Shang teetered precariously before finally hopping out, only to be pulled by Ling Buyi to sit on the other side.
"Lou Yao is your closest friend, but what about the Thirteenth Young Lady of the Wan Family?" Ling Buyi slowly unwound the sleeve from his left arm. "If you don’t clarify your words today, I’ll relay them to the young lady of the Wan Family later."
"You—how could you do that?" Shao Shang sputtered indignantly. "I just think... well, A Yao has it hard too. And I’m afraid this might upset you, but he truly cared for me wholeheartedly. Now, not only is he forced to marry someone he once despised, but on his wedding day, seeing us together like this... it’s just too pitiful..."
Ling Buyi took her small, delicate hands in his, examining her palms for any cuts.
When Shao Shang touched his slightly cool palms, she felt a flicker of embarrassment. Yet she noticed his fingers were long and strong, the joints full and rounded, his skin pale like that of a scholar who spent his days writing in lofty halls. She suddenly recalled that day in front of the hunting lodge, when he had raised that dazzling golden weapon high and split the bandit in two... Were these the same hands?
"If your conscience is clear, you should go," Ling Buyi said, lifting his gaze to meet hers. "If Lou Yao decides to move on, he shouldn’t avoid seeing you with anyone. On the contrary, he should be glad you’ve settled your engagement so quickly, sparing you from becoming the subject of mockery among the spiteful."
In a way, Shao Shang really ought to be grateful to Ling Buyi. Had she not been engaged to him, her old adversaries would surely have mocked her mercilessly—how she had once overreached with Lou Yao and was now cast down from the heights, and so on.
"Now, no one dares laugh at me," Shao Shang sighed softly, giving Ling Buyi a resigned look. "But at this very moment, I wouldn’t be surprised if all those young ladies who admire you are cursing and hating me behind my back!"
Ling Buyi smiled faintly. "Before you met Lou Yao and me, were there no others who slandered or bullied you?"
Shao Shang was taken aback.
"Human nature is kind, yet human nature is also cruel," Ling Buyi said, still smiling as he interlaced his fingers with her soft hands. "We cannot let our guard down simply because we believe in kindness, lest we become fish on the chopping block. Nor should we shrink back in fear of cruelty, never daring to face it."
Shao Shang gazed into his deep brown eyes, still as an ancient pool, undisturbed by ripples.
After a moment, she yanked her hands away and turned her back in a huff. "Fine, fine! You’re right about everything. I’ll listen to you! I’ll go to the Lou Family—happy now?!"So, the conclusion is: Even if the Monkey King didn’t wreak havoc in the heavens, the old Buddha would still find a way to suppress him—otherwise, who would escort Tang Monk on his journey to retrieve the scriptures? Similarly, no matter whom she married, given her streak of bad luck, there would always be gossips eager to spread rumors.
“Ling Buyi,” Shao Shang suddenly murmured.
Ling Buyi was slightly taken aback—the girl had never addressed him by his full name before.
“Why don’t you marry one of those young ladies who worship you like a god?” Shao Shang lowered her head. “If it were them, they’d agree even if you said the sun was square.”
Ling Buyi tilted his head slightly, pondering for a moment before smiling, radiant as jewels. “I don’t know.”
“You’ve seen my temperament,” Shao Shang said dejectedly. “Stubborn and unruly. Why on earth do you want to marry me?”
Ling Buyi thought again and replied, “I don’t know that either.”
Shao Shang grew annoyed and huffed, “You demand that I say everything, yet you say nothing yourself!”
Ling Buyi chuckled, soothing the bristling little girl, and after a moment’s consideration, said, “His Majesty often says I live without a trace of human warmth, like a wandering ghost.”
Shao Shang thought to herself, Huh, the Emperor and Director Xiao share the same view.
“Once you enter the Everlasting Autumn Palace, His Majesty will see that when I’m with you, I am most human.”
…
A short while later, A Zhu hurried to Nine Dapple Hall to inform the master and mistress of the household that their Young Lady had decided to attend the Lou family’s wedding banquet. To her surprise, she found all three young masters present as well.
“What did I say? The moment I heard Ling Buyi wanted Niao Niao to accompany him to the Lou family, I knew this would be the outcome,” Cheng Shi clapped his thigh and said to his wife.
“Weren’t they quarreling fiercely, even smashing things?” Madam Xiao asked. “Was anyone hurt?”
A Zhu replied, “It was just an ink-washing vessel. Lord Ling said he accidentally knocked it over.”
She glanced at the mistress and added matter-of-factly, “But this servant believes it was the Young Lady who knocked it over, as her clothes were soaked in several places, while Lord Ling’s robe only had a few splashes.”
The Cheng family exchanged looks once more.
A Zhu said, “Female Lord, if there’s nothing else, this servant will return now. Lord Ling brought an extremely valuable curved-hem long dress today, embroidered with gold and silver threads, and a row of gleaming pearls adorning the collar. He asked the Young Lady to try it on so he could see how it looks before wearing it to the Lou family. This servant fears the maids might handle it carelessly and damage it…”
“Fine, fine, go ahead,” Cheng Shi waved impatiently.
After A Zhu quickly withdrew, Cheng Shao Gong scowled. “Niao Niao is so spineless. She argues with Mother and quarrels with her brothers like a fierce little thing, but the moment she faces Ling Buyi, she wilts.”
“Shaogong, mind your words,” Cheng Yong chided softly.
“I think Niao Niao did her best,” Cheng Song interceded, glancing at his parents and then his brothers. “She even dared to throw things at Ling Buyi. Eldest brother, third brother, would you dare? Heh, I certainly wouldn’t.”
Cheng Yong sighed deeply, his face full of worry. “What will become of Niao Niao in the future?”
Old Man Cheng thought for a moment and offered optimistically, “Look on the bright side—maybe Niao Niao will turn into the gentle, demure young lady your mother always wanted.”After speaking, he deliberately glanced at his wife. Madam Xiao sighed inwardly. In truth, she now felt that their daughter's current state wasn't so bad. Though somewhat rough around the edges and quick-tempered, she was full of vitality—bold and fearless like the first rays of morning sunlight. Every day, she diligently followed her own plans and arrangements, busily studying, practicing calligraphy, tending to plants, and nurturing sprouts without ever slacking off.
Just watching her made one's heart feel bright and uplifted.
Author's Note:
Finally finished with work for now. Starting today, it's time for cleaning—washing curtains, bedding, and digging under the sofa.
Seems like this is the only time of year I get this motivated, lol.
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