Chapter 34: The Young Noble
Jiang Li passed by Shen Ruyun and her mother with Tong'er by her side.
Her face still wore the same faint smile as before, as if it had become a natural mask. Yet upon closer inspection, the curve of her lips carried a certain chill.
Shen Ruyun and Shen's mother had indeed come.
After marrying Shen Yurong, she had moved to the capital. Shen's mother was not an easy mother-in-law to get along with, and Shen Ruyun was willful and selfish. Xue Huaiyuan, who doted on his daughter, had spared no effort in providing her with a generous dowry. That dowry had all been used to subsidize the Shen family, while her clothes and jewelry were often taken by Shen Ruyun under the pretext of liking them.
She was no saint. Having been the cherished pearl of the Xue family, when Shen Ruyun and Shen's mother displeased her, the then-Xue Fangfei would show her displeasure.
Whenever this happened, Shen Yurong would promptly step in. He always said that his widowed mother and young sister had struggled to raise him, and his achievements today were entirely thanks to their efforts. He urged Xue Fangfei to treat them better. Being kind-hearted, Xue Fangfei, considering the difficulties they faced as women raising Shen Yurong alone, tried her best to endure.
But her tolerance did not earn her the same respect in return. In her final six months, Shen's mother and Shen Ruyun never once comforted her. Sometimes, they even stood outside her door, speaking in voices loud enough for her to hear, asking why she hadn't killed herself after committing such disgraceful acts and why she continued to burden the Shen family.
If not for Xue Fangfei's resilient nature, she might have truly been driven to take her own life to prove her innocence.
"Young lady?" Tong'er, sensing the change in her companion's mood, called out softly.
Jiang Li snapped out of her thoughts and smiled. "I'm fine." But inwardly, she thought that Shen's mother and Shen Ruyun couldn't possibly know nothing about Shen Yurong and Princess Yongning. The fact that Princess Yongning could enter the Shen residence as if it were her own clearly indicated familiarity with the Shen family.
Given the Shen family's opportunistic nature, aligning with a royal princess of noble birth was undoubtedly more advantageous than being tied to the daughter of a minor official. Today, she had seen with her own eyes that the clothes and jewelry worn by Shen Ruyun and Shen's mother were likely beyond what Shen Yurong's current salary could comfortably afford.
This was probably Princess Yongning's "kindness."
Jiang Li thought to herself, feeling that the Shen family was both pitiful and pathetic. Princess Yongning might be of noble birth, but how could someone who could cold-bloodedly murder a wife and destroy a family be easy to deal with? The Shen family only saw immediate gains, unaware that days of sorrow lay ahead.
She was more than happy to watch the show unfold.
The Shen family, Shen Yurong, and Princess Yongning were the culprits who had destroyed her family and taken everything from her. This debt, she would reclaim bit by bit.
The two made their way back to Fragrant Garden Courtyard. Even though Jiang Li had cleared her name at Jiang Youyao's hair-pinning ceremony today, she still seemed to be the overlooked daughter of the Jiang family. No one paid any attention to her actions.
Halfway there, they encountered a man.
Since when were there unrelated men in the Jiang family's inner courtyard? Jiang Li stopped, keeping her distance, and the man, being proper, did not approach further.
Jiang Li turned to leave by another path, but the man suddenly spoke, his voice soft: "Second Miss?"
Second Miss? His tone sounded familiar. Jiang Li turned to look at him.The young man appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in an exquisitely crafted pine-resin-colored robe. His hair was tied up with a jade hairpin, and he stood tall and graceful, exceptionally handsome—an undeniable beauty with a refined and elegant demeanor. His gaze flickered slightly as he looked at Jiang Li.
Jiang Li stared at him, perhaps with such an unfamiliar expression that the man before her grew somewhat embarrassed. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Second Miss Jiang, you may not remember me. I am Zhou Yanbang."
Zhou Yanbang? Jiang Li suddenly understood, and Tong'er beside her nearly gasped aloud.
So this was Zhou Yanbang, the Heir of Marquis Ningyuan. When she was still Xue Fangfei, she had often heard this name from her sister-in-law but had never met him in person, only knowing that he was a handsome and graceful man. Now, as Jiang Li, Zhou Yanbang had become her former fiancé—how peculiar.
Jiang Li paused briefly before saying, "Heir."
Her tone was ordinary, devoid of excitement or mixed emotions, as simple as if she were addressing a stranger on the street.
Zhou Yanbang was somewhat taken aback.
He had known about his engagement to Jiang Li since childhood, but being young and unaware, he hadn't felt much about it. Later, Jiang Li was sent to the nunnery for allegedly scheming against her stepmother. At that time, Zhou Yanbang often heard his parents discuss whether to call off the engagement, but for some reason, his fiancée eventually became Jiang Youyao.
Zhou Yanbang had met Jiang Youyao—a delicate, charming, and innocent girl—and was quite satisfied with her, so he had no objections to the marriage.
Today, attending Jiang Youyao's hair-pinning ceremony, Zhou Yanbang encountered Jiang Li, whom he hadn't seen in years.
His memories of Jiang Li only recalled a chubby, ill-tempered girl from their childhood. But at the ceremony, Jiang Li's appearance stirred ripples in his heart.
Jiang Youyao was like an exquisite piece of jade jewelry, suitable for display in a room. Jiang Li's purity and ethereal grace, however, were like the bright moonlight in the sky—admirable yet unattainable.
Among the male guests observing the ceremony, Zhou Yanbang had been silently watching Jiang Li. He saw her being accused by the crowd, only to turn the situation around calmly and methodically, which further sparked his admiration. Now, encountering her by chance in the Jiang residence's backyard, Zhou Yanbang felt pleasantly surprised, but Jiang Li's gaze toward him was as if he were a stranger.
This left him somewhat disappointed.
Perhaps the unattainable is always the most desirable. Jiang Li's lack of warmth toward him only made Zhou Yanbang's heart flutter more. He thought to himself, "Just a few days ago, I heard that Jiang Li was so heartbroken upon learning of Jiang Youyao's engagement to me that she threw herself into the lake. Perhaps it was because I hurt her then that she is now so cold toward me."
Maybe he should talk to his father and reconsider this marriage, Zhou Yanbang thought. As he looked at Jiang Li again, he began to regard her as his fiancée.
Jiang Li frowned slightly. She was all too familiar with such a gaze from Zhou Yanbang. Even when she was Xue Fangfei, and after she married Shen Yurong, many such eyes had followed her.
It was disgusting.
She had no desire to speak further with Zhou Yanbang. Though she had become Second Miss Jiang, she had no intention of getting involved with him. Just as Jiang Li was about to leave, she suddenly heard a coquettish cry from behind: "Heir Brother!"Jiang Li nearly winced at the saccharine tone. Turning around, she saw Jiang Youyao trotting over, breathlessly stopping beside Zhou Yanbang. Lifting her face with a simpering smile, Youyao asked, “Brother Shizi, Second Sister, what were you discussing so merrily?”
Though her smile remained, her gaze toward Jiang Li was unmistakably sharp—like a lawful wife catching her husband in an affair, fierce and glaring.
Listen up, class! Everyone take note—men like Shen Yurong are textbook “phoenix men.” Never, ever marry a phoenix man, got it?
And of course, trashy scoundrels like Zhou Shizi aren’t worth keeping either~
Let’s cast a vote for the Duke instead—sending hearts your way~
(End of Chapter)
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