Chapter Thirty-Five: The Heir Apparent

Jiang Li walked past Tong’er and the mother-daughter pair of Shen Ruyun and Lady Shen. Her face still bore the same gentle, indifferent smile as before, as if it had become a natural mask. Yet upon closer inspection, the curve at the corners of her lips seemed tinged with coldness.

As expected, Shen Ruyun and Lady Shen had arrived.

After marrying Shen Yuyong, she had come to the capital. Lady Shen was hardly an amiable mother-in-law, and Shen Ruyun was even more willful and selfish. Xue Huaiyuan, doting on his daughter, did his utmost to add generous dowry for her. All that dowry was used to supplement the Shen family, while her own clothes and jewelry were frequently taken by Shen Ruyun under the pretense of fondness.

She was no saint. In the Xue family, she had been a cherished pearl in the palm, so when faced with the likes of Shen Ruyun and Lady Shen, she—still the same Xue Fangfei—would naturally show her displeasure.

Whenever this happened, Shen Yuyong would always step forward at just the right moment, saying that his widowed mother and young sister had raised him with great difficulty and that all his achievements were due to their efforts. He would ask Xue Fangfei to be kinder to them. Soft-hearted as she was, Xue Fangfei would recall how hard it must have been for two frail women to care for Shen Yuyong, and so she bore with it as best she could.

Yet forbearance never brought her the same respect. In her final half-year, Lady Shen and Shen Ruyun never once came to comfort her. Sometimes, they would even stand outside her door and, in voices meant for her ears, ask why she hadn’t died after committing such disgraceful acts and why she insisted on dragging the Shen family down with her.

Were it not for Xue Fangfei’s resilient nature, she might have truly been driven to end her life to prove her innocence.

“Miss?” Tong’er sensed something amiss in the person beside her and called softly.

Jiang Li regained her composure and smiled. “I’m fine.” Yet in her heart, she thought, Shen Yuyong’s relationship with Princess Yongning could not have been kept from Lady Shen and Shen Ruyun. That Princess Yongning could come and go in the Shen household as if it were her own spoke to their intimacy.

Given the Shen family’s opportunistic ways, pursuing a royal princess was certainly more profitable than marrying the daughter of a minor official. She had seen for herself today that the clothes and jewelry of Shen Ruyun and Lady Shen, with Shen Yuyong’s current salary, must have been acquired with some difficulty.

This was likely Princess Yongning’s “generosity.”

Jiang Li found herself pitying the Shen family. Princess Yongning was indeed born to royalty, but a woman who could kill a wife and extinguish an heir without batting an eye was not someone to be trifled with. The Shen family saw only immediate gain, blind to the suffering yet to come.

She was content to watch the spectacle.

The Shen family, Shen Yuyong, and Princess Yongning were the very hands that brought ruin upon her home. She would see to it that each debt was repaid in full.

The two made their way back to the Fragrant Garden. Even though Jiang Li had cleared her name at Jiang Youyao’s coming-of-age ceremony, she still seemed to be the Jiang family’s overlooked daughter. No one paid any heed to her actions.

As they walked along the path, a young man appeared ahead.

When had there been an outsider in the Jiang family’s rear courtyard? Jiang Li halted, keeping her distance. The young man, too, stopped and did not approach further.

Jiang Li turned aside, intending to take another path, when the young man suddenly spoke in a gentle voice, “Second Miss?”

Second Miss? The tone was familiar. Jiang Li turned to look at him.

He appeared to be seventeen or eighteen, dressed in a pine-green long robe of fine material. His hair was tied with a jade hairpin, his posture tall and straight—a flawless, handsome youth, refined and elegant, with a clear, gentle gaze resting upon her.

Jiang Li stared at him. Perhaps her unfamiliar look made him uneasy, for he hesitated before saying, “Perhaps Second Miss does not recall me. I am Zhou Yanbang.”

Zhou Yanbang? Jiang Li suddenly understood, and Tong’er almost cried out in surprise.

So this was the heir of the Marquis of Ningyuan, Zhou Yanbang. When she was still Xue Fangfei, she had often heard this name from her former sister-in-law but had never met him in person, only knowing he was a strikingly handsome young man. Now, as Jiang Li, Zhou Yanbang had become her former fiancé—a curious twist of fate.

Jiang Li paused and replied, “Your Lordship.”

Her tone was utterly ordinary—neither excited nor emotional; she spoke to him as she would to any stranger on the street.

Zhou Yanbang was a little surprised.

He had known of the engagement with Jiang Li since childhood, but he had been too young to care much. Later, Jiang Li was sent to a nunnery for allegedly harming her stepmother. At that time, he often heard his parents discuss breaking off the betrothal, yet somehow, his fiancée became Jiang Youyao instead.

He had met Jiang Youyao—a lovely, pure girl—and was satisfied with the match, having no objections.

Today, he had attended Jiang Youyao’s coming-of-age ceremony and unexpectedly saw Jiang Li after so many years.

His memories of Jiang Li were only of a chubby, ill-tempered girl from childhood. But her appearance today stirred ripples in his heart.

Jiang Youyao was like a flawless jade ornament, perfect for display in a room. Jiang Li’s noble grace, however, was like the bright moon in the sky—distant, ethereal, and unattainable.

In the crowd of male guests, Zhou Yanbang had watched Jiang Li quietly. He saw her calmly turn the tide when she was accused, and his admiration grew. Now, meeting her again in the garden, he was delighted—yet Jiang Li looked at him as if he were a stranger.

This disappointed Zhou Yanbang.

Perhaps the unattainable is always the most desirable. Jiang Li’s indifference only made his emotions surge further. He recalled hearing recently that Jiang Li had thrown herself into a lake in despair upon learning of his engagement to Jiang Youyao. Now, he thought, perhaps she had been hurt then, which explained her coldness toward him now.

Maybe he should speak with his father and reconsider this engagement. As he looked at Jiang Li, he could not help but see her as his betrothed.

Jiang Li frowned slightly. She was no stranger to such looks; even as Xue Fangfei, and after marrying Shen Yuyong, she had always been surrounded by such eyes.

How revolting.

She had no desire to speak further with Zhou Yanbang. Though she had become the Jiang family’s second miss, she wanted nothing to do with him. Just as she was about to leave, a crisp voice called out behind her, “Young Lord!”

Jiang Li almost winced at the saccharine tone. Turning around, she saw Jiang Youyao running over, breathless, and stopping beside Zhou Yanbang. She lifted her face and smiled, “Young Lord, Second Sister, what were you two talking about so happily?”

Though she was smiling, the look she cast at Jiang Li was as sharp as a jealous wife guarding her position, her eyes flashing with hostility.

A word to the wise! Take note, everyone—Shen Yuyong is the quintessential phoenix man; never marry such a one! And as for Young Lord Zhou, he’s not worth your affection either. Cast your vote for the Duke, he’s the better choice!