Chapter 357: Chapter 356: Miss Shen, Please Let Me Go
Granny Zou from the Zou Family came upon hearing the noise.
She was a clever person; she asked nothing but scolded immediately.
"Clumsy and inept! How can one use a servant like you?"
At the same time, she caringly reached out to steady the wobbly Shen Hua: "If the servant hasn’t served properly, it is the Zou Family’s lack of courtesy. Miss Shen, do not be angry, I will naturally provide you with an explanation."
"Servants! Take her away and beat her to within an inch of her life."
As for whether it was a real beating or a feigned one, that was harder to say.
Shen Hua, with her keen eyes, caught the look exchanged between the servant and Ji Shimin when she was being taken away. She pondered.
Fortunately, she didn’t dwell on this matter; now she laid her hand on Granny Zou. Feigning weakness, she said, "Madam, what are you doing? Don’t tell me you are going to help me sit down?"
Granny Zou: ...
She even began to doubt her own ears.
How could someone be so shameless?
Yet, the words that came to her mouth were: "It should be so, don’t be shy, Miss Shen."
She helped Shen Hua walk a few steps. Seeing this, the onlookers felt bored and started to disperse one after another.
Just then, they heard a gasp from the girl behind them.
"What? You also want to offer me an apology?"
Shen Hua acted surprised: "How could this be appropriate?"
No need for a response, she directed and acted out the scene herself: "Alright, alright, since you’ve mentioned it, I would be ignorant to repeatedly refuse."
With that, her bright and sparkling eyes watched Granny Zou.
Granny Zou suffocated.
The perfect smile hanging on her lips nearly collapsed.
She managed the household affairs for many years, always decisive in her actions, yet she was a smiling tiger; no matter how ruthless her means, no one dared to say otherwise. That was the extent of her prowess.
She could lower her status, being utterly tender on the couch; hence, the grandpa of the house had many concubines, but it was her yard that saw the most traffic.
However, there was one thing she still could not let go of.
She lost to Qiao Si.
If it had been losing to Commandery Princess Youning, she would have accepted it.
But how could Qiao Si, a hunter’s daughter, compare to her?
The daughter that Qiao Si gave birth to was also a disgustingly tiresome thing. Always lacking in manners, showing no desire for improvement. And yet she was treated as the darling of the Cui family.
Fortunately, now that Cui Bai was dead, her obsessions also dissipated. Every time she saw the widowed Qiao Si, she could not help feeling a strange satisfaction.
Her man could never compare to Cui Bai in all respects, but he lived a longer life.
Over the years, she thrived on her schemes, encountering ghosts and slaying them, meeting gods and dispatching them.
What kind of people had she not seen?
But she had never seen someone like Shen Hua.
Yet—
She had been outwitted by a little girl who hadn’t even grown her full set of hair.
"An apology?"
Ji Huo laughed.
What kind of calamity was he, compared to Shen Hua?
He felt like Shen Hua could very well be his long-lost sister.
"Wouldn’t it have been fine had you done this from the start?"
"Ji Shimin, you should learn a thing or two from this. In my view, you mishandled the situation earlier. You made a mistake, and it’s a mistake, why not also give an apology?"
Shen Hua gave it some serious thought.
That’s also an option.
Good things come in pairs.
————
When Shen Hua returned to sit down in front of Cui Yun, she still gleefully freshened her makeup. She diligently applied rouge to her face, and the suspicious Cui Yun, having ordered Yingwu to investigate Ji Shimin’s background, kept a watchful eye on her.
Shen Hua paused, then leaned in close.
She cleared her throat with great dignity.
"My beauty..."
Having uttered just four words, Cui Yun calmly closed his eyes.
What, can my beauty blind your eyes?
Shen Hua pursed her lips.
She was quite unhappy, even feeling contrary.
The girl thought.
Is she ugly? Absolutely not.
After much pondering, there was but one answer.
Oh, it faded, that’s it.
Unhappy, Shen Hua drew two circles with her toes on the ground.
Perfect circles!
Then, she sullenly took out the mirror for a glance.
Seeing the fiercely made-up face of a ghost in the copper mirror, Shen Hua’s heart trembled, her hand shook, and the mirror slipped away.
She banged her head on the table and covered her face with her hands, murmuring, "I need to wash my face."
Cui Yun: "Not dedicated to your craft anymore?"
These two words choked Shen Hua’s throat.
It took her a good while of mental preparation before she slowly withdrew her hands.
"I admit it’s a bit shocking at the moment, but you have been in the Ministry of Justice’s prisons long enough. I’ve heard of someone getting their belly chopped open, intestines falling out, blood splattering everywhere and you didn’t even flinch."
Shen Hua: "What, am I worse than those to look at?"
The more she talked, the more confident she sounded: "Why are you not saying anything?"
They say love is blind, but Cui Yun didn’t even give her a glance!
Looking up, all those girls were proper and demure, falsely so. But at least they...wouldn’t embarrass themselves when brought out.
Suddenly, Shen Hua stood up.
As she stood, Granny Zou from the distance had a start, thinking she was going to cause some trouble again.
Shen Hua, with a stern face, was about to leave.
Her wrist was gripped tightly.
"Where are you going?"
"To sit with my brother; adding one more person to his side won’t make it too crowded anyway."
Before she could finish, she was pressed back down into her seat.
Her makeup was unevenly applied, and Cui Yun gently smoothed it out with a delicate touch. Yet, faced with this ghastly makeup, he couldn’t conjure tenderness.
"What does the appearance of other girls have to do with me?"
Cui Yun, as if he had guessed her thoughts to nine parts out of ten, spoke indifferently: "They’re not my wedded wife, should I even bother paying attention?"
Girls love their reputation, and men are no different, aren’t they? The people under Cui Yun’s command privately compare their wives nonetheless.
The companions they bring to socialize always present their best side.
"Indeed, some men marry for virtue, some for beauty, some for power..."
Shen Hua took a cautious look at him.
"So are you the second one?"
Interrupted, Cui Yun choked: "With you looking like this, is the second one still appropriate?"
"Appropriate!"
In her anger, she didn’t lack pride: "Believe it or not, those people would look even uglier with makeup like mine."
Cui Yun withdrew his hand.
"If that’s the case, then why are you leaving?"
Shen Hua stopped talking.
He asked again: "Do you know what they say about me outside?"
Without waiting for Shen Hua’s response, he said: "Dignified and self-restrained, stubborn and pedantic."
Cui Yun pressed one hand to the corner of his lips, suppressing the urge to smile. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he forcibly slowed his breathing.
"Miss Shen, please spare me."
Shen Hua understood.
A man’s public image cannot be compromised.
She is quite virtuous and rarely generous. Her tone was cajoled.
"Then I’ll go find my brother."
"Don’t move."
Cui Yun lightly reproached: "What would people say about someone from Marquis Yangling Mansion seeking company in Duke Fu’s Mansion?"
At that moment, Cui Rong came running over.
The little baby sensed the tension and exclaimed with joy: "Are you two arguing?"
Cui Yun spoke softly: "Go sit with Heir Xie."
Cui Rong: ??? "Why should it be me?"
Shen Hua objected: "Why should it be her?"
"She is a little girl; it’s naturally fine for her to go."
Cui Rong walked away, feeling hurt.
Because of this, Shen Hua felt envious.
Afterward, his voice brushed past her ear, bringing a ticklish itch.
"Shen Hua, I do like it when you show your temper with me."
"Because—"
He could clearly sense it.
He laughed: "You care about me."
Shen Hua was about to deny it.
"But not enough."