Shen Qingrui, who had been feeling slightly smug just a moment ago, turned deathly pale.
"Father!" Cen Liangxuan stood up, only for his mother to press his shoulders down, insisting he keep his mouth open for the physician to examine him.
He pushed the physician away, stood up, and wrapped his arms around Shen Qingrui. "Qingrui and I have already bowed to heaven, earth, and our parents. We are husband and wife by all rights!"
Shen Qingrui looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with joy.
Madam Shen forced a smile again. "Exactly. Duke of Anguo, Duchess, since the two children have already completed the rites and are clearly in love with one another, why not just bless them?"
The Duke of Anguo remained silent.
Madam Shen had no choice but to look at the Duchess, knowing full well the Duchess felt the same way she did—that Shen Yiren was hardly worthy of being the Duchess’s daughter-in-law.
Cen Liangxuan looked pleadingly at his mother.
Being her youngest son, a treasure held in the palm of her hand for eighteen years, the Duchess’s heart softened. She stood up to mediate.
"The rites are already done, how can we swap the bride now?" She looked at Shen Yiren, feigning a smile. "Shen Yiren has no desire to marry him either; why force two people into a hateful marriage?"
It was true—Shen Yiren had no intention of marrying him. Why would she want someone else's dirty leftovers?
The Duke of Anguo had already learned from his servants that Shen Yiren had arrived in Prince Duan’s carriage, and he recalled the cryptic words the Prince had left behind: "I personally find the Heir and Shen Qingrui to be a very well-matched pair."
Did that mean he didn't want Shen Yiren involved with his son? And what exactly was the relationship between Shen Yiren and the Prince?
The Duke of Anguo held his tongue.
***
Prince Duan’s carriage had not traveled far.
"These two tiny ginseng rootlets—are they truly a thousand years old?" Zhou Jinyan held the roots Shen Yiren had pressed into his hand, inspecting them again and again.
A thousand-year-old ginseng could stave off death and was notoriously rare; even the one held by the Empress Dowager was only nearing the millennium mark.
"The physician said at least a thousand years."
*At least?*
That made them even more precious. How could Shen Yiren simply pull out thousand-year-old ginseng roots as if they were nothing? Was she truly just a simple village girl?
And then…
"Cang Xu, did you smell anything on Miss Shen?" Zhou Jinyan tucked the ginseng roots away safely.
He had been born with a weak constitution, and having missed the optimal window for treatment, he hadn't improved despite years of care. After being granted his title and sent to his fief, he lacked the resources of Yujing, and his health had only declined further.
Cang Xu replied truthfully, "The scent of blood." He added, "A heavy, thick scent of blood. It is impossible for someone to recover so quickly after losing that much blood, yet judging by how she performed at the Duke’s estate, her vitality seems quite robust."
"Indeed." Zhou Jinyan mused, his thoughts drifting. Shen Yiren must be hiding some secret. "Are you certain it was only the smell of blood?"
"I am certain, my Prince."
*Could I have been mistaken?* Zhou Jinyan wondered. But the feeling of his body suddenly flowing with energy was no lie, and the peaceful nap he had taken in the carriage was equally real.
"Prince, your complexion seems to have improved, and you have more spirit." Especially his lips, which now held a faint, healthy red tint.
"Is that so?" Zhou Jinyan was surprised and couldn't help but look at the jar sitting in his carriage. On the way to the Duke’s estate, he had watched Shen Yiren and her so-called little brother fussing over this dilapidated pot. He had opened it earlier.
It was just a jar of dirt.
*...* He had expected some great treasure.
"Prince, Miss Shen and Madam Shen are coming out."
Zhou Jinyan sealed the jar again. "Go and invite Miss Shen over."
Cang Xu walked over just as Madam Shen was angrily grabbing Shen Yiren, demanding that "Xiao Ba" go back to wherever he came from.
Xiao Ba clutched Shen Yiren’s waist. "I want to stay by Sister’s side!"
Shen Yiren hugged him back. "Where I am, Xiao Ba is!"
"Fine! Then take him back to the countryside with you!"
Shen Yiren scoffed. Once she made everyone who had bullied her predecessor pay the price, she would naturally return to Buxian Mountain to live in peace.
"Madam Shen." The moment Cang Xu appeared, Madam Shen immediately reined in her anger, unable to lose her composure in public. "And you are?"
It was no surprise she didn't recognize Prince Duan’s guard; because the Prince was sickly, he rarely appeared in public, and in the eight years since he had been sent to his fief, he had only returned to the capital twice. A Prince of such high status was not someone she could expect to see.
Cang Xu revealed his token. "My Prince invites Miss Shen to his carriage."
Xiao Ba looked on with wide eyes.
Cang Xu added, "...and the young master as well."
Madam Shen looked at her daughter in disbelief. How could she possibly know Prince Duan? Could this child be the Prince's son? Impossible. The Prince was only twenty; he couldn't have a six or seven-year-old child. That left only Yiren.
"Yiren, how do you know Prince Duan?"
"Oh, he brought us to the Duke’s estate to expose Cen Liangxuan and Shen Qingrui," Shen Yiren said, seeing no reason to hide it.
Madam Shen nearly fainted upon hearing this. Did that mean the Prince not only knew about the affair but had encouraged it? Would this reach the Emperor’s ears? She was left in a state of distress.
Shen Yiren pulled Xiao Ba toward the opulent carriage, and the two climbed inside. Xiao Ba immediately hugged the jar tight; the soil from Buxian Mountain was their most delicious ration!
"What do you want with me?" Shen Yiren didn't address him as "Prince," for she was a sovereign in her own right; in her eyes, they were equals.
As she drew closer to the carriage, Zhou Jinyan caught the scent of medicinal herbs. When she sat down beside him and he took a deep breath, his mind felt remarkably clear.
Zhou Jinyan leaned in slightly, his gaze fixed on her face, which was still stained with blood, yet there wasn't a single wound to be found.
"The medicinal scent on you is very useful to me. Do you know medicine?"
Shen Yiren shuddered and quickly hugged herself. She knew this sickly man wanted to eat her! She shook her head frantically. "I don't! I don't know anything!"
Zhou Jinyan hadn't expected her to be so terrified. She had been able to slap a tooth out of Cen Liangxuan’s mouth at the Duke’s estate and tongue-lash Shen Qingrui until her face turned shades of green and white—how was he more frightening than those vicious people?
"Wait, what did you say you smelled?" Shen Yiren suddenly paused, looking at Xiao Ba in confusion.
Xiao Ba shook his head. Even Xiao Ba, of the same race, couldn't smell the spiritual energy radiating from her because she occupied a human body. How could this man smell it? Was it because of the purple aura surrounding him? Or was there something else?
Now it was Shen Yiren’s turn to size him up.
Zhou Jinyan sat calmly, allowing her to examine him. "The scent of medicinal herbs," he said, his tone firm. "You can save me."
"Yes, I am..." Shen Yiren realized she had let it slip, but it was too late. As a ten-thousand-year-old ginseng, any demon beast that consumed a bite of her would see their power increase tenfold, and any human, as long as they weren't completely dead, could be pulled back from the gates of hell.
"You are what?" Zhou Jinyan stared at her intensely.
"The disciple of a master physician," Shen Yiren said, deflating. "I can save you."
"To make my body as healthy as a normal person’s, how many years would it take?" The famous doctors he had sought out all said his condition could only be managed slowly—ten or eight years at best, and he would be dependent on medicine for life.
"Huh?" Shen Yiren looked puzzled. "Does it take that long?" If he ate her for a month, he’d be cured for sure. But in all these years, none of the monsters or beasts on Buxian Mountain had been able to eat her; there was no way she would let a human consume her now.
"How long do you need?" Zhou Jinyan, seeing her as his last lifeline, held his breath in anticipation.
Shen Yiren held up one finger. "Half a year, I suppose." In half a year, she would surely have finished her revenge.
"If you save me, you can walk through Yujing as you please." Zhou Jinyan was done with this wretched body.
Shen Yiren’s eyes lit up. "If I make Cen Liangxuan pay with his life, will I be arrested and beheaded?" Even demons had the laws of the Heavenly Dao to bind them; humans surely had their own laws to deal with.
"Naturally..." Zhou Jinyan paused, then gave a soft smile. "You will not."