Passersby watched them with strange expressions. Shen Qingyan just smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
"It fits perfectly! Why wouldn't it?" she said, spinning around once more.
"Lincheng, please slow down. My legs are shorter than yours, I can't keep up..." Her pitiful expression would surely have softened any man's heart! Yet, he remained unmoved, his pace only quickening.
Shen Qingyan sighed internally. Very well—had she not known he was meeting Xuanyuan Ming for tea at Yipin Pavilion today, she wouldn't have been putting on such an act.
Puffing out her cheeks and stamping her foot, she adopted the resilience of a cockroach that refuses to die and sprinted to catch up. As she entered Yipin Pavilion, she deliberately hooked her arm into Mo Lincheng’s, feigning the look of a devoted young wife, and leaned her head against his shoulder. At the moment her gaze locked with Xuanyuan Ming’s, the man’s eyes seemed ready to erupt in flames.
She ignored him entirely, smiling instead to greet Ye Qingyu, who was sitting beside him.
Ye Qingyu looked on with the gossipy attitude of someone waiting for a good show. Mo Lincheng pulled her hand away and coldly dropped the words "we have nothing to do with each other" before entering the private room.
Stamping her foot, she said in a soft, coquettish tone, "Even if we have nothing to do with each other, we can still develop a relationship, right? Lincheng, don't be so cold and heartless..." Before she could finish, Xuanyuan Ming dragged her into a quiet corridor.
With a loud *bang*, she was shoved aside, her body stumbling against the wall. A searing pain shot through her back. Before she could react, the man loomed over her like a vengeful deity, his posture radiating immense pressure.
"Shen Qingyan! Are you looking for death?"
She briefly considered abandoning her plan to seek revenge for the original owner of this body—was this man capable of going mad at any moment? But since she had taken over the woman’s body, she had to do something for her! Thinking of this, she assumed a frail, submissive attitude.
"I wish to live a good, long life. I don't understand what Your Highness means!"
Just how much did Xuanyuan Ming despise her—no, the original owner—that every time he saw her, he seemed to want to tear her to pieces? That undisguised loathing on his face was enough to turn anyone’s stomach.
"If you don't want to die, stop pestering Lincheng. Or do you want the entire Capital to know what kind of unchaste, promiscuous, and poisonous woman your father raised?"
She had a string of curses on the tip of her tongue, but she wasn't sure if it was the right time to let them fly.
Shen Qingyan curled her lip. "Prince, firstly, we are divorced. Please don't pin labels like 'unchaste' or 'promiscuous' on me; I can't bear that weight! You are, after all, a royal descendant with a fine education. Can’t you speak properly instead of getting angry over every little thing?"
Her original thought had been to tell him not to bark like a dog whenever he felt like it, but she didn't want a direct confrontation. Men were vain; if she provoked him too far, she might end up paying a heavy price. There was no helping it—circumstances dictated that she yield.
She lifted her eyes to meet his furious, obsidian gaze. "Besides, I am pursuing the one I love with all my heart. Why does that make me a joke in your eyes? Could it be that you’re jealous, Prince? Is that why you’re so ashamed and angry? You keep warning me about being 'unchaste'—is that why you never made our divorce public? Have you fallen in love with me?"
He let go of her as if he’d just heard a joke, his posture remaining haughtily superior. "In love with you? You aren't worthy!"
"True—I'm not worthy, which is why I took my Divorce Decree and got out of your way as quickly as I could. I'm actively working toward my own happiness now. Could you please show some kindness and stop being the stumbling block on my path to true love? Is that possible, Prince Qin?"
Xuanyuan Ming’s face darkened. Listen to what she was saying? Asking him not to be a stumbling block to her pursuit of true love? *Ha!* Who did she, Shen Qingyan, think she was?
Yet, despite his thoughts, there was an indescribable feeling in his heart, as if he had lost something.
***
Shen Qingyan walked downstairs and spent the afternoon waiting at the entrance of Yipin Pavilion, looking around listlessly. When she saw Mo Lincheng emerge, she appeared before him with tireless enthusiasm.
She chattered away, "Lincheng, I heard there’s a grand Lantern Festival in the Capital in a few days. Could I invite you to go see the lanterns with me?"
Her eyes curved into crescents, her smile bright as a flower, and shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks. The concept of the divide between men and women seemed non-existent to her.
Ye Qingyu took a bite of an apple and said to the man beside him, "I was just thinking, back when she liked you, I never saw her be this proactive. I think she’s being serious!"
Ye Qingyu said this with absolute certainty, then took another bite.
These casual words made Xuanyuan Ming feel deeply uncomfortable.
Too annoyed to bother with Ye Qingyu, Xuanyuan Ming walked over. Before Mo Lincheng could speak, he rejected the invitation for him: "Shen Qingyan, what makes you think Lincheng would accept your invitation? Just because you’re a cast-off wife that I discarded? Are you worthy?"
The thick stench of sarcasm was palpable in the air. Shen Qingyan pursed her lips. "What, does a 'cast-off wife' not have the right to make friends? Prince, don't worry about your brother’s affairs when you haven't even sorted out your own. Why are you so occupied with your own harem of concubines while he’s already twenty-six? With your own love life flourishing everywhere, you leave him to wallow in solitude. How can you be so shameless?"
She gained momentum. "Even if he doesn't like me, that’s between him and me. If we can't be a married couple, we can be friends. Not all men and women are as complicated as you make them out to be. 'Was there spring rain last night? Might one go boating on the West Lake?'"
Xuanyuan Ming gave her a bewildered look, while Ye Qingjue murmured the last two lines to himself, then suddenly seemed to realize something and burst into a laugh.
Xuanyuan Ming glared at him, then turned to Shen Qingyan. "I advise you to go back and study the *Admonitions for Women*. Don't hang around here like a piece of dog-skin plaster, dirtying my eyes!"
"I'm not clinging to you! Why are you sticking your nose in other people's business?"
"You!" The man trembled with rage. Seeing him lose his composure, Ye Qingyu hurriedly intervened. "Don't be impulsive, brother. You’ve already divorced; a gentleman uses words, not force! She’s quite cute, isn't she? If you don't like her, I find her rather interesting!"
She didn't linger. Instead, she handed the bag of treats she had bought to Mo Lincheng, an act that felt like a gesture of goodwill—or perhaps something with ulterior motives.
Ye Qingyu plucked a few candies from the bag Mo Lincheng was holding, and the two men watched Shen Qingyan’s retreating back.
"A-Ming, is she really that vicious and shrewish Princess Consort of yours? She doesn’t look like the rumors describe at all—in fact, she’s quite intriguing."
"Intriguing? If I gave that poisonous woman to you, would you want her?"
Ye Qingyu smiled bashfully, acting a bit coy. "If she were willing to marry me, I wouldn't mind!"
Xuanyuan Ming rolled his eyes at him.
***
Lian'er had returned from buying fresh vegetables for the evening and happened to see Shen Qingyan at the gate of the Shen Residence. She hurried over with the basket.
"Miss, you went out again today." Her mistress had been so mysterious lately; ever since she woke up that one time, she had changed so much she was becoming unrecognizable.
Shen Qingyan nodded and replied with a quiet "Mmh." She peeked into the basket and found it filled with the fruits and vegetables she loved.
This girl was becoming more and more pleasing to her.
She tried to take the basket from her, but Lian'er refused.
At the dinner table, Shen Qingyan enjoyed her meal in silence. Lian'er, however, looked as if she had something to say. Shen Qingyan wiped the oil from the corner of her mouth and set down her chopsticks. "Lian'er, do you have something to say?"
"Miss, was I being that obvious?"
"You have your thoughts written all over your face. Do you think I'm blind?"
Lian'er suddenly realized their Miss really had changed a lot lately. Gone was the arrogance and domineering behavior... the person sitting before her was far better than she had ever been. She was simply... inscrutable.