A Ying’s expression was somewhat incredulous. She, she had actually heard the Fifth Miss apologize to someone in her lifetime!
One had to know that Shen Xianxian had always been fearless in the marquis’s residence. Aside from the marquis, who could say a word or two to her, who else dared to make her the slightest bit unhappy?
Even the maids and servants who entered her courtyard had to lower their voices in trepidation.
And yet she had apologized?
Truly, the sun had risen from the west.
A Ying’s mood instantly shifted from worry for her lady to a mix of worry and a thread of admiration.
However, her brows remained furrowed, for in her heart, her lady was a beautiful and fragile porcelain vase—one had to be nervous for half a day even just touching it. “Madam, are you really alright…”
Xin Yi shook her head again. “I’m really fine.”
She lifted a pair of dark, moist eyes and slowly looked toward Shen Xianxian, who was still sulking to herself. She sighed. “Sister-in-law didn’t mean to pick on you on purpose, but the Second Young Master is still your brother, after all. No matter the reason, you shouldn’t have said such things about him.”
Shen Xianxian was very annoyed. She wanted to leave.
She hadn’t interacted much with Wu Xin Yi usually and hadn’t known she possessed this ability to make one stifle one’s anger.
Of course, Xin Yi saw her strong dissatisfaction.
But as a modern office drone who’d binged countless dramas, Xin Yi’s favorite times were slacking off at work to scroll videos.
She’d watched plenty of family dramas too—ones about sending a cheating husband and his mistress to prison after his affair, or the bullied heroine battling an evil mother-in-law. She treated them all as electronic side dishes for her meals.
She wasn’t the least bit intimidated by such a minor scene.
Especially after sensing the faint, probing gaze from the youth at her side, she spoke even more righteously. “Xianxian, you said many excessive things today. You should apologize to the Second Young Master.”
Shen Xianxian’s eyes widened. ‘Apologize to Shen Ru Jie? Impossible!’
That lowly little bastard!!
But considering some possible unexpected factors, she only dared to mutter unhappily in a small voice to express her protest. “Where was it excessive? When we were little, I even fed him ants.
His eyes turned red with anger, and he looked at me with that particularly sinister and creepy gaze, but I cried and ran to tell Father. Father tied him to a tree and beat him, and afterward, he still had to apologize to me.”
As she said this, Shen Xianxian had a perfectly righteous expression.
As if this weren’t something worth feeling guilty about at all, but rather a bestowal of grace, and everyone else in the marquis’s residence tacitly approved of this rule.
Xin Yi: “……”
This was practically hastening her own death. Shen Ru Jie was super vindictive.
Then she turned her head and, sure enough, saw the indifferently cold youth.
Alarm bells rang wildly in Xin Yi’s heart: Oh no, oh no. She’d accidentally heard the yandere villain’s tragic childhood story. Would she be hated too?
The Melodramatic Transmigration System gleefully reminded her, “Yes, Shen Ru Jie’s favorability toward the host has dropped to -120%.”
“……”
“…………”
Gaining favorability was like squeezing toothpaste, but losing it was like riding a roller coaster.
She could hardly breathe…
The system comforted her. “Host, don’t get discouraged. Think on the bright side—at least you’ve made his emotions fluctuate. You won’t continue being treated like a transparent person.”
Really?
She didn’t believe it.
Perhaps Xin Yi’s red-eyed, wilted appearance was too pale and fragile, scaring the still-stubborn Shen Xianxian.
In the end, she chose to lower her head and admit fault, mumbling a stiff “sorry” to Shen Ru Jie before quickly finding an excuse to slip away.
In the room, only she and her maid remained, along with Shen Ru Jie.
It was quiet for a long time, so long that one could hear Xin Yi stifling her sobs.
The youth frowned and asked, “What is Sister-in-law crying about?”
It wasn’t as if she had been publicly humiliated. If it was just sympathy, wasn’t that a bit excessive?
Xin Yi opened her round apricot eyes brimming with moisture, seemingly trying hard not to let the tears fall, yet against her wishes, crystalline droplets rolled down her cheeks like a broken string of pearls.
With that soft, hoarse voice after crying, she choked out softly, “I never imagined we were the same, neither liked by our family when we were young…”
Shen Ru Jie continued watching her.
Xin Yi turned her face away as if unable to bear the recollection, leaving only the silk flower at her temple trembling slightly with her sobs. “You didn’t know, did you? Actually… I was fed ants too.”
Returning from Shen Ru Jie’s separate courtyard, A Ying felt extremely upset.
Especially since Xin Yi had acted too convincingly just now and gotten immersed in the fake crying, her eyes still red as if holding heartbreaking clear tears.
A Ying couldn’t hold back anymore. “Wah wah wah, Madam, don’t cry. If you cry, this s-slave… this servant wants to cry too.”
Xin Yi, who had already wrapped things up: “……”
She hadn’t wanted to cry; she just wanted to boost Shen Ru Jie’s suddenly dropped favorability a bit.
A Ying continued sobbing. “Madam… you were… so miserable before, wah wah wah…”
Xin Yi rarely felt guilty. To stop her from crying further, she changed the subject. “So I need to think about how to win back the marquis’s heart.”
She did indeed have this plan.
Aside from the mainline task, Shen Gui’s branchline task had to proceed simultaneously. Though the priorities differed, she couldn’t neglect one for the other.
Most importantly, she had to plan the divorce in advance.
According to the original plot’s timeline, it wouldn’t be long before Zheng Wu discovered she was over two months pregnant.
At that time, Shen Gui would surely bring Zheng Wu into the marquis’s residence and give her the proper status and life she deserved. After all, that was the woman he loved to the tip of his heart, the one for whom he’d rather perish in a sea of fire than write a divorce letter.
The reason he was keeping it under wraps at this stage was that he hadn’t decided what status to give Zheng Wu.
Making her a concubine was too much of a grievance, but raising her to principal wife would embarrass Wu Xin Yi. Though Shen Gui didn’t care about the original host’s feelings, he had to consider the face of the aristocratic family to some extent.
Zheng Wu was destined to bear the marquis’s residence’s legitimate eldest son.
That was already a slap to the principal wife’s face, let alone how Shen Gui would spoil her limitlessly, wishing to give her all the good things to make up for the grievances of these hidden days.
And when Zheng Wu’s outer chamber status was brought into the open, that would be the best time for Xin Yi to propose the divorce.
Before then, she had to do everything to gain Shen Gui’s favor, create opportunities to be alone, and cultivate feelings with him.
She needed to make him clearly realize that Wu Xin Yi was the wife he had married, not some woman picked up from the roadside.
At the very least, she needed a place for her in Shen Gui’s heart, even if it was just curiosity.
That way, it would pave the way for the scumbag’s funeral pyre after she left the marquis’s residence.
Sure enough, A Ying stopped crying upon hearing this. She wiped her eyes and asked, “Then… how does Madam plan to win back the marquis’s heart?”
Xin Yi smiled faintly and made a thoughtful expression. “Let me think about it.”
After the Cold Clothing Festival, the weather gradually turned cooler, and even the night winds through the halls grew fiercer.
Shen Ru Jie hadn’t been assigned any duties these past two days and stayed in the residence to recuperate.
The servants and maids in the marquis’s residence loved gossiping in their idle moments, like interesting things happening around the masters.
He normally didn’t care to listen, but he subconsciously stopped when he heard Xin Yi mentioned.
“Have you noticed? Madam has been a bit different lately.”
“She seems to be. Her complexion isn’t as pale anymore.”
“Not just that! Madam didn’t used to go out much and would always tense up speechless around the marquis. But these past two days, I saw her proactively go to the study to wait for him to dine.”
“I saw it too, and Madam’s smile is so gentle. Any clothes look especially good on her.”
“Yesterday, Madam wore a deep blue shark gauze ruqun skirt with rouge on her lips, like a little Guanyin statue. It even made my heart stir. The marquis looked at her several extra times during the meal.”
The two little maids whispering together didn’t notice Shen Ru Jie behind the rockery.
Naturally, they didn’t see the faint mockery in the youth’s eyes.
This sister-in-law of his wasn’t as stupid as he’d imagined.
She knew the most urgent matter now was to secure Shen Gui’s heart and not let other women take advantage. Perhaps if she tried harder, she could make Shen Gui addicted to her before that concubine entered.
Then, clouds and rain in Chu and Xiang, fires on both sides.
The youth under the shade narrowed his eyes: He would very much enjoy watching that spectacle.
After dinner, a single bean of blue lamp light burned in the side room of the separate courtyard.
Xin Yi yawned and sat before the copper mirror, letting A Ying help her undo her hair. The bun was too complex; she couldn’t manage it alone. After a failed attempt, she gave up.
These past few days, she had provided tender companionship, accompanied Shen Gui in reading and dining, doing everything to keep him from going out, nearly exhausting herself.
She rubbed her sore neck and asked the system, “How is Shen Ru Jie now? Are his injuries better? Has the favorability changed? Do I need to go deliver some warmth again?”
The system checked, then fell silent. “Yes, favorability dropped another 10 points.”
Xin Yi’s hand on her shoulder and neck suddenly stiffened. She opened her eyes wide in disbelief. “Why? I haven’t even seen him these past few days. How could I provoke him?”
No, why was her favorability dropping? She’d been perfectly well-behaved and done nothing.
This was too bullying!
The system was puzzled too. “Maybe he’s in a bad mood lately and taking it out on you.”
Xin Yi couldn’t accept this explanation.
Whichever dog thing provoked him, he should hate that person. Why transfer the anger to her!
This gnashing mood persisted until bedtime.
In her dream, Xin Yi was tugging at the youth’s clothes, yelling “Bastard! Give me back my favorability!” But before the other could surrender, an anxious voice woke her.
The system urged, “Host, wake up quick! There’s going to be a death. Shen Ru Jie has sneaked out of the residence to run an errand for the Seventh Prince.”
Xin Yi was dazed for a moment but still didn’t want to open her eyes. “Ah… hasn’t his injury not healed yet?”
Running around in the middle of the night—what was he doing? Purely bored and looking for trouble.
The system’s tone was nearly frantic. “Exactly, so he’ll suffer even more serious injuries. And this time should be when he runs into Zheng Wu in the original plot!”
Xin Yi: “!”
Her sleepiness vanished completely. She got out of bed at once.