BERW - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Seeing the smile return to Qin Shujun's face, the extreme mood Shi Caiwei had worn so openly for all to see eased a great deal.

Shi Caiwei was still angry inside; it was only out of regard for her friend that she could hardly make another scene.

That did not mean she had forgotten the matter, though. Shi Caiwei thought to herself that when the chance came, she would give Yu Xiangxue and Qi Jia a thorough scolding.

People really did go backwards the longer they lived. How could anyone, for the sake of a man she had met only halfway along, keep making trouble for a friend she had grown up with? To even set a snare for a friend?

Harming herself was not enough; she had to drag her friends into it too. Shi Caiwei sometimes sighed at how easily hearts changed.

When Shen Yuyao saw Qin Shujun and Shi Caiwei talking and laughing together, she knew the conflict had passed. She rose, crossed the covered walkway, and came to the far side, where Qin Shujun was.

Seeing her approach, Shi Caiwei hurried to dip into a curtsey.

"No need. Out here there is no need for that. Why did Sister-in-law's two friends leave first?"

Shen Yuyao had heard every word clearly, yet asked as though she knew nothing.

"They had urgent business. It is no matter, though. With Caiwei to keep me company, we can still get in a game of polo. Caiwei said she would like her younger sister to join as well. Would Yuyang care to try?"

In polo, there were ways to play with many people and ways to play with few. One against one would do; two against two would do as well.

Shen Yuyao had not expected Qin Shujun to truly intend to put her on the field as well.

"But I still don't know how to ride." If she could not even ride well, playing polo was far too likely to end in an accident.

Falling from a horse, or being thrown off during a clash, was a very dangerous thing.

"True enough. Then why don't just the two of us go and play, and have Caiwen keep the princess company? How would that be?" Qin Shujun had first meant to teach Shen Yuyao a little, but then it occurred to her that Shen Yuyao had at most ridden a pony before, and it was hardly possible to improve one's riding in a single day.

That being so, there was no need to waste time on such things.

Shen Yuyao nodded, indicating that she found the suggestion a good one.

In truth, Shi Caiwei rather wanted to give Shi Caiwen a scolding first and play afterward.

She had heard, after all, that Shi Caiwen and the Yang family's eldest daughter, Yang Keqing, had come to blows in front of a crowd, both of them left with marks on their faces, parting in anger after making quite a scene.

She ought to make Shi Caiwen understand the consequences soon; the longer she put it off, the more her own anger would fade, and the less Shi Caiwen would realize how serious the matter was!

But compared with teaching her sister a lesson, her friend and the princess were more important. Shi Caiwei could weigh what mattered against what did not, and in the end she agreed with Qin Shujun's words.

Shi Caiwen, who had been waiting at the inn for her sister with her heart in her throat, at last saw Shen Yuyao return alone.

Shen Yuyao had brought Yu San with her, dressed as a maid. If danger truly came, Yu San was far more capable than the guards and maids who had followed Shen Yuyao before.

"Your Servant greets Princess Yuyang." Shi Caiwen hurried to salute Shen Yuyao. Here inside the inn, with no one about, her manners were flawless.

These two young ladies of the Shi family were indeed beyond reproach in their etiquette, and their characters were decent besides. Especially Shi Caiwen's elder sister; Shi Caiwei was surely a woman of great talent.

Unfortunately, Shi Caiwei and Shen Yuyao were too far apart in age, and it was hard for Shen Yuyao to sound out Shi Caiwei's true abilities.

So Shen Yuyao intended to start with Shi Caiwen. She truly had great need of a prudent, sharp-minded person of her own to work for her on the outside.

Shi Caiwei was the first choice.

It was only that Shen Yuyao did not know that sometimes what one imagines and what actually happens differ greatly.

"No need for ceremony. Your sister has come."

"What! Elder Sister is here?"

Before Shen Yuyao had even finished speaking, Shi Caiwen was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, ready to leap up on the spot. Had they not been upstairs, Shi Caiwen would likely have jumped out the window and run.

"She didn't come back to the inn with me. They went to play polo together."

Hearing this, Shi Caiwen let out a great sigh of relief. Then, coming back to herself, she met Shen Yuyao's faintly teasing gaze, and her face went red in a rush. She had belatedly realized that she seemed to have gone pale with fright before the princess and raised her voice as well.

"Please forgive me, Princess. Your Servant has been rude."

"It's nothing. The Second Lady has a genuine nature; I saw it earlier."

Shi Caiwen was startled for a moment, then recalled the scene of her earlier meeting with Shen Yuyao at the Fan Residence, and was overcome with embarrassment. In that instant she wanted to find a crack in the floor and crawl into it at once.

"Princess, actually, yesterday I, yesterday..." Ahhh, hurry and think of an excuse so the princess won't think she goes around fighting people at random! Shi Caiwen screamed inwardly, her mind a blank.

She did care rather a lot about face, mainly about her face before the princess. Everyone knew what a domineering temper she had, but in these years, whenever she attended banquets in the palace, Shi Caiwen had always been quite well-behaved.

The Empress had even praised her mother for raising two lovely, well-behaved daughters.

So Shi Caiwen truly did not want the palace people to know her true face; otherwise, the next time her mother brought her into the palace, she would hear not a single word of praise, and would go home to wipe her tears, feeling she had failed to teach her daughter properly.

Shen Yuyao saw Shi Caiwen's flustered, helpless look and was amused. "Hahaha, the Second Lady's given name is Caiwen, is it not? A fu is a spreading forth; it spreads color and arranges pattern, gives form to things and expresses intent. That name is rather interesting. It complements the Elder Lady's name nicely."

Shi Caiwen smiled awkwardly. "When Father chose our names, he was thinking that Caiwei's return home was a matter of giving form to things and expressing intent, and so he took the phrase 'spreading color and arranging pattern,' hoping Your Servant might accomplish something in the way of letters."

Entirely unlike how most families named their daughters, Shen Yuyao marveled that this Minister Shi was no ordinary man. Unlike most men, he meant to raise his daughters in earnest.

"A fine meaning. With your parents' hopes so high, you must work hard." And don't go picking fights with people for no reason; the trouble was that she could not even crush her opponent, and only got herself bruised for nothing.

Shen Yuyao's gaze fell on Shi Caiwen's panda eyes. "I have excellent medicine for bruises and sprains. Zhuxiang, go fetch some for the Second Lady."

Naturally, the injuries on Shi Caiwen's body were not limited to her eye. Her whole body ached just then. That Yang Keqing had struck with such vicious cunning, aiming only for the places beneath her clothes!

Of course, she was no slouch herself; Yang Keqing's body could only be worse off than hers.

At this thought, Shi Caiwen's mouth curved up in delight, and she thanked her cheerfully. "Thank you, Princess, for the medicine."

Shen Yuyao blinked, finding Shi Caiwen's character rather amusing. Her heart was very big indeed; she took nothing to heart.

People of such an easy, unrestrained nature were truly likeable.

It was only that she did not know what those people who had targeted Shi Caiwen specifically were after, or to what end they were moving against an unwed young girl.

Shen Yuyao decided to satisfy her curiosity as soon as possible. Once Zhuxiang brought the medicine, she left Shi Caiwen's room, giving her the privacy to apply it.

And when she returned to her own room, the first thing she said on entering was to ask Yu San:

"Have they spoken yet?"

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