"Of course I'll go."
It had indeed been a long time since she accompanied her mother on her birthday. In her previous life, her mother had suffered a great calamity and passed away early. For Shen Qing, it had been almost twenty years since she last celebrated her mother's birthday with her.
Of course she had to go.
"If Madam knew, she would surely be extremely happy!"
When Shen Qing mentioned Jiang Shi, her expression softened unconsciously.
"Go and prepare."
...
Since Zhuxing delivered the date of the appointment, Xu Yanchi had been feeling uncomfortable. It seemed that somehow, Shen Qing had increasingly been able to stir his emotions. Before, he had whole - heartedly believed that Shen Qing had taken Mian'er's place. But now that Shen Qing had voluntarily requested to leave the marriage, he didn't want her to go at all.
He kept telling himself in his heart: He just didn't want Shen Qing and Ji Junye to have their way. Why should Shen Qing unfeelingly dump him just because she had found someone better?
Just as he was struggling, Xu Yanchi suddenly heard a commotion.
"What's going on?"
A Cheng had always been following him. Naturally, he knew his rules and shouldn't have disturbed him at such a time.
Hearing Xu Yanchi call him, A Cheng subconsciously hid the thing in his hand behind his back.
"M, My Lord."
Xu Yanchi noticed his action. "What's that in your hand?"
A Cheng averted his eyes, regretting in his heart why he had to scold someone at this moment. Now it was all over. The Lord had noticed.
"It's just a, a storybook..."
"What storybook? Let me have a look."
A Cheng stammered, "M, Maybe it's better for you not to look, My Lord."
The more A Cheng dodged, the more curious Xu Yanchi became about what was written inside.
"Give it to me."
A Cheng had no choice but to present the storybook.
"My Lord, don't get angry after reading it."
When Xu Yanchi saw the cover "The Minister's Wife is Soft and Can't Escape the Tyrant", he had a bad feeling in his heart. The more he read, the more shocked he became.
Xu Yanchi was so angry that his whole body trembled. He threw the storybook out with a "bang".
"Presumptuous!"
"Where did this come from?!"
A Cheng quickly knelt down. "Someone in the mansion was reading it today. I confiscated it from a servant. I heard..."
"Heard what?"
A Cheng lowered his head and didn't dare to look into Xu Yanchi's eyes. "I heard that this is one of the most popular storybooks in the capital recently."
"Absurd!"
Xu Yanchi was so angry that he trembled.
"Go and investigate for me. Seal all the bookstores in the capital that sell this storybook!"
"Yes, My Lord!" A Cheng thought to himself that since the book had already been published, they couldn't seal many bookstores. But the Lord was in a fit of anger, and he didn't dare to provoke him.
After A Cheng left, Xu Yanchi slumped into the chair as if all his strength had left him.
How could it be? How could someone know so clearly about the things between him and Shen Qing and write them into a storybook that was popular in the bookstores?!
He must find this person. He would never allow such a scandal to spread!
At the largest Wenchang Bookstore in the capital.
In the backstage on the second floor, a handsome young man was sitting on a chair, watching the people below counting money while fanning himself with a folding fan.
The shopkeeper was a bit worried. "Sir, recently, the Marquis of Guangping has been seizing folk storybooks. Should we still sell this one?"
The young man called "Sir" closed his folding fan with a "swish". "Sell it. Why not?"
"Look, in such a short time, we've already made so much money. Are you stupid not to make money?"
"Besides, let him investigate. We'll just keep selling. He can't touch us."
"Go and put the newly copied second volume on the shelves."
The Marquis of Guangping was just trying to cover up his shame.
Hearing what he said, the shopkeeper felt relieved.
He also didn't want to give up such a profitable item. The book had only been out for less than half a month, but over a thousand copies had been sold. Now people came every day asking when the second volume would be available.
Now that the second volume was out, it was sure to sell out.
Sure enough, as soon as the second volume was on the shelves, it was snapped up. The shopkeeper of the bookstore made a fortune.
When Xu Yanchi heard about it, he almost smashed things.
"What's going on? Didn't I tell you to seal the bookstores?"
A Cheng knelt down to plead for forgiveness. "My Lord, it's not that we didn't do our best. This kind of thing can't be completely eradicated. Moreover, the Wenchang Bookstore is not an ordinary one. Our people don't have the right to seal it!"
To put it bluntly, with the Marquis's limited power, all he could seal were some of the most bottom - level sources, which was of little use.
When Xu Yanchi realized this, he was almost vomiting blood in anger.
After much thought, he still asked A Cheng to pick up the book he had thrown away.
...
Soon the appointed day arrived. As evening was approaching, Xu Yanchi went to wait outside Zhuoying Courtyard.
Shen Qing took her time to finish dressing up before going out. Xu Yanchi was already in a bad mood. Seeing Shen Qing looking so radiant, his heart became even more complicated.
Is she so happy to see Ji Junye?
Shen Qing didn't have the time to care about what was on Xu Yanchi's mind. She walked slowly to Xu Yanchi's side. "Let's go, My Lord."
Xu Yanchi clenched his fists self - deprecatingly. Tonight, he would personally send his wife to the supreme emperor, just like what was written in the storybook.
If he had known earlier, he shouldn't have asked Shen Qing for help. It would have been better than suffering such humiliation!
Shen Qing was already used to going out like this. Zhuxing would take care of everything to ensure that no one saw them.
After they left through the back door, there was an unassuming carriage waiting at the door. Someone brought a stool, and Shen Qing stepped onto the carriage.
Just as Xu Yanchi was about to follow her in, he was stopped by Zhuxing.
"His Majesty's intention is for the Marquis to escort the young lady there."
Zhuxing deliberately emphasized the word "escort". "Since it's an escort, it might not be proper for the Marquis to get on the carriage as well, right?"
Xu Yanchi was so angry that he choked. "Don't push me too far!"
Did they want him to walk there?
Zhuxing looked at him half - smiling. "The Marquis likes to follow, doesn't he? If you can do it once, you can surely do it a second time."
"The Marquis might as well get used to it. There will probably be many such opportunities in the future." Zhuxing's tone was sarcastic.
Zhuxing's words were like a thunderbolt striking Xu Yanchi on the head. His face turned deathly pale.
That time...
They had known all along that he was following behind!
And the fact that he had been able to follow all the way to the small courtyard and even see that scene was all deliberately arranged by His Majesty for him to see!
His Majesty... was declaring his sovereignty over him.
Realizing this, Xu Yanchi took a step back, on the verge of collapsing.
His Majesty had actually taken a real fancy to Shen Qing!
"My Lord, it's getting late. Hurry up. It won't be good if we're late."
Zhuxing "kindly" reminded him and even thoughtfully handed the reins to Xu Yanchi.
Serves him right!
But on the other hand, if the Marquis hadn't been so stupid, how could their Majesty have had this opportunity?
Xu Yanchi looked at the reins in Zhuxing's hand. Finally, he gritted his teeth and took them over numbly, feeling humiliated.