Nanny Zhou moved faster than Shi Huai had expected.
Early the next morning, someone discovered the bowl of shattered lotus-seed soup and the broken porcelain fragments.
When the news reached the main residence, Shi Yuanzhi was having breakfast. The chopsticks in his hand struck the table with a sharp crack.
“Investigate.” Shi Yuanzhi’s voice was cold, like shards of ice in the dead of winter.
“Find out who did it. I want the truth.”
Madam Liu sat across from him, her expression a perfect mixture of shock and outrage. “My lord, who could possibly be so bold as to poison someone under the Grand Madam’s roof?”
Shi Huai sat to one side, quietly drinking his porridge as though their discussion had nothing to do with him.
He set down his bowl and raised his eyes to Madam Liu.
“Father, until the matter has been investigated, we shouldn’t accuse anyone unjustly.”
Shi Huai’s voice was clear and gentle, like a mountain stream flowing unhurriedly past everyone’s ears.
Madam Liu’s hand trembled slightly. Her chopsticks struck the rim of her bowl with a crisp sound.
Shi Yuanzhi glanced at Shi Huai, his gaze lingering on his face for a moment before moving away.
“You’re right. We’ll speak after we know the truth.”
Shi Huai lowered his head and continued drinking his porridge, the corners of his lips curving upward ever so slightly.
The smile was perfectly measured. It would not make anyone think he was gloating, yet it carried an indescribable composure.
“Ding! Current attractiveness: 82. Skin smoothness increased by 82%. Facial feature definition increased by 8%. [Intermediate Charisma] remains active. Ability to sense emotional fluctuations in nearby people enhanced.”
Shi Huai had indeed found himself able to sense more things lately.
For instance, he could clearly feel the fear and hatred surging beneath Madam Liu’s calm exterior.
He could also sense the faint weariness and helplessness hidden behind Shi Yuanzhi’s seemingly furious expression.
He could even feel the tension in Qinghe’s nerves behind him, along with the slight trembling of her fingers.
It was a strange sensation, as though the entire world had opened a new window before him.
The investigation into the poisoning lasted three days. In the end, it led to Bitao, a young maid who had entered the household less than two months earlier.
When Bitao was dragged to the main residence, she was trembling like a sieve. Tears and mucus covered her face as she knelt on the ground and repeatedly knocked her head against the floor.
“My lord, spare me! Please spare me! I didn’t do it on purpose. I was only… only confused for a moment…”
Shi Yuanzhi sat in the seat of honor, his face livid. “Confused for a moment? You put arsenic in the lotus-seed soup, and you call that being confused?”
Bitao was crying so hard she could no longer speak. She lay prostrate on the ground, her forehead striking the blue-brick floor with dull, repeated thuds.
Madam Liu sat nearby, covering her mouth with a handkerchief. Her voice was choked with sobs.
“This maid was purchased by me a few days ago. I had no idea she was so vicious. It’s my fault. I failed to keep proper control over the people in my courtyard.”
Shi Yuanzhi looked at Madam Liu, his gaze complicated. In the end, however, he said nothing and merely waved his hand.
“Take her away. Beat her to death.”
As Bitao was dragged away, she let out a shrill, desperate scream. The sound echoed through the main residence for a long time.
Shi Huai stood beneath the corridor and watched Bitao’s retreating figure disappear into the distance. He felt no emotion whatsoever.
He knew Bitao was merely a scapegoat. The true mastermind was still sitting safely in the main hall, drinking tea.
But he also knew that this was not the time to expose Madam Liu. The evidence in his hands was not yet strong enough.
“Ding! Host emotional stability assessment: Excellent. Maintaining composure in the face of a life-and-death crisis. Additional reward: 0.1 attractiveness progress.”
Shi Huai could not help laughing inwardly. The system really was stingy. It had the nerve to call 0.1 an additional reward.
Qinghe approached from behind and draped a cloak over his shoulders.
“Young Master, the wind has picked up. Let’s go inside.”
Shi Huai nodded and turned back toward Shou’an Hall.
The old locust tree in the courtyard had already begun shedding its leaves. Golden leaves covered the ground, rustling beneath their feet.
After the poisoning incident, the Marquis’s household returned to outward tranquility for a time. But everyone knew that even more dangerous undercurrents were churning beneath the calm.
Shi Huai’s attractiveness increased by one point every month. By the time he was eight, it had already surpassed eighty-five.
Every line of his face seemed to have been meticulously carved by the Creator. The curve of his brow, the height of his nose, and the sharp contours of his lips were all perfectly balanced. One fraction more would have been excessive; one fraction less, lacking.
“Ding! Current attractiveness: 87. Facial symmetry increased to 91%. Skin smoothness increased to 89%. Hair luster increased by 45%. Passive effect unlocked: [Purified Aura]. Within a radius of three meters, the host’s presence makes others feel comfortable and relaxed.”
One day, while Nanny Zhou was combing Shi Huai’s hair, her hands kept trembling. Several times, she nearly dropped the comb.
“Nanny Zhou, what’s wrong?”
Shi Huai looked at her face through the bronze mirror, a trace of puzzlement in his eyes.
Nanny Zhou set down the comb and took two steps back. After drawing a deep breath, she spoke in a trembling voice.
“Young Master, this old servant… this old servant doesn’t know what’s come over me. Every time I get close to you, my heart starts pounding.”
Shi Huai turned around and tilted his head.
“Your heart is pounding? Are you feeling unwell? Should we call for a physician?”
“No, no.” Nanny Zhou waved her hands repeatedly, embarrassment flashing across her face.
“It’s not that kind of pounding. It’s just…”
She struggled for words.
“This old servant can’t explain it. There’s something about you that I can’t put into words. It makes people want to draw close to you, yet at the same time, they don’t dare get too close.”
Shi Huai blinked. His lashes fluttered like two tiny fans, and the sight was so beautiful that he hardly seemed real.
He more or less understood what Nanny Zhou meant. With [Intermediate Charisma] combined with [Purified Aura], he had become both alluring and reassuring in the eyes of others. That contradictory feeling could indeed make people uneasy.
“Nanny Zhou, don’t overthink it.”
Shi Huai smiled. His smile was like a spring breeze brushing across a lake, sending gentle ripples spreading in every direction.
“I’m still me—the child you watched grow up.”
Nanny Zhou gazed at that face and listened to that voice, feeling as though she were dreaming.
She had served Grand Madam for decades and had witnessed all the schemes and betrayals within the Marquis’s household. Her heart had long since hardened like stone.
Yet at that moment, as she looked at Shi Huai’s smile, her nose stung and her eyes reddened.
The days passed one after another, and Shi Huai’s position in the Marquis’s household grew increasingly secure—so secure that even Madam Liu no longer dared to act against him lightly.
It was not because Madam Liu had developed a conscience, but because Shi Huai’s reputation had become too great.
So great that the entire capital was watching him. If anything happened to him, the entire Marquis’s household would be unable to bear the consequences.
Shi Lingyi was married.
The wedding was set for the ninth day of the ninth month, the Double Ninth Festival.
The entire household was decorated with lanterns and streamers. Red silk stretched from the main gate all the way to the eastern courtyard, while the maids and old women bustled about until they could barely keep their feet on the ground.
Shi Huai wore a deep crimson robe with a white jade belt around his waist. His jet-black hair was fastened with a red jade hairpin.
Standing among the crowd, he resembled a red plum blossom blooming in a snowy field—so dazzling that no one could look away.
“Elder Sister, congratulations.”
