Pei Cijing held Shen Ninghuan, his toes lightly tapping between the branches and leaves, his figure like a swallow skimming the water. With a few leaps, he drifted down gracefully from the canopy tens of feet high, his robes rising and falling in the wind. At the moment he landed, not even a few specks of dust at his feet were disturbed.
"My goodness..."
"What, what kind of lightness skill is this..."
"To be so light while holding someone?"
The pilgrims around were still looking up, and by the time they came back to their senses, the person was already standing steadily on the ground.
Several young gentlemen were dumbfounded, one of them even forgot to close the folding fan in his hand; an old woman leaned on her crutch, her cloudy eyes wide open, murmuring "an immortal descending to earth."
Pei Cijing gently put Shen Ninghuan down and smoothly straightened her shawl that had just been messed up by the wind.
His movements were natural, as if that shocking leap just now was nothing more than brushing a fallen leaf off his wife's lapel.
Shen Ninghuan looked up at him.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps of the ginkgo leaves, dropping fine gold between his eyebrows and eyes. She didn't speak, just slightly curled the corners of her lips, withdrew the hand he had held, and instead hooked her arm through his.
Very close.
And very natural.
Like all ordinary loving couples in this world.
Pei Cijing looked down at her, just about to say something—
Suddenly, the tip of his brow twitched very lightly.
Not far away, at the edge of the ginkgo tree shadow, stood a somewhat familiar figure.
All alone.
A pale lotus-colored jacket, a plain hair bun, her whole person enveloped in the shade cast by the branches and leaves, like a touch of light ink forgotten in the corner of a painting.
Pei Cijing only glanced once, then withdrew his gaze.
There was no fluctuation on his face at all.
Following his gaze, Shen Ninghuan also saw that figure, and she also recognized who that person was, but her reaction was even lighter, light to the point of being almost indifferent.
No nodding.
No exchanging of pleasantries.
Not even a single intersection of gazes was given.
---
That figure was Shen Ningyue.
She stood there, separated by a distance of three to five zhang, separated by the mottled shadow of the ginkgo tree, separated by the noise and bustle of the pilgrims filling the courtyard—
Standing all alone.
Like a flower transplanted into the wrong soil, unaccustomed to the climate, ignored by everyone.
Coming to the Qingyun Temple today was her own idea.
And she came alone.
The ban had been lifted, Pei Ciling had gone to take up his post at the Three Thousand Camp, and along with that, she could finally go out to take a breath of fresh air. So she chose to come to Qingyun Temple to offer incense and pray for blessings. More importantly, she had too many doubts, too much uneasiness in her heart, and needed the gods to give her an answer.
Heirs.
Future prospects.
And those "variables" that did not match the memories of her previous life, making her restless day and night.
She didn't expect to meet Shen Ninghuan here.
Even less did she expect to see the scene just now—Pei Cijing holding Shen Ninghuan, leaping up, stepping on the trunk as if walking on flat ground, his robes fluttering like a wild goose crossing the sky.
Such a tall tree.
He carried a person up, unexpectedly not even breathing heavily.
At that moment, Shen Ningyue only felt something explode with a bang in her chest.
It wasn't shock.
It was jealousy.
It was hatred.
And a deeper, heavier—incomprehension.
In her previous life, she was married to Pei Cijing for ten years.
Ten years.
She was his wife.
Even if it was only in name, even if he never entered her room, even if she lived as a widow for ten years—but she was his wife after all, the woman closest to him in this world.
But she never knew.
Never knew he knew martial arts.
Never knew he had such skills.
In those ten years, what was he like?
Lazy, doing nothing, idling away his days, the only son of the second branch of the Marquis Weiyuan's Mansion, holding the title of "Young Master" in vain, but not even having a proper job. His parents doted on him, didn't force him to make progress, and he comfortably lay in that doting, being a rice weevil not seeking to advance.
She had hated him.
Hated him for not living up to expectations, hated him for delaying her ten years of youth, hated him for being so incompetent, yet occupying the name of her husband, making her unable to even remarry.
But now—
Now he held Shen Ninghuan, drifting down gracefully from the canopy tens of feet high, his posture like a crane, landing silently, the gentleness between his eyebrows and eyes was something she had never seen in her previous ten years.
Shen Ningyue's nails dug deeply into her palms.
Pain.
But not as much as the pain in her heart.
She suddenly remembered those fragmented details of her previous life that she had ignored.
Once, the Marquis's Mansion was hosting a banquet. During the feast, a noble drank too much wine and publicly mocked the second branch as a "nest of merchants," calling Pei Cijing a "rice weevil young master." Pei Cijing just smiled at the time, not refuting, not getting angry, and even echoed a few words self-deprecatingly.
At that time, listening behind the screen, she only felt embarrassed.
Thinking about it now—
Did he really not care, or did he hide too deeply?
Another time, a thief entered the mansion. The guards patrolling at night chased for half a day but couldn't catch him. The next day, the thief was found tied up in the back alley, his hands and feet broken, with a rag stuffed in his mouth.
No one knew who did it.
She had never thought of him either.
Now...
Shen Ningyue stared deadly at the two figures standing side by side not far away, her jaw aching from biting down.
Pei Cijing!
How many things are you still hiding?
If you are gold, why were you willing to be covered in dust in the previous life? If you really have ability, why did you let me live as a widow and suffer people's supercilious looks for ten years in the previous life?
Why—
Why in this life, are you willing to reveal your brilliance for her?
Her gaze turned to Shen Ninghuan.
A pale lotus-colored skirt, a moon-white shawl, only a plain silver hairpin pinned in her hair, dressed so plainly, yet standing in the crowd she could attract everyone's attention.
But she just hooked her arm through Pei Cijing's like that, and when he looked down at her, his eyebrows and eyes were as gentle as spring water.
Shen Ningyue suddenly felt she couldn't breathe.
Why?
Why is she the legitimate daughter, and I am the concubine-born daughter?
Why in the previous life did she marry into the main gate of the Marquis Weiyuan's Mansion, become the heir's wife, and eventually be conferred the title of a first-rank noble lady of the State Duke, while I could only guard that "incompetent" Pei Cijing, boiling dry ten years of youth in the corner of the second branch?
Why in this life, when I clearly snatched away the heir, clearly occupied the position "she should have"—
But Shen Ninghuan, even if she married into the second branch, married that "worthless husband" of her previous life, is living a more nourishing life than in the previous life?
She doesn't lack money.
The second branch is of merchant origin, so poor they only have money left.
Her mother-in-law Madam Zhou had boxes of jewelry carried into her room, treasures, jade stones, solid gold and kingfisher feather ornaments, wishing she could move all the jewelry shops in Shengjing to her.
Her marriage is harmonious.
That Pei Cijing, who was cold and distant to her in the previous life, now holds Shen Ninghuan in the palm of his hand in this life. He studies for her, prepares for exams for her, and reveals the sharpness he had hidden for eighteen years for her.
Even—
He even took her up that thousand-year-old ginkgo tree, just to hang a pair of blessing plaques on the highest branch.
And what about her?
Shen Ningyue slowly lowered her head.
She looked at her own hands.
Slender, fair, once also the hands of a young lady in the boudoir of the Shen Mansion who didn't touch spring water with her ten fingers. Now these hands have to comb her own hair, dress herself, and deal with those snobbish old women and maids.
The Marchioness deducted her allowance.
Pei Ciling was bound by the ban and could not have marital relations with her before taking up his post. She had originally hoped to get pregnant with an heir as soon as possible to use as a reliance, but that ban abruptly disrupted her plans.
Finally, after the ban was lifted, Pei Ciling went to the Sanqian Battalion.
He had come back twice.
But those two times...
Shen Ningyue closed her eyes.
He said he was busy, that his duties were heavy, and that he was exhausted. Although he spent the night in their room, he lay beside her like a cold stone.
Between them, since some unknown point in time, an invisible barrier had formed.
It was as thin as a cicada's wing, yet thicker than a city wall.
She tried to take the initiative, but Pei Ciling gently avoided her.
Something was wrong.
Everything was wrong.
In her previous life, Pei Ciling had been appointed as the Vice Battalion Commander of the Sanqian Battalion right from the start. It was a rank five position with real power, a future personally arranged for him by Marquis Weiyuan.
But in this life...
In this life, he was only a Centurion.
A rank six official.
She had asked him about it, and he merely replied, It was my father's intention. I haven't established any merits yet, so it's not suitable to hold too high a position right after taking office. The position of a Centurion is just right.
But she didn't believe it.
During her days in the Marquis's estate, she had seen things very clearly.
The way Marquis Weiyuan looked at the heir had changed. The once full expectations and pride were now mixed with scrutiny, disappointment, and even... a trace of coldness that he himself might not have noticed.
Was it because of that incident?
Because the elders of both families had caught them kneeling in the main hall of the Shen residence, disheveled and half-dressed?
Shen Ningyue tightly gripped her cuffs.
No.
She couldn't panic.
She still had her memories of her past life.
She remembered that Pei Ciling would march to war in three years, establish illustrious military merits in the Northern Frontier, and be personally titled Earl Zhongyi by the Emperor. Ten years later, he would pacify the rebellion in the southwest, be promoted to Duke, and reach the pinnacle of officialdom.
These things would all happen.
They definitely would.
As long as she was his wife, as long as she bore him a son, she would be the future Duchess.
Those who slighted her, cold-shouldered her, and deducted her allowances today would all kneel at her feet in the future and respectfully call her Madam.
Shen Ningyue took a deep breath.
She raised her head, her gaze passing over the crowd and landing on the pair of retreating figures.
Shen Ninghuan was holding onto Pei Cijing's arm, her head turned to the side as she spoke to him. From this distance, the words were inaudible, but she could see the faint curve of her lips.
The curve was very faint.
So faint it could barely be considered a smile.
But Shen Ningyue just knew that it was a smile from the heart—secure, cherished, and contented. That kind of smile... she had never received.
Not in her past life.
And not in this life either.
She suddenly felt very cold.
It was clearly early autumn, the sunlight was perfect, and the breeze was gentle. Yet, standing in the shadow of the ginkgo tree, she only felt a chilling cold seep into her bones.
...
Shen Ninghuan held Pei Cijing's arm as they slowly walked toward the main hall.
She didn't look back.
Nor did she need to.
She could clearly sense the burning gaze behind her, one that almost seemed to pierce right through her, along with the irrepressible inner thoughts drifting over on the autumn wind—
Why... why is she so lucky...
Pei Cijing, that liar... he clearly knew nothing in the past life...
Why did the heir only become a Centurion... this is different from what I remember...
I'm not resigned to this... I refuse to accept this!
Listening to those fragmented, churning thoughts, Shen Ninghuan's expression remained calm.
This younger sister of hers.
Across her past and present lives, adding both lifetimes together, she had never learned one thing:
Destiny could never be seized by force.
A stolen marriage burned the hands, a stolen position was hollow, and a stolen man... the trace of infatuation that once existed in his eyes would fade into a bland politeness once he sobered up.
The things Shen Ningyue couldn't understand, Shen Ninghuan saw with crystal clarity.
In their past life, Pei Ciling's success and rapid promotions weren't necessarily all due to his own abilities. At that time, he was the heir to the Marquis's estate, hadn't made any mistakes, and naturally had people paving the way for his future.
His father-in-law's family, the Shen residence, had fully supported him, and she had managed the household well, keeping the inner courts peaceful.
Only then was he able to realize his ambitions.
And in this life?
The heir was still the heir, and although his father-in-law's family hadn't become enemies.
But by only taking a concubine-born daughter as a concubine, her father Shen Zhongcheng naturally wouldn't support him as wholeheartedly as in the previous life. The assistance in the political arena was reduced by seventy or eighty percent. Although the Marquis still valued this son, the accumulated disappointment made him hold back when paving the way, considering whether he was truly suited to stand in a high position.
After all, without the capability, the higher one stood, the harder they would fall!
As for Pei Ciling himself...
That absurd scandal.
Did it only damage his reputation?
What he lost was his father's unreserved trust, the sincerity of his father-in-law's all-out support, and even his own once high-spirited and resolute confidence.
Could Shen Ningyue see all of this?
She could only see that Shen Ninghuan had married Pei Cijing and was living a smooth and prosperous life, but she couldn't see where this smoothness came from.
Not lacking money was because the second branch was inherently wealthy, and her mother-in-law Madam Zhou genuinely doted on her daughter-in-law.
The harmony between husband and wife was because Pei Cijing was inherently a perceptive and gentle person, and she treated him with sincerity and respect, exchanging true feelings between the two of them.
As for Pei Cijing now starting to study and reveal his martial arts skills—
The corners of Shen Ninghuan's lips curled up.
When she married him, he was just a lazy young master who loved to gossip, slack off, and spend all day in teahouses listening to idle chatter. Although he had skills, he didn't want to show them off, single-mindedly wanting to be a salted fish lying flat.
But he was also willing to continuously work hard for their future.
This was the most precious thing of all.
As Shen Ninghuan thought about this, she suddenly spoke softly, Husband.
Pei Cijing looked down. Hmm?
Since we're already here today... She looked up, a faint smile rippling in her eyes. Let's go draw a fortune slip too.
