Translator – Xiao He Lian
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Chapter 139 Zhou Shu’an x Shen Shu 2
The carriage continued moving forward. When it reached the city gate, the driver showed the token from the Dali Temple. Amid the muffled noises, Shen Shu vaguely caught part of the conversation.
“Is Lord Zhou leaving the city?”
“Yes.”
“Let him pass!”
Qingli tugged on her mistress’s hand. “Miss, sit tight. I’ll jump out and call for help!”
Shen Shu said calmly, “It’s fine. Just stay seated.”
Qingli cried out, “But we’ve already left the city! How can you say it’s fine? Aren’t you afraid he’ll retaliate?”
Shen Shu replied, “If he really meant to harm me, he wouldn’t need to take me out of the city in broad daylight or use a Zhou family carriage.”
Hearing this, Qingli’s nervous heart finally settled a little. After a long pause, she mumbled, “That’s true…”
After leaving the city, the driver called out “Whoa,” and the carriage came to a halt.
He turned around, lifted the curtain, and said, “Miss Shen, my lord is waiting for you at the inn ahead.”
“I understand.”
Shen Shu stepped out of the carriage and told Qingli to stay where she was. She entered the inn alone. At the door, a sign hung brightly: “Closed.”
She pushed open the wooden door—
Zhou Shu’an stood tall and straight, always keeping a soldierly posture. Shen Shu had to tilt her head up to meet his gaze.
But today, she noticed those beautiful eyes held a flicker of anger.
Zhou Shu’an walked forward and took her hand. Shen Shu instinctively tried to pull back, but he held on tightly. His palm was unusually warm. With no way to break free, she followed his steps to the wooden table and sat beside him.
This inn was famous for its peaceful and elegant atmosphere. Through the carved window panels, one could see lanterns hanging in the courtyard, casting a soft orange glow.
It reminded Zhou Shu’an of the first time he saw her…
She wore a floor-length gown of pale yellow embroidered silk, walking with dignity past the disheveled refugees. Her eyes were cold, her expression proud and elegant. He couldn’t help but marvel at her: a lotus face, a heart of ice…
Zhou Shu’an gently squeezed her hand and asked, “Are you hungry?”
Shen Shu bit her lip. Is this man crazy? After all this effort to bring her out of the city, was it just for a meal?
She answered softly, “I’ve already had lunch.”
“Eat a bit more. You’re too thin.”
“I’ve actually gained weight. Didn’t Lord Zhou notice?”
Zhou Shu’an froze for a moment.
Despite all his years of study, his mind now went blank. After a pause, he finally said, “My eyes must be failing me.”
Shen Shu’s delicate brows arched slightly, then smoothed again.
At that moment, a man with a gray turban came over, wiped down the table, and asked in a low voice, “What would the two guests like to order?”
Zhou Shu’an said directly, “Egg-drop porridge, crab, shrimp fish, and two bowls of plain noodles.”
“Please wait a moment.”
Shen Shu looked at him. “Lord Zhou comes here often?”
“Not often. Just a couple of times while handling cases outside the city.” He asked, “Have you been here before?”
Shen Shu thought for a moment. “This might be my first time.”
Zhou Shu’an’s lips curved faintly. He had expected that. A dazzling woman like her wouldn’t remember such trivial places.
After just a few sips of porridge, Shen Shu put down her chopsticks.
She sat quietly beside him without speaking. Occasionally, she glanced out the window, silently hinting she wanted to leave.
Zhou Shu’an saw through her thoughts easily.
Yet he pretended not to notice. After putting down his chopsticks, he called for tea and sipped it unhurriedly.
Shen Shu felt uncertain. She couldn’t figure out his intentions today.
The sky darkened. The autumn wind grew stronger. Zhou Shu’an’s adams apple moved as he asked, “Do you remember what I said last time?”
“I’ve thought about it many times. I haven’t forgotten.” She looked up at him and added, “To me, Lord Zhou has always been a gentleman.”
Zhou Shu’an’s lips pressed into a thin line. He leaned in and kissed her eyes. “A gentleman helps others find happiness. I won’t.”
His warm breath brushed against her eyelids.
Shen Shu’s lashes quivered. Her heart trembled with them.
If such a calculating and powerful man refused to be a gentleman, she wasn’t sure if she could withstand him.
As she pondered, Zhou Shu’an whispered by her ear, “I may have lied to you today, but when I said I would take care of you, I meant it. That promise stands. Forever.”
Forever?
Those words brought a strange bitterness to Shen Shu’s throat. Emotions surged to her nose in a rush. Sweet words were precious, but Zhou Shu’an didn’t know—his promises paled in comparison to even a tenth of what Li Di once said.
What was honey in this moment might become poison in the next.
More than his overpowering presence, it was his words that unsettled her.
Shen Shu furrowed her brows and touched her temples.
“What’s wrong?” Zhou Shu’an asked.
She leaned against his shoulder and softened her tone. “It’s a bit chilly outside the city. The wind gave me a headache.”
He was taken aback. Again, she dodged him like this.
“I want to go back home,” Shen Shu said.
“Alright, I’ll take you back.”
—
As the evening drum echoed, Shen Shu returned to the Shen residence. The courtyard was silent.
After washing up, she lay down slowly and had a dream that night.
In it, she stepped down from a carriage draped in golden silk veils and walked into the same inn. Outside the city, beggars crowded the streets—too many to count.
Then a skinny boy with sunken cheeks and bulging eyes said, “Kind lady, I haven’t eaten in three days… I can’t walk anymore…”
She jolted awake, took a moment to steady herself, then called out, “Qingli! Qingli!”
Qingli entered slowly. “What’s wrong, Miss?”
“Qingli, that inn outside the city—have we been there before?”
Qingli looked puzzled. “I… I can’t remember either. Why are you asking?”
Shen Shu murmured, “I think I have. But why was he there…?”
“Miss, what are you saying? Who was there? Where?”
Shen Shu fell silent, sifting through the foggy corners of her memory. Before marriage, she had left the city only a few times.
Once was to the south with her grandmother for her health—she was still young then.
Another time, she visited her maternal grandmother. A plague had broken out around Chang’an, and she was caught outside the gates during a curfew on the return trip.
She remembered that year well—because of the plague, and because of the imperial examination.
That was the year she got engaged to Li Di, and the year Zhou Shu’an became the top scholar.
Her heart thudded wildly.
She recalled the inn, the egg-drop porridge, even the shabby young scholar—but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t recall Zhou Shu’an’s face.
“What are you thinking about, Miss?” Qingli asked.
Shen Shu rubbed her eyes and let out a long breath. She asked herself silently: Why did he take me to that inn? Did we meet that day?
She didn’t sleep the rest of the night.
Only when dawn broke did she finally doze off.
She had told Qingli not to wake her, but still, she was shaken awake.
“Miss, wake up!”
Frowning, Shen Shu asked, “What is it?”
Qingli said, “Lord Zhou of the Dali Temple has come to the manor.”
Those words struck her like thunder.
She might not remember the Zhou Shu’an who came to the capital for the exams, but she remembered clearly the one who led the raid on her home.
What good could come from the Dali Temple official visiting in person?
In the sixteenth year of Yuanqing, when the last leaves had fallen and the first chills arrived, the emperor’s new favorite, a man in purple robes, stood holding an imperial decree: to confiscate the Yunyang Marquis estate.
Even after thousands of days and nights, she could still recall the sound of his voice:
“Convicted criminal Shen Wenqi, receive the edict.”
“Madam Li, go back.”
Shen Shu took a deep breath and stood up. “Where is he now?”
