After faking my death, the male lead’s cousin went crazy - Chapter 5

Although the Zheng family was from Furong City, their family business had already expanded to the capital. Even the General’s Estate was not beyond their reach.

Moreover, the evidence of the General’s Estate’s legitimate eldest son “committing murder” was in their hands, so naturally they had a strong backbone. In any case, the General’s Estate could not afford to lose face. As long as they grasped this point, they could act without restraint.

Not to mention, what they wanted was merely a concubine-born daughter.

Although her looks were first-class, once the label of “concubine-born” fell on her, in the end, the best she could usually do was become a concubine.

“With Fourth Miss’s birth status, no matter which household she entered, she would only be fit to become a secondary wife. My master is generous and willing to marry her with the rites of a proper wife. He can also cancel out the murder case on Eldest Young Master Shang’s head. No matter how one looks at it, your family doesn’t lose out. But Eldest Young Master Shang doesn’t seem to show much gratitude. My master said that if he cannot marry his wife, then he will submit Eldest Young Master’s actions to the authorities and let the governor of the capital personally make a decision.”

“As for us, we don’t really mind. But Eldest Young Master’s future official career, well…” At this point, the Zheng family’s steward shook his head with a regretful expression. “It doesn’t matter. The Shang family has a deep foundation. Old General Shang is loyal and devoted to His Majesty. I imagine that even if Eldest Young Master comes out of prison, he won’t lack food or drink!”

One sentence from the other party struck Shang Nianzong right in the spine. Especially when he thought about how, if his general father found out that he spent his days visiting brothels and had even killed an old man who was powerless to truss a chicken, his father would definitely take that red-tasseled spear and stab him clean through!

“Don’t—don’t get worked up. We sent Shang Rongyue out early this morning. Now that she’s gone, we don’t know what happened either. If you don’t believe me, ask them. The entire Shang family can testify! She really left. Maybe she was robbed on the way, who knows!”

After saying this, Shang Nianzong turned helplessly toward Madam Wei, his eyes filled with a plea for help.

“Does Eldest Young Master Shang take us all for fools? We came along the official road as fast as our horses could run. Forget seeing the person—we didn’t even see a shadow! What do you mean you sent her out? You clearly want to deny it and have hidden her away! Come, let’s go to the authorities right now and explain everything clearly!”

After saying this, he grabbed Shang Nianzong by the collar and was about to drag him outside. Only then did Madam Wei speak up to stop him.

“Steward, don’t be anxious. We can discuss this properly.”

Madam Wei had no other choice. For some reason, of the three children she had given birth to, because her eldest son had been frail since childhood, she had poured the most care and attention into him. Yet in the end, this child, the one she had worried over most, turned out to be the most disappointing.

“Further words are useless. Right now, the person truly cannot be found. Even if you turn the entire Shang family upside down, she won’t appear. Since the rites cannot be completed, we will simply return the betrothal gifts. As for your claim that my son harmed one of your family’s servants, I believe this amount should be enough to cover ten servants’ lifetime expenses. How about that?”

After saying this, Madam Wei placed a stack of silver notes on the table.

Seeing that Madam Wei intended to make peace, Steward Zheng loosened his grip on Shang Nianzong.

At present, the person was definitely gone, and he would also find it difficult to report back. Only by negotiating a good price might he be able to muddle through in front of his master.

Steward Zheng truly opened his lion’s mouth wide. The figure he named left even Shang Nianzong dumbstruck.

Forget one Shang Rongyue—that amount of money would be enough to build another brothel. But there was no helping it. Since their weak point was in someone else’s hands, Madam Wei could only grit her teeth and agree. She used her own dowry money and the private savings she had accumulated over the years, throwing them all in before she barely managed to gather the amount.

At least the Zheng family’s side could be settled with money. But right now, there was still another problem.

Old General Shang would eventually return victorious from war. Once he came back, how were this mother and son supposed to explain Shang Rongyue’s fate?

At this moment, Shang Nianzong had completely lost his head. He collapsed on the ground. Seeing his useless appearance, Madam Wei was so angry that she gritted her teeth and cursed him for being worthless.

“Tomorrow, arrange for someone to dress up as Shang Rongyue and have her go to the temple in the south of the city to offer incense. Make sure everyone knows about it,” Madam Wei said, pinching the space between her brows and forcing herself to stay focused.

“B-but isn’t Shang Rongyue already gone? Why do we need the whole city to know she went to offer incense?”

“Fool!” Madam Wei slapped Shang Nianzong across the face and said angrily, “That way, we can tell outsiders that she met with misfortune on the road because she was worried about her father and went to pray for the General!”

Before Wang Wu left, Madam Wei had instructed him that if an accident happened, he absolutely had to leave no one alive. This was precisely to leave herself this backup plan.

When the General returned, at most, she would bear the blame of not protecting the girl properly. But if Shang Huai’an found out that she had sent that little wretch to the Zheng family, then the person stabbed through would not be only Shang Nianzong.

The next day, Shang Nianzong followed Madam Wei’s instructions and handled the matter well on the small road in the south of the city.

Several days passed without any news of Shang Rongyue. Only then did Madam Wei’s heart finally settle steadily back into place. She turned around and instructed someone to hang white lanterns at the entrance of the residence.

The news quickly spread throughout Shengjing.

Zhao Shuheng, who had just earned a ranking in the examination, had finally obtained his family’s permission to marry the Fourth Miss of the Shang family, whom he had long admired.

Ignoring the night, he rushed excitedly to the Shang family, only to see the white lanterns hanging at the gate from afar.

The people nearby said that the Shang family’s Fourth Miss had been abducted on her way to offer incense in the south of the city. A delicate orchid had been destroyed; a fine jade had been broken.

He could not believe it. Ignoring the people trying to stop him, he rushed inside. What entered his eyes was a pitch-black coffin, and before it, on the memorial tablet, Shang Rongyue’s name was written in striking characters.

How could this be?

All along, because Fourth Sister was a concubine-born daughter, his family had never agreed to their matter. Finally, after he passed the examination and gained an official rank, the elders in his family had barely nodded. Although they only agreed to let him take Fourth Sister as a concubine first.

But that did not matter. As long as he did not marry anyone else, Fourth Sister would be his proper wife. He believed that Fourth Sister was gentle and kind. Compared with their feelings, she would definitely not care about such an external title.

Yet heaven had played an enormous joke on him. He had been only one step away from marrying the girl he loved and bringing her home.

Zhao Shuheng was so overwhelmed by rage and grief that he spat out a mouthful of blood. His originally snow-white lapel was stained a glaring red. After Zhao Shuheng returned home, he fell seriously ill and could not rise from bed.

When he woke again, the sincere light that had once been in the young man’s eyes had already disappeared. In its place was a shadow that no one could see through.

Because her body had been inconvenient these past few days, Shang Rongyue had been extremely bored staying inside the room. Unfortunately, her wound also hurt. Luckily, after a night of rain, the stone that had originally been pressing on Shang Rongyue’s heart faded by more than half.

She pushed open the window to let in some air, and her whole body felt much more relaxed.

The ointment that Doctor Su Zhaoyun gave her was very effective. Now that the dressing had been changed for the third time, the once-startling wound had already scabbed over, and the pain had almost disappeared.

It was just that there was always a maddening itch deep in the flesh.

Every day, Su Zhaoyun would come over at dusk to change her dressing. For the rest of the time, Shang Rongyue stayed with a girl named Ziying.

Ziying said she was the chief’s guard, and that she had grown up together with the chief alongside another guard, Lanxi.

“Then what is your chief’s name?” Shang Rongyue asked.

Ziying laughed mischievously and shifted the topic to something else.

Since she was unwilling to say, Shang Rongyue did not keep asking. To her, it did not seem to be anything important.

On the contrary, Shang Rongyue felt that knowing less was more beneficial. If one day she was silenced because she “knew too much,” that would be a terrible loss.

Life in this bandit den was simple, but also relaxed.

Every day, she could sleep until whatever time she wanted. When she was tired, she would go outside to the little courtyard for some fresh air.

The room she stayed in was surrounded outside by a bamboo fence. In front of the house was a grape trellis. It was now late spring, and the fruits growing there were green and unripe. Shang Rongyue had once secretly tasted one, but it did not taste good.

However, the grapevine had other uses. In the afternoon, a bamboo couch placed beneath the vines, with mottled light and shadow falling all over her body, was the best place to take a nap.

It had been a long time since she had relaxed like this. If she could keep living leisurely like this, it seemed that would also be very nice.

Thinking of this, Shang Rongyue could not help filling with hope for her future life. By this autumn, when all the fruit on the grapevines had ripened, Old General Shang would return. At that time, with her father’s affection, she would be able to do whatever she wanted and leisurely become a salted-fish second-generation official’s daughter.

Suddenly, a shadow blocked the sunlight beside her face. Shang Rongyue opened her eyes, and what entered her sight was that handsome face.

There was nothing to criticize about her appearance. Her face was like fine jade, and she wore a dark fitted outfit with bright-thread embroidery at the hem. Today, she had taken off her ornate hair crown and used only a hair ribbon the same color as her clothes to tie up her long black hair. Yet her whole person still carried an indescribable noble air.

It was an innate temperament, the kind that could be spotted instantly in a sea of people and make one’s eyes light up.

Shang Rongyue smiled with curved eyes, showing a docile appearance. “Sister, you came.”

She did not like calling the other person “Chief” together with everyone else. She felt that such a vulgar title did not match that tall, straight figure.

After thinking it over, she decided to simply call her “Sister.”

Although Shang Rongyue did not know which of the two of them was older, what girl could refuse a sweet, soft little beauty calling her “Sister”?

As she sat up, Shang Rongyue’s smile was gentle and graceful. A shallow dimple appeared on her cheek. She shifted half her body aside and patted the empty space beside her on the bamboo couch, signaling for the other person to sit down.

Her movements were smooth and natural. She did not seem like someone borrowing a place to recover from an injury. Instead, she looked more like the owner of this place.

Gu Wan did not sit down. Instead, she placed a bronze mirror beside her.

“I heard from Su Zhaoyun that you wanted one.”

“Mm.” Having her wish satisfied, Shang Rongyue was very happy. Ever since she came to this world, she had not yet seen what she looked like.

She knew that in the original novel, the heroine, as a princess of Southern Xinjiang, was targeted by the male lead Zhao Shuheng because she resembled Shang Rongyue by seventy percent. He treated her as Shang Rongyue’s substitute.

So Shang Rongyue’s appearance definitely could not be bad.

The face in the bronze mirror looked very similar to her original face, but there were also some differences.

Sure enough, thanks to the heroine’s halo, even her looks had become more three-dimensional. She was completely a richly beautiful type of beauty.

Gu Wan watched as Shang Rongyue held the bronze mirror and carefully examined the face inside, as if she were seeing this face for the first time.

This person was far too strange. Who would not know what they looked like?

“Cough, cough.” A light cough interrupted Shang Rongyue’s admiration of her own beauty. When she turned back, Gu Wan was looking at her suspiciously.

“What’s wrong?” Shang Rongyue awkwardly withdrew her hand and explained, “Wasn’t I just worried that the hidden weapon from a few days ago might have accidentally injured my face? What would I do if it left a scar?”

“Fortunately, nothing happened. My heart is greatly comforted.” After saying this, Shang Rongyue put the bronze mirror back into its box and carefully placed it to the side. Then she turned back and thanked Gu Wan.

“Speaking of which, I have yet to properly thank Sister. Sister saved me from danger, brought me back, and treated my injuries. This young woman will never forget Sister’s great kindness and virtue.”

After saying this, Shang Rongyue stood, folded her hands at her side, and gave a slight curtsy to express her gratitude.

According to the normal sequence of events, since she had been injured for the other person’s sake, and since she had taken the initiative to bow, Gu Wan should at least step forward to support her and then comfort her by saying there was no need.

But Gu Wan did not give Shang Rongyue that step down.

“Miss Li intends to thank me with only this?” Gu Wan asked meaningfully. “Since Miss Li knows my identity, you should also understand that people like us do not do things for nothing.”

Shang Rongyue froze when she heard this.

That was right. Even if the woman before her was beautiful and had an outstanding temperament, it could not change one fact: she was a bandit, and she was even the leader among bandits.

Shang Rongyue sighed inwardly and asked, “Didn’t you already take all my dowry?”

Shang Rongyue remembered that before capturing Wang Wu, the other party had once said, “Leave the person and the things behind.” Then naturally, all the jewelry and dowry inside the carriage had gone into this bandit’s pockets. Wasn’t it a little improper to ask her for money again now?

Gu Wan raised an eyebrow. “That was the brothers’ harvest from going out that day. If Miss wants to set up camp here and recover, then that price must be calculated separately. Miss Li, there is no such thing as eating for free here.”

Heh. What a scheming bandit.

Shang Rongyue cursed inwardly. I blocked a hidden weapon for you and bled so much. It hasn’t even been a few days, yet you’re already coming to ask me for money!

But dissatisfaction was dissatisfaction. When one was under someone else’s roof, one had no choice but to bow one’s head.

Shang Rongyue thought for a moment, then removed the hairpin from beside her temple.

It was a gilded double-butterfly pearl-inlaid dangling hairpin. The golden hairpin was made of two separate pins, each with a butterfly at the end. The difference was that around one butterfly’s wings, black jade was inlaid, while the other used rubies. One black and one red, they formed the hairpin together. Beneath the red one hung pearl tassels that would sway gently with each step.

The craftsmanship was exquisite, and the colors were gorgeous. In particular, on the wings of the two butterflies, the bright blue diancui patterns were vivid and lifelike. The pearls were all round and full, shining with a luminous luster.

Among Shang Rongyue’s privately hidden dowry, this seemed to be the most valuable item.

However, the hair ornament she had worn on the day of her wedding was precisely this one. Since this bandit had already seen it, she simply stopped hiding it. Every day, she only wore this one, while hiding away the rest of the hairpins, bracelets, and jewelry.

But just as she was about to reach out, she was still somewhat reluctant in the end. What if one day this bandit turned hostile and drove her out of this place? She still needed silver on her person.

Thinking of this, she held both ends of the hairpin and twisted them with both hands, opening the clasp at the top. The originally double-pronged hairpin instantly split into two.

Shang Rongyue handed the one with the black eyes to the other party and lied with an entirely serious expression.

“This was left to me by my mother. I can’t give all of it to you. Can you leave the remaining one with me as a keepsake?”