Shu Changyu had not expected that he would meet Dan Yao in Zhili Prefecture.
Dan Yao’s father, the Prince of Northern Qi, had his fief in the far northeast, bordering the territory of the Turks. Although Commandery Princess Dan Yao would come to Zhaojing several times a year, most of the time she stayed in the Prince of Northern Qi’s fief. It was only after she married Shu Changyu that she moved into Zhaojing City.
Commandery Princess Dan Yao had grown up in the northeastern fief from a young age, and her personality was also like the women there—unrestrained by petty formalities and straightforward. With this personality of hers in Zhaojing City, she was quite different from the noble young ladies of the capital. Thus, Commandery Princess Dan Yao was also extremely incompatible with the women here.
Precisely because of this, whenever she came to the capital, she always came and left quickly, never lingering—but how had she ended up in Zhili Prefecture?
Shu Changyu turned his head slightly and immediately saw that Jing Mu’s face was so cold it seemed as though ice chips were about to fall from it, with flames burning in his eyes that were impossible to ignore.
The little puppy had bristled.
None of them moved. Over there, Commandery Princess Dan Yao became impatient first. She was wearing the water-red, arrow-sleeved long robe commonly worn by women from the borderlands, making her look exceptionally heroic at first glance. She reached out to take the jade box from Jing Mu’s hand.
“What? Didn’t you hear what this commandery princess said?”
The moment she said “this commandery princess,” the owner of the antique shop beside them shuddered in fright and hurriedly turned to look at Jing Mu.
People from the official household were naturally the kind of people that merchants like him could least afford to offend.
Jing Mu, however, merely glanced sideways at Shu Changyu.
Shu Changyu vaguely read the message in his gaze—
You can actually like a woman like this?
Shu Changyu felt extremely wronged.
They were merely a married couple in name. They went through the motions with each other. How could there be so many things to be picky about?
Jing Mu’s skills were far superior to the mediocre Commandery Princess Dan Yao’s. With a movement of his hand, he closed the box, slipped it into his sleeve, and turned to the shopkeeper.
“Where do I pay?”
He did not even look at Dan Yao.
At this time, Commandery Princess Dan Yao was several years younger than she had been when she married Shu Changyu. Perhaps because she had not yet suffered the wounds of love, this young woman was radiant and flamboyant.
Her facial features were already exceptionally beautiful, and having grown up in the vast northern lands, this woman in the prime of her youth was far more dazzling and striking than the noble ladies of the capital.
Every time Jing Mu looked at her, his teeth ached with jealousy.
The palace maid Handan whom he had once kept in the palace resembled Dan Yao by about six-tenths. But she had the skin without the bones, and even less of her spirit. Now that he had seen the real person, that counterfeit appeared even more unworthy of being presented, while the real Dan Yao seemed increasingly radiant and vivid.
Jing Mu pressed his lips tightly together and did not look at Shu Changyu.
Perhaps a woman like this was exactly the kind of woman who would make Shu Changyu fall in love at first sight and refuse to marry anyone but her.
Jing Mu felt his teeth ache even more. He glanced sideways at Shu Changyu.
Although there was no expression on his face, his gaze was extremely fierce.
Shu Changyu: “……”
Over there, Commandery Princess Dan Yao was so angered by his attitude that her brows immediately rose sharply. She pulled out the whip hanging from her waist and pointed it directly at Jing Mu.
“What? Didn’t you hear what this commandery princess said?”
Jing Mu raised his brows, his gaze cold.
“Does it matter whether I heard you or not? This jade pendant already belongs to me.”
As he said this, he looked Commandery Princess Dan Yao up and down with considerable disdain. His tone changed and became contemptuous.
“Judging from this young lady’s attire, you must be from the north, right? As expected, your behavior is crude, and you don’t even understand the etiquette of who came first.”
His final few sharp comments were delivered word by word, vaguely seeming to be directed at Shu Changyu.
But to Commandery Princess Dan Yao, these words were an enormous humiliation.
She disliked coming to the capital largely because her manner and behavior were completely incompatible with the noble ladies of the capital, often attracting ridicule.
Now, she had only just arrived in Zhili, yet someone already dared to speak about her like this.
“You—!”
Commandery Princess Dan Yao was so furious that her eyes widened. She raised her whip and lashed it toward Jing Mu.
Shu Changyu naturally knew how powerful Commandery Princess Dan Yao’s whip was. In his previous life, after Dan Yao married into the Prime Minister’s Residence, she had been driven out of the bridal chamber on her wedding night and endured no small amount of gossip from the servants. Later, when she found out, she had used this very whip to teach them one lesson after another.
Shu Changyu instinctively stepped forward to block the whip for Jing Mu, but Jing Mu stopped him with one hand and pulled him behind himself.
The next moment, Jing Mu caught the whip with his bare hand, yanked it from Commandery Princess Dan Yao’s grasp, and threw it onto the ground.
Jing Mu gave Commandery Princess Dan Yao a rather mocking, cold smile.
In my previous life, you stole my man. In this life, you’re trying to steal the jade pendant belonging to my man again—do you think I’ll let you have your way?
Before he could even retract his smile, Shu Changyu grabbed him and pulled him backward.
Jing Mu froze.
He saw Shu Changyu’s face as cold as frost as he looked at Commandery Princess Dan Yao.
“It is only a piece of jade. My disciple reached an agreement on the price with the shopkeeper before you. It is already inappropriate for this young lady to try to snatch it away. And now you still intend to cause a commotion in someone else’s antique shop?”
“What does it have to do with you!” Commandery Princess Dan Yao blurted out.
“It naturally has nothing to do with me.” Shu Changyu coldly curled his lips. “However, I am currently acting as the Governor-General of Zhili. Since this young lady is causing trouble, I still possess enough authority to invite you into the Zhili Prefecture prison to drink tea for a few days.”
Even Jing Mu was stunned.
This…
There was some explanation for his hostility toward Commandery Princess Dan Yao, but how had the Grand Tutor become even more bitter and resentful than him?
Then, belatedly, he felt pain in his right hand.
When he had caught Commandery Princess Dan Yao’s whip just now, he had used his injured right hand.
The blood had immediately seeped out of the wound, once again staining the gauze red.
Jing Mu had not noticed the injury, but Shu Changyu had.
Over there, Commandery Princess Dan Yao was also thoroughly enraged. She glared at Shu Changyu, opening her mouth several times but unable to say anything.
She wanted to hit someone, but her weapon had already been taken away.
Just then, a clear male voice rang out from the entrance of the antique shop.
“Yao Yao!”
Shu Changyu turned his head and saw a man standing at the entrance. He had sword-like brows and bright eyes, with a handsome and refined appearance. From a distance, he was unmistakably Zhao Langzhi, Commandery Princess Dan Yao’s sweetheart from his previous life.
Compared with his previous life, this Zhao Langzhi was actually very different.
In his previous life, Shu Changyu had occasionally seen him twice. Although he still had this elegant, handsome appearance, he had been born into a poor family, and his bearing and manner were far inferior to what they were now.
The moment Commandery Princess Dan Yao saw that the person was Zhao Langzhi, her expression immediately changed.
She was already beautiful, but now her brows and eyes were filled with affection. That radiant northern woman instantly became as soft as a strand of silk as she hurried forward to greet him.
It left Jing Mu stunned for a moment—
So this woman had already gotten together with Zhao Langzhi this early!!
No wonder after the Grand Tutor left back then, she immediately got together with this man! So it was only the Grand Tutor’s one-sided love at first sight, while this woman had always had someone else in her heart!
Anger and relief intertwined in Jing Mu’s heart. He instinctively looked toward Shu Changyu.
Although the Grand Tutor was now with him…
After all, he had once liked this woman, hadn’t he?
He could be jealous, but privately, he still did not want to see the Grand Tutor hurt.
But unexpectedly, Shu Changyu’s expression was completely normal, without the slightest appearance of sadness.
Over there, Commandery Princess Dan Yao called out, “Brother Langzhi,” then leaned against him like a little bird.
Zhao Langzhi raised his hand and stroked the top of her head, asking gently, “What happened? Who upset Yao Yao and made you lose such a temper?”
Commandery Princess Dan Yao pouted unhappily.
“I took a fancy to a jade pendant for Brother Langzhi. I wanted to buy it from these two people at a high price, but they refused.”
Hearing this, Zhao Langzhi smiled and comforted her.
“They came first, so naturally they should be the ones to buy it. It’s only a jade pendant. Be good, Yao Yao.”
Then he raised his head and met Shu Changyu’s gaze.
Shu Changyu did not know whether it was his imagination, but he actually saw Zhao Langzhi’s gaze freeze for a moment before becoming complicated and cold.
Shu Changyu froze.
Then he saw that man’s expression become as gentle as the breeze again, just as it had been before.
Beside him, Commandery Princess Dan Yao was still chattering.
“That won’t do! Brother Langzhi has never been to the capital and doesn’t know how fickle the people there are! Without a good jade pendant, what if someone bullies Brother Langzhi?”
Zhao Langzhi instead pulled her forward two steps and smiled at Shu Changyu and Jing Mu.
“I sincerely apologize, gentlemen. This young lady and I had no intention of snatching anything from you. We truly apologize for today’s disturbance. Since the two of you took a liking to this jade pendant first, I will certainly not compete for it. Please, go ahead.”
After speaking, he bowed.
Shu Changyu did not look at him again. Instead, he glanced sideways at Jing Mu.
“Does your hand still hurt?”
He had completely ignored Zhao Langzhi.
Jing Mu hurriedly shook his head.
“No, it doesn’t. I’ll go pay for it now.”
Then the two of them left together.
“Brother Langzhi, look at those two!” Commandery Princess Dan Yao stomped her foot angrily. “Why did you apologize to them?”
Zhao Langzhi looked unfathomably at their departing backs.
After a moment, he lowered his eyes and looked at Commandery Princess Dan Yao with eyes full of tenderness.
“It’s fine.”
After all, having been reborn once in this life, all those causes, effects, grievances, and grudges would eventually be settled.
That night, Jing Mu rolled onto Shu Changyu’s bed and hugged him tightly without saying a word.
Seeing him like this, Shu Changyu could not help laughing.
“If there’s something you want to ask, just ask.” That would save him from having to explain, when he did not even know where to begin.
Jing Mu hugged him even tighter, still saying nothing.
After a while, he spoke sullenly, his tone full of jealousy.
“The Grand Tutor really is heartless.”
“Hmm?”
“In the previous life, you couldn’t live without her, and today you were so fierce toward her.”
Shu Changyu could not hold back his laughter. He hugged Jing Mu in return.
“Are you a silly boy?” he said. “Everything in the previous life was a lie.”
Jing Mu, who had been unhappily wriggling around in his arms, immediately raised his head upon hearing this, his gaze burning as he stared at him.
Shu Changyu did not keep him in suspense. He continued.
“In the previous life, Dan Yao was already carrying Zhao Langzhi’s child when she married me. Her father originally intended to kill Zhao Langzhi, but I don’t know how Dan Yao switched him out and rescued him, even bringing him into the Prime Minister’s Residence.
“The Prince of Northern Qi had never been particularly obedient. I merely wanted to use that marriage agreement to take back the Prince of Northern Qi’s military power.”
Before he had even finished speaking, Jing Mu suddenly rolled over and pressed Shu Changyu beneath him.
“That child… wasn’t yours?” he asked. “You and Commandery Princess Dan Yao didn’t have any feelings for each other at all?”
Shu Changyu raised a brow.
“Couldn’t you tell?”
Jing Mu answered with a storm of kisses.
When Shu Changyu was almost unable to breathe, Jing Mu finally released his lips.
He took two heavy breaths and asked, “How did you deal with the two of them in your previous life?”
Jing Mu answered indifferently, “They were exiled. The man surnamed Zhao was sent to the northeast, and the woman was thrown to Lingnan.”
“You…” Shu Changyu poked his cheek, then thoughtfully said, “But Zhao Langzhi seems somewhat different from the previous life…”
“Ow! What are you doing!”
Jing Mu had already reached his hand beneath his clothes and lowered his head to suck and kiss his neck.
“Why bother with them…”
“At this hour, what the two of us should be doing is the proper business…”