Shen Youran really did row the boat.
Before she was married off, she would occasionally go to play in her family’s estate. There was a moderately sized lake dug there for fish farming and growing lotus roots. When the lotuses bloomed, she would row a small boat out onto the lake to admire the flowers, pick lotus pods, and peel the lotus seeds to eat.
The little boat wasn’t big, only enough for two people. Sometimes she would bring Dan Ruo along, sometimes Qing He, and later, after Older Sister returned home, she would row together with her.
When it came to things she liked, she learned quickly.
Rowing a boat, she would grip the oars tightly with both hands, arch her back slightly to gather strength, push forward, then pull back—the oar blades would cut through the water in a neat arc, splashing lightly. The boat would glide steadily forward, propelled by this force.
But right now, Shen Youran had no oars in her hands. She could only rely on her waist and abdomen muscles, and soon grew tired.
Just as she was about to collapse, a large hand resting on her waist gently grasped hers, supporting her until they both reached the destination…
Though it was only once, it had drained much of her strength. Her throat, already weak, was almost hoarse from shouting by the end. When Pei Huaijin came to bring her hot water to wash up, she had already fallen into a drowsy sleep.
She didn’t sleep long before he leaned over again, kissing her cheek and the corner of her mouth.
Shen Youran thought he wanted more and groggily pushed him away: “No, I’m too tired…”
A soft laugh came from beside her ear: “I don’t want you. The sky is already bright.”
“Hm?” Already dawn?
“I’m leaving…”
“Oh,” Shen Youran forced her eyes open, “then I’ll see you off.”
His fingertip gently stroked her cheek: “No need. You should sleep a little longer.”
“Oh.” Not wanting to get up anyway, she immediately closed her eyes again, her breathing soon steadying.
Pei Huaijin looked down at her quietly for a while before slowly getting up. He dressed silently, and just as he reached the door, he turned back suddenly, scooped her up, and kissed her hard once more.
Awakened again, Shen Youran sighed helplessly and opened her eyes: “Be careful on the road, come back early…”
“Mhm.” He laid her back down and tucked the blanket around her before finally leaving.
Shen Youran turned over and drowsily went back to sleep.
The day after Pei Huaijin left, the Dali Temple sent someone to the Shen Residence, asking Shen Youran to come over to discuss something. They showed her a portrait said to be painted based on Lu Yi’s description, asking if she resembled that Young Leader.
Shen Youran said it looked about sixty percent like her, but the eyes still didn’t quite match.
The painter then made several attempts based on her memory to redo the eyes, but none were right. When the shift ended, Xiao Ci personally escorted her back.
They happened to run into Father returning from his own shift.
It was cold, and Father wore the sable fur hat Older Sister had made for him.
The hat was thick and well-made, sitting just even with his eyebrows. Looking at Father’s eyes beneath the fur, Shen Youran suddenly realized why the Young Leader’s eyes seemed so familiar.
That day, the boy’s forehead warming band was also made of fur, sitting nearly level with his eyebrows. Those eyes looked very much like Father’s.
Only that the boy’s eyes held a wildness that couldn’t be tamed, while Father’s were filled with the calm that comes from having seen the world.
“Lord Xiao,” Shen Youran excitedly pointed at Father, “Paint the eyes just like my Father’s!”
Shen Tingyu looked puzzled: “Daughter, what’s wrong with my eyes?”
Xiao Ci stepped forward and respectfully bowed, explaining the reason. After listening, Shen Tingyu smiled: “What a coincidence, that bandit actually has a pair of eyes very much like mine.”
“Lord Shang, tomorrow I will bring the painter to visit your residence. Please don’t blame us for the intrusion…”
“No need to say more, I want you to catch those who hurt my daughter as soon as possible.”
“Yes, we will do our utmost to capture all those villains quickly.” Xiao Ci bowed again and prepared to leave. “Then after your shift tomorrow, I will bring the painter to see you.”
Shen Tingyu readily agreed: “Mhm.”
After Xiao Ci left, Shen Tingyu entered the residence with his daughter.
“My daughter,” he said, “the other day your husband told me that actually you were the one taken. I’ve been afraid to ask, but when you were kidnapped by those men, were you badly wronged?”
At first, everyone thought it was his eldest daughter who had been kidnapped. When he went to visit her, he didn’t dare to ask too much, and since she didn’t look sad or distressed, he assumed she was strong enough to endure it.
But it turned out the one who was kidnapped was his pampered third daughter.
Although she had returned unharmed, Shen Tingyu still felt a lingering fear.
Taking this opportunity today, Shen Tingyu couldn’t help but ask more.
“Of course I was wronged. They kidnapped me, tied my hands and feet, and wanted to give me to that Young Leader as his bride. I was so scared I almost died…” Shen Youran recalled that day, still trembling, and saw Father’s face turn pale as he listened. She quickly added, “Luckily that Young Leader had some conscience. He didn’t harm me and even gave me meat broth to drink…”
“So that Young Leader is a good man?”
“Not exactly a good man. Although he didn’t harm me then, he wouldn’t let me go and said I would be his wife from now on. He planned to take me away with him after collecting the ransom…”
“That bastard! When he’s caught, I’ll go see exactly what kind of scoundrel he is…”
Shen Youran covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. “His eyes look very much like yours, Father. He’s not ugly. If you want to curse him, go ahead, but don’t be too harsh.”
“No matter how you look at it, he’s still a bandit-in-training.”
“But Father, there’s something strange.” Shen Youran lowered her voice, “He says he’s not a bad man, but do you know why he didn’t harm me?”
“Oh? Why?”
“Because of my name…”
“My name?”
“Yes. He said that when he was a child, he knew a little girl named Youran and thought I was that person.”
“That child… is he the bandit’s child?”
“No.”
“A child taken by bandits? He knows the name Youran? And his eyes look very much like his…”
Shen Tingyu suddenly stopped walking, as if recalling something important.
“How old is that child?”
Shen Youran looked at Father, who was standing still as well.
“Not very old, maybe seventeen, eighteen, or nineteen? He’s tall and rough, maybe a little younger.”
“Does he have any distinguishing marks?”
“Yes.” Shen Youran didn’t notice Father’s change in expression and spoke casually, “He has a birthmark on his back…”
Just as she finished speaking, Father staggered.
She quickly steadied him and noticed his legs trembling. His face, which had been pale from worrying about her, now looked shocked. His beard trembled, and he struggled to speak clearly: “How could this be… how is it possible?”
His choked voice suddenly overflowed with disbelief and laughter: “He’s still alive. He’s still alive…”
“Father, what’s wrong?” Shen Youran was stunned to see her usually composed father lose his composure. His calm eyes now glistened with tears. “Who’s still alive? The Young Leader? Do you know him?”
Shen Tingyu grasped her hand, tears welling up: “My daughter, he is… he is…”
“Who is he, Father?”
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but Shen Tingyu dared not say them. He only said with a stutter: “You go back first. I have to go out on some business.”
With that, he let go of her hand and, like a drunken man, staggered unsteadily toward the mansion gate.
Shen Youran stood frozen for a moment before hugging herself tightly, full of questions, and finally returned to her courtyard.
Pei Residence.
That day, Shen Yunshu’s mother suddenly came calling. Shen Yunshu immediately put down her work and hurried to the flower hall in the back courtyard to meet her.
Shen Youran could roughly guess that her mother’s visit was about Lu Yi’s matter.
Sure enough, the moment she entered the flower hall, her mother’s face was anxious.
“Shu’er, your elder brother is in trouble.”
“Mother, please don’t worry first.” Shen Yunshu didn’t yet know how much her mother knew, so she pulled her to sit down. “Have some tea and tell me slowly.”
Ning Shi didn’t even drink the tea: “Ever since you got into trouble last time, your brother went out looking for you, then disappeared. At first, your stepfather thought he was just out fooling around, but after several days without return, he felt something was wrong and sent people to search for two days. Then he reported it to the authorities and found out he was caught by the Dali Temple…”
“Mother, do you know why the Dali Temple arrested him?”
“I inquired. They said he was involved with those bandits who kidnapped you, that he participated in that matter.” Ning Shi found it hard to accept, “But how could that be? He’s your brother; how could he do such things?”
“He’s not my brother,” Shen Yunshu’s calm voice carried a trace of coldness, “We share no father or mother. He never treated me like a real sister, so of course he could do such things.”
Ning Shi hesitated, sensing something wrong in her words.
“Shu’er, did you already know about this?”
Shen Yunshu nodded: “He has done worse than this to me. Besides, he wasn’t caught by the Dali Temple’s men — I was the one who handed him over.”
Ning Shi was stunned, and after a long silence murmured: “What exactly happened? Even if you’re not true siblings, you used to get along well, right? How could he do such a thing?”
“Mother, I never got along with him. When I came to the Capital City to seek Father, it was to escape from him…”
Ning Shi had come today hoping to ask the third daughter to petition Pei Huaijin for help with the Dali Temple, since she had heard that the Dali Temple’s official Xiao Ci had a good relationship with Pei Huaijin. But after arriving and learning that the third daughter had returned to the Shen Residence and that Pei Huaijin was on a mission, she shifted her hope to the eldest daughter. She never expected to hear from her that there was more to the story.
Now Ning Shi put aside all petitions and anxiously asked: “Did Lu Yi bully you? How did he bully you? When did it start? Why didn’t you tell me, child?”
“I…” Shen Yunshu was at a loss for how to answer.
When she was little, Lu Yi bullied her, but she could fight back and get her stepfather to punish him without needing to complain. But later, Lu Yi changed his methods — those shameful, subtle ways that fully preyed on her sense of humiliation, making her unable to speak of it.
Ning Shi looked at her eldest daughter, who still couldn’t say a word, but the grievance and turmoil in her eyes betrayed her. Angry and worried, Ning Shi cursed: “That bastard…”
Shen Yunshu thought her mother was scolding her and was about to retort, but heard her continue, “How dare he bully my daughter?”
“Mother, do you believe me?” Shen Yunshu said nothing, but did her mother really believe her?
“You are my daughter, of course I believe you.” Ning Shi finished cursing Lu Yi and then scolded herself, “It’s my fault, I didn’t see it sooner. That bastard bullied you all along. My poor Shu’er, if you had told me earlier, you wouldn’t have had to come alone to the Capital City. I would have divorced your stepfather and taken you away from the Lu Family…”
“Mother, I knew you would do that, so I didn’t dare to tell you.” Although Lu Yi was a scoundrel, her stepfather was sincere toward her mother and good to her as a stepdaughter. Besides, Mother had borne another child with him. She didn’t want to ruin her mother and little brother’s happiness.
Ning Shi wiped tears from her eyes: “Just pretend I never came today. I won’t plead for that bastard anymore. Your stepfather only recently came to the Capital City to take office. Besides you and Youran, he has no other connections here. Let that bastard rot in jail and face whatever punishment he deserves…”