Chapter 65: With Shoes, You Can Even Make the Devil Turn the Millstone Part 2

And so, on his dark-colored brocade collar, only a clear shoe print remained, the toe pointing directly at Old Marquis’s face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot.

“Shen Yuezhuang!”

Liu Yun took Ruixue and headed straight for the hot spring.

There was no time to lose. The longer they delayed, the more they risked something going wrong. Liu Yun was determined to consummate the marriage tonight.

But even though she was in a hurry, she didn’t want Shen Yuezhuang to feel that this was more painful than pleasurable. That’s why she had come personally to prepare and tidy up.

Seeing that everything that should be in the room was there, Liu Yun finally went back to fetch her.

But the moment she entered the courtyard, she saw Shen Yuezhuang kneeling alone on the blue stone path.

The moon was silent, making the solitary figure seem even thinner and colder.

A surge of anger immediately rose in Liu Yun. She rushed to Shen Yuezhuang’s side. “Who told you to kneel here?”

Shen Yuezhuang was here under a false identity. Liu Yun’s first reaction upon seeing her like this was that someone in the estate was bullying her, thinking they could get away with it because there were more of them. Her voice could barely contain its ferocity.

Shen Yuezhuang also had an expression of “You’re finally here.” She blinked pitifully and reached out a hand for Liu Yun to pull her up.

But just as her knees were barely lifted from the ground with Liu Yun’s help, she saw Shen Yuezhuang’s lips move. Then she said, “It was my dad!”

The harshness on Liu Yun’s face vanished almost instantly. There was a moment of blankness before she looked towards the window of the house. In the flickering candlelight, she could see the silhouette of a man.

Too late! Too late!

So the hunting grounds really were full of eyes and ears. The moment they left, the Old Marquis had gotten wind of it and chased after them?

After the initial shock of this defeat, Liu Yun’s mind quickly formed a new decision.

She let go of the hand supporting Shen Yuezhuang. Without the support, Shen Yuezhuang’s knees fell back to the ground with a thud.

Shen Yuezhuang: “???????”

She stared at Liu Yun in disbelief. Liu Yun only crouched down, rubbed her knees, then turned to give Ruixue an order.

“Withdraw. Have the guards stand watch thirty yards away. No one is to enter this courtyard tonight without my command.”

As she finished speaking, Shen Yuezhuang tugged at the hem of her robe.

“I’m not embarrassed. Just tell my dad to let me up.” She winced, rubbing her knee, and muttered softly, “I’ve been kneeling for ages!”

Liu Yun didn’t answer. She just took hold of the hand pulling at her clothes. When the sounds of people retreating faded, Liu Yun took off her Empress Dowager’s phoenix robe and knelt solemnly before the door. The moment the person inside came out, she performed a full kowtow, the greatest of courtesies.

Liu Yun stared at the blue bricks before her. The footsteps stopped at the top of the steps. The voice that spoke was colder than she had ever heard it.

“What is Your Grace the Empress Dowager doing? This old man cannot bear such a grand courtesy!”

Before Liu Yun could even begin the speech she had prepared, Shen Yuezhuang chimed in from the side, “Yes, Your Grace! You didn’t throw a shoe at my dad’s chest. You kneeling here like this is like a blessing that will shorten his life! Get up!”

Shen Yuezhuang, the one most directly involved, clearly had no idea what was going on. Her only thought was to help Liu Yun up so she could stand up herself.

But this only made her father’s face turn from black to green with rage.

“You little beast! Running around and causing trouble all day! Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and you’re still running wild! You’re coming home with me right now!”

“What do you mean, running wild!” Shen Yuezhuang was defiant. “I came in through the main gate, escorted by the steward. Dad, it’s the middle of the night, and you came in through a window and over a wall. You’re the one running wild!”

The Old Marquis was so angry his breathing became ragged. He raised his hand as if to hit her, but stopped mid-swing.

The Old Marquis sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. Liu Yun finally looked up and saw that on the Old Marquis’s chest was a large, muddy shoe print, and there were two delicate pink flower petals in his hair.

Liu Yun’s gaze swept over the petals at the doorway and understood. It must have been something Shen Yuezhuang put on the door so that when someone opened it, petals would fall all over them.

But given the Old Marquis’s pained expression, it seemed that not only petals had fallen on him.

Sure enough, the Old Marquis’s right hand was frozen in place. He used his left hand to pull a thorny flower branch from his right shoulder.

Liu Yun & the Old Marquis: …

After a moment of silence, they both looked at Shen Yuezhuang. It was only then that a flicker of guilt appeared on her previously righteous face.

She glanced at Liu Yun a couple of times, making small, fidgety movements as she said in a low voice, “It was already dark when I was picking the flowers. I guess I wasn’t paying attention and accidentally threw the branch in too.”

The Old Marquis let out a cold, angry laugh.

The one who got accidentally stuck was him! Who was this little bastard looking at so apologetically?!

The aggrieved father was so angry he wanted to tie her up and drag her home right away. But the memory of being pricked was still fresh, so the Old Marquis made a very small, very dignified movement. He extended his index finger and pointed at Shen Yuezhuang. “You! Right now! This instant! Come home with me!”

“No!” Shen Yuezhuang’s body slumped sideways, and she sat down on the ground, throwing a full-blown tantrum. “I’m here already! Can’t you at least let me play for a few days before you hit me?”

“No!” The Old Marquis’s tone didn’t soften in the slightest. “If you don’t come with me today, don’t ever consider yourself part of this family again!”

Shen Yuezhuang shrugged. “Then I’ll go stay at my maternal grandfather’s house.”

“You…”

Liu Yun listened to them bicker for a long time, unable to find an opening to speak.

She had had one earlier. Her act of kneeling was clearly using the etiquette of a younger generation towards an elder. But Shen Yuezhuang had called her “Your Grace,” which not only didn’t help but also left Liu Yun stuck there for a long time.

By the time the Old Marquis was about to turn and leave, Liu Yun finally found her chance.

“Lord Marquis…”

But the Old Marquis clearly still wanted to keep this matter under wraps. Even though, in his eyes, the truth was an open secret among the three of them present, he was determined to pretend he didn’t know.

“Your Grace, my daughter is stubborn and useless. I have troubled you with her care these past days. But in the end, she is a member of the Shen family. What’s past is past. I dare not trouble Your Grace any further. I will take her home and discipline her myself.”

Liu Yun struggled to breathe. She stared hard at Shen Yi. “But may this old official ask, how does the Lord Marquis intend to discipline her in the future?”

Shen Yi didn’t mind Liu Yun knowing his plans. The best outcome would be to make them both give up hope. His eyes were fixed on Shen Yuezhuang, his voice cold and brooking no argument.

“Resign from her post and marry. I have an old subordinate who has an unmarried son. Haven’t you always wanted to go to Yongzhou?” A half-smile played on his lips. “Yongzhou is a good place. Once you’re there, you won’t have to come back.”

Shen Yuezhuang looked suspicious. “When did I ever say I wanted to go to Yongzhou?”

The Old Marquis took a step down from the stone steps, coming closer to her. “Before, you were very close with the Seventeenth Princess. You heard that her mother was from Yongzhou, and every time you had a tantrum, you’d threaten to run away from home and go to Yongzhou.”

“What, you were so set on it back then, but now you can’t even remember?”

These words were clearly meant for Liu Yun.

Back then, she had been so determined, and yet? What love can withstand the test of time?

Liu Yun bit her lip hard. It was as if she were grasping at her last lifeline, she held Shen Yuezhuang’s hand tightly.

In this battle with Shen Yi, he had all the advantages.

Just the fact that he was Shen Yuezhuang’s father made Liu Yun feel constrained and powerless.

Liu Yun’s heart sank, but she quickly started thinking of a delaying tactic.

She rapidly calculated her own advantages: her status, her willingness to go further than the Marquis, and the Marquis’s belief that their feelings were mutual.

A gust of night wind rose again. Liu Yun let out a low cough. Shen Yuezhuang immediately turned to look at her. Seeing her pale face, she became even more unwilling to go home.

“Dad, I can’t get married!”

Shen Yi saw through Liu Yun’s ploy in an instant and only gave a cold laugh. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting now?”

“I’m serious! I think you’re right. No love can withstand the test of time!” Shen Yuezhuang looked genuinely serious. “That’s why someone like me isn’t fit for marriage. Spending a hundred years with one person… Dad, wouldn’t you get bored? I think it’s terrifying just thinking about it! So I say I can’t get married. If I did, I’d definitely get bored and go looking for someone else!”

The words had barely left her mouth when Liu Yun’s grip on her hand tightened to the point of nearly crushing her bones. The Old Marquis’s face was also a study in conflicting emotions. But Shen Yuezhuang kept going.

“Dad, don’t you think it would be less shameful for you if I never married, compared to me being caught cheating?”

“…” The Old Marquis stared blankly at Shen Yuezhuang for a long time. Then he took a deep breath. This time, he looked at Liu Yun. His voice was unreadable, but with a faint hint of pity.

“Your Grace, some things… I don’t need to spell them out for you, do I?”

He paused. “Life is short. There’s no need to make yourself miserable.”