Most Afraid of Thunder

Seeing that her mother truly had some affection for Madam Chen, Bai Mo forcibly suppressed the anger in her heart and changed the subject. "Mother, I plan to sit the examination in a month. Once I pass and become a xiucai, I'll go ask for Shen Qing's hand in marriage."

Bai Peilan felt that her daughter had truly inherited her skills. She knew to strike while the iron was hot and understood how to seize an opportunity. Excellent, excellent!!

"Good. Then study hard, my child. In a month, I'll recommend you to sit the examination."

"But a man's reputation is very important. You mustn't talk nonsense to others. Just tell people you went to the bookshop to seek guidance from scholars and men of letters."

One of them truly dared to say it, and the other dared to believe it!!

Bai Mo nodded and discussed it with Bai Peilan for a while. Once they had agreed on their story, she returned to her room.

"Xiaohan, prepare some extra hot water for me. I'm going to have a proper wash today."

"Yes, eldest miss. The water has been heating all along. We'll bring it over right away."

The two maids busied themselves, and soon two large tubs of water were placed in the washroom.

Bai Mo waved them both away. Today, she just wanted to wash her hair and take a proper bath by herself.

She took out shampoo, a hair mask, body scrub, body wash, face masks, and a whole pile of other bathing and skincare products...

An hour or so later, Bai Mo emerged from her bath smelling wonderful and feeling utterly satisfied. She let Xiaohan dress her and dry her hair. Xiaohan thought her miss smelled especially nice today, and her hair was even softer and more fragrant than usual.

Under cover of night, she quietly slipped over to the Peach Blossom Courtyard and gave Madam Chen a dose of a very special poison.

Inside the Grand Preceptor's Residence.

As soon as Shen Qing returned, he was taken to the second branch's main hall. An exceptionally handsome man sat in the seat of honor, his features bearing a slight resemblance to Shen Qing's. This was Shen Qing's father, Yuan-shi.

Yuan-shi did not greet Shen Qing when he entered, simply continuing to drink his tea.

Shen Qing lowered his head slightly and greeted Yuan-shi. "Greetings, Father."

Yuan-shi said nothing, and the room fell silent.

A little helpless, Shen Qing asked directly, "Father, did you summon me because you have something for me to do?"

Only then did Yuan-shi raise his head and look directly at his son, his eyes full of impatience and irritation.

"You're growing more and more ill-mannered. Never mind, sit down. I summoned you today to discuss your marriage."

"The old matriarch wants to betroth you to Her Highness the Third Princess, but I think that would be most unsuitable. Princess Ping'an would be a better match, so I called you here to ask what you think."

What had to come had finally come. Shen Qing said expressionlessly, "It's not as though you don't know about my health, Father. I won't live another year. If you betroth me to someone so powerful and I die young, what the Grand Preceptor's Residence gains may not be a good family connection, but an enemy."

Yuan-shi raised an eyebrow. How could he not know that Shen Qing had little time left? He simply wanted to maximize the benefits, securing the greatest possible gain for the second branch in Shen Qing's final days.

Yuan-shi ignored Shen Qing's words and continued, "Princess Ping'an is gentle by nature and has been a widow for a long time. Her fief is in Mingzhao Commandery, and she holds military power, as well as all the forces the Grand Eldest Prince left behind. The empress holds her in high regard. Your younger sister is in Mingzhao Commandery, so I thought you would know what to do."

Shen Qing refused without hesitation. "Father, Princess Ping'an has already lost one husband. If you marry me to her, she'll lose another in less than a year. I fear she'll gain a reputation for bringing death to her husbands. Please reconsider. I won't agree to it."

"You're certainly considerate of others. What if I insist on you marrying her?"

Yuan-shi rose and walked slowly to Shen Qing's side, meeting his gaze.

"I won't marry her! If there's nothing else, Father, I'll take my leave."

Shen Qing gave a slight nod, turned, and walked away!!

After Shen Qing left the main hall, Yuan-shi furiously smashed his teacup on the floor. The sharp sound of it breaking startled the person coming in.

"Ji'an, tell me, isn't that unfilial son growing more and more outrageous? He's truly just like him..."

"Why get angry with him, eldest master?" Ji'an hurriedly motioned for a servant to come in and clean up the mess, then gently helped Yuan-shi back into his seat. Having served Yuan-shi for over twenty years, he understood his thoughts better than anyone.

Back then,

Yuan-shi had given birth...

He could never become pregnant again. From then on, Yuan-shi regarded Shen Qing as a thorn in his eye and a prick in his flesh. He never cared for him in the slightest, and as soon as he was a month old, he handed him over to the servant Jiang You to be raised at an estate.

Later, a concubine became pregnant. The father was removed and the daughter kept, and Yuan-shi raised this shu daughter, Shen Mengxue, as his own di daughter. He doted on her endlessly as she grew up, while he did not treat Shen Qing even a thousandth as well as he treated Shen Mengxue.

"He doesn't have long to live, yet he won't make even the slightest contribution to the second branch."

"He really is an ungrateful white-eyed wolf who can't be won over."

Yuan-shi remained indignant, the anger in his heart hard to quell.

Ji'an gently massaged his temples and soothed him in a soft voice. "He doesn't know what's good for him. Eldest master, perhaps you should take the time to plan this carefully. If it has the opposite effect, I fear it could harm the young miss's official career."

Yuan-shi pondered for a moment, then could only let the matter rest for now.

Shen Qing returned to the Pure Elegance Courtyard, washed up, and went to bed.

A violent rainstorm suddenly broke out outside, rain pattering as it poured down in torrents.

A bolt of lightning tore through the night, illuminating Shen Qing's face.

Shen Qing's eyes were exceptionally cold, his face fully displaying a murderous chill.

Rumble! Another peal of thunder reached his ears.

Shen Qing clutched the bedding tightly in both hands, his eyes wide and his expression twisted and sickly. He was most afraid of thunder!!

Curling up, Shen Qing murmured, "Why must you push me so hard? I wanted to let you live a few more days..."

"I'd already begun to soften..."

"Father is still so handsome. He hasn't changed in more than ten years. When I was little, what I wanted most was for Father to stay with me during thunderstorms..."

"Actually, I could peel off Father's skin and make it into a lantern. With that lantern shining, I wouldn't be afraid anymore, would I?"

Bai Mo slept soundly through the night and woke early the next morning feeling refreshed. After washing up, she spent a long time choosing clothes and jewelry, dressing herself up quite prettily.

Then she suddenly found it funny. Why was she acting like a young girl experiencing her first stirrings of love...?

"Lixia, go bring me my white steed. I'm going to the Hundred Gatherings Studio to read. None of you need to come with me today."

Bai Mo ate breakfast with a beaming smile, then set off.

As soon as Bai Mo entered the Hundred Gatherings Studio, Shopkeeper Pan was already waiting by the door. Seeing her, she hurried over to greet her. "Eldest Miss Bai, you're here? This way to the third floor, please."

"Oh, Shopkeeper Pan, who is this? Why can she go to the third floor?"

A woman in brown beside her looked at Bai Mo and found her even more beautiful than a man, quite lovely indeed, so she spoke up to ask.

"Greetings, Third Miss Li. This is Eldest Miss Bai of the Residence of the Earl Who Protects the State. She is an honored guest of my bookshop.

"If our hospitality has been lacking, I hope you'll forgive us, Third Miss Li. I'll have a book attendant take you to a private room on the second floor, and I'll come brew tea for you myself shortly."

Seeing how courteous Shopkeeper Pan was, Li Xianghong did not press the matter. She was merely curious how this beautiful good-for-nothing had become an honored guest of the Hundred Gatherings Studio. She did not pay it much mind, and later only mentioned it as a joke.

Bai Mo did not join the conversation. She was a diligent, studious pupil now; how could she have the leisure to exchange pleasantries with others?

She gave a casual nod and followed Shopkeeper Pan upstairs to the third floor.

Bai Mo naturally did not know that her poison had made Madam Chen utterly miserable, leaving her unconscious all day long.