Chapter 2 – Why (1/2)

Looking at the youngster’s shadow disappear into the side yard, Madam Xu’s face hardened. She wanted to take a drink of tea to soothe her dry throat but realized that her tea was already cold. She wanted to throw the cup to express her emotions, but she, though not caring about the cost of the porcelain cups, still did not want to let the servants hear any sounds than can be used to figure out her mood.

She was not in a good mood. She could understand the message the youngster was expressing – Sorry, this might make you happy but it makes me unhappy.

In fact, that youngster had acted politely since the very beginning without showing any impolite behaviors. He had simply used two sentences with two completely different meanings and immediately turned to leave. The two sentences were all that were needed to make Madam Xu unhappy, this might also be a talent.

That nanny’s face was also gloomy. She walked over to Madam Xu’s side, lowered her voice, and said, “Should we let him go that easily?”

“I originally thought he was an arrogant youngster. Now I know he is actually a cunning and insidious villain. If he really wanted to create a good relationship with the Divine General’s Estate and remained so cautious that he wouldn’t even take a drink of tea, how would he dare to bring the marriage contract with him and come to the mansion? The most annoying thing is…from the beginning to the end, was there anyone that actually saw the marriage contract?”

Madam Xu understood what the nanny meant and said, with a cloudy face, “However, if he is smart, then he should know that in order to obtain more benefits, one should not do such extreme things from the beginning.”

…….

Chen Chang Sheng didn’t understand the events that occurred today. He arrived at the Divine General’s Estate intending to forfeit the marriage but how did events turn out like this? What confused him the most was that the Divine General’s Estate had many methods to solve the problem, but why did the seemingly smart Madam Xu choose the worst method?

Since he didn’t understand many things, he stopped trying to think about them. After hearing the arrogant words of Madam Xu, Chen Chang Sheng grew curious about the daughter of the Divine General. What did she looked like? Is she beautiful? Of course, if she grew up in a place like this, her personality shouldn’t be too soft or kind.

The Divine General’s Estate was huge. It was even bigger than the entirety of Xi Ning Village. Since there were no servants leading the way, he obviously became lost on the estate. By the time he noticed, he was already located in a wild forest. Thinking back to stories in which some poor son-in-law got murdered by his despicable mother-in-law, he felt a bit uneasy, but he was distracted by his own thoughts.

Suddenly, he felt someone staring at him. He turned his head and looked toward the direction from which he felt the stare originate and saw a girl standing under a stone doorway at the end of the road. Chen Chang Sheng realized that he wasn’t lost, but rather, was led here on purpose.

The girl was around thirteen years old. She was dressed luxuriously. The accessories she wore were worth more than all his belongings put together. She was pretty and if she grew a little older, she would be a fair lady. Her cute dark pupils were focused on him. They were bold and observedhim from head to toe.

Chen Chang Shang was surprised, is she the daughter of the Divine General?

Since he read the entire Classical Scripture when he was young, he was very patient. Chen Chang Sheng let the girl observe him closely and didn’t say anything.

Finally, the young girl broke the ice.

“Are Taoists allowed to marry?”

Chen Chang Sheng noticed that her eyes were on his Taoist hair style. He explained, “I’m actually not a Taoist. Although I’m wearing a Taoist robe and have a Taoist hair style, this is just my habit. It doesn’t mean that I’m a Taoist.”

The young girl walked in front of him and looked at him sincerely. “Are you an ordinary person?”

Chen Chang Shang was confused for a moment, then he realized what she meant by “an ordinary person”. He answered, “Yes, I have yet to cultivate.”

The young girl didn’t notice that he said he has yet to cultivate and not that he can’t cultivate. She stared into his eyes and asked, very seriously, “Are you vowed to marry My Lady?”

After hearing this, Chen Chang Sheng knew that the young girl wasn’t the daughter of General Xu. He felt a little disappointed, but at the same time, relieved.

“You are?”

“My name is Shuang Er. I’m the personal maid of My Lady.”

Chen Chang Sheng would have never thought that a maid can wear such a luxurious attire. After seeing that there wasn’t anyone else around, he had a clearer idea of the status of the young Lady and the maid in the Divine General’s Estate.

“I was vowed to marry your Lady.”

The maid named Shuang Er looked at him and said, “Do not speak of this, ever.”

“Why?” Chen Chang Sheng asked.

Still, this one word remained in Chen Chang Sheng’s mind.

Shuang Er looked at the young Taoist’s upright countenance and felt pity for him, “If you want to live, then do not talk about this marriage to anyone else, or no one will be able to save your life.”

She really felt that she was doing him a favor – although her Lady won’t be marrying him, they were vowed to do so. Her Lady had asked her to keep the youngster alive, but what she didn’t realize was that her words sounded like threats to Chen Chang Sheng’s ears.

Chen Chang Sheng fell silent. He thought to himself, ‘Would the Divine General’s Estate actually become an enemy and assassinate him?’ There were similar stories in the books and drama plays he had watched, but under the rule of the Divine Empress, who dared to do such things in the Capital?

He said, “If the Divine General’s Estate wanted me dead, then Madam Xu wouldn’t have let me leave in the first place. If I observed correctly, that old nanny is a strong character. Since there weren’t many servants that saw me, they should’ve killed me outright and buried me in the garden as fertilizer. No one would have noticed, right? Therefore, I shouldn’t be in any danger.”