Chapter Four: One Knee Beneath Mountains of Gold and Silver

That night, Xiao Huaijin stayed by Shen Yi's bedside.

Watching Xiao Huaijin asleep by her bed, Shen Yi was momentarily lost in thought.

In her past life, she had seen many handsome men, but none compared to Xiao Huaijin.

Not just in looks, but in an indescribable aura.

Such an aura could not be imitated.

After some time, Shen Yi finally fell into a deep sleep.

At dawn, Shen Yi was awakened by Liu’er.

Upon opening her eyes, she didn’t see Xiao Huaijin and felt a tinge of disappointment.

But she quickly adjusted her mood; after all, Xiao Huaijin was Jiang Nansheng’s man, so it was best to keep a distance.

Especially since Jiang Nansheng, the female lead, had a bit of a volatile streak.

With Liu’er’s help, Shen Yi washed up.

Just as she was about to eat, she suddenly remembered something.

“Liu’er, Brother Jin has already taken the Princess back to her family, right?”

Although Jiang Nansheng was born in the countryside, her parents were no ordinary folk—they were the daughter and son-in-law of the Marquis of Weiyuan.

However, in earlier years, her parents were often on the battlefield, leaving her in the care of her grandmother.

But Jiang Nansheng’s grandmother disliked her and basically let her roam freely in the countryside.

This led to Jiang Nansheng’s personality being no different from that of a rustic girl.

However, after a medical doctor from another time and place took over Jiang Nansheng’s body, she became not only skilled in medicine but also witty and humorous.

Men of the feudal society had never encountered such a woman.

It was this that captivated Xiao Huaijin.

When the young lady asked, Liu’er replied, “Not yet. The prince is preparing gifts for the Jiang family. But don’t worry, Miss, I’ve already taken care of what you asked me to do. When the time comes, Jiang Nansheng will have a big surprise!”

Liu’er spoke with a hint of pride.

A big surprise?

Shen Yi looked puzzled, then suddenly snapped awake.

She remembered a vital plot point from the original story.

When Jiang Nansheng returned to her family, the original Jiang Nansheng had instructed Liu’er to slip a dead rat into the gift she brought back.

Shen Yi recalled it was hidden inside one of the food boxes, probably the one containing osmanthus cakes.

Jiang Nansheng’s grandmother, Lady Jiang, loved osmanthus cakes dearly.

If a food box with a dead rat inside was presented to Lady Jiang…

When she opened it, she would be terrified and surely think it was Shen Yi’s revenge for being abandoned in the countryside for so many years.

Their relationship would deteriorate further.

If it were just that, Shen Yi wouldn’t be so worried.

After all, the two were already at odds; if things worsened, so be it.

But the worst part was that after Jiang Nansheng returned to the manor, she began investigating.

She soon discovered Liu’er’s involvement and deduced it was Shen Yi’s doing.

Just then, the Marquis and Marchioness of Weiyuan came to confront them.

To quell their anger, Xiao Huaijin locked Shen Yi in the woodshed, forbidding her food and drink for three days.

Even so, Xiao Huaijin hadn’t given up on Shen Yi.

But Liu’er suffered terribly—she was beaten with twenty military rods.

Even the men in the barracks feared such punishment, let alone a fragile young woman like Liu’er.

She nearly lost her life because of it.

This incident planted a seed of vengeance deep within Shen Yi’s heart.

She glanced at Liu’er—truly her loyal accomplice.

Then she rose and hurried outside.

Liu’er called after her, but Shen Yi seemed not to hear and rushed on, Liu’er lifting her skirts to follow.

When they arrived at Jiang Nansheng’s courtyard, it was noticeably smaller than Shen Yi’s, showing just how domineering the original Jiang Nansheng had been.

Of course, this was also due to Xiao Huaijin’s doting affection.

Seeing Shen Yi arrive, Xiao Huaijin showed a trace of surprise.

“Yi’er, why are you here?”

Shen Yi smiled and replied, “I heard Brother Jin was bringing the princess back to her family, so I came to see you off.”

As she spoke, her eyes searched among the gifts Xiao Huaijin had prepared for the Jiang family.

The gifts filled nearly the entire room.

Soon, she spotted the food boxes.

Among the eight boxes, she couldn’t tell which held the osmanthus cakes—and the dead rat.

Xiao Huaijin looked at Shen Yi with a half-smile.

[Shen Yi, you want to see if I’d really bring the carefully prepared gifts you arranged back to the Jiang family, huh? Don’t worry, I will. After all, the dead rat you hid in the food box might just be something my grandmother will love!]

Hearing Jiang Nansheng’s thoughts again, Xiao Huaijin was surprised but quickly masked his expression.

Did Yi’er really hide a dead rat in the food box?

But if Nansheng knew, why would she still bring it to the Jiang family?

She didn’t have a good relationship with her grandmother, but was such a method too low?

Xiao Huaijin hesitated; he found himself increasingly unable to understand the Jiang Nansheng before him.

It seemed he had never truly known the woman he had married.

Shen Yi heard this as well.

She had thought Jiang Nansheng was unaware, but it turned out she not only knew but was doing it intentionally.

In other words, Jiang Nansheng was not only a transmigrator but also a reincarnator.

No wonder she was the female lead—stacking two layers of advantages!

She wondered if Jiang Nansheng knew how to make penicillin; if so, it explained a lot.

Her character was a medical doctor, so making penicillin should be easy for her.

But Jiang Nansheng also disliked her grandmother and seemed to want to exploit this incident.

This heroine didn’t look like a good person at all.

In fact, she appeared rather scheming.

Shen Yi’s clever mind began to race.

Even if not for herself, for her loyal Liu’er, she had to find a way to resolve this.

Soon, Shen Yi had a plan.

To everyone’s surprise, she knelt before Xiao Huaijin.

Though it’s said that a man’s knees are worth gold, a woman’s knees hold mountains of gold.

There was no choice—she had to kneel for Liu’er.

Seeing her mistress kneel, Liu’er followed suit.

Though she didn’t know why, her intelligence told her that if Miss knelt, she should too.

As the saying goes, share both fortune and hardship.

Xiao Huaijin looked at Shen Yi, reaching out but then withdrawing his hand.

He didn’t understand what Shen Yi intended.

Eventually, emotion overcame reason, and he moved to her side to help her up.

Shen Yi shook her head and said, “Brother Jin, I know I’ve committed a grave mistake. Please punish me.”

Jiang Nansheng was somewhat confused, unsure of what trick Shen Yi was playing.

Could it be she didn’t want Xiao Huaijin to return to the Jiang family with her?

[Shen Yi, you overestimate yourself! Thinking you can use the prince’s affection to stop him from going back with me, but the truth is, he only ever sees you as a sister. The one he truly loves is me!]

Xiao Huaijin looked at Shen Yi with complex feelings.

Would this adopted sister grow arrogant from favor?

Please, don’t disappoint me!