Chapter Fifteen: Confrontation

  Only saw Zhen Shining wearing a coarse white linen shirt with a simple bun, her black hair simply tied up with a wooden pin, on the stone table in front of her was a chessboard, she was holding a black piece with her eyebrows furrowed in thought, warm and gentle, as if a quiet landscape had suddenly appeared, Shen Zhongbo was enchanted.

  After getting the blood, Zhen Shiniang often slept less, fearing that sleeping too much during the day would make her walk at night. She usually came to the lotus pond when Wen Ge and Wu Ge were taking a nap, holding white in one hand and black in the other, entertaining herself by playing a game of chess underground, which was also the happiest moment of her day.

  In ancient times, entertainment was scarce, especially for someone as impoverished as her. She couldn't even afford to buy a good book, let alone go out and socialize for pleasure. Fortunately, she had been a Go enthusiast in her past life. To be honest, she had even won third place in the national amateur Go tournament during her university days.

  It was a game record of Nie Weiping and Kato Masao in the third China-Japan Go tournament, probably the 17th round, her memory was a bit fuzzy, she was holding a chess piece thinking, feeling a gaze staring at herself, subconsciously raised her head, and suddenly felt a shock:

  How did he come?

  Wasn't he scared away by her that day?

  What's going on again?

  Although unclear of his intentions, facing Shen Zhong's reappearance, Zhen Shiniang wouldn't foolishly assume that he had a change of heart after achieving success and fame, wanting to treat her, his wife who had been wronged, kindly. It was just a fleeting thought, but she quickly came to her senses:

  He's here to take a break from her!

  He is now a great general in his prime, and the number of people eyeing him is increasing. More importantly, he needs a strong-willed wife with a good background to accompany him to high-society banquets, enter the imperial palace, and become another helper for him to consolidate his power.

  In official circles, sometimes the social interactions between the wives of high-ranking officials are more important than those of their husbands.

  Until now, Zhen Shiniang didn't know that she was given in marriage by the previous emperor and he couldn't divorce her, they could only be separated, but she also took half of the initiative. As soon as this thought emerged, Zhen Shiniang's heart skipped a beat, "No matter how worried I am, this day has finally come!"

  Although this freedom is also what she yearned for, thinking that from now on she can open her heart to accept a true love that can last a lifetime, she is happy. However, in ancient times, women had no private property, unlike modern times, where after a divorce the woman could get half of the assets.

  In ancient times, once she was divorced, she would be immediately expelled from her ancestral home.

  No place to live, the tens of thousands of taels of silver they had worked hard to save were all spent on medicine, and now they didn't have a single penny left. How could this widow and orphan survive?

  As she thought of these things, a hint of melancholy flashed across her eyes.

  It vanished in an instant.

  She sat motionless, then slowly put down the black stone in her hand and stood up with the support of the stone table, "The general has arrived." Her voice was light and her face calm.

  Although dressed in coarse clothing and adorned with a humble hairpin, her demeanor and bearing were those of a noble princess clad in fine silks.

  No, the princess is not as calm as she is!

  Shen Zhong's heart skipped a beat as he stood there staring at her, forgetting to speak.

  "General, is there something on your mind?" Seeing that he didn't speak, Zhen Shiniang went straight to the point and guessed his intention. She also didn't need to beat around the bush with him anymore.

  When it's going to rain, a girl is getting married, and she can't help it either.

  Rather than being entangled and begging, it's better for everyone to be frank and straightforward, cutting through the chaos with a sharp knife. Without a house or land, without money or support, although it's frightening, at least she still has a bit of dignity, and she still has Wen Ge and Wu Ge.

  Thinking of the hardships that lay ahead, Zhen Shiniang's heart was filled with gloom, but her face remained calm and serene as she gazed at Shen Zhongjie.

  She came back to her senses, and Shen Zhongge was facing her with a calm and unruffled face. A faint smile floated in the quiet depths of his eyes, light as a mist, covering up all his thoughts. His heart skipped a beat, "......Isn't this the woman I saw at the pharmacy that day?"

  She did it on purpose that day!

  The thought flashed through, Shen Zhongge suddenly had a fit of inexplicable anger, and he forgot that he came this time to talk about divorce with her calmly. He took a step forward, "...... Did you go to the pharmacy that day?!"

  Unexpectedly, he suddenly asked this, Zhen Shining was stunned for a moment, she struggled to maintain her straight body and stood still, using all her strength to resist the invisible pressure from his body, and replied faintly, "Yes."

  That day, Xī Què asked Lǐ Qí, the owner of Ruì Xiáng pharmacy, Shěn Zhōng Jiāo didn't know she was there to deliver medicine that day, and thought she was just a patient visiting the sick. Zhēn Shí Niáng also replied calmly.

  Seeing her deceiving herself and still being so calm, Shen Zhongjie's anger intensified, "......Why aren't you dressed up in your finery today?" His tone was laced with sarcasm as he took a big step forward, his eyes staring at Zhen Shiniang intensely.

  If you weren't coming suddenly, I would dress up beautifully to welcome you!

  In her heart, Zhen Shiniang didn't dare to speak the truth, "It's windy by this pond, I'm afraid of getting my clothes dirty." In her words, it seemed as if that large red satin jacket with embroidered flowers was a priceless treasure, and she wouldn't even wear it on formal occasions.

  Shen Zhong's face suddenly turned a deep purple, his fists clenched with a loud crackling sound, barely controlling himself from slapping out. For a long time, he let out a heavy sigh.

  A strong male aura suddenly enveloped her face, making it tingle and itch. Zhen Shi Niang could no longer maintain her composure, and she unconsciously took a step back, but unfortunately, her foot got caught on the stone bench behind her. Her body swayed, and she almost fell over. She let out a startled cry, and frantically grabbed onto the stone bench to try and get up, but it was too slippery. She struggled for half a day but couldn't get up, and her fingers slowly slid off the edge of the bench. Her body uncontrollably leaned towards the pond, about to fall in.

  It's done.

  It turns out I'm going to die like this in this life.

  With a sigh, Zhen Shiniang closed her eyes in despair. Although there was clearly someone in front of her who could save her, he hadn't come forward to help her after she had struggled for so long. Zhen Shiniang no longer held any high hopes for him; she even thought to herself:

  He just did it on purpose, intending to force her into the water.

  If she died.

  He doesn't even need to write a leave application.

  Even wearing a hat of wealth and nobility after divorce and remarriage, being pointed at by the world and scolded as a Chen Shimei who likes new things and dislikes old ones, following the trend and flattering!

  She should have thought of how vicious he was and guarded against him long ago.

  This stupid woman, how clumsy can she be, can't even hold onto a stool?

  Originally thought Zhen Shi Niang was playing tricks again, intentionally standing unsteadily, letting him reach out to support her, then taking the opportunity to rush over and hug him, using her crying, making a fuss, and threatening to hang herself to force him to take her back to the General's Mansion.

  She was reluctant to let go of a tiny official position, how could she possibly give up on him now that he's a renowned and enviable great general?

  Since he had decided to part with her, he couldn't get entangled with her again. So, he just stood still and coldly watched Zhen Shiniang struggle, watching her perform, until he saw her fingers slowly slipping off the stone step, her body slowly falling down, and when she was about to touch the water surface, he suddenly exclaimed, "Shiniang!" and rushed over.

  She is not playing tricks with him!

  Until he held her down to the ground, his heart was still pounding, "This damn woman, obviously about to fall into the water, why isn't she calling for help yet?" Still so calm and composed, as if going on a spring outing!

  Is it intended to frame him for plotting against his legitimate wife?

  Just as he watched her fall, he knew she wasn't pretending, but he still didn't want to take action. Was it subconscious that he yearned to hear her frantically call out his name?

  Calm down, Shen Zhongge only felt like he was holding a ball of cotton, light and airy in his arms, without any texture, and furrowed his brow unknowingly.

  This body is so light!

  She suddenly remembered the words of the doctor at Rui Xiang pharmacy that she was blood deficient, and her anger vanished into thin air.

  Her whole family was killed, they really parted ways, how can she live alone like this?

  He had never been a compassionate and merciful person, nor was he someone who would be moved by feminine charm. However, no matter how vicious she had been in the past, after all, she was his woman, they had truly shared intimacy, seeing her body in such a state, his original determination to divorce her wavered at this moment.

  He held himself and wouldn't let go, Zhen Shi Niang's face suddenly turned bright red, she hurriedly pushed him with all her might, saying "I thank General for saving my life."

  Seeing her struggling to get up, Shen Zhongjie hurriedly let go of his hand, and saw a sunset-like glow on her cheek. His heart jumped inexplicably, "You..."

  Do you really have a blood deficiency? As soon as he opened his mouth, he heard a child's noise coming from behind him, "I want to find my mother, I want to find my mother!"

  Brother Wen and Brother Wu woke up!

  Zhen Shiniang's face turned pale as she heard her son's cries for help.