156: Chapter 86 Resentment_3 156: Chapter 86 Resentment_3 Such thoughts made Shen Ruyun feel scornful as she found Jiang Yue’s presence increasingly irritating.
If she walked away now, wouldn’t she be fulfilling Jiang Yue’s wish?
Allowing Jiang Yue to benefit for nothing was something Shen Ruyun did not want to see.
After much deliberation, Shen Ruyun couldn’t come up with a good solution and couldn’t help but feel indignant.
After all, why was it not she who was tangled up with Zhou Yanbang?
If it were she who now lay in the same bed as Zhou Yanbang, things would be so much simpler.
As the sister of the Assistant Head Writer, wouldn’t it be appropriate for Zhou Yanbang to marry her?
They would be a perfect match in terms of social standing.
And with the deed of marriage done, even if Jiang Youyao was reluctant, she would inevitably have to sever her relationship with Zhou Yanbang.
The Jiang Family would not allow Jiang Youyao to become just a concubine.
What began as a passing thought suddenly struck Shen Ruyun with a start.
Yes, if her involvement with Zhou Yanbang meant no chance for Jiang Youyao, then why not proceed?
After all, Zhou Yanbang was currently drugged and unconscious, so even if there was another person “entangled” with him, he wouldn’t know.
But Shen Ruyun was also aware that her status was no longer what it used to be, and she had a brother who was the Assistant Head Writer.
If she did something too disgraceful, it would bring shame upon Shen Yurong, potentially affecting his career.
As a woman, she had to consider her own reputation, unlike Jiang Yue who could just disheveledly sleep next to Zhou Yanbang.
In this affair, Shen Ruyun expended all of her lifetime’s cunning and intelligence to concoct a story of being “taken advantage of.” In doing so, she became a pitiful victim in everyone’s eyes, but also gained a physical connection with Shen Yurong, which could be used to hold him responsible for her.
The plan was going exceedingly well, so much so that even Princess Yongning helped her by speaking on her behalf.
From the tone of the Marquis of Ningyuan, it seemed inevitable that he would give her an explanation.
Shen Ruyun fell asleep dreaming blissfully of marrying Zhou Yanbang and becoming the wife of the Princely Heir.
But, unexpectedly, her own brother, Shen Yurong, did not stand by her side; on the contrary, he reprimanded her for her actions.
Feeling unnerved under Shen Yurong’s intense gaze, Shen Ruyun quickly changed the subject, “Brother!
What’s the point of saying this now?
The Marquis of Ningyuan has promised to give us an explanation.
Now that I have such a relationship with Prince Zhou, no one else would dare marry me.
Aside from marrying him, I have no other option!”
“No other option?” Shen Yurong snorted, “When you did this, why didn’t you think that you would have no other options now!”
Shen Ruyun’s heart jolted.
Shen Yurong had guessed the truth.
After all, with Shen Yurong’s astuteness, he wouldn’t have missed the oddity of it all.
“I know you like him, but he is the Jiang Family’s son-in-law!” Shen Yurong said, “The Jiang Family will only have to break off the engagement.
By causing enmity between the Jiang Family and the Zhou Family, do you think Marquis Ningyuan’s Mansion won’t hate you?
The Jiang Family will also hold it against you!”
Shen Ruyun hated any mention of the Jiang Family; although she was now the sister of the Assistant Head Writer, she still couldn’t compare to the splendor of the Chief Minister’s Daughter.
Unable to restrain herself, she retorted with sarcasm, “Jiang Family, Jiang Family, that’s all you ever care about!
In the end, you’re still concerned about your own career.
The princess is now with our Shen family, so why should you fear the Jiang Family?
You—”
With a “slap,” Shen Ruyun’s words abruptly stopped.
As Shen Yurong’s hand struck her face.
Shen Ruyun staggered from the blow, nearly toppling over.
She saw Shen Yurong’s eyes burning red, his hand trembling, as he looked at her with a fierce gaze, saying, “Mind your words.”
Shen Ruyun was so frightened that she forgot how to cry.
She knew her brother was intelligent; he excelled in his studies from a young age, with schoolmasters predicting that the Shen family would inevitably produce a Top Scholar.
Indeed, Shen Yurong did become the Top Scholar.
Shen Yurong was kind to Mother Shen and Shen Ruyun, but when Shen Ruyun truly angered him, his temper was something even she would dread.
But from some time, perhaps since Xue Fangfei’s death, Shen Ruyun felt that her brother had become increasingly somber and alien, like now, terrifying her, uncertain of what Shen Yurong could possibly do.
Mother Shen, hearing the commotion from outside, hastily entered the room to find Shen Ruyun covering her face with tears in her eyes.
She quickly moved to pull Shen Ruyun’s hands away and, seeing the mark on her face, she exclaimed angrily, “Yurong, how could you raise your hand against your sister!”
Seeing Mother Shen enter, Shen Yurong helplessly pressed his forehead and said, “Mother, you must not intervene in this matter.”