Volume 1, Chapter 4: General Yan, Please Conduct Yourself with Dignity!

"Really... really?"

Press it, and he would agree to anything? Did Yan Nanfei have some sort of peculiar obsession with foxes? Shen Xingdu couldn't help but let her imagination run wild, veering further and further off course.

Then she heard Yan Nanfei continue: "But you must wait two days. Your father and I have little interaction at court; showing up abruptly would only invite suspicion. In two days, I shall have a proper reason to visit the Grand Tutor's mansion."

Yan Nanfei’s logic was sound, but Shen Xingdu was no naive maiden easily fooled. Given his current rank and status, if he were to grace the Grand Tutor's mansion with his presence, her parents should be rolling out the red carpet to welcome him. He didn't need any formal excuse just to check on her body or retrieve the seal. Shen Xingdu didn't believe for a second that he truly intended to take her along, nor that he needed to wait two days.

"It is time to sleep. Fufu has been wandering and hiding for days; you must be exhausted. You should rest as well."

Before she could process this, Shen Xingdu was swept up into Yan Nanfei’s arms. Realizing he intended to carry her to the bedroom, she struggled and shouted, "What are you doing? If you want to sleep, just sleep! Why are you holding me? I’m not going!"

Yan Nanfei didn't stop for a second. He carried her straight to the general’s daybed and tucked her into the quilts, then began to change into his night robes without a care.

"Holding you is naturally for the sake of sleeping. I haven't closed my eyes for two days searching for you."

"The one you were looking for was Fufu! I am not your fox!"

Shen Xingdu had just struggled a fox head out of the thick quilt when she saw the scene before her. Her heart trembled, heat surged through her, and she froze in place. The man had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, wheat-colored skin, and powerful, well-defined muscles. His broad back was crisscrossed with scars as he lowered his head to tie the cords of his robe.

*Are his hands that clumsy?* she thought. *He’s been fumbling with those two cords for ages.* If her fox paws weren't lacking dexterity, she would have reached out to help him tie them herself!

Shen Xingdu had never witnessed such a sight. When she realized she had been staring for quite some time, her eyes darted around in a panic. With a "whoosh," she retracted her head back into the quilt.

She called out to Yan Nanfei, muffled by the blankets, "General Yan, please conduct yourself with dignity! Even though I am currently in the body of a fox, I am still an unmarried young lady. It is highly improper to sleep with a strange man! What kind of decorum is this? How am I to hold my head high in the future?"

Yan Nanfei ignored her entirely, lifted the quilt, and slipped inside. The man’s scent washed over her, his hot chest pressing against her. She tried to scramble away with her three good legs, but was easily pulled back into his scorching embrace by his long arm.

She looked up at the unreasonable, detestable man with a mixture of embarrassment and resentment. Yan Nanfei, however, seemed bone-tired. He muttered against her ear:

"Why do you think I searched for Fufu without rest? Without him, I truly cannot sleep. Now, you will have to stand in for him. Once you return to your own body, if you don't say anything, and I don't say anything, no one will ever know. Stop fussing; I am too tired."

It was too close! Yan Nanfei’s rhythmic breathing was right before her eyes! He had just fallen asleep like that! How could Shen Xingdu possibly sleep? She was determined to return to the Grand Tutor's mansion to see for herself, so she kept her eyes wide open, waiting for him to fall into a deep slumber. If he wouldn't take her, she would sneak there herself!

After staring for a long time, Shen Xingdu noticed that his eyelashes were actually quite long and dense. His thick brows were like mountain peaks, and the bridge of his nose created a firm, handsome angle with his cheeks. He was nothing like Lu Shao.

Lu Shao’s skin was as fair as jade, his features delicate and picturesque; he always carried a faint smile, and even the lines of his face were soft. But this man’s skin was tanned to a wheat color by the sun, glowing with health. His features were deep and handsome, and his entire body felt hard and unyielding. Whenever he opened his eyes to look at her, she always felt a sharp edge in his gaze. Perhaps that was the unique temperament of someone who had been on the battlefield and seen life and death?

Right now, his eyes were closed...

Without realizing it, Shen Xingdu reached out a paw and, as if possessed, brushed it against the man’s face. When she realized what she was doing, she retracted it as if burned. She huddled in his arms until he turned over in his sleep, then immediately dragged her injured leg and wiggled out of his hold.

She hopped and skipped along the wall, hiding until she reached a water-delivery cart from the General’s mansion, which carried her to the south of the city. Then, limping and hiding, she finally made it to the Grand Tutor’s mansion by the time the sun was high in the sky.

As soon as she entered, she encountered two maidservants whispering while doing laundry.

"Miss Xingdu is so pitiful. To stay out all night and then faint in the woods—the whole capital knows now! How will she ever live after she wakes up? Is Young Master Lu in the front hall? He is truly a man of deep affection; has he come to visit Miss Xingdu?"

"You foolish girl! Don't let the masters hear such talk! Don't you know? Young Master Lu has already agreed with the Master to marry the Second Miss!"

"Oh? Then how will Miss Xingdu live? Everyone knows about Young Master Lu and Miss Xingdu..."

"Hush..."

The small maid’s mouth was covered by an older one. In grand mansions, nothing was more taboo than servants gossiping about their masters behind their backs; if caught, they would surely be sold off.

Shen Xingdu hid behind a rockery, hearing every word. No wonder Yan Nanfei had tried to stop her from returning; her reputation was truly ruined.

The carriage that brought her back must have been deliberately conspicuous, and then, with a little push from those with malicious intent, the rumors had spread like wildfire. Within half a day, the news of the Grand Tutor’s eldest daughter losing her virtue would travel across the entire capital.

She had originally intended to check on her body and retrieve her seal, but since Lu Shao was there, she changed her mind. He had already agreed to marry Yue’e; he should be at home diligently studying for the provincial examinations next year. Why was he at the Grand Tutor's mansion at this hour?

Thinking of the change in her father’s attitude toward her, a heavy stone seemed to weigh down Shen Xingdu’s heart, bitter as medicine. A grim suspicion formed, though she still hoped it wasn't true. She couldn't understand why her father, who had always loved her most, would consent to a marriage between Lu Shao and Yue’e—and keep it hidden from her.

Her father had supported her and Lu Shao, and both families had been happy to see it happen. Every time the families met during festivals, the wife of the Minister of Rites would always hold Shen Xingdu’s hand and praise her beauty and fortune to everyone at the table, just as one would boast about a future daughter-in-law.

With a heart full of trepidation, she crept to her father’s window and peered inside. Lu Shao was indeed in the room.

"Uncle Shen, I have always looked upon Xingdu as a younger sister since we were children. Regarding her situation, I truly cannot bear it. I came today to make a proposal; I hope you will not take offense."

*A younger sister!* Shen Xingdu sneered in her heart from the window.

She, this "younger sister," had sent him letters filled with longing every year. She had scoured the world to find him unique gifts. There was the tacit approval of both their parents on countless occasions. The entire capital knew that Shen Xingdu was to marry Lu Shao. All of this had been easily erased by a single phrase: "looked upon as a younger sister." All those years of being inseparable, of pining for him day and night—it was all just a joke.

"Oh? You and Xingdu have had a bond since childhood; it is kind of you. Tell me your thoughts."

"Uncle, the whole city is gossiping about Xingdu, and she is currently unconscious. Thinking of her future, I truly feel for this younger sister of mine. I have a mind to take her in as a concubine when I marry Yue’e, so that I may care for her. What does Uncle think?"

*Take her in as a concubine!* What a devoted young man!

Shen Xingdu was so furious that she didn't even realize her body was trembling. Chen Jingbei had been right—Lu Shao really was planning to marry both sisters of the Shen family and enjoy the best of both worlds! For so many years, Shen Xingdu had viewed Lu Shao through the filter of a young girl looking at her lover, thinking him noble and ambitious. She never imagined he could be this shameless, actually daring to ask her father for such a thing!

Her father had always doted on her; how could he possibly agree to such a humiliating request? Shen Xingdu waited for her father to fly into a rage, perhaps even chase Lu Shao out of the mansion or march to the Lu residence to demand justice for her!

A second later, Shen Xingdu heard the most heart-wrenching words of her life come from the mouth of Grand Tutor Shen:

"That is indeed a perfect solution, and it is kind of you. With you and Yue’e to care for her, I shall be much at ease."