Chapter 101 | My Fashion Gacha System Made Me a Cultivation Genius

Minister Su glanced at him and opened his mouth as if to say something, but after weighing his options, he apparently decided there was no need to stop him.

He said nothing more. He simply stepped aside and walked toward his own carriage. He climbed inside with agile movements, and the carriage curtain fell, cutting off his line of sight.

“Su Jinyu” lowered her head and stepped onto the carriage footboard. Before climbing into the carriage, she glanced back at Shen Sui, who was standing beside it.

Instead of entering the carriage, he leaped up to sit beside the driver, taking the reins into his hands.

Once the curtain fell, the carriage rolled smoothly out of the palace gates, traveling along the night-shrouded streets toward the Minister's manor.

The sound of the wheels rolling over the stone pavement was steady and rhythmic. Occasionally, a breeze would blow by, lifting a corner of the curtain before letting it fall again, letting in a glimpse of the shifting night and the sporadic light of distant window lanterns.

“Su Jinyu” sat inside the carriage. Separated by the curtain, she asked, “Cousin, why did you return so quickly?”

Shen Sui's voice came from outside the curtain, sounding a bit more distant than usual through the fabric, as if he hadn't turned his head to speak. “I wanted to come back and spend the festival with you all.”

After he finished speaking, he paused, then fell silent.

The carriage continued to roll smoothly forward. After a moment, his voice rang out again, slightly lower than before, as if he were deliberately steering the conversation in another direction. “About your grandmother... I will look into it for you.”

“Su Jinyu” leaned against the carriage wall, her gaze falling on the tassels at the edge of the curtain that swayed gently with the bumps of the road. After a brief silence, she spoke. “There is no need. I have already avenged Grandmother.”

Silence fell outside the curtain. Then, she heard Shen Sui let out a very soft chuckle. The laugh was brief.

She lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out. The moonlight fell on his profile, clearly illuminating the curve of his lips. He did not turn to look at her, but after a moment, as if sensing her gaze, his voice softened further, almost blending into the gaps of the wheels rolling over the stone pavement. “That is good, then.”

The carriage rounded a street corner. The lanterns at the entrance of the Minister's manor finally appeared at the end of the street, their warm yellow light shining in the night.

Shen Sui pulled on the reins, and the carriage came to a steady halt in front of the manor gates.

He did not get down, but merely leaned over to lift the curtain. Su Jinyu bent down to exit the carriage. As she stepped onto the footboard to alight, he reached out a hand to lightly support her elbow through her sleeve. Afraid of hurting her arm, which had not yet fully healed, he quickly withdrew his hand.

He watched her cross the threshold and enter the manor, waiting until her silhouette vanished around the corner of the corridor inside before turning the horse around. With a gentle shake of the reins, the carriage set off toward Marquis Weiyuan's Manor.

When Shen Sui returned to Marquis Weiyuan's Manor, the lights in the main hall were still on.

Shen Zhiyuan and his maternal aunt had not yet retired for the night. One was sitting in the seat of honor drinking tea, while the other was doing needlework under the lamp, seemingly waiting specifically for him to return.

When Shen Sui walked in, Shen Zhiyuan glanced up at him, set his teacup on the table, and said with a hint of teasing in his voice, “It would have been enough just to see her safely home. You actually drove the carriage for half the street, stealing the driver's job.”

His maternal aunt chuckled beside him. Without looking up, her needle and thread continued to pass back and forth through the fabric.

Shen Sui stopped by the door, unbuckled the short blade at his waist, and placed it on the low table in the entryway. His expression remained unchanged, as if he were accustomed to this teasing tone. “Her arm hasn't fully healed yet. I wouldn't feel at ease with her riding in someone else's carriage.”

Shen Zhiyuan snorted and did not pursue the topic. After a moment, however, he spoke again, his tone slightly more serious than before. “Your people were the ones who found that ledger from the Minister's manor. Why didn't you tell her? Let her know you're secretly investigating things for her, so she has some idea of what's going on.”

Standing in the middle of the main hall, Shen Sui lowered his head and rewound the strap of his short blade to tidy it up. When he spoke, his tone was much the same as usual, though his pace was slightly slower. “There's no need. Her avenging herself is different from someone else doing it for her. It's enough that she knows about the ledger and how to use it. Who found it doesn't matter.”

Having said that, he hung the short blade back at his waist and bowed slightly to Shen Zhiyuan and his maternal aunt. “I will return to my courtyard first. I have to go to the camp early tomorrow morning.”

He turned and walked out of the main hall. At the door, he paused again and turned his face halfway back, as if suddenly remembering something, adding in a flat tone, “I left two men to watch over her, and I've also stationed hidden sentries outside the manor. Uncle, if you hear of anything amiss on her end, just have someone send word to me.”

After speaking, he stepped over the threshold and walked toward the side courtyard, his figure quickly partially swallowed by the shadows under the corridor.

Shen Zhiyuan sat in the main hall and took another sip from his teacup. His maternal aunt set down her needlework, shook her head, and smiled.

Life remained peaceful for a period of time.

Every day, Shen Sui would have someone deliver small items to the Minister's manor—sometimes a package of freshly made osmanthus cakes from a shop outside the city, sometimes a branch of perfectly blooming red plum blossoms, sometimes a volume of leisure reading sourced from who-knows-where, and sometimes a smooth, rounded pebble that looked as though he had simply picked it up along the way. The items were not expensive, but it was the thought that counted.

Every time “Su Jinyu” received them, she would have her maid put them away carefully. Every few days, she would have the delivery messenger bring back a brief reply containing a line or two.

This peaceful routine continued until one day, an imperial decree was issued from the palace, shattering all tranquility.

The Emperor appointed Zhaoyi Su as Noble Consort, with the investiture ceremony scheduled in half a month.

When the news reached the Minister's manor, “Su Jinyu” was in the courtyard pruning a pot of orchids. The shears in her hand froze mid-air.

She set down the shears and stood by the window for a moment.

The position of Noble Consort was second only to the Empress. Su Qing'er had been in the palace for barely half a year. To rise from Jieyu to Zhaoyi and then to Noble Consort was an unnaturally rapid ascent. She knew very well that the Emperor's harem was never short of young, beautiful women. Appearance alone could not possibly induce a seasoned monarch to grant successive, rule-breaking promotions.

That evening, Minister Su uncharacteristically wore a smile at the dinner table. Breaking his usual routine, he drank a couple of extra cups of wine. His words carried a hint of smug pride as he declared that having a Noble Consort emerge from the Su family was a blessing from their ancestors and a great honor for the entire household.

“Su Jinyu” sat opposite him, quietly picking up food with her chopsticks without responding.

In her mind, she re-examined all of Su Qing'er's potential trump cards. The only resources Su Qing'er could command were the forces of the Minister's manor, but now that she was in the palace, she could only rely on herself.