Transmigrated into the body of the vicious first wife of a fallen prime minister

When Shang Jue rode up to the long street, Qi He had already been standing in the wind for quite a while.

Her nose was red from the cold, and her breath condensed into a cloud of white mist. She was wrapped in a thin, light blue cloak, and underneath she wore only a plain white jacket with her waist cinched tightly, making her look vulnerable to the cold.

Needless to say, she wore a silk skirt that clung to her legs in the wind, suggesting she wasn't even wearing a padded underpants.

The December weather was biting, with winds that seemed to cut like knives, but Miss Qi remained fearless, enduring the chill with her pampered body heat.

Shang Jue was prepared; he had draped a thick crane cloak over his horse.

Of course, Qi He absolutely refused to wear it; it was so thick, she would look like a clumsy bear, it was terribly ugly.

Shang Jue didn't force her. He simply lifted the curtain a crack when she got into the carriage to let the heat from the heater seep in, and then pushed the hand warmer next to him toward her.

"What would you like to eat?" Shang Jue asked.

Qi He adjusted her cloak: "Whatever."

Shang Jue paused for a moment: "There is no restaurant in the world called 'Whatever,' nor is there any dish called 'Whatever.'"

Qi He choked for a moment and turned her head to look out the car window.

The carriage moved slowly along the long street, the bamboo curtains on the carriage walls completely obscuring the inside. Passersby could only see a glossy blue horse and a shiny black carriage.

Qi He had been swimming for half a day, and her stomach was already empty.

In addition, she had been avoiding certain foods and hadn't had any spicy roasted meat soup for over half a month. She originally planned to find a newly opened roasted meat shop, but when she got there, she changed her mind and chose a quiet vegetarian restaurant instead.

Just now on the way here, I was thinking about the aroma of roasted meat, but now that I'm about to leave, I've changed my mind.

She couldn't explain why, but perhaps because she had been standing in the wind for too long and just wanted a bowl of hot soup.

After taking their seats, Shang Jue took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, which listed the seasonal dishes and plays in various parts of the city around the winter solstice. Each dish was accompanied by a brief description, so as to avoid making a mistake like the one with "Changbanpo" last time.

Shang Jue glanced at her, cut the roasted lotus root on the plate into small pieces, pushed it in front of her, and casually asked, "Want to go see a play?"

Qi He paused for a moment, thinking to herself that this was probably the last time she would go out with the male lead this year.

She remembered that after the New Year, Shang Jue would be setting off back to Yunjing.

In the original story, Shang Jue discovered that the original owner had embezzled money to pay off gambling debts after a careful investigation revealed a shortfall in the shop's accounts.

Shang Jue was an outsider in the Qi family. Apart from the few managers he personally trained in Juxianli, everyone else suspected that he had orchestrated the embezzlement of silver and went to Qi Zheng to demand that he be dismissed from his post.

This led to a whole host of messy affairs, which became common knowledge in Jinling City, and even the prefect came to inquire about it several times.

In short, Shang Jue was seriously misled in the book.

As Qi He chewed on her bamboo chopsticks, recalling these events, she thought to herself, "She didn't steal Shang Jue's money, so this shouldn't happen, right?"

Besides, why would she need to steal Shang Jue's money?

What's his is mine, isn't it?

Her gaze fell on the plate of roasted lotus root that Shang Jue pushed over. She secretly calculated that, given how attentive the male lead was today, if Juxian was truly in financial trouble, she would be willing to sell her ruby ​​necklace to lend him a hand.

During the winter solstice, the theaters were packed with people, and red paper lanterns hung on both sides of the long street. Couples of young men and women came and went.

Qi He attracted a lot of attention as soon as she entered the door. She was strikingly beautiful and had a noble air about her, making people unable to help but take a second look.

Shang Jue first went to exchange the game cards, and then asked her what she wanted to drink.

Qi He stood in front of the tea stall for a long time, hesitating, before finally ordering a bowl of iced plum juice.

Shang Jue ignored her and turned to the tea stall waiter, saying, "Bring me a pot of hot ginger and jujube tea."

Qi He was displeased: "Manager, you may have misunderstood. I ordered a glass of iced plum juice!"

Shang Jue remained unfazed: "I only asked you what you wanted, I didn't say I would definitely do as you say."

You bastard!

Then why are you asking such a question!

"Drinking iced drinks on such a cold day, do you think the clinic doesn't have enough beds?" Shang Jue added casually.

Qi He muttered under her breath, "You're eighteen, not eighty, how come you're even more long-winded than my older brother..."

She changed her mind; even if Shang Jue really had no money, she wouldn't help him anymore!

After throwing a tantrum for a while, she finally accepted the cup of hot ginger and jujube tea, took a sip, and felt the warmth travel from her throat to her stomach. She didn't say anything more.

She glanced again at the playbill in Shang Jue's hand, and asked with lingering fear, "What play did you buy? It can't be 'Yue Fei's Mother Tattooing His Back,' can it?"

Shang Jue's face looked perfectly capable of making someone listen to a play about loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness on the winter solstice.

Qi He became more vigilant.

Fortunately, Shang Jue chose a newly staged comedy, the most popular one in town recently, which was decent enough to barely satisfy Miss Qi.

Qi He was genuinely interested in the play, while Shang Jue was neither interested nor uninterested; he was just there to be a supporting character anyway.

His real job wasn't watching plays; his duties included serving tea to Qi He, carrying food boxes, lifting curtains, and settling accounts.

Midway through the play, Qi He became engrossed in watching it and suddenly turned her head slightly towards Shang Jue.

Shang Jue paused for a moment, noticing that her gaze was still fixed on the stage. It took him a while to realize that Qi He wanted to drink tea.

He handed over a teacup, reminding him, "Be careful, it's hot."

Qi He took a sip from his hand, and the stray hairs on her cheek brushed against his thumb, tickling him like something tiny was scratching his heart.

Her skin was fair.

Shang Jue's gaze paused for a moment.

He didn't pay much attention to what happened in the second half of the play until the end of the performance.

Qi He became quite interested and kept rambling on about how the ending would turn out.

Shang Jue listened patiently, but Qi He suddenly fell silent mid-sentence. She tugged at his sleeve and gestured for him to look ahead: "Isn't that the star?"

Not far away, a young man wearing a veiled hat and wrapped up tightly sat alone in a corner, fiddling with a folding fan in his hand.

The more Qi He looked at him, the more he resembled the famous actor in the new play in the city. Excited, she leaned close to Shang Jue's ear and whispered, "Look at him, doesn't he look like Su San from 'Yu Tang Chun'?"

Shang Jue felt inexplicably displeased: "Since you care so much, why don't you go and see for yourself?"

Qi He took it seriously: "You're right!"

She shoved the teacup and fruit plate into Shang Jue's hands: "You hold these for me, I'll go and check. Hu Ying really likes him."

Actually, she liked it too, but she was too embarrassed to say it out loud.

It's rather strange that a young lady from a noble family would pursue a male actor.

Qi He walked reservedly to the tea room in the backyard of the theater, slowly turned on the faucet of the copper kettle to wash her hands, and saw the young man take off his veil and scarf through the shiny copper mirror in front of her.

She was 100% certain that this was Su San from that play!

The boy seemed to notice her gaze, turned his head to look at her, and paused slightly in surprise.

Having worked in this industry for so many years, he has always been sensitive to appearances. Upon seeing Qi He for the first time, he couldn't help but feel a little ashamed. These days, even girls from ordinary families can grow up to be this beautiful.

As the young man was pondering this, Qi He spoke up: "Young master, if I may ask, are you the one who has recently been singing 'Yu Tang Chun' in the Chang Le Opera Troupe?"

The young man was taken aback, then nodded: "Indeed, is there something you need, young lady?"

Qi He suppressed her excitement and smiled, "I've seen your performance; you sang very well."

The young man forced a smile, gave a perfunctory thank you, and left the tea room.

Qi He, who was inexplicably ignored, was slightly taken aback and felt a little disappointed.

The two left the tea room one after the other, and the young man put his veil back on.

Qi He looked up and saw Shang Jue leaning against a pillar, his expression indifferent, his eyelashes lowered. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but Shang Jue seemed to have grown a little taller.

Since taking over Juxian, the youthful spirit he once possessed has been gradually fading, replaced by the composed demeanor of a young man.

Dejected after failing to win over the actor, Qi He was about to complain to Shang Jue when she saw the young man's eyes light up the moment he saw Shang Jue: "Manager Shang!"

The boy's voice was warm and friendly, "I never expected to run into you here."

He was the mainstay of the Chang Le Opera Troupe. He had seen Shang Jue from afar at several banquets. Some of the senior members of their troupe tried to get in touch with Shang Jue, but they were all turned down. From then on, everyone became more cautious and few dared to mess with him.

I never expected to be so lucky today; I even ran into Shang Jue while just going to see a play.

The boy extended his hand: "Do you still remember me? I'm Ayan, the female lead singer in the Chang Le Opera Troupe!"

Shang Jue raised his eyes, gave him a cold glance, and didn't reach out.

A chill ran down Ayan's spine; she wondered where Shang Jue's hostility came from.

He naturally couldn't understand that if it were him, and he went out with his fiancée, and she went off to stare at another man, he wouldn't give that man a friendly look either.

Ayan didn't want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Seeing that Shang Jue was alone, she lowered her voice and greeted him with a smile, "Manager Shang, have you had your meal? Qingweizhai has a new chef—"

Shang Jue interrupted him coldly: "Did anyone tell you to bring your brain when you go out?"

Ayan's smile froze on her face, and Shang Jue's voice was filled with impatience: "Is that thing around your neck just for show?"

Ayan left, her face pale.

Qi He watched from afar as Shang Jue exchanged a few words with the young man, who then slunk away.

She walked over, and Shang Jue glanced at her: "Have you stared enough?"

Qi He was seething with anger, but she retorted sharply, "Were you being mean to her? She didn't do anything to you!"

What annoyed her even more was that the young man ignored her but was so attentive to Shang Jue. Was she really that much worse than Shang Jue?

Shang Jue added coolly, "Looks like your judgment isn't that great either."

Qi He walked forward dejectedly. Shang Jue regretted his words immediately afterward and followed, adding, "Didn't you recognize the actor?"

Qi He, unusually, didn't argue, and nodded dejectedly: "Yeah, he's nothing like the Su San he sang about."

Qi He's temper flares up quickly and fades just as fast.

She was still upset about failing to win over a leading man and arguing with Shang Jue, but as soon as she entered the theater and saw the light snow falling from the sky, her eyes immediately lit up.

Many people on the long street were already looking up to catch the first snow of the year.

Qi Heqian was from the south, and he got excited when he saw snow. He looked up at it for a while, then rolled up his sleeves and gathered a small handful of snow on the railing. He hurriedly made two small snowmen the size of his palm.

One had a stern face, while the other grinned broadly.

She held it in her hands like a precious treasure and presented it to Shang Jue. Shang Jue glanced down at it and said, "If you take it out any later, it will melt."

Qi He was displeased: "What do you know? It's already quite remarkable that the snow in the south can be used to build two snowmen like these."

She gently stroked the snowman's head like a precious treasure, examined it carefully for a while, and then carefully placed it in Shang Jue's palm. She stepped back and drew a small portrait of it.

Shang Jue looked down and pointed at the one with the stern face: "Is this me?"

Qi He said smugly, "Doesn't it look like it?"

Shang Jue didn't speak, but bent down and grabbed another handful of snow from the porch, adding another layer of "height" to his snowman until it was a full head taller than Qi He's. Only then did he withdraw his hand with satisfaction: "That's more like it."

Qi He was so angry that he wanted to twist the snowman's head off.

Qi He insisted on bringing the two snowmen back to Qianjinlou and putting them in the cellar, so they could be stored for a few more days.

On the way back, she refused to take the carriage and insisted on dragging Shang Jue to take the city-circling painted boat at the ferry crossing.

The two hadn't brought any loose silver with them when they went out, and under the boatman's strange gaze, Shang Jue put a silver ingot into the money box.

The boatman couldn't help but ask, "Are you two booking a month's pass?"

Qi He was laughing so hard she couldn't stand up straight.

Shang Jue ignored her and sat down next to her.

Outside the window, the fine snow was getting heavier. Besides them, there was only a young couple at the front of the painted boat, snuggling together and talking softly.

Qi He breathed out a breath onto the window, clearing a small patch of clarity in the mist, and gazed at the snow-covered riverbank outside.

If only this ship could keep going like this forever.

The thought crossed her mind, but she quickly suppressed it with her already known ending, leaving her with a vague sense of melancholy.

This melancholy didn't last long before it was interrupted by the young couple in front of me.

The two suddenly embraced and kissed, oblivious to everyone else, the splashing sounds of their kisses particularly clear in the quiet cabin.

Qi He stared at the fog on the window, her ears burning red. She couldn't bear it any longer and was about to turn around and remind him.

Unexpectedly, Shang Jue and she had the same idea, and the two leaned forward at the same time, their eyes meeting in the narrow passageway.

Thump, thump—

In Qi He's world, only her own heartbeat remained, so close that even Shang Jue's breathing could be clearly heard.

It was unclear who made the first move, but Shang Jue's long eyelashes drooped slightly as his gaze fell on her lips.

Just as they were about to collide, the boatman suddenly steered the boat, and the pleasure boat made a sharp turn on the water.

Qi He swayed, instinctively grabbing the railing, and leaned towards the window.

The boatman's gruff voice came from outside the cabin: "Sorry! There's a thin layer of ice on the water, and the rudder is a bit slippery!"

Qi He pressed herself tightly against the cold window frame, her heart pounding wildly. What a close call! They almost kissed!

She didn't dare turn her head to look at Shang Jue, but stared intently at the snow-covered shore rushing past the window, her mind buzzing.

Just now, was it she who turned her head, or him...?

She didn't dare to think about it anymore.