She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

“My third brother made a mistake at Longhua Temple. Grandfather has ordered the family to punish him and he is to stay home and reflect on his mistakes.” Zhao Yi replied to Emperor Jing’an, then turned to Shen Qingtan on the side and comforted her, “My health is the same as before, not as serious as Your Majesty said. If I only had six months to live, I would not be able to get out of bed right now.”

Shen Qingtan was taken aback. Was Zhao Yi protecting her?

Zhao Yi said gently, "You copied scriptures for me and offered them at Longhua Temple, and you lit lotus lanterns for me to pray for blessings. Buddha will protect me."

Shen Qingtan knew very well that Zhao Yi did not believe in gods or Buddhas.

She brought this up deliberately just to tell Emperor Jing'an what she had done for him.

She quickly realized that Emperor Jing'an's mention of Zhao Jue was probably not to interrogate her or to stand up for Zhao Jue, but rather to subtly probe her attitude towards Zhao Jue.

As expected, when Emperor Jing'an heard about what Shen Qingtan had done for Zhao Yi, his expression became even more amiable, and he asked a few more questions.

Shen Qingtan could only answer what she could.

If the answer is not careful and could easily lead to ambiguity, then Zhao Yi will answer first.

Seeing Zhao Yi's protectiveness of Shen Qingtan, Emperor Jing'an didn't bother to ask any more questions. He was content as long as he knew that Shen Qingtan intended to spend her life with Zhao Yi and had no other intentions towards Zhao Jue.

He made a point of having the couple have lunch with him before letting them leave the palace.

When the Imperial Construction Office needed to speak with Zhao Yi, Zhao Yi told Shen Qingtan to return to her residence first.

Seeing that Zhao Yi wouldn't be long, Shen Qingtan waited for him in the carriage at the palace gate.

Liu Yue and Ting Xue did not enter the Taiji Hall, but waited outside. It was unclear what was going on.

Now, as soon as he got into the carriage, he couldn't help but ask, "Second Madam, how does the Emperor treat you?"

"That's good." Shen Qingtan sighed inwardly. If Zhao Yi were healthy, given Emperor Jing'an's favoritism towards him, he could truly choose any of the noble ladies in the capital.

Liu Yue and Ting Xue breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, Tingxue curled her lips and said, "Some people in the manor are hoping that you will displease the Emperor. If they find out that the Emperor likes you, they probably won't be able to eat dinner tonight."

The second wife had run into a snag with the old lady and reportedly didn't sleep well all night, hoping that Shen Qingtan would offend the emperor by being unruly, and that Zhao Yi would also be disliked by the emperor.

Tingxue told Shen Qingtan about this as a joke: "Second Madam, you don't know, but the Second Madam smashed a vase after returning to her room last night."

Shen Qingtan asked, "How did you find out?"

Tingxue lowered her voice and said, "Qiuchan said it."

Shen Qingtan raised an eyebrow. Was Qiu Chan trying to curry favor with her and seek her protection?

She gave the two of them a piece of advice: "Not all the people in the Duke's mansion are brainless. Unless absolutely necessary, it's best not to associate with Qiu Chan."

Tingxue and Liuyue felt a chill run down their spines and responded in unison.

After waiting for half an hour, Zhao Yi finally returned.

Liuyue and Tingxue got off the carriage.

Only the couple remained in the carriage. Shen Qingtan smelled his cool scent and couldn't help but recall the intimate contact they had shared in the sedan chair that morning. That awkwardness welled up in her heart again, and she subconsciously moved closer to the window.

Zhao Yi watched her subtle movements without making a sound, and slowly lowered his eyes.

He was tormented by illness since childhood, living each day as it came. When his illness was severe, he didn't even know if he would be able to open his eyes again the next day.

Every extra day I live now is a day I gain.

Therefore, he was unwilling to marry, fearing that he would ruin a woman's life.

It wasn't until his grandfather persuaded him to marry Shen Mingzhu that he realized the Marquis's family was using their past favors to coerce him into marrying their newly recognized second daughter.

Shen Mingzhu had been living in the countryside for more than ten years. Now that she had been recognized by her ancestors, the Marquis of Chengen immediately married his daughter, whom he had lost and found, to a man who was about to die. It was clear that he did not care about his daughter.

Grandfather continued, “Yi’er, it has always been difficult to repay kindness. The Marquis of Cheng’en’s family only wants to marry their daughter to you. If they cannot get what they want and propose something that would harm the interests of the Duke’s family, then it will be a hidden danger.”

Zhao Yi knew that the Marquis of Chengen was a greedy man, so for the sake of the bigger picture, he agreed to the marriage and made a condition to the Duke of Zhao.

After his death, Shen Mingzhu was given her freedom and did not have to stay in the Duke's mansion to be a widow for him.

If she is of good character, the Duke's mansion can be her support in the future.

He never expected that the Marquis of Chengen's insistence on marrying his daughter to him was a scheme to frame Shen Qingtan.

For Zhao Yi, it didn't matter who he married. Even though his wife was now Shen Qingtan, his mindset remained unchanged. From the very beginning, he was prepared to be a couple in name only.

Before the marriage, he had already written a letter of divorce and left it with his grandfather.

Zhao Yi's gaze fell on the distance between the two people, and she slowly closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.

The carriage stopped abruptly, and a force pushed the two people forward, causing them to fall.

Zhao Yi subconsciously reached out to help Shen Qingtan, but as soon as he moved, he saw the person beside him rush over and press his hands on his shoulders, holding him firmly in place.

After protecting the person, Shen Qingtan carefully observed Zhao Yi's complexion. Seeing that he looked normal, she knew that he was not injured.

"Thank goodness you didn't hurt yourself." Shen Qingtan breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

He's sickly, I'm afraid he might fall and get seriously injured.

Zhao Yi leaned against the car wall, his gaze fixed on Shen Qingtan. Her eyes held undisguised worry, and she seemed to be nervously checking if he was injured.

His eyelashes trembled slightly, and his gaze shifted downwards. Her hand was still on his shoulder, one leg was kneeling beside him, close to his leg, and half of her body was almost pressing against him.

This was the first time the two of them had been so close since they got married, close enough for him to smell her delicate fragrance.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he said in a low voice, "I'm fine."

Shen Qingtan noticed that his voice sounded a little hoarse and belatedly realized that their posture was too intimate and ambiguous.

She quickly withdrew her hand and sat down to the side. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zhao Yi slowly sit up straight, calmly tidying his clothes.

She pursed her lips, preparing to say something.

The coachman's voice came from outside: "Second Master, it's that girl from South Water Street."

Zhao Yi frowned slightly, then said to Shen Qingtan, "I'll go down and handle it."

Shen Qingtan nodded: "Go ahead."

Zhao Yi lifted the carriage curtain, stepped down from the carriage, and saw the woman standing in front of the carriage.

"Second Master..." Zhu Yu looked at Zhao Yi with teary eyes and said pitifully, "My father went gambling again and incurred a gambling debt. He wants to use me to pay off the debt. But I... I have already been bought by you and am your person."

When she first saw Zhao Yi, she was immediately struck by his extraordinary beauty, especially after he rescued her from the clutches of villains.

But someone like him was not someone she could aspire to. Especially since he was unmarried, the Duke's mansion, given its social standing, would absolutely not allow a concubine to enter the household first.

She originally planned to wait until Zhao Yi's legal wife became pregnant before asking him to give her a formal status.

A few days ago, someone suddenly approached her and told her that Zhao Yi did not love his legal wife, and that his legal wife had another man in her heart, and the two had not yet consummated their marriage.

She felt indignant for Zhao Yi, thinking that such a woman was not good enough for him, and immediately went to find Zhao Yi.

“Miss Zhu, I did not buy you. That money was borrowed by your younger brother, and he left an IOU.” Zhao Yi gestured to Jiang Mu, who was standing to the side.

Jiang Mu quickly took out the IOU and gave it to Zhao Yi.

“If you’re going to repay your debt, there should be a proper order to things.” Zhao Yi’s dark eyes were cold and expressionless as he said, “Since you’ve come to me today, you should repay this sum of money first.”