Black Magic Rose Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Family Trouble

A few days passed peacefully—at least on the surface. Shu Yijin had gradually become accustomed to the rhythm of the Wen Family, or rather, he had become accustomed to perfectly playing his role under the Wen Family’s invisible scrutiny. His daily life was extremely routine: he spent most of his time in Wen Jingheng’s bedroom, performing his “meticulous” care, and occasionally, within permitted boundaries, he would take short walks in specific areas of the estate, accompanied by a silent maid, under the guise of “getting some fresh air.”

He behaved obediently, even overly quiet and timid. He never complained about the seemingly respectful yet actually distant attitude of the Wen Family servants, and he appeared submissive to the various hidden rules within the massive estate. This demeanor, in the eyes of certain people, became a symbol of someone easily bullied.

This afternoon, Shu Yijin had just finished reading an obscure poem to Wen Jingheng (which he claimed to have found accidentally in the study, but whose content secretly aligned with certain ancient prophecies of destruction, making it quite interesting to read), when the bedroom door was knocked upon unceremoniously—or rather, it sounded more like a warning before being forcefully pushed open.

The stiff voice of the old butler sounded from outside: “Young Master Yijin, Young Master Shu Qing is here to visit you.”

Shu Qing? Shu Yijin quickly reviewed the memories of the original owner of this body. Shu Qing was the legitimate son born to the Shu Family’s main wife, the original owner’s half-brother, and the person who was originally supposed to marry into the Wen Family. A spoiled, arrogant, and mean-spirited young man. His purpose for coming here was self-evident.

A faint, cold interest flashed across Shu Yijin’s eyes. A little diversion for his boring life had delivered itself to his doorstep.

He quickly adjusted his expression, displaying a perfect blend of surprise, a hint of unease, and forced composure. He gently placed the poetry collection back on the bedside table, smoothed the corner of his flawless clothing, and then said softly, “Please come in.”

The door was pushed open. First, the old butler entered. He stepped aside, his face devoid of expression, like a machine executing a program. Following him, a fashionably dressed young man with slicked-back hair walked in—it was Shu Qing. His face carried undisguised arrogance and disdain. His gaze swept the room like a searchlight, finally landing on Shu Yijin. He scrutinized him from head to toe and let out a contemptuous snort from his nostrils.

“Well, well, my ‘dear’ brother, it looks like you’re doing quite well in the Wen Family, aren’t you?” Shu Qing’s tone was exaggerated, deliberately emphasizing the word “dear,” full of sarcasm. “This room is much better than that broken storage room back home. Of course, you’re the Wen Family’s eldest young madam now; your status is different.”

As he spoke, he walked toward the center of the room, completely ignoring Wen Jingheng on the bed, as if he were merely a piece of furniture.

Shu Yijin lowered his eyelashes slightly, his hands clasped nervously in front of him, his voice thin: “Shu Qing… why are you here?”

“Why can’t I be here?” Shu Qing sneered, his hands tucked into his trousers pockets, his posture aggressive. “I came to see if you, who married here in place of me, the proper young master, have suffered any grievances. After all, with your ill-omened appearance, what if the Auspicious Marriage fails and you completely jinx the Wen Family’s eldest young master to death? That would be a huge loss of face for our Shu Family.”

The words were vicious and merciless. Even the old butler nearby frowned almost imperceptibly but did not intervene. The Wen Family’s attitude toward this “young madam” who came for the Auspicious Marriage and her family was clearly one of tolerance, or even tacit approval, of such probing and humiliation.

Shu Yijin’s body trembled almost imperceptibly, and he lowered his head further, as if wounded by the words. His voice was choked: “You… don’t talk nonsense… Jingheng will get better…”

“Get better?” Shu Qing laughed exaggeratedly, as if he had heard the biggest joke. “Hahaha, Shu Yijin, have you been taking care of this living dead man so long that you’ve gone stupid yourself? How long has he been lying there? Top doctors are helpless, and you think you can do it? With those unlucky red eyes of yours? I think you’re dreaming!”

He became increasingly aggressive, stepping closer to Shu Yijin, almost leaning into his face. “Let me tell you, don’t think you’ve flown up the branches to become a phoenix just because you married into the Wen Family! You are nothing but a discarded son no one wants, a substitute! The Wen Family is keeping you now just as a last resort, trying to revive a dead horse, and to put on a show for the outside world! When they completely lose patience, or when Wen Jingheng truly breathes his last, your fate will be a hundred times worse than when you were in the Shu Family!”

Spit was almost spraying onto Shu Yijin’s face. Shu Yijin seemed startled by his aggression and took a small step back, his spine pressing against the cold wall, making him appear even more helpless and pitiful. He looked up, his crimson eyes brimming with tears (which were, of course, feigned). He looked at Shu Qing, on the verge of tears, his lips moving, but unable to utter a complete word of rebuttal.

This appearance greatly pleased Shu Qing. His smugness intensified. Just as he was about to continue his attack with more vicious language, his gaze caught the sight of the beautifully bound poetry collection on the bedside table.

“Oh, reading poetry now? Putting on airs!” Shu Qing scoffed, reaching out to grab the book. “Let me see if it’s some kind of shady, evil nonsense…”

The moment his fingertips were about to touch the poetry collection—

“Ah!”

Shu Qing suddenly let out a short yelp, as if stung by something. He abruptly withdrew his hand, a look of surprise and confusion flashing across his face. He looked down at his fingers; there was nothing unusual, but in that instant, he had definitely felt an extremely subtle, cold stinging sensation that shot up his fingertip, causing his heart to inexplicably skip a beat.

Static electricity? Or an illusion?

Shu Qing shook his hand, forcibly suppressing the discomfort. Feeling that he had lost face in front of Shu Yijin, his anger turned into fury, and he became even more unrestrained in his speech: “Can’t even touch it? As expected of an Ill-Omened Being, even the things it touches carry bad luck!” He stopped trying to take the book and turned his anger toward Shu Yijin, reaching out to shove him. “I’ll teach you to pretend!”

However, the moment he extended his hand, something strange happened.

Shu Qing seemed to trip over something beneath his feet. His body stumbled, and his movement, originally intended to push Shu Yijin, turned into a forward lunge. He frantically tried to grab something to maintain balance. As his arms flailed wildly, he suddenly knocked over the vase of fresh flowers on the bedside table with a loud “smack!”

“Clang!”

The delicate porcelain vase shattered on the floor, breaking into pieces. Water splashed out, soaking the expensive carpet, and the vibrant flowers scattered everywhere, a miserable mess.

Shu Qing himself fell heavily. Although he wasn’t injured, his posture was extremely undignified, and his expensive suit was stained with water and flower fragments.

“Pfft…” A very light laugh came from the corner of the room.

Shu Qing snapped his head up. Shu Yijin was still huddled in the corner, his hands covering his mouth, his shoulders slightly shaking. There were still tear tracks on his red eyes, but deep within his gaze, a fleeting, hard-to-catch look of cunning amusement, like a successful prank, quickly passed.

Was he laughing? Shu Qing was consumed by rage, but even more so by an inexplicable chill. The stinging sensation just now, the inexplicable fall… could it really be related to this ill-omened fellow?

The old butler stepped forward at this point, his tone still flat but carrying undeniable authority: “Young Master Shu Qing, are you alright? This is the Eldest Young Master’s resting place. Please maintain quiet and mind your manners.” He glanced at the mess on the floor and instructed the maid who had entered upon hearing the noise: “Clean this up.”

Shu Qing scrambled up from the floor, his face alternating between green and white. He pointed at Shu Yijin, wanting to say something, but meeting the butler’s emotionless gaze and Shu Yijin’s seemingly innocent yet deeply unsettling red eyes, the harsh words died in his throat. He felt like everything was going wrong today and didn’t want to stay a moment longer.

“Hmph! We’ll see about this!” He threw out a threat that sounded more bluster than menace, adjusted his messy clothes, and practically fled the room.

The old butler glanced at Shu Yijin, his tone softening slightly but remaining distant: “Young Master Yijin, you were startled. Are you alright?”

Shu Yijin lowered the hand covering his mouth, his face still pale with lingering shock. He gently shook his head, his voice weak: “N-no… I’m fine… Thank you, Butler.” He looked at the fragments on the floor, his eyes showing a perfectly measured amount of regret and self-blame. “I’m sorry, I broke something…”

“It’s nothing, I will handle it.” The old butler said, then motioned for the maid to speed up the cleaning, and then retreated himself.

The door closed again.

Silence returned to the room, leaving only the faint scent of flowers and the smell of water.

Shu Yijin slowly straightened up. All traces of timidity, unease, and sadness instantly vanished from his face, replaced by a cold, pleasantly calm expression. He walked to the window and peered through the gap in the heavy curtains, watching Shu Qing rush out of the main building in a fit of pique and drive away.

He raised his hand. A trace of almost imperceptible, dissipating black energy lingered on his fingertips. Just now, it was this faint wisp of divine power that had precisely stimulated Shu Qing’s nerve endings and created an extremely subtle energy fluctuation beneath his feet, causing him to lose balance.

Using this small amount of power was like a drop in the bucket for his unrecovered Essence, but it was more than enough to play a trick on a foolish human. Seeing Shu Qing’s panicked and disheveled appearance did indeed bring him a long-lost sense of… amusement.

He turned around, his gaze falling upon the still-sleeping Wen Jingheng on the bed, a playful smile curling his lips.

“Did you see that?” He walked to the bedside and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, his tone light and openly mocking. “Your world is like this. Bullying the weak and fearing the strong, foolish and ugly. Even trash like that dares to provoke.”

He extended a finger and lightly brushed Wen Jingheng’s brow, feeling the faint Shared Sensation resonance of the Seal beneath it.

“However, he did remind me,” a cold light flashed in Shu Yijin’s red eyes. “The Wen Family… or rather, certain people, seem to be running out of patience. This play needs to pick up the pace.”

He believed that everything that had just happened, his sleeping nemesis must have “heard” clearly. He wondered what the former Savior would think, hearing his “fragile” wife so thoroughly mock a member of his family?

Anger? Confusion? Or… amusement?

Shu Yijin was looking forward to it. He anticipated the ripples that would form in Wen Jingheng’s consciousness because of this, and whichever it was, it would be a seasoning for his boring daily life.

And at this moment, in the depths of endless darkness, Wen Jingheng’s consciousness was indeed experiencing violent fluctuations.

He had clearly “heard” every malicious word from Shu Qing, and he had also “heard” Shu Yijin’s seemingly helpless responses. But what concerned him more was Shu Qing’s inexplicable fall and yelp, and that extremely faint laugh from Shu Yijin, which seemed to carry infinite hidden meaning.

This Shu Yijin… he was absolutely not as weak and easily bullied as he appeared!

A complex emotion surged within Wen Jingheng. There was disgust for Shu Qing, a subtle worry for Shu Yijin’s predicament (even though he knew the worry might be unnecessary), but more than anything, there was an indescribable… desire to investigate.

Shu Yijin, who exactly are you? What is your true purpose?

The silent audience, for the first time, developed a strong curiosity about the actor on the stage, one that went beyond passive reception.