ITVCFITB CHAPTER 3

 Chapter 3 – Did He Really Say That?

The novel After Transmigrating, Four Big Bosses All Vied to Marry Me was told entirely from Shen Mingyun’s perspective. Luo Shuyu only appeared whenever their paths crossed, and truthfully, those encounters were rare. But whenever they did meet, Shen Mingyun’s hostility toward Luo Shuyu was plain. Every time the two were alone, Shen Mingyun never failed to throw in a few biting remarks.

This grudge seemed to stem from the downfall of Luo Shuyu’s maternal family, which had also dragged Shen Mingyun down and forced him to seek refuge with the Luo household. Having developed a prejudice from the start, Shen Mingyun simply could not stand Luo Shuyu. And when he realized Luo Shuyu ignored him altogether, he only grew more vicious, spitting out ever more vulgar insults.

Raised by his mother to be courteous and well-mannered, Luo Shuyu was never one for shouting matches. He could only respond with silence. But the more calmly he endured, the more Shen Mingyun mocked him as being “hypocritically upright” and “pretentiously noble.” And with a supposed “system” and a group of influential patrons backing him, Shen Mingyun never lacked the courage to sneer.

It was only after reading the book that Luo Shuyu realized Shen Mingyun cursed like a fishwife¹. simply because he was shallow in both learning and temperament. Yet somehow, those very traits were praised by the so-called big bosses as “refreshing candor” and “rare talent.” To Luo Shuyu, it was the cruelest joke life could play.

From the book’s descriptions, Shen Mingyun was neither well-read nor skilled—he couldn’t even write decent calligraphy. His brilliance all came from that miraculous aid he carried, which he called his “system,” his “golden finger.” To Luo Shuyu, it was nothing short of a divine artifact. Without it, how could Shen Mingyun, who couldn’t even hold a brush properly, suddenly master astronomy, geography, literature, and military strategy, becoming a paragon of talent?

As the protagonist, Shen Mingyun constantly stumbled upon events, including encounters with the Third Prince, Li Mingjin. Their early meetings took up a considerable portion of the book, foreshadowing, of course, the prince’s later downfall as the “villain,” branded with the crime of treason that destroyed his entire family.

Shen Mingyun bore grudges. His interactions with Li Mingjin were hardly pleasant. Though he often lamented the “waste” of such a handsome face, he ultimately feared the man. When Li Mingjin suggested taking him into his residence, Shen Mingyun was both embarrassed and furious. His heart leaned toward other princes. In the end, he abandoned Li Mingjin.

The line Shen Mingyun repeated most in the story was: Children choose one or the other, adults take them all.

But he never chose Li Mingjin, because the prince’s nature frightened him. He described Li Mingjin’s gaze as devouring, his temperament as dark, dangerous, prone to violence—never someone to provoke.

After entering the capital, Shen Mingyun acted like a wild cat that refused to be tamed, slipping out daily to roam. Even the Luo family couldn’t restrain him. They let him be, mostly because he occasionally provided Luo Renshou with unorthodox political strategies. In Shen Mingyun’s terms, these were “system tasks.” Completing them earned him points, which he could then exchange for props that enhanced his beauty and allure. After learning about these tools, Luo Shuyu had envied them deeply, if only he too had a system.

The first meeting between Shen Mingyun and Li Mingjin was nothing grand.

One day, Shen Mingyun rented a small boat to drift on the lake. Hearing the sound of a whipping from a nearby pleasure barge, his system issued a task. Without hesitation, he shouted at Li Mingjin to release the victim. His brazenness caught Li Mingjin’s attention, though the prince merely replied, “Mind your own business.”

Of course, Shen Mingyun refused to back down. He shouted loudly about laws and justice, until Li Mingjin ordered him tied up and gagged. Shen Mingyun thought the prince was teasing him. In the end, he was only released because the Fourth Prince happened to arrive.

After that, Shen Mingyun ran into Li Mingjin several more times, and soon he convinced himself the prince must like him. Why else would he keep showing up wherever he went? At a later gathering of several princes at a tavern, a young master tried to molest Shen Mingyun. Li Mingjin rescued him. Some prince teased Li Mingjin afterward, and rumors spread that he wanted to marry Shen Mingyun.

When Shen Mingyun heard that Li Mingjin supposedly liked him and wanted to take him as a concubine, he was furious. He was a man—how could he agree to such a thing?

Yes, Shen Mingyun was originally a man, not one of this world’s pampered young masters.

To put an end to the rumors, during a royal consort’s trip to the imperial temple, he persuaded a monk who owed him a favor to “read the stars” and declare that his and Luo Shuyu’s fates were a perfect match.

As for the Third Prince’s residence, he would never set foot inside. Everyone in the capital knew how cruel and bloodthirsty Li Mingjin was. To enter his household would be to throw oneself into a tiger’s jaws. Shen Mingyun would never go.

And so, the imperial edict came, Luo Shuyu was forced to replace him as the one betrothed to the Third Prince.

Now, Luo Shuyu had been reborn on the very day the edict arrived.

---

He placed the bright yellow scroll lightly on the desk.

His fingers had clenched so hard they’d turned white. Only when he felt the faint sting did he relax his grip. His thoughts turned to Li Mingjin’s final words to him in their past life, and to the child—so precious—who had never lived to grow. His heart ached.

Qingwang, standing behind him, saw the shift in his expression and felt a strange heaviness. His usually serene young master looked… sad.

“Master, are you thinking of Madam?”

Luo Shuyu took a deep breath, slapped his cheeks lightly, and shook his head. “Open the window. Let some air in.”

“Yes.” Qingwang found him greatly changed today. Once ethereal and aloof, Luo Shuyu now seemed more alive, more grounded in the world of men.

When no outsiders were present, Qingwang always grew chatty.

“Master, do you… not want to enter the Third Prince’s residence?”

Outside, people whispered endlessly about the prince’s cruelty. “They say his whip drinks blood. If we go in, won’t we have to face him every day?”

Flipping open a book on his desk, Luo Shuyu scolded him gently, “Nonsense. The Third Prince is not like that. Don’t parrot wild rumors. Words like that can bring disaster. If rumors spread long enough, people start to believe them.”

Qingwang’s worry lingered, but he swallowed his protest. “Yes, Master.” Inwardly, though, he fretted—why did his master show not a shred of dislike for the Third Prince? What would happen in the future?

“Go on, leave me. I need some rest.”

Reborn, forced to face the imperial edict once more, Luo Shuyu needed time to think. He had to plan carefully: Shen Mingyun, Li Mingjin, every thread tied back to Shen Mingyun.

How had he come back?

The memories returned. He hated Shen Mingyun. Hated him for ruining his family. He swore he would avenge his lost child. As long as Shen Mingyun lived, he would remain a threat to both him and Li Mingjin.

Only that afternoon, fresh from his rebirth, the edict had arrived. In a way, it was what he wanted. He had no intention of giving up Li Mingjin. To “stay away” was impossible, this time, he would never let go.

If all went well, perhaps their child might even be born again.

But first, he needed to uncover the truth:

Who had driven their family into the abyss?
How many hands were involved?
Who was the mastermind behind it all?

The novel After Transmigrating, Four Big Bosses All Vied to Marry Me had focused only on Shen Mingyun’s rise and his entanglements with powerful men. Court politics had been glossed over, likely because the author knew little of them. The result was riddled with absurdities. Shen Mingyun’s journey was nothing more than being saved and protected again and again. To everyone, he was a fragile, lovely flower, delicate, beautiful, in need of endless protection.

But had Shen Mingyun truly been ignorant of the schemes surrounding him?

Pouring himself a cup of cold tea, Luo Shuyu drank it in one gulp. He sat by the window, chin propped on his hand, lost in thought for half the day until Qingwang reminded him it was time for dinner.

At night, the household grew lively. Several concubines sent over homemade dishes, eager to curry favor with Luo Shuyu. He accepted them politely, but Qingwang quickly had everything taken away. Ever since Luo Shuyu had been poisoned once as a child, his mother had been meticulous about his food and drink. Even after her passing, that habit remained, and he still adhered to it.

Qingwang came in carrying a tray of fresh bayberries.
“Master, these are fresh yangmei. I bought them outside today.”

Luo Shuyu nodded, picked up one, and popped it into his mouth.
“Quite sweet.”

He noticed Qingwang staring at the berries with longing eyes and chuckled.
“Take them and eat. I don’t eat much at night.”

Overjoyed, Qingwang carried the tray out to share the fruit with the maids outside.

Luo Shuyu remembered, when he was pregnant with his son in his past life, that during the first three months he craved sour things terribly. Li Mingjin had men scour the markets for bayberries and even had a few trees transplanted into their courtyard. When Luo Shuyu had asked him why, Li Mingjin, face stern, had only replied with four words:
“Buying them is expensive.”

Luo Shuyu had secretly thought that buying berries would surely cost less than hiring men to uproot trees and move them across the city.

The memory made him smile faintly. He let the warmth of those small recollections linger with him until, near midnight, he finally lay down with his quilt and drifted into sleep.

---

In the Great Xia, royal princes left the palace to establish their own estates at sixteen. The Third Prince was now eighteen, and it had already been two years since he left.

That same deep night, within the high walls of the Third Prince’s estate—inside the study.

After the servants had carried away the bathwater, a shadow vaulted in silently through the window.

The figure dropped to one knee.
“Master.”

In the flickering candlelight, Li Mingjin sat dressed in a plain white robe, his hair damp and loose, methodically wiping down the whip in his hand.

He stopped, laid the whip gently across the desk, and lifted his light brown eyes, calm and unreadable.
“How was it?”

The shadow guard relayed everything he had witnessed at the Luo household. Li Mingjin raised a brow.
“He really said that?”

“Yes. This subordinate heard it clearly. Young Master Luo said he feared bringing trouble upon you.”

“What else?”

“Nothing more. He ate supper and went to bed.”

Li Mingjin tilted his head slightly.
“No shouting? No cursing? No tears?”

“None. After the decree was read, he even asked Luo Renshou about his mother’s dowry.”

The guard then repeated the day’s events in detail.

Li Mingjin plucked up the lamp needle, eyes lifting to the dwindling flame as he adjusted the candlewick.
“Go.”

The shadow guard stole a glance at him before withdrawing, and noticed his master’s gaze seemed a little less shadowed than before.

---

Luo Shuyu was woken the next morning by the whispered chatter of the maids. He had slept early and deeply, and though the sun wasn’t yet high, it was late enough.

The maids bustled about to fetch water and help him wash.

When his reflection steadied in the bronze basin, Luo Shuyu raised his lips into a small smile. It was real, he had truly been given another life, not just a dream.

Qingwang brought in breakfast: light porridge, pickles, and a meat pie.

“I just came from the kitchens,” Qingwang said as he set the tray down. “The people from Qingfeng Courtyard said Young Master Shen returned this morning.”

Shen Mingyun had come back?

“Oh? And what rare treasures has he brought this time?”

Luo Shuyu remembered well—in the book, in order to maneuver him into being given to Li Mingjin, Shen Mingyun had gone off to hide in a temple. Now, with the imperial decree issued yesterday, he must have hurried back, eager to confirm the result.

“They say he brought back several cartloads of fresh melons and fruits, all grown personally by the temple master himself. They claim eating them grants long life. The old madam has been waiting since dawn, delighted beyond measure. Young Master, will you be going to pay your respects today?”

A cold smile tugged at Luo Shuyu’s lips.
“Go? Of course we’ll go. We’ll see just how sweet those fruits really are.”

Reborn anew, meeting Shen Mingyun again, how could he resist preparing a little gift in return?

---

Author’s Note:
The Third Prince: He really didn’t get angry?

IsitRo: Moving forward, shadow guard will be likely shortened to shadow whenever it is followed by their assigned 'name' (e.g., Three, Five, Nine, so on and so forth).

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Little Note(s):

Fishwife: it refers to a rude, loud, vulgar person (especially a woman), often used in Chinese with a negative connotation.