Stepdaughter of a wealthy family? The little darling of a Beijing tycoon

Li Wenqian held Lin Wanqing's hand, his gaze gentle yet solemn, his tone full of certainty: "Wanqing, let's go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get our marriage certificate tomorrow. After that, we'll pick an auspicious day and hold a formal banquet. I want to introduce you and Jing Shu to all the prominent families in Beijing in a grand and respectable way, so everyone knows that you, Lin Wanqing, are my lawfully wedded wife, and Shen Jing Shu is my daughter. What do you say?"

Lin Wanqing lowered her eyes, her expression indifferent, completely unconcerned about these empty titles and pomp.

She had just emerged from a failed 30-year marriage and was already exhausted. She didn't think she could develop romantic feelings for Li Wenqian within the three-year agreement; everything was just following the agreement.

"I don't have any demands in these matters; I'll just follow Mr. Li's arrangements."

"Still calling me Mr. Li?"

Li Wenqian's eyes curved into a smile, his tone carrying a hint of doting stubbornness, "If possible, I hope you'll call me Wenqian, or Brother Qian, it sounds more intimate."

Shen Jingshu sat quietly to the side, taking in the sight of Li Wenqian's eyes filled with his mother's gaze, and a sense of doubt arose in her heart.

In her previous life, after her mother married into the Li family, although she did not suffer all kinds of grievances, she lived a plain and distant life, far from being cherished and cared for like this. Could it be that something happened in between that she did not know about?

Or is it that many things have quietly changed because of her arrival in this life?

Upon hearing this, Lin Wanqing's cheeks instantly flushed slightly, and she couldn't help but feel a little shy.

She and Li Wenqian hadn't known each other for very long, and with their daughter still by their side, his bluntness made her a little uncomfortable. She couldn't help but glare at him gently, her eyes filled with reproach, and then subconsciously looked at Shen Jingshu beside her, signaling him to watch his manners.

Li Wenqian then belatedly realized what had happened, and chuckled, patting his forehead. "Look at me, I forgot Jing Shu was still here. But it's alright, we're all family now. Jing Shu is a sensible child, she shouldn't object to Uncle Li being your father, right?"

Shen Jingshu raised her eyes, her face still showing a well-behaved and docile expression, her voice sweet: "I don't object. As long as Mom is happy, I'm fine with anything. Everything is Mom's priority."

"Good girl, what a good daughter."

Li Wenqian was increasingly pleased with Shen Jingshu. He immediately took out a black and gold bank card from his pocket and handed it to her. "There is five million in this card. It's a gift from Uncle Li to you. From now on, I will have someone deposit one million into your card every month as your allowance. You can buy whatever you want or do whatever you want without any restraint."

Upon hearing this, Lin Wanqing was immediately stunned and quickly said, "This is too much! Mr. Li, this is unacceptable!"

The Shen family had worked hard for so many years, and all their assets combined were only ten million. Li Wenqian gave five million in one go, which was equivalent to giving away half of the Shen family's assets. It was too generous and made her feel flattered.

Shen Jingshu secretly marveled at this; this was the confidence of a top-tier wealthy family—they were indeed incredibly rich and powerful.

But she showed no surprise or loss of composure. She simply took the bank card with both hands and smiled sweetly, "Thank you, Uncle Li." Her well-behaved and sensible demeanor made Li Wenqian even happier.

Then, the butler stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "Miss Jing Shu, you must be tired from your journey. I will take you to your room to rest."

Li Wenqian then took Lin Wanqing's hand and said gently, "I'll take you to our room."

The two parted ways. Shen Jingshu followed the butler to a room at the end of the second-floor corridor. The butler took out a key, opened the door, and helped carry her suitcase inside, speaking respectfully and gently: "Miss Jingshu, this will be your private room from now on. It's over 100 square meters and fully furnished. If you need anything, please feel free to ask the servants or come to me."

"Thank you, Uncle Butler, for your trouble." Shen Jingshu thanked him politely.

The butler smiled and nodded, then gently closed the door and left.

After confirming that the housekeeper had left, Shen Jingshu locked the door behind her and carefully examined the room.

The nearly 100-square-meter space is spacious and airy, decorated in a gentle, understated luxury style. It is not overly ostentatious, but exudes exquisite sophistication in every detail.

In the center is a large, soft princess bed, and by the window are a custom-made dressing table and bookshelves. The room has a separate walk-in closet and bathroom, and even the decorations are perfectly matched, showing that it has been carefully arranged.

Compared to the small, cramped, and neglected room in the Shen family home where everyone always had to give way to Shen Xinyi, this place was worlds apart.

Shen Jingshu walked to the bedside and sat down, her fingertips tracing the space jade bracelet on her wrist, a hint of determination flashing in her eyes.

Shen Jingshu did not relax immediately. Instead, she looked around carefully, checking every corner. She then used the mystical techniques taught by her master to thoroughly investigate the room and confirmed that there were no cameras or surveillance devices. Even the most hidden listening devices could not be hidden. Only then did she feel a little relieved.

She raised her hand and gently stroked the warm jade bracelet on her wrist, feeling the familiar coolness and touch on her fingertips.

With a thought in her mind, the jade bracelet faintly emitted a soft white light, as if a sleeping creature had been awakened.

"Go in."

The low murmur had barely ended when another blinding white light flashed.

Shen Jingshu's figure vanished from the room in an instant, and the next second, she found herself in a completely different space.

This is the jade bracelet space that has always been with her since she began her cultivation with her master, Xuanjizi.

The space was well-organized, a small world filled with lush vegetation and spiritual energy. It was her secret base for storing cultivation items and her strongest support in this life.

In the center of the space, a pool of spiritual spring water quietly shimmered with a faint light. The spring water was clear and cold, and the spiritual energy was so rich that it was almost tangible.

This spiritual spring not only aids in cultivation but also nourishes the body and stabilizes the soul. Her rapid cultivation is entirely due to drinking the spiritual spring water daily.

Neatly arranged beside the spring were the magical artifacts and talismans she had crafted in her previous life, as well as several bottles of unused pills.

Seeing that all the items were intact and complete, Shen Jingshu breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling a warmth in her heart.

She originally thought that her master had exhausted all his strength to send her back by using magic against the heavens, and that it would be good enough if the space could be preserved. She never expected that he would bring back these private treasures as well, which was a pleasant surprise.

After confirming that everything was correct, she had a sudden thought, and she flashed out of the space, her figure reappearing in the room.

She walked to the window and gently pushed it open a crack.

The moment the cold wind rushed in, her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly—

From the moment she stepped into the Li family's gate, she sensed that something was amiss.

Despite being a luxurious mansion nestled against the mountain and facing the sun, it was much colder and more gloomy than outside. The air seemed to be wrapped in a layer of lingering chill, and above the villa, there were faint but unusually stagnant wisps of yin energy.

Is there a problem with the feng shui of the house?

Shen Jingshu subconsciously tried to calculate with her fingers, but as soon as her fingertips moved, everything in front of her became blurry, and she couldn't see any divination results.

She understood instantly.

Now that she has married into the Li family with her mother, she has become kinship ties with the Li family. The divination does not accurately predict her own fate, and it often fails to accurately predict the fate of those close to her as well.

If she were as powerful as her master, Xuanjizi, she would naturally not be subject to this limitation. However, after her rebirth, her cultivation level had clearly declined. Furthermore, the Heavenly Dao of this world suppressed mystical arts. Now, she could only barely perform physiognomy and divination, and she could not use powerful spells such as levitation or object manipulation.

However, she was not in a hurry.

If you lose your cultivation, you can slowly regain it; as for the strange things about the Li family, since you're already involved, there will be a day when you find out the truth.

So many things happened today—

Suddenly reborn, her parents' falling out, discovering that Shen Xinyi also carries memories of her past life, and arriving at the Li family... she is exhausted both physically and mentally.

Shen Jingshu stopped thinking about it, turned around and went into the bathroom, filled a tub with hot water, and soaked herself in the warm water, letting go of all the dust and tension.