Chapter 97 Can you please be a little more composed?

Chapter 97

Whether it was because the pain in her wound had finally lessened or because Shen Suining had adapted, after resting at home for two days, she finally felt that the pain in her left shoulder was no longer to the point that she could not ignore.

When Su Xiyao came to change her dressing, Shen Fengyu watched from the side, her face even more tense than Shen Suining's, and she didn't even dare to breathe.

Shen Suining couldn't help but chuckle, "You insisted on staying to watch, and then you felt sorry for the child after watching. Why are you so difficult to please?"

"Young Master, are you perhaps a little drowsy from sleeping too much these past few days? I'm clearly not worried about you," Shen Fengyu coughed twice to make his expression appear more natural, "but rather I'm thinking that now that you can feel pain, you'll probably be less impulsive in the future."

"Hmm—"

Shen Suining moved slightly, accidentally aggravating her wound, causing her to wince in pain and groan softly.

Shen Fengyu was so frightened that she immediately compromised: "Okay, okay, I'm too worried about the young master to think about anything else, so please be careful and don't move around."

Shen Suining glanced at her, looking rather disdainful.

After Su Xiyao changed her dressing, Shen Fengyu went over to pull up her clothes. Only after confirming that Shen Suining's expression was normal did she breathe a sigh of relief.

However, her expression quickly turned serious again, and she said, "These past few days, I've had Lingrui and the other two brothers inquire around. Huadu is indeed full of hidden talents, and there are a few low-profile martial arts masters. Although we haven't directly fought against them yet, we won't let any of those who injured the young master like this get away with it."

"You don't need to tell me. If I find that scumbag, I won't let him go either." Shen Suining snorted coldly, tugging at her left sleeve with her right hand.

Her left hand is still not very flexible, and yesterday the princess almost noticed her weakness. Fortunately, Shen Fengyu was there to help her, and she managed to cover it up with a laugh.

These past two days, Shen Suining has been sleeping longer than she's awake, and she hasn't seen He Hansheng much. But she knows he'll come back at night. Every time she wakes up, the blankets are tucked in tightly, and there are signs that someone has lain down next to her. He usually leaves early in the morning and doesn't come back until late at night, so the two of them hardly ever speak.

Thinking of this, Shen Suining rubbed her face with some irritation, suddenly stood up from the bamboo couch, and accidentally aggravated her wound, making her wince in pain.

"..." Shen Fengyu looked at her speechlessly, "Can't you be a little more composed?"

Shen Suining rubbed her left shoulder, glared at her, and cursed inwardly. After a moment, she finally stood up straight. "I want to go out for some fresh air. I get so angry when I stay in the room."

Shen Fengyu and Su Xiyao exchanged a glance, seemingly seeking her opinion.

After a moment's thought, Su Xiyao nodded. "Alright, but you should wear more clothes before going out. If you catch a cold, the young master's injury will probably heal even more slowly."

Upon hearing this, Shen Fengyu immediately went to the closet and rummaged through several thick quilted clothes to wrap Shen Suining up in layers. Still feeling it wasn't warm enough, she found a fox fur coat with a fur hood from somewhere and draped it over her, thoughtfully fastening the hood.

Shen Suining: "..."

"Are you trying to make me suffer from heatstroke in this cold winter?" Shen Suining felt like she couldn't breathe, but because her left hand was inconvenient, she couldn't resist and could only let Shen Fengyu dress her up so tightly that she couldn't breathe.

She blew a breath to brush the fluff off her cheek, frowned, and asked, "Where did this dress come from? I don't remember having anything like this in my closet."

Shen Fengyu was concentrating on tying the bow tie on her fox fur coat, which was clearly not her forte. Upon hearing this, she looked up and said "Hmm?", then replied matter-of-factly, "Of course, it was prepared for you by the young master."

"He has this kind of fetish?"

After blowing on it for a while, the fluff still made her face itchy. Shen Suining was extremely disgusted and took off her hat, pushing away the hand warmer that Shen Fengyu handed her. "Alright, I'm just going out of my room, it doesn't have to be such a big deal."

After saying that, Shen Suining strode towards the door. The moment she opened the door, she took a few deep breaths and finally felt that the inexplicable resentment that had been building up in her heart dissipate a little.

"Phew!" After leaving the room as she wished, Shen Suining strolled to the bamboo forest in the backyard. It was not far from the training ground, where three wolfhounds were kept and looked after by several guards in turns.

Although they were chained, they weren't treated too badly.

"Erni~ Dazhuang! Sanpang...you've gotten even rounder!"

Shen Suining called out from afar, and the three wolfhounds had already caught her scent. Before she could even approach, they pounced on her, frightening Shen Fengyu and the guards who held them back with all their might.

While tightening the chains, Shen Fengyu shouted, "Young Master, these three have been eating a lot of good stuff since winter began! They've gained several pounds! If they touch you now, you'll be in pain for most of the night!"

"I'm not stupid!" After standing at a distance, Shen Suining saw that not only Sanpang had become rounder, but even the usually most dignified Erni had also become much rounder.

She frowned and looked at Jing Kong, who had been taking care of them that day.

Shen Suining knew best about the appetites of these three cubs. In the past, at Shuyu Manor, they would go up the mountain to hunt wild game to feed them. But Huadu obviously didn't have that kind of means. In addition, since the beginning of winter, the price of meat outside had soared. In the long run, this would be a considerable expense for the Marquis's mansion.

Perhaps guessing Shen Suining's concerns, Jing Kong explained, "Madam, please rest assured, the Marquis has given instructions, and we will naturally act accordingly."

Given the precedent of the porridge distribution being disrupted by overturned tables and canopies, Shen Suining felt that what those troublemakers said back then wasn't entirely unfounded. Although she wouldn't abandon her original life for fear of public opinion, the weather outside was freezing cold, and poor people couldn't even afford a bowl of hot porridge, let alone fish and meat. Under these circumstances, the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion should naturally be more cautious.

Moreover, with the eldest princess currently ill, He Hansheng's situation in Huadu is not optimistic either.

However, since it was He Hansheng who gave the order, Shen Suining didn't ask any more questions. The smell of medicine mixed with the stench of blood on her body, so she didn't stay for long. She greeted the three wolfhounds from a distance and then strolled back to the front yard.

Shen Suining pondered for a long time on the way, and finally made up her mind to say to Shen Fengyu: "After the spring... let's send Dazhuang and the others back to Yangzhou."

Shen Fengyu paused for a moment, and although she was a little confused, she still answered "yes" without asking any further questions.

After wandering around, we returned to Tamei Garden.

In the courtyard, the begonias carved by He Hansheng had faded a bit after the wind and snow. Compared to the beauty of real flowers, they had a more rustic and weathered beauty, like an old, empty courtyard overgrown with moss and weeds. Every corner of the courtyard seemed to carry heavy memories and indescribable emotions.

Upon thinking of this word, Shen Suining paused for a moment, then gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Is it "profound"? She and He Hansheng have only known each other for half a year, and they are still newlyweds in the midst of their passionate love. Even though they have gone through life and death together, they certainly cannot be described as "profound".

But those petals were carved by that person, one by one. Shen Suining was most unwilling to do anything that would belittle someone else's feelings. Looking at those mottled marks, she had Xiangye bring over a small stool as if possessed. She sat in the flower bushes, picked up a pen and brush, and carefully cleaned away the dust and added color.

Shen Fengyu hugged the fur fox fur coat that she had taken off because she found it cumbersome, hesitated for a long time before finally speaking up: "Young Master, you only have one hand left, why make things difficult for yourself?"

Shen Suining: "..."

Just as Shen Suining, who rarely showed interest, was about to lash out, Jing Hao came over and said respectfully, "Madam, a young lady surnamed Xu has sent a visiting card, saying she wishes to meet you."

"Miss Xu?" Shen Suining paused for a moment. "Xu Zhen?"

Jing Hao nodded. "Miss Xu has sent her visiting cards several times, but you haven't been here these past few days."

Shen Suining said "Oh," and was about to get up to tidy up before formally receiving the guest, but when she looked at the faded wooden begonias scattered on the floor, she suddenly had an idea, sat back down, and said, "Go and invite her in."

Jing Hao paused, then confirmed again: "Does Madam mean to meet Miss Xu here?"

"Hmm," seeing that Jing Hao hadn't made a move, Shen Suining asked, "Isn't that a problem?"

Jing Hao wanted to remind them that it was not appropriate for first-time guests to enter the backyard, especially the residence of the Madam and the Marquis, but considering Shen Suining's personality, he let it go and simply replied "Yes" before going to invite someone.

Shen Fengyu asked curiously, "That Miss Xu probably came to thank you specifically for what happened on the Winter Solstice. It's not really appropriate for you to see her here, is it?"

“What’s inappropriate about it? There’s no one else here. We’ll prepare the tea and snacks later, so it won’t be considered unfair to them,” Shen Suining said without looking up. “This way I feel more at ease. After all, you know that I’ve been traveling in Yangzhou for many years. I won’t say I’m punishing evil and promoting good or acting as a chivalrous knight, but I’ve helped quite a few people. This is the first time someone has come to formally express their gratitude like this.”

Shen Fengyu thought about it and agreed. In the past, when it was in Yangzhou, it was inconvenient to reveal their identities. When they helped others, they would use some unknown fake face and fake identity. Even if the people they helped wanted to help, they would not be able to find them at all.

After Jing Hao led Xu Lanji in, he bowed and left, leaving Xu Lanji standing alone, looking somewhat awkward.

"Do you understand painting?" Shen Suining broke the silence, getting straight to the point without any preamble or pleasantries.

Xu Lan was slightly taken aback, then replied, "I know a little bit."

"Phew, that's great! Come help me!" Shen Suining straightened up and waved her paintbrush at Xu Lanji as if asking for help. "I don't know anything about this. These colors look ordinary, but I just can't figure out how to match them."

Xu Lan saw the paint and brushes scattered on the ground, as well as a large area of ​​faded wooden crabapple carvings, and smiled knowingly.

She handed the box she was carrying to Shen Fengyu, then knelt down next to Shen Suining and picked up the paintbrush from the ground. "Let me help you."

Xu Lanji was very skillful, and soon she was able to restore the original color of the crabapple blossoms. The two girls, along with the rest of the people in the Plum Garden, worked together all afternoon and finally managed to restore the faded colors.

After finishing the last flower, the two girls smiled at each other, both looking a little disheveled.

Shen Suining took the handkerchief Xiangye brought and handed it to Xu Lanji, saying, "You've helped me a lot this time, so we're even now. There's no need for you to say 'thank you'."

Xu Lan paused slightly, took the handkerchief, remained silent for a moment, and then replied, "Okay."

“However,” Xu Lan stood up, picked up the box that was placed to the side and handed it to Shen Suining, “please be sure to accept this, Madam.”

Shen Suining: "What is this?"

"Madam lent me a hairpin that day, so of course I must return it to its rightful owner." Xu Lan opened the first box, took out Shen Suining's jade-inlaid double-bead hairpin, and presented it with both hands. She then opened the second box, which contained a food box filled with all kinds of exquisite pastries.

Perhaps feeling that the gift was not presentable, Xu Lan was slightly embarrassed. "I should have catered to Madam's tastes, but... I could only make some pastries myself. If Madam does not mind, please accept this token of my appreciation."

She didn't finish her sentence, but Shen Suining could guess the gist of it.

Xu Lanji's father, Xu Yong, had no dealings with the Yong'an Marquis's mansion, so Xu Lanji naturally had no way of finding out Shen Suining's preferences.

Shen Suining glanced at Xiangye, who immediately understood and stepped forward to take the food box from Xu Lanji's hand, smiling as she said, "Our lady has always loved sweets, Miss Xu is so thoughtful."

Hearing this, Xu Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief. "So that's how it is. No wonder I saw several stalls selling sweet soup in the alley next to the Marquis's mansion when I came in."

Shen Suining's expression changed.