Chapter 110 Don't Touch Me!

Chapter 110 Don't Touch Me!

Aunt Chen's house is right next to Shen Tang's, just a few steps away.

Shen Tang pushed open the courtyard gate, and Manman, hearing the noise at the door, cheerfully came to greet her. But when she saw Meng Huaiyan, her lips immediately pursed.

She jogged forward and pulled Meng Huaiyan's hand away from Shen Tang's, then hugged Shen Tang's leg and glared at him unhappily.

Meng Huaiyan was almost amused by Manman's antics. Yesterday, when he brought her toys, she called him "Daddy" in a sweet, childlike voice.

Meng Huaiyan felt a little annoyed that he had completely forgotten about him today.

Shen Tang squatted down and pinched her cheek: "Manman, you can't be rude. How has your mother taught you?"

Manman pouted, somewhat dissatisfied, but still listened to her mother and reluctantly called out "Father".

Meng Huaiyan reached out and patted her head, praising, "So full of life."

During dinner that evening, Shen Tang suddenly asked, "Aren't you busy lately? Why have you been finishing your shifts so early these past two days?"

She remembered that when she was in the capital, Meng Huaiyan rarely finished his shift this early.

Examining officials, supervising local governance, and checking local cases and accounts are all complex and demanding tasks, so naturally, they are very busy.

The emperor was well aware of this, so he gave them ample time, granting them a month and a half.

However, when Meng Huaiyan first arrived, he was eager to return to the capital, so he and his subordinates worked day and night to finish up a month's worth of official business in just half a month.

As the last place in Jiangnan, Nancheng was originally intended to be dealt with in two or three days before Meng Huaiyan rushed back to the capital.

Unexpectedly, they ran into Shen Tang here, so the trip back to the capital was no longer in a hurry.

"I've taken care of most things before, so I haven't been particularly busy lately, which gives me more time to spend with you and Manman."

Shen Tang secretly pursed her lips, thinking to herself, "I don't need you to keep me company. You should be busy."

Not long after finishing her meal, Manman was playing with her toys when she suddenly ran over and hugged Chen Tang, saying that she was hungry and wanted to eat pastries.

Shen Tang frowned slightly and said gently to her, "But you just ate some yesterday, didn't you? Have you forgotten what the doctor said about teeth getting cavities if you eat too many sweets?"

Manman pursed her lips and remained silent, staring at her with her large, round eyes, as if on the verge of tears.

Shen Tang's heart ached at the sight. She could still harden her heart and refuse when Manman was crying and making a fuss, but when Manman looked at her so pitifully, she just couldn't bring herself to say no.

Shen Tang eventually softened her heart.

"You can eat it, but only two pieces. You can't eat it for the next few days after that, okay?"

Manman nodded happily when she heard her mother agree.

Shen Tang went to the kitchen and brought over a plate of pastries. She divided them into two full pieces and planned to keep the rest for herself, but unexpectedly, Meng Huaiyan suddenly reached out a hand.

Shen Tang instinctively flinched: "What are you doing?"

"I want to eat it too."

Upon hearing this, Shen Tang immediately snorted coldly and said sarcastically, "Lord Meng's stomach is very precious. Please do not eat my morsels."

Meng Huaiyan frowned: "How could that be? Your pastries are delicious, I love them."

"Really? But I seem to remember that you threw away all the pastries I gave to Lord Meng before. What? Has Lord Meng's memory gotten so bad in just five years?"

A flicker of panic crossed Meng Huaiyan's eyes, and he asked with difficulty, "How did you know?"

Shen Tang scoffed lightly: "Since you dare to do it, are you afraid of others finding out?"

Meng Huaiyan tried to explain, but the words he was about to say remained unspoken. He lowered his eyes and said with remorse.

"I made a mistake. I shouldn't have let you down. I'm sorry..."

Shen Tang didn't necessarily want to dwell on this matter. She could understand that he disliked her so much back then, so he would naturally discard the things she gave him.

I just suddenly remembered this and felt a little upset.

"Forget it, it's been so long, you can eat it if you want."

Meng Huaiyan glanced at her cautiously: "Are you still angry?"

Shen Tang glanced at him: "I'm not angry."

Meng Huaiyan felt that Shen Tang was still angry because he had secretly held her hand last night, and she had let him hold it.

Tonight, he had secretly taken her hand when her breathing had calmed down, but unexpectedly, Shen Tang shook off his hand the next second and whispered a rebuke: "Don't touch me!"

"......"

*

The next day, as soon as Meng Huaiyan stepped out of the courtyard, his face darkened, and he said to Tingsong.

"Go and receive ten strokes of the cane yourself."

"Huh?!" Tingsong's eyes widened instantly, somewhat confused, and he asked anxiously.

"Your Highness, I do not know what I have done wrong. Please enlighten me so that I will not repeat the mistake!"

Meng Huaiyan said, "I told you to throw away the pastries that Shen Tang sent over and to be careful. How did she find out about this?"

Tingsong was momentarily stunned: "I...I always waited until the Crown Princess or Ayun left before I threw them away, so how could the Crown Princess have known..."

Meng Huaiyan remained silent with a cold expression.

Knowing he had made a mistake, Tingsong knelt on the ground and begged for forgiveness: "It was my fault for failing in my duties. I am willing to accept the punishment."

Meng Huaiyan glanced at him with lowered eyes, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

Tingsong broke out in a cold sweat, stood up, and exchanged a knowing glance with Qingyang.

Qingyang glared at him and said in a low voice, "Be more careful next time. Don't be so clumsy."

He nodded repeatedly.

Fortunately, Shen Tang's anger didn't last long. By evening, Shen Tang's complexion looked no different from usual, and Meng Huaiyan's worries that had lasted all day finally subsided.

He seemed to never quite know how to coax Shen Tang. Meng Huaiyan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, wishing Shen Tang were as easy to understand as official business.

The days passed by slowly and uneventfully. In the last seven or eight days, thanks to Meng Huaiyan's tireless efforts, Manman finally stopped rejecting him as much as before.

She would even come to greet him and call him "Father" when he returned home from work.

Meng Huaiyan felt like he was in a dream during this period.

Everything he hoped for seemed to be going in a good direction. He and Shen Tang lived their ordinary lives like any other couple in the world.

The southern part of the city is not large, so there wasn't much official business to handle. Even though we handled it at a leisurely pace, we eventually finished. That's why I left work exceptionally early today.

Meng Huaiyan guessed that Shen Tang was busy in her shop at this time, so he got up and walked towards her shop, intending to wait for her to finish so they could go home together.

But to his surprise, as soon as he arrived at the shop entrance, he saw Shen Tang smiling broadly at a man, and the man's gaze toward her was clearly not innocent.

Seeing this scene, Meng Huaiyan's face instantly darkened.

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I have some things to do tomorrow and might have to take the day off, so there's a high chance I won't be updating. Sorry!