Shen Wan was in a terrible mood.

He didn't say another word on the way back from the Marquis of Pingyang's residence to the Prince of Ling's residence.

However, things got worse. Back at Moyuxuan, Shen Wan went straight to her room to pour herself some tea and calm herself down. Yin Shuang followed behind her, and as they entered the room, Dong'er pulled her aside to talk.

Shen Wan finished a cup of tea in one gulp. Yin Shuang walked in, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.

Shen Wan looked up and saw it, saying, "Speak your mind."

Yinshuang said, "The Princess Consort asked Dong'er to go see Princess Huai'an. Dong'er went, but Princess Huai'an's maid blocked the door and wouldn't let Dong'er in. Dong'er found it strange, so she went around to the back window and peeked out..."

Shen Wan frowned. "What did you see?"

Yinshuang whispered, "Dong'er heard the maid of Princess Huai'an advising her not to cry, saying that her eyes were swollen and it wouldn't be good if the young master saw them..."

These words undoubtedly made Shen Wan's already bad mood even worse.

The eldest brother did not fall in love with Princess Huai'an.

Princess Huai'an also did not want to marry her elder brother.

However, they were forcibly bound together by an imperial decree of marriage.

What kind of mess has she made?

Shen Wan was extremely restless and depressed.

Picking up her teacup and taking another sip, Haitang and Yinshuang nudged each other, and Chenwan said, "Anything else? Report it all at once."

Yinshuang nudged Haitang, who said, "When we came back just now, Yinshuang and I saw Second Miss leave the manor through the west gate of the Marquis's residence from inside the carriage..."

After Haitang finished speaking, Yinshuang added, "I heard from Chun'er that Second Cousin wore a veil when she entered the manor, and only took it off after passing through the second gate."

Shen Wan knew that Yun Rui was hiding from one of the three: the Prince of Yanping, Tang Ze, and Lu Cheng.

But she hid so much that she was afraid of being recognized that she wore a veil even when she came to the Pingyang Marquis's mansion for the wedding banquet, and she was still afraid of being caught, so she secretly left through a small door.

No matter who Yunrui offended, even if it's not for her sake, or even for her cousin's sake, they wouldn't make things difficult for her. Why are they so wary?

Shen Wan felt that this matter was unusual. Normally, she would definitely take it to heart, but she had just realized that she had helped her older brother but ended up making things worse. She was feeling guilty and had no heart to care about anything else, and... she didn't dare to care.

Shen Wan was upset that her good intentions had backfired. She was exhausted after a long day and hadn't taken a nap yet, so she should have just fallen asleep as soon as she lay down. However, she tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. Xie Jingyan wanted to be tender with her, but knowing that Shen Wan was in a bad mood, he could only give up the idea.

As Shen Wan turned over for the twenty-seventh time, Xie Jingyan said, "Don't overthink it, go to sleep."

Shen Wan still couldn't accept it. She asked, "If my elder brother didn't fall in love with Princess Huai'an, then who did he fall in love with?"

Xie Jingyan said, "That's no longer important."

Shen Wan said, "But I want to know."

“...Even your older brother doesn’t know who that girl is,” Xie Jingyan said.

Shen Wan sat up abruptly, looked at Xie Jingyan, and raised her voice, "My older brother doesn't know who the girl he likes is?"

Isn't this affection a bit too hasty?!

If her older brother weren't around, Shen Wan would definitely have slapped him on the back of the head.

He doesn't even know who the girl he likes is, yet he likes her to this extent. Is he out of his mind?

Xie Jingyan said, "I heard from your elder brother that he met that girl before he went to Huaizhou to secretly meet Princess Huai'an. She was also from the capital. The two agreed to meet at Huguo Temple on the sixth day of each month. However, when they met again, they were both engaged. Your elder brother was afraid that he would not be able to resist seeing her, so he did not ask whose family she was from..."

Was that girl also from Huaizhou?

A glimmer of hope welled up in Shen Wan's heart, and she said, "Is it possible that the girl is Princess Huai'an?"

Xie Jingyan said, "Your elder brother took that girl and climbed over the wall to see Princess Huai'an."

These words were like a bucket of icy, bone-chilling water, extinguishing Chen Wan's last glimmer of hope.

She figured it out.

Her older brother was in love with girls from Huaizhou.

It doesn't matter which girl it is; what matters is that she has to be from Huaizhou.

If she doesn't even know whose household the girl she likes is from, then there's a high possibility that her elder brother has fallen for the Princess of Huai'an.

Chen Wan comforted herself in this way.

Xie Jingyan said, "It's late, you should go to sleep. Don't think about it anymore."

Shen Wan didn't want to think too much about it, but she couldn't control herself.

She couldn't stay awake any longer until the early hours of the morning, and finally fell asleep.

She went to bed late and woke up late. When Shen Wan woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. Yin Shuang and Hai Tang helped her get up.

Just as she finished washing up and was getting ready for breakfast, Dong'er came in and said, "Your Highness, the Prince has arrived."

Big brother's here?

On the second day of their marriage, why did the eldest brother, instead of staying at home with Princess Huai'an, come to Prince Ling's residence?

Feeling uneasy, Shen Wan stepped out of the room. Xie Jingyan was busy in his study when he heard from the maid that Shen Du had arrived. He found it strange, put down what he was doing, and got up to leave the study.

Shen Wan stood at the door. Xie Jingyan walked towards her. Shen Du walked quickly up the steps in a few steps, passed in front of Shen Wan, and gave Xie Jingyan, who was walking towards her, a bear hug.

This hug stunned Shen Wan, Xie Jingyan, and a group of bewildered maids and servants.

Chen Du hugged Xie Jingyan and patted his arm, saying, "From today onwards, you are my brother."

Xie Jingyan, “…???”

Shen Wan, “…???”

Shen Wan looked at Shen Du, "He's your own brother, but what about me?"

Shen Du glanced at Shen Wan and uttered two words, "Sister-in-law."

Shen Wan, "..."

Xie Jingyan, "..."

She couldn't help but feel that her older brother was in a particularly good mood.

Was it just her imagination?

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