Seeing her brother's stunned expression, Shen Yunjiao deliberately cleared her throat and said, "Zhixuan, my brother has also helped a lot."

She wasn't lying; Shen Qinghuai had indeed been busy with this matter during this time. An official from the Ministry of Rites was shuttling between the Censorate and the Court of Judicial Review every day; anyone who didn't know better would think he had been transferred.

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhixuan was taken aback at first, and then immediately turned her tearful gaze to Shen Qinghuai.

She said somewhat shyly, "Lord Shen, thank you."

Shen Qinghuai's heart skipped a beat when she looked at him, but he quickly waved his hand, pretending to be nonchalant, "It was nothing."

Ye Zhixuan stopped crying. The one glance she made when she met Shen Qinghuai's eyes was enough to make her feel flustered and her face burning.

Shen Yunjiao's keen sixth sense told her that there was definitely something going on between the two of them.

In Dayong, at Shen Qinghuai's age, he should have already had several children, let alone gotten married.

However, Shen Qinghuai has been reluctant to get married for a long time, and no one knows why.

When Shen Zhizhang was alive, he found several good families for Shen Qinghuai to meet, but Shen Qinghuai refused to go. In the end, Shen's father had no choice but to let him go.

But Shen Yunjiao often heard her father talking about Shen Qinghuai's marriage, and over time she also began to hope that Shen Qinghuai could find a partner soon.

Moreover, it was obvious that the light in his eyes when he saw Ye Zhixuan was unmistakable.

Shen Yunjiao decided to give it a push, and immediately pretended to slap her forehead in annoyance, saying, "Oh dear, I forgot that the balm we need for the clinic tomorrow hasn't been brewed yet."

After saying that, she handed the tea whisk to Shen Qinghuai, "Brother, I haven't finished making the tea yet, why don't you help me?"

“Okay, go ahead, I’ll help you.” Shen Qinghuai didn’t doubt it and went straight to the table, took the tea whisk and slowly stirred the tea paste.

Shen Yunjiao chuckled to herself, turned around and pushed open the door, then secretly closed it tightly as she left.

Only Shen Ye and Chen Ye remained in the room.

Ye Zhixuan sat somewhat awkwardly on the pearwood chair. Her painting was not yet finished, but Lord Shen was busy over there, so she did not dare to go forward to continue painting.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ye Zhixuan only saw Shen Qinghuai's broad shoulders, but just that tall figure made her feel a strange sense of satisfaction, and the joy that followed was almost overflowing from her heart.

This was the first time she had been alone with Shen Qinghuai.

This feels so unreal, like a dream.

If it's a dream, she hopes she never wakes up.

Shen Qinghuai let out a puzzled "Eh," and turned to look at Ye Zhixuan, who was sitting in a daze on the pear blossom chair.

"Miss Zhixuan, why isn't my tea foaming?"

Ye Zhixuan immediately snapped out of her daze upon hearing his voice.

Seeing Shen Qinghuai's clumsy movements, she quickly got up to teach him, "Lord Shen, when making tea, you must stir it in one direction to make it foamy. Please keep stirring, and when foam appears on the surface of the tea, I will add a little boiling water to your teacup."

"Uh, okay." Shen Qinghuai nodded and continued what he was doing, but strangely enough, when Ye Zhixuan came over, she brought with her a delicate and refined fragrance, which made him feel a little uneasy.

He secretly glanced to the side and saw the woman staring intently at the tea soup. In the flickering lamplight, her face was as white as jade, radiating a warm, gentle glow.

Shen Qinghuai's hand trembled slightly, and the tea was accidentally spilled. The green liquid dripped from the edge of the teacup and splashed onto the table.

On the table was a plum blossom painting that Ye Zhixuan had only half-finished.

Shen Qinghuai hurriedly put down the teacup and reached for a dry towel on the screen shelf to wipe away the tea. However, halfway through wiping, his hand accidentally touched the teacup again, and all the tea in the bowl was spilled onto the table.

Seeing this, Ye Zhixuan quickly took out her own handkerchief to wipe it.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, Shen Qinghuai tried to move the teacup off the table, but accidentally grabbed something soft and slippery.

He was stunned for a moment.

The warm, soft touch in his hands reminded him that this was not a hard teacup.

It was Ye Zhixuan's hand.

Suddenly, a strange warm current flowed through his internal organs and reached his fingertips, causing a tingling sensation.

Ye Zhixuan looked up in surprise and saw that Shen Qinghuai's handsome face was also flushed and flustered.

"Sorry." Shen Qinghuai quickly let go of her hand, glancing away. "Um, I'll wipe it."

After saying that, he quickly moved the teacup and painting to another place and cleaned up the messy table.

Ye Zhixuan stood aside, trying her best to remain calm. When she saw Shen Qinghuai reach for a clean handkerchief, she immediately grabbed all the ones hanging on the screen frame.

The two of them were being rather cautious, avoiding eye contact with each other.

Instead, Ye Zhixuan noticed first that Shen Qinghuai's cuffs were slightly unstitched, and hesitantly spoke up, "Lord Shen, your official robe is unstitched. Would you like me to sew it for you?"

Her slender white fingertips pointed to the cuffs of Shen Qinghuai's crimson official robe.

Seeing her eyelashes trembling and her anxious expression, as if she would burst into tears again if he said no, Shen Qinghuai's refusal turned into, "Then I'll have to trouble Zhixuan."

The change from "Miss Zhixuan" to "Zhixuan" seems to convey a greater sense of intimacy, even though it's two characters shorter.

Ye Zhixuan was slightly taken aback, her ears gradually burning. She lowered her head and hurriedly went to find the embroidered box that she had just brought to Chen Yunjiao's room.

Shen Qinghuai saw Ye Zhixuan pick up an embroidery needle and thread and slowly walk towards him with a limp.

"Lord Shen, please extend your hand."

Shen Qinghuai heard her very soft request, her voice tense. She lowered her head, her face flushed like a ripe pomegranate flower, swaying precariously as if about to be picked.

Shen Qinghuai's breath hitched, and his fingertips clenched tightly.

"Lord Shen?"

Unable to get a response, Ye Zhixuan could only slightly raise her head to look at Shen Qinghuai, her clear eyes, like those of a young deer, filled with innocence and inquiry.

It was only then that Shen Qinghuai realized that Ye Zhixuan, like a spring reed, exuded a shy and timid affection, swaying in the wind.

The tension in his mind instantly reached its peak, and a voice inside him said, "No, you can't get any closer to her like this!"

"Lord Shen?"

Ye Zhixuan called out again, somewhat puzzled.

Shen Qinghuai finally came to his senses and quickly took a big step back, forcing himself to leave the beautiful woman who was as warm and fragrant as jade.

"Well, Miss Ye, I'm used to being rough around the edges, so I won't trouble you." Shen Qinghuai coughed and explained, then waved his sleeves behind his back, his face becoming more serious and distant.

Seeing Ye Zhixuan stunned for a moment, with both shame and dejection on her face, Shen Qinghuai was afraid that she would overthink after being rejected by him, so he quickly said, "Miss Ye, I still have official business to attend to. I just rushed over to tell you about Lord Ye's matter. Now I have to go back to my study."