Chapter 12 Chapter 12 He is... so handsome.

Zhu Yinluan was still in shock and gasped with her mouth open.

She tilted her head back and tilted her little face up, and was forced to see the man's face clearly.

“…”

The man in front of me has picturesque eyebrows and eyes, and a handsome and elegant look.

He is...very handsome.

He was like a gentleman on the altar, cold and aloof, unlike an ordinary person. But he held her waist, and under his big arm, she could feel the warmth of the man's palm through the thin clothes.

If a gentleman is on the altar, he should be free of desires and should not receive warmth from others.

Before Zhu Yinluan came to her senses and broke free, the other party let go of her and put some distance between them.

"I was quick to act just now. I'm sorry for being rude to you, madam." His voice was so gentle that Zhu Yinluan almost remembered where she had heard it before.

Jingxi Alley, Shen Family Pharmacy.

Is it him… ?

The prince of the marquisate.

Last time, I didn't see Shen Jingzhan's appearance clearly, I only saw his back, but this time, I actually saw him face to face.

Zhu Yinluan's pounding heart had not yet calmed down.

She stumbled a little, which was rare. "No, no problem."

After he finished speaking, he felt that he was really too rude, so he thanked him again and said some nice words.

For some reason, when she stood next to Shen Jingzhan, she felt inexplicably panicked and nervous.

Maybe it was because he had helped her many times? And she was worried whether anyone had seen what they had just done.

After all, she was a guest in someone else's house, and there were many people around. Zhu Yinluan looked around while adjusting her skirt, but did not see anyone coming.

Glancing to the side, he found Shen Jingzhan approaching the lotus pond, leaning over with a dead branch in his hand, and the red carp trapped in the crack of the stone platform was rescued by him so easily.

Zhu Yinluan's gaze unconsciously fell on him.

The man in front of him had a face as white as jade, and his tall figure was outlined by a moon-colored brocade suit. His every move showed the demeanor of a young master from an aristocratic family.

What was even more strange was that she felt that Shen Jingzhan gave her an inexplicable sense of familiarity, but she couldn't capture it.

In order to figure out where this feeling came from, Zhu Yinluan watched for a moment.

After Shen Jingzhan stood up, he noticed her eyes looking at him and asked her loudly if she had anything else to say.

Whatever he said was something else was just a subtle way of asking her why she was looking at him like that.

Zhu Yinluan quickly looked away, her eyelashes trembling unnaturally, "Nothing... nothing happened."

But she didn't know that when she looked away, the calmness on the man's face was mostly concealed, and the eyes staring at her profile gradually became deep and gloomy.

"I still have to thank Master Shen for his help." She bit her lip, trying to hide her embarrassment as much as possible.

But suddenly I heard a chuckle from the person next to me.

His laughter did not sound frivolous, but rather deep and pleasant.

"It's just a simple favor. My wife has thanked me several times."

Now that things had come to this, and in order to ease the awkwardness of the conversation, Zhu Yinluan mentioned the rescue a few days ago.

"I don't have the jade wheel with me today. I will return it to you someday along with the troupe's badge and the ambergris."

Hearing the word "you", Shen Jingzhan's eyebrows raised slightly.

He said, "It is not appropriate to take back something that has been given away. Besides, my lady didn't take my things for nothing."

The jade wheel and the playing cards were not “free”, but the ambergris was…

She was about to speak when the man beside her seemed to guess what she was going to say.

"Although ambergris is valuable, it would be a pity to keep it in the warehouse. Since it can be used to treat diseases and save lives, it is the best way to make the best use of it."

Zhu Yinluan was quite shocked when she heard what he said.

The wealthy and powerful in the capital city rely on their power. Which one of them is easy to approach and get along with?

She said that the women in the inner court whom she had been dealing with for many years, even if they had not squeezed into the ranks of the high-ranking families in the capital, relied on their husband's family to gain a foothold in the capital and got official positions in the capital, and they were all arrogant.

This is the case even for the women in the rear quarters who rely on their husbands, not to mention the men in charge of the front courtyard.

During the two years when Wei Ruzhuo had no hope of promotion and encountered setbacks everywhere, he talked to her a lot. He often said that it was difficult to get into the officialdom and that it all depended on one's family background. The Wei family was poor and few people looked up to him. They often spoke coldly to him. It was only in the past year that he gradually gained respect and admiration.

She had long heard of the reputation of this prince of the Marquisate.

I heard that he was destined to be the eldest son of a marquisate when he was born, and was promoted to the imperial court when he was young. With his extraordinary talent and handsome appearance, he was such a favored child of heaven. Everything in the world would be easily within his reach.

I thought he would be aloof and unapproachable, but I didn't expect him to be so gentle, polite and approachable?

“…That being said, it’s against the rules after all.”

"My lady, you value propriety and etiquette, which I can understand. If returning this item can make you feel relieved, then I will do as you say."

"If there is a chance in the future, my lady, please bring gifts and return it." Not only did he not have the airs of a rich young man, he was also thoughtful and meticulous, making people feel like spring breeze.

Zhu Yinluan agreed but said nothing more. She was wondering whether she should say goodbye.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching. It was Mingya. She came back with fish food.

Zhu Yinluan was wondering how to explain the person who appeared next to her if Mingya asked.

But when I turned around, the man was nowhere to be seen.

He really came and went without a trace.

Besides being mysterious, it also saves a lot of trouble.

"Miss, what are you looking at?" Mingya noticed that she was distracted and asked.

Zhu Yinluan shook her head, "No..." She naturally would not mention this matter.

After feeding the fish for a while, Zhu Yinluan took Mingya away. Before leaving, she looked around and did not see Shen Jingzhan.

After she left, the man appeared with his entourage and looked in the direction she left, "..."

"Sister-in-law, where did you go just now?" Wei Mingyan didn't see Zhu Yinluan and thought she had come back, but then she thought it was unlikely. Even if Zhu Yinluan wanted to leave, she would send someone to tell her.

"Let's go for a walk in the back hall." Wei Mingyan's first child was brought over by a maid.

Zhu Yinluan teased him for a while. The child was still young and shy, so he didn't say much, so it was not a good idea to tease him too much.

Zhu Yinluan thought about what had just happened and recalled several previous events, and couldn't help but feel that it was a coincidence.

Why do I keep running into this Prince Shen?

Although he is a nice person, Zhu Yinluan is worried about the coincidences that she has encountered recently.

She pretended to ask casually, "Just now I heard that people from the Shen family are here too?"

Wei Mingyan raised her eyebrows and lowered her voice, "Sister-in-law, are you asking about the Marquis's son, Shen Jingzhan?"

Zhu Yinluan's heart skipped a beat, as she somehow was seen through by Wei Mingyan. However, she did not dare to act rashly, fearing to say something wrong, so she just nodded.

Shen Jingzhan is famous in the capital, and many people are asking about him.

Wei Mingyan said that her husband was in charge of matters such as sacrificial ceremonies and court meetings, so he naturally had connections with high-ranking families, so people from the Shen family would come.

Wei Mingyan also told Zhu Yinluan that her husband did not go with her to the door to greet her because he was receiving people from prominent families in the study, including Prince Shen.

"This is face." Zhu Yinluan smiled.

After hearing this, I felt relieved, but thinking back on it, I felt that she was really too suspicious.

She has been married for several years. How could this Master Shen have any plans for her?

Apart from this, there is nothing about the Zhu and Wei families that is worthy of the Shen family's approach.

Maybe Master Shen is a kind-hearted person. It would be inappropriate for her to maliciously speculate on his intentions just because of their different status. This is really not a good idea.

After a while, the banquet was held.

Men and women were not allowed to sit at the same table, and several large four-sided screens were used to separate them.

Even so, one could still see the shadowy figures of people at the next table.

The table at the head was where the top families in the capital sat.

While Zhu Yinluan was eating, she kept hearing the women next to her whispering. They were talking about the young men who came today, and three of their sentences were about Shen Jingzhan.

She also said that if she had known that Shen Jingzhan would come today, she should have changed into a bright pomegranate skirt and a more gorgeous pearl hairpin, and should not have been so shabby.

"Prince Shen has already reached the age of twenty. I heard that the old lady of the Shen family is currently selecting a girl of the right age for him. I wonder which noble lady in whose family will have such a good fortune."

"Princess Feng'an is interested in Prince Shen. Will His Majesty grant them a marriage?"

"Princess Feng'an has so many concubines in private, how could Prince Shen be interested in her?"

"Even if she looks down on me, she is still a princess after all. How can we compare with her?"

"It's nothing more than being born into a good family..." Openly discussing the royal family would inevitably lead to gossip.

Before the woman could finish her words, someone bumped her wrist and signaled her with eyes to stop talking, saying that Princess Feng'an was not someone to be trifled with.

Although the woman restrained herself and did not mention Princess Feng'an again, she still lingered on this topic and kept discussing Shen Jingzhan's marriage.

After taking a round of inspection, Wei Mingyan sat down next to Zhu Yinluan and smiled as he discussed with her in a low voice, asking her which noble lady she thought would pick the bright moon over Shangjing?

Zhu Yinluan shook her head truthfully, "I don't know."

"Sister-in-law, guess what? People outside are talking about this matter. We can also discuss it."

"Maybe...a lady from a rich and powerful family." The Shen family is a rich and powerful family, so naturally they want to find someone of equal status.

Zhu Yinluan's words were as good as nothing. Wei Mingyan said, "I guess it might be the eldest daughter of the Yao family."

"Yao family?" That seems to be the daughter of the general?

"right."

"Mrs. Shen is ill in bed, and Yao Zi, the eldest daughter of the Yao family, has been visiting the Shen family frequently."

"After all this, I'm afraid it's all been finalized privately. By the way, General Yao is also Master Shen's teacher, and he and Miss Yao are childhood sweethearts."

Childhood sweethearts?

Zhu Yinluan chewed the food slowly, savoring these four words.

In order to eliminate old malpractices in the past few years, General Yao also recommended the new Fanchang policy to the current emperor. It was precisely because of this policy that Wei Ruzhuo took advantage of the situation and escaped from the post of Dianshi.

General Yao served the country and the people, and was a good official praised by everyone. Shen Jingzhan was a student of the general, so it was no wonder that he said that the high price of ambergris did not matter, and curing diseases and saving lives was more important.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but think of what had just happened, and she glanced towards the screen.

I don’t know if it’s because of her dazzle, why does it feel like I’m meeting Shen Jingzhan’s gaze?