Chapter 85 There can only be one arrogant person in the team.
Bai Xiuming stood sideways to the car window, dressed in a dark, narrow-sleeved, cross-collar robe with a dark red belt around his waist, his figure striking and elegant.
Perhaps it was Ah Chan's intense gaze that finally drew a glance from the other party.
Seeing Ji Chan in Zhang Jinghuai's family carriage was truly unexpected for him.
Seeing Bai Xiuming looking over, Achan's face was full of surprise. She waved to him and greeted him warmly, "Lord Bai, what a coincidence!"
Bai Xiuming rode his horse to the carriage. Upon seeing this, Shen Huixue quietly moved to the furthest spot from the window, giving the window seat to A Chan.
"Lord Bai, are you here to escort the heir of the Duke of Li?" Achan rested her hand on the carriage window, looking up at the man on horseback, her fair face full of curiosity.
“No,” he countered, “what are you doing here?”
"I'm going to Xiling," Achan said without hesitation, then her eyes lit up. "You're going to Xiling too?"
"Um."
"We are truly destined to meet."
Just as the two were talking, a long convoy of carriages, led by several guards, left the city.
The convoy stopped in an open area outside the city, not far from them, right in Achan's line of sight.
After the caravan stopped, a man stepped out of the most luxurious carriage, followed by a woman from the carriage behind it.
The man was dressed in a white robe and held a jade-bone fan, looking every bit the elegant gentleman.
She still remembered this person. When the Xiling army entered Shangjing, she happened to see this person's profile by the roadside. Because he looked somewhat like Bai Xiuming, she remembered him very well.
However, when viewed from the front, the two don't actually look that alike.
Achan looked around and made a precise judgment: Bai Xiuming's mother was definitely much prettier than her younger brother's mother.
As for the woman in red following Bai Xiuming's younger brother, Achan had also seen her on the day they entered the capital; at that time, the two seemed to be sitting in the same carriage.
"Brother." Bai Yichen stepped forward and bowed to Bai Xiuming in greeting.
The woman behind him showed a hint of surprise when she saw Bai Xiuming. When Bai Xiuming looked over, she lowered her head with a touch of shyness and called out softly, "Young Master."
Bai Xiuming sat high on his horse, looking down at the two people in front of him, and asked in a calm tone, "What is it?"
Bai Yichen seemed unperturbed by his cold treatment and said to Bai Xiuming, "Brother, this is Shen Yingzhu, the eldest daughter of the Shen family."
Then he turned to Shen Yingzhu and said, "Yingzhu, this is my elder brother. Come and pay your respects."
Shen Yingzhu obediently stepped forward: "Shen Yingzhu greets the Crown Prince."
Shen Yingzhu... shares the same surname as Hui Xue, so they must be related.
Achan turned her head and glanced at Shen Huixue, but she had no intention of greeting her fellow clansmen and remained sitting to the side.
It seems the two have a very bad relationship, Ah Chan thought.
Bai Xiuming glanced at Shen Yingzhu once before looking away, showing no intention of getting to know her.
Seeing his indifference, Bai Yichen's smile froze, and he had no choice but to take the initiative to say, "Brother, Yingzhu is quite lonely in the group. I heard that the heir of the Duke of Liguo brought his female relatives with him. They happen to be sisters from the same clan. Would it be convenient for Yingzhu to travel with your group?"
At this moment, Zhang Jinghuai also came over and overheard the conversation between the two brothers.
He still had some impression of Shen Yingzhu, but there was one more person in the team. This was not a problem for him, but... the other party was obviously after Bai Xiuming. He remembered the rumors he had heard before that the King of Xiling had found a fiancée for Bai Xiuming. Could this be the one?
Bai Xiuming did not answer immediately, and then heard Bai Yichen say, "Brother, once we return to Xiling, you will be engaged to Yingzhu. Why be so secretive now?"
Ah Chan slightly opened her mouth. "Bai Xiuming is getting engaged?"
At this moment, Bai Xiuming suddenly turned his head and looked over. He asked A Chan, "Do you think it's convenient for me?"
Achan suddenly had a flash of inspiration: Could this person... be trying to use her to drive people away?
She tilted her head and blinked a few times, as if asking him if it meant what she thought it meant.
Bai Xiuming raised the corners of his lips, as if confirming her guess.
Neither of them spoke, but to onlookers, their exchange of glances was tantamount to conveying affection.
Seeing this, Shen Yingzhu's eyes flashed with annoyance. Although she had no intention of marrying Bai Xiuming, he was already her future husband. Now, he was being so ambiguous with other women in front of her. He clearly did not respect the prince's orders or the reputation of the Shen family.
Achan's eyes flickered, and a troubled look appeared on her face: "I feel it's not very convenient."
"Who is this young lady? Why have I never heard my brother mention her before?" Bai Yichen hadn't noticed Achan before, but this time he looked at her intently, as if trying to remember her appearance.
When I met with the Marquis of Zhenbei in private a couple of days ago, he seemed to have mentioned that Bai Xiuming treated a certain woman very differently. Could it be her?
Achan looked at Bai Xiuming again and signaled to him with her eyes, "I'm going to start targeting everyone here!"
Bai Xiuming raised his eyebrows, seemingly waiting for her to make her move.
"Probably because you're not familiar with each other," Achan said matter-of-factly.
This was the first time Bai Yichen had been so defiant to a woman, and the smile on his lips froze slightly.
Seeing A Chan's rudeness towards Bai Yichen, Shen Yingzhu's eyes flashed with displeasure, but he still tried to reason with her: "Miss, the Second Young Master is speaking to you politely, yet you speak so rudely. Isn't that a bit disrespectful?"
Hearing Shen Yingzhu's words outside, Shen Huixue looked at Achan with some concern.
Achan mocked, "Miss Shen, have you been living in a poor, remote place and never seen the rules of the capital? Even if you are a first-rank official, you can't just grab any girl and ask her name. That would be rude."
After saying that, she deliberately looked Bai Yichen up and down, her disdain clearly visible in her eyes: "Besides, this young master isn't even an official, is he?"
"How dare you!" Shen Yingzhu couldn't contain her anger and her face was full of indignation.
"Why are you making such a loud noise? It's not like we can't hear you. It's obvious that Miss Shen has never learned manners."
Bai Yichen said in a deep voice, "Miss Shen is the fiancée chosen by my father for my elder brother. Please be more polite in your words."
"Why should I be polite? She's not my fiancée. Besides, whether she's my fiancée or not is up to the King of Xiling to say, and even if he does, Bai Xiuming has to agree. People who don't know better might think you're the King of Xiling. Why make such a fuss?"
Achan sat in the carriage, her small mouth spraying so much that the faces of the two people outside turned slightly blue.
The other onlookers, especially Zhang Jinghuai, looked at Achan with a hint of amazement. He had first met this Miss Ji at the Lotus Garden.
He just felt that this girl was quite brave, managing to escape from the tiger demon unharmed, which showed she was indeed quite capable, no wonder Bai Xiuming treated her differently.
Only now have I realized that this girl is not only bold, but also has quite a temper.
“Miss, your words are too offensive. I came here to find Xue. You took her carriage, yet you spoke so rudely to her cousin. I wonder who is being so ill-mannered.” Shen Yingzhu finally found a suitable reason.
Achan looked at Huixue, but Shen Huixue kept shaking her head at her. What sisterly affection did she have with Shen Yingzhu?
Achan turned her head back, her gaze towards Shen Yingzhu now carrying a hint of hostility. If Shen Yingzhu hadn't called her "cousin," she might not have been so angry.
Shen Yingzhu is not Xue's cousin at all, how shameless!
"You've been in the capital for so many years, and I've never seen you write her a single letter. Now you're using her as an excuse to suddenly become so affectionate. Miss Shen's feelings are far too cheap."
Shen Yingzhu sneered: "This is a family matter of the Shen family, no need for you to concern yourself with it. But the young lady, so young yet so arrogant and domineering, and constantly entangled with men, how shameless!"
Achan suddenly slammed her hand on the wooden railing of the car window, her little face full of anger: "Bai Xiuming, quickly have someone drag her away, she's in my way."
Bai Xiuming looked at Zhang Jinghuai, who, understanding the meaning, gave a wink to the guards beside him.
The guards immediately stepped forward, seemingly intending to drag the man away.
"You dare!" Shen Yingzhu was probably seeing this kind of shameless behavior for the first time, where someone tries to kick their opponent out of the game halfway through an argument.
Achan raised her chin: "Of course I dare. You're right about one thing: I am arrogant and domineering. There can only be one arrogant person in this team, and that is me."
Seeing the guards step forward, Bai Yichen raised his hand to protect Shen Yingzhu and secretly took a breath. He finally understood that the woman Bai Xiuming brought was not only ill-mannered and uncultured, but also had no regard for face.
The other party can be completely unreasonable, but Shen Yingzhu still cares about her reputation.
He couldn't openly break ties with Bai Xiuming, so he could only take Shen Yingzhu back with him.
But leaving in such a disheveled state was truly unlike Bai Yichen's character. A hint of sadness appeared on his face as he said, "Brother, I know..."
Before he could finish speaking, Achan suddenly popped out of the carriage.
She stood on the carriage, stretched out her arms to Bai Xiuming, and said in a tone that was both commanding and coquettish: "Bai Xiuming, I want to ride a horse."
Then Bai Xiuming turned his horse around and came to A Chan's side. He leaned slightly, reached out and hooked his arm around her waist, and lifted her onto the horse's back. He didn't even glance at Bai Yichen, perfectly demonstrating what it means to ignore someone.
Seeing that Bai Yichen's expression was too unpleasant, Zhang Jinghuai gave him a way out: "Second Young Master, we are about to depart, please return."
Bai Yichen took a deep look at Bai Xiuming's back, no longer caring about how pathetic he was, and turned to walk back.
Seeing this, Shen Yingzhu hurriedly followed.
After everyone left, Shen Huixue suddenly peeked out, a lingering smile in her eyes.
She thought to herself, "Ah Chan is indeed amazing. She left Shen Yingzhu speechless. It's so satisfying."
When she looked away, she saw Zhang Jinghuai watching her from the side. She avoided Zhang Jinghuai's gaze and retreated back into the carriage.
Seeing that she seemed too lazy to pay attention to him, Zhang Jinghuai knew that she was still angry. She had coaxed him for several days to get Ji Chan to travel with her, and now that she had achieved her goal, she was no longer willing to be perfunctory.
He wasn't angry; she had indeed been wronged this time. His father had always wanted him to marry and have children as soon as possible, and had long harbored resentment towards him for supporting Shen Huixue.
Now that he's finally engaged, they assume he no longer cares about Shen Huixue and send a governess over to torment her while he's away.
She was quite stubborn; she didn't say anything and just sulked at him.
Perhaps it's good to take her away from the capital this time, so she can get away from all the hustle and bustle of the city.
Zhang Jinghuai rode his horse to the front of the group and gave the order: "Let's go."
The orderly procession moved slowly forward, but Bai Xiuming's horse remained completely still.
Achan turned to him in confusion and asked, "What's wrong?"
“With your current physical condition, if you ride a horse for more than an hour, you won’t be able to get off the horse the next day.” Bai Xiuming wasn’t exaggerating; he had already witnessed her fragile little body.
"Of course I know." Ah Chan snorted. "I just angered them away, so of course I have to pretend for a while longer to make them believe me. Once those eyesores are gone, you can let me go back."
Her attitude was perfectly natural; she had just been very adept at ordering Bai Xiuming around, and now she was getting used to it.
Bai Xiuming was unusually easy to talk to: "Okay."
Achan reached out and patted the black horse's big head: "Run!"
The dragon-blooded horse beneath her seemed to understand her words and began to trot.
Soon, the Dragon Blood Horse overtook Zhang Jinghuai, who was at the front of the group. After running for a while, Achan saw the group trailing far behind and asked Bai Xiuming, "Lord Bai, your younger brother clearly has ill intentions towards you. Didn't you bring any subordinates with you when you went to Xiling?"
"No."
Ah Chan looked worried: "That's too dangerous. I just offended him today. What if he has ill intentions towards me, and you can't be in two places at once?"
So he was worried about her own safety.
Bai Xiuming chuckled: "You certainly think long-term."
“A person who does not plan for the future will have trouble in the present. He looks particularly petty. I am just being prepared for a rainy day.”
"Then don't leave my sight."
"Okay." Achan deflated.
"Why do you suddenly want to go to Xiling?" Bai Xiuming suddenly asked.
"They say that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. I recently read a travelogue that said the Ji River runs through Yongzhou and Xiling, and the scenery on both banks is extremely beautiful. It just so happened that Huixue was going back to her hometown, so I went with her."
Achan was very satisfied with the reason she had come up with; it sounded convincing.
Unfortunately, she is now facing Bai Xiuming.
Bai Xiuming chuckled: "Last time you said you were going to see the person who harmed you, but you ended up taking two fingernails from her. Guess whether I'll believe you this time?"
Achan froze instantly, glancing left and right, wondering if it was too late to jump off the horse and run away now.
She shifted restlessly: "You heard everything?"
"Otherwise, do you think I would let a murderer who has committed multiple murders be alone with you?"
If Granny Tian had made even the slightest move, she would not have left that room alive.
She recalled what she had said that day, and thinking about how she had spoken so arrogantly to Granny Tian, Achan couldn't help but feel a little ashamed and annoyed: "You didn't expose me that day, why did you suddenly bring it up again today?"
"To prevent anyone from becoming complacent."
"I didn't! I'm telling the truth this time." Achan repeated herself, then asked Bai Xiuming suspiciously, "Why didn't you report me when the Xue family went to the Mingjing Division to file a complaint last time?"
"If Xue Shi were dead, you would be in the Mingjing Division's prison right now."
The implication was that as long as she acted with restraint and the person remained alive, he would keep the secret for her.
“Lord Bai.” A-Chan blinked, her eyes overflowing with emotion.
"Um?"
"You are so beautiful..."
Bai Xiuming's eyes were full of doubt, and A Chan thoughtfully explained, "Didn't you ask me to use a different word to praise you? I did."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
