Chapter 27 So, when I wasn't around, you were all alone...
Chapter 27
Two days later.
Shen Fengyu returned from outside and went straight into the house to find Shen Suining.
"Young Master, I've found the person you asked me to find..." Just as she reached the door, Shen Fengyu saw He Hansheng, who had been on official business for the past two days, and couldn't help but ask, "When did the Marquis return? Where is the Young Master?"
He Hansheng tilted his chin to the other side.
Shen Fengyu looked over and saw that her young master was lying on the gently rocking bamboo chair, a storybook covering his face. He was quiet and seemed to be asleep. Xiangye and Mingke were standing on either side of him, fanning him with palm-leaf fans.
He Hansheng sat at a table to the side, seemingly dealing with official business. Without looking up, he said softly, "Go to the kitchen and prepare a bowl of mung bean and lily soup for Madam."
"Yes, Lord Marquis." Xiang Yemingke was very sensible; he put down his fan and went out.
After the door closed, He Hansheng asked, "Are you in trouble?"
“No, it’s just…” Shen Fengyu hesitated, glancing at the sleeping Shen Suining, “Xiao Jiu doesn’t recognize the token. She says she has to see the young master in person. And her identity is rather special, so… the young master has to go find her personally.”
Shen Fengyu had just finished speaking when Shen Suining woke up.
She stretched, her eyes still closed, and whimpered softly, "You could have just made the arrangements. Why did you have to come all the way here to tell me about such a small thing?"
As she spoke, Shen Suining turned to her side and continued sleeping, the storybook on her face falling to Shen Fengyu's feet with a "plop".
Shen Fengyu bent down to pick up the storybook, somewhat speechless. "Young Master, you've been staying up all night again to read this kind of rubbish?"
Shen Suining gave a weak "hmm," seemingly extremely sleepy.
The storybooks she was reading were all collected by Jiang Yuchu from various small bookstores in Huadu to help her pass the time. Most of the stories revolved around love between men and women and the grievances of women in their boudoirs. They weren't particularly exciting, but they were very easy to get hooked on. In addition, He Hansheng hadn't been around for the past two nights, so she was lying in bed alone, reading until dawn.
After a while, Shen Suining finally managed to straighten her tired body.
She opened her eyes, pointed at He Hansheng, and seemed a little confused. "When did he come back?"
"..." Perhaps feeling embarrassed, Shen Fengyu silently pressed Shen Suining's hand back, "The Marquis was already here when I arrived."
Shen Suining gave an "Oh," and rubbed her temples casually. "Where does Xiao Jiu want me to meet her?"
Shen Fengyu coughed twice, too embarrassed to say directly, "It's the place you used to like going to the most."
Shen Suining looked bewildered. "Where?"
"Beyond the nine heavens," Shen Fengyu said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "a brothel."
Upon hearing those two words, Shen Suining instantly perked up. She had been in Huadu for so many days, yet she had never seen any difference between the girls here and those in Jiangnan.
But then she immediately remembered her current status, and instantly deflated like a frostbitten eggplant. "Is that a place I can just walk into now?"
If she were in Yangzhou, Shen Suining could simply change her face and identity and go. But now she is not only in the capital, but also the wife of the Marquis of Yong'an. She may not care about her reputation, but she cannot completely disregard the feelings of the Princess and He Hansheng.
"Young Master, don't be discouraged." Shen Fengyu noticed Shen Suining's concerns and raised her chin to remind her.
Shen Suining looked over and saw He Hansheng sitting at a long table, writing something seriously. She remembered that when she was looking for Sheng Qingge in Hangzhou, their first confrontation was also in a brothel.
However, after spending these days together, Shen Suining felt that there were many rules in the Yong'an Marquis's mansion, especially the strict teaching of He Hansheng, the only son of the eldest princess. In addition, He Hansheng himself was a person with strong self-discipline, so she suddenly felt a little unsure.
Shen Suining sighed, "Shall I give it a try?"
Shen Fengyu nodded, clenched her fist to cheer Shen Suining on, then shoved the storybook back into her hand and left.
Only she and He Hansheng remained in the room.
Shen Suining got up and walked to He Hansheng's side. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the document He Hansheng was writing seemed to be related to military intelligence, so she immediately looked away.
She cleared her throat. "He Hansheng."
"Um."
"I need your help."
"explain."
He Hansheng's hands didn't stop, probably because he was in a hurry to hand in something. After thinking it over, Shen Suining decided it was best not to disturb him for now.
Seeing that she remained silent for a while, He Hansheng finally stopped writing and looked up. "Didn't you ask me for something?"
"Seeing that you're busy, why don't you wait a bit?" Shen Suining consciously sat down a short distance away. When she saw He Hansheng's gaze following her, she made a "please" gesture.
He Hansheng couldn't help but chuckle, "It's rare that you need my help, so your attitude is quite good."
"Stop talking nonsense and get your work done." Shen Suining casually raised the storybook in her hand to cover her face, blocking He Hansheng's view.
"Okay." He chuckled softly a few times and quickly returned to his official duties.
Shen Suining glanced at him secretly, let out a soft breath, and began to read the storybook.
This is a newly opened novel. The characters of the male and female protagonists are roughly the same as those I have read before. One is a wealthy heiress who dares to pursue love, and the other is a free-spirited wanderer. Shen Suining turned a few pages and thought that the two of them were about to start a cycle of tug-of-war and fall in love to the point of death, but they directly staged a thunderous and earth-shattering romance.
The plot and the written descriptions made Shen Suining blush and feel extremely ashamed. She immediately closed the book, feeling guilty and unable to breathe properly.
After recovering, Shen Suining thought to herself with a touch of self-deprecation, "It's not like I haven't experienced something more exciting than this before, so why am I pretending?"
Driven by curiosity, or perhaps out of spite, Shen Suining reopened the storybook and calmly continued reading.
During a moment of leisure, He Hansheng glanced up at her and reminded her, "If you feel hot, ask Mingke to bring some ice."
“Oh, no need,” Shen Suining coughed twice, “I’m not hot.”
"Your face is so red! Aren't you hot?"
Shen Suining subconsciously touched her face, and it was indeed burning hot.
Feeling guilty, she made up an excuse: "I'm probably feeling stuffy. I'll go to the window for some fresh air."
Shen Suining casually tossed the storybook aside, ran to the window, took a deep breath, and calmed herself down.
When she turned around, He Hansheng had already buried himself in writing his memorials again. He had gone to the suburbs to inspect the military deployment around Huadu these past two days, wearing military uniform. After returning home, he didn't even have time to uninstall the software outside before starting to write the relevant documents to be submitted to the emperor. He looked less refined and more rugged than usual.
Because of his military background, He Hansheng had an excellent figure and a tall and straight posture. Shen Suining was considered to be relatively tall among women, but she looked exceptionally petite and delicate next to He Hansheng.
Shen Suining looked at him, and for some reason, she thought of the scene three years ago in front of the Guanyin statue in a dilapidated temple, when he covered his eyes and growled in her ear. It was different from his current appearance, dressed in military uniform and sitting upright.
At that time, almost all his rationality and clarity were consumed by the drug. Like a beast that had torn off its human skin, he shed his refined and noble disguise and dragged her to the wildest and most unrestrained secret place in the primeval forest. They were submerged and washed together in the rapids, and finally he gently lifted her up and safely reached the other side.
Perhaps sensing Shen Suining's gaze, He Hansheng stopped writing and looked at her.
The moment their eyes met, a string in Shen Suining's mind snapped. She frantically looked away, ran into the inner room, clutched her pounding heart, and tried to calm her inexplicable emotions.
Shen Suining was a master at controlling her emotions, and even such unfamiliar thoughts were quickly calmed down by her.
However, Shen Suining dared not go outside to see He Hansheng anymore. It was probably because the two of them had been getting along exceptionally well these past few days, and He Hansheng hadn't come back for two nights, which made Shen Suining find him much more agreeable, which led to the inappropriate thought that arose.
Shen Suining lay on the couch, hugged a pillow to lean against, and fell asleep soon after her mood calmed down.
When she opened her eyes again, He Hansheng had changed into light clothing and was sitting on the edge of the couch, holding the storybook she had just been reading.
Shen Suining quickly reached out to grab it.
He Hansheng raised his hand to a place she couldn't reach, and gave her a meaningful look. "So, when I wasn't around, you liked to watch this kind of thing by yourself."
"..." Shen Suining felt a sense of shame and indignation that she couldn't clear her name even if she jumped into the Yellow River. She sat up and said, "Jiang Yuchu found these for me. It's not like I wanted to see them myself."
"Why would he show you something like this for no reason?"
Shen Suining blushed and hesitated for a long time before saying, "Probably... because he was afraid I would be bored at home, so he took Feng Yu to the training ground to train them."
He Hansheng laughed when he heard this, "You went to train them?"
“What’s wrong with that? Although I’ve never actually served in the military, my father was once a fairly good general. I learned his methods and often trained the people of Bifeng Hall in the same way at Shuyu Manor,” Shen Suining said matter-of-factly. “What’s wrong with training them?”
"They listened to you?"
“I heard that, but…” Shen Suining avoided his gaze and stubbornly said, “They don’t have the aptitude for it, they can’t master it.”
He Hansheng finally couldn't help but chuckle.
"What are you laughing at? How dare you question me?" Shen Suining was enraged and threw a punch.
He Hansheng raised his hand to catch her punch, pressed her hand down and pulled her to his side. "It's not that I'm questioning you, it's just that our systems are different. If you use the same training methods you use at Bifeng Hall to train the regular army of the Marquis's Mansion, they won't adapt."
Shen Suining snorted lightly, "That's why I said they lack wisdom."
"So Jiang Yuchu gave you these storybooks to read because she was worried you'd be bored?"
"..." The topic was brought back, and Shen Suining immediately dared not make eye contact with He Hansheng. "That's why I said, it's not my fault, it was Jiang Yuchu who brought it over."
"Then what are you blushing and feeling guilty about?" He Hansheng pressed closer, reaching out to turn her face towards him. "You don't even dare to look at me anymore?"
“…He Hansheng,” Shen Suining was forced to look at He Hansheng’s face, and said with a sense of exhaustion, “You know, sometimes people can easily make connections after reading some text. Since you’ve read what was written in that storybook, you should understand why I’m not looking at you, right?”
"Why?" He Han asked knowingly. "We are husband and wife. Even if there are any associations, isn't it reasonable, legal, and compliant with the law?"
Shen Suining was rendered speechless, then opened her mouth, "How come I never realized you were so shameless before?"
He chuckled softly, as if he hadn't heard her words, "How about... we give it a try?"
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