He smiled silently, the brightly colored clothes that had appeared in front of him that morning flashing before his eyes, and his gaze toward Chen Qiyue was somewhat indescribable.
She now understands that some aesthetic preferences really are hereditary.
Given her current skin tone, it would be a disaster if she wore brightly colored clothes.
I really don't know what Shen Muzhi was thinking. In the end, she asked her subordinates to find her such a plain outfit. Otherwise, if she had worn those clothes, she would have become the focus of attention wherever she went.
This reminded her of the description in the original book of how the original owner dressed up specifically to seduce the male lead:
She wore a long, emerald-green dress adorned with large red flowers, and a palm-sized red peony on her head. Although her face was covered with thick powder, it still couldn't conceal the numerous dark spots of varying sizes.
Along the way, she attracted many people's attention, both overt and covert, which gave her even more confidence.
When she first saw this part, she just thought the original owner was ridiculously stupid. Now, however, she's starting to suspect that it's probably largely related to the male lead's taste.
After all, he dressed up like that to please her; maybe he was just trying to cater to her tastes?
Shen Qiyue had no idea that her sister-in-law was currently criticizing her and her brother's taste in her mind.
She had already learned from the servants yesterday that her brother was no longer the same as before and was now a very capable person.
She wasn't entirely sure how powerful they were, but one thing was certain: she and her sister-in-law would finally have a good life and would no longer have to fight tooth and nail with the refugees for a meal.
Therefore, she hoped that Yanxiao could also eat well and dress well. This was a promise she had made to Yanxiao before, and now it was time to make it a reality.
Seeing Yan Xiao dressed so plainly, she assumed that her brother didn't care about her sister-in-law and immediately became unhappy.
Just as I was thinking of going back to have a serious talk with my brother, I heard Yanxiao explain:
"I'm not suited to wearing overly bright colors, so this is something I specifically chose because it's quite comfortable to wear."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qiyue looked Yan Xiao up and down, and suddenly found the clothes that she had found so pleasing to the eye before to look much better now.
"Sister-in-law, you have such good taste. This dress looks simple, but it looks especially good on you, as if it was tailor-made for you."
Shen Qiyue showered him with compliments so naturally, without a single stumble, completely unaware of how hypocritical she was.
Yan Xiao was almost amused by the little girl. She gently patted Yan Xiao's head and said reproachfully:
"Alright, stop joking. Your brother just sent someone to say he wants to have breakfast with us. He probably has something to ask us. Let's go over now."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qiyue's eyes darted away guiltily. She only caught up with Yan Xiao when Yan Xiao was almost out the door.
She bit her lip, then, as if making a decision, whispered to Yan Xiao:
"Sister-in-law, my brother came to see me last night after I finished washing up. He asked me about some things from our past, and I told him everything. You won't be angry, will you?"
Yan Xiao was slightly surprised that Shen Qiyue would confess this to her.
The years of the apocalypse made her see through people's hearts and she was no longer willing to easily trust them. She would always leave herself some way out when dealing with people.
Now, faced with the little girl's sincere gaze, she felt somewhat at a loss.
When Shen Qiyue saw that Yan Xiao was silent and her expression was a little strange, she assumed that Yan Xiao was angry.
She was still just a child, and immediately panicked, quickly tugging at Yanxiao's sleeve to explain:
"Sister-in-law, don't overthink it. My brother is just concerned about us, he doesn't mean anything else. If you're unhappy, I won't say it again."
"No!"
Seeing that Shen Qiyue was flustered, Yan Xiao quickly patted her hand reassuringly, sighed inwardly, hesitated for a moment, and then said:
“There’s nothing I can’t say. I expected your brother would ask. The reason I didn’t tell you beforehand is because there’s nothing to hide. You don’t need to worry about it.”
"Really?" Shen Qiyue felt relieved upon hearing this, and a smile immediately returned to her face.
Yan Xiao chuckled softly, nodded, and said nothing more, letting Shen Qiyue pull her along to the place Shen Muzhi had arranged.
She herself probably didn't realize that the way she looked at Shen Qiyue now was somewhat different from before.
Meanwhile, Shen Muzhi was already sitting in a reception room waiting. In front of him was a large round table with some food on it, and there were two other people opposite him.
The two people, one sitting and one standing, were Lou Guyu and Man Yi, who had arrived earlier.
None of the three showed any intention of speaking. Lou Guyu stared at the porcelain plate in front of him without moving, as if he were lost in thought.
Just then, someone came to Shen Muzhi's side, leaned down and whispered a few words in Shen Muzhi's ear in a voice that only Shen Muzhi could hear.
After hearing what the man said, Shen Muzhi's eyes flickered slightly, and then he raised his hand slightly, indicating that the man could leave.
Not long after that person left, Yan Xiao and Shen Qiyue entered, led in by a servant.
Just now, Shen Muzhi learned from his confidant about the conversation between Shen Qiyue and Yan Xiao.
This frustrated him, making him feel that Shen Qiyue was now more like Yan Xiao's younger sister, while he was just a doorman.
Seeing Yan Xiao and Shen Qiyue enter, he was about to speak, but it was too late.
Lou Guyu, the former Miao "holy woman" who had been lost in thought since entering the room, suddenly stood up.
Then he quickly walked to Yan Xiao's side, a charming smile on his face that appealed to both men and women, and said very enthusiastically:
"Sister Yan, you're here! Did you sleep well last night? Are you hungry? Come, have a seat."
His reaction caught everyone in the room off guard, including Yan Xiao, who was slightly stunned and almost lost his composure.
They were practically shouting, "What kind of monster has possessed me?"
Little did they know that the current situation was a decision Lou Guyu made after a night of internal struggle, finally swallowing his pride.
That means clinging to someone powerful, clinging to Yanxiao's powerful backer.
He would never have done this in the past, but now he has no choice.
He already knew Shen Muzhi's identity last night. She was once the holy maiden of the Miao tribe, and he was quite familiar with the division of power and the leaders of the major forces.
When he learned that he was now on the ship of Shen Muzhi, the boss of Jiangbei, he was shocked. But when he thought about Yan Xiao and Shen Qiyue's identities, he was more than just shocked.
After the initial shock, he saw an opportunity—an opportunity for revenge.
The Miao people are now colluding with the barbarian bandits. If he shows his face, he will die. His best option is to join a faction.
There are only a few forces that can counterbalance the Miao and Man peoples and stand in opposition to them.
Although Jiangbei is a new force, it has risen very quickly and rapidly, and is still growing at an extremely fast pace.
Another advantage of new forces is that they absorb fresh blood, which is exactly what he lacks right now.
With his Gu poison skills, joining Jiangbei and negotiating terms with Shen Muzhi wouldn't be difficult. The real challenge is that he signed a three-year unequal contract with Yan Xiao.
Without Yanxiao's consent, he could do nothing.
Yan Xiao is Shen Muzhi's wife. After Shen Muzhi knows his identity, how could he not use him through Yan Xiao?
At that point, he'll be a free laborer, and he won't even be able to complain.
He felt he had fallen into a trap, and even suspected that Yan Xiao had planned it all long ago, but he had no evidence and could not resist.
So now he's shameless, all he wants is to appease Yanxiao and hope she'll be lenient and give him a chance to get revenge.
Three years is too long. If it were before yesterday, he could still endure it, but now that he is sitting with Shen Muzhi and has seen an opportunity for revenge, he can't wait any longer.
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