Jiang Xinrui looked at Shang Yan with what could be described as a kind smile, and felt like a clown.
She never imagined that there would be a woman like Yanxiao in this world.
With her qualifications, why wouldn't she feel jealous or inferior?
After reuniting with Shen Muzhi, wouldn't she feel uneasy and afraid of losing her position now that Shen Muzhi is powerful and influential?
Yan Xiao had no idea what Jiang Xinrui was thinking at that moment. If she did know, she would definitely tell her, "You're overthinking things."
If she had any worries, she was only concerned that Jiang Xinrui wasn't helpful enough and wouldn't be able to get Shen Muzhi to understand things quickly enough.
How could she be so magnanimous as to grant their wish if Chen Muzhi remained oblivious?
Therefore, she painstakingly comforted Jiang Xinrui with a few words, afraid that she would back down because of her presence.
After she finished speaking, she turned her attention to Shen Muzhi.
Shen Muzhi had already arrived in front of them, accompanied by Wei Wuxiu, Xiao Rui, and Shen Muzhi's confidant Liu Ce and several others.
Shen Muzhi first glanced at her and Jiang Xinrui, focusing his gaze on her hand on Jiang Xinrui's shoulder.
Seeing this, Yan Xiao calmly withdrew her hand and took the initiative to greet him:
"What a coincidence, General, you seem to have the leisure to take a stroll."
Shen Muzhi did not answer, but instead asked:
"It's so late, why aren't you resting? What are you doing here?"
"I didn't do anything. I just felt cooped up and came out for some fresh air, and I happened to run into Dr. Jiang. We hit it off immediately and chatted for a bit."
As she spoke, she subtly moved to the side, as if afraid of blocking the ship's lights.
If Shen Muzhi missed the chance to admire the beauty under the lamplight, that would be her fault.
As the ancients said, there is a special charm to seeing a beautiful woman under the lamp.
Her subtle movements were not obvious, and none of the people noticed anything amiss.
Unfortunately, her little scheme was destined to be in vain, because Shen Muzhi had no interest in the beauty at all.
After listening to Yan Xiao's explanation, he only glanced at Jiang Xinrui, who was bowing her head and remaining silent, before looking away.
He nodded slightly, his face expressionless, but his attitude towards Yan Xiao was very gentle.
"Get some rest. It's cool in the evening, so don't catch a cold. We'll be in Jiangbei tomorrow. I might be quite busy then and won't have time to spend with you. I'll arrange for someone to show you and Qiyue around."
Yan Xiao had been traveling by boat for almost half a month and was almost sick of it. When she heard that they were about to arrive, her dark eyes immediately lit up and shone brightly under the lights.
"We're almost there? Okay, I'm going back to rest then."
As she spoke, she turned back to look at Jiang Xinrui, smiling as she said goodbye.
"Dr. Jiang, I'll be going now. Come visit me when you get to Jiangbei!"
As Yan Xiao spoke, Shen Muzhi naturally looked at Jiang Xinrui.
Jiang Xinrui, who happened to meet Shen Muzhi's gaze, felt that her clothes tonight were indeed a bit too thin, otherwise why would she feel so cold?
She quickly looked away, forcing a smile at Yan Xiao with difficulty.
"Yes, Madam Shen."
Jiang Xinrui's sudden change of heart caused Yan Xiao's smile to vanish instantly.
"Why call me Madam Shen? Just call me Doctor Yan, like you did before, or you can call me Yan Xiao, either is fine."
It's one thing for others to call someone "Madam," but for the female lead to call her "Madam" makes Yanxiao feel really strange.
Yan Xiao spoke without any psychological burden, but everyone present was shrewd, especially those who knew a little about Jiang Xinrui's feelings for Shen Muzhi. Their gazes toward Jiang Xinrui became somewhat scrutinizing.
Jiang Xinrui never expected things to develop this way. In the current situation, her little tricks have been inexplicably thwarted by Yan Xiao.
Shen Muzhi wasn't stupid; he only needed to do a little review to guess what she had done.
Although she only fueled the rumors and only had her maid mislead the people around Shen Muzhi, Yan Xiao did nothing and treated her very well.
This is tantamount to exposing her little tricks to the public.
She didn't dare look up at Shen Muzhi's expression, stiffly forcing a smile, and leaned forward slightly towards Yan Xiao:
"OK!"
Yan Xiao sensed that something was off, but her excitement at being about to disembark made her ignore the awkwardness.
After greeting Jiang Xinrui, she politely nodded to Wei Wuxiu and then happily walked away.
She was still thinking that with her troublesome ex-wife gone, the male and female leads might be more at ease.
But the reality was completely opposite to her expectations. After she left, Shen Muzhi completely ignored Jiang Xinrui.
He turned directly to look at Liu Ce standing beside him, his tone colder than the night breeze over the river:
"Didn't you say that Madam has a misunderstanding about Doctor Jiang and is afraid that she might hurt him? Aren't you going to explain?"
Despite the cool night, Liu Ce's forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat.
He lowered his head and stammered for a long time but couldn't find a reasonable explanation.
He glanced one last time at Jiang Xinrui, who stood frozen in place, a resolute glint in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and knelt directly beside Shen Muzhi's legs to admit his mistake.
"I was wrong; perhaps I misunderstood!"
"Oh, really? Then how about you repeat what you heard said exactly?"
Shen Muzhi's expression and tone showed no anger, but Liu Ce was so frightened that he didn't dare to raise his head.
"Your subordinate, I just heard a maid say that the madam has recently heard some rumors and is probably hostile towards Doctor Jiang. Now that she is with Doctor Jiang, it looks like she is about to take action."
"Heh~"
Upon hearing this, Shen Muzhi was so angry that he laughed. He raised his leg and kicked Liu Ce, sending the unsuspecting Liu Ce flying several meters away.
Liu Ce winced in pain, but dared not lie down. He quickly knelt down again and crawled back to Shen Muzhi's legs.
"It was my fault, General. Please punish me."
“You’re perfectly fine, what could you possibly have done wrong? It’s me, the master, who’s become blind and deaf.”
On such a small boat, right under my nose, rumors were circulating about my wife, and I knew absolutely nothing about it.
Shen Muzhi grew angrier as he spoke, and kicked Liu Ce again.
“My wife comes from a small town. She’s simple-minded and hasn’t seen much filth, but she’s not someone who can be bullied or manipulated.”
Shen Muzhi spoke very seriously, and others didn't think much of it, but Xiao Rui, who had dealt with Yan Xiao before, almost couldn't keep his composure.
He felt he could no longer look at the word "simple" directly, and he really wanted to ask Shen Muzhi if he had some misunderstanding about his wife.
Unfortunately, Shen Muzhi was too frightening at this moment, so he wisely chose to keep quiet.
Liu Ce had no time to ponder whether Yan Xiaodan was innocent or not; he just wanted to find a reasonable explanation for his actions, but he had absolutely no clue.
"This subordinate wouldn't dare, this subordinate only, only..."
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