The night was quiet, probably because the servants and attendants had all been dismissed, and the surroundings were very still.
Until the chirping of a cicada pierced the night, breaking the awkward silence.
Zhou Xuance appeared calm on the surface, but he was also surprised inside.
He had entered and exited the Duke's mansion several times, so how did he get caught?
He had just stepped out of the room and into the courtyard when a summer breeze blew down a magnolia leaf. Suddenly, Shen Chongde raised his hand and thrust out his long sword...
A chilling glint appeared, and Zhou Xuance felt a gust of sword wind brush against his face.
A magnolia leaf fell to the ground and was split in two.
“This sword is quite nice.” Shen Chongde raised an eyebrow. “Your Highness must have put in a lot of effort to find this sword.”
"I'm glad the Duke likes it." Zhou Xuance smiled awkwardly.
I always felt that what he wanted to cut wasn't the fallen leaves...
It was him!
"A thief broke into the Duke's mansion, but I discovered it and killed the thief on the spot." Shen Chongde looked at him with a smile.
"Does the Duke really intend to do this?"
"I have never seen the prince's true face, so naturally I don't recognize him. Besides, His Majesty knows that the real regent is recuperating in his residence. So who are you?"
"..."
Zhou Xuance took a deep breath.
As expected of the Duke of Zhenguo
They're really tough to deal with!
"Father?" Shen Zhiyi timidly peeked out from inside the house.
"Go inside and close the door." Shen Chongde glared at her coldly, his bloodline suppressing her, which made her shrink back. The door wasn't closed completely, leaving a small crack, and she pressed herself against it to listen to the sounds outside.
When exactly did Father discover this?
Could it be...?
He always knew?
No wonder she always felt that her father's words to her had a profound meaning.
"Lord Duke, it's all my fault, please don't blame Miss Shen," Zhou Xuance said frankly.
Shen Chongde snorted, "Of course it's all your fault. You don't care about your reputation or your face, and you spend your days climbing over walls to steal. Is it my daughter's fault?"
"She was also at fault."
"Hmm?" Shen Chongde sharpened his knife, shooting him a cold glare. "What do you mean by that? Is my daughter wrong?"
If his answer displeases him, he might be killed on the spot.
"She's so wonderful, I'm always worried about her."
Shen Chongde was speechless.
She stared at him intently, her eyes wide as if she had seen a ghost.
The two had clashed many times in the court before. This kid, relying on being the emperor's younger brother and having military merits, always acted arrogantly and spoke to him very haughtily.
Such sweet words, they really do sound...
Discomfort.
This kid, could he be possessed by a ghost?
He had seen Zhou Xuance as a child, and he was well-behaved and cute. Later, it was said that his face was damaged and he wore a mask all year round, so he never saw his true face again. If it weren't for the fact that his eyebrows and eyes looked so much like the late emperor's, he wouldn't have dared to recognize him.
The expression on her face when she spoke was just like that of Consort Xiao back then.
Born with fair skin,
And yet it's still so beautiful.
He really doesn't act like a grown man.
"Speak properly!" Shen Chongde couldn't bear to look at him.
Zhou Xuance just smiled and said, "My lord, I can assure you that my feelings for Yiyi are genuine."
What guarantees do you have?
"Back then, that bastard from the Song family swore an oath that he would treat my daughter like a precious jewel, and what happened? Besides, you've schemed and plotted every step of the way, even going so far as to feign illness..."
"Do you know what you'll face if your feigned illness is exposed?"
“You are His Majesty’s beloved younger brother, a prince, and His Majesty will punish you leniently. But our Shen family is different. Your Highness’s actions are putting our entire Shen family in a precarious position!”
“Lord Duke…” Zhou Xuance tried to speak, but was interrupted by Shen Chongde.
"I will go to the palace tomorrow to request His Majesty to rescind his decree."
...
Shen Zhiyi frowned, because she didn't hear the rest of the conversation clearly. She only saw through the crack in the door that the two people looked unhappy and seemed about to argue.
She took a deep breath and pushed open the door to leave. Zhou Xuance only glanced at her and said, "I will come to marry you in three days."
"Get out of here!"
Shen Chongde rebuked in a low voice.
Kong Qing had been observing silently from a distance. He saw the Duke order the windows to be sealed, and he wanted to send a message, but it was too late.
I can only pray in my heart:
I hope that my master will be blessed with good fortune.
However, this was the first time he had ever seen his lord treated with such disrespect.
No wonder,
Everyone says that the Duke dotes on this daughter, yet you spend your days breaking into people's homes. If word gets out, Miss Shen will be too ashamed to face anyone. The Duke has already shown mercy by not executing you on the spot.
"Father?" Shen Zhiyi tentatively approached her father.
Shen Chongde remained silent, clearly still angry.
“Father—” Shen Zhiyi walked to his side and tugged at his sleeve, acting coquettishly.
"Don't try that on me, it won't work!" Shen Chongde sneered. "I just want to know how you got involved with that thing."
"thing?"
Are you referring to Zhou Xuanze?
“When I met him, I didn’t know he was the regent. He wasn’t wearing a mask, and I had never met him before. It was all by chance.”
"But his approach to you is probably not a coincidence."
“He helped me a lot. If it weren’t for him, I would probably still be entangled with the Song family after I was drugged at the Marquis’s residence.”
"Drug?"
Shen Chongde frowned instantly.
Shen Zhiyi then revealed that the old lady of the Marquis's mansion had drugged her and tried to scheme against her and Song Yuxiu to consummate their marriage. If the Song family had not been destroyed, Shen Chongde would probably have drawn his sword and rushed over to kill her.
"The Song family is utterly despicable; they would actually do such a vile thing."
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