Chapter 52 I hope you can take this first step for me…
After a long while, his tongue regained sensation, but the chill seemed to have already permeated his voice: "Is it because of Wen Jie?"
The name "Wen Jie" lingers on the tongue; one has to admit, this name is incredibly enviable.
Suddenly sensing the murderous aura emanating from Hengbo: Hah?
Shen Guitang continued in a sinister tone, "Just because of your engagement to Wen Jie?"
Yokoha: Huh??
"Or is it that you actually want to marry him more than me?"
Hengbo: Huh? ???
Perhaps the shock on Hengbo's face was too obvious, and Shen Guitang finally snapped out of his reverie: "What? I guessed right?"
Hengbo shook her head, then asked sincerely: Do I really still have a marriage agreement with Wen Jie?
Shen Guitang: ? ? ?
Shen Guitang frowned, but seeing that Hengbo's eyes were clear and she didn't seem to be joking with him, he finally realized that Hengbo didn't know about this.
Shen Guitang: ...It was a miscalculation.
But that didn't stop him from brushing it off now, saying, "Nothing of the sort."
Yokohama: But you just said...
Shen Guitang interrupted her: "You're joking. Without a matchmaker or any tokens, what kind of marriage is that?"
Hengbo visibly relaxed upon hearing this, and seeing this, Shen Guitang's mood improved inexplicably, and the corners of his lips unconsciously curled up: "Besides, I've changed my mind."
Hengbo:? ? ?
"I say yes now. Get engaged to me, that's what I want you to promise me."
Hengbo:……
"Anyway, it's either me or Wen Jie, you choose one," Shen Guitang said nonchalantly.
However, although he appeared calm and collected, his fingers were actually curled up slightly. He wasn't sure what he would do if he heard that Hengbo had chosen Wen Jie.
Hengbo now realized that Shen Guitang really disliked Wen Jie, and even felt that her current predicament was entirely due to Wen Jie's influence.
"Let me add a little something," Shen Guitang cleared his throat, "I am handsome, young and promising, and from a wealthy family. Moreover," he paused for a moment before continuing as if nothing was wrong, "I only have my mother left in my family, and she will never set foot in Zhongzhou in her life. Once you marry into my Shen family, you will be the head of the Shen family, and no one will dare to disobey you."
For some reason, even though he was clearly luring her into a trap, Hengbo sensed a deep sorrow in his words.
So, should we say yes?
She didn't actually refuse to marry him; she didn't even reject his intimacy. She just felt that she shouldn't accept someone's feelings so blindly. Compared to his feelings, her own were too frivolous, and it wasn't fair to him.
"It's okay, you can back out." Shen Guitang finally understood Hengbo's concerns. He had always thought that her clear and bright eyes were the most attractive to him, but now he realized that what truly captivated him was her pure and flawless heart.
He couldn't help but pat her head. "If you ever feel it's not right, you can always walk away. After all, proposing to you was just my wishful thinking from the beginning."
"With me, you will always have a way out."
"But before that, I hope you can take this first step for me."
Hengbo looked up and stared directly into his eyes, where the calmest and most forgiving sea in the world resided. Finally, she leaped into it.
The waves brought back her answer: Okay.
...
In the room separated by a wall, the young master would peek out every now and then to look around, his anxious figure making Er Gou dizzy.
She gestured to Ah Cai to go and do something about his master. Ah Cai kept his head down and pretended not to see anything. He was also heartbroken. His beautiful cousin was about to be taken advantage of by a pig.
Speaking of this, even Hei Feng, who was sitting quietly in the corner with his eyes closed, felt that Shen Guitang's actions were unethical. Who would go to their rival's house to propose marriage? Wasn't that just slapping them in the face?
Finally, as the young master poured himself water for the third time to quench his thirst, the door to the next room was opened by the person inside.
Upon hearing the noise, the four people inside pushed and shoved their way out of the room. However, the two who came out had very calm expressions. The others looked at one and then at the other, but couldn't discern anything amiss.
"Hengbo, come with me." The young master grabbed Hengbo's sleeve and tried to lead him away, but his own wrist was also grabbed through his sleeve.
Shen Guitang gave a forced smile, "Young Master Chu, where do you intend to take my fiancée?"
The young master's face instantly turned extremely ugly. The veins on his hands bulged as he pulled Hengbo's sleeve even tighter.
He glared at Shen Guitang, his eyes practically spitting fire. "What nonsense are you spouting in broad daylight?" Then he turned to Hengbo, his anger subsiding slightly. "Hengbo, he's a despicable liar. Don't agree to his request."
Hengbo knew that the young master cared about her, but she didn't want him to have any unnecessary misunderstandings about Shen Guitang, so she subconsciously stood in front of Shen Guitang to explain to him.
However, the action that Hengbo didn't notice was simultaneously captured by both men. Under her protective stance, Shen Guitang, as the protected party, clearly derives immense pleasure. His upturned lips and relaxed brows reveal the joy of being favored.
To the young master, Shen Guitang's smile was nothing short of a victor's gloating and malicious mockery. He could no longer contain his anger. "Hengbo," he stubbornly sought an answer, "were you forced by him?" If she nodded, he would risk his life to take her away.
However, after looking at him for a moment, Yokobo finally shook his head slowly but firmly.
She was willing.
So, she was willing...
The young master suddenly felt like a huge joke. He thought he was the hero who saved her from dire straits, but in the end, she told him that it was all just wishful thinking on his part.
He backed away, muttering under his breath, "You don't understand, you don't understand at all."
Hengbo was worried when she saw his distraught appearance, but when she tried to grab him, he pushed her away. His eyes were still red, and he looked at her like a wounded, stubborn little animal.
"I shouldn't have come looking for you." He left Hengbo with these words and then turned and ran away.
Hengbo tried to chase after them, but was stopped by Shen Guitang and Acai at the same time.
“Miss Hengbo, let me go. Young Master probably doesn’t want to see you right now,” Ah Cai said, seemingly reluctant. After saying that, he didn’t dare to look at Hengbo’s suddenly pale face and turned to chase after her.
Shen Guitang sighed and held her thin shoulders: "It's hard to have it all in this world. This isn't your fault. Let him have some peace and quiet."
Hengbo slowly loosened his tightly clenched hands, his gaze lingering on the corner of the stairs for a long, long time, before finally nodding: Let's go back too.
Returning to the Shen residence after several days' absence, although the scenery and even the room she had stayed in were exactly the same as when she left, some things were different.
"I'll take you to the storeroom in a bit to pick out some things. Just take whatever you need." Since the room was cleaned daily after she left, there was no need to do anything else at the moment.
Hengbo shook his head, indicating that he didn't need to buy anything more; this was enough.
Shen Guitang's expression darkened. "Your behavior makes me feel very insecure."
Hengbo:?
“If you don’t like these things, then wouldn’t I be missing a way to keep your heart?” He then let out a long, dramatic sigh.
Yokoha: ...Well, you figure it out.
Upon receiving Hengbo's approval, Shen Guitang's face lit up with joy. He pulled out a blueprint from somewhere, laid it out, and displayed it in front of Hengbo, pointing at it with his finger: "Your room is still a bit small, so I plan to knock down this wall and put a screen here to separate the inner and outer rooms. The outer room can have a desk, and the inner room can have a small couch..."
Actually, the room she was originally staying in wasn't small, and it was fully furnished. But after his changes, Hengbo still had the illusion that she had suddenly risen to prominence.
"Let's leave it at that for now. This courtyard is still a bit small. I'll design a courtyard that will suit your taste better when we move to another one."
Hengbo looked at the valuable items marked on the blueprint, such as the golden nanmu desk and the treasure screen, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally couldn't help but ask: So you said you've suffered a lot of hardship, the kind of hardship where you can't spend all your money?
If that's the case, Yokoha imagined it for a while and realized that he really wanted to suffer like that!
Shen Guitang's handsome face twitched slightly, and it took him a long time to control his expression. He smiled slightly and said, "After you marry me, you can also suffer like this soon."
Hengbo pretended not to hear him and changed the subject in what she thought was a very natural way: So, where has she been sleeping all this time?
Shen Guitang had already thought of this. "The furnishings and decorations are all in the storeroom, so we can just move them out. I've already asked Heifeng to find the potter. You can sleep in the room next to mine tonight, and we can move them back in a few days."
Hengbo was speechless at Shen Guitang's decisiveness. Come to think of it, no wonder she felt like someone was missing the whole way.
However, the drawing in his hand didn't seem like something that could be completed immediately. When exactly did he come up with this idea? But Hengbo didn't ask, afraid that she would hear some answers from him that she couldn't bear.
Putting all her thoughts aside, since she had already agreed to take this first step, she shouldn't worry about these useless emotions anymore. What was more important right now was the matter that the young master had mentioned. Hengbo felt that Shen Guitang should know about this matter.
"You mean someone in the Changzhou area is tracking your whereabouts?" Shen Guitang frowned slightly. He led Hengbo into his study, wrote a line of words on a piece of paper, and then blew a delicate little whistle of unknown material that had no sound.
A moment later, Hengbo sensed an unfamiliar presence approaching. "These are special whistles used for communication in my pavilion. Each whistle corresponds to a signal for a team." He tossed the whistle to Hengbo: "Here, take this."
“I know you are highly skilled in martial arts, but I’ll feel more at ease if you take it,” he said, silencing Hengbo’s impending refusal before he could even express it. “I’ll teach you how to use it in a bit.”
Just then, a rhythmic knocking sound came from outside the window.
"Come in."
As Shen Guitang finished speaking, a man dressed in coarse cloth and with an unremarkable face climbed in through the window. "Young Master."
This man was extremely disciplined. Since entering the room, he had not glanced at the two people inside. At this moment, he stood respectfully with his head bowed, as if waiting for orders.
Shen Guitang pointed to him and introduced him to Hengbo: "This is Eagle Three. Usually, the Eagle Team is responsible for delivering messages. You don't need to remember what he looks like. He disguises himself every time he goes on a mission, and he might have a different face next time."
Hengbo nodded; she had already guessed that the rhythm of the knocking when this person entered the house was a way of confirming their identity. Seeing that she understood, Shen Guitang said nothing more.
“Eagle Three, from now on she will be the master of Mingshao, and from now on her orders will be as I command.”
Ying San couldn't help but look up, glancing at Heng Bo with surprise. He hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something, but Shen Guitang's gaze was too firm, and he finally just replied, "Yes, subordinate obeys."
Shen Guitang casually folded the paper on the table twice and handed it to him, saying, "Pass this letter to Hong Yanzhi; she knows what to do."
"Yes." Seeing that Shen Guitang had no further instructions, Ying San bowed to him and left through the window without leaving a trace.
Ying San's surprise was too obvious for Heng Bo to misunderstand. She toyed with the small whistle in her hand, guessing that this item held an extraordinary status in their pavilion.
Since that's the case, I absolutely cannot accept it.
Seeing the firm refusal in Hengbo's eyes and the whistle that was handed to him again, Shen Guitang sighed inwardly, but finally took it back. "Fine, I'll have Heifeng prepare another one for you later."
“Princess,” Shen Guitang said, still somewhat uneasy despite having sent people to investigate, “Do you have any thoughts on your mind?”
Hengbo hadn't expected him to be so perceptive, and after a moment's deliberation, he pointed to the sky.
After a moment of silence, Shen Guitang asked softly with a hint of melancholy, "Did Wen Jie say that?"
Hengbo shook her head and then nodded. Wen Jie didn't say that, but she noticed something from his behavior.
Having understood Hengbo's meaning, Shen Guitang said in a calm tone, "Then you and he have quite a good understanding."
Hengbo: ...So what exactly did Wen Jie do to offend him? He really seems to hate Wen Jie!
After suppressing his own bitterness, Shen Guitang again advised her, "Your guess is not without reason. It's probably not going to be peaceful in Yujing recently. You'd better not go out alone. If anything happens, just let me know."
Hengbo wonders: Is something big going to happen soon?
Shen Guitang had nothing he couldn't tell her: "This matter is actually somewhat related to you."
Transverse wave: ? ? ? What does that have to do with me?
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Author's Note: Mini-Theater:
Shen Guitang: I heard you and Wen Jie are engaged?
Transverse waves: Do you have them?
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Hengbo: I heard that Wen Jie and I are engaged?
Shen Guitang: That's not true.
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