Chapter 11: Meddlesome
Shen Anan stood there for a long time as if she had lost her soul, before she turned around and sat down in the chair.
She lowered her head, then suddenly raised it after a moment, with a sarcastic smile at the corners of her lips.
The things that she had treasured in her previous life and had begged for by all means, now appeared before her so easily.
So the painting wasn't that precious, he just felt she didn't deserve it.
Everything related to him in the past, even a pen in the study, she didn't get, so her talk about not liking others touching his things was all a lie.
"You are being generous now."
She sneered, hiding the tears in her eyes, not for him, but for her own humble life.
——
After Xiao Yuan returned home, he went into the study and did not deal with any official documents. He just sat in a daze.
From time to time, some images would quickly flash through his mind, and that familiar feeling would come back, but no matter what he did, he could not grasp the clue.
"Your Highness." Qingfeng strode in.
"explain."
"Someone from the Shen Mansion came and returned the things that were sent."
Xiao Yuan raised his calm eyes and looked at Qing Feng.
Qingfeng lowered his head in embarrassment. "The housekeeper sent two boxes in total. Miss Shen took the box of silver and returned the calligraphy and paintings. She also said, said..."
"What?" Xiao Yuan asked calmly.
"Say..." Qingfeng closed his eyes and lowered his head, "Say that the master's calligraphy and paintings are worthless to her, don't send her away with junk."
The atmosphere was so depressing and stagnant that Qingfeng felt goose bumps all over his back from the cold.
"Humph." Xiao Yuan sneered, "Put it in the warehouse."
"Yes." Qingfeng's legs felt weak and he quickly left the ice cellar.
Xiao Yuan lowered his eyes and looked at the unfinished painting on the desk, without moving for a long time.
Is it bad?
His paintings are worth a fortune, and that woman is really ungrateful.
If there was a chance, he would like to see how superb and lifelike her painting skills were.
Xiao Yuan tapped the table with his knuckles, and the disgust that showed on that pretty little face when she looked at him suddenly emerged in his mind.
It seemed as if he had never offended her, and it was unclear where the malice came from.
"Master, news came from the suburbs that more than a hundred refugees died yesterday."
Xiao Yuan collected his thoughts, stood up and left the study. Why would such an unimportant person cause him so much trouble?
Since I have no clue, maybe it's just an illusion.
——
The next morning, Shen Anan packed up and was about to go out when Mrs. Shen arrived.
"An An, are you tired these past two days?"
“Not bad.” Shen Anan helped Madam Shen sit down and personally poured her a cup of tea.
Looking for her at this time must mean something.
"There will be a chrysanthemum viewing banquet at the Yongning Marquis's residence the day after tomorrow. You just returned to the capital, so this is a good opportunity for you to formally show your face in front of the ladies and get to know them better."
“But it’s only the third day of distributing porridge, I’m afraid there won’t be time the day after tomorrow.” Shen Anan frowned.
The so-called banquet is nothing more than an occasion for ladies from various families to brag about and curry favor with power. What's the point of attending it?
She was spoiled by her grandmother and could not stand being wronged. Also, she was not bullied by those ladies because of Duan Mengmeng's matter. Juhua didn't notice it and actually made a sarcastic remark.
It was also her fault. In her previous life, when Yongning Mansion held a chrysanthemum viewing banquet, her reputation was not very good. Madam Shen had not allowed her to attend, but Duan San provoked her, so she insisted on going, thinking of showing off her talents and surpassing Duan San.
Before the final competition even started, she was sent back home because she had a big fight with a young lady.
Thinking of those scenes, Shen Anan propped up one hand on the table to cover half of his face.
"The steward will take care of such a small matter as distributing porridge. You are not required to go every day. The wife of the Marquis of Yongning is the eldest sister of the emperor. The banquets she holds are attended by all the ladies. It only happens once a year and many young talents gather here."
Hearing this, Shen Anan raised her eyes and looked at Madam Shen. Is her mother intending to choose a son-in-law for her?
Thinking of this, Shen Anan nodded and agreed, "Okay, then mother will take care of the arrangements."
"Don't worry, I have prepared clothes and jewelry for you. You should stay home tomorrow and don't go out. Look at your little face. It has been exposed to the wind for two days. It is not as delicate as when you just came back."
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
After saying goodbye to Madam Shen, Shen Anan left the house.
Sitting in the carriage, she half lifted the curtain and stared at the busy street in a daze.
Hawkers carrying shoulder poles walked back and forth hawking their wares, while the waiters smilingly invited passers-by to come into the store to taste the delicious food.
"I haven't seen such a lively scene in a long time."
Mo Xiang followed her line of sight and said with a smile, "Miss, do you want to go shopping again? You were very busy every day when you were in Jiangnan, but now you are back in Beijing and you feel bored after just a few days."
Shen Anan smiled but said nothing.
She didn't just stay there for a few days, it was clearly a lifetime.
How could she have forgotten all these beautiful things in her previous life and degenerated into a vicious woman who lived in her house, blaming everyone and everything.
It is impossible not to hate Xiao Yuan, but there seems to be no reason to seek revenge.
People just don't love her and hate her. What's wrong with that? She even thought that if she were a man, she would definitely not love the mentally ill Shen Anan.
Therefore, it is not wrong for her to hate him now. She should stay away from that bastard, find a good husband, and be a gentle and virtuous woman, so that her life can be complete.
Shen Anan curled her lips and lowered the car curtain.
The first half of her life was perfect, but she just met the wrong person.
Suddenly, a sharp and noisy sound came from far away.
"You are taking human life lightly. Let them go, or I will report them to the police."
Shen Anan lifted the car curtain again and looked out.
The speaker was a young man in coarse linen clothes. He was tall and thin, with a refined and upright face that was flushed with anger. He looked very elegant and was obviously a scholar.
Opposite him were several officers. Shen Anan recognized the man in the lead. He was the leader who went to Nanhua Street to drive away the refugees a few days ago.
"What do you mean by taking human life lightly? We are government officials, ordered to resettle the refugees. Stop interfering in other people's business, or we will punish you for disrupting public order."
The man pushed the young man away and ordered his men to pick up the dying woman and child on the ground.
"You can't take them away. The child is sick and needs to see a doctor."
The young man was about to chase him, but the leader suddenly held a large knife in front of him. "A refugee who can't even afford food and clothing, how can you afford to see a doctor? Get out of here. If you keep talking nonsense, you'll be in danger of losing your life."
It looked fierce, but it was actually a warning and threat. The man was also stubborn and grabbed his sword. "I am a newly-minted scholar, Zhang Yeyang, you dare to touch me."
Although the new Jinshi has not yet been assigned a position, he is already an official.
"Put down that mother and son."
Zhang Yeyang thought he could scare a few people, but the leader was just stunned and didn't take him seriously at all.
He lowered his voice and said, "It's not easy to study hard for more than ten years. This is the capital, not a remote village. Here, a Jinshi is no different from an ant."
He thought he had made his words clear enough, but Zhang Yeyang was a stubborn man and refused to let go of him.
"Believe it or not, don't even think about being an official. You can't even keep your life."
Zhang Yeyang said, "I don't believe there is no law under the emperor's feet."
King's law.
Shen Anan shook his head. He was a fool because of reading too much.
But he did have good character. There were crowds of people watching, but apart from him, no one had the courage to speak up for the mother and son.
The officer was so angry that he was about to knock Zhang Yeyang unconscious and drag him away.
"Why are so many people gathering here? They're even blocking the road." Shen Anan walked out of the crowd.
Everyone turned around to look. After all, there were not many fools like that young man. It would be surprising to see another one pop up.
The woman was wearing a light blue dress made of soft silk, her skin was as white as jade, there were only a few jade hairpins in her hair, but the texture was obviously very valuable, her eyebrows were dark, and even her eyes exuded nobility.
Zhang Yeyang stared at her blankly, forgetting to react, with amazement in his eyes.
The saying that she is as beautiful as a fairy and peerless and outstanding is not an exaggeration.
"Miss Shen." The leader was startled and quickly bowed, but his expression did not look very good.
It's so damn unlucky to meet two people who have nothing better to do.
"What is this for? Why is the road blocked while handling a case?"
The leader curled his lips and glanced at Zhang Yeyang's hand which was tightly grasping his official uniform.
“If you block Miss Shen’s way, I will dredge the people and let them leave.”
He pulled out his sleeve with all his strength, but before he could move, he was pulled back, "You can't leave."
"..." He had the urge to strangle these idiots to death.
Shen Anan raised her eyes to look at Zhang Yeyang who looked stubborn, and said with a smile, "If the young master doesn't let him go, how can he let the mother and son leave."
Zhang Yeyang's face immediately turned red, and he stammered, "I, I'm afraid if I let him go, he'll take them away. The child has a high fever and can't stand being delayed."
Without waiting for Shen Anan to reply, the leader immediately ordered his men, "Let them go."
What fucking bad luck!
The woman quickly ran behind Zhang Yeyang with the child in her arms.
“Miss Shen, I’ll take my leave.”
"Okay." Shen Anan nodded.
The man turned his head and glared at Zhang Yeyang fiercely, then left with his men. The onlookers also dispersed one after another and soon made way.
Shen Anan's gaze paused for a moment on the woman who was hiding behind Zhang Yeyang, then she turned around and prepared to get in the car and leave.
"girl."
Shen Anan turned around and looked at the man with a flushed face, nervous and shy. He didn't look like this when he stood up for the woman just now.
"Sir, is there anything else?"
Zhang Yeyang pursed his lips, bent down and bowed, "I would like to thank the young lady for helping this mother and son."
Shen Anan smiled and said, "I didn't do anything. It was the young master who was not afraid of power and spoke for justice."
Zhang Yeyang's face turned even redder, and he lowered his head in embarrassment. "My colleagues all said that I was stubborn. I'm sorry to make you laugh."
Shen Anan said nothing, his eyes swept across the refugee woman who had been looking at this side, and said meaningfully, "The young master's heart is precious, but don't be too kind, or you will be devoured."
Zhang Yeyang was startled, Shen Anan had already boarded the carriage and left slowly. He hurriedly bowed and said, "Thank you for the reminder, young lady."
Looking at the departing carriage, he was stunned for a long time without moving, until his sleeve was gently pulled, he suddenly lowered his head.
"Sir, I have a headache."
"Oh, I'll take you to see a doctor right away." He rummaged in his arms for a while before finding some small change.
He lowered his head and looked at the pitiful child, then he gritted his teeth, picked up the child and walked towards the clinic. The woman hurriedly followed him, shedding tears of gratitude all the way.
The window in the private room on the second floor of the tavern faces this direction, allowing you to take in everything that happens.
Xiao Yuan leaned lazily in the chair, playing with the white jade ring on his thumb out of habit.
Thinking about the woman's smiling face when she was looking at the scholar just now, he felt inexplicably uneasy.
He is a prince and a young general. How can he be inferior to that weak scholar? That woman was always so nice to him, but she just looked down on him in every way?
"have a finger in the pie."
Li Huaiyan nodded in agreement, "A Jinshi dares to meddle in such trivial matters. He really doesn't know his own limitations."
To put it in a positive way, it's called integrity; to put it in a negative way, it's just stupidity. The official had made it so obvious, but he still insisted on going ahead, without even considering whether he had the qualifications to make a comment.
"He was lucky to have met the kind-hearted Miss Shen. Otherwise, he would have died without knowing how he was taken to the government office today."
Those people have many ways to make someone disappear. After all, in the capital, as long as the powerful and wealthy survive, the rest of the grasshoppers can't even cause a ripple.
Is she kindhearted?
Xiao Yuan raised his eyes and glanced at Li Huaiyan.
It's probably because you're too full.
"Now the Second Prince is becoming more and more unrestrained. He is so arrogant in broad daylight. It seems that the official in the south is really important to him."
"Humph." Xiao Yuan sneered, "I'm not afraid of the monkey's arrogance, I'm afraid of him not moving. Wasn't the scholar just now tenacious and upright?"
Li Huaiyan's eyes lit up, "Yes, such a person is perfect to deal with the prince."
The reason why common people are not qualified to fight with the powerful is that they have no power. It would be different if they had someone backing them up.
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