Chapter 17: The Prize
The eldest princess led everyone back to the banquet hall.
Mrs. Shen was surrounded by the ladies of various families and walked forward, while Shen Anan was ignored.
"Congratulations." A soft voice sounded.
Shen Anan looked back and saw Miss Duan Er's friendly smile. She smiled back, "Thank you."
Miss Duan Er nodded and walked past her.
Shen Anan pretended not to see Duan Mengmeng's gnashing of teeth and continued walking forward.
"I underestimated Miss Shen." Duan Mengmeng took two quick steps and walked side by side with her.
Shen Anan curled her lips, "I just want to teach Miss Duan San not to think too highly of herself."
“…” Duan Mengmeng’s face was extremely gloomy, and she sneered, “Miss Shen, do you think that you can become a talented woman just by winning a painting competition?”
Shen Anan suddenly stopped and turned back, "Look at you, you think highly of yourself again, you think everyone cares about you just because you are a talented woman, but you are the only one who is proud of it, and you don't even wag the tail of a dog."
After saying that, he walked away leisurely, leaving Duan Mengmeng standing there gritting her teeth, almost going crazy with anger.
Her beautiful face was distorted and her fingertips were deeply embedded in her palms.
"Miss Duan San." A fawning girl pushed her cautiously.
"Let's go. It's time for the princess to give out prizes. Let's go and have some fun." Duan Mengmeng said with a stern face.
The girl breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed.
She is just sharp-tongued. She must not lose her image in public and do what that woman wants.
When we arrived at the banquet hall, the topic was still on the painting competition. After all, Duan Mengmeng had always won the first place in previous years, but this year someone suddenly changed, which was very novel.
"Third sister, come and sit here." Miss Duan Er waved to Miss Duan San.
"Hmph." Miss Duan San glanced at her coldly and looked away, pretending she didn't see it.
Don't think that she didn't hear her congratulating Shen Anan just now.
Miss Duan Er watched her sit down next to the girl from the other family, lowered her eyes sadly, feeling a little helpless.
At this time, the nanny beside the eldest princess brought the prize for the competition.
Everyone looked at the tray covered with red cloth, wondering what it might be.
"Miss Shen, come here." The eldest princess waved her hand.
Shen Anan stood up, bowed dignifiedly, and walked forward.
Everyone was looking at her, especially Duan Mengmeng. Her anger and jealousy were almost bursting out as she stared at the tray.
Shen Anan glanced at her, then smiled and lifted the red cloth.
Everyone let out a soft "eh".
Shen Anan lowered her eyes and looked at the scroll lying on the tray. The sneer on her face froze, and she suddenly had a very bad premonition.
The princess spoke softly, "If there is anyone in Daliang who can be said to have outstanding painting skills, it is my fourth nephew. Young ladies from all families are attracted to his paintings, so I specially asked him for a painting as a prize for today's reward."
“Miss Shen, you have found a treasure. The fourth brother’s paintings are worth a fortune.”
“…”
Shen Anan wanted to smile gracefully, but she couldn't smile after pulling her lips a few times.
Her face felt hot, as if she had been slapped hard in the face.
Amid the envious sighs of the other girls, she took up the scroll on the tray with a wooden face, knelt down and saluted, "Thank you, Princess."
The princess was still sighing in her heart about her own fairness and justice when she saw Shen An'an's wooden face.
This Miss Shen doesn't seem so happy?
Shen Anan returned to her seat, her face extremely stiff. If she had said how proud she was just now, she would have felt even more embarrassed now.
She suddenly felt that she was even more ridiculous than Duan Mengmeng.
The scroll in her hands felt like a hedgehog, pricking her and making her shiver all over.
"An An." Madam Shen called her.
Shen Anan looked up expressionlessly, "Mom, what's wrong?"
Madam Shen lowered her voice, "Just now, many ladies asked me about your marriage. I want to ask, do you have someone you like?"
She didn't forget what her husband told her.
Shen Anan was stunned for a moment and shook her head, "No, my daughter has been staying in Jiangnan, where would she find someone she likes?"
It was because she had been in Jiangnan that she was worried. Madam Shen looked at her seriously and said, "Really? If not, mother would have told the ladies of the other families and let you see it."
"Well, no." Shen Anan said perfunctorily.
Madam Shen heaved a sigh of relief and continued to mingle with the other ladies.
After half an hour, the banquet finally ended, and the ladies of each family left with their daughters.
Mo Xiang glanced at the scroll that was about to be folded by the girl, and tentatively said, "Miss, why don't you let me hold it."
"Need not."
Mrs. Shen was kept by the princess to talk in private, and was asked to wait in the carriage. Judging from her expression, she must be arranged to marry someone.
The master and servant walked in silence on the bluestone path.
Shen Anan's brows were gloomy, and the corners of her lips, which were always raised, were slightly turned down at this time, and it could be seen that she was in a bad mood.
"Oh, Miss Shen." An unremarkable voice sounded excitedly from another fork in the road.
“…” Shen An’an’s mouth twitched, and his pace quickened a bit.
"Hey, don't leave. After all, we are distributing porridge together, so we can be considered friends."
Li Huaiyan also took a few quick steps to catch up with her.
Shen Anan stopped with a sullen face, turned around and looked at Li Huaiyan. As expected, Xiao Yuan was there too.
His usually stern face now showed a faint smile for the first time, and he walked leisurely, as if he was in a very good mood.
The two of them looked at each other for a moment, and Shen Anan immediately looked away. She was very sure that this dog man was laughing at her.
She clutched the scroll, feeling suffocated and upset.
How unlucky I am to meet him.
Li Huaiyan ran over excitedly, "A real person doesn't show his face. I heard that you won the first place in the painting competition today?"
“…” Shen An’an’s face was wooden.
It's really a case of bringing up something irrelevant. "What's the matter?"
"No, I'm just so happy to see you." He wanted to come up and chat with her.
"Is that Miss Chen? She seems to be waiting for you." Xiao Yuan tapped Li Huaiyan's shoulder and said.
Li Huaiyan raised his eyes and looked over there, frowning, "No way."
"He has walked away. You can still catch up if you go now."
"No." Li Huaiyan smiled, "They are not as interesting as Miss Shen."
"Ah, hiss~"
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly held his waist and bent down.
"Is that girl cursing you secretly?" Xiao Yuan said with a smile, "Go and take a look."
Li Huaiyan turned his head and glared at Xiao Yuan fiercely. He felt timid in the face of the other's threatening eyes and said, "Oh, I'll go right away."
“Miss Shen, let’s talk another day.” Li Huaiyan greeted Shen Anan and left reluctantly.
Xiao Yuan's gloomy expression finally looked better. He glanced at the scroll in her hand and curled the corners of his lips, "Miss Shen, congratulations."
"Congratulations." Shen Anan said with a wooden face.
"Indeed, I'm happy for you." The curve on Xiao Yuan's lips was something Shen Anan had never seen in her two lifetimes.
The next moment, he suddenly leaned over and moved a little closer to Shen Anan, his hot breath very close to her.
"I heard that Miss Shen had an argument with Miss Duan San in order to get the prize. It seems that she likes my scroll very much."
Shen Anan suddenly raised her eyes and looked at him, "Did you do this on purpose?"
"Hmm?" Xiao Yuan raised his eyebrows. "I don't understand what Miss Shen meant, but... I understand what Miss Shen meant by playing hard to get."
“…”
She let out a long breath, then took another long breath, and suddenly uttered everything to that handsome face, "I was wondering why the Fourth Prince looked so familiar to me. It turns out he has the same face as Miss Duan San, and thinks highly of himself."
If she had known that the prize was this bastard's painting, she would have been insulting herself by even picking up the brush.
Xiao Yuan frowned and took a few steps back in disgust, his playfulness turning into gloom.
“A few days ago, you said it was a rag, but today you tried your best to win the championship. Is Miss Shen always so hypocritical and inconsistent?”
She held the thing in her hand, as if explaining anything was a little ridiculous. Shen Anan said nothing and suddenly turned and left.
She gritted her teeth, as if she wanted to crush the bluestone path under her feet.
"Hiss~" Her body suddenly tilted.
Xiao Yuan subconsciously took a step forward and suddenly stopped after Mo Xiang supported her.
Shen Anan was in a very bad mood. She was so angry that she forgot about the strain on her foot.
Duan Mengmeng and Xiao Yuan are this pair of bad guys. You will be in trouble if you meet them.
Xiao Yuan looked at her limping back and chuckled as he curled his lips.
"Your Highness, the princess wants you to come over."
"Yeah." Xiao Yuan turned around calmly and walked towards the inner courtyard.
In the front hall, as soon as he walked up the steps, he met Madam Shen who came out from inside, looking very happy.
"Fourth Prince." Madam Shen bowed.
Xiao Yuan glanced at her and narrowed his eyes sharply, "Yeah."
He walked into the hall, and Mrs. Shen shook herself, then smiled and walked away quickly.
"You're here." The eldest princess saw him come in, rolled up the small painting in her hand and handed it to the nanny beside her.
Xiao Yuan's gaze fixed on the small painting for a moment, and his eyes darkened.
The eldest princess collected many small paintings of officials' children to use in marriage proposals.
He spoke casually, "I saw that Madam Shen looked very happy just now. Is it that Auntie is playing matchmaker again?"
"Yes, I like that girl no matter how I look at her. I just happen to have a few suitable men, so I talked to Mrs. Shen about it."
"And then?" Xiao Yuan took the tea handed to him by the maid and took a sip.
Then? The eldest princess was stunned. When did he become so fond of gossip?
"That's not the case yet. Marriage is the most important thing for a girl, so we should be careful."
Xiao Yuan responded calmly, and he himself did not even notice that his expression had softened.
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