Chapter 23: Seeing Each Other
"Come on, let's go inside and talk." Madam Shen invited everyone into the house.
On the other side, Ling Chenyi lifted the curtain and spoke to the person on the horse in front of him for a long time, but there was no response, so he frowned.
"Xiao Yuan."
"Hmm?" He turned his head slightly.
"I'm talking to you, why are you so absent-minded? Is there something on your mind?"
"..." Xiao Yuan pursed his thin lips.
If I hate a woman and get angry the moment I see her, does that count as a worry?
For some reason, whenever he thought of the woman who was dressed like a butterfly and looked at the man from the Meng family in a delicate manner, he would feel furious.
Is she blind? What kind of people are they looking for? They are no match for him.
Thinking about it, Xiao Yuan frowned again. Why did he compare himself with those people?
The irritability was growing wildly in his heart like weeds. It must be because she rejected him that he was unwilling to accept the result. It must be, he kept saying this in his heart.
But the girl from the Meng family is really ugly, and only the blind man likes her. He throws her seductive glances without worrying about being blinded.
"Xiao Yuan!"
"Say, I'm listening,"
Ling Chenyi was speechless. He had talked about the whole thing, but did he not reply a single word? Where did he get any attention?
"I say, do you know why Madam Shen is attracted to the son of the Censor-in-Chief?"
Xiao Yuan raised his drooping eyelids, pulled the reins back, slowed down, and asked casually, "Why?"
Ling Chenyi smiled, "Shen Wen is the Grand Marshal, the head of the military officers. The emperor will not be happy to see him, whether he is the prime minister or a military general, who is the head of the civil officials. The Chief Censor is not a big or small official, and his influence among the civil officials is very small. The emperor will not care."
A sarcastic smile floated on his lips, "My mother gave Madam Shen a lot of choices at that time, but she only looked at the sons of those officials. It can be seen that the Shen family deliberately wanted to remain neutral."
The Shen family represents a considerable force in the court. If the other two princes had not married their principal wives, they would definitely not miss the opportunity to marry into the Shen family.
"Shen Wen is really an old fox. He gave birth to a daughter and sent her away to raise her for so many years. If it weren't for the imperial concubine's secret efforts, I'm afraid she would never have been brought back in this lifetime."
Xiao Yuan's eyes were deep and dark as he looked ahead without saying a word.
"It's a pity that the girl didn't fancy you. Otherwise, with the help of the Imperial Concubine and the Shen family, you would be even more powerful."
Xiao Yuan's cold gaze swept over Ling Chenyi in the carriage, instantly startling him and making him feel cold.
"Since he wants to remain neutral, Shen Wen will naturally not marry his daughter to me."
"Really? But from what I see, Miss Shen's attitude towards you doesn't seem like she is helpless because she can't get the love she wants."
That look was somewhat like the annoyance Xiao Yuan showed when a young lady from another family pestered him.
His hand gripping the reins suddenly tightened a little, and veins on the back of his hand became faintly visible, as if he was gripping Ling Chenyi's throat.
He tilted his head, and looked straight at him with his cold eyes. Ling Chenyi felt that all the hairs on his body stood up.
He always felt that he was less of a coward than Li Huaiyan. "Okay, okay, I just mentioned it casually. What I meant was that the marriage between the Shen family and the Meng family was probably almost certain, and this was a good opportunity to show the Shen family's position to the emperor."
"Hehe, but I don't think so." Xiao Yuan sneered and withdrew his gaze coldly.
He disliked that woman extremely and didn't want to let her get what she wanted.
He rode his horse a short distance away and said, "Qingfeng."
Qingfeng quickly pulled the reins and followed, "Master."
"You go to the palace..." Xiao Yuan curled his lips coldly and whispered a few words.
Qingfeng was stunned for a moment, then turned his horse around and left quickly before Xiao Yuan's cold gaze swept over him.
Ling Chenyi frowned and looked back, then looked at Xiao Yuan's broad and strong back and narrowed his eyes.
——
Madam Shen led the eldest princess and Madam Meng to the banquet hall. The maid served them tea. The three of them chatted with each other, and you would have thought they were close friends.
Madam Meng wanted to marry Shen Anan, so she naturally kept flattering Madam Shen and praising Shen Anan so much that Shen Anan even doubted whether the fairy she was talking about was herself.
"But my Cheng'er is not bad either. He passed the imperial examination this year and ranked quite high. My master said that his achievements in the future will definitely surpass his."
Since people have praised your daughter, Mrs. Shen naturally has to praise her back. For a while, the banquet hall became a place where the two of them praised each other.
Shen Anan lowered her eyes and took a sip of tea, and once again saw Meng Cheng's stealing glances at her from the corner of her eye.
"..." She is not someone who cannot be seen. If she wants to see, she can just see openly. Why do it secretly?
Shen An'an put down the teacup, and cast her calm almond-shaped eyes at Meng Cheng, who lowered his head and pretended to drink tea, frankly and without reservation.
She was not embarrassed, but was very nervous about Meng Cheng. Her face turned red with embarrassment, and her hand holding the teacup was shaking slightly.
Afraid that he would knock over the teacup and wet his robe, Shen Anan could only look away indifferently.
Right, as a grown man, why should you be timid? Just look at her openly, she is not a tiger.
Madam Shen and Madam Meng were chatting animatedly, so they naturally didn't pay attention to this side. However, the eldest princess took in the scene just now and lowered her eyes to hide her smile.
The more she looked at this girl from the Shen family, the more she liked her. She was not pretentious, but dignified and generous, and very interesting.
Shen Anan glanced to the side and saw the eldest princess's teasing smile, and then she felt a little embarrassed.
Madam Shen looked at the sky, turned her head and said to Shen Anan, "The banquet will take a while. Mr. Meng is new here, and he must be very bored sitting and listening to us chatting. You can take him to the garden for a walk."
"Yes." Shen Anan stood up and bowed to Madam Meng and the eldest princess one by one.
Meng Cheng's joy was beyond words, but he quickly suppressed it, stood up and bowed, "Thank you, Madam Shen."
"Well, go ahead." Mrs. Shen looked at Meng Cheng, reluctantly satisfied.
"Please come in, Mr. Meng."
"Thank you, Miss Chen." He was so flustered that he saluted a little messily.
Shen Anan walked out first, wondering if except for Li Huaiyan, who had experienced many battles, all other men were like this, more shy than virgin girls.
She couldn't help but think of the scholar, who was the same when he saw her.
"What are you laughing at, Miss Shen?" Meng Cheng straightened his robe inconspicuously and asked softly.
"Nothing, I just suddenly remembered something interesting."
“Can you share it with me next time?”
“…” Shen Anan was startled and tilted her head to look at Meng Cheng.
Meng Cheng's face suddenly turned red again, full of embarrassment, and he was a little annoyed at being so abrupt. "I just asked casually. If Miss Shen doesn't want to say it, don't say it. Don't take it to heart."
Shen Anan shook his head and laughed.
It’s not that I can’t say it, but I’m afraid of offending this young man.
"I heard from Madam Meng that Master Meng is very talented in writing."
Meng Cheng was a little flustered, and his words were a little incoherent, "No, no, I'm just a Jinshi, a middle-ranking one, don't listen to my mother's nonsense."
Shen Anan curled her lips, it was rare to tear down one's own stage like this.
"Mother loves her son, and Madam Meng thinks that you are a perfect person. It's not nonsense."
There are not many children of officials who can pass the imperial examination on their own. Either they are from a blessed family and directly want to be an official, or they are used to a life of luxury and do not pay attention to their studies at all.
After all, he has the support of his family. Whether he studies or not, he will have a lot of wealth and a smooth life. Which rich and powerful child would be willing to suffer the hardship of studying?
“Miss Shen is right.” Meng Cheng’s heart was pounding so hard that it almost jumped out of his chest.
It is said that one should marry a gentle, graceful, and considerate wife. He felt that this Miss Shen was really good in every way.
She is beautiful, dignified, good at speaking and very intelligent. At the Chrysanthemum Banquet, she even surpassed the most talented lady, Miss Duan San. She is truly perfect with both talent and beauty.
Meng Cheng felt that if he could marry the girl from the Shen family, he would hold her in the palm of his hand and pamper her to the utmost, and he would not even have to take a concubine for three to five years.
Shen Anan took him walking aimlessly in the garden, and gradually became a little bored.
Seeing that she was not interested, Meng Cheng took the initiative to find a topic, "I heard that you were raised in Jiangnan since you were a child."
"Yeah." Shen Anan nodded, "I followed my grandmother to Jiangnan when I was three years old. My grandmother said that there were many talented people there, and it was a land of plenty."
"Mrs. Shen is truly an extraordinary woman." Meng Cheng said with a smile.
The Shen family is so wealthy, and Old Madam Shen is at an age where she should be enjoying her life, but she chose to leave. It is indeed strange.
"My grandmother likes Jiangnan." Although she didn't know why, she just felt that her grandmother seemed to have a special feeling for Jiangnan, as if she missed it.
"Well, Jiangnan has pleasant scenery. It is indeed a good place."
The topic stopped here again and fell into silence. The garden was almost finished. Shen Anan turned around and said, "The banquet should be starting soon. Let's go back."
"Yeah. OK." Meng Cheng's face was obviously disappointed and a little annoyed, wondering if he had not performed well just now.
On the way back, he racked his brains to find topics to talk about, fearing that the conversation would become dull.
"Young Master."
The sound of a maid's greeting could be heard not far away.
Shen Anan curled her lips and quickened her pace, but Meng Cheng was a little flustered.
Shen Changhe stepped forward, raised his eyes and saw Shen Anan walking out of the garden, his expression immediately softened a little.
"Brother."
"An An."
However, his smile came to an abrupt end when he saw the young man who walked out afterwards.
"Master Shen." Meng Cheng bowed.
Shen Changhe pursed his lips and said nothing.
"Brother, this is the son of the Censor-in-Chief, who is visiting your house with the Princess and the Censor-in-Chief's wife."
Shen Changhe frowned when he heard this and responded lightly.
Shen Changhe is a military general with a cold temperament and a resolute face. He is quite creepy when he is serious. Because of his relationship with Shen Anan, Meng Cheng inevitably feels a little restrained.
"Why did you come back so early today?"
"It's the Mid-Autumn Festival the day after tomorrow, and the court has given a few days off." Shen Changhe glanced at Meng Cheng from time to time.
"That's just right. Mother has set up a banquet in the banquet hall. Let's go over and have a seat together."
"No." Shen Changhe looked away and wanted to rub the top of Shen Anan's head, but because of the presence of outsiders, he did not move, "I still have some things to deal with, you guys go."
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