Xue Shen's words were hardly polite, but given his status and the fact that he was never known for his good temper, Lu Minghe wasn't surprised.
He simply stared at their clasped hands, his gaze incredibly complex.
He was certain that the two men hadn't seen him when they got off the carriage. Therefore, the King of Qin's subsequent actions weren't intentionally staged for him.
He keenly sensed that the relationship between Zhaozhao and the King of Qin seemed to have undergone some changes.
Some changes that he was not happy to see.
Lu Minghe's gaze darkened. He brushed the snow off his body and bowed to the Prince of Qin, saying, "Greetings, Prince of Qin and Princess Qin."
As the words "Princess Consort of Qin" slid between his lips and teeth, it felt as if a knife was cutting his throat; he pronounced them with immense difficulty.
"I am here on the orders of His Highness the Crown Prince regarding the border war. However, my uncle harbors some resentment towards me and is unwilling to see me." At this point, he gave a bitter smile and looked at Shen Youying.
Today she was wearing a purple short jacket with a floral and bird skirt. Because of the snow, she also wore a fox fur coat over it, with a gray and white fur collar around her neck, making her face look only the size of a palm.
It had been a long time since I'd seen her. She seemed to have gained some weight. Her chin was still pointed, but her cheeks were fuller, making her look younger and even reminiscent of her pre-marriage days.
Especially when she smiled at the King of Qin with her eyebrows curved, Lu Minghe was momentarily stunned.
Zhao Zhao once smiled at him like that.
However, now... his hands, hidden in his sleeves, clenched into fists. Lu Minghe dared not look at her anymore and closed his eyes in pain.
Upon hearing this, Shen Youying naturally understood why her father refused to see her. However, considering that Lu Minghe had come because of the border war, she guessed that although her father was angry and refused to see her, he must still be concerned about the war. So she wanted to ask him to come in with her.
He had barely uttered two words when Xue Shen forcefully squeezed his hand, interrupting him.
Shen Youying turned around in confusion, only to hear Xue Shenyi say in a serious tone, "Since your father-in-law won't let you in, Zhao Zhao and I can't make the decision for you. Lord Lu, please wait here. We'll take our leave first."
After saying that, he took Shen Youying's hand and gestured for the guards to push him through the door.
Shen Youying opened her mouth, but seeing his calm and unmoved expression, she didn't say anything more and let him lead her into the room.
As Lu Minghe watched the two figures walk away hand in hand, he finally dared to look at Shen Youying without restraint, revealing a look of pain and torment.
Once the two entered, the gatekeeper immediately closed the door, completely cutting off his view.
Lu Minghe stood in the wind and snow, feeling as if there was a huge hole in his chest. The howling wind pierced through his chest, making him feel colder than ever before.
When they reached the corridor, Shen Youying glanced at Xue Shen from the side. She saw that his lips were pursed into a straight line, showing neither joy nor displeasure. After hesitating for a moment, she shook their clasped hands and explained softly, "I invited my cousin in not out of old friendship, but for Father's sake. Although Father refuses to see him, he must be worried about the border war."
Xue Shen glanced at her casually: "You call me that so affectionately, but I don't know anything about your past relationship with your cousin. Why don't you tell me, Zhao Zhao?"
Shen Youying: "..."
She glanced down at Xue Shen and said in a muffled voice, "His mother is my aunt. If I don't call him cousin, what should I call him?"
“I was engaged to him before, and the prince knows that.”
She didn't say anything about his concubines and wives in the backyard. Now she still has the nerve to bring up old grievances with her.
Shen Youying was somewhat unhappy.
But she knew that if this matter were to be discussed, it would become a mess, and it was better not to bring it up than to make both of them unhappy.
Xue Shen was unaware of her thoughts, but he was adept at reading people's expressions.
He saw that Shen Youying was looking down at him and not speaking, and that even the hand he was holding had unconsciously loosened its grip, so he knew that she was unhappy.
But I couldn't figure out why she was unhappy.
He was well-versed in military strategy and could devise plans, yet he still often failed to understand the people in front of him.
Xue Shen thought for a moment, then gestured for the guard to stop and said, "I'm not blaming you, I just don't like the way he looks at you."
That lingering, unresolved feeling in his eyes.
Shen Youying quietly pursed her lips: "He has eyes on his body, I can't control him."
She didn't realize that nowadays, when she's unhappy, she no longer tolerates and compromises as she used to; she has learned to throw a little tantrum at Xue Shen.
This is a good sign, and Xue Shen is willing to indulge her little temper.
“It’s precisely because we can’t control him that it’s so unpleasant.” Xue Shen cupped her hands in his palms and smiled helplessly. “Sometimes I think that if I had met you earlier, perhaps he wouldn’t have been involved at all.”
Shen Youying thought about the four or five-year age difference between them and said honestly, "A little earlier, I hadn't even reached the age of marriage yet, I was still a little kid. Even if you saw me, you might not have been willing to pay attention to me."
How do you know I won't pay attention to you?
Xue Shen squeezed her hand, but then he remembered that year at the palace banquet, she wore a jacket and skirt embroidered with koi fish. She was not very tall, and her hair, which was not long enough, was styled into two buns and decorated with red ribbons. She had fair skin and dark eyes, and she always had a smile on her face, like a maidservant beside Guanyin.
However, he wasn't very clever and was easily fooled by Xuan Ci with just a few words, and tricked into going to a secluded pond.
At that time, he had suffered a great tragedy, burdened with the hatred of a blood feud, and filled with resentment he had nowhere to vent. But when he saw her struggling helplessly in the pond, crying for help, he felt a pang of pity and had the people around him rescue her.
At that time, her lips were so cold that they turned blue, she was shivering and tears were streaming down her face, but she still thanked him obediently and softly, saying that she would repay her father when he came.
He didn't take a child's words to heart. Later, when he heard that she had developed a high fever after returning to the manor, he was so frightened that he took leave from work and stayed home to take care of her day and night. He probably didn't remember those childish promises anymore.
Little did she expect that her words would come true; the child who held his finger back then and said she would repay him is now his wife.
As for Lu Minghe outside, he is destined to only ever desire but never obtain.
Xue Shen laughed, slowly clenching his fingers between hers.
Shen Youying found his words somewhat inexplicable. Recalling his cold and fierce appearance, she muttered to herself, "If she really saw it, she would probably be scared to tears."
She was timid and spoiled when she was little, not as easily fooled as she is now.
Xue Shen heard her mutterings, but did not explain the past. He pretended not to hear and continued forward with her hand: "Let's go, let's go pay our respects to your father first."
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