The guard's words surprised Shen Youying: "It wasn't written by Zhao Meier?"
The guard replied, "Yes, Your Highness: I personally witnessed Yao Niang handing the newly written storybook to Zhao Meier. From their conversation, it seems that Yao Niang's husband is a storyteller in the teahouse. Zhao Meier was probably afraid that she would be discovered by the Prince and Princess, so she gave her a reward and then sent her away."
When Shen Youying heard "Ya Niang" and "storyteller," her expression shifted slightly, and she subconsciously glanced at Xue Shen: "What a coincidence?"
The woman she just rescued is named "Chen Yaoniang," and her husband is the storyteller at Zhao's Teahouse.
However, this made sense, as the guard had said. Yao Niang went to deliver the completed storybook and, incidentally, to visit her husband. But Zhao Mei'er, fearing exposure, sent Chen Yao Niang away. Chen Yao Niang didn't see her husband and instead went to the market to buy medicine, where she encountered her husband's creditor.
Shen Youying recalled her inexplicable fondness for Chen Yaoniang and said, "If it really is a story she wrote, it does fit."
Like Miss Xu in the storybook, Chen Yaoniang is trapped in a predicament, weak but with an indomitable tenacity.
Shen Youying then thought of Zhao Meier. The couple had not revealed their identities. As a young lady of the Zhao family, Zhao Meier must have lived a life of luxury. She couldn't understand why she would fabricate lies to get close to her.
Xue Shen dismissed the guards and looked down at her: "Can't figure it out?"
Shen Youying shook her head: "She went to such lengths to set up a scheme to get close to me, she must have had a purpose."
Xue Shen advised her: "Zhao Tang once said that he intends to expand his business to Tokyo. Tokyo is full of powerful and wealthy people, and there are countless restaurants and teahouses. If an outsider wants to gain a foothold, it is best to find a powerful backer."
Shen Youying understood: "The Zhao siblings want to find us as their backers?"
But then she realized that if the goal was simply to make connections, it should have been her brother Zhao Tang who approached Xue Shen, not her sister Zhao Meier.
She then remembered Xue Shen's inexplicable ill will towards Zhao Meier. She blinked and looked up at Xue Shen: "She wants to be your concubine?"
Xue Shen gently stroked the tip of her nose with his knuckles, confirming her guess.
Shen Youying glanced at him and muttered under her breath, "I only knew that pretty women were good at attracting attention, but now it seems that men are just as attractive."
Xue Shen looked innocent: "This has nothing to do with me. She thought that being in a wheelchair meant she was truly unable to walk."
If the principal wife is unable to walk properly and cannot personally serve her husband, several concubines must be arranged to take care of her.
Unexpectedly, it was her sitting in a wheelchair that gave Zhao Meier and her brother the illusion that they could take advantage of her. Shen Youying bit her lip and said, "Then I won't sit in it tomorrow."
Thinking that Zhao Meier might still feel that she and Xue Shen were not a good match, she glanced at Xue Shen again with a hint of flirtation in her eyes and said, "Please sit down."
Xue Shen couldn't help but chuckle, and lifted her up by her waist and hips, kissing her puffed-out cheek: "Jealous?"
Shen Youying was silent for a moment, then bit his Adam's apple, licked it, and honestly said, "Mmm."
Between husband and wife, the deeper the affection, the stronger the possessiveness of the other.
The world always teaches women to be virtuous wives and good mothers, not to be jealous, and to be tolerant, but Shen Youying refused. She had given her whole heart to this man, so she could not allow Xue Shen to have anyone else.
Of course, even if Xue Shen didn't mean it that way, she still felt unhappy because others coveted it.
She stepped on Xue Shen's feet, stood on tiptoe, hooked her arms around his neck, kissed his chin, and then sought his lips.
Xue Shen held her lower back to protect her, indulging her awkward yet proactive assertion of dominance.
Shen Youying tiptoed and kissed for a while, but then felt a little tired. She could only lean on Xue Shen for support, her moist and full red lips pressed against Xue Shen's neck, slowly calming her breath.
The warm, moist breath sprayed onto the skin, causing a tingling sensation.
Xue Shen lifted her up by her knees, letting her wrap her arms around his waist, and pressed her against the display shelf. His nose brushed against hers, and his lips lightly touched her cheek: "Are you deliberately teasing me?"
Shen Youying didn't answer, but pressed herself even closer to him, as if she wanted to burrow into his body.
Xue Shen hissed softly, but considering her pregnancy, he dared not be too indulgent. He could only carry her into the tent and gently and slowly torment her.
By the time Shen Youying finally fell back to the ground from the floating clouds, it was already dark outside.
Xue Shen, shirtless and wearing only a pair of underpants, went to get her clean clothes.
Shen Youying felt weak all over and didn't want to move. She was too lazy to eat dinner and just hid in the blankets: "I don't want to eat dinner. I'll lie down for a while and then go take a bath."
Xue Shen naturally refused: "You didn't eat much for lunch, and you also ate hawthorn. Your stomach and spleen will feel uncomfortable later."
He pulled her out of the blankets, dressed her in her undergarments, and then put on her inner and outer garments one by one. Seeing that she was sitting lazily on the edge of the bed barefoot and refused to move, he brought her shoes and socks to put on her and coaxed her to eat dinner.
Shen Youying reluctantly followed him out.
Xue Shen instinctively reached for the wheelchair, but then paused, remembering her earlier words, and asked, "Do you still want to sit?"
Shen Youying rolled her eyes mischievously and said, "Sit down first."
Xue Shen then pushed her toward the inn's lobby.
The chef at Zhao's Inn was quite skilled, and several dishes suited Shen Youying's taste perfectly. Xue Shen pushed her to a quiet spot in the lobby before calling a waiter to order.
Just as they finished ordering, Zhao Meier returned from outside. She greeted the two of them with a smile and curtsied, saying familiarly, "Madam, why are you having dinner so late?"
Looking at her feigned friendly smile, Shen Youying thought for a moment, then deliberately lowered her eyes shyly and tucked a stray hair behind her ear: "Something else took a while."
She changed her clothes, and her hair, which was unkempt, was simply tied back with two white jade hairpins. With her eyes lowered and a slight smile, she exuded a languid and charming air, like a begonia in spring slumber.
If one is already in a position of power, one can guess what this "other matter" refers to at a glance.
Zhao Meier is not yet married, so she shouldn't know this.
But Shen Youying noticed her expression and saw that she was first taken aback, then her face changed, and she clenched the handkerchief in her hand with some resentment. Afraid that Shen Youying would notice, she could only pretend not to understand and said with a smile, "Where did Madam go this afternoon to play? It took her so long."
Shen Youying looked at her and sighed inwardly.
Thinking that her guess was indeed correct, she couldn't understand why Zhao Meier would give up being a proper wife and instead rush to become Xue Shen's concubine, or even mistress.
She shook her head inwardly, but ultimately did not expose Zhao Meier, saving her face and even giving her a chance to confess: "I didn't go anywhere, I just went to the market and happened to see a woman being bullied, so I helped her out."
Shen Youying smiled slightly as she gazed at Zhao Meier, her surprise perfectly timed: "It's quite a coincidence. After rescuing the woman, I learned that her name was Chen Yaoniang, and that she was the wife of the storyteller in your teahouse."
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