Meng Zhao glanced sideways at the person beside him, her tone laced with sarcasm: "You're quite capable, aren't you? I told you not to enter the Meng residence, but you just moved in with your whole family."
Thinking about all the schemes Shen Qinghe had secretly plotted without her knowledge, a nameless anger flared up inside her, and her tone became increasingly sharp: "While I was away from home, you must have been fawning over my parents quite a bit, right? Why waste your time on such pointless things when you could be doing something worthwhile?" She sneered, "So what if you moved into the Meng family mansion? Do you think I don't have legs?"
Shen Qinghe suddenly stopped, the lantern in his hand swaying slightly. He lowered his eyelashes, his voice tinged with a hint of loneliness: "Do you really hate me that much?"
A night breeze swept by, ruffling Meng Zhao's sleeves and carrying a chill. She turned her face away, hardening her heart: "It's you who always does things that annoy me. I've told you before, I hate being coerced, and I hate being schemed against even more. What you've done will only make me more annoyed, and won't have any other effect."
The long street was silent, with only the sound of their footsteps. Meng Zhao noticed that Shen Qinghe seemed to want to say something but didn't. For a moment, Meng Zhao seemed to be able to feel the sadness of the person next to her. The heavy atmosphere almost made her breathless. But when she thought about being schemed against by him and living under the same roof, the feeling of annoyance surged up in her heart again.
The two families were not far apart, and in the blink of an eye they arrived at the gate of the Meng residence. Shen Qinghe stepped forward and gently knocked on the door. Xiao Chuan quickly opened the door and beamed with joy upon seeing Meng Zhao: "Sister Meng is back!" He hurriedly welcomed her inside.
Shen Qinghe offered the lantern forward, but Meng Zhao refused to take it. He wasn't annoyed. Instead, he put the lantern in Xiao Chuan's hand and gently instructed, "It's dark at night, so light the lantern carefully and don't let your sister Meng touch anything."
After saying that, he turned around and gave Meng Zhao a deep look, then said softly, "Get some rest." Before he finished speaking, he had already stepped into the deep night, as if staying any longer would annoy her.
The moonlight, like water, stretched his departing shadow long, inexplicably conveying a sense of loneliness. Meng Zhao stood at the door, watching his figure gradually disappear into the night. The lanterns beside her flickered, just like her chaotic thoughts at that moment.
"Sister Meng? What's wrong?" Xiao Chuan asked softly when he saw her lost in thought.
Meng Zhao then came to her senses and shook her head: "It's nothing. Where are Mom and Dad? Are they asleep?"
"Not yet!" Xiao Chuan said with a beaming smile. "Master and Madam knew you were coming back today, so they've been waiting for you."
Meng Zhao nodded and followed Xiao Chuan through the courtyard. When Xu Yunrong saw her return, she quickly went up to her and said, "I guessed that you must have had dinner at the Shen family's house since you hadn't come back after dinner time. The restaurant has been so busy these past few days, are you tired?"
Meng Zhao shook her head, forcing a smile. "No, Mother. I'm just in charge of keeping an eye on them. It's not tiring at all." After saying that, she hesitated for a moment before asking, "Father, Mother, do you know that the Shen family is moving in with us in a couple of days?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Dashan immediately perked up: "I know! I was the one who agreed to this!" He excitedly leaned closer to his daughter, "Zhaozhao, do you know that Qinghe has been promoted again? He's not even twenty years old yet, and he's already a fifth-rank official!"
He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "I've inquired around, and even those ministers and grand secretaries in the court today didn't have such high positions when they were young! We're really lucky to have found such a desirable person, so when the Shen family said they wanted to stay for a month, I immediately agreed."
Meng Dashan spoke with great enthusiasm, but Meng Zhao's face showed no joy. Xu Yunrong keenly sensed her daughter's thoughts and added gently, "Zhao Zhao, don't worry. This time, only the rest of the Shen family will move in. Qinghe won't be staying with us."
"Huh?" Meng Zhao was stunned, and almost dropped the teacup in his hand.
Meng Dashan was somewhat surprised: "Zhaozhao, you don't know?"
"Know what?"
"His Majesty has issued an order for him to go on an inspection tour somewhere. He'll probably be gone for two or three months. I heard he's about to set off in the next few days."
Meng Zhao shook her head blankly; she didn't know!
Then he remembered Shen Qinghe's hesitant expression earlier. Could this be what he wanted to say?
Xu Yunrong continued, "Ever since you specifically instructed the gatekeeper not to let him into the mansion after the New Year, we guessed that you probably had a falling out with him, so naturally we wouldn't let him stay here."
Meng Dashan quickly chimed in, "That's right, Zhaozhao, how could your parents force you?" Then, he added curiously, "But what exactly is going on between you and Qinghe? It's been over half a year, and they won't even let him into the mansion?"
Meng Zhao sat blankly in the chair, speechless for a moment. To be honest, she was a little unhappy when she heard Meng Dashan and Xu Yunrong agree to let the Shen family move in. Who would have thought that things would turn out like this? Thinking about it carefully, Gu Lanying had not said that Shen Qinghe was going to move in. She had misunderstood.
Thinking about the harsh words he had just said to Shen Qinghe, Meng Zhao raised his hand and tapped his head in frustration. Why didn't he ask a few more questions?
Seeing their daughter's state, Xu Yunrong and Meng Dashan exchanged bewildered glances. Meng Zhao could only force a smile and offer a vague, perfunctory response.
In the stillness of the night, Meng Zhao tossed and turned on her bed, unable to sleep. The cold moonlight filtered through the gauze curtains, casting dappled shadows on the floor. The lonely figure of Shen Qinghe as he left earlier now evoked countless thoughts in her mind, and an indescribable bitterness welled up from the bottom of her heart, making her throat tight.
She turned over, the quilt rustling. After sighing a few times, she scratched her head vigorously, pulled the quilt over her head, and forced herself to close her eyes.
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