Chapter 47 Do you want to stay in the Marquis's mansion for the rest of your life?
Seeing Su Xiaoyu still standing there dumbfounded, Xiao Lingxi became extremely anxious.
Before her older brother could get close, she quickly leaned close to Su Xiaoyu's ear and ordered her:
"If you don't want to be kicked out of the Marquis's mansion, do as I say. Say it: you are in love with Young Master Shen, do you hear me!"
Su Xiaoyu: "!!!"
She could hardly believe her ears!
Making her admit that she likes that hypocrite Shen Moyan is worse than killing her!
Lin Wan'er stepped forward at the right moment and patted Su Xiaoyu's arm in a seemingly comforting manner.
“Little Fish, Sister Lingxi is the daughter of a Marquis, and her reputation is more important than anything else.”
“You’re a sensible person; you should know what’s important. It’s just a temporary measure, a way to temporarily tarnish your reputation. It’s better than letting Lingxi fall into utter ruin, right?”
"Don't forget, there's a difference between master and servant. You need to think carefully about which is more important: your innocence or your master's innocence."
These words, seemingly meant to offer advice, were in fact a constant reminder to Su Xiaoyu to recognize her true identity.
Put pressure on her and force her to comply.
Su Xiaoyu glanced at Lin Wan'er, then at Xiao Lingxi, before belatedly realizing what was happening.
It turns out these two had been in cahoots all along!
She was immediately overwhelmed by a sense of absurdity.
In this situation, does she still have a choice?
Also, isn't Lin Wan'er supposed to be the female lead in the original book? How could she do such a thing?
Knowing full well that the second young lady was having an affair, he not only didn't help to dissuade her, but also helped to cover it up.
Is this really for the sake of the second young lady?
Just as Su Xiaoyu was speechless from the shock, she saw Xiao Jingheng walking over.
His gaze swept lightly over everyone present, finally settling on Su Xiaoyu, who looked bewildered and bit her lip, remaining silent.
"What happened?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an imposing aura.
This made the already tense atmosphere even more stagnant.
Before Su Xiaoyu could speak, Lin Wan'er interjected, "Young Master Xiao, please don't misunderstand. Just now, Lingxi and I happened to be passing by and saw Miss Xiaoyu talking to Young Master Shen. We just happened to run into her, so we came to take a look."
In just a few words, the premise of "chance encounter" and "Su Xiaoyu and Shen Moyan meeting in private" was revealed.
Xiao Lingxi understood immediately and replied.
"Yes, yes, brother, please don't misunderstand Xiaoyu! She, she may admire Young Master Shen's talent and is waiting here to say a few words."
As he spoke, he glared fiercely at Su Xiaoyu, urging her to continue.
Shen Moyan was a shrewd person and immediately understood.
He stepped forward and bowed to Xiao Jingheng, neither servile nor arrogant:
“Your Highness, please understand that I have indeed met Miss Xiaoyu several times. We just happened to meet here and were about to exchange a few pleasantries, but there was nothing else between us. I have not done anything improper, so please do not punish her because of a misunderstanding.”
His words not only distanced him from Su Xiaoyu but also created an image of a gentleman who did not want to implicate innocent people.
In a short time, the three of them, singing in unison, cleverly turned a crisis of secret rendezvous into a little episode of a maid's yearning for love and a chance encounter with a talented man.
Xiao Lingxi was also perfectly removed from the list.
Xiao Jingheng listened silently, his handsome face expressionless, except for a moment when his gaze lingered on Su Xiaoyu's pale face.
He wanted to hear her thoughts, but Su Xiaoyu remained silent.
Is what he said true?
When Su Xiaoyu met Xiao Jingheng's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, she felt a lump in her throat and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.
She couldn't reveal the truth at this time, otherwise Lingxi's innocence would be ruined.
She lowered her head, seemingly using all her strength, before finally managing to squeeze out a single word:
"……yes."
"I was confused for a moment..."
Xiao Lingxi's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, immediately relaxed. She completely relaxed.
The moment Su Xiaoyu uttered those words, everyone felt the pressure around Xiao Jingheng suddenly drop!
It was as if the air itself had solidified.
His face remained expressionless, but his phoenix eyes instantly turned icy, shooting sharply at Shen Moyan beside him.
“Young Master Shen certainly has considerable talent,” he said, his tone laced with undisguised sarcasm.
"However, having studied the classics, one should understand the way of a gentleman. Some fame may be gained through opportunism and currying favor with the powerful, but if the foundation is unstable, it will ultimately be a mirage. I hope Young Master Shen will take good care of himself."
These words, seemingly about talent and reputation, were actually a barrage of criticism directed at Shen Moyan.
Shen Moyan's face turned pale upon hearing this, but he dared not refute it and could only stiffly cup his hands in greeting:
"Your Highness is right, I... will remember it."
Seeing this, Xiao Lingxi felt very uncomfortable.
After Xiao Jingheng finished speaking, he stopped looking at him and turned his gaze back to Su Xiaoyu.
His eyes were complex and difficult to decipher, carrying a suppressed undercurrent.
What are you still standing here for?
His tone was cold and hard: "Get in the car!"
Startled by the cold rebuke, Su Xiaoyu shuddered and quickly replied, "...Yes."
The carriage curtain quickly fell, blocking the view from outside. Only three people with different expressions remained on the street.
Inside the carriage, the air pressure was so low that it was hard to breathe.
Su Xiaoyu pressed herself tightly against the car wall, barely daring to breathe.
[Oh no! The prince must be angry with me! Will he think I've embarrassed him?]
[It's all Shen Moyan's fault! Why does he have to look like a refined scoundrel? He's like a living advertisement, attracting all sorts of attention!]
Xiao Jingheng sat upright opposite him, eyes closed in meditation, his face cold and stern, like an emotionless jade sculpture.
But Su Xiaoyu's innermost thoughts were heard without missing a single word.
He opened his eyes, a dark undercurrent surging within his deep phoenix eyes.
"How did you meet Shen Moyan?"
Su Xiaoyu was so frightened by his sudden question that she was completely stunned, her mind went blank, and her heart pounded wildly.
She couldn't very well say that she met the second young lady by following her, could she?
"Yes, this servant heard of Young Master Shen's name at the Princess's flower-viewing banquet..."
“I really don’t know him well.”
Oh my god, he's suspicious of me. Has he figured something out?
Xiao Jingheng scoffed coldly.
No wonder she rushed to his study so eagerly after he returned from investigating a case in Jiangnan, subtly inquiring about things in Jiangnan.
He had thought that this girl had started missing him after not seeing him for a few days, but it turned out that she was just trying to find out about another man.
A surge of bitter, simmering anger fermented in his chest, sending chills down his spine.
"What's so good about a pedantic scholar?"
His voice was low and laced with undisguised sarcasm.
"Jiangnan is a thousand miles away from the capital, with high mountains and distant waters. Do you really think you can go to such a place?"
He tried to shatter the illusions in Su Xiaoyu's heart: "Besides, Wuqing is a scholar. He's only talking to you today because of your kindness. If he passes the imperial examination in the future, it's inevitable that he'll marry a wife who will benefit his career. What will you do then?"
"Given your status as a maid in the Marquis's mansion, are you capable of becoming his principal wife, or are you willing to be a concubine, dependent on others and subjected to their mistreatment in the inner quarters?"
Su Xiaoyu wholeheartedly agreed, nodding repeatedly and giving Xiao Jingheng a thumbs up.
“Your Highness is absolutely right! That’s what I think too! Those scholars are the most cunning and unreliable! I don’t want to dream of marrying someone so far away, and I certainly don’t want to be a concubine. I think the Marquis’s mansion is perfect, and I want to stay here for the rest of my life.”
Her heartfelt and forceful agreement left Xiao Jingheng completely speechless.
He caught the last sentence in Su Xiaoyu's words:
"oh?"
"Do you want to stay in the Marquis's mansion for the rest of your life?"
His voice seemed to carry a hint of ambiguity.
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