She couldn't very well say that her brother Shenye was actually the fifth prince of the Great Jin Kingdom who had been living abroad, and the younger brother of the current emperor of the Great Jin Kingdom, could she?
“Actually, actually…” Lili was very conflicted. After thinking for a while, she decided to reveal the truth, “Actually, Brother Chenye is not an ordinary person.”
"Um?"
Xia Ning was puzzled.
Lili didn't know what to say next. After thinking about it carefully, it seemed there was nothing to hide. Shen Ye was just repaying her for saving him back then, which didn't conflict with his true identity.
However, Xia Ning was unaware of this matter, and she didn't know whether Shen Ye had his own plans.
Lili decided to stay out of it; things between young couples can be complicated.
"It's nothing, it's nothing." Lili quickly changed the subject. "They should be here soon, should we go and greet them?"
Xia Ning hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay."
The two went straight to a teahouse on the main street directly opposite the city gate and asked for a private room facing the street. They could see the street scene as soon as they opened the window.
Lili stood by the window, her hands resting on the windowsill as she looked out.
Xia Ning stood beside Lili, her eyes looking at the street, her mind wandering elsewhere. She didn't even hear Lili calling her.
"Sister Xia Ning, Sister Xia Ning!"
Xia Ning snapped back to reality and asked her in confusion, "Hmm?"
Lili helplessly helped her shoulder and turned her to the right: "Sister Xia Ning, snap out of it! Look, who's that?"
Xia Ning stared blankly at her, letting Lili adjust the angle of her head.
A luxurious carriage drove in from the direction of the city gate. The carriage had a pear character on it, which was the symbol of Pear Fragrance Pavilion.
At the front of the carriage, Shen Ye, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, rode his horse to lead the way, exuding a sharp aura and flamboyant appearance.
Shen Ye already possessed an exotic appearance. Although she had lived in Southern Jin for so long, as she grew older, Shen Ye was at the age where she was most unrestrained and flamboyant. Her temperament was simply irresistible, making her extremely outstanding.
Xia Ning's lips parted slightly as she stared blankly at him.
No longer are the restrained and obscure words on cold paper, but the passionate, vibrant, and unrestrained youth.
As the carriage drew closer, Lili leaned out and waved to the passengers, calling out, "Brother Chenye!"
Chen Ye looked towards the sound.
"ah......"
Xia Ning hurriedly took half a step back, instinctively hiding behind Li Li.
Lili waved happily to Chen Ye. Chen Ye looked over, his expression blank, but when he saw the glimpse of Lili's clothes behind her, he smiled slightly.
Upon hearing Lili's voice, Shen Jialu eagerly poked his head out: "Lili!"
Lili smiled and said, "Second brother."
Xia Ning couldn't resist peeking out a tiny bit, cautiously peering down.
That glance landed right on Shen Ye, who had been intently staring at her.
Xia Ning's heart skipped a beat.
Shen Ye looked at her gently, her eyes seemingly filled with a deep smile, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.
Xia Ning's cheeks flushed slightly, the handkerchief in her hand was crumpled from being twisted, she smiled and looked back at him.
Lili silently took it all in, and smiled even more happily than the two people involved.
Hehe, it's so sweet.
Shen Jialu had to return to the Shen family first. After the carriage passed by, the two sisters continued their intimate chat in the teahouse.
"How about it, Sister Xia Ning? Are you happy now? Hehe."
Before, it was Xia Ning teasing Li Li, but now it's Li Li teasing Xia Ning.
Xia Ning blushed furiously and scolded her, "Lili, what nonsense are you talking about?"
"Oh my, I see that Brother Chenye is very happy too." Lili continued to chatter on, ignoring everyone else.
"oops."
Xia Ning lay face down on the table, buried her face in her hands, and stopped talking.
Lili smiled and didn't forget the important matter: "Sister Xia Ning, Brother Chen Ye's investment is definitely worthwhile, you must persevere!"
Xia Ning was completely oblivious to anything else; her mind was filled with romantic fantasies, and she mumbled a couple of replies.
Regardless of whether Xia Ning was listening or not, Lili continued to chatter on and on, counting on her fingers, telling Xia Ning about some things about Chen Ye, things that Xia Ning didn't know.
As Xia Ning listened, she gradually calmed down.
Suddenly, Yun Shu came in and whispered in Li Li's ear, "Miss, a young master Fu has come to see you. He says he has something important to discuss with you."
Lili was slightly taken aback, but immediately realized that it must be Fu Linshen.
"Young Master Fu? Which Young Master Fu?"
Xia Ning asked.
There aren't many people with the surname Fu in the capital; the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is the only one with that surname.
If the young master Fu she was thinking of was her cousin, wasn't he?
Lili smiled and said to Yun Shu, "Please invite him in."
"yes."
After Yun Shu led the people in, she stood behind Li Li again to serve her.
Xia Ning was even more puzzled, staring at the doorway, trying to see which young master Fu it was.
It turned out to be her cousin who came in.
No, Lili has only been in Beijing for a few days. How did her cousin get to know Lili?
Wait a minute, Lili is so beautiful and outstanding, could it be that my cousin has his eye on her?
No, what should Your Highness do then?
Xia Ning's fists clenched, and she jumped to her feet: "Cousin? What are you doing here?"
Fu Linshen wasn't surprised to see her there. He had already found out yesterday and knew that the two had a very good relationship.
Fu Linshen nodded to her, then looked at Lili.
Lili smiled and returned his smile.
This made Fu Linshen even more certain that Lili must be his sister!
He had investigated and found that Lili was not the Shen family's biological daughter, but rather a child adopted by the Shen family under the third branch of the family.
The Shen family has never hidden this matter, nor is there anything to hide; it can be found out easily with an investigation.
Fu Linshen was certain, absolutely certain, that Lili was the Li'er that his whole family had been searching for for so long!
This feeling was unmistakable; the moment he saw her, he couldn't help but want to get close to her.
This unique and profound feeling that belongs solely to the bond between blood relatives is unmistakable.
Fu Linshen's gaze grew increasingly intense, filled with barely suppressed excitement, and his eyes even began to redden, as if he were about to cry.
Xia Ning was startled; she had never seen her cousin like this before.
What's going on? Lili has only been in the capital for three days, and these two have only known each other for three days at most, yet her cousin is already deeply in love?
Could it be love at first sight, and then falling in love again upon meeting?
No way, with my cousin acting like this, how am I supposed to stop them?
On one side is the Crown Prince, whom I've been a fan of since childhood, and on the other side is my own cousin. How should she choose?
Xia Ning looked distressed, even more confused than when she first met Chen Ye.
Fu Linshen took a step forward cautiously, seemingly wanting to pull Lili along, yet not daring to get too close to her.
Xia Ning was terrified. In a second, she sprang between the two of them, blocking Fu Linshen's movements. She didn't care about being a proper young lady anymore and was so frightened that she exclaimed, "Oh, cousin, did you come to see me? How did you know I was here? You're so thoughtful to come and pick up your cousin from the dead!"
Xia Ning desperately tried to signal to Fu Linshen with her eyes, but received a very puzzled look from him: "Ning'er, what nonsense are you talking about? I didn't come here to see you."
Xia Ning: "...... Hahaha, cousin, are you kidding me? You're not here to see me, are you here to see Lili?"
Xia Ning continued to give him meaningful glances.
Fu Linshen: "Yes, I'm here to see Lili."
Xia Ning: ......
Thank you, the living person is now slightly dead.
Xia Ning's eyes widened as she tried to salvage the situation: "Cousin, are you kidding me?"
Fu Linshen ignored him; at that moment, all he could see was his sister, whom he hadn't seen for over a decade.
Fu Linshen repeatedly traced the image of the now-grown young girl with his eyes, his gaze filled with a mixture of relief and pain.
When Li'er disappeared, she was not yet able to walk steadily and was still a pampered child who was cherished by her family.
At that time, he was just a child, not fully mature, and did not understand what life and death meant. He only knew that he should be good to the girl who was smiling at him in her swaddling clothes.
That was his sister, his sister from the same parents, his closest blood relative.
He still remembers it vividly: when that wrinkled little thing was carried out, it was soaking wet, its eyes were barely open, and it looked terrible.
But the older she got, the cuter she became. Even the first word she uttered was an unclear "brother".
Fu Linshen: "Lili..."
It's Lili, not Li'er.
He respects Lili's current family and is also grateful to the Shen family.
If the Shen family hadn't given Lili a new home, his precious little sister would still be suffering somewhere.
He didn't feel that just because he found Lili, she had to go back to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion with him.
After all, the Shen family had raised Lili for over a decade, nurturing her into the happy, beautiful, and wonderful person she is today. He would never do such a thing.
Everything must be based on Lili's own wishes.
Lili understood everything from the look in his eyes.
Lili had never experienced a family reunion like this before, and for a moment she didn't know how to handle it, so she simply smiled and asked him to sit down with her.
Smile at the garlic.
Xia Ning's lips twitched slightly. "Why are you sitting? Go wash up and go to sleep."
With no other choice, Xia Ning had to hold her breath and sit down with him. When she saw that Fu Linshen was going to sit to Lili's left, she ran over first and plopped down on Lili's left side.
After sitting down, he naturally reached out and took the tea he had drunk from Lili's right side, smiling without any embarrassment, "Oh dear, cousin, this is my seat."
Fu Linshen was a little puzzled, but didn't say anything. He went around to sit to Lili's right.
Seeing this, Xia Ning was about to get up and change seats when Lili stopped her: "Sister Xia Ning, what's wrong?"
Xia Ning paused, then sat back down, managing a weak laugh, "Haha, it's nothing."
Pear was confused.
Fu Linshen sat down and took a sip of tea to calm himself down. He had a thousand words he wanted to say, but he couldn't say them.
Lili sat calmly in the middle, with Xia Ning poised to pounce on her left and Fu Linshen excitedly on her right.
Fu Linshen didn't know where to begin for a while, until Lili broke the strange silence first: "Um... Brother Fu, is there something you want to say to me?"
"Oh, it's nothing, it's just... I wanted to come and see you."
Lili: "Ah, I see."
Fu Linshen: "Hmm."
Lili smiled gently. Seeing that Lili did not show any signs of rejection, she breathed a sigh of relief, and the awkwardness and unease she had felt earlier gradually disappeared.
Xia Ning: No, not at all.
Fu Linshen, no longer tense, relaxed considerably: "Lili, these past years... have you had a tough time?"
He wasn't sure if Lili knew about her background, or perhaps Lili didn't care about her true origins or where her original family was.
After all, the Shen family raised her so well.
After all, they hadn't found her all these years.
The fabric Lili was wearing was obviously very valuable. The Shen family's business was renowned throughout the country. The Shen family had produced an official, the third son of the family, Shen, whose career was smooth sailing. The Shen family itself was also extremely wealthy.
Looking at it this way, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion doesn't seem to be much better than the Shen family, except that it has a few more officials.
Fu Linshen had even less confidence that Lili would call him "brother" again.
Lili looked at Fu Linshen, who had suddenly become dejected, with a puzzled expression, blinked, and replied, "It's not hard work, brother."
After saying that, Lili looked down at the hundred-tael brocade on her body, the priceless jade bracelet on her wrist, the string of South China Sea pearls on her shoes, and the glittering hair ornament on her head.
Hmm... I just don't know where you can tell it's hard work.
Fu Linshen was stunned.
Fu Linshen asked incredulously, "Lili, what did you call me?"
“Brother.” Lili didn’t hesitate. She didn’t think there was anything to be sentimental about. “Brother, I know everything. Lili has been very happy and fulfilled these past few years. She hasn’t had any hardships.”
Although Lili's outfit doesn't have many decorations, each piece is quite expensive, clearly indicating that she's pampered at home.
Fu Linshen seemed oblivious to all of this, only feeling that his sister deserved the best in the world, and that no amount of more would be enough.
Fu Linshen was still reeling from Lili calling him "brother," and felt lightheaded.
She just blurted it out like that, all fresh and lovely?
The girl smiled gently and lightly, without any reservations, her eyes pure and innocent. In a fleeting moment, she seemed to overlap with the little dumpling she had been years ago.
Fu Linshen chuckled lightly. The brother and sister didn't say anything more, but just a glance between them seemed to be enough for them to understand each other's thoughts.
This is perhaps the power brought about by the most intimate bonds in the world.
Xia Ning: "???"
What? She doesn't understand.
What are they saying?
What dialect is this? She can't understand it at all.
"Wait, wait, what? What is all this about?"
Xia Ning was in a state of confusion.
Lili laughed out loud, almost forgetting that Xia Ning was also there, completely unaware of what was going on.
Lili suddenly realized that she and Fu Linshen were siblings, and Fu Linshen and Xia Ning were cousins, so wouldn't she be Xia Ning's cousin?
Lili smiled at Xia Ning.
Xia Ning: "Huh? What are you all laughing about?"
Lili then realized that this meant she was related to Bai Weiwei in some way.
Lili: No, not at all.
Neither Fu Linshen nor Lili paid any attention to the bewildered Xia Ning. One was caught up in the chaos of her relationship network and was confused, while the other was overwhelmed by her sister's "brother" after more than ten years.
“Over the years, I’ve always kept a birthday gift for you, along with little trinkets and jewelry that I’ve collected over the years. Every time I see those things, I think to myself, my sister would look so beautiful wearing them.”
Fu Linshen's eyes were filled with heartache. He remembered that his sister was chubby when she was little, so how come she is now only so thin?
"I will have all those things packed up when I return to my residence today, and they will be delivered to your residence tomorrow."
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