Chapter 423 Hu Shanxiang 14
In the side hall, three people sat around a round table, and the atmosphere was indescribably strange.
I don't know whether Zhu Zhanji did it on purpose, but I saw four almost identical dishes and one soup placed in sequence on the small round table with yellow pear wood carvings of the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea. However, no matter in terms of presentation, ingredients or taste, they were obviously far superior to Sun's.
"Why don't you eat? Try my food. How much better is it than what she cooks?"
Since the servants in the room had been driven out, Zhu Zhanji condescended to extend his hand and took the initiative to pick up a lion's head with his serving chopsticks for Hu Shanxiang, while he couldn't help but say: "Look at my poor tongue. How can her country woman's cooking be compared with what I carefully prepared for you?"
[…This is a real sword.]
Even the system's virtual claws were itching to be beaten by the other party's appearance that even his hair looked like it was asking for a beating.
[It's okay. I will never be such a coward again in my life. Just watch me perform.]
"Oh, what did the Crown Prince prepare for me? From heating the wok and cooking to plating the dishes, what part did you put so much thought into? Let me take a good look at it." Hu Shanxiang said as she carefully examined the man in front of her. When she had made him feel uncomfortable, she chuckled and said, "I found it. It turns out that all your care was in your words. And you hid it so well. I searched for it for a long time and almost couldn't find it."
Sun Ruowei, who was originally embarrassed and angry, saw that Miss Hu had easily defeated the hateful prince and was speechless. She immediately held her stomach and laughed without mercy.
"Who are you on the same side with? Why are you always saying things for her? If it weren't for her, would we have been arrested today? At that time, her accomplice had the knife on my neck. How could this guy bribe you with just one meal? Then what's all the time I've been taking you everywhere to eat, drink and have fun these days..."
Seeing that he was standing there like a fighting cock, unwilling to accept it at the beginning, but his voice became smaller and smaller as he spoke, until in the end all he could do was mutter with deep resentment, like an angry young wife, which gave the two real women present goose bumps.
"Okay, stop it. I'm too lazy to care about who is right or wrong in today's matter. You two should solve the complicated twists and turns by yourselves in the future. As for me, I'll drink this cup and turn the page." Hu Shanxiang raised the wine glass beside her. Just as she was about to drink it, Zhu Zhanji grabbed her wrist. Shanxiang raised her head and raised her eyebrows, looking at the hand that was holding her with inquiring eyes.
"Who said that we can just let this go?"
"What are you going to do? Let go of Miss Hu!"
Two voices, one male and one female, rang out simultaneously. Hu Shanxiang didn't even glance at Zhu Zhanji. She turned to Sun Ruowei and said comfortingly, "Miss Sun, don't worry. I'm fine."
"Someone, send Miss Sun back to her room." Seeing that Hu Shanxiang didn't listen to him at all, he had no choice but to send someone to take away the annoying Crown Prince first in anger.
The eunuchs and palace maids on duty outside hurriedly opened the door and walked in. With lowered brows, they surrounded Sun Ruowei and took her away without a word. From a distance, she could still hear her struggling cries: "I won't leave," "Let me go," "Miss Hu"...
But the two people in the room didn't pay attention to her for a while.
"When do you plan to catch him?"
Hu Shanxiang struggled a little, but the hand tightened even more.
"That depends on when you can give me an explanation that satisfies me."
"What are you crazy about?" She was amused by Zhu Zhanji's way of putting the blame on others. "Explain? What do I need to explain to you? Even if there really is an explanation, it should be you who gives me one."
"Okay, this is what you asked me to explain." Zhu Zhanji withdrew his hand and walked behind Shanxiang. "My previous trip to Jianguan, and even earlier, boating with that Miss Sun, were all to help my grandfather investigate Jianwen's affairs. I was afraid you would misunderstand, and I didn't know how to say it, or whether I should say it at all, so I never explained it to you. This may have caused you to misunderstand the relationship between me and her."
As he spoke, he lowered his head and moved closer. Hu Shanxiang turned around suddenly, which scared the man and he quickly took a step back.
"Is this what you want to explain? Okay, I understand."
"No, you don't understand at all!" Irritated by her calm and indifferent attitude, or perhaps a little angry and embarrassed, Zhu Zhanji also moved closer. The distance between them was now so great that it violated etiquette. Unfortunately, it was like two tigers fighting, and neither of them was willing to take the first step back.
"Are you pretending not to understand or do you really not understand? I..."
Seeing that Zhu Zhanji was about to bring up the matter, Hu Shanxiang suddenly asked, "When did you know that?"
Zhu Zhanji stared into her eyes and replied after a long pause, "I had my suspicions when the old monk asked me to entertain his guests. I sent people to investigate your background but found nothing. But Grandpa wouldn't fall for a girl from an ordinary family for no reason. Even if he did, he wouldn't use such a roundabout way to bring us together for me."
"So you guessed the emperor's preference for your marriage then, didn't you?"
"……yes."
Zhu Zhanji lost his temper at this point, and at Hu Shanxiang's signal, he obediently returned to his seat. However, he still spoke unwillingly, "But I'm not taking you out for fun just because you might profit from it... I'm really sincere in taking you out for fun."
"So? Should I marry you if you're sincere? Besides, I'm afraid you're not even sure whether you're sincere or not. Since you've seen the emperor's tactics so devious, you should know that if I don't want to, you can't stop me. There are three thousand beauties out there for you to choose from. You're a daughter of a rich family, why let others treat you like that?"
As she finished speaking, the room suddenly became eerily quiet.
Seeing him lower his head and stop talking, Shanxiang stood up to leave. The moment he opened the door, his usually low voice was bitten and floated lightly: "You are right. I don't know if you are sincere or not. I don't know where you come from, but..."
"You can't run away."
Outside, the moon was bright in the sky, illuminating Shanxiang who had opened the door. Inside the room, Zhu Zhanji, who was lying on the couch, had his facial features hidden in the dark. At this moment, in this situation, he tore off his usual disguise and revealed his hideous inner self.
What frivolous warmth, what cynicism, what pathetic, what compromising. Hu Shanxiang slowly approached, the room filled only with the soft rustle of fabric. Zhu Zhanji, sitting on the couch, looked up at her, feeling a touch of pity at her condescending gaze.
He watched as Hu Shanxiang raised her slender hand, holding the fan bone to support his chin. Her usually gentle voice now carried a chilling chill: "You look a bit more pleasing to the eye like this."
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