Chapter 333 She's Oblivious
Meanwhile, Shen Yunzhou also noticed the person opposite him. He saw Princess Jingning glancing in his direction while talking to her friends, and her expression seemed rather unpleasant.
He glanced at his cousin Jiang Qiyun beside him, lost in thought, before looking at Princess Jingning again.
Jiang Qiyun also noticed her cousin's strange behavior. She followed his gaze and saw a girl across the street talking to a young woman with a look of disgust on her face.
She asked curiously, "Does my cousin know that girl over there?"
Shen Yunzhou nodded: "I know him."
Jiang Qiyun thought for a moment and said very understandingly, "Cousin, do you need me to explain for you?"
Shen Yunzhou gently shook his head: "No need, you go find your cousin first, I'll be there in a bit."
After listening, Jiang Qiyun nodded. Seeing that the girl opposite her was also looking at her, she nodded gently and gave a warm and friendly smile.
However, Princess Jingning naturally noticed that the person opposite her had spotted her, but she didn't go up to greet them. She lamented to her friend that this girl was a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung, and was about to leave when she saw the girl smiling at her.
Princess Jingning was dumbfounded: "???"
We were complete strangers, meeting for the first time, and I hadn't even greeted her. Why was I smiling at her?
Seeing this, Meng Jinyao sensed that the atmosphere was a bit awkward. To avoid embarrassing her friend, she whispered, "Ayan, let's go and find a restaurant for lunch."
Princess Jingning hummed in agreement and was about to leave when she saw the girl depart. Then Shen Yunzhou walked towards them. The other party had a clear objective and was obviously coming for them.
She couldn't figure out who the other person was, but she wasn't one to back down. She said, "Ayao, let's wait a bit, let me deal with this guy first."
Meng Jinyao nodded in agreement: "Okay."
Before long, Shen Yunzhou arrived in front of them. Seeing that one of them was on high alert and the other was smiling gently, he greeted them with a smile: "Princess, Madam Gu, I just saw you two looking at me. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Princess Jingning scoffed lightly, "Stop flattering yourself. We weren't looking at you. We just noticed how beautiful that girl was, so we glanced at her a couple of times." After saying that, she thought for a moment and added, "Oh, right, I almost forgot to congratulate you."
Shen Yunzhou raised an eyebrow: "Princess, what brings you this joy?"
Princess Jingning smiled and said, "It seems that good things are about to happen to Prince Shen. That girl looks gentle and kind, and must be a good girl. It's just that her eyesight is a bit poor, as she has taken a liking to you."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yunzhou gave her a strange look and smiled, "She is indeed a gentle and kind girl, but please, Princess, do not speak carelessly, otherwise my future cousin-in-law will be worried if he finds out."
Princess Jingning was a little confused: "Cousin-brother-in-law?"
Shen Yunzhou said unhurriedly, "That was my cousin from my maternal grandparents' family. Her mother is grieving the loss of her son, and my uncle and aunt were unable to come to visit her. So they sent my cousin and her brother to the capital to visit and comfort her mother, and also to see how my fiancé, who participated in the imperial examination this year, did. My future cousin-in-law is doing well; he passed the provincial examination and is preparing for the palace examination."
Upon hearing this, Princess Jingning immediately thought of Shen Yunzhou's stepmother. Originally the youngest daughter of the family, she lost her elder sister early, leaving behind a son. She married into the family as her brother-in-law's second wife. The Jiang family probably thought that because of the kinship, their aunt as a stepmother would not mistreat Shen Yunzhou. In addition, the Shen family had an excellent background, so being a second wife was not considered a disservice. That's why they married the current Madam Shen into the family.
However, Madam Shen, his own aunt, is probably not a good stepmother. The death of the second young master Shen, and the fact that Shen Yunzhou concealed the fact that he had already returned to the capital after escaping death, prove that there are grudges between him and his stepmother and brother.
Since the young lady just now was Shen Yunzhou's maternal cousin, then she was Madam Shen's niece. The niece was visiting her elders in the capital and also wanted to find out in advance whether her fiancé had passed the imperial examination.
Wait a minute, that cousin of mine already has a fiancé and is taken.
Princess Jingning felt inexplicably awkward, perhaps because she hadn't found a husband and Shen Yunzhou was unwanted. She coughed twice to ease the embarrassment: "I misspoke earlier. I thought the young master Shen was about to have a good time. I knew it! Who would be so blind as to take a fancy to a stingy guy like you?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yunzhou glanced at her with a strange expression and said indifferently, "I'd also like to know who will be so unlucky as to marry me in the future."
Princess Jingning said, "If you're blind to your own faults, you'll have to accept your bad luck. You, on the other hand, got a great deal." After saying that, she didn't want to argue with Shen Yunzhou anymore and said to Meng Jinyao, "Ayao, let's go."
Shen Yunzhou said, "Princess, please take care. Madam Gu, please take care."
After Princess Jingning had already started walking, Meng Jinyao smiled meaningfully and said something seemingly out of the blue: "For a man like Prince Shen, walking is a bit too slow."
Shen Yunzhou was taken aback, but quickly understood her unspoken meaning. He glanced at her in surprise, not expecting that she could see through him without him doing anything. As expected of the wife of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, she did have some insight. He replied gently, "You blockhead."
Meng Jinyao replied almost inaudibly, "Thank you for your trouble."
Princess Jingning listened to their conversation, feeling bewildered. She turned to Meng Jinyao and said, "Ayao, why do you care whether he walks fast or slow? Even if he walks like a woman, it's none of our business."
Meng Jinyao smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just think that Prince Shen could walk faster. If he can't walk fast, he should try to walk faster."
Upon hearing this, Princess Jingning glanced at Shen Yunzhou: "A noble young master like him travels by carriage whenever possible, avoiding walking whenever possible. He's very precious."
Shen Yunzhou replied calmly, "I recently acquired a fine piece of wood, which I will present to the princess another day as a token of my gratitude for her helping me out of that predicament last time."
Princess Jingning's lips twitched, and she said incredulously, "Shen Yunzhou, have you lost your mind? Giving a piece of wood as a thank-you gift?"
Shen Yunzhou said, "I think that piece of wood is a good match for the princess. It would look beautiful if it were made into a wood carving, just like the princess."
Princess Jingning's anger flared instantly. She glared at him with displeasure, furious: "Shen Yunzhou, how dare you say that I, the princess, am a match for a blockhead? What kind of eyesight do you have? I knew you were blind, so I didn't bother with you last time. As a man, you're afraid of dogs, and even a well-behaved one at that, hiding behind a woman. Don't you feel ashamed? I'm embarrassed for you!"
Shen Yunzhou was not annoyed by being exposed, but instead said with admiration, "Your Highness is mighty, I am deeply impressed."
Princess Jingning: "..." Suddenly, she felt like she had punched cotton.
Meng Jinyao listened to their conversation and smiled even more. Sure enough, she was a blockhead. Even when told to her face, she couldn't understand. If she were told directly, and given her current attitude, she would likely run away.
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