On an early summer afternoon, sunlight filtered through the carved window lattices, casting dappled shadows on the golden bricks of the main hall of the General's Mansion. Shen Weiwan sat at the head of the main seat, clutching a freshly delivered piece of iced mung bean cake. Her eyes darted toward the hall door—Liu was tugging at Shen Ruoruo's wrist, dragging her into the hall. Her skirt was still stained with grass debris from her morning's mud puddle.
"Wanwan," Liu put on a sad face as soon as she entered the door. She let go of Shen Ruorou's hand and grabbed Shen Weiwan's arm instead, but her nails secretly pinched into her flesh. "Talk to mother, Ruorou...she was just confused for a moment, you can't really spread those nonsense!"
Shen Weiwan uttered an "ouch" and deliberately dodged to the side: "Aunt, what are you talking about? Why don't I understand?" She blinked and looked at Shen Ruoruo who was twisting her handkerchief with her head down. "Cousin, wasn't she reminiscing about the past with Mr. Li in the garden this morning? Why are you crying now?"
"Cousin?!" Liu and Shen Ruorou exclaimed at the same time. Shen Ruorou raised her head suddenly, her eyes twitching as she tried to explain, but Liu got there first.
"Yes! He's my cousin!" Liu nodded repeatedly, wrinkles forming on her face. "Li Xiu's mother is my distant cousin, so Ruorou should call him cousin! How could it be that the rumors spread like this when just two kids got together? It must be the servants gossiping!"
Shen Weiwan pretended to be suddenly enlightened, clapping her hands and saying, "Oh—it turns out to be my cousin! I was wondering why Mr. Li always comes to our house. It turns out he's visiting relatives!" She paused, tilted her head and looked at Shen Ruorou, "But didn't my cousin say this morning that Mr. Li is the 'person of my dreams'? How come he's my cousin again? Can cousins in the Dasheng Dynasty hold hands and fall into the mud?"
"You..." Shen Ruoruo's face flushed with anger, but Liu winked at her, making her swallow her words.
At this moment, the sound of a cane knocking could be heard outside the hall. Li Zhengzheng limped in, his face still bruised from being "accidentally" bumped by a servant this morning. Seeing Shen Weiwan, his eyes lit up, and he forgot Liu's instructions. He leaned on his cane and approached her: "Weiwan! Listen to my explanation. There's really nothing between me and your cousin! You're the only one in my heart—"
"Mr. Li!" Liu interrupted him with a scream, almost wanting to hit him on the head with her cane. "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to go home first?"
Li Xiu seemed not to hear, and was only concerned with expressing his loyalty to Shen Weiwan: "Weiwan, I know you are still angry with me, but my sincerity to you is known to all! I am not your cousin's brother, I am..." He got excited and his tongue got tied, "I am, I am..."
Seeing that he was about to say something even more outrageous, Shen Ruorou hurriedly interrupted: "He is my cousin! My cousin!"
"No!" Li Xiu turned his head abruptly and yelled at Shen Ruoruo, "When did I become your cousin? My father and your mother have nothing to do with each other!" He turned back and tried to grab Shen Weiwan's hand, "Weiwan, don't believe her! I really want to marry you and be your fiancé!"
"boom--"
As soon as these words came out, the whole hall fell silent. The handkerchief in Liu's hand fell to the ground with a "pa" sound. Shen Ruorou was stunned. Even the servant serving tea next to her forgot to walk, and the tea in the porcelain cup spilled all over the floor.
Chen Weiwan stood up with a "whoosh" and jumped back two steps, her face full of "horror": "Fiancé?! Mr. Li, don't talk nonsense! I almost forgot your last name, how can we be engaged?" She turned to Liu, "Aunt, did you hear that? Mr. Li said he wanted to be my fiancé! But he was just hugging my cousin in the garden! What the hell is this?"
Liu was so angry that she was shaking all over. She pointed at Li Xiu and was speechless: "You...you..."
Li Xiu finally realized what he had said. His face flushed red as he stammered, "I, I didn't mean that... I meant..."
"That's not what you meant?" Shen Weiwan raised her eyebrows and walked around him. "What does that mean? Could it be that Mr. Li wants to 'play both sides'? On the one hand, he's getting close to my cousin, and on the other hand, he wants to be my fiancé? Tsk tsk, he's really good at calculating, but his legs are a little lame, and he can't run fast enough. He got caught, right?"
"I didn't!" Li Xiu roared, pounding the ground with his crutch. "It was your cousin who seduced me! She sent me handkerchiefs and snacks every day, and she also said bad things about you, saying you were stupid..."
"Li Xiu!" Shen Ruoruo screamed and rushed over, trying to cover his mouth, but he pushed her away and she staggered and fell to the ground.
"Enough!" Liu finally found her voice and pointed at the door and yelled at Li Xiu, "Get out of here! Get out of the General's Mansion right now!"
Li Xiu looked at Liu, then at Shen Weiwan who looked "innocent", and then thought about the rumors of "broken sleeves" outside and the embarrassment this morning. Suddenly, like a deflated ball, he turned around and walked away with his crutches, muttering as he walked: "It's all your fault, Shen Weiwan! If it weren't for you, how could I..."
His voice faded away, and the only sounds left in the hall were Liu's heavy breathing and Shen Ruoruo's suppressed crying.
Shen Weiwan looked at Shen Ruoruo on the ground, and suddenly cried "Aiya". She squatted down and wanted to help her, but "accidentally" dropped the mung bean cake in her hand on the grass debris on her skirt: "Cousin, are you okay? Look at this dirty skirt, go back to your room and change into one. By the way, just now Mr. Li said that you gave him a handkerchief snack and said bad things about me... Is it true?"
Shen Ruorou suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with resentment, but when she saw Liu's murderous gaze, she quickly lowered her head and cried, "Sister, don't listen to Li Xiu's nonsense. He was biting people because he was furious..."
"Oh? Really?" Shen Weiwan stood up and patted the residue on her hands. "But why did I hear that the other day you asked the little maid to give Mr. Li a handkerchief embroidered with lotus flowers? The pattern on that handkerchief is really similar to the pattern on Mr. Li's cuffs."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
