Chapter 21: The dryness was relieved and the outer clothes were loosened.
There were only two people standing side by side in the huge front hall. It was the end of spring and the air was a little dry.
But Yan Jinghuan stood there for a long time, and the biting coldness emanating from his body made Shen Xingwan unconsciously step back a little.
"If you don't want to talk, that's okay."
Shen Xingwan understood that everyone has things they don’t want to talk about, and things they don’t want others to touch upon.
She has too.
Since he didn't want to tell her, she stopped asking.
She smiled comfortingly and planned to tell him about Wei Zihui's recent situation.
"The Fourteenth Prince has recovered well recently, and his bones have been reconnected..."
"My brother is repeatedly testing whether I have the ambition to compete with him."
"Huh?" Shen Xingwan looked at Yan Jinghuan in surprise for his sudden words, and was unable to react for a moment.
Yan Jinghuan lowered his eyes, his raven-black eyelashes cast a small shadow on his eyelids, and his eyes were filled with ink-like color, surging with complex and incomprehensible emotions.
He laughed at himself and said to himself, "It's funny, my brother who is favored by our mother hates me to the extreme."
"......"
Shen Xingwan didn't know what he had been through, nor did she know how to comfort him.
She had never seen him look so lonely.
In her memory, Yan Jinghuan in his previous life was always murderous and cruel, and never showed any sign of weakness.
And the Yan Jinghuan in front of her looked the same as when she first saw him.
At that time, Yan Jinghuan had just arrived in Wei State and was just a thin young boy.
Whenever Shen Xingwan entered the palace to accompany Princess Guang'an in her studies, she would always hear her joking that how could such a powerful country like Yan send such a child to be the regent, and that he would be easily controlled by her father.
Although the young man was handsome and thin, he was extremely ruthless and sophisticated in his mind and methods. Within a few years, he had subdued the government of Wei and became the true regent of Wei.
Everyone said that he was extremely intelligent, almost like a demon, cruel and cold-blooded. He was just born with a very handsome appearance, but inside he was a ghost without any humanity.
But Shen Xingwan had accidentally seen that he was not as cold and heartless as people said. He was even...
Suddenly, the sound of light footsteps approaching from afar interrupted Shen Xingwan's thoughts. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw the steward of the Regent's Palace hurried over with a small box in his hands.
He nodded slightly to Shen Xingwan, respectfully held the box in front of Yan Jinghuan, and whispered, "Your Majesty, this is the secret letter sent back by Xing Zhou."
Shen Xingwan looked at Yan Jinghuan. He had returned to his normal expression and his usual stern look, as if the loneliness before had never existed and was just her illusion.
Yan Jinghuan took the wooden box, took out the secret letter inside and quickly read it.
The steward had already left tactfully, and Shen Xingwan hesitated whether he should also be tactful and say goodbye.
Before she could think of her words, Yan Jinghuan had already handed the secret letter to her.
Shen Xingwan was stunned and looked at him in confusion.
Yan Jinghuan had no intention of hiding anything from her. "Aren't we going to help Zihui together? There is some clue about Zihui's fall into the well."
Shen Xingwan did not hesitate to take the secret letter and unfold it. It said that it had been found that the Fourteenth Prince fell into the well by the Imperial Noble Consort. On the day when the Fourteenth Prince fell into the well, all the palace servants who knew about it had been executed.
"It turned out to be her. How dare she?"
Shen Xingwan frowned, "Is that certain?"
Yan Jinghuan nodded, took the secret letter and burned it, "Xing Zhou is my confidant, and the results he found out will be absolutely correct."
After Wei Zihui woke up from the Shen Mansion, he only remembered that someone suddenly covered his mouth and nose and he fainted, and he didn't know any other clues.
After Tang Lin'er failed in her poisoning attempt and was taught a lesson, she secretly contacted Wei Zilin, who sent an over-made wedding dress the next day. Shen Xingwan thought that Wei Zilin was the mastermind behind all this.
She told Yan Jinghuan about this in detail. After listening, Yan Jinghuan just said calmly: "Whether he participated in the fall into the well or not, he has already had the intention to kill Zihui."
He looked at Shen Xingwan, "Since Zihui's whereabouts have been exposed, it is not appropriate for him to stay with you any longer. I will send someone to pick him up later."
Shen Xingwan originally wanted to say that he would be able to protect the Fourteenth Prince, but when he thought about how he was almost poisoned in the mansion, if it hadn't been for his quick wit, the disaster would have already happened.
Thinking of this, she pursed her lips, stopped trying to be stubborn, and nodded in agreement. ”
She lowered her head, feeling a little lonely, realizing that she might have been a little self-righteous in the past and overestimated her abilities.
Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed her arm, and Yan Jinghuan gently pulled her into his arms.
Shen Xingwan's face suddenly pressed against his front, making her face feel hot, and she quickly raised her hand to press against his chest.
"Don't move, just hold me for a while." Like a weary bird returning to its nest, Yan Jinghuan hugged her, buried his head in her shoulder, closed his eyes and breathed gently, as if he was extremely tired.
Shen Xingwan's hands gradually dropped down, and she stiffened her neck and let him hold her quietly.
She could feel that he was not in a good mood, and there must be many unspeakable things hidden in his heart.
"You've done a great job. There's no need to blame yourself."
He spoke in a low voice, as if he was talking to her, but also as if he was talking to himself.
Shen Xingwan's heart suddenly softened. Somehow, the scene of the first time she saw him emerged in her mind.
In the heavy rain, a thin young man in white clothes, holding a letter in his hand, hid alone in the deepest part of the bushes in the imperial garden, hugging his knees and crying.
The bushes were pushed aside, startling the sobbing boy and the little classmate who was holding an umbrella and going to pick up the ball for Princess Guang'an.
Shen Xingwan will always remember those aggrieved and helpless eyes when he raised his head.
Hearing Princess Guang'an's urging voice, the little companion hurriedly picked up the ball, looked back at him again, threw the oil-paper umbrella in his hand to him, turned around, pushed aside the branches and leaves, and slipped away in a hurry.
Shen Xingwan sighed and truly felt that the man in front of her was probably not as strong as a rock.
He is also a human being and he also has moments of weakness and sadness.
It just happened that she caught a glimpse of it.
After all, Yan Jinghuan is her future husband and ally, and it is her unshirkable responsibility to protect his status.
She raised her hand and gently stroked his back, trying to give him some comfort.
The man holding her visibly stiffened, and his body became increasingly hot.
Shen Xingwan was really overwhelmed by the heat and struggled slightly. Yan Jinghuan let go of her and stood up straight. When he looked at her again, his eyes were like the tiny pieces of ice on the sea melting away, and he was already filled with a gentle smile.
Shen Xingwan's face turned red, she lowered her head and kept shouting that she wanted to go back. Yan Jinghuan didn't make things difficult for her and let her say goodbye and run away as if she was escaping.
Until Shen Xingwan returned to his carriage, he felt extremely hot all over and wished he could take off his outer clothes to relax.
"Water, pour me a glass of water." She called Feiyun.
Feiyun was pouring water while observing Shen Xingwan's complexion with concern. She suggested, "Miss, did you have an allergic reaction to something you ate? Why is your neck and face so red? Do you want to see a doctor when you get home?"
"......"
Shen Xingwan drank her tea guiltily and quietly loosened her collar to breathe. She was not allergic at all. If she really had to say that she was allergic, it was to Yan Jinghuan.
She was puzzled, for she had been so close to a man before. Wei Zilin had often held her in his arms and held her hand while he wrote poems and painted. However, she had never experienced such an accelerated heartbeat and a fever all over her body.
She thought that things between men and women were just like that, and treating each other with respect was the best form of marriage.
Shen Xingwan returned to the Shen Mansion with mixed feelings. From a distance, he saw that the entrance was very lively, with several tall horses being led to the stable to rest and be fed.
Shen Xingwan was delighted. When he got off the car, he saw the shiny black divine horse at a glance.
"Benxiao!"
She called out with a smile, and the divine horse that was particularly eye-catching among the herd immediately kicked its hooves, raised its head and neighed, looking back frequently.
"It's rare that he still recognizes you."
"Brother!" Shen Xingwan's eyes lit up, and she lifted her skirt and ran towards Shen Yunchao who was walking towards her.
She hooked her arm around Shen Yunchao's neck and hugged him tightly, refusing to let go. She hugged him so hard that he couldn't help laughing. "You are a grown-up girl who is about to get married. You can't be so unruly anymore."
"elder brother......"
Her voice was muffled, as if she was sobbing. Shen Yunchao noticed something was wrong and pulled her away to see that her face was covered with tears. He immediately became anxious, "What's wrong? Why are you crying for no reason? Who has offended you? Tell me and I'll twist his leg!"
Shen Xingwan burst into tears, she was both sad and happy.
Seeing her living brother in front of her, she couldn't help but think of his empty eyes and gray, lifeless face on the day when his family was massacred in her previous life.
"What happened? Tell me quickly and I will avenge you!"
Shen Xingwan shook her head and tried to force a smile, "No one bullies me, it's just that I feel bad when I see you getting darker and thinner."
"Hmm."
Shen Yunchao sighed helplessly, holding Shen Xingwan's face and wiping her tears with his sleeve, "Training at the border, exposed to the wind and sun, it's inevitable to get tanned, is this worth crying about?"
"Well, don't cry." Shen Xingwan looked up at her brother and held his hand. "I want to laugh. We all have to laugh and laugh to the end."
"What's wrong with you? You look weird." Shen Yunchao poked her forehead. "Come in quickly. I brought you a lot of new things. Show them to you."
"Okay." Shen Xingwan nodded, took her brother's hand and walked towards the mansion.
"Brother Yun Chao!"
Suddenly, there was a delicate cry, causing the brother and sister to look back at the same time, and saw a spacious and gorgeous carriage galloping over and stopping steadily at the gate of the Shen Mansion.
The door opened and Princess Guang'an arrived in person.
Shen Xingwan opened her eyes wide, watching the princess's procession rushing towards this side from a long distance behind. Princess Guang'an actually left her procession behind and rushed over first. How anxious could she be?
Princess Guang'an walked up to the two of them with great grace and glared at Shen Yunchao. "Brother Yunchao, why didn't you tell me that you were coming back to the capital early?"
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