Chapter 221 A Person Who Is Usually Quite Confident
"You old man, if you don't miss me, why can't you straighten your back?"
Shen Ruzhi felt that her father was just pretending to be strong. "You're usually such a stubborn person, but look at you today."
Shen Zhao subconsciously touched his lower back. "I was tired from chopping wood a few days ago."
The Shen family didn't have many servants. The Duke of Rong originally wanted to send more servants for his sister, Lady Wang, but she refused.
Although the Shen family didn't have many servants, they were enough to serve her. Moreover, Shen Zhao and Zhizhi treated her like a treasure and did everything themselves, so they didn't need anyone else to take care of her.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Shen Zhao, the Minister of Justice, chops wood, cooks, and makes meals.
"Old Deng, tell me properly, have you been living in poverty for too long and are you trying to take advantage of this to swindle money?"
Shen Ruzhi still couldn't believe it. How could she possibly be a princess? How could she possibly be a princess?
"You said I'd cooperate so we could swindle a lot of money, just don't get me into trouble," Shen Ruzhi said. "I heard that the people of the Western Xia Kingdom eat meat with their hands."
"It's mostly desert, and the climate is very dry..."
"No, no, no louder!" Tuoba Yan'er said. "That way, not only me, but the entire Western Xia can hear us."
Shen Ruzhi pouted, "That's how it is."
"What you call 'what you call 'is' is utter nonsense," Tuoba Yan'er said. "What you're talking about is from many years ago. Although our Western Xia Kingdom has deserts now, it also has oases."
"The capital of Western Xia is the Jiangnan region beyond the Great Wall, no less beautiful than yours," Tuoba Yan'er said proudly.
“Who knows,” Shen Ruzhi said. “Anyway, I’m not going. Don’t listen to what Lao Deng says. How could someone like me be a princess?”
"Even if she is, she's a spoiled princess. You should go back and persuade your aunt not to let her look for her anymore, or she might regret it."
“I think you two have very similar personalities. Princess Yan’er is also very much loved by her aunt. Maybe you just inherited your personality from your mother.”
When Shen Zhao said this, everyone agreed. Tuoba Yan'er frowned and said, "To be honest, their personalities are quite similar."
She felt a sense of familiarity with Shen Ruzhi the moment she first saw her, as if she knew her.
Only after Shen Zhao mentioned it did she remember that it did resemble a painting she had seen before, a painting that seemed to depict her aunt when she was young.
"If I had known you were my cousin, I wouldn't have bothered looking for you," Tuoba Yan'er said disdainfully. "Haitang is much better."
"I'll go back and ask my aunt if we can exchange it."
"How about we take them both with us?" Shen Zhao said weakly. "It all depends on whether the Princess of Langya will agree."
"Not Old Deng? You really?" Shen Ruzhi looked at Shen Zhao, feeling somewhat lost and sad.
Wang tugged at Shen Zhao's sleeve, but Shen Zhao still said, "Look... your mother is about to give birth too, isn't she?"
"You'll definitely find it less comfortable to stay with me than to be a princess in Western Xia, so you should go instead."
"Master!" Wang said softly.
Afraid of upsetting Shen Ruzhi, he quickly explained, "Your father was just joking with you."
"Zhizhi, please don't take it to heart. You are the most important person in your father's heart."
Shen Ruzhi stared at Shen Zhao silently for a long time before asking only one question, "Do you really want me to leave?"
Shen Zhao turned his head away and refused to look at Shen Ruzhi again.
"Master, the Prince of Jin has arrived," a servant announced as he entered.
"I'll pack up and leave now." Shen Ruzhi turned and left the house.
Jiang Wan Ning asked Hai Tang and Shao Yao to go and take a look first, as she also wanted to find out the purpose of Prince Jin's visit.
"Once you have your own children, you forget about the adopted ones. Lord Shen, you are not as good as the rumors say."
Tuoba Yan'er scoffed coldly, "Hypocritical!" With that, she turned and went out to find Shen Ruzhi.
Although she said it, she didn't actually dislike Shen Ruzhi. She was just as righteous as she was, and she didn't know if it was because of their blood relation.
After everyone left, Jiang Wanning said, "Uncle was afraid that Zhizhi wouldn't want to leave, and that her identity would be in danger if it were discovered."
Reminded by Jiang Wan Ning, Wang Shi finally realized what was happening and exclaimed, "You should have explained this to the child properly."
"I believe she will seriously consider it; this will only hurt Zhizhi."
“If I had spoken to him properly, the child would not have left me,” Shen Zhao said. “I know him best.”
"Although she never mentioned it, she has always wanted to know who her parents are and why they abandoned her. She was afraid of hurting me, so she pretended to be carefree and indifferent."
"That's precisely why we need to talk things out. Even if we acknowledge each other, it will mean there's one more person who loves her."
Mrs. Wang nodded. "Ningning is right."
“Master, you didn’t think this through. I’ll go see Zhizhi first and explain things to her. Don’t keep anything to yourself.”
After Lady Wang left, Prince Jin walked in.
"Greetings to the Prince of Jin."
“Lord Shen, there’s no need for such formalities,” said Prince Jin, raising his hand.
Jiang Wan Ning also gave a slight curtsy and sat down again.
"I wonder if the Prince of Jin has come suddenly for some reason?" Shen Zhao asked.
Prince Jin glanced at Jiang Wan Ning and said apologetically, "To be honest, I actually came to see the Princess Consort of Langya."
"Is Haitang really the person the Lingxiao Sect is looking for?" Prince Jin asked after a moment's hesitation.
Before Jiang Wan Ning could say anything, Prince Jin hurriedly explained, "Princess Langya, please don't misunderstand."
"I know it's because I have some connection with the Lingxiao Sect that I'm attending the banquet."
As for who the source was, Prince Jin did not say, nor did Jiang Wan Ning ask.
"Your Highness, please forgive me, but I cannot hand the person over to you."
"Oh, Princess Langya, you misunderstand me. I'm just here to confirm something. I'm sure you already know that this person is the Princess of Xixia."
Shen Zhao glanced at Jiang Wan Ning, who then said to Prince Jin, "It's not Hai Tang."
"That was just a scheme we devised to trick the Grand Princess. We still don't know who the real princess of Western Xia is."
Jiang Wan Ning did not tell Prince Jin the truth, and it was unclear what Prince Jin's current status was or whether he was the person behind Pei An Qing.
The Prince of Jin seemed somewhat incredulous, yet he could say nothing.
“Since that’s not the case, then I’ll take my leave.” The Prince of Jin rose and departed.
After the Prince of Jin left, Jiang Wan Ning anxiously said to Shen Zhao, "Uncle, it seems we need to send Zhi Zhi to the Lingxiao Sect as soon as possible."
"At least for now, we can't let her stay in Dongling, lest it put Zhizhi, you, and your aunt in danger."
Shen Zhao nodded. "You're right. I'll send someone to fetch the carriage right away."
"Don't use the carriages from the Shen family. I will arrange for multiple carriages to travel separately to confuse the situation."
It's likely that the people behind those assassins have already started searching, and if they can't find them, they'll wait at various intersections.
"Then I had Haitang leave in a carriage, and after attracting everyone away, I let Zhizhi go."
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