Chapter 83
Shen Yao almost fainted.
When Wei Luo saw this, he flicked her nose and said irritably, "What are you afraid of? I'm not stupid. Why would I come in when everyone is here?"
Shen Yao asked, "Then how did you get in?"
“Biro brought me through the back door.”
Well, what can we do now that they're already here?
She pulled Wei Luo into the inner room, pressed him down to sit on the bed, and instructed him, "My lord, you must not go out without my permission. Just stay here."
Seeing her serious expression, Wei Luo looked up and smiled, "Okay, I understand."
Looking around at the furniture, she asked curiously, "Why are you living here?"
"I gave my room to Xu Xuan."
Wei Luo asked, "Why not let him stay here?"
Shen Yao said, "Of course it was arranged by my father."
She poured Wei Luo a cup of tea, sat down next to him, and asked directly, "Tell me quickly, why did you suddenly come here today?"
Wei Luo took a sip of tea, squinted, and said, "What kind of tea is this? It smells stale. Is your Shen family so poor that you don't even have good tea anymore?"
Shen Yao couldn't help but roll her eyes and scolded, "I don't even want to say it, you sneaked into my house and wanted to drink good tea? Dream on."
She reached out and snatched the cup from his hand, then turned to leave. Wei Luo quickly stood up and grabbed her, laughing, "Why are you so upset? I was just joking."
He stared into her eyes, then snatched the teacup back and held it in his hand. He pulled her down to sit before saying, "They say that when couples don't see each other for a long time, their affection fades. I've noticed that you've become increasingly impatient with me since I last saw you a few days ago."
Shen Yao chuckled and said, "You said it yourself, they are a married couple, are we a married couple?"
As she spoke, her eyes were like spring water, her eyebrows like crescent moons, and her cheeks were flushed. But her mouth was sharp, leaving Wei Luo speechless.
Biluo walked in and said to Shen Yao, "Master is back."
Shen Yao walked around the screen and went over to ask her, "Where is Xu Xuan?"
Biluo glanced inside, but Shen Yao coughed a few times, so she said, "They've returned too, and they're all sitting in the main hall now."
Shen Yao then said, "You stay here and keep an eye on the Buddha inside. I'll be right back."
Unexpectedly, Xu Xuan appeared in the courtyard as soon as he stepped across the threshold. The man, wearing a light blue cloak, strode towards them.
Shen Yao was so frightened that her face turned pale. She quickly shrank back and said to Wei Luo, "Xu Xuan is here. You should get into bed and hide. Don't make a sound."
Then he lowered the bed curtains before leaving.
Xu Xuan walked in and brushed the dust off his clothes.
Biluo hurriedly served tea and stepped aside. Xu Xuan took a sip and said to Shen Yao, "I just ran into my father-in-law when I came back. I told him about Zhang San's matter, so you don't need to worry about it anymore."
Shen Yao nodded repeatedly, "Good, it's good that it's done. I was worried that Father wouldn't agree."
Xu Xuan glanced at her, sighed, and said with a troubled expression, "My father-in-law really didn't agree."
Shen Yao exclaimed in surprise, "Why? Wouldn't it be better to catch them sooner?"
Xu Xuan couldn't help but laugh, "If everyone in the world thought like you, there wouldn't be so much trouble."
He continued, "Just now, my father-in-law refused as soon as I mentioned it. He said, 'The Grand Secretary has repeatedly instructed us to stick to Han Yu's case regarding the demonic book, and not to concern ourselves with anyone else.'"
Shen Yao's face turned pale. She had been standing by the screen, but upon hearing this, her legs went weak, and a feeling of powerlessness washed over her like a tide. She frowned and said, "Is there absolutely no room for negotiation in this matter?"
In that instant, she couldn't help but turn around for a glance. Inside the bed curtains was the Crown Prince of the Empire, the future Emperor. Thinking of this, her heart surged with emotion, and her gaze lingered on him for a long time.
Xu Xuan looked over as well, just in time to see Shen Yao turn around. Their eyes met, and Xu Xuan asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
Shen Yao's heart suddenly raced, and she quickly shook her head, replying, "It's nothing."
She stepped forward and sat down across the square table from Xu Xuan, pouring herself a cup of tea. "Zhang San is Deng Yan's friend. If we arrest someone, what will he say?"
"They're just drinking buddies, not true friends."
"So he also advocates for arresting people directly?"
Xu Xuan nodded. "They said they'd post portraits and launch a city-wide manhunt. As for past drinking camaraderie, it's utterly insignificant in the face of matters of principle."
Shen Yao's expression suddenly turned awkward, and she pouted, saying, "I can't believe Deng Yan is such a sentimental person."
Xu Xuan laughed. "Why do I feel like you're being sarcastic?"
The two exchanged a smile, and Xu Xuan immediately got up to say goodbye. He said, "Dinner should be ready soon. You tidy up, I'll go over first."
After seeing Xu Xuan off, without waiting for Shen Yao to call him, Wei Luo directly lifted the bed curtains, got out of bed, straightened his clothes, and ran to sit down outside the screen.
He said, "I didn't realize you two got along so well these days."
Shen Yao ordered Bi Luo to wait outside the door, and only after closing the door did she feel relieved.
“I only talked to him about business. If you’re going to hold that against me, then I’m really being wronged.”
Wei Luo rested his chin on his hand and snorted coldly, "Whether it's official business or personal matters, make him leave the manor as soon as possible. I don't want him to always be with you."
Shen Yao glanced at him and snorted, "You made him your study companion, so you'll have to put him through some trouble once the yamen opens."
"So that's what you think of me? I'm the Crown Prince, after all. If I really wanted to deal with him, it would only take a word. Why would I need to keep him around? He's just an eyesore."
Shen Yao suddenly fell silent.
Wei Luo then asked, "Who is this Zhang San you were talking about? I only half understood what you were saying. Can you tell me quickly?"
Shen Yao sighed and said, "Around November, Zhang San was drinking with Deng Yan and revealed the matter of the demonic book. At that time, Deng Yan was also skeptical, but he didn't expect that the demonic book would be all over the streets the next day. When Deng Yan went to find Zhang San again, he had already disappeared."
"Unexpectedly, the investigation into the demonic book was relaxed during the Spring Festival, and Zhang San dared to return to the capital again."
Wei Luo then continued, "So they want the Embroidered Uniform Guard to search for people, so please tell your father and Wang Zhen."
Shen Yao smiled and flattered, "Your Highness is wise."
She tapped the table, turned her head and asked, "If Father won't help with this, surely Your Highness can?"
Unexpectedly, Wei Luo immediately refused as soon as he finished speaking, saying, "I won't get involved in this matter."
He gave his reasons directly: "Firstly, His Majesty personally directed this matter of the demonic book, so I cannot interfere; secondly, I have a history of conflict with Wang Zhen, so he will not listen to me."
Therefore, Wei Luo's path was completely blocked.
Shen Yao couldn't help but sigh, "It seems that Han Yu is doomed."
Wei Luo said, "He was a madman and a scoundrel. He harmed countless people while he was alive, so it doesn't matter whether he dies sooner or later."
A life, a life tainted by sin, is worthless and no one cares.
As evening approached, a maid came to call her for dinner. Shen Yao thought it wouldn't be right to leave Wei Luo behind, so she told the others, "I'm not going. I'll eat out later."
Wei Luo raised an eyebrow slightly, "I didn't expect A Yao to be so considerate."
Shen Yao smiled, "At this moment, Your Highness saw that I was cured."
After tidying themselves up, the two asked Biluo to send the others away, and then, with their faces covered, carefully avoided everyone and sneaked out of the mansion through the back door.
Liu Heng was standing by the carriage when he saw the person arrive. He immediately went to greet him, repeatedly calling out, "Your Highness!"
Like a thief.
Wei Luo raised his hand, "Get in the car quickly, let's get out of here."
The carriage headed towards the bustling market. Just as the festival was drawing to a close, young couples walked hand in hand through the crowd, looking incredibly happy.
Passing by a mask stall, Shen Yao said, "Your Highness knows quite a few people in the court. If you were to wander around here so casually and get recognized, you'd be in for a world of trouble."
The group then stopped.
Wei Luo looked at Liu Heng, then around at the others, and nodded, saying, "A Yao is right, let's pick one then."
The two of them chose together.
Wei Luo took a fancy to a silver-edged tiger head mask, asked the stall owner to take it down, and tried it on. Shen Yao said, "Majestic and imposing. Your Highness is indeed worthy of being a prince. This temperament is truly that of an emperor."
Wei Luo chuckled, "When did you learn to flatter people?"
Liu Heng was laughing so hard he bent over.
Shen Yao blushed immediately. Taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention, she pinched Wei Luo's arm hard until the prince begged for mercy before she stopped.
After buying the masks, the three of them strolled around the lantern market for a while. The lanterns were as bright as day, and the crowds were endless.
Shen Yao took a fancy to a Weaver Girl Lantern, but she needed to solve two riddles to get the lantern.
She then asked Wei Luo, "Why don't you give it a try?"
Wei Luo nodded in agreement.
The first one is a word puzzle: "Leaning on the railing, the spring breeze has gone. Gazing at the flowers, the red sun sets in the west. The beauty is fleeting, but the lover is nowhere to be seen. Feeling melancholy, laughter is heartless."
The second is an object riddle: "Its size and shape vary from person to person; it is full of refined and elegant writings; sometimes it is adorned with rosy makeup; it is often seen in the wind and under the moon."
Thanks to her reading during her student days, Shen Yao knew that the second answer to the riddle was a seal, but she couldn't solve the first riddle for a while.
She blinked and asked Wei Luo, "What's the first one?"
Wei Luo laughed and said, "Isn't it you who's guessing? Why are you asking me?"
She glared at him and said irritably, "I can't guess it, can you help me?"
"Then beg me."
"I don't ask for anything."
"Then there's no guessing."
Wei Luo made a move to leave, but Shen Yao quickly grabbed his sleeve, looked around, blushed, and whispered, "Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say."
"Did you say that?"
Shen Yao looked up. Although she couldn't see Wei Luo's expression through the tiger-head mask, she could tell from his voice that His Highness must be very irritating.
She said, "A gentleman's word is as good as his bond."
Wei Luo smiled smugly, took her hand, and wrote down the answer to the riddle, the character "门" (door), stroke by stroke.
Such a simple answer! Shen Yao felt annoyed and stamped her foot, saying bitterly, "How could I not have thought of that?"
He then kicked Wei Luo and walked forward without even taking the lantern.
As Wei Luo took the lantern, he chased after her, calling out, "Miss Chen, don't you want the lantern anymore?"
Across the crowd, Shen Yao glanced back and replied, "No, thank you."
Just as she was about to turn around, she bumped into a man, which made her shoulder hurt terribly. Shen Yao clutched her shoulder and cried out in pain, "Big brother, watch where you're going!"
The man paused for a moment, then quickly bowed his head and said "I'm sorry," before hurrying away.
Wei Luo ran over, quickly took her hand, looked her up and down, and asked, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Shen Yao shook her head, "It's nothing, just a bump. That person was so clumsy, the road is so wide, yet he had to bump into me..."
As they were talking, in a flash, she suddenly realized something and hurriedly looked down to touch her body, only to find that her purse was gone.
Shen Yao exclaimed in surprise, "So that guy was a pickpocket."
Looking around, the thief had already blended into the crowd and disappeared.
Shen Yao was so angry that she felt dizzy and grabbed Wei Luo, asking him to help catch the thief.
Wei Luo asked her, "Did you get a good look at the thief?"
She said, feeling wronged, "It's so dark, how can I see anything?"
Just then, a familiar voice came from not far away, "The thief has been caught."
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