Chapter 146 Feigning Coquetry
Hongyu followed Shen Qingnian to the carriage.
Just as she was about to help Shen Qingnian into the carriage, Liu Momo, who was standing to the side, had already stepped aside and taken a bench from the carriage floor and placed it next to the carriage.
He then lifted the carriage curtain for Shen Qingnian and respectfully said to her, "Aunt Qing, please get in the carriage."
Hongyu never expected that Liu Momo would be so humble in front of Aunt Qing.
He showed no trace of his arrogant demeanor from that day.
She also knew that it was the eldest son who stood up for his aunt.
Hongyu glanced at Shen Qingnian; her aunt's beauty, talent, and figure were all exceptional.
As long as the concubine maintains her favor, she will live a good life, at least until the mistress arrives.
Those of them who work as servants can also have an easier time.
Seeing that Liu Momo had done her homework, Hongyu walked to Shen Qingnian's side, reached out her hand, and let Shen Qingnian help her into the car.
Seeing Liu Momo's slightly solicitous manner, Shen Qingnian paused in her steps.
At this moment, Liu Momo lowered her head, her posture humble. Anyone who didn't know better would think she was her master.
Seeing Liu Momo's attitude, which was completely different from the day before, she understood what was going on.
The lingering effects of Xie Yanzhi's punishment of sitting as a guest on the day of the banquet were still in effect.
Seeing Liu Momo carefully lifting the curtain, Shen Qingnian sighed inwardly.
Like her, she was wary of Xie Yanzhi.
What difference is there between a concubine and a servant like her?
She nodded slightly, lifted her skirt with one hand, placed the other on Hongyu's hand, stepped onto the bench, and bowed as she entered the carriage.
Hongyu stepped onto the bench, wanting to go inside as well, but Liu Momo immediately lowered the curtain, glanced at her, and tilted her head towards the carriage floor.
She no longer dared to give Shen Qingnian the cold shoulder, but that didn't mean she had to be careful around the maidservants beside her.
She was, after all, someone who served the old lady. If her status was lower than that of a favored concubine, how could she be lower than that of a second-class maid?
Seeing this, Hongyu lowered her head and sat down on the carriage floor on her own.
Liu Momo sat near the curtain, keeping a close eye on Shen Qingnian for the old lady.
After everyone was ready, the coachman started driving the carriage.
After the carriage slowly drove away for a distance, a shadow quickly followed behind.
Shen Qingnian lifted a corner of the curtain to look at the scene outside.
There were vendors hawking their goods, and elderly people carrying babies on their backs and playing with them; everything was so vibrant.
Unlike her, who stayed cooped up in the mansion all day, devoid of any vitality.
The car quickly stopped at a silk thread shop.
Liu Momo quickly put the stool away and helped Shen Qingnian out of the car.
Shen Qingnian stood at the door and looked around. This silk thread shop looked much more impressive than the two other shops next to it.
Just considering the gold thread, other shops treat it as their prized possession and treat it with great care.
The shop offers more than a dozen colors, all displayed on shelves for customers to choose from.
Seeing that Shen Qingnian was staring at her, Liu Momo bowed and stepped forward: "This silk thread shop only supplies silk threads to high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital. Ordinary people can't even get in the door."
"If you are going to embroider a purse for the eldest son, you should naturally use this finest silk thread."
Shen Qingnian nodded gently, gathered her sleeves, and entered the shop.
The shopkeeper's first impression of Shen Qingnian was that she was dressed in a simple pink floral dress and had no extra jewelry, so he assumed she was not of high status.
He glanced at the carriage behind Shen Qingnian and saw the insignia of the Marquis of Jingnan on the carriage frame.
Then look at Liu Momo, who is a servant of the old lady of the Jingnan Marquis's mansion, yet she treats this lady with utmost respect.
He then understood the situation.
"Please come in, madam." The shopkeeper greeted her with a smile and ushered her into the shop, then glanced at the shop assistant.
The waiter understood immediately and quickly brought over a soft stool, as well as tea and snacks.
After Shen Qingnian sat down, she said softly, "Shopkeeper, I would like to buy some top-quality gold thread to embroider a purse for my husband."
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Your husband is truly blessed."
"The finest silk threads in the shop are all upstairs. Please come with me, madam."
Shen Qingnian nodded and turned to follow.
But then she saw Liu Momo get up to follow, and Shen Qingnian stopped in her tracks.
Noticing that the person behind him hadn't followed, the shopkeeper turned around and understood what was going on.
He cupped his hands in greeting to Liu Momo and said, "Please have some tea here, Momo."
Shen Qingnian then instructed Hongyu, "Go to East Street and buy two servings of chestnut cake."
Hongyu understood immediately, nodded, and then left the shop.
Liu Momo felt a little better when she saw that Shen Qingnian didn't let Hongyu go up either.
She also knew that the upstairs was a place only the wealthy and powerful could go.
In short, this shop only has one door, so people on the second floor definitely can't escape.
Thinking this, she turned around and sat back down in her chair.
The shopkeeper then led Shen Qingnian upstairs and brought over a plate of silk threads: "Madam, please take your time choosing here. If you see something you like, just give the word, and a waiter will come over."
Then he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and said, "I won't disturb you any longer."
After saying that, he went downstairs.
Shen Qingnian looked at the gold thread in front of her. The color was more abundant and vibrant than that downstairs, and the quality was twice as good.
She felt a little regretful that such fine silk thread was being used to make a purse for Xie Yanzhi!
Although she said she came out to buy medicine, since she had said she would embroider a purse for Xie Yanzhi, she had to do the whole thing properly.
With that in mind, Shen Qingnian carefully selected items from the wooden tray.
She didn't notice that someone was slowly approaching her from behind with light steps.
He looked at her fair fingers, picked up a roll of silk thread, examined it carefully against the light, shook his head, and seemed dissatisfied.
He lowered his head again and picked up another roll of silk thread to examine it.
The soft light reflected on her face, making her appear gentle and serene.
His heart softened.
Which volume suits me best?
The person behind her suddenly spoke, startling Shen Qingnian so much that she dropped the silk thread in her hand.
The thread rolled to his feet. Xie Yanzhi bent down, picked it up, and walked over to Shen Qingnian, placing the thread in her hand.
Then, he sat down next to her.
"Husband! What are you doing here?" Shen Qingnian asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
When the two parted in the morning, Xie Yanzhi said he was going to work, so how come he's here in the silk thread workshop now?
Xie Yanzhi ignored her words, simply pulled her over, sat her on his lap, and whispered in her ear, "Why did you suddenly decide to embroider a purse for me?"
Hearing Xie Yanzhi say this, Shen Qingnian felt a little nervous.
But then she thought that she had only asked Hongyu to get the medicine and hadn't done anything else, so she wasn't afraid of him questioning her.
Shen Qingnian raised her head and looked at him: "You heard everything?"
She then lowered her head, clutching the embroidered handkerchief in her hand, and said with some grievance, "I was thinking of giving my husband a surprise."
Xie Yanzhi looked at the girl in front of him, her aggrieved expression was somewhat cute, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
She pointed a finger and lifted her chin: "Are you blaming your husband for revealing your feelings beforehand?"
Shen Qingnian suddenly stood up, leaving Xie Yanzhi, and feigned a coquettish tone: "My husband hasn't said anything yet, so why did you come to the silk thread shop, which is full of women?"
She had a vague suspicion that Xie Yanzhi was following her.
But on second thought, it seemed unlikely.
If he sent someone to follow her, and she didn't run away, he wouldn't need to show himself.
This is his shop, so why can't he come?
However, even the old lady didn't know, and he didn't intend to tell Shen Qingnian.
He then thought of the purpose of his visit today, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes: "I'm here to arrest someone."
"Arrest them?" Shen Qingnian felt relieved after hearing this.
So they were here on business.
Just then, I heard the sound of swords clashing downstairs.
And there was Liu Momo's scream.
Looking at Xie Yanzhi again, he still looked confident of victory, leisurely picking up the roll of gold thread that Shen Qingnian had just dropped on the ground.
It was turquoise, Shen Qingnian's favorite color.
However, she simply liked to wear this color close to her skin.
“I’ll use this to embroider my purse.” Xie Yanzhi reached out and handed over the gold thread.
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingnian thought to herself, "Even at a time like this, Xie Yanzhi still has the mind to think about this."
She took the roll of gold thread. "The thief is here. Husband, aren't you going down to check?"
Xie Yanzhi glanced at her, narrowed his eyes, and said coldly, "It's alright."
His men were already lying in ambush below, ready to seize the man as soon as he appeared.
Hearing the fighting sounds from downstairs had moved onto the street, Shen Qingnian mustered her courage and moved towards the window.
I want to go and see what's going on down there.
Xie Yanzhi suddenly opened his eyes and saw the figure about to reach out and push open the window. He shouted sharply, "Come here!"
Seeing his serious expression and the hint of anger on his face, Shen Qingnian had no choice but to withdraw her hand and stand beside him.
Only when the noise outside subsided did Xie Yanzhi stand up: "Put the money for the gold thread on my account, and go back to the manor as soon as possible."
He glanced at the silk thread in her hand: "Finish the purse as soon as possible, your husband will be waiting."
With that, he went downstairs.
Shen Qingnian never expected that buying silk thread would lead to Xie Yanzhi running errands.
It seems she'll have to be fully prepared if she wants to leave Xie Yanzhi's side in the future.
She took the selected silk thread and went downstairs to check on Liu Momo.
Liu Momo was sitting at the table, trembling slightly.
"Liu Momo, are you alright?" Shen Qingnian walked over and sat down next to her.
Liu Momo only came to her senses when she saw Shen Qingnian.
She was just drinking tea and eating melon seeds there.
Just as they saw a handsome young man enter through the door with his attendants, several men dressed as guards suddenly appeared outside.
Without saying a word, he drew his sword and slashed.
One of them was unable to dodge in time and was about to be stabbed, but was pushed away by the young master.
Instead, the young master was stabbed in the shoulder.
In an instant, bright red blood gushed out.
Seeing that, she almost fainted and fell to the ground.
"Aunt Qing, this old servant is fine. It's just that I felt a little uneasy after seeing blood."
"Blood? Was the thief injured?"
Liu Momo was puzzled when she heard Shen Qingnian ask this question. She thought that Shen Qingnian was upstairs and had not seen what was happening downstairs.
"He's not a thief, he's a handsome young man."
"Those people immediately surrounded the person and pulled out knives to slash them."
"It turned out they had attacked the wrong person."
Shen Qingnian listened and felt that something was wrong.
Xie Yanzhi is terrible at matters of the heart, but he is quite astute when it comes to getting things done.
She felt that something was wrong.
"Who is that young master? If the young master has really arrested the wrong person, we'll be in big trouble."
Liu Momo was stunned again. She then remembered that when she was hiding under the table, she saw the eldest young master come downstairs and chase after someone straight towards the outer gate.
She was puzzled; she had been sitting downstairs the whole time, so when did the eldest young master go upstairs?
It turned out that the eldest son was already upstairs, waiting to arrest people.
Liu Momo patted her forehead, thought for a moment, and then stamped her foot: "This old servant remembers, that young master's surname is Xiao!"
"This old servant also heard him shout 'Peace be with you'."
They had been fighting for a while, and the young master took off the waist token from his waist and showed it to the guard.
Liu Momo saw that the name tag had the character "Xiao" written on it.
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingnian's face turned pale.
Her heart clenched painfully.
Why is Xiao Huaiyi here? And Xie Yanzhi just happened to be here arresting someone, but he arrested the wrong person.
What a coincidence!
Could it be that Young Master Xiao came here to look for her?
Xie Yanzhi didn't want the two of them to meet, so he injured Young Master Xiao.
Shen Qingnian gripped the gold thread tightly in her hand, her knuckles turning white.
"Is the young master seriously injured?"
Shen Qingnian asked anxiously again.
Asking this question brought back vivid images of blood splattering before Liu Momo's eyes.
"That young master bled a lot!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingnian felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if pierced by needles.
Meanwhile, Ping An anxiously drove the carriage to take Xiao Huaiyi to the clinic.
If the young master hadn't been caught off guard when the man rushed over, he wouldn't have been injured.
Ping An felt very guilty.
Thinking about it, he whipped the horse's rump hard again.
Suddenly a figure appeared at the alley entrance ahead. He hurriedly stopped the carriage and discovered that it was Xie Yanzhi on horseback blocking the alley entrance.
"What does Your Highness mean by this?"
Ping An asked Xie Yanzhi, while holding the reins with one hand and the sword at his waist with the other.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Huaiyi, who was inside the car, lifted the curtain and stepped out.
Seeing that his young master's face was pale and blood was still oozing from the wound on his shoulder, Ping An stepped forward to shield Xiao Huaiyi behind him.
Xie Yanzhi said coldly, "Huaiyi, I told you, don't have any more thoughts about her."
"Swords are merciless; next time it won't just cut your shoulder."
After saying that, he pulled on the reins, turned the horse around, and rode out of the alley.
Xiao Huaiyi didn't speak, but just stood there watching the direction Xie Yanzhi had left in.
The hand hidden in the sleeve was clenched into a fist.
He had sent people to keep an eye on things for a long time before finally finding this opportunity to meet Miss Shen.
Did Xie Yanzhi think he could scare him away like this?
Seeing this, Ping An said, "Young master, quickly get into the carriage, we're going to the clinic."
Xiao Huaiyi nodded. He had to rush to see Miss Chen, and he was afraid that if he didn't bandage the wound properly, she would worry.
Inside the silk thread workshop, Shen Qingnian and Liu Momo sat on stools and immediately saw Hongyu returning with chestnut cakes.
She nodded slightly to Shen Qingnian and then waved the two paper packets in her hand.
Shen Qingnian immediately stood up: "Let's go."
Liu Momo stopped Hongyu outside the carriage again. Hongyu handed the paper package in her hand and said to Shen Qingnian, "Auntie, here's chestnut cake for you. Be sure to eat it while it's hot."
As she spoke, she glanced at the chestnut cake before lowering the curtain.
Shen Qingnian felt that Hongyu's words seemed to have a hidden meaning.
She reached out and opened the paper package...
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