The servant shuddered, looking terrified: "This servant didn't see clearly either, but it looked like a male ghost, and it had a magic weapon in its hand that made an extremely unpleasant sound. I'm afraid it's some kind of soul-snatching thing..."
Shang Yunlan pondered for a moment, then suppressed her trembling voice and said, "Come with me and take a look."
The servant thought to himself, "The master is a nobleman, surely protected by a celestial being. It will be safe to follow him." So he hurriedly followed.
...
A kindred spirit?
Shang Shaoyan suppressed the urge to curse and looked at Qiao Xiuyu with deep affection: "Lu Lang is really, really... oh dear!"
She covered her lips with a handkerchief in a pretentious manner, looking extremely shy. Her beautiful phoenix eyes seemed to have hooks, making Qiao Xiuyu's heart race.
Outside Mingyue Tower, Shang Yunlan had just arrived when she heard Shang Shaoyan's voice, and then stood still and stopped moving forward.
The servant was getting anxious: "My lord, aren't we going in?"
Shang Yunlan thought to himself, "Go in my ass! His sister is cultivating feelings for a beauty."
However, he couldn't hear clearly, so he took a few steps forward, squatted down in the corner of the courtyard wall, and strained his ear to listen carefully.
servant: "...?"
Shang Yunlan waved her hand, signaling the servant to leave, and then began to happily eavesdrop.
Inside the courtyard, Qiao Xiuyu looked at Shang Shaoyan with some embarrassment.
He... he had never seen a woman like the Princess of Heyang County.
She was beautiful, outgoing, lovely, and generous, possessing the unique charm of a woman from Jiangnan, completely different from the dignified and reserved noble ladies of Northern Zhou; she could understand my playing and openly invited me to her residence to teach her...
He suddenly felt a little reluctant to take advantage of such a lovely and bright girl.
But what do personal feelings matter when it comes to the greater good of the nation and its people?!
With this thought, Qiao Xiuyu became even more determined. He was determined to extract useful intelligence from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and then unify the world!
Ah, he was truly great.
Shang Shaoyan looked at Qiao Xiuyu, whose expression changed several times and whose thoughts were written all over her face, with some difficulty in saying a word. He suddenly felt that he was crushing this silly beauty in a lower dimension.
Each lost in their own thoughts, they gazed at each other, oblivious to each other's presence. To outsiders, it looked like a perfect match!
This is the scene that Shang Yunlan saw when she looked through the carvings on the courtyard wall.
He suddenly remembered what Shang Shaoyan had said—"I'm only sixteen, you're really something!"
he tui～
He thought indignantly, "Women's words are deceitful. They say that minors shouldn't date, but then they turn around and hold hands with someone and look into each other's eyes. Is the next step going to be kissing?"
Shang Yunlan felt increasingly uneasy. After all, she was his younger sister whom he had raised himself, and they had traveled together to support each other. She was the apple of his eye. Although he wanted his sister to work hard and help him win, it didn't mean he would do nothing!
Well, this prince from Northern Zhou is really cunning. He actually wants to steal my cabbage. Dream on!
Shang Yunlan's face was somewhat distorted. He stared intently at the situation in the yard, ready to rush in and stop the pig that had stolen his cabbage at any moment.
Inside the courtyard, Shang Shaoyan came to his senses, his smile appearing incredibly sincere: "Lu Lang, my confidant has invited me to go boating on the lake in three days. Would you like to come with me? In the winter in Jiangnan, the lake doesn't freeze over, and there's even charcoal burning inside the pleasure boat, making it very warm."
Qiao Xiuyu wanted to refuse, but looking into the girl's bright eyes, she couldn't bring herself to say no. So she smiled and said, "Okay, I'll bring my zither and play for you then."
Shang Shaoyan nodded, his smile deepening: "Okay, thank you for your help."
The person who invited her on the boat trip wasn't some close friend; it was the sister of her former fiancé, the heir of the Duke of Chengen.
Wasn't she trying to ridicule and mock herself? When Qiao Xiuyu's performance was stunning, she would just pretend to genuinely appreciate it and see what Li Xinyi, this person who was so concerned with saving face that she was willing to suffer for it, could do.
Thinking of this, Shang Shaoyan found Qiao Xiuyu much more pleasing to the eye, and unconsciously forgot about being disturbed in the middle of the night.
Seeing the two still so lovey-dovey, Shang Yunlan felt increasingly uncomfortable and angry. After a few moments of thought, she came up with a brilliant idea.
So he carefully got up, returned to his courtyard, and then summoned the respected old nanny of the mansion.
"Granny Li, I'm really ashamed to have called you over so late," Shang Yunlan said gently. "But there's no time to lose, so I can only trouble you."
Granny Li stared sharply at Shang Yunlan, who neither flinched nor avoided her gaze, allowing Granny Li to scrutinize her.
Since Shang Yunlan and Shang Shaoyan were weaned, Granny Li has rarely had long-term contact with the two young masters, but she is actually very clear about the original relationship between the two siblings.
The county princess rode her horse recklessly through the city, and the heir was utterly uneducated... In short, they were both complete wastrels.
But after the Duke of Zhenguo and his wife passed away a year ago, the brother and sister fell seriously ill. After recovering, they seemed like completely different people. The county princess started managing the household, the heir started reading books, and they became much colder towards their wet nurse, never visiting her even once.
Others thought it was just a sudden change of events and that the two had become more sensible, but Granny Li didn't think so. After she sensed that something was wrong, she secretly tested them several times, but found nothing amiss.
This did not reassure her; instead, it made her even more vigilant.
Shang Yunlan was always clever. He did not stop Li Mama after he noticed her probing. In any case, he and his sister did not intend to hide it too much. However, they still had to make things clear.
“Granny Li, there’s no need to worry.” Shang Yunlan said meaningfully, “No matter what, the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion is the root of An’an and me, and we will definitely support it.”
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