Meng Qingluan turned her head to the side and could only see the blanket lying between the two of them.
Meng Qingluan propped herself up on the quilt and looked at Chen Yan.
Chen Yan placed her hands neatly folded on her lower abdomen, her face gentle, her eyes closed.
Meng Qingluan called softly, "Chen Yan?"
Shen Yan wasn't asleep; he opened his eyes to look at her when he heard the sound.
"Um?"
Meng Qingluan lay face down on the quilt, half her face buried in the thick blankets.
"I'm scared."
Shen Yan asked, "What's wrong? Are you still thinking about what happened at the temple this afternoon?"
Meng Qingluan shook her head. "I have this uneasy feeling inside, like something bad is about to happen..."
As Meng Qingluan spoke, she buried her face in the blanket and made muffled sounds.
Shen Yan turned her head to look outside the door. Everything was too quiet, and even she noticed something was wrong.
Chen Yan's hand landed on Meng Qingluan's hair and gently ruffled it.
He gently comforted her, "Don't be afraid, no matter what happens, you'll be alright, I promise you."
Meng Qingluan found Shen Yan's words amusing.
They were both the most insignificant people now, mere lackeys with no power to even kill a chicken.
How will he protect her? Is it the male lead's halo?
But she was just cannon fodder.
Meng Qingluan looked up, intending to tease him, but met Shen Yan's gentle yet firm gaze.
As if guided by some unseen force, Meng Qingluan nodded, "Okay..."
Shen Yan's smile remained unchanged as he withdrew his large hand from Meng Qingluan's hair and lay back down in the quilt.
"Go to sleep."
Meng Qingluan stared at him for a while, then turned over and lay back in her own bed.
Why does she always feel that Chen Yan has become somewhat different...?
I always felt there was something about him that I didn't know.
Frustrated, Meng Qingluan pulled the blanket up, covering half her face, forcing herself to stop thinking about all that nonsense.
"..."
The room was quiet. Chen Yan sat at the table, with only a dim candle lit.
He looked serious, holding a calligraphy brush, and wrote characters on the paper with great speed.
After finishing writing in a moment, Chen Yan quietly pushed open the door.
"call out--"
With a whistle, a long eagle, entirely silver-white with a few brown feathers, flew over.
The eagle's feathers were enough to blend into the snow and make it indistinguishable. Its body was not as large as that of an ordinary eagle, but rather more delicate and graceful.
Upon seeing its owner, it first affectionately nuzzled its head against Shen Yan's arm.
Chen Yan raised his hand and stroked the back of its neck, causing the feathers on the back of its neck to spread out comfortably.
Chen Yan raised his hand and placed the written envelope in front of its beak.
"Bai Yu, give him to the Seventh Prince."
Bai Yu obediently took the envelope in his mouth, and with a light flick of Shen Yan's arm, he soared into the sky.
Before long, Bai Yu's figure disappeared into the endless night.
Shen Yan entered the room and, as usual, stood at the doorway to warm himself from the cold.
Taking off his coat, Chen Yan lay back down, one hand propped on the blanket.
Seeing that half of Meng Qingluan's face was buried in the quilt, fearing that she couldn't breathe, he pulled the quilt down again.
Shen Yan looked at her for a while longer before lying down in the quilt.
He secretly hoped that Li Zhanlan, that good-for-nothing, would act quickly.
"..."
The preliminary results have been released.
As expected, Shen Yan did his best and won first place.
Meng Qingluan stood in front of the list, her mouth practically splitting open with a smile.
Today she finally knows what it's like to have a son who excels in academics.
It felt so good, so satisfying!
Those around him cast envious glances, but felt more resentful.
How could they be inferior to a male slave from the South Wind Pavilion?
Meng Qingluan was delighted and, with a grand gesture, spoke to Chen Yan in a very heroic manner.
"We're not going home for dinner tonight, let's go to a restaurant and have a big meal!"
Shen Yan smiled and said, "Okay."
Just as the two were immersed in joy, an untimely voice suddenly rang out.
"Congratulations, Young Master Shen."
Meng Qingluan turned her head and rolled her eyes in disgust.
Young Master Zhu stepped forward, made a show of bowing, and raised his voice to continue.
"Young Master Shen is exceptionally talented. He ranked first in both the academy examination and the preliminary examination. I am truly impressed."
Meng Qingluan frowned at him, instinctively feeling that this guy couldn't possibly say anything nice.
Shen Yan said calmly, "Young Master Zhu is extremely wealthy, yet he failed the academy examination and is still able to participate in the preliminary examination."
"..."
Meng Qingluan covered her mouth and chuckled.
Shen Yan really showed no mercy, exposing Young Master Zhu's bribery of the dean with just one sentence.
Young Master Zhu gritted his teeth, pretending not to understand the meaning behind Shen Yan's words.
He sneered, "My family is wealthy, but that was all built up by my father. As for your talent..."
Shen Yan looked at Young Master Zhu with a smile in his eyes.
Meng Qingluan was shocked to realize that this pig-headed man wanted to expose Shen Yan's secrets in front of everyone!
Meng Qingluan pointed at Young Master Zhu, "Shut up!"
Seeing Meng Qingluan angry, Young Master Zhu smiled even more smugly, his fat face squeezing into a ball.
"Shut up? Why should I shut up? This mouth is on my own body, who do you think you are to tell me to shut up!"
Just as Meng Qingluan was about to retort, Shen Yan grabbed her hand and held it tightly in his palm.
Meng Qingluan looked at him, puzzled.
Isn't he afraid?
Chen Yan whispered in Meng Qingluan's ear, coaxing her in a low voice.
Why bother getting angry with someone like that? Don't do what he wants; I never care about those things.
Meng Qingluan also lowered her voice and said, "Others will definitely distance themselves from you if they find out about this..."
"So what if you distance yourself from me?" Shen Yan asked with amusement, then added seriously, "I've never needed these so-called friends."
All he wanted was for Meng Qingluan to stay by his side.
That's enough.
Meng Qingluan raised her head and looked at the crowd not far away.
Sure enough, those who had been swarming around Shen Yan a few days ago were now standing aside, watching the spectacle with indifference.
Some people have even started looking them up and down with disgust…
She suddenly felt a chill run down her spine...
What kind of literati and scholars are they, what kind of noble and refined people are they? They are nothing but a bunch of sycophants.
Young Master Zhu was unhappy that the two ignored him, especially seeing them being so affectionate together.
He threatened in a cold voice, "Shen Yan, you don't want others to know about your past, do you?"
Shen Yan pulled Meng Qingluan behind him, "So what if you know?"
Young Master Zhu looked at Shen Yan with a mocking expression, walked up to him, and lowered his voice.
"Shen Yan, stop pretending, will you?" Young Master Zhu leered. "If you come to my residence tonight, I'll keep your secret..."
Shen Yan glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye and saw that Meng Qingluan hadn't heard him before he curled up the corner of his lips.
"Oh?" Shen Yan chuckled. "You think you can be tough on a man if you can't do it on a woman...?"
"you!"
Young Master Zhu was so angry that his face turned red after being struck by Shen Yan's words, which hit the nail on the head.
"Chen Yan?? You lowly thing who sold your ass, how dare you be so ungrateful?"
Meng Qingluan picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at him, shoved Chen Yan aside, rolled up her sleeves, and got to work.
Meng Qingluan rushed to Zhu Gongzi's side.
"You dare say that again, you pig's head meat?"
Young Master Zhu was initially stunned, but then he smiled when he thought of Meng Qingluan's character and didn't take her anger seriously.
"What? You want to stand up for your husband?"
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