Chapter 03 Meeting

Ning Yuan was completely panicked.

He found out about this?

Was she so obvious?

Shen Yan was a man who was proficient in both civil and military affairs.

Not only could she not argue with him, she couldn't beat him either.

Now she was sure that he had different thoughts about her. If she accidentally angered him with her words, and he suddenly got up and robbed her on the spot, what would she do?

She coughed hurriedly and continued with a smile: "Don't get me wrong, my Lord is like this... like this..."

She racked her brains to think of compliments.

Outstanding appearance?

He was good-looking, but it felt like the figure of the commander of the imperial guards was stronger than his, so his figure was a little worse.

Indescribably expensive?

Although the Shen family is a wealthy family, the Ning family is not bad either. It is not appropriate for her to lower her status like this.

Great literary talent?

... Help, they are not in the imperial examination hall now, and literary talent has nothing to do with it.

His literary talent cannot buy her money.

She held it in for a long time, stammered and said in dissatisfaction: "So... Not bad, how could I not want to see you, sir, I can't wait to see you all day long!"

See a ghost, an unlucky thing.

Ning Yuan's inner voice and the sound of her words were intertwined and entered Shen Yan's ears. The last tone was slightly raised, with a forced joy.

He felt a little surprised and wanted to laugh.

He, Shen Yan, could easily mention the advantages of Shen Yan. She thought for a long time and could only reluctantly come up with a "not bad".

Is he so poor in words?

I don't know how Ning Guogong taught her on weekdays.

Shen Yan glanced at her calmly: "In that case, then you should wash it clean before bothering me again."

Now, her already stiff smile froze even more.

Fortunately, she was quick-witted and took out a silver ingot from her purse, and pretended to be weak and handed it to him: "Ah, I suddenly feel a little dizzy... Maybe I'm sick, and I may not be able to get out of bed these days. In this way, I will give you money and let others wash it for you, and it will be my apology to the adults."

Shen Yan looked at her poor acting skills, pushed the silver back, and added another ingot, using her previous words to block her.

"I'm very busy, so please ask Miss Ning to find someone else to wash it and then bring it back with me."

At this point, Shen Yan still didn't doubt Ning Yuan's love for him. He just thought that she repeatedly refused to send him the outer robe because she was shy. If they met again in the future, she would definitely not want to mention today's shabby things.

But he insisted on doing so.

"No hurry, you can send it after Miss Ning is well."

Ning Yuan couldn't hold the stiff smile on her lips anymore. She frowned and said, "Do you really have to let me send it again?"

She had never felt that Shen Yan was so shameless before, which was really unlucky.

Seeing that she finally couldn't pretend anymore, Shen Yan got to the point.

His fingertips tapped the armrest from time to time.

"Repay a favor with a favor, and take revenge with a grudge. I saved your life, and you do something for me, and then we are even."

"After we are even, there will be nothing between you and me."

He picked up a small thing as a reward, just to remind her -

don't think that he saved her without expecting anything in return, don't think that he treats her with deep affection.

In fact, he didn't ask Ning Yuan to really repay him, but he couldn't turn a blind eye to her misunderstanding and let it grow deeper.

They are two different people after all.

Maybe she is a good wife cultivated by the Ningguo Mansion, with a breathtaking appearance and a cautious temperament.

But her world is too small, with only those mansion affairs and love affairs. She is not the good wife he wants to go through the ups and downs with him.

It is only a matter of time to break off the engagement with her, it just requires a suitable opportunity.

A proper time that would not hurt the friendship between the two families.

What is more important now is the strangeness of her falling into the water.

In addition to the flaws he had vaguely sensed before, on the way to find her, he thought of another mistake.

If he remembered correctly, the moment she fell into the water, there were palace maids shouting for people to come.

But why did the guards come panting and begging only after he summoned Yun Jue and she was rescued for a long time?

What's the use of coming so late?

Thinking of the engagement with Ning Yuan just now, Shen Yan, who had been confused for a long time, suddenly realized.

It is useful.

If he hadn't captured the lone guard in time, and Yun Jue hadn't come to her rescue, Ning Yuan would be lying in the guard's arms with her clothes disheveled, and would have been caught by the people who were late.

By then, her reputation would be ruined, and her engagement with the Shen family would naturally be invalid.

Duke Ning has always been very concerned about his reputation, and in order to suppress this matter, he would also cut off contact with the Shen family.

What a good way to kill two birds with one stone.

Shen Yan raised his eyes again, looked at Ning Yuan, and asked his initial guess: "Did you jump into the lake on your own initiative?"

Did she try to seduce him to be a hero and save the beauty, but was taken advantage of by others?

Ning Yuan's eyes widened, seeming a little bit unbelievable, then wrinkled her brows, curled her pink lips slightly, and puffed her cheeks slightly: "... Am I sick in the brain?"

Her self-awareness was still clear.

Shen Yan made a judgment in his heart.

It was rare for him to see such a vivid expression on Ning Yuan's face.

Whenever he met her at major banquets, she always buried her head quietly, trying to be an inconspicuous vase. She

didn't take the initiative to talk to others, nor was she keen on answering other people's questions.

The only thing she often did was to look up at him from time to time.

This was the time when she could see him.

When she couldn't see him, she heard that she secretly collected their portraits and secretly inquired about his itinerary.

In short, if she didn't miss him to a certain extent, such behavior would be impossible.

Now she always insults and scolds him in her heart. She is afraid that she can't catch him no matter how hard she tries, and she has become obsessed with him.

It's okay, he is a magnanimous person and doesn't bear grudges.

"It was that person who hit me."

Ning Yuan lowered her head, thinking about what happened today.

In fact, there is one thing she has never been embarrassed to say.

She can't swim.

When sister Yunjue rescued her in the water, she had to pull her out of the water.

At that time, her arms went around from her armpits to her front, and naturally pressed on that soft part. When she brought her to the shore, her palms had to support her hips.

She was grateful that Shen Yan had the wisdom to call the female guards at that time. If he had been the one who saved her today, she would probably go back home to prepare for the wedding.

Amitabha.

"Maybe the guard didn't see the road clearly, or maybe I walked too fast..." Her voice was soft and gentle, neither hurried nor slow, "Or maybe... he did it on purpose, anyway, bad things like this always happen to me."

It was all because of the unlucky Shen Yan.

If Shen Yan hadn't held the guard, and if she hadn't been seen hugging him in wet clothes in public, she would have been finished.

She wouldn't marry the guard.

Her father was very concerned about his reputation, so he naturally wouldn't allow his eldest daughter to marry anyone casually. He would definitely report to the emperor, have the guard beaten to death, and then let her go to a nunnery to be a nun to keep her reputation.

Qinglingling looked at Shen Yan's elegant face, and she suddenly felt a little irritated when she remembered that she couldn't have beautiful long hair as a nun.

"Then you can't marry me, and you can only marry someone else."

Who could it be?

She didn't know, but it was definitely related to Shen Yan.

It was probably

some young lady who was crazy about him. Alas, it was such a bad luck that Shen Yan liked her.

Shen Yan, the unlucky thing, sat on the chair calmly.

It was because of this that she thought he was unlucky.

Since he heard her inner voice inexplicably, he had to admit that Ning Yuan was not as cowardly and stupid as she looked, and she was somewhat smart.

But it was only a little, just a little bit.

It was true that the man wanted to plot against her, and it was also possible that he wanted to break up the marriage between the Shen and Ning families because he missed him.

But this was the Queen's Thousand Years Banquet.

Duke Ning was the Emperor's teacher, and if something bad happened to his daughter at this time, there would definitely be a rift between him and the Empress.

Who would benefit then was naturally not something Ning Yuan could think of.

He had to investigate it thoroughly.

As for the voice that echoed in his mind from time to time, it would probably be quieter if she stayed away from him.

Before Ning Yuan got the answer from Shen Yan, she saw him stand up calmly and walk out the door. After stepping out of the room, he tilted his head slightly and said, "Don't forget your clothes."

The intoxicating dusk gave off a slightly tipsy light, and the light clouds rolled and gently sprinkled on Shen Yan's clear profile, adding some profound meaning to his amber-like pupils that she didn't quite understand.

She said "Oh" softly, picked up the slightly damp clothes on the table, and walked in the opposite direction from him.

Zhuxing helped her walk to the carriage outside the palace. He felt that her feet were a little weak, and couldn't help but worry: "Miss, are you sick?"

As he said that, he put the back of his hand on her forehead, and then touched his own, and felt that he was no different.

"Otherwise, let's go back home and call a doctor." She said worriedly.

"No need." Ning Yuan shook her head slightly, "I'm fine. If I call the doctor and let her know, I'll have to act pitiful in front of my father."

The "she" Ning Yuan mentioned was her stepmother Ming Wei.

Her mother died early, and Duke Ning married her as his successor.

Ming Wei was used to showing a weak attitude in front of others, and every time this happened, Ning Yuan didn't know how to deal with it.

Self-justifying explanations always ended up being nonsense, and over time, she learned to keep silent.

For example, today.

It was Ming Wei who told her father that she was too slow in dressing up, and was afraid that the Duke Ning's family would be late, so she deliberately brought Ning Li to come earlier and let her come alone.

In fact, Mingwei just wanted to show everyone that she was the unfavored eldest daughter of the Ning family, and she was completely different from Shen Yan who was held in the palm of the Shen family's hand.

Ning Li was the daughter of the Ning family who was most suitable for him.

The cool evening breeze passed through the hall, bringing a little sweet peach blossom fragrance.

Ning Yuan unconsciously tugged at her clothes, thinking of the completely different cold fragrance today, and couldn't help but feel secretly satisfied in her heart.

What's the use of Mingwei thinking that Ning Li and Shen Yan are more compatible?

He is still deeply in love with herself.

She lowered her head and looked at the outer robe in Zhuxing's arms.

In order to meet her alone again, Shen Yan, who was always aloof and cold, actually lowered his status and forced her to wash his clothes and return them to him.

On the other side, Shen Yan, who had just found the commander of the imperial army, paused.

Her misunderstanding of him... seemed to be deeper.