Shen Yunxi turned her head, stiffened her neck and looked at Jun Xuan, her eyes showing no fear. Since things had already gone this far, she certainly couldn't back down.
"I said, if the Emperor wants to punish me, then punish me. I have nothing to say!"
Junxuan gradually calmed down, and the anger in his heart subsided considerably. In the end, it was he who acted recklessly first. Shen Yunxi is an innocent girl, and what he did was indeed too much. It is only natural that Shen Yunxi was so angry.
Although slapping him was offensive, he was the one who was offensive first.
So Junxuan convinced himself and wasn't so angry with Shen Yunxi anymore.
"This was my fault, so I will not pursue the matter of you slapping me. But I wasn't joking about what I said before. In any case, you are still engaged to me, so it's best if you don't get too close to other men. I don't want to hear those gossips," Jun Xuan said calmly.
Shen Yunxi understood that Jun Xuan did not intend to punish her, and her emotions were quite complicated.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for not pursuing my mistake." Shen Yunxi gave a slight curtsy.
If one could avoid punishment, who would be so foolish as to want to be punished? In any case, Shen Yunxi still hoped to stay safe.
Junxuan gave Shen Yunxi a deep look, then turned around and left her room.
After Junxuan left, Shen Yunxi seemed to have all her strength drained away as she slowly sat down in a chair. She was exhausted and closed her eyes, her mind a jumble of thoughts.
No one expected that Junxuan would sneak into the women's courtyard. Shen Yunxi realized that she still didn't understand Junxuan well enough. This person was really used to doing things his own way and didn't care about these things.
Moreover, Shen Yunxi did not expect him to arrive at such a coincidence, just in time to run into Lin Chen, and even hear Lin Chen confess his feelings to her.
Shen Yunxi now understands Junxuan's attitude. She knows that Junxuan has fallen for her, but her heart is calm. When someone gives up, it seems that the things she couldn't have before are no longer important or attractive.
Of course, it would be even better if Junxuan didn't do anything inappropriate to her. She just wanted the two of them to live peacefully and have their own lives.
However, Junxuan's current attitude shows that he will not let her off the hook at all.
In any case, staying away from Junxuan means reducing the number of times she goes to the palace. This way, she will see Junxuan less often, and he will soon forget about her. After all, she is not irreplaceable.
On the other side, Lin Chen returned home dejectedly, then locked himself in his room and refused to come out or eat.
Lin's mother was still worried and couldn't help but knock on Lin Chen's door.
Lin Chen paused, then carefully put the painting away.
If you look closely, you can see that this painting was painted for Shen Yunxi on the day of the Lotus Viewing Festival.
Because the ink hadn't dried yet, the painting was left with the artist. Later, Shen Yunxi forgot about it, but Lin Chen didn't.
After speaking with Jun-hyun, he went to retrieve the painting.
As for Jiang Weiran's painting, he had it sent to the Jiang family, but for some reason, he never gave Shen Yunxi's painting to her.
It's not that there haven't been opportunities, it's just that every time I think of it, I subconsciously ignore it, so this painting has remained until now, and I haven't given it to Shen Yunxi.
As for Shen Yunxi, she has probably already forgotten about her.
After Lin Chen put the painting away, he intended to put it in the cabinet, but not wanting his mother to wait too long, he simply held it in his hand. "Mother is here. Please come in."
Lin's mother pushed open the door and went in. "Mu'ai, what are you doing? You're not even eating. Have you run into some trouble? I heard from the servants that you went to the Shen family today. Could it be because of Yunxi?"
As a mother, she was well aware of her son's feelings for Shen Yunxi.
However, Shen Yunxi is currently engaged, and no one knows if the Emperor will suddenly take her into the harem. Therefore, Lin's mother believes that Lin Chen should suppress his feelings.
Moreover, Shen Yunxi only has Junxuan in her heart, and he should know that. He is only making things difficult for himself now.
Lin Chen smiled bitterly. He knew he couldn't hide it from his mother, so he didn't intend to keep it a secret.
"It is my fault for causing Mother's worry. I did see Yunxi today and chatted with her for a while. Mother, I used to think I had hidden my feelings well, staying by Yunxi's side as an older brother until she entered the palace. As long as she was happy, that was enough. But a few days ago, I saw a change in Yunxi's attitude towards the Emperor, and I thought I had a chance. In the end, I couldn't control myself and confessed my feelings. Who would have thought that our feelings were already destined? In her heart, she will only see me as an older brother." Lin Chen said sadly.
Seeing her son, who should have been full of vigor, so dejected, Lin's mother was not feeling any better either.
“Mu’ai, since you already know that Yunxi and you are impossible, you shouldn’t continue. You should give up sooner rather than later. There are many women in this world. Perhaps you find it hard to accept now, but one day, you might meet another woman who moves your heart. I won’t force you to marry and have children. I just hope you can let yourself go.” Lin’s mother sighed.
As soon as she finished speaking, her gaze fell on Lin Chen's hands, noticing that he was still holding a scroll.
Lin Chen met his mother's gaze and subtly hid the scroll behind his back. "Mother, you don't need to worry about me. I will get better as soon as possible. After all, there are still so many things for me to do. Compared to the affairs of the court, personal feelings are not so important. I know what to do."
Lin's mother concealed the expression in her eyes. She naturally knew who Lin Chen was connected to with the things that Lin Chen treasured so much; she could only think of Shen Yunxi.
However, Lin's mother would not expose him at this moment, otherwise it would only make him feel worse.
"It's good that you understand, so I won't say any more. You're not a child anymore. By the way, come with me to the Jiang family's wedding banquet in a few days. Yunxi should be there too. Since you've already made things clear, and you'll see each other quite often anyway, there's no need to avoid it," Lin's mother said.
Lin Chen nodded. Shen Yunxi would definitely go, after all, it was the Jiang family's wedding banquet.
Lin's mother didn't stay long; she gave a couple more reminders and then left.
Shen Yunxi was naturally aware of the news about the Jiang family's wedding banquet. However, in the following days, she rarely left her courtyard. Shen Anyu would come to her courtyard to find her. Lan Pei and Shen Zhong were initially worried, thinking that Shen Yunxi was in a bad mood.
Later, seeing that she didn't have any other reaction, I wasn't so worried.
However, there was also good news: Granny Tian sent word that the little bird she had saved had recovered from its injuries and flown out of the palace.
That's good, at least it saves us from being trapped in the palace.
Because of a wedding banquet at home, Jiang Weiran hasn't come to the Shen family these past few days. She also needs to help out, so Shen Yunxi doesn't mind.
Time flies, and before we knew it, it was the day of great joy for the Jiang family.
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