He composed himself and glanced at the guard. "Keep searching. The person is definitely still in this mansion."
"yes."
The guard bowed and prepared to leave, but the Third Prince suddenly called out to him, "Where were you planning to go?"
After a moment's hesitation, the guard recounted his encounter with Shen Tangning.
A hint of suspicion flashed in Yan Xingzhou's eyes: "Shen Tangning? This place is quite a distance from the back garden. She's all alone, without a maid by her side. What's she doing in such a remote place?"
His eyes flickered with uncertainty, and a slight smile played on his lips. "Let's go take a look."
The guard hesitated for a moment, then followed.
The guards led the way, with the third prince following behind, and they returned to the rockery.
The guard placed his hand on the sword at his waist and tentatively asked, "Miss Shen? Your maid has brought her here."
Shen Tangning was surprised that the guard would return so quickly, and her expression changed.
She emerged from behind the artificial hill and was momentarily stunned upon seeing Yan Xingzhou. Her mind quickly returned to normal, realizing that he might have become suspicious.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Third Prince."
Shen Tangning did not hide the surprise on her face and curtsied.
This was the first time she had seen the Third Prince since her rebirth.
Yan Xingzhou's first impression is that he is eccentric and unconventional!
In the eyes of others, he was not as gentle and refined as the Crown Prince, nor as virtuous and magnanimous. He only knew how to enjoy himself and did not care about state affairs. He seemed to have no ambition for that position.
But Shen Tangning only learned at the end of his previous life that his mother was favored and his father loved him. How could he not develop ambition in such an environment?
He was so good at disguising himself that he fooled everyone.
The crown prince was virtuous and popular, and even the emperor could not find fault with him. So he kept quiet and gradually undermined the crown prince's foundation and alienated the emperor's trust.
He is a complete hypocrite.
Her gentle cousin, the Crown Prince, ended up going insane and committing suicide!
Shen Tangning concealed the hatred in her eyes and feigned surprise: "Why is Your Highness here?"
Yan Xingzhou, with his hands clasped behind his back, said with a smile, "I heard from the servants that Miss Shen got lost all by herself, so I thought I'd come and check on her."
Shen Tangning looked flustered: "Your Highness has made a fool of yourself."
"It's alright, Miss Shen. I have a good relationship with Ziheng. You are his... sister-in-law. It is only right that I take care of you." He deliberately dragged out the words, making the phrase "sister-in-law" very meaningful.
Ziheng is Chi Jingyu's courtesy name, and Shen Tangning frowned without making a sound.
Getting involved with him is bad luck.
Just then, Yan Xingzhou suddenly stepped forward, startling Shen Tangning.
That's a blind spot; you can't see behind the artificial hill from there. But once he walks over, he'll have a clear view of everything.
As she guessed, Yan Xingzhou had become suspicious.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?"
Shen Tangning looked flustered, while Yan Xingzhou became even more certain that someone was hiding behind the artificial hill, a smile playing on his lips: "I think the scenery here is quite nice, hmm? Why is there someone here..."
Yan Xingzhou's smile suddenly froze on his face: "How come it's you?"
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