The dagger was deflected and embedded in the windowsill next to it.
"Let me handle you!" the middle-aged man said coldly.
Seeing that her attack had been neutralized, Ning Yao prepared to launch another wave of attacks.
The boy opposite her suddenly brightened up and shouted at her as if he had found a treasure.
"Yao Yao!"
It was his voice that made the middle-aged man stop, and Ning Yao was also taken aback.
Is this someone I know?
The next second, Ning Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the other person's appearance clearly.
These two people were none other than Prince Duan and Shen Ci'an.
"Oh? It's the Ning family's youngest daughter? What are you doing here alone?"
Ning Yao stared blankly at Shen Ci'an's face for a few seconds.
This child is even prettier than Hua Yan!
Before Ning Yao could speak, someone rushed up behind her and shielded her.
"My little husband, I'm here to help you!"
Hua Yan's words left one person dumbfounded and two people with dark expressions.
Ning Yao was speechless: You don't even know kung fu, how can you beat him? You should know that Prince Duan, Shen Wei, has been on the battlefield!
Shen Ci'an looked at the woman blocking Ning Yao's way, his aura was low and his beautiful peach blossom eyes were full of dissatisfaction, and even a little bit of grievance.
Shen Wei was a little confused. When did the Ning family's little girl turn into a boy?
"Who is Yao Yao?" Shen Ci'an's cool, youthful voice carried a hint of questioning.
Ning Yao looked at Shen Ci'an strangely. This person was so odd. He was her second sister-in-law's younger brother, and seemed to be younger than her, right? Why did he also call her Yao Yao?
Shen Ci'an pursed his thin lips slightly, looking at Ning Yao's strange gaze, a trace of loneliness flashed through his heart.
She doesn't remember herself.
Hua Yan looked at Chen Wei and the other man warily: "What do you care who I am? With me here, don't even think about hurting my young husband!"
Shen Ci'an didn't speak, but his gaze grew colder and colder.
Shen Wei laughed heartily: "Miss, are you mistaken? Yao Yao is not a man. She is the daughter of a friend of mine. If you don't believe me, ask her."
Hua Yan stiffened and turned her head to ask, "Is what he said true?"
Ning Yao touched her nose and then nodded.
Hua Yan's outstretched arms fell to her sides, her face full of hurt, as she said, "You're a woman? You're actually a woman? Why did you lie to me?"
The other party's repeated accusations made Ning Yao laugh in exasperation.
"When did I lie to you? I told you not to call me 'little husband,' but you insisted on doing it, and now you're blaming me?"
Ning Yao shrugged.
Hua Yan choked with sobs, her phoenix eyes filled with tears as she stared at Ning Yao, as if accusing her.
Shen Ci'an was restless and agitated. He couldn't stand Ning Yao exchanging glances with others, even if the other person was a woman.
He stepped forward and pulled Ning Yao aside, speaking rudely to Hua Yan: "You don't even know if the other person is a man or a woman, yet you dare to go with them? You have quite the nerve!"
Hua Yan turned to look at Shen Ci'an, her previous hurt expression vanished, replaced by a calm demeanor: "But all along the way, it was Xiao Xiang... Little Lady who protected me, protected me very well, and helped me drive away many bad guys. Why wouldn't I dare?"
One person mocked the other for being frivolous, while the other retorted by showing off.
Neither side achieved a good result in their first encounter.
Shen Ci'an suppressed his murderous urge and held Ning Yao's hand tightly.
"Ouch, Shen Ci'an! You're hurting me!"
The pressure on his wrist loosened, and he heard the boy's anxious voice in his ear.
"Yaoyao, I'm sorry..."
Ning Yao looked up and saw the boy's slightly childish face in front of her.
Beneath his handsome brows, his eyelashes fluttered gently, and his apologetic peach blossom eyes were filled with Ning Yao's image.
His tightly pursed lips parted and closed slightly as he apologized...
Ning Yao stared into his eyes, momentarily lost in thought.
He slapped the hilt of his sword on Shen Ci'an's back and scolded, "You brat, even though Yao Yao is older than you, she's still a girl. Why are you using so much force?"
"Also, Yaoyao is three years older than you. You should call her 'older sister,' understand? Calling her by her first name directly shows no manners at all!"
Ning Yao shuddered and instantly looked away: Holy crap? She was staring at the man, mesmerized?
Or is he three years younger than her?
This is terrifying!
But the next second she couldn't help but steal another glance at the boy, thinking to herself how handsome he really was.
Flower faces are beautiful, but women are different from men.
There really are such gentle and beautiful young men, thirteen or fourteen years old, as if they were jade trees and orchids. Indeed, the ancients were right!
The boy, unwilling to give up, weakly called out, "Sister..."
The boy's unique voice entered her ears, and Ning Yao's heart pounded like a drum.
Shen Ci'an's address of "sister" seemed to have flipped a switch, sending a tingling sensation through Ning Yao from head to toe, finally lingering on her heartstrings.
What's the deal with "it sounds kind of nice"?
Ning Yao felt like she was going crazy. How could she think that Shen Ci'an calling her "sister" sounded nice?
I even wanted to hear him call out again.
"elder sister?"
Ning Yao's wish came true.
——
What are you doing?!
This child is three years younger than you!
Ning Yao mentally berated herself.
“Hey, that’s right. Your Uncle Ning’s family has three children, and we have two. You’re the youngest of the five children, so it’s only right that you call Yao Yao ‘sister’.”
"It would be good if Yao Yao treated An'er as her own younger brother."
Shen Wei looked at the two children with a smile.
Ning Yao snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head at Shen Ci'an: "I'm fine."
Shen Ci'an's eyes flickered, he released her hand, and stood up straight.
It was only then that Ning Yao noticed that the boy, who was three years younger than her, stood tall and was actually a few points taller than her.
"Yaoyao, where are your father and the others?"
Ning Yao shifted her gaze from Shen Ci'an to Shen Wei: "Uncle, my parents, brother and sister-in-law left first. I had some things to attend to."
"Then why are you here?"
Ning Yao glanced outside, then asked, "Then why is Uncle here?"
Shen Wei pointed outside: "It's because of these wild animals outside."
What does Uncle think is the reason?
Shen Wei shook his head: "I don't know. It's somewhat like the epidemic I saw on the border many years ago, but not quite."
“It’s not an epidemic, it’s something else,” Shen Ci’an suddenly said.
"It must have been something we ate that we shouldn't have, but right now it's freezing cold and there's a drought, nothing can survive. Things should be better after this winter."
Ning Yao thought Shen Ci'an's words made a lot of sense. Although she knew the reason, she couldn't say it.
“That’s right. We haven’t found the cause to be the plague. It must be that they ate poisonous plants or something similar, which led to this result. Then the refugees ate dead wild animals, which passed the toxins on to themselves, and that’s how they died.”
Shen Wei nodded thoughtfully: "That makes sense. In that case, why don't we go catch up with your father and the others first?"
Ning Yao didn't ask them why they weren't with her father at the time.
Prince Duan is Shen Ce's only uncle, and whether he stays or leaves is a matter of his own consideration.
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