Chapter 452: Chapter 451: All Right, Take Her Back with You!
"Yun..."
Liu Chu, smiling, entered the study only to walk in on this affectionate scene.
For a moment, she found herself neither able to leave nor to stay.
A sense of shame compelled Shen Hua to jump up abruptly.
She offered excuses and shifted blame, believing her actions to be flawless.
"I’ve said it, we can’t, we simply can’t. I’m not married to you yet, even holding hands is not allowed, even if you are a Marquis, you shouldn’t make things so difficult in such an unbridled manner."
It was as if the one who had called him ’brother’ and asked for a kiss just a moment ago wasn’t her.
Seeing that he didn’t go along with her, Shen Hua hurriedly tugged at the hem of his robe.
Cui Yun stood up, calmly meeting her gaze.
She cleared her throat: "I hope there won’t be a next time!"
Cui Yun methodically wiped away the lipstick mark on his chin with a handkerchief, looking detached and chaste: "Yes, it was all me forcing the issue."
Shen Hua: ...
Liu Chu: ...
Cui Yun had been practicing martial arts since he was young. How could he not notice her approach, not to mention Ying Yi and Ji Qing were outside?
Their family’s Marquis was clearly brazen and unapologetically self-willed.
Yet he remained proper and polite: "Auntie, is there something you have instructed to discuss with me?"
Liu Chu hurried to take advantage of the situation: "You’ve been busy these past days, returning only to sleep for a few hours before attending to public duties. How can your body endure this? Don’t rely on your youth and disregard everything. You have to travel again tomorrow, so you must rest well today. I have some calming incense. It’s very effective in soothing and calming the mind, it worked very well when used by your grandmother, so I’ve brought some for you."
Her hands were empty.
Clearly, her words carried an implied meaning.
"It’s already been set up in your side room, someone has lit it for you."
"The weather is nice today, so I’ve also had someone take your blankets out to air. I hope you can get a good night’s sleep."
She stopped short of saying one thing.
—— You better not stay in the girl’s room again. It’s indecent!
The evening meal was taken in the main courtyard.
These past few days, Cui Yun was coming and going early and late, and Shen Hua had also become familiar with Liu Chu, but it was only the second time she met Liu Huan.
After the meal, Liu Huan went out with Cui Yun for a while.
Yuan Shaqing’s complexion had improved greatly.
He was born with misty eyes, like the mists rising over the lakeshore in the early morning.
Cui Yun still remembered that before things went wrong, Yuan Shaqing was someone who blushed easily.
Ji Ge snatched his book and drew a turtle on it.
Yuan Shaqing’s face turned red as he snatched it back and scolded him.
Ji Huo had difficulty getting his hands on an erotic novel, "Arrogant Heir’s Little Wife," and when he peeked at it,
Yuan Shaqing, seeing him, blushed and scolded him for being shameless.
While walking on the street with Cui Bai, a group of girls tossed scented sachets and handkerchiefs at them in admiration, turning his blush to the likeness of a monkey’s butt.
At that time, a young Cui Yun looked at him with a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile.
"Brother Yuan, they are throwing them at my brother, why are you blushing so hard?"
This reunion, perhaps due to having experienced much and grown, or maybe due to sustaining grave injuries, Cui Yun hadn’t seen him blush even once.
He approached and handed over a letter.
"From the Third Prince."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Shaqing, thinking it must be an urgent matter, hurriedly took it. After reading, his expression turned strange.
"Weizhen."
"Why does the Third Prince’s letter ask me about how to win you over?"
Cui Yun: "..."
He coldly chuckled at the absurdity.
Perhaps Ji Teng had heard about the incident with Xue Tuan from outside. The letters he sent were sharp and never strayed from matters of the court, succinctly explained in less than half a page. In the blank space below, he would draw a different and beautiful cat each time.
His replies were, naturally, all about official business.
Ji Teng was not the least bit discouraged, so each time he sent letters, the cat was drawn differently! In recent times, he even started writing the name "Xue Tuan" on the envelope in various fonts.
Cui Yun thought, if his cat hadn’t been found, Ji Teng’s hand would have been broken.
Seeing his lack of response, Yuan Shaqing seemed thoughtful. He quickly came up with an answer.
"Indeed, although your personality has changed a lot, you remain impenetrable and difficult for others to fathom. Since I serve as your staff, I must be observant of words and expressions. This must be his test for me."
Cui Yun walked away expressionlessly.
He observed the situation and let out a chuckle, signaling for his servant beside him to prepare the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
The arduous task of replying to the letter.
——Extremely fond of sweets, one may bestow countless candies.
Meanwhile, Shen Hua was still conversing with Liu Chu.
Within fifteen minutes, someone parted the beaded curtain and entered.
It was Cui Yun.
He glanced at the two of them, and noticing that they were engaged in an amusing conversation, the girl’s eyes smiling, he waited for a while and then turned to sit down to the side. Picking up a teacup, he drank carelessly.
Liu Chu: ...
"Yun, is there something you need?"
"Came to accompany my aunt."
Liu Chu did not believe him.
"..."
"...Alright, take the person back with you!"
Under a sky bright with the moon and sparse stars, the two walked slowly along the path.
"Missus."
Yicui approached briskly. She cautiously glanced at Cui Yun and hurriedly averted her gaze.
"Miss Ming started to have symptoms after taking the medicine, and I felt anxious watching her."
Shen Hua: "Go and fetch Doctor Ni."
"Yes."
As Yicui walked away, Shen Hua gazed into the distance and suddenly spoke out.
"Ni Kang said she is almost five months pregnant."
"I really admire Miss Ming."
"She came running to follow me right after I left her room."
At that time, not a single tear was seen in Shen Hua’s eyes.
"Ming Yuan wishes to follow the Missus."
She did not bother to inquire about Shen Hua’s identity.
"The Ming Family Restaurant opened five branches in Hui State, and I manage one of them entirely, with decent profits. Bead calculation, revenues, and expenditures, accounts, and bookkeeping are not an issue for me."
She was modest.
Shen Hua had already thoroughly investigated Ming Yuan’s background.
The year Ming Yuan turned twenty, Mr. Ming took a liking to her and personally took her under his wing for grooming.
Once she increasingly resembled his first wife, he utterly gave in to desire.
The restaurant that belonged to Ming Yuan was a gift from Mr. Ming to woo her.
This had become her only pastime amidst the gloom.
For years she had not stepped out of her room, yet she managed the restaurant immaculately.
"Stand up to speak."
Noticing she was still bowing her head and motionless, Shen Hua narrowed her eyes.
"Do you have a favor to ask of me?"
Ming Yuan bit her lip: "Missus, you were able to bring me out unnoticed, which shows you have means. Ming Yuan is more than willing to be at your service for life, even if it means working like an ox or a horse. I only ask..."
As she spoke, her voice got lower and lower. Just as she began to have second thoughts, she heard Shen Hua’s soft laughter, as if it could soothe all her fears.
"You want to make this matter public?"
Ming Yuan: "...Yes."
"You need to understand, people are glib and sharp-tongued, few will discuss right and wrong. You won’t be able to escape being cursed at by everyone."
"I know."
Ming Yuan: "The Ming Family values its reputation, but there are countless filthy secrets in the household."
"If this causes trouble for the Missus, treat it as my nonsense."
Shen Hua: "Trouble?"
She declared: "That is my specialty."
Even when spreading rumors, she could embellish them further.
In the moonlight, Shen Hua turned to Cui Yun, "She took the medicine without hesitation, not fearing that it could be poisoned. Even if it were not poisonous, taking an abortion pill could at best injure one’s health, or at worst cause severe hemorrhage."
She understood Ming Yuan wanted to leave Hui State without any ties.
While saying this, Cui Yun did not respond. He didn’t care about another family’s girl and was utterly unmoved.