【Ah???】
Xie Lang: …
Tsk, why is Shen Mingzhu so easy to tease? She has such a fiery temper, just like a pufferfish that puffs up at the slightest provocation.
Shen Mingzhu was too lazy to bother with Xie Lang. She turned around and was about to leave when she suddenly felt her sleeve being tightened. Frowning, she looked back and saw Xie Lang tugging at her sleeve. He leaned close to her ear and quickly pleaded for mercy. "Your Highness, spare my life! A night of marriage means a hundred days of affection!"
【Shen Mingzhu! Are you trying to murder your husband!】
【Why is someone more impatient than me? I didn't say I wouldn't help! It's too much!】
Shen Mingzhu gave him a sidelong glance.
Xie Lang still had some sense of shame and knew to keep his voice down when saying such things. If he had said that line "A night of marriage means a hundred days of affection" in front of all those guards just now, she would definitely skin him alive today!
Seeing that she didn't say a word, the guards stopped advancing and silently stood behind.
Xie Lang subconsciously let out a sigh of relief. He said to Shen Mingzhu, "Your Highness is wise. Let's go inside and talk."
【Tsk, at least you, Shen Mingzhu, have a bit of a conscience.】
Shen Mingzhu: "…" She regretted it. Was it still too late to drag Xie Lang out now?
As if anticipating Shen Mingzhu's thoughts, Xie Lang immediately grabbed her sleeve and dragged her inside.
Shen Mingzhu almost stumbled and fell. She glared angrily at him. To her surprise, Xie Lang moved incredibly fast. The next moment, he let go of her hand as if nothing had happened.
Calm down! Don't get angry! Don't argue with this fool, Xie Lang!
Shen Mingzhu grew up in the palace. As the most beloved princess, everyone around her served her with great caution. She had never encountered someone like Xie Lang before. She took several deep breaths before suppressing the urge to drag Xie Lang away.
Xie Lang was too special. Shen Mingzhu believed that he must not be as simple as he seemed. So she was quite cautious around him and didn't want to reveal anything in front of him.
Xie Lang walked straight to the table and sat down. When he saw Shen Mingzhu looking at him, he twitched the corner of his mouth and said respectfully, "Your Highness, please sit first."
Shen Mingzhu sneered and sat down. Then she looked at Xie Lang and said, "What? What does Young Master Xie want to say to this princess?"
Xie Lang poured a cup of tea for Shen Mingzhu and then continued, "Does Your Highness know why I went to that brothel last night?"
"Why did you go?" Shen Mingzhu laughed and glanced at him. "The legs are on you. Could it be that someone tied you up?"
Xie Lang laughed, looking more serious than before. "Your Highness, someone started whispering in my ear the day before yesterday, saying that a girl in Yichun Tower was about to get married. She was extremely beautiful. Most importantly, my sworn enemy also took a fancy to her."
"How could I not go?"
Shen Mingzhu became even more vigilant.
Xie Lang was a man of deep thoughts. But now he suddenly told her the truth. Shen Mingzhu knew that she was good-looking, but she didn't believe that in just one night, Xie Lang would fall in love with her so much that he was willing to abandon his disguise.
"Really?" Shen Mingzhu calmly looked at Xie Lang. She quietly moved her hand over and placed it on Xie Lang's sleeve. Looking into his eyes, she said, "Does Young Master Xie mean that someone plotted against you and didn't want you to be present on your wedding night?"
【Shen Mingzhu, you actually don't believe me!】
【Forget it. Shen Mingzhu is a deep - thinking person anyway. If she really believed me, there must be something fishy.】
It seemed that Xie Lang wasn't lying.
"Then who could it be?"
Xie Lang waved his hand and sighed. "Who knows? Maybe it's some unrequited admirer of the princess?"
Shen Mingzhu was taken aback when she heard this. A look of silence appeared on her face.
Xie Lang had been paying attention to her and naturally didn't miss the expression on her face.
【Shen Mingzhu! You're still thinking about another man even after marrying me? Haha, that man is doomed.】
Intuition told Xie Lang that last night was just an accident. The two of them were plotted against and ended up having a passionate night together. But he felt some indescribable emotions churning inside him.
Although he knew what Shen Mingzhu was thinking, he could only pretend not to know and said, "Your Highness, is this matter just going to be let go like this?"
Shen Mingzhu hesitated for a rare moment and said, "This princess will investigate this matter. You don't have to worry."
Was she going to cover it up for someone?
Xie Lang gritted his teeth. He reached out and picked up the teacup on the table, taking a small sip. Pretending to be nonchalant, he said, "Then thank Your Highness for avenging me."
After saying this, there was suddenly a moment of silence between them.
After a moment of silence, Shen Mingzhu looked up at Xie Lang and said, "Does Young Master Xie have anything else to say?"
Xie Lang paused. He looked directly into Shen Mingzhu's eyes. After a long while, he said indifferently, "No matter what Your Highness is thinking at the moment, now that we are husband and wife, we must be of one mind."
"I will definitely investigate this matter of the drug. I hope Your Highness can also find out the person behind the plot against me as soon as possible."
Shen Mingzhu nodded and said with suppressed anger, "Yes. Then you may leave. This princess wants to rest."
Xie Lang looked at her deeply and then turned around to leave.
As soon as he left, Chun Tao, Shen Mingzhu's chief maid, immediately stepped forward. Her face changed greatly and she said, "Your Highness, the Empress Dowager is on her way back to the palace. She said that three days later, you and the son - in - law… Young Master Xie should enter the palace to see her."
"How is Mother doing?"
Shen Mingzhu looked gloomy, with concern in her eyes.
"Your Highness, the Empress Dowager is still not well. She wakes up occasionally. When she heard that you got married, she happened to be awake at that time and immediately wanted to come back."
Shen Mingzhu remained silent.
Since the death of the Crown Prince, Mother had not been well. She often talked in her sleep. In the end, she couldn't even distinguish between dreams and reality. She couldn't calm down when she saw familiar people. So when she was awake, she decided to live in a temple outside the capital to pray for Shen Mingzhu.
Shen Mingzhu couldn't refuse her request. Before she left, Shen Mingzhu took over all her powers. That was why the Emperor was so wary of her now.
"Alright, this princess knows."
Shen Mingzhu looked at Chun Tao and continued to ask, "Did Mother ask someone to pass a message to me when she was awake?"
Would she be angry? Would she be furious because she married a good - for - nothing?
There was a glimmer of hope in Shen Mingzhu's eyes. She even hoped that her mother could wake up because of this.
"Your Highness." Chun Tao shook her head. "The Empress Dowager didn't say anything."
…
After Shen Mingzhu finished speaking, she felt so tired that she could hardly keep her eyes open. She decided to take a short nap.
When she opened her eyes again, it was already night. The room was quiet, with a few dim candles lit, for fear of disturbing her rest.
Shen Mingzhu lay in bed in a daze for a while before realizing that her stomach was empty. So she got up and said to the outside, "Chun Tao."
"Your Highness." Chun Tao immediately pushed the door open and asked through the screen, "Is Your Highness hungry? This maid will first help you get dressed and then send someone to bring up the dinner."
Shen Mingzhu thought for a moment and said, "No need. I'll dress myself. You go and get the dinner."
"Yes."
As Chun Tao walked away, Shen Mingzhu stared blankly at the flickering candle flame for a while. Then she got up and planned to casually put on a robe.
Knock, knock, knock—
There were three very regular knocks, and then it fell silent again.
Shen Mingzhu was about to speak when she realized that Chun Tao would knock on the door and then ask her when entering.
Who was outside the door?