It was really annoying. There were always some unwise people getting in the way. Xie Lang was surprised to see the look of displeasure on Shen Mingzhu's face. He followed her gaze and saw several well - dressed young ladies standing there.
Among them, one was simply dressed in a cyan outfit, looking a bit out of place with the others. She seemed to be happy when looking at Shen Mingzhu, but a flash of schadenfreude quickly crossed her eyes.
Seeing that both Shen Mingzhu and Xie Lang were looking at her, Chen Siyun stepped forward. With a delicate look on her face and a soft voice, she said, "Greetings to Your Highness, greetings to the imperial son - in - law."
Shen Mingzhu was too lazy to pay attention to her. So, she just responded faintly.
The other young ladies standing there had to bow reluctantly when they saw Shen Mingzhu, with a look of curiosity on their faces.
Seeing Shen Mingzhu standing there, Chen Siyun's previous speculation about Shen Mingzhu's current situation disappeared instantly.
Why was this so? Why wasn't Shen Mingzhu as down - and - out as she had imagined?
In Chen Siyun's imagination, Shen Mingzhu should be like a phoenix that had lost its feathers. Although she was the most noble young lady in the capital, she had to marry the "good - for - nothing" Xie Lang. She must have resented this huge gap and would surely look like a complaining woman.
However, the woman in front of her was wearing a red dress, which made her skin look as white as snow. The simple jade hairpin on her head was of better quality than Chen Siyun's best one. She looked in excellent condition, with a delicate and charming look as if she had been well - nurtured. Her beauty outshone everyone present.
"I haven't seen Your Highness for several days. I thought you were sad because of your marriage..."
At this point, Chen Siyun immediately covered her mouth and said in a panicked voice, "Sorry, Your Highness. I spoke too quickly and said something unpleasant."
Shen Mingzhu felt completely unmoved and even wanted to laugh. She looked at Chen Siyun as if she were looking at a fool, making Chen Siyun almost unable to maintain her calm.
Chen Siyun was Zhou Chengyu's cousin and was in love with him. She used to like to act coquettishly in front of Shen Mingzhu. Every time she saw Shen Mingzhu, she would come up to her. Although she was always rejected, she still liked to keep getting closer.
Shen Mingzhu thought she was so noisy and was about to speak to drive her away when Xie Lang spoke before her. His tone was full of disgust. "If you know it's unpleasant, then shut up."
"The mouth is for speaking, but if you can't even use it well, there's something wrong with your head compared to ordinary people." As Xie Lang said this, the corners of his mouth curled up playfully. He patted his head with his hand. "Since that's the case, you'd better not go out."
Chen Siyun had never met a man who was so rude to her like Xie Lang. She didn't expect that the man in front of her wouldn't buy her coquettish act like others. So, she couldn't maintain her smile and said reluctantly to Xie Lang, "The imperial son - in - law is joking."
This Xie Lang was so annoying! Just as annoying as Shen Mingzhu!
Chen Siyun's nails dug deeply into her flesh, looking extremely embarrassed.
Shen Mingzhu was satisfied with Xie Lang for the first time, so she patted his hand to show her encouragement.
【Hahaha, are you satisfied? I'm quite good at scolding people.】
Xie Lang glanced at her, slightly raised his eyebrows, and then continued to say to Chen Siyun, "Who's joking? Am I not telling the truth? We're not your parents. We don't have to tolerate your not - so - smart brain all the time."
Chen Siyun saw the teasing looks from the people around her when she was being mocked. Looking at the extremely dissolute - looking Xie Lang in front of her, all that was left in her heart was hatred for Shen Mingzhu.
Chen Siyun and the people around her knew clearly that if it were a young master from another family scolding them, they might be able to complain to the elders. But the person in front of them was Xie Lang. Everyone in the capital knew that he was an unreasonable and dissolute person, and the Xie family was now at the height of its power. The elders in their families would only tell them to avoid him.
Shen Mingzhu had already shifted her attention to the jewelry beside her. Looking at the hairpins there, she fell into silence.
Seeing that Shen Mingzhu was too lazy to pay attention to those people, Xie Lang also withdrew his attention and asked her, "Do you like them?"
Shen Mingzhu shook her head and said, "No. I'm just taking a casual look."
After saying that, she shifted her gaze to other places.
Xie Lang stared at Shen Mingzhu for a few moments and found that she wasn't being insincere. So, he continued to follow her and look around with her.
"By the way,"
Xie Lang was curious and asked Shen Mingzhu, "Who were those people just now? How dare they come up to you?"
Shen Mingzhu paused slightly, subconsciously turned to look at Xie Lang, and then said indifferently, "The stupidest one is the cousin of the Zhou family. The others have humble family backgrounds. They rely on flattering that one to get into the circle."
"Oh." Xie Lang responded. He was calculating in his mind which Zhou family it was. He thought for a long, long time. It wasn't until the shopkeeper led them into the private room upstairs that he suddenly came back to his senses. Looking at Shen Mingzhu, there was a bit of grievance on his face.
No way! The Zhou family, the Zhou family of Zhou Chengyu?
He couldn't tell what kind of emotion was climbing up from his heart, slowly spreading throughout his body. The smile on his face gradually faded. He crossed his arms and stood aside, staring at Shen Mingzhu with a mysterious look and a dark look in his eyes.
The shopkeeper looked at Xie Lang's appearance and felt that cold sweat was almost soaking his clothes. His hands were shaking involuntarily.
So his master was actually Xie Lang? How deeply had he hidden himself that everyone in the capital thought he was a dissolute person?
What was going on with his master's current expression? Was he planning to kill the eldest princess, or was he really just accompanying her for a stroll?
Countless conspiracies emerged in the shopkeeper's mind. He took a deep breath to suppress the trembling in his heart and began to think about how he should cooperate with Xie Lang.
Shen Mingzhu didn't know that the two people in front of her had different thoughts. Looking at the small wooden boxes filled with all kinds of jewelry arranged in a row, she felt a bit bored.
It wasn't that the things were bad. It was just that Shen Mingzhu was used to seeing treasures, so these things in front of her were only barely acceptable.
She turned her head and saw Xie Lang looking at her, with a slightly dim look in his eyes.
The handsome young man was standing there, leaning against the small table, looking calm. Xie Lang's eyes were the most outstanding part of his face. His facial features were well - defined, with a bit of coldness that he was unaware of. So when he looked at people expressionlessly, he had a compelling aura.
"Hmm?"
Xie Lang suddenly came back to his senses and saw Shen Mingzhu looking at him, with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. So he said, "What? Are these all not to your liking?"
He glanced at them and found that they were indeed ordinary. So he couldn't help but frown and look at the shopkeeper.
"Just so - so." Shen Mingzhu said as she slowly sat down. She slightly raised her head and said to Xie Lang, "Sit down."
The shopkeeper felt cold all over when Xie Lang glanced at him. He quickly explained, "There's more. Your Highness and the imperial son - in - law, please wait a moment."
As he was speaking, the second batch of things was brought up. Shen Mingzhu caught a glimpse of a hairpin. It looked of excellent quality. Although the design was simple, it was just a simple carving of a magnolia flower.
Shen Mingzhu reached out and picked up the jade hairpin. Seeing this, Xie Lang leaned over and said to the shopkeeper, "This one."
But just as he finished speaking, he saw Shen Mingzhu slightly raise her head. She pointed at the chair beside her with her other hand and said to Xie Lang, "Sit down."
As soon as Xie Lang sat down, he saw Shen Mingzhu stand up. She put one hand on his shoulder and inserted the hairpin into his hair with the other hand.
The cool jade slid across his scalp, and Xie Lang subconsciously held his breath.