Shen Mingzhu took the candy with a smile. Then she untied the jade pendant and brocade sachet from her waist and gave it to the little girl, saying, "Thank you. Take this and play with it." But the round - faced little girl withdrew her hand and said, "I didn't give you the candy to get this."
Hearing this, Shen Mingzhu couldn't help laughing. Her eyes softened as she looked at the little girl and said, "Then take it. I... I'm not giving this to you just for the candy."
This sachet only contained some herbs for calming the nerves. It wasn't very precious, but the embroidery on it was quite nice.
"Okay." The little girl took the sachet. She had been confused by Shen Mingzhu's illogical words. After a moment's daze, she reached out to take it.
[Shen Mingzhu! You're so generous! Why are you so stingy with me?]
Hearing this thought, Shen Mingzhu noticed that Xie Lang's gaze was fixed on the sachet in the little girl's hand. So she leaned close to Xie Lang's ear and joked, "What? Does the son - in - law also want one?"
Xie Lang came back to his senses. Looking at Shen Mingzhu, he couldn't help blurting out what was on his mind, "Your Highness is quite generous to others."
"Oh?" Shen Mingzhu raised her eyebrows at him and said, "Aren't I generous to you? Didn't I just give you a hairpin?"
"That's not..."
Before he could finish his words, Xie Lang was about to say that he had paid for it himself. But then he suddenly remembered that he had rushed to pay. So all the words got stuck in his throat.
[I'm so angry! Why did I rush to pay?]
Shen Mingzhu thought that maybe Xie Lang had forgotten that he had just thought in his mind that he would never rely on his wife.
Coming back to her senses, seeing that the shadow puppet show was about to start, Shen Mingzhu tugged at Xie Lang's sleeve and said, "Mr. Xie, look up."
Xie Lang looked up but saw Shen Mingzhu. Seeing the smile in her eyes and the gentle look on her face, his heart skipped a beat.
...
After watching the shadow puppet show, Shen Mingzhu admitted that Xie Lang did have some taste. So she said to him, "What else is fun?"
Hearing this, Xie Lang felt proud. He curled his lips and said, "There are surely many. There's also..."
Before Xie Lang could finish his words, he was interrupted by several people not far away.
"Greetings to Your Highness."
Shen Mingzhu felt a bit annoyed. Looking up, she saw a woman with an arrogant look standing there looking at her. Behind her was the familiar and annoying Chen Siyun.
"I didn't see Your Highness today. I didn't expect you to be unwilling to go to the best theater in the capital but instead to indulge in these street tricks with this..."
"Could it be that after being spurned by Your Highness, he doesn't have the money to go?"
Back then, whenever Shen Mingzhu left the palace, she always made a grand show. She would directly book the best theater in the capital to watch plays and spend a fortune, which made many people envious.
Shen Mingzhu didn't even bother to pay attention to this person.
It was not easy for Chen Siyun to find such a stupid person on the street to be a target.
"Sister." A hint of pride flashed across Chen Siyun's eyes. She said to the person in front of her, "How could Your Highness..."
Shen Mingzhu and Xie Lang were about to leave when unexpectedly Chen Siyun suddenly asked, "Your Highness, cousin has been drinking heavily these days. Could you go and see him?"
Goodness! So this was Chen Siyun's purpose? To stop them on the way and then gain favor with Zhou Chengyu's mother?
After hearing this, Xie Lang felt his temples throbbing. He really wanted to see if this Chen Siyun was blind! He, such a big son - in - law, was standing right here. Was she blind?
Shen Mingzhu originally didn't want to pay attention to her. Hearing this, her feelings were a bit complicated. But seeing Xie Lang so angry and shouting in his mind, she immediately cooled her face and said to Chen Siyun, "Miss Chen, watch your words."
"Your Highness!" Chen Siyun got even more excited. She was about to cry as she said to Shen Mingzhu, "Cousin he..."
The woman beside her tugged at Chen Siyun and said, "Your Highness and the son - in - law are deeply in love. They share the same interests. Don't get in their way."
Shen Mingzhu looked at her meaningfully and then at Xie Lang. Hearing her scolding her indirectly, she couldn't help but find it a bit funny.
Sure enough, there were some blind people in the capital. They thought she had been spurned by Shen Mingyuan without even seeing the situation clearly and wanted to take advantage of her misfortune.
Before Shen Mingzhu could speak, Xie Lang raised his eyebrows and said coldly, "Indeed, Your Highness and I are deeply in love. What does it matter to those stray cats and dogs?"
"What, can't you see me standing here?"
"So fond of your cousin? Why don't you go see him yourself?"
As he said this, there was full of mockery in Chen Siyun's heart. But when she looked up, she saw Xie Lang looking at her with a gloomy face. The coldness in his eyes was like a sharp blade, making her shiver all over. She was speechless for a moment and stood there with her face turning pale.
Xie Lang's tone was cold when he spoke, with a hint of indescribable intimidation.
When Chen Siyun looked again, the coldness on Xie Lang's face had completely disappeared. All that was left was his familiar playboy look.
Sure enough, she must have been mistaken. How could a good - for - nothing like Xie Lang have such a terrifying look in his eyes?
"Chen Siyun." Shen Mingzhu spoke, her expression calm. "Do you know what the crime of offending a superior is? Who gave you the illusion that you could provoke me?"
Shen Mingzhu couldn't help curling her lips. Her eyes were full of cold mockery. "I'd be willing to write a letter later and ask Lady Zhou how she disciplines you."
"Your Highness, I just..."
Before Chen Siyun could finish her words, the woman beside her covered her mouth. The woman only came back to her senses when Shen Mingzhu spoke. A cold sweat broke out on her. She realized that she had been used as a target by Chen Siyun. So she covered this stupid girl's mouth, afraid that she would implicate her.
"Your Highness, please forgive us!"
Shen Mingzhu glanced at her coldly and then turned around to leave.
After they walked far away, Xie Lang said to Shen Mingzhu a bit reluctantly, "Just forgive them like this?"
Shen Mingzhu looked at him and said, "There's no need to waste time entangled with such insignificant people. Once today's incident spreads, there will be plenty of people who want to curry favor with me to take action."
When Shen Mingzhu said this, she was arrogant. Her expression was natural, with a hint of the might of a high - ranking person.
Xie Lang was stunned. He was still a bit unconvinced, but he could only nod under Shen Mingzhu's lazy gaze.
"Let's go. Don't waste time." Shen Mingzhu tugged at Xie Lang's sleeve and said, "Didn't you say you were going to take me to have fun?"
[I'm so angry! I'm not willing to let it go! I'll draw those people tonight. From now on, if they come to my shop to buy things, the price will be doubled!]
Xie Lang had been bowing his head in thought. But when Shen Mingzhu tugged at his sleeve, he looked up and saw the person in front of him smiling at him.
"Okay."
[That's right. My time is precious. I still have to take this unsophisticated Shen Mingzhu around.]
Shen Mingzhu: "..."
She knew that Xie Lang was scolding her in his mind again.
...
When Shen Mingzhu returned to the mansion and was resting after dinner, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't done a single thing of importance today. She had originally planned to buy a shop but had completely forgotten about it.
Really...
But it wasn't without gains.
Thinking of the new things in her private treasury, the small wooden carving on the table, and the bracelet on her hand, a faint smile appeared on Shen Mingzhu's lips.
Just as she was about to go to bed, Chun Tao suddenly knocked on the door. Her tone was a bit anxious. "Your Highness, this maid has something to say."