Entering the main hall and offering incense, Shen Mingzhu noticed the tears in Li Xiyu's eyes. She then took Xie Lang's arm and said gently, "Sister Xiyu, we'll leave first." With that, she led Xie Lang away. Along the way, she gave a look to Spring Peach, telling her to keep an eye on Li Xiyu, before finally departing with Xie Lang.
[Strange. Why is Shen Mingzhu being so touchy today? Didn't she used to dislike me?]
[Could it be that coming to the temple has suddenly cleared her mind, and she's finally realized how great I am?]
Shen Mingzhu: "..."
She knew that as long as Xie Lang could hear his own inner thoughts, things would never be boring.
Without realizing it, the heaviness in Shen Mingzhu's heart was suddenly lightened. Her gaze upon Xie Lang also carried a hint of warm awkwardness.
Watching the sun sinking in the west, there was still a bit of afterglow when they entered the hall. But by the time Shen Mingzhu looked up again, the light in the distance had vanished.
Xie Lang looked at Shen Mingzhu and finally asked, "Aren't you going to let me show Your Highness around?"
Hearing this, Shen Mingzhu raised an eyebrow and looked at Xie Lang. "Are you very familiar with this place? You're going to show me around?"
To her surprise, Xie Lang actually nodded and said to Shen Mingzhu, "I am indeed familiar."
[But the one familiar with this place is another one of my identities. After all, as a businessman, I sometimes have to be a bit superstitious.]
Hearing Xie Lang's inner thoughts, Shen Mingzhu inexplicably wanted to laugh. So she looked at him and said, "Then I won't be polite."
Xie Lang paused slightly and led Shen Mingzhu forward.
[Why doesn't Shen Mingzhu ask me why I'm so familiar with this place? Why not?]
Trying to hold back her laughter, Shen Mingzhu said to Xie Lang, "Why are you so familiar with this place?"
Xie Lang didn't expect Shen Mingzhu to ask right after he had that thought. So he couldn't help but curl his lips proudly and said to Shen Mingzhu, "Naturally, because I've had a lot of bad luck, so I need to come and pay respects from time to time and donate some incense money."
"Bad luck?"
Shen Mingzhu didn't expect Xie Lang to believe in such things. So she was a bit surprised and raised an eyebrow. "How bad?"
Shen Mingzhu had always had smooth sailing since childhood. No matter what she did, her luck was always excellent. So without waiting for Xie Lang to answer, she continued, "Then I'll give you some of mine."
"Spit, spit, spit!"
Hearing this, Xie Lang's face changed drastically. He said, "Don't say such things! Take it back quickly! How could such a thing be given away casually!"
Seeing Xie Lang's sudden change of expression, Shen Mingzhu was a bit surprised. She continued, "But I remember you once said that you're my consort, and we're one."
Xie Lang didn't expect Shen Mingzhu to refute him. So he stood there stunned for a moment. Instinctively looking at Shen Mingzhu, he saw the bright smile in her eyes.
"Forget it."
Xie Lang let out a long sigh and said, "Next time, Your Highness should be more careful with your words. Never say such things related to cause and effect, or else..."
Rarely seeing Xie Lang being so serious, with a hint of an elder's demeanor she had never seen before, Shen Mingzhu raised an eyebrow and listened for a while. Then she retorted, "I'm not a fool. How could I say such things to others?"
Xie Lang's long speech came to an abrupt end. He stared at Shen Mingzhu for a few moments before saying, "Oh."
[Right, I'm not just anyone.]
Shen Mingzhu let out a soft laugh.
Xie Lang kept a serious look on his face, but his inner voice was extremely proud. The tone even rose slightly, making Shen Mingzhu inexplicably think of a kitten she had seen before, which belonged to a concubine and had stolen a chicken leg from the imperial kitchen. It had the same look.
"What are you laughing at, Your Highness?"
Being held by Shen Mingzhu, Xie Lang became more and more embarrassed as they walked. He even had trouble taking steps. Seeing Shen Mingzhu's expression, he couldn't help but feel curious. After struggling for a while, he finally asked.
By now, they had reached the area where other pilgrims stayed. The royal family had several small courtyards in the temple, separated from other pilgrims to avoid disturbing the noble guests.
Before Shen Mingzhu could answer, she suddenly heard a somewhat obsequious voice.
"Mr. Wen!"
Shen Mingzhu turned her head and saw a woman looking at her and Xie Lang. When she saw their intertwined hands, she paused slightly. Then she looked at Xie Lang and said, "I didn't expect you to be so handsome. I recognized you right away just by your back."
Saying that, the woman threw a somewhat provocative look at Shen Mingzhu and continued in a soft voice, "My younger sister has been waiting for you for a long time. It's just..."
Rare opportunity!
As she spoke, the woman fixed her burning gaze on Xie Lang, as if staring at a pile of gold.
Mr. Wen always wore a mask, saying that he had a scar on his face. But she didn't believe it. Especially since he was extremely wealthy. If she could get in touch with him, then...
Shen Mingzhu instinctively glanced at Xie Lang, with a hint of schadenfreude in her eyes.
[What's going on? I always wear a mask. Just deny it.]
[Hmm, I wonder how Shen Mingzhu will react. Troublesome.]
Although his inner thoughts said he was troubled, Shen Mingzhu could hear a hint of pride. So she saw through Xie Lang's thoughts and couldn't help but raise her eyebrow again.
"I don't know you." Xie Lang frowned when he looked at the woman, with a solemn look in his eyes. "My surname is Xie, and I'm Consort to Her Highness Mingzhu."
The woman's expression froze. She didn't expect to have mistaken the person and offended a noble. Suddenly shocked, she panicked and said, "It's my fault for being blind! I'm so sinful!"
Saying that, she was about to kneel down.
Not wanting to continue the entanglement, Shen Mingzhu said, "It's okay. Don't spread the news about me and my consort being here."
With that, she led Xie Lang away.
After walking for a while, before Xie Lang could speak, Shen Mingzhu suddenly let out a soft laugh and said, "Mr. Wen?"
Xie Lang knew that his identity would be exposed sooner or later, especially since he had never hidden it in front of Shen Mingzhu. But at this moment, he still looked at Shen Mingzhu a bit awkwardly.
"Mr. Wen Song?"
Shen Mingzhu wasn't in a hurry to expose all of Xie Lang's hidden identities. She just wanted to expose the most obvious one first. Otherwise, judging from Xie Lang's behavior, if she pretended not to know today, there would be a lot more trouble.
[Ah? Did I hide it too well? How does Shen Mingzhu know this?]
Xie Lang was a bit disappointed, but still said to Shen Mingzhu, "Yes, it's me."
Seeing the proud look in Xie Lang's eyes, Shen Mingzhu couldn't help but curl her lips. Looking at him, she said, "So it turns out that the famous playboy Mr. Xie in the capital and Mr. Wen Song are the same person."
Xie Lang originally thought that Shen Mingzhu would be surprised and stare at him with wide eyes. But he never expected that the person in front of him would be so calm. So he felt inexplicably disappointed.
[I thought Shen Mingzhu would be extremely shocked. Sigh.]
Xie Lang nodded dejectedly.