Shen Mingzhu frowned, put down the book in her hand, and got up to open the door. "I promised to let you draw a portrait of me."
Xie Lang was holding paper and a brush. Seeing Shen Mingzhu's expression, he couldn't help feeling proud. "I've been outside observing for a long time. I saw you weren't asleep, so I knocked on the door and came in."
Shen Mingzhu never expected that Xie Lang would take to heart what she had said to coax him today. A faint smile involuntarily appeared on her face. She waved and said, "Come on."
"However, it's late now." Shen Mingzhu felt a strange sense of relief seeing Xie Lang's expression. She said to him, "There's no hurry."
"Then what did you let me come in for?"
Xie Lang had one foot inside the room. Hearing this, he couldn't help frowning. He looked at Shen Mingzhu discontentedly and said, "Don't tell me all those words you said today were just to coax me. You don't really believe that I'm Mr. Wensong?"
Saying this, Xie Lang heaved a deep sigh. When looking at Shen Mingzhu, he looked a bit dejected and pouted.
"No."
There were no lamps lit in the yard. It was only when they entered the room that Shen Mingzhu could clearly see Xie Lang's expression.
Hearing this, Shen Mingzhu turned around to look at him. She saw that while Xie Lang was talking, his hand unconsciously rubbed his face.
Xie Lang's eyebrows were slightly red, with a small swollen bump. It was obvious that he had been bitten by some kind of bug, looking rather comical.
Shen Mingzhu laughed and quickly said to Xie Lang, "Hurry up and close the door. There are a lot of bugs in the mountains. If you don't close it quickly, you'll have to share this room with the bugs tonight."
Only then did Xie Lang realize that he had been so focused on Shen Mingzhu that he only now noticed that he had been bitten several times on his face. "Ouch!"
He quickly closed the door. Xie Lang sat down on the chair. There were paper and a brush beside him. He said to Shen Mingzhu dejectedly, "You must let me draw a portrait of you today. Otherwise, wouldn't I have been bitten for nothing?"
Xie Lang wanted to scratch but was afraid that his face would swell even more. So he kept rubbing it uneasily but didn't dare to use much force. For a moment, he looked rather grimacing.
Looking up, he saw Shen Mingzhu standing in front of him. Somehow, there was a small box in her hand.
Seeing Xie Lang staring blankly at her, Shen Mingzhu directly handed the box of ointment to him. "Apply the medicine yourself."
Her fingertips brushed against Xie Lang's palm. Shen Mingzhu didn't know why, but her heart skipped a beat involuntarily.
[Ugh, it's so annoying. Why are there so many bugs?]
[What should we do then? Shen Mingzhu has such fair and delicate skin. Won't she be bitten to death tonight?]
Shen Mingzhu: "..."
She had been bitten like this, yet he was still concerned about her?
Thinking like this, Shen Mingzhu noticed that the corners of her mouth were gradually turning up. She turned around, rummaged through the table and found a small silk pouch. She handed it to Xie Lang and said, "Take it. Carry it close to your body."
Xie Lang was stunned for a moment. There was still some ointment on his fingertips. He reached out and carefully took the silk pouch. He casually wiped the ointment on the hem of his clothes, then hung the silk pouch on his side. Looking at Shen Mingzhu, he said, "Then thank you, Your Highness, for the gift."
As he spoke, Xie Lang involuntarily added a teasing tone. There was a gentle look in his eyes, which made Shen Mingzhu subconsciously avoid his gaze. She said, "You're welcome."
"Come on. Let me draw a portrait of you."
Shen Mingzhu heaved a sigh and said helplessly, "I was just about to go to bed."
"Next time. We'll draw in the mansion when we get back."
Xie Lang raised his eyebrows and said, "What are you afraid of? It's me who's drawing. You don't need to do anything. If you really don't want to, you can just lie down."
Shen Mingzhu didn't understand why Xie Lang was so enthusiastic about drawing today. So she said helplessly, "Tomorrow!"
"I don't believe you."
Saying this, Xie Lang directly lay down on the small couch not far away and said, "Then I'll just stay here and draw for you tomorrow."
"Fine."
Shen Mingzhu didn't believe that he could lie there all night. So she raised her eyebrows and said, "It's just that I'm short of someone to drive away the bugs at night."
Xie Lang paused for a moment. He directly hugged the brush and paper in his arms, took off his shoes, turned around, and went to sleep in one smooth motion.
Shen Mingzhu: "..."
Why was Xie Lang being so childish today!
It started to drizzle at night. Shen Mingzhu slept lightly, so she opened her eyes and listened to the sound of the rain. She felt no trace of drowsiness.
Things had been rather strange around her recently. Maybe it wasn't just that Xie Lang had caught that person. There was a high possibility that there had always been someone watching her.
Would anyone dare to take action against her?
Shen Mingzhu was startled by this thought. Then she frowned, and even a bold idea popped into her mind.
Maybe she could take advantage of this trip to the mountain and pretend to be seriously injured in an assassination to see how many people were actually lurking in the shadows.
"Why aren't you sleeping?"
Shen Mingzhu heard Xie Lang's slightly sleepy voice. She turned around to look at him.
In the darkness, Xie Lang's face seemed even more aloof. Even Shen Mingzhu, who was used to seeing beautiful people, held her breath slightly. Then she continued, "I'm thinking about who's really behind this incident."
That idea didn't seem suitable to tell Xie Lang. Shen Mingzhu subconsciously felt that Xie Lang probably wouldn't let her put herself in danger.
So she changed the topic to deal with the situation.
Hearing this, Xie Lang paused for a moment and said to Shen Mingzhu, "It's not something that can be figured out in a short time."
He heaved a sigh. The man's voice came, full of helplessness. "Go to sleep quickly. Otherwise, you won't be able to fall asleep again today."
Shen Mingzhu also felt like sighing for no reason. So she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. But in her heart, she was gradually thinking about how to carry out her plan.
...
She woke up early the next day.
There were many birds in the mountains, and their chirping could be heard early in the morning.
Shen Mingzhu got dressed and finished the breakfast sent by the young monk. Then she went to find Li Xiyu.
"Sister Xiyu?"
She knocked on the door and saw that Li Xiyu was already standing in the yard. Li Xiyu looked at her and smiled. "You got up so early?"
Saying this, Li Xiyu invited Shen Mingzhu in and said, "Do you have something to tell me?"
Shen Mingzhu felt a warm feeling in her heart. She said to Li Xiyu gently, "You can see through everything."
After a moment of silence, Shen Mingzhu told Li Xiyu her plan in full. As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Li Xiyu frowning at her, with a look of disapproval in her eyes.
"Did you tell your husband about this?" Li Xiyu always spoke gently, but now when she frowned, her tone became strict, with a hint of an elder's authority.
Shen Mingzhu felt a strange sense of guilt. She shook her head and tightly closed her mouth.
"Mingzhu." Li Xiyu sighed and said to Shen Mingzhu, "You don't seem to realize that you don't fully trust your husband now."
The expression on Shen Mingzhu's face froze for a moment. Her hand unconsciously touched the cuff of her sleeve as she tried her best to suppress the thoughts that were stirred up by Li Xiyu's words.
She subconsciously didn't want to admit this. So she turned her head to avoid Li Xiyu's gaze.
"Mingzhu." Li Xiyu heaved a long sigh and said to Shen Mingzhu, "You're being a bit impatient."
Shen Mingzhu bit her lip.
"Cough, cough, cough."
After Li Xiyu finished speaking, she suddenly started coughing violently.