Xie Lang felt that he was being unreasonable, but Shen Mingzhu was still answering him patiently. A hint of guilt welled up in his heart. Shen Mingzhu's tolerance for him was truly growing.
"Take a look?"
His gaze followed the direction of Shen Mingzhu's turned head. He saw that Shen Mingzhu was staring at the box on the table, so he said casually, "I was just about to give this to you."
Shen Mingzhu was a bit surprised. She took the box that Xie Lang handed over and opened it. Inside was an extremely large South Sea pearl.
The huge South Sea pearl looked as white as snow in the moonlight. It was obviously priceless. When she touched it, it felt as smooth as silk, with a slight coolness.
Even though Shen Mingzhu was used to seeing such things, she couldn't help but take a few more glances when she saw this South Sea pearl. Then she said in surprise, "This is even better than the batch for tribute. Where did you get it?"
Seeing the genuine liking in Shen Mingzhu's eyes, Xie Lang raised his eyebrows and asked, "Do you like it?"
[I knew Shen Mingzhu would like it. Among all her things, only pearls could catch her eye.]
[It was worth all my efforts.]
Hearing this, Shen Mingzhu was slightly stunned. She nodded and asked, "How did you know I like this?"
Xie Lang reached out and pinched Shen Mingzhu's cheek, saying, "I'm not stupid or blind. Can't I observe?"
Shen Mingzhu was taken aback by his words. Looking at the pearl in her hand, she began to think about what to make of it. Finally, she came back to her senses and said to Xie Lang, "Wait, I just remembered. What are you going to do about those twin sisters yesterday?"
Xie Lang was still wondering what Shen Mingzhu would say. He didn't expect her to suddenly bring this up.
Xie Lang gave Shen Mingzhu a long look and said resentfully, "Don't worry about it. I'll definitely handle this matter properly."
[I'm so angry! Just thinking about it makes me mad. Those sisters actually dared to try to get involved with me!]
"However, it's not urgent for the moment." As Xie Lang said this, he looked at Shen Mingzhu seriously and said, "I started investigating yesterday. When that Qu person threatened me last time, I kept an eye on them."
Shen Mingzhu was sitting on Xie Lang's lap, trying hard to keep a straight face to look normal.
The summer clothes were thin, and Xie Lang had a warm body. So through the thin fabric, Shen Mingzhu felt as if their skins were touching directly. It felt like being burned by fire, and the heat seemed to climb up from her buttocks.
But Xie Lang was still talking about serious matters with her like this. Shen Mingzhu could only try hard to ignore her discomfort. Keeping a straight face, she asked, "Did you find something?"
"Yes."
Xie Lang didn't notice for the moment. He even reached out to take the South Sea pearl from Shen Mingzhu's hand and put it back into the box. Then he continued, "The husband of the older sister of the Qu sisters seems to be interesting."
[What was her name again? I can't remember.]
Shen Mingzhu: "..."
"Qu Yunhua."
"Ah, yes, yes." Xie Lang didn't expect Shen Mingzhu to suddenly remind him, so he immediately replied, "Your Highness has a good memory."
"Qu Yunhua's husband seems to have some connection with the Zhou family, but I'm not sure exactly." Xie Lang said uncertainly, "Because his late wife was a cousin of the Zhou family. He was just a frustrated scholar before, and finally got on the line with the Zhou family through his late wife. It's a pity that the woman was in poor health."
"That's not right." As soon as Shen Mingzhu heard this, she noticed something strange. So she said, "The Zhou family would never help that person just because of a cousin. He must have done something or known something, and then took refuge with the Zhou family."
As Shen Mingzhu said this, she couldn't help frowning.
Recently, Zhou Chengyu had been extremely busy.
When his grandfather was alive, he could still hold his father in check. But now, Zhou Chengyu found that since his grandfather's death, his father had turned the once clean Zhou family into a big dyeing vat, full of all kinds of things.
Shen Mingzhu knew that Zhou Chengyu would never tolerate such a thing. Sooner or later, the Zhou family would have to cut off a limb to survive.
But what exactly had the Zhou family done? Maybe they could start with the Qu sisters now and see if they could find some clues.
But...
Seeing Xie Lang, Shen Mingzhu couldn't help smiling softly. Looking at him, she comforted him, "You'll have to work hard again."
"To avoid alerting the enemy, I'm afraid we can't take action against the Qu sisters for the moment."
Hearing this, Xie Lang sighed and said, "I know."
[No, Shen Mingzhu must compensate me!]
Coming back to her senses, Shen Mingzhu noticed that Xie Lang was looking at her with a half - smile. Suddenly, she realized that she was sitting on Xie Lang's lap, so she instinctively wanted to get up.
"Hmm?" Xie Lang reached out and grabbed Shen Mingzhu. His eyes were a bit hot as he asked, "Why do you suddenly want to get up?"
The next moment, Shen Mingzhu felt herself being picked up horizontally.
No wonder! No wonder Xie Lang had just put the South Sea pearl in the box!
Only now did Shen Mingzhu realize Xie Lang's intention. She bit her lips as she watched him put her on the bed with a solemn look in his eyes. Then she saw him go back to blow out the candles in the room. After that, he stepped forward and knelt beside her feet on one knee to take off her shoes and socks.
"You..."
Then, Shen Mingzhu heard Xie Lang say with a smile, "Don't be in a hurry."
She instinctively gave him a look.
Who's in a hurry!
"Let me help Your Highness take a bath today."
"Xie Lang—"
...
Qu Yunhua had been having a great time these days. The concubine had been tortured by the old lady and had lost a lot of weight, almost making her husband lose interest.
And her younger sister.
She glanced at Qu Yunli sitting beside her and then raised her eyebrows and asked, "Well, it seems almost ready. I'll take you to lie low in a few days."
Qu Yunli was looking at the letter in her hand. Hearing this, she looked up obediently and said, "I'll do whatever you say, sister."
Since Qu Yunhua decided to fabricate the affair between Qu Yunli and Xie Lang, Qu Yunli's future had almost been predictable.
Either she would really get involved with Xie Lang, or she would marry a husband with a far inferior family background.
Qu Yunli hated to the extreme, but she had no way out. She could only let Qu Yunhua manipulate her.
Thinking like this, Qu Yunli tightly grasped the sleeve of her dress with her other hand, trying to look calm.
"Yunhua?"
Qu Yunhua's husband opened the door and said gently to Qu Yunhua, "I came to see you today."
After saying that, the man seemed to have just noticed Qu Yunli sitting opposite Qu Yunhua. He said in surprise, "Your younger sister is here too?"
"I've been free these days, so I asked my sister to keep me company."
As she said this, Qu Yunhua gave Qu Yunli a look.
"Sister, brother - in - law, I'll take my leave first. I won't disturb you."
Watching Qu Yunli leave, Qu Yunhua turned to look at her husband. A hint of pleasure appeared in her eyes.
Maybe it was just an illusion, but it seemed that the man had been coming to see her more and more often recently.
Qu Yunhua got up to pour tea for him, but she didn't notice that after she turned around, the man took a deep look in the direction where Qu Yunli had left.