Hearing Shen Mingyuan's footsteps, Shen Mingzhu stopped and turned around. She saw that the man in front of her suddenly froze the moment she looked back. He seemed hesitant as he stared at her. "Huh? Does Your Majesty have anything else to say?"
There was a slight sense of urgency in Shen Mingzhu's heart, but she knew that there was no need to rush. So she suppressed that fleeting emotion and stared steadily at Shen Mingyuan.
Shen Mingyuan seemed to want to say something. When he looked at her, he was full of unspoken words. His lips twitched slightly. Finally, he seemed to sigh, instinctively smoothed the stray hairs at his temple, and then looked at Shen Mingzhu and said, "Take care on your journey, elder sister. If you need anything, just let me know."
As he said this, Shen Mingzhu saw Shen Mingyuan take something out of his bosom. It looked like a small jade and gold token. Without hesitation, he handed it to her and said, "This can mobilize half of the imperial guards in the imperial city. Take it, elder sister. It should have been returned to you long ago."
Shen Mingzhu was shocked.
This was something that her elder brother used to have!
She instinctively reached out to take it. Seeing the patterns on it, her heart suddenly ached. For a moment, she couldn't tell what she was feeling. Finally, she could only wipe the moisture from the corners of her eyes.
This jade was exactly the same as it used to be. Shen Mingzhu remembered the joy on her elder brother's face when he first got the jade. Unconsciously, she recalled that after he got the jade, he took her and Li Xiyu to play in the imperial city for a whole day. In the end, they were all exhausted, and then he took out the jade and waved it in front of her face.
"How about it?" He smiled, looking full of youthful pride. He waved the jade in front of her again. Seeing Shen Mingzhu's wide - open eyes, a look of pride appeared on his usually calm face.
Shen Mingzhu stroked the marks on the jade. She felt that she couldn't suppress that emotion in her heart for a moment. Her nose twitched, and big teardrops rolled down.
The jade in her hand was warmed by her. She took a few more deep looks at it, and finally placed it in her palm and handed it to Shen Mingyuan, saying, "Your Majesty, please keep it. This thing is too precious."
This was an item that could mobilize half of the imperial guards in the capital, symbolizing the emperor's trust. That was why her elder brother was so happy when he got this jade. Even the usually steady him couldn't help showing his joy.
But Shen Mingzhu couldn't really accept this item.
It was too heavy. She felt that it was so heavy in her hand that her heart tightened instinctively. She just held it tightly and took a few glances, then returned it.
"Elder sister."
When Shen Mingyuan guessed that Shen Mingzhu was going to return the jade pendant, he instinctively took a step back, and a hard - to - describe emotion gradually welled up in his heart.
He stared steadily at Shen Mingzhu. Seeing her slightly wrinkled eyebrows and the lingering moisture in her eyes, he smiled and said, "This is just returning it to its rightful owner. I'm sure elder brother would be happy if he knew."
"How can this be the same thing?" Shen Mingzhu took a step forward, only to see Shen Mingyuan take another step back.
For a moment, she even didn't know what the man in front of her was going to do. She just felt a heavy weight in her heart because of Shen Mingyuan's trust.
"Elder sister." Shen Mingzhu saw that Shen Mingyuan had been staring at her without shifting his gaze, and there was a slight indescribable feeling in her heart.
"You know, I've always been such a stubborn person. If you don't accept it, I'll find a way to give it to you anyway." Shen Mingyuan no longer referred to himself as "I" (the imperial self - reference). His tone was also a bit solemn. "If it weren't for you, I might not even be alive now. I just hope..."
Shen Mingzhu saw the look in his eyes gradually fade, and her heart ached.
She really regarded Shen Mingyuan as her younger brother before. He was sensible and well - behaved, like a little animal following behind her, looking at her with full trust.
Who could remain unmoved?
So she interrupted Shen Mingyuan and said, "Okay, I'll accept it. I'll always regard you as my own younger brother."
Shen Mingyuan was stunned by Shen Mingzhu's solemn look. He slightly widened his eyes, and a flash of emotion called sadness quickly flashed across his eyes. Finally, he lowered his eyes to hide his expression and said with a low laugh, "Okay, elder... elder sister."
As he said this, he took another step back. His expression was hidden. After hesitating for a moment, he looked up at Shen Mingzhu and said firmly, "Elder sister, if you're not happy anywhere, or if Xie Lang dares to do anything to let you down, just come back to the palace and find me. I'll back you up."
Hearing the name Xie Lang, Shen Mingzhu instinctively curled her lips. With a smile in her eyes, she looked at Shen Mingyuan and said, "How dare he do anything?"
"Okay, go and rest quickly. I'll go back too."
"...Okay."
Watching Shen Mingzhu leave, Shen Mingyuan could no longer hide the gloom on his face. He instinctively suppressed the impulse to chase after her, took a slight breath, and felt that there still seemed to be a faint fragrance lingering here.
Elder sister, elder sister.
Shen Mingyuan chewed these two words in his mouth countless times. Finally, he turned around and went back with a big laugh. In the frightened look of the senior eunuch, he said, "Is the princess mansion of elder sister almost repaired?"
"Your Majesty, it's almost done. It'll take at most another month."
"Okay." Shen Mingyuan nodded and said, "Tell them to speed up."
"Yes, I'll go and urge them right away."
Watching the eunuch walk away, Shen Mingyuan couldn't tell what he was feeling.
It was okay. She regarded him as her younger brother. Then he would be the only other person in the world she regarded as a relative.
...
As soon as Shen Mingzhu stepped out of the main hall, she saw Xie Lang sitting under a big tree not far away. He didn't know where he had found a chair.
She looked at him for a while, unable to hide her expression. Finally, she walked towards him lightly.
"Here?"
Xie Lang didn't hear her footsteps, but he heard the rustling of her clothes and saw her gradually approaching shadow. "Come and take a look?"
Shen Mingzhu didn't know what he was doing, so she walked closer, lifted her skirt, bent down, and looked in the direction Xie Lang was pointing.
"You..."
Shen Mingzhu had been immersed in what had just happened and couldn't help feeling sad. But when she saw what Xie Lang was doing, she instinctively curled her lips.
"Have you been watching the ants all the time while I was inside for so long?"
Shen Mingzhu saw that there was even a piece of candied fruit in Xie Lang's hand. Looking closely, the ants on the ground were also carrying small white pieces. It should be the broken pieces of the candied fruit in his hand.
Shen Mingzhu: "..."
"Yes."
Xie Lang stood up, stretched, and then reached out his hand to Shen Mingzhu from above, saying, "Let's go."
Shen Mingzhu looked at him, shook her head, and instinctively fixed her eyes on those little ants, saying, "I'll take a look too."
What's there to look at?
Shen Mingzhu didn't realize that the tear stains on her face hadn't been completely wiped off. So from the moment he saw her, Xie Lang tried his best to act relaxed, at least not to make Shen Mingzhu feel sad.
He squatted down beside her, took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped the tear stains on her face.
[Although I don't know what Shen Mingzhu has learned, she looks so sad.]
[Let me think about how to make her happy.]
Shen Mingzhu was stunned.