Just as the grand sacrificial ceremony ended, Shen Shiqiu rushed down the high steps and made his way through the crowd. Seeing the empty space beside Qi Siyu, he felt a sudden dizziness before his eyes.
As a father, Shen Shiqiu knew exactly what kind of person his youngest son was. That's why he had emphasized so much to Shen Qingfeng before the sacrifice began that he should wait for him right there after the ceremony... However, the fact had proven that such warnings had no effect on Shen Qingfeng at all.
Almost instinctively, Shen Shiqiu grabbed Shen Yu and rushed straight to the Eastern Palace. Unfortunately, after searching every corner of the palace, all they got was scaring Xia Chuli into shouting "teacher" countless times, but not even a single hair of Shen Qingfeng was found.
Didn't Shen Qingfeng come to find Xia Chuli?
This alone was enough to surprise the Shen father - and - son. But when they rushed back to the Shen Mansion and saw the unconscious Yu Shuang, they were even more confused.
Shen Qingfeng skipped the sacrifice to save a blood - covered stranger? As the saying goes, no one knows a son better than his father. Shen Qingfeng's abnormal behavior made Shen Shiqiu feel a bit panicked. He always felt that Shen Qingfeng was hiding something. So he quickly suppressed the news of Shen Qingfeng's disappearance and asked the servants in the mansion to secretly inquire. The result was even more shocking:
A man who looked exactly like Shen Qingfeng ran like a madman to the Marquis of Dingbei's Mansion?
After waiting for the news all night, Shen Shiqiu's vision blurred. Without a word, he grabbed Shen Yu, picked up his sword, and rushed to the marquis's mansion. When he saw the scene inside the mansion with a nervous heart, Shen Shiqiu felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded in his mind.
Inside the room, there were two men. Shen Qingfeng was sitting on the bed looking injured and disheveled, while Lu Yan was only wrapped in a bath towel.
This...! This...!
The last string in the old Shen father's mind snapped instantly.
"Lu—Yan—!"
Shen Shiqiu glared angrily. The big sword in his hand hummed as he swung it directly at Lu Yan.
Seeing the situation was not good, Xu Ruhui standing aside let out a startled cry and quickly stepped forward to hold Shen Shiqiu back. He said kindly, "Old Shen... Ah no, Lord Shen, don't be impulsive. Sister - in - law is fine. Although my senior brother is greedy for sister - in - law's body, he will never do such a despicable thing as getting on the carriage first and then paying the fare!"
"... " Shen Shiqiu: "Lu Yan! You damned scoundrel!"
Lu Yan: "... " Xu Ruhui, if you can't speak, just shut up!
Shen Shiqiu was so fierce that Xu Ruhui alone couldn't hold him back. Frightened, Shen Yu also rushed up to hold his own father.
Lu Yan gave him a grateful look.
Unexpectedly, Shen Yu advised, "Dad, the youngest is here. Let's spare Lu Yan's life for now and listen to what happened to the youngest. If Lu Yan really defiled the youngest, it's not too late for you to chop him then."
Lu Yan: "... "
There was chaos at the door. Shen Qingfeng was sitting on the bed, tilting his head and watching. Suddenly, he smiled and said, "Dad, big brother, I'm fine."
An incense stick later.
Lu Yan finally managed to avoid being chased and hacked. He even had time to change his clothes and sat in the main hall with the Shen family. Of course, that cheeky Xu Ruhui wanted to eavesdrop, but was grabbed by the collar by everyone and thrown out.
Lu Yan looked at the three Shen father - and - sons in the hall. For a moment, he even felt as if he was being judged.
"Feng'er, quickly tell Dad what's going on?" Shen Shiqiu said lovingly as he supported Shen Qingfeng's shoulders and looked him up and down. Regardless of the fact that they were in Lu Yan's mansion, he casually picked up the hot tea on the table and handed it to Shen Qingfeng. "Lu Yan didn't do anything to you, right? Quickly drink some water to calm your nerves."
Shen Yu also said, "Yes, youngest. What's wrong with your leg? Why did it start to hurt? Is it also related to Lu Yan?"
The Shen father - and - sons were united against the outside, leaving Lu Yan with no chance to say a word. He had grievances but couldn't express them and could only stand aside scratching his head impatiently. After hearing this, Shen Qingfeng glanced at Lu Yan with a smile in his eyes. In Lu Yan's stunned expression, he said, "No, it has nothing to do with Lu Yan."
"Then what happened yesterday?" Shen Yu asked.
Shen Qingfeng lowered his eyes. His eyes swept across everyone's faces and he softly asked, "Do you know about 'Wuhen'?"
Lu Yan was stunned for a moment and said, "Is it the assassin organization from the annexed Nanyang Kingdom?"
Shen Qingfeng nodded and said, "Exactly."
Everyone looked at each other, with confusion in their eyes.
Shen Qingfeng was not in a hurry. Instead, he said slowly, "Yesterday, I suddenly received a message from an old friend saying that an assassin from 'Wuhen' was being chased and had fled near Lige. At first, I thought it wasn't a big deal, but the person being chased was named Yu Shuang."
Lu Yan was shocked all over. He looked at Shen Qingfeng in surprise and said, "What did you say his name was?" Lu Yan was a martial artist and had guarded the northern border for half his life, so he was naturally very sensitive to such things. Moreover, the name Yu Shuang was by no means ordinary. Even Shen Shiqiu and Shen Yu, who were far away in Lige, had heard of this name.
"So you went to save him?" Shen Shiqiu said half - believing and half - doubting.
Shen Qingfeng nodded and said, "Yes. After I arranged for Yu Shuang in the Shen Mansion, I was going to go back to participate in the sacrifice. But unexpectedly, I was followed on the way. Since the Marquis of Dingbei's Mansion was nearby, I ran here."
Shen Qingfeng's story was a mixture of truth and falsehood. He had thought it up long ago because he couldn't tell them the real thing after all.
"Was it those people who were chasing Yu Shuang?" Shen Shiqiu blew his beard and stared angrily after hearing this. "How dare they have their eyes on the Shen family? They don't want to live anymore?"
Shen Qingfeng shook his head and sighed, "I don't know... I can't fight. I was really scared at that time, so I could only run like crazy and then I ran here. I originally wanted to seek the marquis's protection."
Shen Shiqiu and Shen Yu nodded in understanding.
Shen Shiqiu was also a man of true feelings. Seeing that Shen Qingfeng had said so, he clasped his fists at Lu Yan and said, "Marquis, just now I was too worried about my son. If there are any offensive remarks or actions, please forgive me."
Offensive remarks or actions? There were plenty of them! Although Lu Yan had a hard time explaining, after all, the other party was the father of the person he wanted to court. Just as Lu Yan was about to say something, he saw that Shen Shiqiu didn't seem to intend to talk to him at all. After saying that, he directly turned to ask Shen Qingfeng if his leg still hurt. Obviously, he still had a grudge against the fact that Lu Yan and Shen Qingfeng had been in the same room.
Shen Qingfeng's story seemed to have perfectly deceived Shen Shiqiu and Shen Yu, but Lu Yan, who was watching the "harmonious family" scene in front of him, slowly frowned.
Although Shen Qingfeng's story seemed reasonable, Lu Yan always felt that something was off.
If Shen Qingfeng was really being followed by someone with ill intentions, would he have shown that kind of expression when he opened the screen and saw Lu Yan behind it last night?
"Going against the Shen family is like declaring war on the court in a roundabout way. The people in the Jianghu deal with Jianghu matters, and the officials in the court deal with court affairs. These two should stay out of each other's way. If they dare to cross the line, without waiting for Dad to take action, the king will naturally punish them." Shen Shiqiu said. He patted Shen Qingfeng's shoulder and said, "Does your leg still hurt? You're in poor health. Running around like this might hurt your body."
Shen Qingfeng shook his head with a gentle smile and said, "Dad, I'm fine. It's just muscle soreness from running for a long time. It will get better after some rest."
"No." Shen Shiqiu said in a deep voice. He grabbed Shen Qingfeng's hand and said, "Feng'er, you're not in good health. What if you leave behind a root cause of illness? Come back with Dad. Dad will find someone to check on you."
Go back?
Hearing this, Lu Yan suddenly looked up at Shen Qingfeng and unexpectedly met Shen Qingfeng's eyes.
Qingfeng—?
Lu Yan's mouth opened slightly.
Then, Shen Qingfeng, who was looking directly at him, suddenly winked at him. Then he looked at Shen Shiqiu and said, "Dad, wait a moment. There's one more thing I want to make clear."
Lu Yan held his breath.
The scene around him suddenly became blurred. In the hazy vision, only Shen Qingfeng's outline was clear. Then, he saw Shen Qingfeng's face slowly turn towards him. His beautiful eyebrows and eyes curved slightly, revealing a smile that could topple a nation: "Lu Yan, would you like to marry me?"