Chapter 71: Shen Ruilin
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Sure enough, the news of Mingzhu slapping the palace maid and being sent out of the palace by the Great Empress Dowager spread everywhere soon. However, some malicious people added another accusation against her – disrespecting Empress Dowager Min, which angered Empress Dowager Min to illness.
Thus, new and old accounts were piled up, portraying her as an insolent and domineering girl. When rumors reached Madam Cui’s ears, it infuriated Madam Cui, but Mingzhu didn’t care. She was only concerned about the news from the palace, wanting to know if the Great Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager Min had clashed.
After idling away the whole day in the house, she finally heard that her father and brothers had returned home, so she immediately went to Guanhai residence to find someone. She instructed the servant guarding the door, “Go and inform the Xiangye that I have something urgent to discuss with him. It’s urgent!”
The servant didn’t dare to disobey her and immediately went to report. However, Mingzhu was impatient by nature, coupled with being overly spoiled. As soon as the servant went to inform, she followed right after. After all, her father usually saw her even if there was no major issue, and if there was something urgent, she could wait in a side room.
When she reached the corridor, she suddenly saw the leader of her father’s guards, Xie Siqi, whispering to someone. The person seemed familiar. After taking a closer look, she realized it was Jing Song, who was usually with Yuwen Chu. This surprised her. What was he doing here? Seeing that the servant who went to inform was standing at the door whispering, she guessed that Yuwen Chu was probably in the house now.
Mingzhu really didn’t want to see this person. Before, she found him unpredictable, making it hard for her to understand his thoughts and making no progress with him. Now, it was because they had experienced that incident together, making her feel extremely embarrassed and ashamed. Immediately, she turned around and walked away, planning to come back after Yuwen Chu left.
It was already dusk, and many birds flew to perch on the trees, chirping incessantly. The evening glow illuminated the forest, casting shadows on the lake, making the mountains and rocks on the lakeside look magnificent. Mingzhu turned her head and saw this scene, feeling intoxicated. She didn’t want to go back, so she found a quiet and inconspicuous place to sit down, just enjoying the beautiful scenery in front of her.
After watching for a while, she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up and saw a young man in a dignified manner walking confidently towards her without looking around. She smiled and jumped out, patting him heavily on the shoulder and greeting him, “Shen Ruilin! Where are you coming from?”
Shen Ruilin thought that the Prime Minister’s study was a serious place and wouldn’t have any idle people staying here. He didn’t expect that someone would suddenly jump out from the rugged rockery and give him a heavy blow, which startled him at first, and then he was about to retaliate. However, he saw the person coming closer, a pair of bright eyes staring at him, and exclaimed in surprise, “Are you stupid? Don’t you recognize me?”
A faint fragrance instantly filled his nostrils. The person had a graceful figure and a beautiful face, even more beautiful than peach blossoms. No, peach blossoms couldn’t compare to her. Her eyes were like autumn water, even clearer than autumn water. Dressed in a bright red dress, she was more dazzling than the setting sun. Shen Ruilin felt like his heart was tightly grasped and squeezed, almost unable to breathe, almost fainting, then suddenly released, but forgot how to breathe properly, just stupidly staring at Mingzhu in front of him, his handsome face blushing.
“Are you really stupid?” Mingzhu stretched out a hand and waved it in front of Shen Ruilin. Seeing that Shen Ruilin still didn’t react, she turned her head and laughed loudly at the servant who had brought him in, “Is he scared silly by me?”
The servant also found it funny but didn’t dare to be disrespectful, so he lowered his head and suppressed his laughter. Shen Ruilin finally came to his senses, blushing, and pushed away the plump little hand that kept waving in front of him, saying in a muffled voice, “Why are you still so mischievous?” He tried to put on a dignified appearance, but he was too shy, and his tall figure with a shy and blushing face made him look even more lovely.
Mingzhu laughed at him and said, “Why are you still so shy? Didn’t you become a general? You’re even shyer than a big girl. How can you fight in battle?”
Shen Ruilin glared at her, saying sternly, “You’re the shy one! You want to pick a fight?”
Mingzhu stuck out her tongue at him mischievously. “You dare to fight me? Big idiot, you only know how to argue with me all your life, do you really dare to fight? You, such a big man, dare to bully a little woman like me!”
Shen Ruilin glared at her indignantly, wanting to say something but feeling tongue-tied, yet not saying anything made him feel uneasy, so he could only flush red with embarrassment and helplessness.
Seeing his honest appearance, Mingzhu felt that she had gone too far, so she stopped smiling and said seriously, “Brother Ruilin, when did you come back? Are you here to see my father?”
Shen Ruilin felt relieved when he saw that she wasn’t teasing him anymore. He smiled straightforwardly and said, “I just arrived last night, but I was delayed by some matters. Only now do I have time to come and see my uncle.”
Mingzhu invited him to sit on the rocks by the lake and said, “My father is entertaining guests, and I’m also waiting to be summoned. If you go in, you’ll just be waiting in a side room. If you don’t mind, let’s sit here and enjoy the evening breeze of the capital.”
However, Shen Ruilin refused to sit and frowned at her, then gestured for the servant who was leading the way to leave.
Mingzhu couldn’t help but become interested and asked mysteriously, “Do you have something interesting to tell me?”
Shen Ruilin frowned sternly and said in a low voice, “You’re not a little girl anymore; you’re about to get married. How can you behave so recklessly? How can you dare to invite me to sit alone here? What if it spreads? Before I came, I heard a lot of people talking bad about you…”
“You didn’t believe it before, but now you know it’s true, right?” Mingzhu found it extremely amusing and didn’t get angry with Shen Ruilin at all. She knew what kind of person this childhood playmate was. He was straightforward and honest, but his heart was always kind and good. In the difficult times, he disobeyed his father’s orders and silently stood by, devoting himself to help the Fu family, even personally escorting her mother and nephew to Princess Changhua’s place.
Princess Changhua, Cai Mingshu, An Xiaogu, and Shen Ruilin were the bright spots in her nightmare. Seeing him again felt really good.
Seeing Mingzhu’s teasing smile, Shen Ruilin’s face turned red again, and he dared not look her in the eye, so he looked away and muttered, “I didn’t believe it either. You are indeed mischievous, but you’ve always had a good heart. I just think that if you could be a bit more restrained, and not give them any opportunity to gossip, wouldn’t it be better?”
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