Chapter 81: Awkward
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Back in her room, Mingzhu eagerly soaked in a fragrant bath, vigorously scrubbing her teeth with green salt countless times. Su Lan and Su Mei didn’t dare to guess what had happened in the room, they softly advised, “Miss, if you keep going like this, you’ll rub the skin off your mouth, and you won’t be able to eat.”
Mingzhu finally felt the stinging pain in her mouth, so she threw the horsehair toothbrush to the ground and sat in the tub, sulking.
Su Lan knelt down cautiously and said, “Miss, when I asked about which room Young Master lived in, both the room steward and the servants said he lived in that room.”
Mingzhu shook her head with a headache. “It’s none of your business.”
The dignity of a prince was actually being compromised in her family’s guest room, with no one by his side. The strong smell of alcohol in the room covered up the scent of his agarwood fragrance. Plus, the words he spoke later indicated that he had planned this in advance. If she hadn’t willingly walked into the trap, he might not have acted the way he did. So, in hindsight, it was her own fault for falling into the trap, and she couldn’t blame anyone else. This was a loss she had to accept.
Only then did Su Lan dare to come and serve. Taking a quick glance at Mingzhu’s expression, then noticing her still swollen and particularly vibrant lips, she asked softly, “Did His Royal Highness do anything inappropriate to you?”
Mingzhu’s mood worsened, and she replied with a stern face, “He wouldn’t dare!”
Seeing her unpleasant expression and recalling the sounds from earlier, Su Lan vaguely guessed what had happened. She didn’t dare to ask further and just quietly served Mingzhu before bedtime.
Mingzhu kept tossing and turning until the early hours of the morning, having a restless sleep filled with dreams of fighting and biting Yuwen Chu. When she woke up at dawn, her whole body felt sore.
Sitting on the bed for a while, she was afraid that news of last night’s incident might leak out, and she feared that Yuwen Chu would hold a grudge against her and cause trouble with her father. Gathering her courage, she called for Su Lan, “Go and see if that person has left and how Shen Ruilin is doing.”
She had a lot on her mind, so she couldn’t even eat breakfast properly. After a few bites, she put down her chopsticks and asked for tea to rinse her mouth. Then she saw Su Lan rushing in and dismissed everyone around her. She anxiously asked, “What’s the news?”
Su Lan replied, “His Royal Highness left before dawn. After Young Master went to Fourth Master’s place last night, he didn’t return to the guest room. Right now, he’s talking to Madam in her room.”
Mingzhu felt extremely troubled. She had no face to see Shen Ruilin anymore. But then Su Lan added, “I also heard something else. Originally, only Third Prince and Young Master were drunk at the table last night. His Royal Highness looked fine before, but when he was about to get into the sedan chair, he suddenly talked nonsense to Xiangye. He said he wanted to have a late-night talk with Xiangye. Xiangye couldn’t persuade him, so he let him stay. Since he was a distinguished guest, he couldn’t stay in the guest room like Young Master, so he arranged the Weirui Hall for him. But he insisted on staying with Young Master, saying something about a thousand cups of wine with a bosom friend. No matter how he persuaded him, he wouldn’t listen. In the end, he had to let him have his way…”
It was really a mess. Yuwen Chu was plotting something sinister. It wouldn’t have been a problem if he had stayed in the guest room, but how did he manage to make Shen Ruilin give up his room? Where did Shen Ruilin go at that time? To unravel this, she had to go find Shen Ruilin and ask him directly.
But how could she bring it up? Should she ask bluntly, “How come Yuwen Chu was in your room?” Or should she pretend, “I sent someone to find you last night, couldn’t find you, and heard you came in from outside. Why didn’t you lie down properly when you were drunk?”
Either way seemed embarrassing. Mingzhu groaned and felt even more convinced that she and Yuwen Chu were incompatible. She wished he had never appeared in her life.
She stared blankly as the shadows grew shorter, unable to come up with a plan. But then a maid servant from Madam Cui came with a message, “Miss, Madam said today’s lunch will be at her place. Please get ready and come over immediately.”
Mingzhu took a deep breath, forcing a smile. “Is Shen Ruilin there too?”
The maid servant replied, “Yes, Young Master is accompanying Madam and chatting with her about family matters. Madam specifically asked him to stay for lunch.”
Mingzhu wanted to make an excuse to avoid going, feeling angry inside. But with a lingering anger, she changed her clothes and went to the main house. When she reached the door, she didn’t wait for the maid to announce her but quietly opened the curtain and peeked inside.
Indeed, Shen Ruilin was chatting happily with Madam, who was smiling kindly. He sat upright, with a warm expression, but upon closer inspection, there was a hint of worry in his eyes.
Last night’s incident was far from the openness of publicly declaring her affection for Yuwen You in the past. Upon closer examination, it was truly embarrassing. Mingzhu felt too ashamed to enter.
As she turned to leave, Third Sister-in-law, Lady Ning, noticed her and smiled, “Little sister is here. Come in quickly; we’ve been waiting for you to start the meal.”
Shen Ruilin turned to look at Mingzhu, not smiling, with a somewhat solemn expression. He got up and bowed respectfully, “Little sister Mingzhu.”
Mingzhu couldn’t leave now, so she had no choice but to force a smile and walked in, returning a respectful bow to Shen Ruilin before moving aside. She casually greeted, “Are you all here? What delicious food are we having? I’m hungry.”
Madam Cui called her over, originally intending to take the opportunity to bring her closer to Shen Ruilin. Seeing her completely different attitude from last night, being suddenly indifferent towards Shen Ruilin, Madam Cui felt a bit annoyed and said lightly, “Your cousin spoke to you, didn’t you hear? I was just about to praise you for being more sensible, but in the blink of an eye, you seem to have forgotten your manners.”
Mingzhu, feeling helpless, turned to look at Shen Ruilin. Seeing him with his eyes cast down, staring at his feet, quiet and straightforward, she felt a bit reluctant and regretful again. So she solemnly bowed to him, sincerely saying, “Cousin, I was rude, please don’t hold it against me.”
Shen Ruilin suddenly looked up at her, looking surprised. She had never called him cousin since childhood, always just calling him by his name.
“Shen Ruilin, come here.”
“Shen Ruilin, go and help me teach that person a lesson.”
“Shen Ruilin, I have some delicious food here, do you want some?”
“Shen Ruilin, don’t be sad, as a man, what is there to cry about? Let me vent for you!”
“Shen Ruilin, are you really leaving?”
“Shen Ruilin, will you miss me after you leave?”
But now she suddenly called him “cousin”. She suddenly broke off the engagement, she met that person last night… So she actually liked that person, didn’t she? Shen Ruilin lowered his eyes and nodded silently.
Mingzhu suddenly felt like there was a thousand mountains and rivers between them. She thought Shen Ruilin probably looked down on her, which is why he treated her so coldly. She couldn’t help but feel a bit bitter and regretful, but then she hated Yuwen Chu, the culprit, even more.
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