After a while, Shen Qingzhuo stood up and said goodbye and confirmed again, “Miss Xiang Lian, are you really unwilling to leave Zuixiang Fang?”
Xiang Lian was stunned for a moment, then pretended to be relaxed and said, “Where else can the servant go after leaving Zuixiang Fang? Could it be that… Young Master is willing to take the servant in?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Shen suddenly shot a cold, knife-like gaze at her again.
“This…” Shen Qingzhuo frowned slightly and began to seriously consider the feasibility of this method.
“The servant was just joking with Young Master. There is no need to be embarrassed, Young Master.” Xiang Lian hurriedly followed up, “The silver given by Young Master is enough. Xiang Lian does not dare to ask for anything else.”
How could she dare to serve Young Master Shen? She would be torn to pieces by the “Young Lady” in front of her.
Shen Qingzhuo apologized: “I’m sorry, I do have a lot of inconveniences around me.”
The Crown Prince brought a girl from Zuixiang Fang back to the palace, and a murder happened in the blink of an eye. Emperor Guangxi was extremely disgusted and grief-stricken by this. If he brought the girl back to the palace at this moment, it would be tantamount to committing a crime in violation of the law.
“The servant understands…” Xiang Lian said, and his eyes involuntarily glanced at Master Kong again.
Shen Qingzhuo noticed her gaze sharply, and an idea suddenly came to his mind: “That’s right, I can’t take miss away, but Kong Shang can.”
Kong Qianhu, who was suddenly called out, was at a loss as to what to do. “Ah? What can I do?”
“I will redeem Miss Xiang Lian. You take her back to the mansion first.” Shen Qingzhuo asked for their opinions. “If miss wants to leave later, you can let her out. Miss Xiang Lian, what do you think of this arrangement?”
Kong Shang was embarrassed and bluntly said, “Young Master, if my father knew that I brought a girl back from the brothel, he would definitely break my legs!”
Upon hearing this, the slightest trace of joy on Xiang Lian’s face disappeared without a trace.
Before Young Master Shen could speak again, she responded, “It is understandable that Master Kong dislikes me. Young Master, you don’t have to force him.”
She said the most humble words, but her chin was slightly raised, and her expression revealed a hint of stubbornness and pride.
“That’s not what I meant!” Even Kong Shang, a rough man, could tell something was wrong with these words. He explained awkwardly, “It’s just that my family education is very strict. My father has always hated—”
“Alright, stop talking.” Shen Qingzhuo interrupted him and bowed to Xiang Lian to apologize, “I am inconsiderate, please don’t blame me, Miss.”
Xiang Lian smiled and said, “Young Master Shen has good intentions. Is Xiang Lian not someone who doesn’t know what is good for me?”
Before leaving, Shen Qingzhuo quietly left the remaining silver on him and walked out of the gate of Zuixiang Fang. Then he whispered, “Kong Shang, when you return to the palace, immediately dispatch two Jinyiwei to guard nearby.”
“Ah? Why send the Jinyiwei here?” Kong Shang was completely confused and couldn’t help but guess, “Could it be… to prevent Xiang Lian from betraying us?”
Shen Qingzhuo glanced at him sideways and coldly said, “Since you are unwilling to take Xiang Lian back, we can only send someone to protect her personally.”
Compared with Ying Luo, Xiang Lian had no chips to protect herself. She was floating like duckweed, and anyone could easily kill her.
Since they were able to find out about Zuixiang Fang today, the Crown Prince’s Party would sooner or later discover that they had been there. Although he had made thorough preparations, he still had to send people to guard it just in case.
Kong Shang asked in confusion, “How could Xiang Lian be in any danger?”
“Just do what I tell you to do. Why are you talking so much nonsense?” Xiao Shen scolded coldly, unable to bear it any longer.
Kong Shang was startled, stood up straight suddenly, and replied in a strong voice, “Yes!”
Although he didn’t understand what role the Seventh Prince played, but given Lord Shen’s tolerance towards the prince, he must be someone he could not afford to offend.
After Xiao Shen finished scolding, he leaned towards his master again, and his voice instantly became cute and sticky: “Now that we have finished our work, it’s time for Master to accompany me to the night market, right?”
Shen Qingzhuo raised his lips slightly and teased his little disciple deliberately: “Why don’t you speak with that pinched voice anymore? Master still wants to hear that lovely voice.”
“Master…” Xiao Shen dragged out the last syllable of his voice in protest and simply took the initiative to pull his master forward. “Hurry up, if it’s any later, we won’t be able to return to the palace.”
***
Shengjing’s night market is as bustling as ever.
Lanterns of various shapes and sizes are hung on both sides of the street, and the countless lights converge into a brilliant river of stars, illuminating the entire street and giving off the atmosphere of human life.
There was a noisy crowd of pedestrians and the sound of carriages and horses. The vendors selling jewelry and pendants were shouting incessantly. Stall owners selling all kinds of snacks were pushing carts, and the air was filled with the sweet aroma of food.
There were even three or five guests sitting on the roadside stalls, drinking and chatting, just like the scene described in the poem “Tea vendors are busy at the Shuimen in the evening, and drinkers are busy in the Qiaoshi all night long.”
In his own world, Shen Qingzhuo was someone who had seen the world after all, while his little disciple, who had lived in the deep palace for many years, was coming out for the first time. Walking among the bustling crowd, he was like a little bird that had just been released from a cage, flapping its wings and looking around.
After all, he is just a teenager, and he still has a childish nature. Shen Qingzhuo has an indulgent smile on his face and lets his little disciple have fun.
“Master, I want to eat this!” A moment later, Xiao Shen dragged him to a stall selling sweet ice water.
The stall owner was smiling and welcoming the customers, but as soon as the young lady in pink opened her mouth, he was startled by the voice that was totally inconsistent with her appearance.
“My little lady’s throat is a little uncomfortable today.” Shen Qingzhuo held back his laughter and pointed at the sweet ice water and asked, “What is this called?”
“Oh! This is called Bingxue Leng Yuanzi1
.” The stall owner introduced enthusiastically, “It is made of soybeans and sugar. It is especially good for cooling off and quenching thirst. Would Young Master like two servings?”
Shen Qingzhuo smiled and said, “One portion, how much?”
The stall owner simply replied: “Ten cents!”
Shen Qingzhuo reached for his waist purse and then remembered that he had left all the remaining silver to Miss Xiang Lian. He turned around and asked Kong Qianhu behind him, “Kong Shang, do you have any money left?”
Kong Shang: “Yes, there is…”
“Bring it.” Shen Qingzhuo stretched out her fair and beautiful hand and said with a smile, “The young lady wants to drink sweet water.”
Kong Shang had no choice but to obediently take off his purse, feeling somewhat puzzled. Wasn’t his lord using his money to coax the child?
After collecting the money, the stall owner handed a bowl of Bingxue Leng Yuanzi to the customer, “Take care, customer! It’s delicious, come back next time!”
Xiao Shen took the sweet ice water and couldn’t wait to scoop a spoonful into his mouth. He was immediately grimaced by the cold.
Shen Qingzhuo tapped his head amusedly. “Eat slowly, no one is competing with you for the food.”
After the lips and teeth adjusted to the coolness, the dense and sweet taste of the dumplings came out. Another bite, and he feels refreshed and comfortable. Xiao Shen scooped another spoonful and put it to his master’s lips. “Try it, Master, it’s delicious!”
Shen Qingzhuo leaned back slightly and said, “I won’t try it.”
Xiao Shen frowned immediately: “Master dislikes me?”
Shen Qingzhuo: “No…”
Well, actually a little bit. He pays more attention to personal hygiene and generally does not share tableware with others.
Xiao Shen held the spoon in his hand, his eyes slightly downcast, and begged coquettishly, “If you don’t dislike it, then just have a taste!”
Shen Qingzhuo compromised helplessly, opened his lips, took the icy cold Yuanzi, and as expected, he was also gasping for air due to the cold.
Xiao Shen was satisfied. With a frown on his face, he bit the spoon that his master had touched with his lips and tongue and asked vaguely, “Is it delicious?”
“En, en…” Shen Qingzhuo nodded perfunctorily, “Let’s go and have a look at something else.”
“Tanghulu! Both big and sweet, Tanghulu!” The vendor, who was walking through the streets with his stand carrying Tanghulu, was shouting closer and closer.
“Would you like to eat Tanghulu?” Shen Qingzhuo pulled his little disciple’s sleeve. “This is the most authentic folk snack. A childhood without Tanghulu is incomplete.”
Xiao Shen was just tired of the sweet water, and his curious eyes fell on the Tanghulu that were spreading out like a peacock’s tail. He nodded repeatedly: “Eat, eat, eat!”
Shen Qingzhuo went forward and bought two strings of candied Tanghulu from the vendor. He gave one string to his little disciple and the other to Kong Qianhu.
Kong Shang took the Tanghulu blankly: “Give me?”
“I can’t let you make this trip in vain ah.” Shen Qingzhuo replied with a smile and then looked at his little disciple, “Try it and see if it tastes good?”
The bright red fruit was very festive, and the surface was covered with a layer of syrup, which tasted both sour and sweet. Xiao Shen ate two in a row and held the bamboo stick in front of his master. “Master have some too.”
This time, Shen Qingzhuo didn’t dodge anymore and directly bit the fruit.
Sharing is a virtue, and he cannot discourage his little disciple’s enthusiasm.
The two continued walking forward. Shen Qingzhuo was about to find a place to spit out the hawthorn seeds in his mouth, but when he lowered his eyes, he saw that his little disciple’s palm was facing him.
“Master, please spit into my hand.” Xiao Shen said casually, as if he were doing a normal action, “I’ll throw it together later.”
Kong Qianhu paused and thought, No way, right?
But the next moment, Young Master Shen naturally lowered his head and spit the hawthorn seeds into his little disciple’s palm.
Kong Shang: “……”
The master and disciple in front did not feel anything wrong and wandered around the bustling night market like conjoined twins.
“Young Master, please buy a piece of jewelry for your partner!” The lady who owns the stall called out as they passed by a stall selling jewelry and pendants. “The young lady is so pretty, she needs beautiful jewelry to match her!”
Xiao Shen had a look of disgust on his face and was about to leave by pulling his master, but his master pulled him back and stopped him.
“Don’t be in such a hurry to leave, Young Lady.” Shen Qingzhuo held his disciple’s shoulder and said with a smile, “Look around for some nice jewelry. It’s not like this young master reluctant to buy it for you.”
Xiao Shen had no choice but to stop in front of the stall reluctantly and wait for his master to choose jewelry pendants.
Shen Qingzhuo picked out a butterfly-inlaid kingfisher hairpin, turned around, and inserted it into the young lady’s hair, looking quite satisfied. “It looks good.”
Xiao Shen looked back at his master with his sparkling eyes. On the surface, he seemed extremely obedient, but he secretly thought that one day he would return all the tricks that his master had used to tease him tonight.
Shen Qingzhuo’s smile deepened, and he took out the butterfly mask hanging beside him, covering his beautiful face with it. “Can you still recognize Master like this?”
However, the moment he put on the mask, Xiao Shen’s heart seemed to be hit hard by a heavy hammer.
They stood in the bustling crowd and looked at each other, completely blocked out by the noise and bustle around them, as if they were the only two people left in the world.
Xiao Shen thought absentmindedly that he must have seen this scene somewhere before…
“What’s the matter? It doesn’t look good?” Seeing his little disciple looking absent-minded, Shen Qingzhuo put down the mask in boredom and said, “Then let’s go look somewhere else.”
Xiao Shen seemed to have not yet come to his senses. He followed his master all the way until an arch bridge appeared in front of him.
The evening breeze was blowing gently, and groups of people were standing on the bridge, leisurely enjoying the night view under the bridge.
Shen Qingzhuo pulled the youth onto the stone bridge and took a short rest. “Now that we are out, let’s have fun tonight. There is no need to rush back.”
Even he was reluctant to go back after leaving the palace once, not to mention his little disciple, who had been trapped in the cold palace since childhood. He must be longing for such a free and easy life. Let’s just treat tonight as an indulgence.
Little did he know that no matter how beautiful the scenery of the night market was, in Xiao Shen’s eyes, it was not even one-tenth as beautiful as his master.
The two stood on the bridge and enjoyed the breeze for a while. Shen Qingzhuo spotted a candy figurine vendor not far away and said, “Wait here. Master will be back soon.”
Xiao Shen suddenly became nervous and subconsciously followed his master down the bridge. Unexpectedly, at this moment, a group of children chasing and playing rushed onto the bridge and bumped straight into him.
Caught off guard, he was knocked to the side of the bridge. Before he could save himself, he felt a tightness on his waist, and it turned out that a hand had grabbed him in time.
“Lady, be careful.” A gentle voice sounded beside his ear, and the young stranger looked at him tenderly and said, “This happened suddenly, I’m sorry.”
“Xiao Qi?” Shen Qingzhuo heard the noise and turned around quickly, but what he saw was a scene of “a hero saving the beauty”.
However, the rescued beauty didn’t appreciate it at all. Her brows were furrowed and she coldly shouted, “Let go!”
The young man was stunned, and then he actually let go.
The next moment, Xiao Shen’s body flipped out of the bridge uncontrollably.
Shen Qingzhuo: “!”
The author has something to say:
The Wolf Cub: Master actually dislike my saliva? One day, I will smear it all over Master! (fiercely)
The Master: I didn’t dislike it! I ate it in the end! Calm down!
Kong Shang: I should be under the carriage, not here…
The new character is a well-known character, but he has no emotional disputes with the master and Xiao Qi, so don’t worry, hahahaha~
