Translator – Xiao He Lian
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Chapter 47
Shen Zhen’s tears were like broken beads, falling uncontrollably, and the glistening water was filled with guilt.
Lu Yan silently wiped her tears.
“Stop crying, okay?” he said again.
Shen Zhen knew that he hated her crying very much. In order not to let him scold her in front of her eldest sister, she held back and stopped her sobbing.
Shen Shu looked at the scene in front of her with a bitter taste in her throat.
No matter how tender the man’s movements were, she only needs to glance at Shen Zhen’s expression to know that she is very afraid of him, and can even be said to be intimidated.
As for the reason for fear, Shen Shu didn’t even dare to think about it.
When Lu Yan saw that she stopped crying, he asked Mo Yue to prepare tea and send it to the west wing.
He turned back to Shen Shu and said, “Since eldest lady Shen is here, let’s have a cup of tea together.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhen grabbed his sleeves and said, “My Lord…”
Lu Yan couldn’t help but sigh when he saw her eyes full of anxiety.
This is your biological sister, what else can I do to her?
He squeezed her palm, meaning to tell her not to think too much.
To talk privately without Shen Zhen was naturally what Shen Sho also wanted.
After a while, the two sat down facing each other in the west wing.
Lu Yan said in a deep voice: “Li Mansion has a lot of things going on recently and it must be really hard for Eldest Lady Shen to make this trip during her busy schedule.”
Look, as soon as he opened his mouth, he made people choke to death.
Shen Shu understood the meaning behind Lu Yan’s words. On one hand, he was saying that she shouldn’t come to them for no reason, and on the other hand, he was sarcastically saying that she was like a clay Bodhisattva fording a river1(like a clay Bodhisattva fording a river, can’t guarantee his own safety / unable to save oneself, let alone others) and could not protect herself.
Shen Yan looked at the man in front of her and her nails dug into her flesh.
Lu Yan of the Lu family is not an ordinary high-ranking official in the capital. With his status, even if her father was not imprisoned and the Yunyang Marquis Mansion was still there, the Shen family cannot compete with him, let alone now…
Shen Shu couldn’t help but smile bitterly in her heart.
This was destined to not be a fair conversation and she didn’t even have the leverage to negotiate.
Even though Shen Shu wanted to overturn the table in front of her at this moment, she could only endure it. After all, her sister was in his hands.
Shen Shu calmed down, clenched her fists and apologized: “It’s my fault that I came here uninvited today, but my sister is here, so I hope you can forgive me.”
Lu Yan picked up the teapot on the side and poured Shen Shu a cup of tea, “I understand.”
Shen Shu held the cup and had a lot of thoughts.
While she was mentally processing what he might say to her, she was also thinking about how she should respond.
At this moment, Lu Yan spoke first, “On the ninth day of the tenth month, she was planning to leave Chang’an with Shen Hong, but I stopped her at the city gate and used the forged document she had on her to threaten her.” This was tantamount to explaining why Shen Zhen appeared here.
Shen Shu’s heart sank and then she thought of his other identity.
Yes, he is not only the eldest son of Zhenguo Duke, but also the Junior Magistrate of Jingzhao Prefecture.
Forging documents, absconding in fear of crime, and setting fires privately are all serious crimes.
Once Shen Zhen was caught by the Yamen, according to Jin Dynasty law, the Yamen has the right to impose severe punishments to force her to tell where the fake documents came from.
She finally understood why Zhen’er became his mistress.
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
Shen Shu’s eyes were slightly red, and she looked at him and said, “Lord Lu, I made the document and I set the fire, it has nothing to do with her.”
“I know.” Lu Yan interrupted her and continued: “I also know where you got those documents from.”
Shen Shu’s expression froze.
She had to say that talking to such a powerful man was really suffocating. His tone was unhurried, but every word he said seemed to have been planned in advance, forcing people to retreat step by step.
“Admittedly, I have no intention of settling old scores.” Lu Yan said, rubbing his heart.
After being silent for a long time, Shen Shu raised her head and said, “I will definitely repay the money Master Lu paid on behalf of the Shen family.”
Lu Yan didn’t answer. He looked at Shen Shu and continued without changing his expression: “If she left Chang’an on the ninth day of October, has Eldest lady Shen ever thought about what kind of life she would live while taking care of Shen Hong alone?”
Shen Shu was silent.
After the Yunyang Maquis Mansion was ransacked, the Li family immediately turned against her, and her mother-in-law held most of her dowry in her hands.
Immediately afterwards, a debt was suddenly sprung up out of nowhere. The time was so short that she had no time to prepare. She could only send Shen Zhen away first and make plans later.
Lu Yan took a sip of tea and said, “You won’t be able to protect her.”
Shen Shu finally understood. No matter what he said, no matter how many circles he went around, he had only one meaning – Shen Zhen was the safest with him.
But from Shen Shu’s perspective, what’s the difference between him, Lu Yan be different from other tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves?
Shen Shu no longer beat around the bush with him, but looked directly into his eyes and said: “What Lord Lu mean by protecting her, is that you want Zhen’er to be your mistress all the time, or that one day, when you’re in a better mood, you’ll take her into the Duke Zhenguo’s residence as a concubine?”
“Eldest lady Shen.” Lu Yan’s heart tightened, he turned the ring in his finger and said in a deep voice, “I never thought of taking her as my concubine.”
Are you planning to keep her as an outside mistress?
That’s right, how nice it is to have an outside mistress, and no one will know about it, and he can continue being the glorious heir apparent.
Shen Shu sneered.
Sure enough, all men in the world are equally shameless.
She resisted the urge to throw the tea into his face and said word by word: “Although the Shen family has no friendship with the Zhenguo Duke’s mansion, they have never had any grudges. Why does the Heir Apparent choose to…”
Lu Yan knew that talking to her was useless, so he could only speak frankly and honestly: “The corruption case of the Governor of Yangzhou implicated the Mu family and the third prince. Although Dali Temple did not do a public trial, the disaster of the Mu family’s downfall cannot be avoided.”
Shen Shu was stunned. She didn’t understand why he would tell her about such important matters.
“After the Mu family fell, the Emperor withdrew the Imperial Guards who were guarding the gate of the East Palace. The doctor who is currently treating His Highness the Crown Prince was brought back from Yangzhou by me. He has extremely high medical skills and can be regarded as a miracle doctor.”
The Mu family fell and the East Palace benefited.
Shen Shu naturally knew what it meant for the Crown prince to secure his position.
The more she listened, the more shocked she became, “Lord Lu, what do you mean by telling me this?”
Lu Yan raised the cup, took a sip, and put it back on the table with his little fingers trembling slightly.
He said lightly, “If I wanted to raise a mistress, I wouldn’t have gone through all this effort.”
How could he not be able to support an outside mistress?
As soon as he finished speaking, a strange thought flashed through Shen Shu’s mind.
The cup in her hand smashed to pieces on the ground, “Does the Heir Apparent want to…?”
Lu Yan stared at Shen Shu’s extremely shocked eyes and said without changing his expression: “Yes.”
Shen Shu stood up suddenly and said, “Lord Lu, please stop joking. The Duke of Zhenguo will not agree to your idea and neither will Princess Jing’an.”
Maybe Lu Yan himself thought this idea was too absurd, or maybe Shen Shu didn’t believe it at all.
Neither of them mentioned a word.
…
——
After sending Shen Shu away, Lu Yan returned to Lanyue Pavilion. Before he entered the door, he saw the little girl secretly wiping her tears.
Lu Yan scoffed. Sure enough.
Just now in the west wing, his heart kept throbbing, and he knew that she must be crying again…
Seeing him walking in, Shen Zhen quickly stood up and said, “My Lord, where is my eldest sister?”
“She left.” Lu Yan said.
Shen Zhen bit her lip, “What did you say to my sister?”
Listening to this defencive tone, Lu Yan’s face darkened. He raised his hand and flicked her forehead. A red mark immediately appeared on Shen Zhen’s forehead, “What, are you afraid that I will offend your eldest sister?”
Shen Zhen thought so in her heart, but she didn’t dare to answer. She whispered: “My lord, will not do that.”
Hearing this, Lu Yan lowered his head and looked at her with a half-smile, “When did you know me so well?”
Shen Zhen choked and did not answer.
But looking at his expression, she could guess that he would not embarrass her eldest sister.
But Shen Zhen would never be able to guess how many tricks he had used just now.
As soon as he sat down, he first accused Shen Shu of breaking into Chengyuan at will, then he used evidence of forging documents to threaten her, and finally, he offered her a favour.
In an instant, he changed from a person with ulterior motives to a righteous Lord Lu.
No one knew that just when Shen Shu asked out loud whether he wanted to take Shen Zhen as his concubine, the veins in his hands bulged and trembled slightly, and his heart started to panic.
Shen Shu’s words were like a sword, splitting the peaceful road under his feet in half, turning it into a fork, and two roads leading to unknown directions.
Almost forcing him to face this problem he had never thought of——
Lu Shiyan, do you want her to be your concubine or your wife?
