Lin Yanxi’s previously unhappy face bloomed with a touch of crimson. She quickly shook her head and denied, "No..."
Thinking again, she was engaged to Shen Muzhou. Although it was just an alliance, outsiders shouldn't see any hints of it.
She changed her words and said, "Sort of, but we only have a betrothal, and we're not married yet."
Luo Wanwan smiled and pretended to ask casually, "Then what about the other man with you? He was also dressed very expensively. I saw him at the tea stall on the street today serving tea to the people."
Lin Yanxi replied without much thought, "Him? He's just the fifth prince, the most idle person in the capital."
Luo Wanwan’s hand, holding a delicate wooden comb, smoothed Lin Yanxi’s black, silky hair from root to tip. Upon hearing his identity, Luo Wanwan's hand paused.
Sensing her abnormality, Lin Yanxi turned her head and asked, "What's wrong?"
Luo Wanwan quickly shook her head and smiled, "Nothing."
Later, Luo Wanwan sat at the same table with them for dinner. When Lin Yanxi came down, there was only one seat left next to Shen Muzhou, and she walked straight over to sit down.
Shen Yu teased, "I thought you weren't eating dinner. This excellent baked perch, I'll have to enjoy it all by myself."
After Lin Yanxi sat down, she picked up her chopsticks and tapped his chopsticks, which were reaching for the fish belly, with the tip of hers. "You wish."
These past few days of rushing and danger had prevented them from sitting down to a proper meal. The dishes on this table were far inferior to those in the capital, yet they were the best she had eaten in a long time.
Jiang Mingsheng, holding his bowl, squeezed next to Xiao Liu. He put several pieces of fish belly onto the plate in front of Lin Yanxi. The sadness from the sudden news of the Jiang family's misfortune had completely vanished. He grinned and said, "Good disciple, look how thin you are, you need to eat more."
Shen Yu scoffed, "You sure dote on your disciple."
Jiang Mingsheng glared at him, then scooped up another large piece of fish belly and placed it in Lin Yanxi's plate. "That's right. My good disciple, eat more, eat more."
Lin Yanxi looked at the white-bearded old man. For the first time, she felt he was truly like her grandfather. Although their personalities and appearances were quite different, their affection for their juniors, and for her, was something that couldn't be faked. They both doted on her.
The corners of her lips curled up unconsciously, revealing a row of small white teeth, sweet and lovely.
Shen Muzhou’s gaze occasionally fell on her. She seemed very happy, but she hadn't touched much of the fish on her plate.
Shen Yu saw everyone surrounding Lin Yanxi, adding dishes for her. Luo Wanwan, with a faint smile on her face, looked at Lin Yanxi with an envious expression in her eyes.
In contrast, she sat at the far end of the table with only two sweet cakes on her plate.
He picked up a small piece of fish belly and placed it on her plate, casually saying, "Eat."
Luo Wanwan was a little overwhelmed. Her small, chubby hands held her chopsticks. When she looked at Shen Yu, he had already turned his head towards Shen Muzhou, no longer looking at her.
She still shyly lowered her head and ate the fish in small bites, secretly smiling.
After eating a couple of bites of food, Lin Yanxi put down her chopsticks and asked Luo Wanwan, "Wanwan, I still want to eat that candy."
Luo Wanwan smiled and generously took out a small oil-paper packet from her sleeve. She divided two pieces of candy from it and put them in a bowl for Lin Yanxi.
Seeing that his precious disciple wanted to eat, Jiang Mingsheng quickly leaned over to help his disciple get it in front of her and placed it on the table. Lin Yanxi smiled and said, "Thank you."
As her small, delicate hand was about to reach for the candy on the table, Shen Muzhou was a step ahead of her. He took the bowl containing the candy.
He said calmly, "Eat your meal first."
Lin Yanxi frowned and looked at him displeasantly, with a hint of petulance, "I want to eat it now!"
But her wilfulness seemed useless against him. She turned and cast a pleading glance at her master.
Jiang Mingsheng smiled awkwardly, buried his head in his bowl, and chose to ignore her.
As expected, no one could be relied upon! She huffed indignantly but had no other recourse. She picked up her chopsticks again and obediently started eating.
Shen Muzhou sat beside Lin Yanxi. He usually ate less but was not a picky eater. He looked at Lin Yanxi and asked in a low voice, "Why aren't you eating the fish? You can't be picky."
In fact, since the drought in Nanmin, the water volume in the rivers had drastically decreased. Even in the capital, fish and shrimp were considered delicacies.
Lin Yanxi blinked innocently and said, "I don't know how to do it. Usually, Lizi helps me pick it out."
Shen Muzhou gazed at her face, paused for a moment, then swapped her plate to be in front of him. He took a fresh pair of chopsticks, patiently picked out the fish bones without disrupting the shape of the fish belly.
Shen Yu was stunned to see this. Little Jiu was actually picking fish for someone else?
He held up the fish tail on his plate and said in a high-pitched voice, "Little Jiu, I don't know how to pick fish either, help me pick out the bones too."
Shen Muzhou glanced at him with a sharp gaze and said, "If you don't know how to pick fish, then don't eat."
Shen Yu chuckled wickedly and put his plate down.
After a while, the fish belly was picked clean. He placed the plate in front of her and said, "Next time, you should learn to pick the bones yourself."
Lin Yanxi pouted and said, "Stop lecturing me."
A rebellious child. Shen Muzhou shook his head, not arguing with her. The usually tightly pressed corners of his mouth relaxed considerably.
More than half of the dishes on the plate remained. She looked at Jiang Mingsheng with a苦瓜脸 (bitter face) and said, "Master, I really can't eat anymore."
Her appetite was very small. She had only taken a bite of almost every dish, but she had finished the fish Shen Muzhou had picked for her. It seemed she really liked it.
"The candy?" she asked, opening her palm, her tone slightly displeased.
This time Shen Muzhou didn't stop her. He placed the bowl of candy in her palm. Lin Yanxi ignored him, took the candy, and ran off, going to squeeze in beside Luo Wanwan.
The next morning, everyone was waiting in the lobby of the inn.
Shen Yu yawned and swaggered down from upstairs, looking surprised at everyone and saying, "You're all waiting for me?"
"Tch, who's waiting for you? We're waiting for my precious disciple," Jiang Mingsheng said, sitting on the table with one leg crossed.
Xiao Liu looked at the sky and asked in a low voice, "Should we go call the second young lady?"
After days of being on edge, Xiao Shitou's death had caused her a lot of grief and self-blame. Shen Muzhou said in a cold voice, "Let her sleep a little longer."
Fortunately, it wasn't long before Lin Yanxi came downstairs. Today, she wore a water-red gradient long dress. A few strands of hair were left on both sides of her smooth forehead. Her hair was naturally tied high, like two rabbit ears, making her look energetic and lively.
She swept her gaze across the crowd and asked with confusion, "Where's Wanwan?"
After spending these two days together, she had grown fond of that little girl. Luo Wanwan was the kind of girl whose emotions were visible on her face, easily read, and she always seemed a bit timid, speaking in a very soft voice.
Most importantly, she carried delicious candy with her and was always willing to share it.
Shen Muzhou said, "They've already left. She said her sister sent someone to pick her up and couldn't delay any longer. However, she left a pack of ginger candy for you."
Lin Yanxi let out a somewhat disappointed "Oh." Seeing the ginger candy, she looked at his hand with expectation.
Unable to resist her pleading gaze, Shen Muzhou placed the ginger candy in her hand and instructed, "Eat in moderation."
The group got into the carriage. The procession reached the outskirts of the county town and was stopped.
Lin Yanxi curiously lifted the curtain and saw that the people kneeling on the ground were all citizens and refugees from the town.
Among them was a familiar woman, the one who had caused a scene at the tea stall because her husband was missing. Beside her stood a thin man with many injuries, clearly having been tortured for a long time.
"Miss, Young Lady, I, I am just a village woman and don't know how to address you. This is my husband. He said you saved him. Thank you, truly, thank you. My family all died in the drought, and if anything happened to my husband, I truly wouldn't want to live."
Lin Yanxi jumped out of the carriage and pulled the woman up from the ground. Her hands felt rough and cracked, a little like sandpaper. "Get up quickly."
The others were also kneeling on the ground. One man spoke, "Thank you, Miss. The continuous drought has already made life unbearable, and the well water was monopolized by that black-hearted county magistrate, who amassed wealth everywhere. It was Miss who gave us a way to live and saved the people of the county!"
Lin Yanxi, for some reason, found her eyes welling up with tears. She quickly pulled everyone up and said, "Get up, get up. All of this is thanks to our Prince, Prince Jiu from the capital."
Shen Muzhou partially lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the crowd. The people knelt and bowed again, "Greetings, Your Highness."
He briefly comforted the people. His words were few but struck deep into their hearts.
As the carriage drove further away, Lin Yanxi looked out through the carriage window. The common people were gathered together, watching them leave. In a daze, she seemed to see Xiao Shitou standing in the crowd, waving at her.
This time, he wasn't wearing a mask. He stood in the sunlight, dressed in clean clothes.
I'm sorry, Xiao Shitou, I couldn't take you back to the capital after all. I will definitely find Jiang Cong and fulfill your wish.
---
The Grand Tutor's Residence.
Since there was no hurry to reach their destination, the carriage traveled for a whole day and only entered the capital the next morning, stopping in front of the Grand Tutor's Residence.
Because the Grand Tutor's Residence had many informants, and she didn't know if her mother's death was related to Yu Gu, and the person who drugged Lin Ruoyan hadn't been found yet, and Jiang Mingsheng had escaped from the Directorate of the Imperial Clan, so he couldn't be seen by his father.
She could only temporarily ask Shen Muzhou to take care of her master and arrange for Jiang Mingsheng to stay at Prince Mu's mansion.
Inside the carriage were only Lin Yanxi and Shen Muzhou. She lifted the carriage curtain and glanced outside. The carriage was parked at a side entrance of the Grand Tutor's Residence, in a secluded alley, surrounded by people from the Dark Night Guard.
After confirming the environment was safe, she slowly said, "The matter in the county town, the people are very grateful to His Highness. We should take this opportunity to have someone publicize the matter."
Seeing Shen Muzhou's eyes fixed on her without speaking, she said helplessly, "Your Highness, think about your image in the capital. Cold and heartless, brutal and unjust, despicable means..."
As she spoke with more fervor, Shen Muzhou interrupted her and asked gloomily, "Oh? I didn't know that's how the common people thought of me."
Lin Yanxi glanced at him. What else did you think?!
These words were naturally not spoken aloud. She replied with a smile, "But it's not too late. As long as we publicize this matter and praise His Highness's virtues, over time, it will naturally increase His Highness's favor and prestige in the hearts of the people."
Shen Muzhou's expression was clearly displeased. He didn't look at her and only responded with a faint "Mm."
She let out a cold snort, her eyes filled with hatred. "The Crown Prince has maintained an image of a virtuous gentleman for many years. He is an unparalleled wise ruler in the hearts of the people. I will, bit by bit, destroy everything he has worked so hard to build."
Looking at the hatred on her face, his heart sank for some reason. Their marriage was, after all, just a partnership of interests.
"By the way, have you investigated the Zhenshan Saber according to the clues from Zhihai Tower? Is there any news?" she asked again.
He handed her the clues from Zhihai Tower and said, "According to the clues, the Zhenshan Saber and the Jade Talisman are likely in Cong'an. I've already sent Xiao Liu to pursue them."
Lin Yanxi had no reaction at first. She suddenly thought of something and said nervously, "This is bad, Xiao Liu is in danger!"