Jiang Ming quickly interjected from the side, “No one, except for Qi Yeyun who came today. No one else has visited her.”
“Ah?” Qi Yeyun seemed to realize something and hastily waved his hands, “I don’t know anything. We were just chatting casually. I…”
“What did you talk about?” Before Qi Yeyun could finish, Lu Chuichui quickly pressed.
“We didn’t say much. I just felt sorry for her and chatted with her a bit.” Qi Yeyun looked helpless, his big watery eyes full of grievance.
This child had always been well-behaved, and everyone liked him.
Although they now had suspicions about him, his innocent appearance made it hard for anyone to blame him.
“Alright, alright,” Zhu Yan smoothed things over. “Madam Tang is not a kind person. Just stay away from her in the future.”
Hearing Zhu Yan’s words, Qi Yeyun nodded quickly, “I’ll remember, Master. Please don’t blame me.”
“I won’t blame you. It’s normal for children to be curious.”
Although Zhu Yan said this, her look at Qi Yeyun showed she knew he was hiding something from her.
Back at the Shen residence, Zhu Yan went straight to the study.
“What’s the relationship between Han Shiyuan and the Hongwen Academy?” Zhu Yan asked bluntly, leaving Shen Du bewildered.
He shook his head slightly, “I don’t know.”
“How can you not know?” Zhu Yan felt Shen Du was deliberately hiding something from her, so she persisted, “You hold an important official position and are so high up. How can you not know about the affairs of the Hongwen Academy?”
“Who told you that holding an official position means you have to know everything under heaven?” Shen Du retorted.
He even felt that the woman before him had somehow become foolish.
“I…” Zhu Yan was at a loss for words. She had been too hasty, coming to question Shen Du before clarifying the connections.
No wonder Shen Du mocked her like this. She had brought it upon herself.
“Well…” Zhu Yan looked a bit flustered, then turned her gaze to Shen Du’s bandaged hand. “Is your hand feeling better?”
Seeing Zhu Yan’s concern for him, a hint of meaning flickered in Shen Du’s heart.
His lips curled up, still using a teasing tone, “It was bitten by a dog. It’s almost healed now.”
“Who are you calling a dog?” Zhu Yan was a bit annoyed, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at Shen Du.
He called her a dog!
He’s the dog, his whole family are dogs!
“Only dogs bite people,” Shen Du said slowly, seemingly addressing Zhu Yan’s previous mistake. “No matter when, even if you’re in a hurry, you need to understand your position. In front of others, I am always your husband. Would I harm you?”
“That’s hard to say.” Zhu Yan rolled her eyes and pouted, “Who knows if you might suddenly decide to take my life?”
Hearing this, Shen Du’s face darkened again. This woman trusted him so little!
“Those are case files from the past few years. Organize them well. Don’t go out without my orders.”
Shen Du’s tone was gloomy as he gave the order, not sounding like he was joking.
“Huh?” Zhu Yan was confused. What had she said wrong? This man was inexplicably angry again.
Looking back at the pile of old books and files on the table, Zhu Yan felt a headache coming on.
With such a large pile of materials, it would take her forever to organize them.
“No,” Zhu Yan refused outright. “You can do whatever you want to me, but don’t imprison me, and don’t try to waste my time with things like this.”
“So you’re ready to be a proper Madam Shen?” Shen Du responded.
Zhu Yan’s lips twitched, and the muscles on her face quivered. “Apart from this, can’t you come up with something new?”
Shen Du’s lips curved up meaningfully, “Fine. If you don’t comply, I’ll petition the Empress to divorce you and marry your third sister, breaking up her and Han Shiyuan, that loving couple.”
“You!” Zhu Yan was so angry she stomped her feet, her pointing finger trembling. “You’re despicable, shameless, you… you’re beyond redemption!”
Shen Du stood up and slowly walked to Zhu Yan. This woman looked quite cute when angry.
He deliberately took a step forward and sniffed, “Why do I smell such a strong scent of vinegar? Jealous?”
“Pah!” Zhu Yan spat coldly in fury, “What jealousy? Is a despicable and shameless person like you worthy of my jealousy?”
“So, will you comply or not?”
Shen Du’s eyes were full of teasing, but Zhu Yan was powerless against it. This man was becoming increasingly shameless!
“Fine.” Zhu Yan finally gave in. “I’ll look at them. I’ll sit in your study and keep you company while looking at them, annoying you to death every day!”
With that, Zhu Yan turned away angrily and sat down to start organizing the files.
Shen Du wasn’t annoyed by this. His lips curved up meaningfully as he paced away.
Seeing that Shen Du hadn’t returned for a long time, Zhu Yan thought he might have gone out and decided to sneak away.
But just as she reached the door, Jing Lin stopped her. “Madam, where are you going?”
Seeing Jing Lin’s respectful yet unyielding stance, Zhu Yan clenched her fists. “Jing Lin, we’ve known each other for quite some time, haven’t we?”
Jing Lin frowned, “Less than a hundred days. What’s long about that?”
“Ahem…” Zhu Yan felt awkward. “Well… can you tell me why Shen Du is angry?”
“Madam, are you really unaware or just pretending? Do I need to spell out what you did behind the Grand Chancellor’s back?”
“…” This was quite puzzling, leaving Zhu Yan momentarily stunned. “Speak more clearly. What did I do?”
“Who did Madam go to see yesterday?”
Hearing this, Zhu Yan suddenly understood. So Shen Du knew about her visit to Madam Tang.
It was just a small matter, but Jing Lin made it sound as if she had gone out to have an affair.
Zhu Yan felt helpless but finally understood why Shen Du was angry.
Taking a deep breath, a clever idea came to her mind.
At noon, Shen Du finally returned.
Zhu Yan quickly placed the surprise she had prepared on the table and, like a virtuous wife, led Shen Du into the room.
“Husband, you’re back. Please sit. I cooked these dishes myself. Try them.”
Faced with Zhu Yan’s change in attitude, Shen Du immediately understood her intentions but pretended not to know.
He just carefully tasted the dishes Zhu Yan had cooked. The flavor wasn’t bad, and Shen Du was somewhat satisfied.
“How is it? Does it suit your taste?”
Shen Du nodded, saying in a neutral tone, “It’s alright, far worse than what the kitchen makes.”
“…” Zhu Yan was momentarily speechless. This was the first time she had cooked for a man, and he belittled it like this.
“This is my first time. Even if it doesn’t taste good, you should give some encouragement. What kind of person are you?”
Zhu Yan was a bit angry, pouting and turning away, no longer paying attention to Shen Du.
Seeing this, Shen Du suddenly felt like laughing, but his tone remained cool, “Tell me, what’s the matter?”