This young master’s eyes and brows were all smiling, with an appearance full of romantic charm, yet those peach blossom eyes carried a probing quality that made Shen Xiling very uncomfortable. Shen Xiling leaned back slightly to put some distance between them, and finding his question impossible to address, she simply fell silent. The young master didn’t mind and smiled lightly, straightening up: “I forgot to introduce myself—I’m a good friend of the Second Young Master, Han Feichi.”
Shen Xiling didn’t know who Han Feichi was, but she knew that in Jiangzuo, especially in Jiankang, the surname “Han” already explained too much. The four great aristocratic families were Qi, Shen, Fu, and Han. Now that the Shen clan had become a thing of the past, the Han family was one of the remaining three surnames, incomparably noble. This young master also seemed to have considerable friendship with Second Young Master Qi, so he was most likely a legitimate son.
But Shen Xiling didn’t care much about such things. In her eyes, aristocratic young masters and common people weren’t really different, especially after experiencing the great disaster of the Shen family. She felt even more that so-called aristocratic fame and profit were nothing but illusions, not worth pursuing. Therefore, her expression showed no ripples. She performed a shallow courtesy to this man who called himself Han Feichi as a greeting, and that was the end of it.
The man raised his eyebrows, seeming to find Shen Xiling interesting. He walked to the plum tree to admire the flowers and asked casually: “Do you know why that maid suddenly left you and walked away just now?”
Shen Xiling was startled and answered: “Naturally because she was busy.”
He laughed and said “Not so,” then continued: “She asked you what connection you had with Second Young Master Qi, and you said none. She asked if you and Bai Song were old acquaintances, and you said you weren’t. Although Fenghe Courtyard doesn’t compare to the Qi family’s main residence, it’s still aristocratic territory. If you have no relationship with anyone and are merely a passerby here, why would she expend effort caring for you? Naturally, she’d walk away.”
Shen Xiling fell silent.
The man stared intently at Shen Xiling’s expression. Though she remained silent, she showed no surprise or anger, but was quite calm, as if she had already known this in her heart. He raised his eyebrows, finding it interesting: This little girl looked young—could she actually be so perceptive?
He smiled and asked: “What, you had already seen through it?”
Shen Xiling looked up at him, was silent for a moment, then answered quietly and calmly: “I don’t need others to expend effort caring for me—I can take care of myself. Moreover, she’s right in thinking that I indeed have no relationships with anyone and am merely a passerby here. On the contrary, if she treated me too well, I would feel uncomfortable.”
Her gesture of looking up was quite ordinary, but she was beautiful, so even just lifting her eyes made the observer’s heart skip a beat. The red mole between her brows appeared especially striking among the white plum blossoms. Seeing that she had such a gorgeous appearance yet spoke in such a light and indifferent manner, the man found it even more interesting.
He reached out to support a branch of the plum tree and said with a smile: “One could say that, but that maid also lacks perception—not thinking about what kind of person her young master is. How could he shelter an unrelated little girl in his private residence to recover from illness for no reason?”
At this point, the man’s eyes again showed a probing look. He approached Shen Xiling, bent down to look at her, and said with a half-smile: “There must be some significant relationship between you and the Second Young Master. Otherwise, could it be that he kept you here because this girl is pretty?”
Though this person was smiling, the sharp look in his eyes was frightening. Shen Xiling was somewhat afraid and had nowhere to escape for the moment. As she hesitated, she suddenly heard footsteps from behind the man. He straightened up and turned around, while Shen Xiling instinctively stood up from the stone bench and looked up as well, seeing that among the white plum blossoms, the approaching figure was Qi Ying.
Counting them up, this was Shen Xiling’s third time seeing him.
She didn’t remember that Qi Ying had come to care for her on New Year’s Eve night. She only remembered their first meeting on that snowy street at night, and later that brief encounter in Wangshi—this would be the third time. She was actually somewhat afraid of him, probably because his coldness and disdain had been too obvious during their second meeting. However, apart from that time, all her memories related to this person were good, and almost every time she encountered him, he had saved her. But Shen Xiling hadn’t expected to see him at this time and place. She had no mental preparation, so when she suddenly saw him, for some reason her heart suddenly relaxed, and the fear she had just felt gradually faded.
Today he wore white robes, appearing especially handsome and gentle. This was Shen Xiling’s first time seeing him in white clothes, and she was somewhat dazed. Qi Ying seemed to glance at her briefly. Behind him were Bai Song and that young servant called Qing Zhu, but these two didn’t look at her. Instead, they knelt before Han Feichi and bowed, saying: “We pay our respects to Your Highness the Fourth Prince.”
Shen Xiling was stunned.
Fourth Prince?
She realized that this person wasn’t a young master of the Han family after all, but was actually the current emperor’s fourth son, Xiao Ziheng.
She looked toward this prince and saw that even after his true identity was exposed, he wasn’t angry. His eyes and brows contained laughter like a fox that had stolen something tasty. He smiled at Qi Ying: “What perfect timing—I was just being interrupted while talking to this little girl you’re hiding.”
Shen Xiling was still somewhat confused, and hearing these words felt embarrassed. She secretly looked toward Qi Ying and saw him smile lightly without responding to this remark, instead saying: “Everyone else has arrived. Why don’t Your Highness come with me?”
Xiao Ziheng snorted with laughter, turned his face to glance at Shen Xiling, then smiled at Qi Ying: “Today I happened to stumble upon something interesting. You’d better think about how to explain this to that girl Ziyu.”
Qi Ying smiled and shook his head. Xiao Ziheng was already walking away with his hands behind his back. Qi Ying instructed Qing Zhu: “Take His Highness the Fourth Prince to the back garden.”
Qing Zhu acknowledged with lowered brows and eyes, then hurried to catch up with Xiao Ziheng’s steps. The two figures were soon hidden from view by the flowers and trees. Bai Song’s gaze silently moved between Qi Ying and Shen Xiling, then he also turned to avoid them, leaving only Shen Xiling and Qi Ying facing each other.
It was rather strange—when others were present, Qi Ying’s appearance would make Shen Xiling feel secure in her heart, but once there were no others around, he would make her nervous. Shen Xiling stood somewhat woodenly, her fingers tightly intertwined, her head lowered.
Qi Ying looked at Shen Xiling.
After New Year’s Eve night, Qi Ying had been very busy—entering the palace for New Year greetings, visiting relatives, dealing with government documents and various affairs. Only today had he gotten some leisure time to return to Fenghe Courtyard for a small gathering with friends. Not having seen her for several days, the little girl had gotten even thinner than when she first came to Fenghe Courtyard, but she was much better than on New Year’s Eve—at least she had some vitality. Today the sun was bright and clear. There was a thin layer of sweat on her forehead, probably from being somewhat tired from walking around. Her face also had some color, making her complexion look much better.
She seemed somewhat afraid of him, keeping her head lowered. Qi Ying thought it was probably because he had been somewhat too stern with her during their previous meetings, thus earning the little girl’s resentment. He sighed silently and walked closer to Shen Xiling.