“Weren’t you just very curious?” Shen Du said through gritted teeth.
Zhu Yan realized he was angry and immediately put on a smile. “I was just joking, don’t take it to heart…”
Seeing Shen Du’s still fierce gaze, Zhu Yan felt a twinge of grievance. This man had just treated her so roughly, and now he was still being fierce. How heartless!
Noticing her earlier bravado had disappeared, Shen Du’s anger subsided slightly.
“What on earth is going on in that head of yours…”
Seeing his expression soften, Zhu Yan immediately looked at him with curved eyes.
“What’s wrong with my thinking? It’s just normal deduction.”
Shen Du was speechless. “Your thoughts are so unique, could it be inherited from your father-in-law?”
Hearing her father being dragged into this, Zhu Yan’s face showed some displeasure. “If you want to talk, fine, but why joke about my father? I have my reasons, you know.”
Intrigued by her claim of having reasons, Shen Du looked at Zhu Yan with a hint of doubt.
Seeing him quiet down, Zhu Yan cleared her throat and continued. “Firstly, whenever I get close to Pan Chi, you always intervene, wanting to know everything, and often interrupting my conversations. Isn’t that because you want to talk more with Pan Chi yourself? Secondly, when I was investigating cases in the capital, you didn’t follow me during my multiple solo outings with Brother Xu. This further supports my guess. Brother Xu is a bearded man, and though thrice divorced, he doesn’t fancy men. It’s understandable if you’re not interested in him. Thirdly, I’ve always heard that the Grand Chancellor avoids women. This point I wholeheartedly agree with. There are only men in the Shen household, let alone concubines or female servants. The Grand Chancellor also seems to dislike me quite often. If it weren’t for my usefulness… Doesn’t all this prove my point?”
Shen Du grew increasingly astonished as he listened. What on earth was going on in this woman’s mind? So she had never had such thoughts about him because she deeply believed the rumors that he avoided women and was unreasonable?
Having finished her analysis, Zhu Yan glanced at the stunned Shen Du. Was he embarrassed because his secret had been exposed? She silently swallowed and dared not continue.
Shen Du was still immersed in her powerful deduction, his mind in chaos, motionless.
Seeing him staring blankly without moving, Zhu Yan carefully extended a finger to poke his waist. “Hey, are you alright? There’s nothing shameful about this, it’s fine!”
Though she said so, Zhu Yan wasn’t certain. Shen Du was second only to one in power. Although he seemed to wield great authority, the court was treacherous, with undercurrents of life and death. Shen Du particularly disliked others guessing his intentions, yet she had easily spoken it out.
She only thought about how Shen Du’s expression changed unusually when facing Pan Chi, showing a hint of ordinary male demeanor. Wasn’t this love?
Zhu Yan carefully spoke, “Though this world has much love between men and women, all things in creation cherish each other. Even if the ancient Fu Xi and Nu Wa descended to the world, they couldn’t fully explain all the emotions and love in this human world.”
Seeing no response from Shen Du, Zhu Yan changed her approach.
“Love between men and women is love, love for one’s country is love, brotherly love is love, love from elders to juniors is love. Who decided that love between men isn’t love?”
Shen Du came back to his senses, hearing Zhu Yan’s comforting words, feeling even more conflicted. Where had he shown any signs of being cut-sleeve? If he let Zhu Yan continue her wild speculations, the rumor of his love for Pan Chi might become set in stone.
Shen Du turned his back to Zhu Yan, silently clenching his fists, trying his best not to explode.
Seeing Shen Du’s stiff back, Zhu Yan instantly felt guilty. Looking at his back, she was at a loss for words.
Was he upset? This kind of thing was normal, and it was normal for him to feel uncomfortable about it.
Zhu Yan took a deep breath and adopted the air of an elder, speaking earnestly. “The Grand Chancellor is human too and should have emotions. Now that you’ve found true love, I’m happy for you. Rest assured, I won’t tell anyone! On the contrary, I support you, so don’t feel burdened.”
“What’s wrong with loving someone? It’s right, regardless of gender! You should confess boldly, just go and say it. But being too direct won’t do either. We don’t know if Pan Chi feels the same way, so we must be careful. We can’t scare him off, or you might not be able to face each other in the future.”
Seeing Shen Du motionless, Zhu Yan thought he must be listening and didn’t notice anything unusual, so she continued.
“He’s a free-spirited and lively person, so he probably likes cheerful personalities. From now on, you shouldn’t always have a dark face. Be more considerate and gentle.” As Zhu Yan spoke, she began to doubt herself. Who was the dominant one between them? Zhu Yan’s face suddenly reddened.
The person behind her suddenly stopped. Shen Du’s face was now three shades darker than those who had been poisoned.
Was she ever going to stop? Just as he was about to turn around, Zhu Yan continued.
“It’s okay, it doesn’t matter who puts in more effort. That’s how it should be between two people.”
She’s still going? Shen Du had clenched and unclenched his fists several times now. Was this woman so dense?
“Don’t let conventional notions constrain you. Be yourself! I believe in you, you can do it!”
Shen Du now had grievances he couldn’t express. So their marriage was just a formality? Then what was that kiss earlier? Even kissing a wooden block would have elicited some reaction by now. She was more wooden than a block of wood.
Thinking of this, Shen Du turned around with a dark face, staring intently at Zhu Yan.
Zhu Yan was frightened by his gaze. Surely he wasn’t planning to silence her now that she knew his secret? She swallowed silently and shrank back a bit.
Seeing her like this, Shen Du’s smile gradually turned sinister as he silently moved closer to Zhu Yan.
“Noisy!”
For a moment, confusion flashed in Zhu Yan’s eyes. How could he not distinguish right from wrong?
Seeing her frightened, Shen Du extended his long arm, pulling her close, and leaned in to kiss her.
Zhu Yan instinctively raised her hands to push him away, but how could she match the strength of the man before her? Shen Du had made up his mind to punish her and wouldn’t allow her to resist.
Seeing her doe-like eyes looking dazed and seemingly covered with a layer of mist, Shen Du had an impulse. He deliberately bit her thin lip. Zhu Yan came to her senses from the pain, her small fists falling on his chest, barely tickling him.
How could a woman possibly overpower Shen Du?
Shen Du had originally intended to teach her a small lesson, making Zhu Yan abandon her notions of cut-sleeve love. But unexpectedly, once he tasted her soft lips, he couldn’t stop. A fire ignited in his lower abdomen, quickly spreading to his dantian and then throughout his body, making him feel invigorated and increasingly unwilling to stop.
After a long while, seeing Zhu Yan’s small face turning purple, seemingly out of breath, Shen Du hurriedly let go. Zhu Yan’s mouth was in pain, but she still raised her hand to cover it, looking at Shen Du with resentful eyes.
“You, you’re shameless!”
Shen Du raised an eyebrow. He was shameless?
Zhu Yan kept wiping her lips, feeling overwhelmed with grievance. With a hint of tears in her voice, coupled with her recent thinness from constantly running errands, and the three parts of coyness on her face after being kissed, she looked as delicate as a rain-drenched begonia, arousing pity. Shen Du felt another rush of heat in his lower abdomen.
“How can you be so shameless! Playing both sides!”