Chapter 16 She Misunderstood Him

Chapter 16 She Misunderstood Him

Shen Nanzi breathed a sigh of relief; the anxiety and unease she had felt for the past two weeks seemed to dissipate at that moment.

There is absolutely no possibility that Xie Yan and the Second Imperial Sister-in-law could be together.

Then she remembered the boy at the archery range that day; he was Xie Hongrui, the son of the Second Prince.

She hadn't seen the child for three years, so naturally she didn't recognize him.

But why did she still feel uneasy, as if there was an invisible thread pulling at her emotions?

"They have no chance. Don't scare yourself."

What are you muttering to yourself?

Shen Nanzi turned her head to the side. Xie Yu was sitting in the empty seat next to her, glancing at her sideways, holding a wine glass, and leaning towards her.

Shen Nanzi also leaned her wine glass towards him, and then drank it all in one gulp.

He took a sip and said in a low voice, only the two of them could hear, "Calm down. Wine is for appreciating, not for guzzling like you do."

The spiciness brought tears to her eyes, and Shen Nanzi smiled bitterly, "Tonight is for indulgence. This snow, this night, this prosperous world, all deserve to be drunk to the fullest."

Xie Yu: "I heard you fell? Were you hurt anywhere?"

"Didn't you see?"

"Yes, I just arrived."

"Thankfully, I wasn't hurt. I wonder who tricked me by smearing wax on the soles of my shoes."

"Such despicable behavior; his motives seem impure. Have you identified a suspect?"

"We've identified someone, but we don't have any evidence. However, it doesn't seem too difficult to investigate them."

"Oh? Tell me about it?"

Shen Nanzi whispered a few words to Xie Yu.

Xie Yu's eyes lit up. "I'll investigate."

“No need. If I can’t even find out such a small thing, then I’m useless,” Shen Nanzi said, raising her glass. “I’ll ask you for help next time when something more difficult comes up. Let’s have a drink.”

"Drunkard," Xie Yu said with a laugh.

Xie Yan walked over, glanced at the two of them, and asked Xie Yu, "When did you two become so familiar?"

Xie Yu called out, "Third Brother is back? Where did you go? You weren't there when Princess Jing fell down."

Xie Yan guessed that he was hungry, picked up his chopsticks, and took a bite slowly. "Someone just reported that someone had forced their way into Hongchi Lake, so I went to deal with it."

Xie Yan glanced at Shen Nanzi, but couldn't bring himself to say it.

At that moment, faint sounds could be heard from the surrounding area.

"What does Your Majesty mean by making the Second Imperial Consort stand like this?"

"The Second Prince's mistake back then, His Majesty must still be unable to forgive him!"

"Indeed! Back then, the Emperor placed high hopes on the Second Prince, and the higher those hopes were, the deeper the disappointment became."

"Hate! Is the Emperor the only one who hates this? The fact that he didn't execute his wife and children has already angered many people."

"Although the sins of the enemy should not be visited upon their families, aren't the lives of 100,000 soldiers also lives? Can the lost territory be recovered?"

"Her appearance pierced the hearts of countless soldiers."

Xie Yan looked over, and Xie Yu glanced at him as well.

Shen Nanzi silently observed Xie Yan's expression.

In the very center, the song and dance performance continued, and Xue Qingning remained standing in the same spot, holding the triangular cauldron in both hands.

Look closely, and you can see it's trembling slightly.

The emperor, seated above, neither asked her to present it nor asked her to leave.

Previously, many people dared not utter a sound, but now that the song has started, they dare to discuss it quietly under the cover of music.

Compared to Shen Nanzi's fall before, this is like being slowly sliced ​​to death; both her body and mind are being tormented.

In this situation, someone must step forward to resolve the predicament and bring the matter to a temporary end.

Given the current situation, no one dares to step forward to help Xue Qingning, or even utter a word of sympathy for the Second Prince.

Beneath the seemingly peaceful and prosperous scene, undercurrents are surging.

Just as everyone was watching quietly, the dancer, for some reason, lost his balance and suddenly bumped into Xue Qingning's triangular cauldron.

The bronze cauldron crashed onto the ice, and as it rolled, the soup inside spilled all over the ground.

Xue Qingning quickly helped the fallen dancer up, "Are you burned?"

The dancer knelt down in a panic, pleading, "Your Majesty, please forgive me and punish me."

The Emperor gave a cryptic "humph," and said, "You may all leave. It's not easy to dance on this ice today, and I've made things difficult for you."

Taking advantage of this opportunity, one of Xue Qingning's maids cleaned up the spilled food, while the other helped Xue Qingning downstairs.

Shen Nanzi noticed obvious bruises on the bare soles of the dancer's feet.

She lost control because she stepped on something sharp.

She then saw Xue Qingning's maid sweep away an object, but it was too far away to see clearly.

However, you can vaguely see that it has sharp edges.

Someone secretly saved Xue Qingning!

Her gaze had been fixed on Xie Yan and Xue Qingning, so it was certain that Xie Yan hadn't made the move.

As long as it's not Xie Yan, everything is negotiable.

"Let's go! Third Brother!" Xie Yu stood up, his eyes sweeping over Shen Nanzi's face. "Going to sleep."

Xie Yan withdrew his gaze. "Okay, go ahead!"

Shen Nanzi was pleased and put some food on Xie Yan's plate, saying, "You've been so busy looking at the food, eat more while it's still warm."

Xie Yan frowned as he looked at her chopsticks. "I can pick it up myself. There's saliva on your chopsticks."

Shen Nanzi's good intentions were not rewarded; she took the food that had been put in his bowl back out and put it all in her own mouth.

While chewing, she huffed, "Pretentious! If you won't eat it, I will."

He slammed his chopsticks down on the table, stood up, and prepared to leave.

Then she regretted not controlling her temper.

Cheng'er wanted to sleep with her father. If she angered Xie Yan and drove him away, Cheng'er would definitely be disappointed tomorrow morning.

Thinking of this, she forced herself to sit down again, hunched her neck and swallowed the food in her mouth, forced a smile, propped her head up and looked at Xie Yan.

"With so many people watching, we must maintain harmony. I'll wait for you to finish eating, and then we'll go back together."

Xie Yan glanced at her. "Even if you're pretending, it's still fake. Besides, I have things to do tonight, so I won't be going back so early."

Shen Nanzi was puzzled, "Didn't you have things to do during the day? Why do you still have things to do at night? You're not made of iron, you can't work twelve hours a day."

"Besides, weren't we out for a trip? You are Prince Jing, why do we have to bother you with every little thing?"

Xie Yan remained silent for a long time before finally putting down his chopsticks and bowl. "For you, this is a trip, but for me, I have a duty to perform."

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you, and I don't want to tell you either."

If Shen Nanzi doesn't get annoyed by Xie Yan several times a day, that's a blessing. "Then come back soon?"

"We'll see!" Xie Yan clearly didn't want to talk anymore, so he picked up his water glass and started drinking.

He wasn't in the dim light; his expression was indifferent, and his eyes were vacant.

Even though she was just sitting there, an inexplicable sadness enveloped her, which was heartbreaking.

Shen Nanzi sighed and turned to leave.

She returned to the tent and saw Cheng'er playing with a small wooden arrow on the bed.

"Aren't you asleep?"

Cheng'er fiddled with the small toy in her hand and shook her head, "Cheng'er wants to play for a while longer."

Shen Nanzi sat down on the edge of the bed and touched his little face. "Mother just asked your father, and he still has some business to attend to."

"I'll be back later, why don't you go to sleep first!"

"Mother, you should go to sleep if you're tired. Father will be happy to see Cheng'er waiting for him when he comes back."

Shen Nanzi felt sad listening to the child's words, knowing that he was trying to please Xie Yan and hoping that Xie Yan would treat her better.

She was also trying to please Xie Yan, hoping he would treat Cheng'er better.

Shen Nanzi's eyes reddened.

I spent some more time with the child, but he was still yawning and refused to sleep.

Hearing that the banquet outside was almost over, I thought I'd go check on it again and ask Xie Yan to come back soon.

She handed the child over to her aunt and left the tent.

I searched all over but couldn't find anyone. The once bustling ice surface gradually disappeared as everyone went to rest.

Just as she was about to go back, Xie Yan's figure appeared from the side in front of her.

A child was perched on his shoulder, and behind him, a figure in apricot color followed closely.