Chapter 216: Ungrateful

Mrs. Lu was full of praise for Xie Tingzhou. She had not touched wine for a long time, but she had a drink today. After eating, she began to wipe her tears and said that it was a pity that Ayu and Zhao'er didn't watch what happened today. The children are about to start a family.

The meal started happily and ended with a bang.

Mrs. Lu knew that the two had not seen each other for a long time, so she gave them time.

"You touch it." Xie Tingzhou stretched out his hand.

After all, in the Lu Mansion, Shen Yu didn't dare to be so bold. She suddenly became extremely dignified and polite. She clasped her hands at her waist and looked very decent.

Normally, I would have touched it long ago.

"My hands are shaking." Xie Tingzhou said again.

Shen Yu glanced around and saw that the servants had retreated to the entrance of the courtyard at some point.

She quickly took a handful of his hands and felt that his palms were sweating, "Why are you so sweaty?"

Xie Tingzhou said: "Nervous, afraid that my performance will not be good enough and my grandma will be displeased."

Shen Yu didn't expect that Xie Tingzhou, whose expression remained unchanged despite the collapse of the mountain, could be so nervous towards Old Mrs. Lu. She was about to retract her hand, but Xie Tingzhou held her hand.

"Let go." Shen Yu scolded with a frown.

Xie Tingzhou said without changing his expression: "The old lady has promised to give you to me, and the betrothal gift has been carried through the door. I can't even touch my royal concubine?"

"Someone is here." Shen Yu whispered.

Xie Tingzhou glanced at the door. Wherever he looked, all the maids lowered their heads.

"Okay," he said, then looked steadily at her face.

This was not the first time he had seen her wearing women's clothing, he had seen her once in Jiaofangsi.

She actually had a pair of overly bright eyes, but she didn't put any makeup on her. Now she was wearing a moon-white dress, which made her look just right.

Autumn chrysanthemums are blooming just right this season, and they are embellished on the hem of her moon-white skirt, not even stained by dust.

"Why are you staring at me all the time?" Shen Yu made him feel uncomfortable.

Thinking something was wrong, she raised her hand to straighten the hairpin on her temples, but Xie Tingzhou took her hand.

"You should wear it like this from now on, it looks so good."

Shen Yu pursed her lips and smiled, "It's not convenient to travel dressed like this."

Xie Tingzhou said: "Then wear it at home and show it to me."

Home, life flies by so fast, they are about to have their own home.

"I--"

"Ahem." Two deliberate coughs came from the door.

Shen Yu suddenly retracted her hand and pretended as if nothing had happened.

"Stop pretending." Shen Zhao walked in, "I saw it all."

Shen Yu said helplessly: "Why do you always see it?"

"How do I know?" Shen Zhao said, "You should think about why you keep getting bumped into by me."

"Then you can't pretend not to watch to save some face for the other party. When you hold my sister-in-law's hand on the street, I always stay away from you."

Shen Zhao touched his nose sheepishly and cleared his throat deliberately.

Xie Tingzhou watched the brother and sister bickering from the sidelines.

Prince Beilin has a strong interest. He has many brothers and sisters, but he has never felt such brotherhood.

"Brother." Xie Tingzhou said.

Shen Zhao was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "I'll give you something."

"What?" Shen Yu asked curiously.

"The portrait of Prince Beilin." Shen Zhao unfolded the portrait in his hand.

Shen Yu laughed immediately, "Who is this?"

Shen Zhao held the painting and said to Xie Tingzhou: "The portrait of the Crown Prince sent by King Beilin, I'm seeing if it was sent to the wrong one, and it was a portrait of one of your brothers."

"It's not the wrong delivery." Xie Tingzhou said: "I have never had any brother behave like this. My father did not act according to common sense and caused trouble to the old lady."

When he arrived, King Beilin proudly told him that he had specially polished up his portrait to make him more likable, but he never expected that it would be such a polishing method.

King Beilin lived in the military camp all year round and liked men with strong backs and strong waists. He always felt that Xie Tingzhou's figure was not tall enough, so the man in the portrait was a bit rough.

Shen Yu thought to herself, no wonder, no wonder her grandmother told her before that you should just tolerate his appearance, temperament is the most important thing.

At that time, she thought her grandmother was saying that Xie Tingzhou was born to attract bees and butterflies, but she didn't expect that Xie Tingzhou would look like this in her grandmother's eyes.

Xie Tingzhou reached out to take it, "This painting will be destroyed. Later I will ask the painter to draw a portrait of me and Ayu, and then send it to Mrs. Lu."

"Okay." Shen Zhao nodded, "Then I'll leave first."

"Brother, stay here." Xie Tingzhou said, "I have something I want to discuss with you."

The things that Shen Zhao could discuss together were definitely not Beilin's internal affairs. They were either related to Shen Yu or related to the war.

"Then, let's talk in the pavilion." Shen Zhao said

The stone benches in the pavilion were covered with soft cushions. The maid served tea and then retreated far away. The three of them sat at the same table.

Xie Tingzhou thought for a moment and said, "I have something to ask you for help. I want to take Ayu back to Beilin right after your wedding banquet."

"I can't handle this." Shen Zhao said dissatisfied.

Shen Yu was also stunned for a moment, "Why are you so anxious?"

Xie Tingzhou took out a folded piece of paper from his sleeve and placed it on the stone table. Shen Zhao immediately took it over and opened it to read. The more he looked at it, the darker his face became.

"Where did you come from with this statement?"

"A message?" Shen Yu took it over.

Xie Tingzhou took a serious look at her, then moved his eyes to Shen Zhao and said, "Li Zhaonian sent a message. I happened to intercept it on the way to Hezhou, but it can't be delayed for too long. The message has been sent and the matter is a foregone conclusion. It won't be long." The capital of Rihe Prefecture will receive the news, so I want to take Ayu back to Beilin as soon as possible. "

"Shen Yu, the former Marquis of Yu, was arrogant and insulted the heaven and earth, and was against the Tao and the principles... It is not enough to describe his evil. It is obvious to the world, and everyone has heard and seen it. Now I will briefly mention it to serve as a metaphor for the people."

Shen Yu read every word carefully. A gust of wind happened to blow the letter to the ground, but no one picked it up.

Xie Tingzhou always paid attention to her. Although her face was calm, her breathing was heavier.

He held her hand under the table and comforted her silently.

Shen Zhao was so angry that he clenched his fists, "No one in the imperial family is good. You fought for him in Shengjing, and then he turned around and branded you as a rebellious minister and traitor. You are simply ungrateful. If I had known better, I would have let you go." He died in the hands of Li Yanchang."

"Marquis Xuanping doesn't send out messages, and neither does Beilin." Shen Zhao glanced at Xie Tingzhou and said, "I'm not targeting you, I'm just discussing the matter."

He continued: "I finally understand. Xuanpinghou and Beilin have soldiers. They can't spare the troops and financial resources to deal with these two sides. But the matter in Shengjing is so big that someone has to take the blame. Even Jiang An's death can't quell public outrage, so I put the blame on you and picked you as a soft persimmon. "

Shen Yu's eyes were red, and Xie Tingzhou stopped talking.

Shen Zhao worriedly asked: "Auntie?"

Shen Yu shook her head silently, indicating that she was fine.

Xie Tingzhou hesitated for a moment, and finally looked at Shen Zhao, "Can you avoid it for a moment?"

Shen Zhaoyi was filled with anger. He originally wanted to say a few more words, but after thinking about it, he decided not to. He was afraid of adding fuel to the fire if he said too much.

"Then you should try to persuade her."

① Xiwen (xí) refers to documents used in ancient times to inform, recruit, denounce, etc., especially documents that denounce enemies or rebels.