How could a poor scholar like her dare to covet it?

Her heart, which had been beating violently, had already lost its strength, falling heavily back into her chest.

Su Jin lowered her eyes, concealing the darkness within.

………

“Young Master! You’ve finally come out.”

The servant who came to report had a pale face, not even two sentences out. His peeking expression suddenly stiffened, and he abruptly knelt on the ground, “Madam.”

Shen Meng ran her household and her teaching with equal rigor. The old women and maids in the manor had to study, so naturally, the manservants also had to recognize characters.

But this pair of jesters serving Shen Yuan, one recognized characters but not words, the other recognized neither characters nor words. Whenever they saw Shen Meng, they were like mice seeing a cat, trembling terribly.

Shen Yuan stood in place, obediently bowing, “Mother.”

“Mm.” Shen Meng’s face was stern as she glanced at Shen Yuan, then took a step forward before stopping again, “Did you catch a chill going out today?”

She stopped and started.

Shen Yuan didn’t know why, but he shook his head lightly, “I didn’t. Because the rain was too heavy, your son has been watching plays in the flower hall all along.”

Going out with the Fifth Imperial Daughter had already caused his mother great worry. He thought for a moment and added, “The Fifth Imperial Daughter also invited several other young masters to join, so we were not alone.”

“Although the Fifth Imperial Daughter is flirtatious, she still observes propriety.” Shen Meng wasn’t worried about this. She looked at Shen Yuan’s still slightly red ear tips, then at his serious face when speaking of the Fifth Imperial Daughter, and relaxed a little.

Finally, she said, “One rain brings a chill. Go tell the kitchen to brew some ginger soup for you and your father to drink together. A man’s constitution is not as robust as a woman’s, so it’s always better to be careful.”

“Yes.” Shen Yuan’s eyes were gentle as he softly agreed.

Watching Shen Meng leave, the servant who had been trembling just now suddenly came back to life. He supported Shen Yuan’s arm, slowly flattering him, “Young Master, I saw you teasing that fool just now, it was truly satisfying.”

“Not only did you make her flustered and lose her composure, but with just one sentence, you left her speechless. In this servant’s opinion, that scholar lady’s face was so red just now, she probably won’t forget the young master for the rest of her life, keeping you at the very tip of her heart.”

Shen Yuan paused, his fingertips seeming to catch fire, spreading very subtly along his meridians.

“Huh? Young Master! Did you really catch a chill? Why is your face getting redder and redder? Could it be that you’re embar…”

“Huai An.”

“Young Master, what is it?”

Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, looking at the still jubilant servant, patted his head and rolled his eyes several times, “You’ve misused idioms again. Go back and copy the essay on literacy ten more times.”

Him? Embarrassed?

Shen Yuan secretly sneered. How could that be possible? He couldn’t care less about having any relationship with a poor scholar like her!

His future wife-master would surely be a noble lady who doesn’t show her emotions easily and has schemes in her heart. Not some fool who blushes all over and doesn’t know what to do after being looked at twice.

This is absolutely impossible!