Chapter 11

Shen Yao Xing felt quite depressed after being mysteriously called a friend. She examined the token in her hand, which looked quite nice, but she had no use for it. After flipping it over a few times and giving it some thought, she stuffed it into her pocket.

It was currently early morning market time, with many pedestrians coming and going on the street and endless hawking sounds. Thinking about how she had only eaten a few pastries and drank a few cups of tea at the Sifang Pavilion, she realized she hadn’t even had breakfast yet.

Shen Yao Xing took out her money pouch from her pocket again and carefully counted the copper coins one by one with her head lowered. She only had these few copper coins left on her now. In the past few days, she had been freeloading meals at Meng Xin Yi’s place, so it was about time for her to go make some money.

“Let’s fill my stomach first.” Shen Yao Xing gleefully poured all the copper coins into her hand and swaggered over to the stall, ordering an extra-large portion of wonton.

Perhaps the feng shui of this stall clashed with her. After just a couple of bites, she caught a glimpse of a familiar waist plaque not far away. Looking further up, that face was even more familiar.

“Cough! Cough! Cough!”

Shen Yao Xing rarely choked. Not minding anything else, she hurriedly used her sleeve to cover her face and ate a few more mouthfuls of wonton as much as possible before running off in a flurry to the small alley next to her with her face covered.

Meng Xin Yi, who was drinking tea in the inn, thought the girl would be like usual, staying outside the city until sunset before returning. However, just as she put down her teacup, she saw the girl rushing in with an anxious look on her face, still muttering something like “they’re coming to kill me, they’re coming to kill me”.

“What’s wrong with you?” Meng Xin Yi looked at her packing things in confusion.

“Let’s quickly pack up and leave here!” Shen Yao Xing took everything she could carry, not missing out on some of the little trinkets she had bought here. She threw them all into a bundle, tied it up, grabbed the woman’s arm, and walked out.

Meng Xin Yi didn’t understand the situation and frowned slightly. She grabbed her hand in return: “What exactly happened? Did something go wrong?”

“Anyway, it’s a big deal, let’s hurry up and go!” Saying that, she forcibly pulled her along. Seeing that it was too slow, she simply let go of her: “I’ll go out of the city first and wait for you under that tree outside the city.”

“What exactly happened?”

“I…” Shen Yao Xing didn’t know how to tell her either. She patted her shoulder: “I’ll tell you after we leave the city.”

If she didn’t leave now, it would be too late. After saying that, Shen Yao Xing walked down the corridor to go downstairs, but was stopped again by the woman behind her: “That young sir has woken up, don’t you want to say goodbye to him before leaving?”

“Then please say goodbye to him for me.”

Shen Yao Xing’s feet didn’t stop. Just as she was about to go down the stairs, she saw that the two people had already entered the inn and were talking to the innkeeper with a portrait in hand. The kind-hearted innkeeper even pointed in her direction.

“Hiss.” Shen Yao Xing retracted at the speed of light, but her figure was still caught by the two people.

Meng Xin Yi, who was about to return to the room, saw the girl running back again, looking like she wanted to jump out the window and escape.

The two people on the first floor hurriedly took a shortcut and flew up to the second floor, shouting in unison to stop the person who wanted to jump out the window: “Miss, wait a moment!”

Half of Shen Yao Xing’s body was already out the window. She froze in a ridiculous posture and slowly turned her head back as if in slow motion, pulling out a smile uglier than crying: “What a coincidence…”

“N-n-no… no coincidence!” The black-clothed woman stuttered.

“We, your subordinates, have been looking for you for a long time, Miss!” The white-clothed woman quickly followed up.

The two were twin bodyguards from the Shen Yao Xing’s mansion, known as the Black and White Killers. These names were all given by Shen Yao Xing. One stuttered severely and always wore black clothes, while the other was sharp-tongued and dressed in dazzling white all day.

Shen Yao Xing retreated back to the bedroom in defeat, despondent and listless: “How did you find your way here?”

The capital was far from Taizhou City, one in the east and one in the west. Even if riding fast, it would take six or seven days, but fortunately, they were actually able to find their way here.

Speaking of this, Hei Sha got excited. She snatched the portrait from Bai Sha’s hand and pointed at it to show her: “It-it-it wasn’t, wasn’t…”

Bai Sha snatched the portrait back and continued: “It wasn’t easy, Miss. We searched for nearly two months, suffering through wind and sun just to get a little information, and then rushed over here without stopping!”

Shen Yao Xing believed her because her complexion was obviously much darker than before.

Bai Sha carefully put away the portrait. Just as she was about to put it back in her pocket, it was snatched away by Hei Sha: “I-I-I’ll k-k-keep it!”

“Why should you! I was the one who drew this!” Bai Sha reached out to snatch it back.

Hei Sha dodged to the side and tucked it into her pocket at a speed completely opposite to how she spoke: “The-the-the p-p-paper…” She stuttered for a long time but couldn’t get the word “paper” out.

Perhaps twins always had a telepathic connection. Bai Sha could guess what she wanted to say just by hearing one word: “So what if you bought the paper, I was the one who paid for it!”

After saying that, she pounced over to snatch it. In the end, they started fighting on the ground.

“……” They really hadn’t changed at all. Shen Yao Xing rubbed her forehead.

At the doorway, Meng Xin Yi glanced at the two people wrestling on the ground and gave the girl an inquiring look. Shen Yao Xing pouted at her and finally pointed to the side, gesturing for her to return to the room first and that she would go find her later.

Shen Yao Xing didn’t know if Meng Xin Yi understood her gestures. After a moment of silence, Meng Xin Yi pointed to a bedroom in the distance: “I’ll go check on that young sir.”

When she left, only Shen Yao Xing and the other two remained in the room. Seeing that the two couldn’t be separated for a long time, Shen Yao Xing glanced out the window, considering whether she should take this opportunity to run away. She quietly moved to the window, but as soon as her hand touched the window frame, as if touching some kind of switch, the two people fighting on the ground instantly stopped and stared straight at her.

The hand reaching for the window immediately retracted.

Hei Sha was the first to react. She pounced over and hugged the girl’s leg: “M-M-Miss… Y-You c-can’t…”

Every time Shen Yao Xing heard her speak like this, she felt out of breath for her. Before Hei Sha could finish, Bai Sha also pounced over, wailing like a ghost: “Miss, you can’t leave again!”

Shen Yao Xing argued with a guilty conscience: “I didn’t say I was going to leave…”

After finally appeasing the two, Shen Yao Xing felt a bit mentally exhausted. She lay listlessly on the table and stared at the two for a good while before finally unable to bear opening her mouth: “Just say what you have to say.”

Hei Sha was always the first to stand up: “T-T-The…”

Shen Yao Xing hurriedly raised her hand to stop her: “Alright, you take a break, let Bai Sha speak.”

Bai Sha snorted proudly and took a step forward, cupping her fist: “The master wants you to return to the manor soon.”

She had guessed it. Apart from this, there was almost no other possibility.

Shen Yao Xing silently switched to the other side, her pitch-black back of the head full of resistance.

Bai Sha glanced behind her. Hei Sha gave her an affirmative nod. She pondered for a moment, planning to start with a tactful persuasion: “The master said that if you can go back, she won’t force you to get married.”

“Hmph.” Shen Yao Xing pouted: “She said the same thing last time.”

“Uh…” Bai Sha was at a loss for words. She furtively looked back at the person behind her again. Hei Sha nodded vigorously at her. She swallowed and gritted her teeth, not caring about anything else: “The master said that if you don’t go back, then in the future… in the future, just wait for her to collect your corpse!”

Bai Sha lowered her head very low, looking like she was ready to die.

They always used this trick. Shen Yao Xing irritably scratched her head. The key was that she had to fall for it every time!

…

“What, you’re going back to the capital?” Meng Xin Yi was slightly surprised.

“Mm.” Shen Yao Xing sat at the tea table, propping her chin with one hand, lowering her eyes to pick at the small figurine on the table, with a black and a white guarding behind her.

“Well then…” Meng Xin Yi nodded, not asking much: “That’s good too. When I have time, I’ll come find you.”

“Can’t you come with me?”

If they were together, she wouldn’t be so bored. Meng Xin Yi was really the only person who could chat and play with her. Although her relationship with the Black and White Killers was also good, there was still a master-servant relationship between them. No matter how much they could fool around on weekdays, they still maintained the proper distance and didn’t overstep.

Meng Xin Yi lightly shook her head: “Not now, I still have some things to take care of here.” Seeing the girl looking a bit lost, she raised a smile and promised: “When I’m done, I’ll definitely come find you.”

The woman’s gentle smile made Shen Yao Xing feel a bit embarrassed.

“Tsk.” She pretended to be indifferent and turned her face away, trying to not lose face: “I was just asking, do as you please.”

Two days later

Shen Yao Xing looked at the simple yet luxurious carriage in front of her and couldn’t help but sigh: “Happy days are always so short-lived.”

Hearing this, Hei Sha stammered from behind: “The… c-c-capital… is… is also… v-v-very… h-h-happy!”

Shen Yao Xing turned her head and glanced at her sideways: “Our happiness is different.”

Hei Sha didn’t know what was different and didn’t dare to talk back. She could only scratch her head and let out an “oh”. She didn’t understand what happiness the Miss was referring to. She grew up in the capital since childhood, and as long as she was in the capital, she felt very happy.

The inside of the carriage was very spacious, with a layer of silk cushion laid out. At the back, there was a small round table, and beside the silk cushion, there was a compartment specifically for placing tea and fruits. Sitting inside, it was quite comfortable.

Shen Yao Xing took an apple, lifted the curtain, and admired the scenery outside while munching on it. The carriage slowed down at the city gate. At this time, there were many people coming in and out. Although there was no inspection, there would still be a blockage.

Shen Yao Xing leaned on the carriage window and took another big bite of the apple with a “crunch”. Her cheeks were puffed up, and her pinkish delicate lips were moistened by the apple juice, making them look tender and colorful. Many gazes on the roadside were already stuck on her face.

The girl didn’t care at all. She turned around, took a bunch of grapes, and ate them in three or two mouthfuls with a heroic posture.

Clop clop clop

A carriage slowly drove up to their carriage. With just one glance, Shen Yao Xing’s gaze was completely attracted. It wasn’t anything else, but simply because the exterior of this carriage was extremely luxurious. How luxurious was it? Even the window frames were inlaid with gold edges!

It was just short of having the four characters “I am very rich” emblazoned on it.

Daring to ride in such a carriage that was not low-key at all in this place full of people from all walks of life, it was obvious that the person inside the carriage was not someone simple.

Half of Shen Yao Xing’s head was sticking out of the window, her eyes slightly narrowed, staring intently at the slightly swaying curtain on the opposite side. She always felt that this carriage, which exuded a bit of a pretentious aura, made her feel inexplicably irritated.

Although she didn’t know where this irritation came from.

……