Chapter 47

When arriving at the main hall, she saw Mother Shen talking and laughing cheerfully with that Young Master Yin. Pitiful that Mother Shen rarely showed such a pleasant expression towards her.

Shen Yao Xing’s mouth corners drooped, and she slowly walked over.

The two people in the main hall stopped talking due to the girl’s appearance, their gazes focusing on her. Finally, Mother Shen spoke first: “What are you doing staying in the mansion all day? You should take the time to accompany Young Master Yin out more often.”

Shen Yao Xing sat down listlessly opposite the young man, glancing up at the person across from her, then rested her chin on her hand and looked out of the room.

“What’s so good about going out?” the girl muttered.

After saying this, she glanced at the person opposite and clicked her tongue: “Didn’t I have someone pass on the message to you that it wasn’t convenient to go out today?”

The young man put down his teacup, with a faint smile on his lips. His gestures and manners were elegant and graceful, even his voice was more clear and restrained, particularly pleasant and captivating, completely unlike yesterday’s aggressive manner: “That’s why I specially came to visit today, and I can also see Young Master Song along the way.”

“Why are you looking at my elder brother?” Shen Yao Xing almost reflexively assumed this person was coming to tattle.

Mother Shen’s eyes showed displeasure, and she sternly reprimanded: “Zhao Zhao, don’t be rude.”

Shen Yao Xing was scolded and pressed her lips tightly, turning her gaze away and leaning back, no longer looking at him.

Mother Shen’s expression eased slightly, and when she looked at the young man, she was even more satisfied. Her brows relaxed as she smiled and said: “Young Master Yin is thoughtful. Nian’er has always been frail and prone to illness. The doctor has seen him and said there’s nothing serious.”

Hearing this, Shen Yao Xing was displeased and couldn’t help but retort: “Mother, you’ve only taken a glance at him, how do you know there’s nothing serious with elder brother? He’s fainted twice already!”

Although not her biological child, he was still raised under her care. Mother Shen and that Song lady looked the same, just passing by to take a look, never specially taking time to properly check on him.

Mother Shen’s face darkened slightly at being contradicted by her daughter in front of outsiders: “The doctor has said there’s nothing serious, what more do you want?”

“Hmph,” Shen Yao Xing snorted lightly, folding her arms and affirming to herself: “That can only mean she’s an incompetent doctor.”

Otherwise, how could elder brother keep coughing non-stop, with no improvement after taking several doses of medicine?

Mother Shen didn’t want to say more on this matter, especially with a guest present. She looked towards the silent young man on the other side and asked gently: “What plans does Young Master Yin have for today?”

Jiang Ming Yue raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the girl’s face, the curve of his lips slightly cold: “I had intended to go to Meiyu Pavilion to pick out some jade pendants, but it seems that’s off now.”

“Having such leisure and refined interests is a good thing. Let Zhao Zhao accompany you,” Mother Shen immediately pushed her own daughter out again.

Shen Yao Xing frowned and turned back: “No, I still need to take care of elder brother.”

“The servants can handle the care, why do you need to worry about it?” Mother Shen mercilessly rejected her reason.

Shen Yao Xing pouted. She indeed had another purpose, which was not wanting to accompany this Young Master Yin around everywhere.

Mainly, just going out would be fine, but this person often found trivial matters to trouble her, saying he forgot to bring this or that, making her run back and forth between places, and even heartlessly asking her to cook for him.

Fortunately, Shen Yao Xing resolutely refused. If they were in the same boat, why should she be the one to drown?

However, seeing Mother Shen’s firm attitude, it seemed this matter was not allowed to be declined.

Just as the young man’s evil scheme was about to succeed, Ah Qi rushed in hurriedly. Housekeeper Luo, who was waiting at the door, quickly stopped him and scolded severely: “Is this a place you can barge into? Where have all your manners gone?”

Ah Qi shrank his head timidly, stammering: “This… this servant is looking for… looking for the young miss…”

Housekeeper Luo was about to reprimand him further, but her words were interrupted by the girl inside the main hall: “Auntie Luo, just let him in.”

“Yes.” Only then did Housekeeper Luo let him enter.

Ah Qi kept his head lowered, not daring to look around, and stopped after walking a few steps in. Only when the young miss asked did he stammer: “The young master, he… he’s coughing very badly…”

Mother Shen on the main seat frowned with displeasure: “If he’s coughing badly, you should go fetch a doctor. Why come here?”

Ah Qi lowered his head even more, his voice timid: “It’s… it’s the young miss who ordered that if the young master had any unusual condition, to tell her…”

Shen Yao Xing nodded in agreement from the side: “That’s right, I told him to do so. Mother, I need to go see how elder brother is doing now. The matter of Meiyu Pavilion can be discussed another time.”

Mother Shen naturally wouldn’t allow it. Aside from accompanying Young Master Yin, the two children were already so grown up and didn’t know to avoid suspicion. One about to be married off, one about to take a wife, what business did they have always being together?

Just as mother and daughter were at an impasse, the person who had been silent all along spoke up. He put on a proper smile, very understanding: “Madam Shen, why force Miss Shen like this? I came here today intending to visit Young Master Song.”

Having said that, his gaze fell on the girl’s face, his smile unchanged: “As it happens, I have some knowledge of medicine. Perhaps I could check Young Master Song’s pulse.”

Shen Yao Xing felt that today’s Young Master Yin was very inappropriate. Although she knew he was putting on an act in front of Mother Shen, that smile was creepy no matter how she looked at it, making people feel uneasy.

“Young Master Yin even knows medicine?” Mother Shen was a bit surprised.

“It’s just something I learned by chance for a short while,” Jiang Ming Yue’s cool gaze rested lightly on the girl, his fingers lightly pinching the teacup, almost wanting to crush it to pieces.

In the end, Mother Shen agreed, letting Shen Yao Xing accompany the young man over.

On the way, Shen Yao Xing glanced at the person beside her, still unable to contain her curiosity: “Do you really know medicine?”

Jiang Ming Yue glanced at the girl faintly, his thin lips lifting slightly: “Whether I know or not, Miss Shen will find out soon enough.”

The man clearly didn’t seem to want to engage with her much. Shen Yao Xing bit her upper lip and didn’t say anything more. After all, she had stood him up first; if it were her, she’d be upset too.

The two arrived at Song Si Nian’s courtyard. Before they even entered the bedroom, they could hear the young man’s faint coughing.

Shen Yao Xing walked in first, familiarly going up to pat his back and help him catch his breath: “How are you still coughing after drinking so much medicine? Is your throat itchy or what?”

Song Si Nian frowned slightly as he coughed, and after easing a bit, he looked at her, just shaking his head lightly without speaking. Catching sight of the figure not far behind the girl in his peripheral vision, the weak smile on his lips suddenly froze.

Shen Yao Xing turned back and introduced generously: “This is Young Master Yin. He heard you were sick, so he came to visit.”

To be honest, these words didn’t sound very credible, after all, they knew the nature of their relationship themselves. It was just putting on an act, but perhaps this person liked to act thoroughly.

Song Si Nian forced a slight smile, raising his gaze to meet the man’s eyes. That pitch-black sharp gaze seemed to split him open entirely, seeing through the little thoughts in his heart clearly.

The hand resting on the silk quilt trembled slightly, and he lowered his eyes.

Completely oblivious, Shen Yao Xing continued: “He says he knows medicine, so he can take a look at you while he’s here.”

As she spoke, she turned back and waved to the person behind her, moving to the side to make room.

Song Si Nian pressed his pale lips together and said softly: “It’s just a minor ailment, how could I trouble Young Master Yin.”

As he finished speaking, Jiang Ming Yue had already come to the bedside. His cold eyes surveyed that slightly sickly face, and his thin lips curled: “It’s just a small effort, how could it be trouble? Besides, we’ll all be one family in the future, there’s no need for such formalities.”

These words seemed to be deliberately said for him to hear, and the damage to Song Si Nian was undoubtedly enormous. His already pale face paled even more, and his lowered eyelashes trembled slightly.

Keenly catching the emotional changes of the person on the bed, Jiang Ming Yue became even more certain of his guess. His eyes suddenly turned cold, almost wanting to directly twist this person’s head off.

Truly an irritating thing.

“Please extend your hand a bit, Song Si Nian, so I can take your pulse.”

The man’s face was calm and unruffled, but beneath that handsome exterior, he was already distorted with jealousy, dark thoughts quietly arising.

Song Si Nian glanced at the girl at the foot of the bed, slowly turning his hand and extending it to the edge of the bed. Soon his wrist was pressed by the man’s four long, snow-white fingers. He stared blankly at those fingers, a hint of inferiority rising in his heart.

It should be a man like Young Master Yin who is worthy of Zhao Zhao…

A wave of desolation surged in his heart, and Song Si Nian suddenly withdrew his hand to cover his mouth, coughing violently. His body trembled as if he might cough himself unconscious at any moment.

Shen Yao Xing hurriedly came forward, squeezing past the person at the bedside, helping him catch his breath while turning back to ask: “How is it?”

Looking at the girl’s anxious appearance, Jiang Ming Yue’s eyes were like ice, his hand clenched tightly under his wide sleeve. After a long while, he finally opened his lips, his voice particularly cold: “Song Si Nian’s pulse is stable, not a disease pulse.”

His gaze passed over the girl and fell on the person who had eased his coughing, his beautiful eyes narrowing, saying meaningfully: “I’m afraid Song Si Nian has melancholy, a heart ailment.”

Shen Yao Xing listened in confusion: “What does that mean?”

“It means thinking about things one shouldn’t think about, dwelling on things one shouldn’t dwell on.” Jiang Ming Yue stared intently at the man’s increasingly pale face, his thin lips curling into a sneer: “Song Si Nian, am I right?”

Song Si Nian bit his lower lip hard, almost certain that he knew something. He dared not answer nor look, only using coughing to cover up his inner unease. Just thinking that the girl would despise him if she knew about this made his heart ache.

His hand suddenly grasped the arm of the person beside him, and Song Si Nian weakly murmured: “Zhao Zhao… Elder brother doesn’t feel well…”

Shen Yao Xing hurriedly helped him lie down, tucking him in with the silk quilt, only standing up after he had fallen asleep.

When she turned around wanting to ask for clarification, she found that the person was no longer in the room. Just as she was wondering, Ah Qi, who had been waiting on the side, came over. He glanced at the master sleeping on the bed and reported in a low voice: “Young miss, Young Master Yin has already left.”

Recalling the man’s appearance when leaving, Ah Qi shuddered, finding it even more frightening than when the young master was angry.

Shen Yao Xing didn’t pay much attention, waving her hand and walking out while yawning.

She thought she could sleep peacefully now, but as soon as she returned to the courtyard, she saw that annoying person waiting for her. Shen Yao Xing’s temples throbbed with pain, and by the time she wanted to avoid him, it was already too late.

“Little Xing Xing~”

The bruises on Chu Yi’s face had not completely faded, but his annoying smile hadn’t diminished at all.