Chapter 24

Shen Yian smiled with his eyes narrowed, pretending to be curious, “What’s going on, Fourth Brother? Do you know them?”

“I’ve had a few encounters with them. They’re the children of Zhao Erhe, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites.”

Shen Jingyu intentionally emphasized the word “Zhao Erhe”.

“The Minister of the Ministry of Rites?”

Shen Yian feigned surprise, not mentioning the Zhao family.

Meanwhile, the shopkeeper saw that the situation was escalating and started to intervene.

“Hmph! You uncouth servant, I’ll teach you a lesson on behalf of your Young Mistress today!”

“Brother, kill that cheap girl!” Zhao Yuleng exclaimed excitedly.

Zhao Yuren had already raised his hand to slap Gu Ruoyi.

“What are you doing?!” Gu Ruoyi hastily pulled Qi Yun behind her to protect her.

Shen Yian and Shen Jingyu’s eyebrows furrowed simultaneously. This slap contained true energy, and if an ordinary person were to receive it, they would either die or be severely injured.

“Stop!”

As the shout rang out, a folding fan flew out of Shen Jingyu’s hand and struck Zhao Yuren’s chest, sending him flying.

The fan spun around and flew back into Shen Jingyu’s hand.

“Snap!”

The fan opened with a light flutter, and the landscape painted on its surface contrasted beautifully with Shen Jingyu’s black attire, making him look like a refined young master.

This was perfect! The flavor was just right!

Shen Yian silently gave Shen Jingyu a thumbs-up on the side, worthy of the original novel’s third male lead. This entrance was so impressive that it directly maxed out the intimidation factor!

“Brother, are you okay?”

The events that had just transpired were too fast, and it took Zhao Yuleng several seconds to react.

Zhao Yuren covered his chest, cursing angrily, “Who?! Who’s the one who dared to sneak attack me, the Young Master?”

“It’s me, the King!” Shen Jingyu replied, folding his fan and walking over with his hands behind his back.

In this situation, it wouldn’t be suitable to not follow up, Shen Yian thought to himself, sighing lightly. He might as well just enjoy the show from the front row.

After all, the main character today was the Fourth Brother!

“Thank you, Young Master… thank you, Your Highness.”

When Gu Ruoyi heard Shen Jingyu’s self-introduction, she quickly changed her words and thanked him with Qi Yun. Then she noticed Shen Yian who was following behind her, and her starry eyes suddenly brightened.

“Zhao Yuren, as the son of a third-rank official, you dare to bully two weak women in public?” Shen Jingyu’s gaze turned cold, immediately putting a big hat on the opponent’s head.

Zhao Yuren’s face instantly turned ugly: “Cousin…”

On the other hand, Zhao Yuleng was very excited, quickly rushing forward to grab Shen Jingyu’s sleeve and pitifully saying, “Cousin, you’re here! They’re bullying me!”

“Ugh…” Qi Yun couldn’t help but retch at the sight, feeling disgusted…

“Look at her, Cousin! Look!” Zhao Yuleng pointed at Qi Yun, her eyes reddening as if she was about to cry, displaying an Oscar-worthy performance that could kill off all the ancient costume drama actresses in her previous life.

Shen Jingyu flicked his sleeve, his tone icy cold: “Have you forgotten even the basic etiquette in public?”

“I pay respects to the King of Song!” Zhao Yuren gritted his teeth, enduring the pain as he stood up to bow. “I pay… pay respects to the King of Chu!”

Shen Yian thought the guy hadn’t noticed him, so he smiled politely, indicating that they should continue, and he would just observe without speaking.

The King of Chu?

Gu Ruoyi’s eyes widened in surprise, covering her small mouth. She hadn’t expected him to be a king.

“We pay respects to the King of Song, pay respects to the King of Chu!” The surrounding onlookers hastily followed suit, bowing.

Zhao Yuleng maintained her pitiful expression as she bowed, but when she saw Shen Yian, her eyes sparkled with excitement, exceeding her reaction to Shen Jingyu.

“Brother Yian~”@@novelbin@@

This affectionate call “Brother Yian” directly made Shen Yian feel uncomfortable.

I am not familiar with you, please don’t bother me, thank you.

Shen Yian sensed Zhao Yuleng’s intention to pounce over, so he quickly shifted to Shen Jingyu’s other side.

Cheng Hai took a step forward, blocking the way and completely cutting off the opponent’s thoughts.

“What’s going on?” Shen Jingyu’s gaze turned cold, asking the shopkeeper.

“It’s like this, Your Highness…”

The shopkeeper used his well-trained eloquence to clearly explain the entire situation in just a few simple sentences.

“Cousin, I really like that fox fur,” Zhao Yuleng sobbed, squeezing out tears.

That pitiful appearance made Zhao Yuren’s heart ache; their family loved this little sister the most, and it was no exaggeration to say she was the apple of their eye.

“Cousin, Yuleng really likes that fox fur. If these two ladies are willing to give it to us, I’ll offer double, no, I’ll offer quadruple the price!” Zhao Yuren stretched out four fingers, still coughing a few times while speaking.

Shen Jingyu’s fan had caused him minor injuries, but it had disrupted the flow of true energy in his body, making him feel very uncomfortable.

“You didn’t have this attitude just now,” Shen Jingyu sneered.

“I apologize, Cousin…”

“I sincerely apologize to these two ladies… I’m sorry.” Zhao Yuren’s attitude did a 180-degree turn.

It wasn’t that he knew he was wrong, but he was scared.

No matter how the Zhao family elders were, among his peers, no one wasn’t afraid of Shen Jingyu.

Gu Ruoyi lightly nodded, acknowledging the apology.

“And you?” Shen Jingyu’s cold gaze turned to Zhao Yuleng.

“I won’t apologize! Why should I apologize? It’s them who bullied me! Waaah!”

Zhao Yuleng cried even harder, her pitiful expression making the shopkeeper feel a bit sympathetic.

“Slap!”

A crisp slapping sound echoed.

Shen Yian’s eyes widened slightly.

Fourth Brother! You’re so shameless!

A bright red palm print was clearly imprinted on Zhao Yuleng’s small face.

“Shut up.”

Shen Jingyu’s eyes almost overflowed with cold intent.

Zhao Yuleng was stunned, her whole body frozen in place.

“Yuleng!” Zhao Yuren’s face turned even uglier due to his internal true energy surging out of control.

“Apologies, my cousin has lost her upbringing. I’ll apologize on her behalf to the two ladies.”

Shen Jingyu’s tone underwent a transformation, and he turned to face the two women.

“It’s okay, Your Highness,” Gu Ruoyi hastily bowed her head.

Shen Yian was impressed by Shen Jingyu’s series of operations.

Those who could reach the third floor had at least some status and assets. This move slapped the Zhao family in the face and boosted the prestige of the King of Song’s mansion.

Compared with these, he was more curious about how Gu Ruoyi would move the heart of the Living Widow.

“Cousin, even if Yuleng did something wrong, you don’t have to hit her, do you?” Zhao Yuren asked, still holding his trembling cousin.

“Did Zhao Zhengqing teach you to do wrong things often?” Shen Yian smiled lightly, his eyes narrowing.

He was familiar with adding insult to injury.

Since they were already on the same side as Fourth Brother, they should at least show some attitude.

“My father didn’t educate us like that…” Zhao Yuren didn’t expect Shen Yian to suddenly speak up, and his face turned red.

Shen Jingyu didn’t bother with Zhao Yuren, looking at the two women with a slightly softer tone: “I wonder if the two ladies would be willing to part with this fox fur?”

Gu Ruoyi’s face showed difficulty, as this fox fur was extremely soft and smooth, and she had already set her eyes on it, thinking of using it to make a winter scarf for her father.

If she refused, she might offend the King of Song’s face.

“No need to be afraid, just speak your mind. I’m not an unreasonable person,” Shen Jingyu said, his gaze about to turn to the Zhao siblings, when Shen Yian spoke up again.

“You don’t need to be afraid. This Fourth Brother of mine is a knife-mouthed, tofu-hearted person, appearing cold but actually a kind and gentle man. Unfortunately, this cold exterior has missed out on many good opportunities.”

“May I ask the lady’s name, which family you are from, and if you are already married? It’s fate to meet, so why not set a time to have tea with my Fourth Brother and chat?”

Shen Yian smiled, chatting away, completely disregarding the dead silence in the atmosphere.

His goal was to extract Gu Ruoyi’s identity and make Shen Jingyu remember.

I have good intentions, Fourth Brother~

Shen Jingyu’s eyes twitched fiercely. This guy…