Chapter 14: Speculation. Adoration or Gratitude, Guess for Yourself.

Following that was Gu Yuanchen’s cool voice, but the specific content was too muffled to be heard clearly.

The Heir Apparent? Gu Yuanchen?

Su Zhenyue’s expression changed instantly. What is he doing here?

Although the Jing An Marquis Estate had publicly declared that there was only a sibling-like affection between her and Gu Yuanchen after the imperial marriage decree, and had strictly forbidden the servants of the estate from discussing the matter, and she had also made it clear to Gu Yuanchen that they should keep their distance… what if he acted strangely upon seeing her, and Shen Ji noticed…

No, no matter what, now was not a good time to see him.

With no time for further thought, Su Zhenyue hastily dropped a sentence, “I’ll hide for a bit. Don’t tell him I’m here,” and slipped into the nearby study to hide.

“Alright,” Shen Ji agreed instinctively, a sense of nervousness inexplicably rising within him as well.

The next moment, however, he frowned slightly. Wait, why does she need to hide? What is there to be nervous about?

The two of them were interacting openly and honorably; it wasn’t as if they had some shameful secret affair. What was she panicking about?

But at this moment, there was no time for him to ask for the reason. Because with a “creak,” the half-closed courtyard gate was pushed open.

Ping An led the Jing’an Marquis Heir, Gu Yuanchen, inside.

“Young Master, the Heir Apparent, he…”

Shen Ji, with a perfectly straight face, cut him off. “I know. Ping An, you may leave. Do not enter without my orders.”

As he spoke, he tucked that vibrant and extravagant bracelet into his sleeve.

Gu Yuanchen had sharp eyes and caught the movement, feeling a little strange in his heart. Why does Shen Ji have a piece of women’s jewelry? But his personality was aloof, and this was someone else’s private matter. Thus, he lowered his gaze and pretended not to have seen it.

“Yes, Young Master.” Ping An acknowledged the order, retreated, and closed the door behind him.

Only after closing the door did Ping An remember something: Why didn’t I see Miss Su?

He remembered Miss Su was also here and hadn’t left yet.

Ping An shook his head. Forget it. If I can’t figure it out, I won’t think about it for now. In any case, the Young Master and the Heir Apparent had official business to discuss right now, so it was impossible for him to sneak back in to confirm.

Inside Qingfeng Courtyard, Gu Yuanchen gave a light cough and got straight to the point. “Brother Shen, I’ve come this time to ask for your guidance on a matter.”

Shen Ji’s expression was as usual. He didn’t invite him inside to talk, only saying politely, “I wouldn’t dare presume to offer guidance. If the Heir Apparent has something to say, please feel free.”

“Alright, then I’ll be direct. On the night of the third day of the tenth month, assassins broke into the Zhuangzi in the city outskirts to commit murder. I heard that Brother Shen has crossed swords with them. Did you happen to discern anything about their origins?” Gu Yuanchen asked after some deliberation. “Or do you know of any clues?”

A month had passed since the incident, and the mastermind behind it had yet to be found. Gu Yuanchen had his suspicions, but no actual evidence. A few days ago, he had accidentally learned that on the very next day after the assassination attempt, Princess Chengping’s Manor had disposed of a corpse.

He became increasingly suspicious that the matter was inextricably linked to the Princess Manor.

But this alone was far from conclusive proof. Therefore, he went to ask Zhao Eryong and the others at the Zhuangzi, but unfortunately, they couldn’t provide any solid leads either.

Left with no other choice, Gu Yuanchen had come to try his luck with Shen Ji, hoping to get a sliver of a clue from him.

Shen Ji was slightly taken aback and glanced in the direction of the study.

So he came because of her.

Hearing this from the study, Su Zhenyue was also inwardly surprised.

She had long since resolved to draw a clear line with Gu Yuanchen. Why was he still so persistent in investigating the mastermind? She had thought he had already given up.

In the courtyard, Shen Ji pondered for a moment before answering, “I am not clear on their origins, but they had poison hidden in their teeth, were well-trained, and every move was a killing blow. They should be specially trained sworn assassins? But I have only just arrived in the capital, so as for which family trained these sworn assassins, I have no way of knowing.”

Gu Yuanchen pressed his lips together, his face looking grim.

Shen Ji thought for a moment, then asked the question that had been hidden in his heart for a long time. “Heir Apparent, I see that Miss Su is kind and intelligent, not someone who would be fierce and combative. How could she have made such an enemy?”

The moment this question was asked, before Gu Yuanchen could even answer, Su Zhenyue, hiding in the study, grew tense. Her heart leaped into her throat, terrified that Gu Yuanchen would speak of their past.

—It wasn’t that their past couldn’t see the light of day, but she was currently trying to get close to Shen Ji. Her plan was not yet complete, the timing was not right, and letting him know about those things would likely be detrimental to her actions.

Fortunately, Gu Yuanchen was silent for a moment before saying vaguely, “I don’t know either. She has always been kind to others and never makes enemies.”

Su Zhenyue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, her suspended heart slowly settling down. Thank goodness, thank goodness.

“That’s strange,” Shen Ji murmured. “I was originally thinking of starting from that angle, that perhaps there might be a clue.”

Gu Yuanchen was silent. Hadn’t he thought the same? Unfortunately, there was no evidence, and it also involved a lady’s reputation, so the reasons behind it were not something he could disclose to an outsider.

Shen Ji remembered something and asked again, “Are there no clues from the capital prefecture either?”

He remembered that the Gu family had reported it to the authorities early the next morning.

“None.” Gu Yuanchen pressed his brow, growing more and more frustrated. The capital prefecture was a bunch of good-for-nothings, incompetent and afraid of stirring up trouble. They were planning to treat this as an unsolved case.

He composed himself slightly and cupped his hands. “Brother Shen, I won’t disturb you any longer. Please carry on with your work. I will send my men to investigate further.”

“Alright.” Shen Ji gave a slight nod and personally saw him off.

As he raised his hand, the bracelet hidden in his sleeve was inadvertently revealed a little.

Gu Yuanchen’s gaze flickered. Suppressing the curiosity in his heart, he took his leave directly.

After he left, Shen Ji took the bracelet out from his sleeve again and raised his voice slightly. “You can come out now. He’s gone.”

After his voice fell, a few more breaths passed before a set of extremely light footsteps could be heard.

It was Su Zhenyue, walking out slowly from the study.

She took a few steps closer, a sweet smile on her face, her beautiful eyes curving like crescent moons. “Thank you, Cousin.”

Alright, and thank heavens nothing went wrong.

“Why did you hide just now?” Shen Ji didn’t smile, only looking at her searchingly.

Does she feel that our current interactions cannot see the light of day?

“I…” Su Zhenyue was taken aback and found it difficult to answer. How should she put this?

Telling the truth was definitely not an option.

Intentionally guiding the conversation in an ambiguous direction? It didn’t seem like the time was right for that either.

Su Zhenyue’s thoughts spun, and she finally answered hesitantly, “I, I don’t know either. The moment I heard someone was coming, my heart panicked, and I had only one thought, which was to hide first and not be discovered.”

The young lady’s eyes darted about, her fair cheeks flushing slightly, revealing a rare look of bewilderment and helplessness.

A thought suddenly stirred in Shen Ji’s heart. He vaguely thought of a possibility, but then immediately felt it was too presumptuous and forcibly stopped himself.

He let out a nonchalant “Oh,” to show he understood. Without saying whether he believed her or not, he asked casually, “Are you and Heir Apparent Gu on very good terms?”

Su Zhenyue’s heart skipped a beat, but she showed no sign of it on her face. She didn’t directly answer “good” or “not good,” only saying, “I came to the Gu family when I was six, so I suppose I grew up with the Heir Apparent and the others.”

Shen Ji was silent for a moment. “…No wonder.”

After a moment of thought, Su Zhenyue pretended to add casually, “I almost had an accident at the Gu family’s Zhuangzi. The Old Madam, the Marquis, the Second Master, the two Madams, as well as the Heir Apparent, Zhenzhen, and the others were all very worried, terrified that something might happen to me.”

“Mm,” Shen Ji thought to himself. It’s a matter of life and death, so it’s normal for them to be worried. A thought stirred in his mind. “The Jing An Marquis Estate rose to prominence through military merit. Why haven’t I seen you ask them to make the sleeve arrow?”

He had had this question for a long time. But after actually asking it, he felt it wasn’t quite right. The words sounded as if he was unwilling to help her.

And the young lady before him already had her eyelashes trembling, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.

Su Zhenyue’s mind raced, and in an instant, she had an idea. She didn’t answer his question, but instead lifted her eyes slightly, hesitating as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t. “Did I, did I disturb you, Cousin?”

The unease on the young lady’s face was obvious, and Shen Ji subconsciously denied it. “No, I was just curious and asked casually.”

“That’s good.” Su Zhenyue let out a soft sigh of relief, her voice growing quieter. “Actually, I don’t know either. Ever since that night at the Zhuangzi when Cousin saved me in the nick of time, whenever I see you, I just, I just feel a sense of closeness…”

As for why she felt close to him, whether it was adoration or gratitude, she would let him guess for himself.

Shen Ji’s eyelids twitched. That vague speculation from just now suddenly became much clearer.

His Adam’s apple bobbed twice. He turned his head to look at the parasol tree, acting as if he hadn’t heard her words at all, offering no comment.

After a few breaths, Shen Ji finally let out a soft “Mhm,” and nonchalantly changed the subject. “Miss Su, do you remember if you’ve offended anyone?”

Su Zhenyue pondered. If she were to directly mention The Eldest Princess and her daughter, she would probably have to explain her past with Gu Yuanchen again. If Shen Ji were to preemptively see her as Gu Yuanchen’s former love interest, or suspect her motives for approaching him, it would be very troublesome.

Thus, she gently shook her head. “I… don’t remember.”

Shen Ji frowned, not quite believing her. She was clearly quite sharp and intelligent, not a foolish person. How could she not even know who she had offended?

On second thought, he let it go. The entire Jing An Marquis Estate was being tight-lipped about this matter, not just her. It was most likely that the person she had offended was of high status and power, and it was inconvenient to speak plainly without evidence.

After all, how could an ordinary person afford to keep sworn assassins?

Thinking of this, when Shen Ji looked at her again, his gaze unconsciously held a touch more pity that was hard to define.

He closed his eyes for a moment, driving away the distracting thoughts in his mind, and lowered his head to study the bracelet that concealed the hidden arrow.

Seeing that he was no longer pressing the issue, Su Zhenyue breathed a sigh of relief and stood quietly not far away, watching him intently.

Although she didn’t say a word, Shen Ji couldn’t ignore her presence, especially since he was holding the bracelet that she had been wearing on her wrist just moments before.