Farewell Flower Festival

The two were strolling in the garden, and Shen He asked Chao Yan about her childhood and how she came to the capital.

Chaoyan said that she got lost on the way to town when she was six years old, but she was lucky because the human traffickers she met felt sorry for her, and although she was ugly and couldn't be sold, they didn't let her starve.

Chaoyan's lively and relaxed tone hurt Shen He's heart even more. Although Chaoyan said that she got lost on her own, Shen He guessed that it was probably because the family thought his daughter was a burden and did it on purpose.

"It's Daddy who made you suffer."

Chao Yan raised her hands to cover her ears, "I'm not suffering anymore, Dad, don't say such things again in the future." Shen He agreed, "Okay, I'll listen to you in the future."

When they walked under the pear blossom tree, Chao Yan asked, "Dad, does mom like pear blossoms very much?" Shen He was slightly stunned, and asked her with a smile how she knew. Chao Yan said, "I dreamed about it. In my dream, I saw mom. Mom was dancing under the pear blossom tree. She was so beautiful. And dad was playing the flute beside her. It sounded so beautiful."

Shen He was moved, his voice was a little hoarse, "Why didn't you come to see dad earlier?"

Chao Yan said: "I couldn't remember it before. I saw Dad on the day he returned to the city after winning the battle. He looked so majestic in his armor riding on a horse. I seemed to have seen him in a dream. At night, I dreamed of Mom. It turns out that I look a lot like Mom. Mom has a beautiful voice. When I was a child, she would sing to me whenever I cried."

She hummed a tune, and Shen He's previous doubts were all swept away at this moment.

Lin Rou stood in the distance looking at the two people's backs. The tune they hummed floated into her ears. She felt it was extremely harsh, and the thorns dug deep into her flesh.

……

Here, Shen Cheng was stopped by Han Lie on his way to Hua Xiangrong. There happened to be a teahouse nearby, so Han Lie invited him in for a cup of tea. Shen Cheng also had something to ask him.

After sitting down on the second floor, Han Lie asked about Chao Yan. He heard that she was taken away by people from the palace yesterday. Shen Cheng corrected him and said that they did not take her away, but invited her to be a guest in the palace.

Han Lie talked about Shen Xue's adoptive mother Liu again, saying that he sent someone to check and found that what Liu said back then was not true. Shen Cheng was not surprised by this, because he knew the truth last night.

Seeing Shen Cheng's reaction, Han Lie had guessed about 80% of it and casually mentioned it, "It seems that what Xiao Lian said is true." Shen Cheng looked at him suspiciously and asked tentatively, "You know everything?" Han Lie did not comment and drank his tea calmly. His calm appearance made Shen Cheng more convinced that he knew everything.

"Shh." Shen Cheng raised his hand to make a gesture of silence and whispered, "Don't tell anyone." Gossiping about the relationship between him and Chao Yan again, Han Lie curled his lips and smiled, with an ambiguous look, which successfully made Shen Cheng think wrongly.

Just after coming out of the teahouse, Shen Cheng was stopped by Qian Feng again. Then he followed Qian Feng to the teahouse opposite and met Mu Tianling on the second floor.

Seeing that Mu Tianling also asked about Chao Yan, Shen Cheng smelled a hint of a bloody love triangle, and gossiped about the relationship between Mu Tianling and Chao Yan. The answer given by Mu Tianling made Shen Cheng feel like he was struck by lightning:

"What does it matter if we slept in the same bed?"

Shen Cheng was stunned for a long while before he realized what obscene words he had heard. He then remembered that Chao Yan was his biological sister, who had been abused before she even got married. He was immediately furious, and a surge of rage rushed to his head. He rushed over and grabbed Mu Tianling by the collar, cursing him as a bastard and wanting to kill him.

"He was just sleeping. He didn't do anything. There's no need for the young prince to kill anyone." Mu Tianling said calmly.

Shen Cheng calmed down a bit, but then he felt something was wrong. What did he mean by just sleeping? He also said he didn't do anything. Under his repeated questioning, Mu Tianling admitted that he and Chao Yan had held hands, exchanged gifts, and ate at the same table every day. It seemed that they were just about to get married.

Before Mu Tianling mentioned that Chao Yan had made osmanthus cake for him, Shen Cheng left in a hurry.

……

As soon as he returned home, Shen Cheng rushed to Chao Yan's residence. No one was there. The maid said she was in the garden, so Shen Cheng rushed to the garden again.

Chaoyan and Shen He were both in the pavilion, drinking tea and chatting. Chaoyan was talking about her leisurely life growing flowers and vegetables in the palace when Shen Cheng hurried over.

Shen He saw that he was in a hurry and asked him what happened.

Shen Cheng hesitated, saying that everything was fine, then saying that he had something to do, as if he had been hit on the head and was talking nonsense. When he left, he winked at Chao Yan, indicating that he wanted to talk to her alone.

After walking away, Shen Cheng slipped behind the rockery and observed the movements in the pavilion. He wondered if Chaoyan had received any hint from his eyes.

After waiting for about a cup of tea, Shen Cheng saw Chao Yan get up and leave the pavilion and walk towards him. When Chao Yan came closer, he stretched out a hand and waved at her, then coughed. When Chao Yan came over, Shen Cheng asked anxiously, "I want to ask you, did the Fourth Prince abuse you?"

Chao Yan was stunned for two seconds, then took a deep breath and asked calmly, "Brother, who told you that?"

"Don't worry about who told me that," Shen Cheng lowered his voice and asked anxiously, "First tell me whether the Fourth Prince has—" Before he could finish his words, Chao Yan simply denied it, "No." Shen Cheng confirmed again, "Really? You didn't lie to me?" Chao Yan said, "If I lie, you'd be a puppy."

Shen Cheng was relieved then and asked her what was going on between her and Han Lie.

Chaoyan looked at him with her arms folded. Under her scrutinizing gaze, Shen Cheng honestly explained that Han Lie and Mu Tianling had invited him to have tea on the way. He also repeated his opinions about the two of them, and to sum up, they were both unreliable.

"Brother, I tell you, people like them who are smooth talkers are unreliable. I'll take you to the military camp someday. There are many good men there." Shen Cheng introduced Chao Yan to the young and promising generals in the military camp who had not yet married. He lowered his head and found that she was not listening at all. Her eyes were fixed in one direction. He also looked in that direction. Thinking that Chao Yan didn't recognize her, he said, "That's Aunt Lin."

"Brother, aren't you angry that Dad married Aunt Lin?" Chaoyan asked.

Shen Cheng was stunned. He did not expect Chaoyan to ask this question. He asked tentatively, "Don't you like Aunt Lin?" Chaoyan said, "In my heart, no one can compare to mother." Shen Cheng said softly, "It's the same in my heart." He hesitated for a while and decided to tell Chaoyan about the incident, talking about the fire ten years ago.

That night, Shen Cheng was awakened by a start and heard someone shouting that there was a fire. When he came out to see, he could see flames. When he rushed over, he heard someone shouting anxiously that the little princess was still inside. He rushed in regardless of the fire and just happened to see a figure rushing out.

The scorching heat and choking smoke made it impossible for him to open his eyes. He could only see a blurry figure. At that time, he didn't know that it was Butler Chen, who was holding his sister in his arms.

The burning flames and thick smoke enveloped him, and the feeling of suffocation gradually intensified. He thought he was going to die here, and it was Lin Rou who rushed in to save him. At that time, Lin Rou was burned on her back in order to save him, and she almost died, so he was always grateful to Lin Rou and respected her very much.