Shen Xining clearly saw his playful face. She wanted to pinch the soft flesh on his waist to free her limbs so that she could float up again. The next second, the man's face came close to her, and his whole body pressed against her, as if he had fainted.
"Hmm..."
Shen Xining choked on the water, rolled his eyes, and nearly fainted. There was a splashing sound from above, and someone grabbed both of them and lifted them up.
A group of people above were looking over curiously. Jiang Wei had a serious expression on his face. He came over and held her shoulders. At this moment, he didn't even care about etiquette.
"A Ning, are you okay?"
"I'm fine..."
Shen Xining wanted to wipe her body with a handkerchief, but then she realized that her hand was still tightly held by the man. Looking at Xie Zhaoan lying on the ground with his lips even pale, she wanted to curse in her heart.
He had fainted, but he still wasn't waking up? Was he pretending? Right now, with so many people watching, how could he hold her hand tightly, an unmarried girl
The people around looked at this side with inquiring eyes. Shen Xining was so anxious that her face almost turned red. Although she didn't care much about these etiquette and customs, it didn't mean that the people of the Shen family didn't care, nor did it mean that these feudal ethics had no influence on the Shen family.
Shen Xining tried to struggle, but the soft felt was covering his body. Jiang Wei still had a frown on his face, but his voice was as gentle as ever.
"Aning, put on some clothes first, or you might catch a cold. The Fourth Prince just encountered an assassin and jumped into the water in a panic. He has been afraid of water since he was a child, but fortunately he grabbed Aning's hand in the water and regarded it as a lifeline, so he is unwilling to let go now."
His voice was not loud, but it was full of authority, which reassured the panicked crowd around him. Everyone instantly understood what he meant, and Shen Xining also saluted as per custom.
"If this is the case, it should be a blessing for Xining. It is a rare opportunity to be a life-saving straw for the prince."
An unknown amount of time had passed before the imperial physician was called in. Xie Zhaoan choked on a mouthful of water and slowly woke up. Shen Xining wanted to pull his hand free, but Xie Zhaoan seemed not to feel her struggle and continued to hold it tightly. Jiang Wei narrowed his eyes, squatted down, held his wrist, secretly exerted force, and whispered.
"Fourth Prince, you are awake. Are you feeling unwell?"
Xie Zhaoan's wrist was extremely thin. When Jiang Wei pinched it, he did not feel his slenderness, but he could clearly feel the man's inner strength. Xie Zhaoan did not show any intention of dodging. He raised his eyes and looked directly at Jiang Wei. The sharpness in his eyes made Jiang Wei frown deeper and deeper. Only then did he let go of Shen Xining's wrist.
"Thank you, General Jiang, for your concern. I have been weak since childhood, and now I am frightened by drowning. I am in a state of anxiety. I think it is a sudden flare-up of my old illness, and I am afraid I will not be able to rest for a while."
"In that case, there are some excellent rooms in the mansion. I will arrange for the Fourth Prince to live there right away."
The Fourth Prince's face was pale, his long black hair was scattered behind him, half of it stuck to his face, and there was a hint of femininity between his eyebrows, which made people feel distressed and pity him. Realizing what he was thinking, Shen Xining shook his head with some disgust. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he happened to meet Xie Zhaoan's gaze. The man's eyes showed the familiar cunningness of Shen Xining. Shen Xining didn't know why, but he secretly said in his heart that something was wrong. Sure enough, the next second, he heard the man speak calmly.
"I was just assassinated in General Jiang's mansion. If I were to stay here, I would be restless day and night. Not to mention recovering from my old illness, I might even die of heart attack. It's still unknown."
Some of the soldiers around Jiang Wei couldn't stand it anymore and were about to say something when they were stopped by Jiang Wei. He spoke in a calm tone, as if he was not troubled by Xie Zhaoan, and spoke calmly.
"In that case, what are your plans, Fourth Prince?"
Xie Zhaoan pointed his finger at Shen Xining, his elbow resting on his slightly bent knee, his eyebrows curved, looking like a demon.
"I feel that whenever I stay with Miss Shen, I feel at ease. If possible, it would be nice to live in the Shen Mansion. What do you think, Miss Shen?"
Shen Xining's face turned pale, and the prince hurried over, followed by Shen Xiyao who was holding a few books. The prince looked at the fourth prince with a murderous look in his eyes.
"Fourth brother, don't mess around. This is the residence of a loyal minister of our dynasty. How can you mess around here? Come back to the palace with me."
The fourth prince shook his head.
"Third brother, what do you mean? Do you have any objection to my living in the Shen family? My old illness hurts a lot every winter, and it gets worse every time I stay in the palace. Besides, the madman has not been found yet. Am I going back for nothing? Or do you not want me to live in the Shen family, third brother?"
The prince's face changed slightly. If he admitted in front of so many court officials that he didn't want Xie Zhaoan to have any contact with the Shen family, wouldn't that confirm the rumors that were already spreading in the court, saying that he was jealous and arbitrary, and wanted to kill his own brothers before he ascended the throne.
Xie Zhaoan tilted his head and looked at Shen Xining again, his eyes moist. People who didn't know would think that he had suffered some great injustice.
"Or does Miss Shen not want to?"
Shen Xining pursed his lips.
"Of course not, but the Shen family has had many relatives come over recently, and I'm afraid there won't be any good rooms for the time being. Xining is just worried that I won't be able to entertain them well enough."
Xie Zhaoan nodded, and the personal bodyguard immediately put a fox fur coat on him and helped him stand up. The personal bodyguard politely saluted to everyone and whispered.
"The Shen Mansion is so large that there must be a wing room. The Fourth Prince has been weak since childhood. Now that he has fallen into the water, it is inconvenient for him to stay here any longer. Let's go ahead. Miss Shen, lead the way."
Shen Xining felt like something was blocking her chest, but with so many people here, she could only try her best to maintain her image as a lady and follow Xie Zhaoan back home. Xie Zhaoan was beside her, wrapping himself tightly in the fox fur coat, looking extremely pampered, and even asked in a hypocritical manner.
"Miss Shen doesn't look well. Do we need to summon the imperial physician?"
Oh.
Why does she look unhappy? Doesn't he know
Shen Xining suddenly stopped and Xie Zhaoan behind her bumped into her back. Shen Xining staggered twice again. Xie Zhaoan held her arm, seemingly with good intentions.
"Miss Shen, why are you so careless? Can't you even walk now? If you marry into the palace in the future, do you have to learn the etiquette from scratch? Don't blame me for not reminding Miss Shen yet. The palace tutor is very strict. I don't know if Miss Shen can bear this kind of torture."