Duke Jing's younger sister

Xiao Wushuang raised his eyes disdainfully and looked at Ren Jiaorui with a hint of doubt.

Brother Beiqi doesn’t like sweet food?

Then why did he go to Pinxiangzhai every few days?

Moreover, he never even looked at the hundreds of snacks in Pinxiangzhai. He only bought one piece of white jade cake every time. If not because he liked it, what else could it be?

Han Yunning was a thoughtful person. He could tell at a glance that when Ren Jiaorui spoke, her eyes kept glancing at Shen Li, as if there was something hidden in her words.

"What do you mean?" Xiao Wushuang asked in an arrogant tone.

Shen Beiqi clenched the teacup in his hand in an instant, and his slender knuckles turned slightly white.

Ren Jiaorui had a smile on her lips. Ever since she entered the waterside pavilion, her cousin had never looked at her straight in the eye. Whether in the Shen Mansion or elsewhere, she was always the one being ignored.

But at this moment, Shen Beiqi was staring at her, his eyes full of frost and an obvious warning.

That bright and rosy face was so beautiful even when it was gloomy and angry.

Ren Jiaorui lowered her head timidly, looking helpless and submissive. No matter how the Fourth Princess questioned her, she remained silent and did not continue talking.

She was not so stupid as to expose his secrets in front of her cousin.

What I just said is just a drop in the ocean. If anyone is interested, they will naturally come to me on their own initiative.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. There will be people who are willing to help her eliminate those people who she finds annoying, so there is no need for her to worry about it.

Ren Jiaorui remained silent, but Shen Li spoke up, "Cousin is right, my brother really doesn't like sweets."

Shen Li could see through Ren Jiaorui's little thoughts at a glance, she did it on purpose.

He threw out an ambiguous remark and acted as if he was wronged and had to remain silent because of his brother's cold stare. This was more intriguing than directly throwing dirty water on her.

If this matter is not explained clearly, and the Fourth Princess and Han Yunning are allowed to guess based on Ren Jiaorui's half-hearted words, it will only make things worse.

Shen Li took Shen Zhiyan's hand and smiled at Han Yunning on the side.

"This white jade cake from Pinxiangzhai is my second sister and I's favorite snack. It's especially soft when it's freshly made every morning. I've always troubled my brother to bring some back for us after he retired from court."

Shen Li smiled, but used her slender fingertips to pinch the back of Shen Zhiyan's hand slightly.

Shen Zhiyan has always been simple-minded and straightforward, but she was born into a noble family after all. Although the Shen family has not done anything dirty, she has heard about other families and instantly understood what Shen Li meant.

Everyone in the Duke's Mansion knew that Shen Beiqi had always doted on his little sister Shen Li, and sometimes even she, his biological sister, felt jealous.

White jade cake is Shen Li's favorite dessert. Her brother buys it often these days and goes to Pinxiangzhai especially for Shen Li.

This is not a big deal, but if it is laid out in front of Han Yunning at this moment, it would be a bit inappropriate.

After all, Shen Li is a stepsister. If her future sister-in-law Han Yunning knew that her brother was unwilling to ask someone else to buy a cake for her, she would inevitably feel resentful towards Shen Li.

Everyone present must have been discussing this.

To put it nicely, it's because the brother pities Shen Li. To put it bluntly, I'm afraid all kinds of dirty words will be spread out.

Thinking of this, Shen Zhiyan smiled and responded, "That's right, my brother has a good temper and is used to following our will. He always obeys us."

"Cough cough..."

Luo Jue almost choked himself to death after failing to swallow his tea.

He suspected that there was something wrong with his ears and that he had heard it wrong.

Shen Beiqi, Shen Hengzhi—is he good-tempered?

Luo Jue secretly turned his gaze to the "good-tempered" handsome young man on the side, and the latter gave him a cold glare in return.

Sure enough, when it comes to good temper, his dog Wangcai is better than Shen Beiqi and has never bitten anyone.

"It's our fault that we were too spoiled and always ordered our brother to do little things."

Shen Zhiyan looked at Han Yunning and said, "After my brother marries a new sister-in-law, we won't dare to be so willful anymore."

"Second sister, you are right. Brother is so good to us younger sisters. If he marries a new sister-in-law in the future, he will definitely hold her in his hands like a jewel and pamper her in his heart."

Shen Li said, with a smile on her face, but tears seemed to flash across her eyes, "I just don't know who has such good fortune to marry my brother."

There are pavilions and terraces on the waterside, and a cool breeze.

In the garden of Prince Rui's mansion, people were gathered in groups of three or four. Occasionally, the laughter of women in the distance would drift into the waterside pavilion accompanied by the sound of the wind.

Xiao Wenyuan and Luo Jue were talking by the railing, and the third prince Xiao Wencong was excitedly telling his second brother how the top performer in Wanhua Tower was more beautiful than a flower.

The environment was not too quiet, but Shen Li's gentle voice, word by word, fell into Shen Beiqi's ears very clearly.

Although they were not harsh words, they hurt his heart.

She was standing not far from him. When he looked up, he could only see her beautiful profile.

The golden sunlight filtered through the open windows of the waterside pavilion, and was reflected on the draping and flowing apricot skirt. There was a smile on her lips, but it seemed desolate and out of tune with the laughter in Prince Rui's mansion.

It seemed as if all the prosperity in this world had nothing to do with her. She was just a lonely soul with nowhere to go.

The Shen sisters spoke frankly, but Han Yunning didn't believe it.

If it was as simple as they said, why did Ren Jiaorui hesitate and be hesitant to speak?

I'm afraid there's something hidden in it that I don't want her to know.

But she didn't show it on her face, still smiling gracefully.

"What are you saying, my two sisters? It's only natural for an elder brother to love his younger sister. I often ask my elder brother to do this and that at home, but my sister-in-law never says anything else. She always says that an elder sister-in-law is like a mother, so she should naturally love me like a brother. How could she have a grudge against me, her younger sister, because of this?"

Han Yunning looked at Shen Beiqi's bright and beautiful face, with infinite tenderness in his eyes.

"Lord Shen is elegant and handsome, and has both moral integrity and talent. Your future wife is well-educated and sensible. She will definitely work with Lord Shen and take good care of your sisters. You two sisters don't need to worry."

Xiao Wushuang rolled his eyes at Han Yunning and couldn't help but complain in his heart, "They haven't even got engaged yet, but she's already acting like an elder sister-in-law!"

Unexpected things happen in life, and people are subject to misfortunes at any time. It all depends on whether you have the fate to marry into the Shen family!

Although the Shen and Han families were discussing marriage, they had not yet offered betrothal gifts. At this point, both sides understood each other's attitudes and the matter was considered a successful one.

The servant of Prince Rui's mansion came to call his own prince, saying that the auspicious time was approaching and asked him to make preparations first.

Xiao Wenyuan stood up and said goodbye to everyone in the water pavilion and left first. Shen Li and Shen Zhiyan also said a few words of farewell to Han Yunning.

Before leaving, Shen Li glanced at Ren Jiaorui coldly, with a fierce look in her eyes.

Ren Jiaorui was not afraid at all. She raised her chin slightly and glared back provocatively.

Shen Li sneered in his heart.

She originally thought that Ren Jiaorui was just a person who looked strong on the outside but was actually weak on the inside.

Even though he always opposed her in the mansion, he had never really hurt her, so she was willing to keep a last bit of kindness for Ren Jiaorui.

Today, Ren Jiaorui deliberately showed off in front of the Fourth Princess. It was obvious that she saw that the Fourth Princess was interested in Shen Beiqi, and she wanted to use the Fourth Princess to teach her a lesson.

She has a kind heart, but the premise of being kind is that others should not provoke her.

If others deliberately provoke her and she still treats them with kindness, that is not kindness, but cowardice and incompetence.