Mistakenly recognized as a cousin, thousands of pampered

"You've been busy most of the day, I think you must be hungry. How about I take you to Wangyue Tower for dinner?" Shen Zhiyi spoke softly, like a spring breeze.

At this time, the sun shines through the bare branches, adding a touch of warmth to this winter scene.

Wangyue Tower is the capital's leading tavern, where gatherings of scholars and literati are held on the 15th and 30th of every month.

Today happens to be the fifteenth.

When the carriage arrived, several carriages were already parked in front of Wangyue Tower.

The street in front of the building was bustling with people.

However, none of those carriages were as luxurious and eye-catching as Shen Zhiyi's.

When everyone saw such a magnificent carriage, they stopped to watch, wondering which noble family had participated in this "elegant gathering" today.

When Tao Jiuxi saw the carriage stop, he couldn't wait to get out of the carriage, but was stopped by Shen Zhiyi.

"Your clothes are a little messy, tidy them up before going down." Shen Zhiyi whispered softly.

"What's the mess?" Tao Jiuxi asked puzzledly.

However, she still carefully tidied her clothes.

Afterwards, Shen Zhiyi was the first to get off the carriage. When some women saw that it was Shen Zhiyi who got off, they all stopped.

When has Shen Zhiyi ever attended such a gathering?

In the capital, it is almost impossible to invite Shen Zhiyi to a party.

Perhaps Shen Zhiyi would only attend royal banquets.

Suddenly, many women in the crowd exclaimed.

"Duke Shen?"

Just as the question was uttered, someone else shouted, "It's really Duke Shen?"

"How is this possible? How could Duke Shen be interested in such a gathering?"

"Perhaps it was the invitation from the eldest princess. I heard that she is planning to hold a few banquets today."

Everyone was talking, their voices rising one after another.

At this time, there was a commotion in front of Wangyue Tower, with a crowd of people surging. Several carriages were parked at the door, making it look quite crowded.

Tao Jiuxi sat comfortably in the carriage, completely oblivious to the noise outside.

After all, there were several carriages at the door at the moment, so how could she know that the person everyone was talking about was her cousin.

Just hearing the title "Duke Shen", I couldn't help but feel a little curious about this Duke Shen.

It seems that this person is very popular and can attract such heated discussion among the public.

Under the scorching gazes of the crowd, Shen Zhiyi's gaze never lingered on anyone's face. His eyes remained the same, staring intently at the carriage.

Everyone's eyes followed Shen Zhiyi closely, all curious about who he was waiting for.

Tao Jiuxi walked out of the carriage and saw Shen Zhiyi standing under the carriage, holding out his hand, as if ready to welcome her out.

Oh, this kid! He let her get off last, and it turned out he was waiting for her here.

I thought to myself that my cousin was really good at pretending, even going so far as to create a gentlemanly way of getting off the car.

She secretly complained in her heart that Shen Zhiyi was too naive, and felt as if she really did not understand him at all.

It was not until Shen Zhiyi reached out and carefully helped Tao Jiuxi out of the car that everyone's faces showed surprise again.

"Duke Shen actually brought a woman with him?"

"Who is this woman?"

"This woman is so beautiful."

Everyone's eyes were focused on Tao Jiuxi, their eyes full of curiosity and inquiry.

Shen Zhiyi carefully supported Tao Jiuxi. At this moment, there was no murderous air on him, and he looked like a humble gentleman.

When the shopkeeper saw that the visitor was Duke Shen, he immediately smiled and went forward to greet him enthusiastically.

However, the private room upstairs was booked two months ago.

The guests who could afford to book the private rooms on the second floor were either rich or noble, and they could not afford to offend them.

The shopkeeper thought quickly in his mind that he could offend no one but Duke Shen.

"Duke Shen, you are invited to the private room on the second floor. Our shop is holding a poetry reading today. It is a great honor for our shop to have Duke Shen come." The shopkeeper said respectfully.

"No need for a private room, the lobby downstairs will do." Shen Zhiyi said lightly.

The shopkeeper was surprised. Duke Shen actually wanted to sit in the hall?

Tao Jiuxi was also surprised when he heard this.

The Duke Shen they were talking about was his cousin?

Whose surname should my cousin take? Shouldn't it be Xie? But everyone was watching them at the moment, and she couldn't ask her cousin about this in front of so many people.

After Shen Zhiyi and Tao Jiuxi sat down, everyone's attention was still attracted by them.

Tao Jiuxi felt a little uncomfortable, but Shen Zhiyi didn't seem to care.

As soon as they entered the tavern, the owner hurried out from the counter. His attentive look made it clear at a glance that he was trying to please them.

"Duke Shen, do you really want to sit here?" the shopkeeper asked cautiously.

"That's okay. Make some of all the special dishes in your restaurant and bring them up. Also, bring a pot of white milk tea." Shen Zhiyi ordered calmly.

Looking at the shopkeeper's extremely respectful appearance, Tao Jiuxi became more and more suspicious of his cousin's identity.

The shopkeeper was so respectful that she thought she wouldn't be so respectful even if she met the mayor.

Of course, she had never met the mayor, so she had never been so respectful to anyone before.

After the shopkeeper understood Shen Zhiyi's words, he retreated.

"cousin."

Tao Jiuxi lowered her voice and stretched out her hand to signal Shen Zhiyi to come closer, as she had something to ask in private.

Seeing this, Shen Zhiyi leaned forward lovingly and leaned over to listen.

"Cousin, are you a high-ranking official?" Tao Jiuxi looked mysterious.

"Not big." Shen Zhiyi responded calmly.

"Isn't the Duke a big rank?" Tao Jiuxi naturally didn't know how the official ranks in this dynasty were divided. The only thing she knew was that the original owner's father was a seventh-rank county magistrate.

"Very small."

"Then why are they so respectful to you?" Tao Jiuxi asked.

"I killed someone in front of their store." Shen Zhiyi suddenly wanted to tease Tao Jiuxi.

When Tao Jiuxi heard this, his eyes widened instantly, and his face was full of disbelief.

Seeing Shen Zhiyi talking about the murder so nonchalantly, his heart skipped a beat and he swallowed hard. For a moment he didn't know how to respond.

"Forehead......"

When Shen Zhiyi saw Tao Jiuxi's appearance, he just thought she was extremely cute.

He added mysteriously, "He killed three in a row. They all had their heads chopped off."

Tao Jiuxi was so frightened that he opened his mouth wide and couldn't close it for a long time.

No wonder the shopkeeper was like that, it turned out he wasn’t out of respect, he was out of fear.

At this moment, Tao Jiuxi just wanted to end this topic immediately and quickly changed the subject to another one.

"They call you Duke Shen. Is Duke Shen an official title? Or is your last name Shen... But, cousin, shouldn't you..." Tao Jiuxi's words were full of doubts.

After hearing what Tao Jiuxi said, Shen Zhiyi could no longer suppress the smile on his face and laughed out loud.

Tao Jiuxi had never seen Shen Zhiyi smile like this before. He always thought that he was a serious person. Unexpectedly, when he smiled, he was like the bright moon breaking through the clouds, dazzling and brilliant.

There were also bursts of exclamations from women around.

Shen Zhiyi took in Tao Jiuxi's reaction and was very satisfied.

"My surname is Shen." Shen Zhiyi said slowly.

"Shen Zhiyi?" Tao Jiuxi exclaimed, completely forgetting that the two of them had just spoken in low voices.

When others heard that the woman brought by Duke Shen actually called Shen Zhiyi by her name, and Duke Shen was not angry, he looked at the girl lovingly. Looking at their actions just now, they immediately understood that they had a close relationship.

"You sound so nice when you call my name." Shen Zhiyi said gently.

"Shh, keep your voice down." Tao Jiuxi's face flushed with embarrassment.

Tao Jiuxi never expected that Shen Zhiyi was actually a love-brained person.

I just called his name, why did you call him like a peacock spreading its tail?