Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 361: Tian Cuiwei Suddenly Mentioned

Just as he was about to leave, Princess Xiangping, who had followed him out, called out to him, "It's getting late, Young Master Shen, why don't you stay in the palace for the night?" Shen Bin stopped and turned to look at Princess Xiangping, who looked at him expectantly.

Shen Bin glanced at Zhao Ning'er in his arms and then back at her, saying, "Ning'er has a younger brother; she might be worried. It's best to go back. Thank you for your kindness, Princess. Farewell." With that, he turned and walked out of the hall without looking back. Princess Xiangping stood there disappointed, watching Shen Bin's departing figure, feeling a pang of loss.

"Xiangping, there are plenty of good men out there, don't worry about it too much." Xiao An comforted Princess Xiangping, who looked dejected. Princess Xiangping didn't say anything, just sighed and walked out of the Qingyi Palace.

Shen Bin left the Qingyi Palace, unsure of where to go. After walking for a while, he saw Lu Yu driving a carriage and stopped. Lu Yu, seeing Zhao Ning'er in Shen Bin's arms, felt relieved and let them get into the carriage.

It was late at night, and most of the guests at Zuixianlou had left. Ji Meiqing paced back and forth at the entrance of the restaurant, but she still couldn't see Lu Yu, and she was very anxious. Zhao Lei was packing his things on the second floor of the restaurant. He hadn't seen Zhao Ning'er all day, and thinking about the dart that had happened early that morning, he felt uneasy.

After packing his things, he hurried downstairs and saw Ji Meiqing pacing back and forth at the door. He himself stood at the door, looking at her from a distance, but there was nothing there, and he felt a little disappointed. "Sister Meiqing, let's go inside. If you catch a cold, Brother Lu will scold you again." Although Zhao Lei was also worried, the autumn evening air was a bit chilly. He was also worried that Ji Meiqing would catch a cold and get sick. He had promised Lu Yu that he would take good care of Ji Meiqing when he left.

If something were to happen, it wouldn't be good. Ji Meiqing thought Zhao Lei's words made sense, so she went inside and found a place to sit down. Zhao Lei followed suit, and both of them were uneasy.

"Miss Ji, shall we start a fire and cook now?" The waiter asked Ji Meiqing after tidying everything up. Ji Meiqing looked around, thinking that everyone had been working hard all day and she couldn't let them go hungry just because they hadn't returned yet, so she nodded in agreement. Seeing that Ji Meiqing had agreed, the waiter, as if he were starving, hurried to the kitchen.

Not long after, a delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen. Ji Meiqing couldn't sit still any longer and quickly went out to see if Lu Yu had returned, but she still didn't see him. She lowered her head in disappointment and was about to go back inside when she heard the sound of horses' hooves. She quickly turned around and saw Lu Yu driving a carriage.

Lu Yu saw Ji Meiqing waiting for them at the door from afar. He stopped the carriage, got out quickly, and hugged Ji Meiqing. The two seemed to have endless things to say, but neither of them spoke. They just held each other like that.

Seeing Lu Yu, Zhao Lei, who was sitting inside, quickly came out. He saw Zhao Ning'er being held by Shen Bin and asked anxiously, "What happened to my sister?" Then he noticed the wound on Zhao Ning'er's wrist, which looked very serious and was exposed. This made Zhao Lei, who was originally somewhat calm, even more anxious. He said, "Young Master Shen, please say something. What happened to my sister?"

Holding Zhao Ning'er in his arms, Shen Bin frowned upon seeing Zhao Lei's anxiety, worried that speaking might disturb the person in his arms. Zhao Ning'er stirred but didn't wake up; instead, she snuggled closer to Shen Bin. Seeing this, Shen Bin wanted to laugh but dared not utter a sound.

Seeing Zhao Ning'er move, Zhao Lei realized she was alright and felt relieved. Shen Bin then gave him a wink. Zhao Lei, somewhat embarrassed, touched his nose and gave an awkward smile.

Shen Bin ignored him and carried Zhao Ning'er to the back hall. Lu Yu and Ji Meiqing also went inside. The waiter came out with the dishes and, seeing Ji Meiqing and Shen Bin, called out to the kitchen, "Add a meat dish tonight!" Although there was no response from the kitchen, the waiter was overjoyed. The sound of spatulas scraping against the pot could be heard growing louder from the kitchen.

Ji Meiqing lay in Lu Yu's arms like a child, reluctant to leave. Lu Yu hugged him back, knowing that Ji Meiqing must have been frightened by his absence all day.

"Meiqing, I saw Cuiwei today, in the Cold Palace." Lu Yu suddenly remembered meeting Tian Cuiwei during the day and told Ji Meiqing. Upon hearing Lu Yu's words, Ji Meiqing left his embrace and said, "How could she be in the Cold Palace?" Although she had never been to the Cold Palace, she watched palace dramas and historical dramas every day and knew a little about the Cold Palace.

The Cold Palace was a hell within the imperial palace; those inside either went mad, became mentally unstable, or died. Tian Cuiwei was in the Cold Palace, which made Lu Yu somewhat suspicious and uneasy. Although Tian Cuiwei treated her badly and was constantly targeting her, she was still, after all, Lu Yu's sister.

"She told me that Ji Tianzhuo divorced her, and she had nowhere to go, so she went to the palace to become a concubine. Who knew that she would be framed by Princess Xiangping and sent to the Cold Palace. But speaking of which, it was she who helped save Miss Ning'er." Lu Yu recounted what he had seen and heard, but knowing that Ji Meiqing did not like Tian Cuiwei, he said that it was Tian Cuiwei who helped.

"So what do you plan to do now? Rescue her?" Ji Meiqing felt that Lu Yu must have a purpose in saying this, and that he probably wanted to rescue Tian Cuiwei.

“Cuiwei is now in the Cold Palace and hasn’t been injured, so she must be sentenced to death. I’m not from an official family, so I don’t want to trouble Young Master Shen. I just hope she can have good fortune.” As Lu Yu spoke, he pulled Ji Meiqing into his arms again.

In the back room, Shen Bin sat beside Zhao Ning'er, cradling her sleeping face, his heart overflowing with affection. Zhao Ning'er stirred in bed, opened her eyes, saw Shen Bin, glanced at the room's furnishings, and pouted, saying, "Why didn't you wake me when we got home?"

When Shen Bin saw Zhao Ning'er wake up, she didn't say anything else, but instead looked like a wronged child. He found it very cute and couldn't help but pinch her cheek and say, "It's all your fault for being such a pig. You kept sleeping and I couldn't wake you up."

Hearing Shen Bin say this, Zhao Ning'er asked in confusion, "You...you really called me? I didn't know." Shen Bin looked at Zhao Ning'er as if it were obvious. Zhao Ning'er quickly pulled the blanket over her face. This was the first time in her life that someone had called her a pig. She was extremely embarrassed and used the blanket to cover her already red face.

"Alright, alright, I was just teasing you. Get up and let's go eat." Seeing Zhao Ning'er's shy expression, Shen Bin finally told the truth. Zhao Ning'er glared at Shen Bin when she heard what he said, but Shen Bin shook his head helplessly, really not knowing what to do with this silly girl.