Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 368: Stopped at the Gate of the Shen Residence

Lu Yu watched Ji Meiqing's reaction with satisfaction, while Zhao Lei looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression. Lu Yu smiled awkwardly but remained silent.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but they still hadn't arrived at the Shen residence. Lu Yu was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected the Shen residence to be so far away, and they still hadn't reached it after so long. Looking down at Ji Meiqing, who had already fallen asleep in his arms, he gently brushed the stray hairs from her forehead, feeling a soft warmth in his heart and a deep sense of peace.

After quite a while, they arrived at the Shen residence. Zhao Lei quickly got out of the carriage. The servants at the gate saw that Zhao Lei was a stranger and stopped him, saying, "May I ask your honorable name, young master? Are you closely related to the master?" Shen's father was worried that some troublemakers might come and cause trouble, so he had the servants guard the gate just in case.

The servants, naturally unsure of what to do, judged the situation solely by the appearance. Upon seeing Zhao Lei, they noticed his clothes were not fine silks or satins, and his attire did not resemble that of a noble young master, so they stopped him.

Lu Yu, inside the carriage, woke up Ji Meiqing, who had fallen asleep. Ji Meiqing was still groggy from just waking up. Lu Yu was worried that she might fall, so he helped her out of the carriage, paid the fare, dismissed the driver, and was about to enter the Shen residence when he saw Zhao Lei standing alone at the gate of the Shen residence, seemingly arguing about something.

"I really am the bride's brother." Lu Yu heard Zhao Lei say this as he helped Ji Meiqing closer, and he was puzzled as to why the servants were blocking the door. Logically speaking, once someone comes, they are a guest, so there's no reason to stop them from entering.

"Zhao Lei, what's wrong? Why don't you go in?" Lu Yu didn't bother to look at the servant standing to the side and went straight to Zhao Lei, who was arguing with the servant.

Zhao Lei turned around and saw Lu Yu with his head down. He said with a hint of grievance, "Brother Lu, it won't let me in. I told him the bride is my sister, but he just doesn't believe me." After saying that, he stood there with his head down, not saying a word.

Shen Bin should be entertaining guests now, so it seems we can't count on him. Lu Yu thought to himself, and stepped forward to say to the servant, "Since you've come, you're a guest. May I ask why you're turning away your guests?" Shen Bin stepped forward and spoke politely to the servant.

The servant glanced at Lu Yu, finding his words acceptable and pleasant to hear, and replied, "This young master is worried that some unsavory characters might disrupt the marriage." As he spoke, he subtly glanced at Zhao Lei. Lu Yu noticed this and was somewhat puzzled, wondering what Shen Bin's father, Master Shen, was thinking.

"Young man, could you please make an exception and let us in? We are friends of Young Master Shen." The servant had initially thought Lu Yu was a nice person, but his sudden desire to enter the Shen residence made him look at Lu Yu with some suspicion.

"You can't go in. I don't know what your purpose is in trying to enter the Shen residence, but unless you are friends of the master and young master, you are not allowed to enter." The servant directly refused Lu Yu's request.

Seeing the servant's domineering demeanor, Lu Yu didn't want to argue with him. He helped the already dazed Ji Meiqing to her feet, unsure of what to do. He could only hope that Shen Bin, seeing they hadn't arrived, would come out to check on them so they could go inside.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Lei and Shen Bin paced back and forth in front of the Shen residence, but Shen Bin was nowhere to be seen, which greatly troubled Lu Yu. Not long after, two young men dressed in fine silks and satins arrived and went straight into the Shen residence. The servants saw them, smiled, and didn't stop them or ask them any questions.

This infuriated Zhang Lei and Lu Yu, but they could only keep their anger to themselves. They also realized that this couldn't possibly be Master Shen's decision. Even if it were, the servant had misunderstood and shouldn't have acted this way, recklessly driving away guests based on his own judgment, and even his words were unkind.

"Brother Lu, we've arrived at the Shen residence. Why aren't we going in?" Ji Meiqing opened her eyes slightly and saw the character "Shen" on the plaque, knowing that they had arrived at the Shen residence. However, seeing that Lu Yu wasn't going in, and Zhao Lei standing at the entrance of the Shen residence, also standing still without any intention of going in, she noticed that Lu Yu wasn't going in either.

"I've run into some trouble," Lu Yu replied simply when he saw that Ji Meiqing had regained consciousness. Ji Meiqing looked puzzled, but then she saw a servant at the door and seemed to understand something.

"Young Master Shen." Lu Yu, who had been lingering in front of the Shen residence, heard a familiar voice, looked up, and saw Shen Bin standing in front of the gate, dressed in bright red. Lu Yu stood still, his face grim, and made no attempt to approach. Shen Bin seemed to sense something was amiss and walked over directly, saying, "Young Master Lu, why aren't you going in? Zhao Lei, you're already at the gate, why aren't you going in?" As he spoke, he turned back and saw Zhao Lei already standing at the gate.

"Ha! They really have a lot of influence with the Shen family. Just because we're not wearing fine silks and satins, we can't go in? Hmm? Shouldn't Young Master Shen explain something?" Lu Yu said without even raising his eyelids, his grip on Ji Meiqing tightening involuntarily. Ji Meiqing lowered her head, remaining silent. Shen Bin noticed Lu Yu's harsh words but didn't argue with him.

Turning his head, he said to Zhao Lei at the door, "Zhao Lei, why don't you go in?" After saying that, Zhao Lei frowned, lowered his head and didn't speak. The servant next to him realized his mistake, but remained silent, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

"Brother-in-law, the servants wouldn't let me in, saying I had no connection with the Shen family. But they didn't stop or question those people dressed in fine silks and satins from going in." As Zhao Lei spoke, he felt very wronged, but he didn't know if it was Shen Bin's arrangement. If it was, would his sister be happy to marry him?

Hearing Zhao Lei's words, Shen Bin's face darkened as he looked at the servant beside him. Seeing Shen Bin's expression, the servant immediately knelt on the ground. With witnesses present, he made no attempt to defend himself. Shen Bin remained silent, his face still grim. He felt humiliated that the servant had admitted to the matter, and judging from Zhao Lei's demeanor, Zhao Lei didn't seem to like him much anymore. What was he to do?

"Since this is indeed the case, Young Master Lu, what do you and Zhao Lei think is the best course of action?" Shen Bin's gaze shifted between Zhao Lei and Lu Yu. His servant had angered a distinguished guest, and it seemed inappropriate for him to handle the matter himself. So, Shen Bin had no choice but to entrust the authority to deal with the servants to them.

Lu Yu pretended not to hear, looking down at Ji Mei in his arms. Seeing that Lu Yu didn't speak, Zhao Lei didn't know what to say either, and remained silent as well. "Brother Lu, let it go. After all, they are just servants who don't know the rules. Don't take it out on Young Master Shen. Besides, today is Ning'er's big day. Let's not cause too much unpleasantness."

Ji Meiqing looked up at Lu Yu and said something. Lu Yu seemed somewhat unwilling, but seeing that Ji Meiqing had spoken, he didn't know what to say. He then entered the Shen residence, with Zhao Lei following behind.