Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince-Chapter 352: Why not hurry and urge the young master to marry the person into the family?

Chapter 352: Chapter 352: Why not hurry and urge the young master to marry the person into the family?

Shen Xiheng nodded, "Yes."

Duke Shen suddenly stood up, pointing at him with an indignant tone, "You... such a big matter, until when were you planning to hide it from me and your mother!"

Shen Xiheng looked innocent, spreading his hands, "If I had told you earlier, would you have allowed anyone to enter our door?"

Duke Shen glared at him, silently withdrawing the hand that was pointing.

Afterward, he humphed a little unhappily, "In your eyes, am I that kind of person?"

Shen Xiheng quickly tried to smooth things over, explaining as he stepped closer, "Of course not, my father is wise and valiant, generous and magnanimous. I was only worried that you and mother would not be able to accept it all at once, so I thought to take a more roundabout approach."

Duke Shen’s face finally softened a bit, and he wasn’t as shocked and angry as when he first heard the news.

Moreover, how could he dare to have any objections? This girl was the beloved niece of the Emperor himself and had just been appointed as Commandery Princess.

If he dared to say anything, he wouldn’t need to attend court tomorrow.

"You’re quite adept at managing affairs!" Duke Shen thought about how he had been maneuvered and felt a bit displeased, glaring again at Shen Xiheng.

Shen Xiheng touched his nose and said nothing.

In the garden, Madam Shen was taking Shi Zhou’s hand for a walk, introducing her to the varieties of flowers as they went along.

"These seeds were collected by Xihe during his travels over the years, and they’ve been blooming for many years now."

Upon hearing this, Shi Zhou immediately took a more serious interest.

She had been different from ordinary girls since she was young. Shi Fuyou never expected to raise her as an exemplar of ladylike virtue. Therefore, she didn’t know anything about needlework or knitting; she only liked to wield swords and play with spears.

She had no interest in sentimental pursuits of poetry or romance either.

Just now, as Madam Shen was counting the names and origins of these flowers, Shi Zhou almost fell asleep listening.

Madam Shen didn’t notice, and, seeing her maintaining a serious demeanor, felt even more favorable towards her. It was a fortuitous misunderstanding.

At this moment, hearing that these flowers were planted by Shen Xiheng, Shi Zhou’s eyes brightened, and her mind also cleared up.

Seeing her interest, Madam Shen spoke with even more enthusiasm, and Shi Zhou occasionally asked a few questions. The two of them got along harmoniously.

The maids on the side were smiling secretly, thinking that their mistress hadn’t spoken this much in a long time.

Even Ali, as he passed by, stopped to listen for a while.

But he quickly lost interest since his young master often spoke about these flowers in his ear, almost to the point his ears developed calluses.

Feeling a sense of trepidation, he shook his head and continued towards the study.

A servant had just come from outside the door to report that the Prince and Princess had arrived and were ready to take the person away.

Ali had intended to report directly, but seeing that his mistress was in high spirits, he didn’t want to interrupt and had to go to the study to consult the master and young master.

Still some distance from the study, he suddenly saw a purple figure lingering at the doorway of the study, and he frowned.

He knew this person; she was the maid responsible for attending to the young master’s daily needs, named Bai Zhi, who, due to her family’s poverty, had been sold to serve as a maid.

Ali was indifferent towards Bai Zhi. Although she indeed had delicate features and a decent figure,

Ali had more than once seen Bai Zhi bullying the other maids in the house, using the young master’s name to act as if she were the young mistress herself.

Ali had spoken out several times, but each time, Shen Xiheng had interrupted him, instructing him not to speak ill of others behind their backs, let alone slander a girl in such a way.

This admonition eventually reached Bai Zhi’s ears, leading her to mistakenly believe the young master was protecting her, which only inflated her smugness.

Ali had kept his distance from that person ever since then, treating them with a respectful aloofness.

Bai Zhi didn’t mind, as she had eyes only for the young master. She often scurried over to Shen Xiheng to offer her attentions, but although he seemed a seasoned flirter, he was actually quite simple-minded and had never caught onto her hints.

Plus, Bai Zhi was his maid to begin with, so no matter how well she treated him, he took it for granted and never thought anything more of it.

Several times, Ali had almost burst out laughing, after all, Bai Zhi’s expression of having swallowed a fly was truly too comical to bear.

Ali walked up to the study, stopped Bai Zhi and asked, "Master has said that no irrelevant people are allowed near the study, what are you doing here?"

Bai Zhi gave him a glare, her tone gentle, "I was worried that the young master might be thirsty, so I brought over some tea."

Ali knew exactly what she was up to, thinking to himself, you’re not here to serve tea, clearly you couldn’t help yourself after hearing that the young master brought a woman back with him.

He had no desire to chat with Bai Zhi and, raising his hand, knocked on the study door, saying in a low voice to the person inside, "Young master, the Prince and the Princess have arrived."

Inside the study, as soon as Shen Xiheng heard this, he knew they had come to take Shi Zhou away.

He opened the door and asked Ali, "Have they taken her away?"

Ali shook his head, "Not yet, madam is still enjoying the flowers in the garden with Miss Shi. I didn’t dare disturb them."

Shen Xiheng turned to inform the Duke of Shen and then headed towards the garden.

All the while, he had not noticed another person standing beside him.

Bai Zhi watched as he walked away, stomping her feet in anger.

Gathering her skirts, she hastily chased after him, calling out, "Young master!"

Shen Xiheng, hearing her voice, looked back and asked with puzzlement, "Bai Zhi? How come you’re here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Bai Zhi’s complexion visibly pale a few shades.

Ali covered his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

Blinking her eyes, Bai Zhi’s expression turned somewhat resentful, and with a tone that was almost between gnashing her teeth, she said, "Just now, I went to bring tea to the young master."

Shen Xiheng hadn’t paid attention to who had brought the tea and, realizing only now, he said with sudden understanding, "So it was you who brought the tea earlier, thank you for that."

With that said, he continued to walk on, quickening his pace even more.

The words Bai Zhi had left unsaid were now stuck in her throat as she watched his retreating figure in disbelief.

When Ali hurriedly looked back, he saw her standing stock-still, her expression cold to the extreme, feeling pleasurably refreshed.

When Shen Xiheng arrived at the garden, the Madam of Shen had already talked herself tired and was taking a break to drink some tea.

Shi Zhou also enjoyed a cup along with her.

Upon seeing him, her eyes brightened slightly.

The Madam of Shen glared at him disapprovingly, "Why have you come?"

Used to his mother’s double standards, Shen Xiheng could only laugh and respond, "Mother, the Prince and the Princess have come."

Hearing this, the Madam of Shen set down her teacup and sighed, "Alright then, make sure to send her back properly."

Shen Xiheng then left with Shi Zhou, leaving the Madam of Shen looking on eagerly from behind.

Seeing this, the maids joked, "Since madam is so reluctant, why not just urge the young master to marry her and be done with it?"

The Madam of Shen, never one to put on airs, had a good relationship with the servants. Seeing them tease her, she laughed and scolded, "Always with the chatter!"

Bai Zhi, who had just arrived at the garden, witnessed this scene. She saw the unhideable smile lines on the Madam of Shen’s face and her satisfied expression as she looked at Shi Zhou, her hands clenching the hem of her dress tightly.

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