Sheng Qianmo didn’t feel like he had anything to hide, so he replied, “Yes.”
Hearing this, Sheng Zhiyu could not help but laugh to the point of tearing up.
“That’s so not you, Fourth Brother!”
In fact, Sheng Zhiyu had gone to Sheng Courtyard to amuse himself and did not really believe that Sheng Qianmo would put a slave woman in his courtyard. But when he arrived, he was stunned.
From a distance, he saw a little girl wearing a pink and green skirt, crouching in the flower cluster around the stone steps.
The young girl had her head lowered so her face couldn’t be seen clearly, but she looked chaste and fair from the side. She was very quiet as she sat in front of the flowers.
Rays of light from the setting sun fell on her through a gap in a nearby tree, dyeing her black hair golden.
Such was the scene that held Sheng Qianmo’s gaze afixed. He stood not far away, watching Shu Nuan with a fixed expression on his face.
Sheng Zhiyu stared in a daze. He said, “Fourth Brother, is that one whom you brought into your palace?”
Sheng Qianmo ignored his brother and walked over to where the little girl was crouching among the flowers.
Shu Nuan soon heard his footsteps, then looked up and saw that Sheng Qianmo was back. She stood up quickly, patted the dust from her hand, and saluted him.
“Master.”
“What are you planting?”
Sheng Qianmo looked at her questioningly, but Shu Nuan kept her head down. He frowned slightly, and said, “Look up.”
Shu Nuan raised her head and looked at Sheng Qianmo.
“This is an oriental cherry blossom. I don’t know if this plant can survive and grow here… ” [1]
When Sheng Qianmo heard her reply, his expression darkened.
“Have I allowed you to plant flowers here?”
She looked at him and her eyelashes trembled slightly. She tried to throw herself down on her knees, but before they could touch the ground, Sheng Qianmo grabbed her slender waist. Shu Nuan heard his strong voice ring out deeply, “Are you scared?”
Shu Nuan was trembling in fear in his embrace, her clear black eyes shaking uneasily. Sheng Qianmo lifted a finger, then used it to wipe away some dust from the tip of her nose, and released her before saying lightly, “You can plant it if you want.”
Just then, Sheng Zhiyu came up behind him, and spoke coldly, “Fourth Brother, it’s not good for you to bully the little girl in front of me.”
Only then did Shu Nuan notice the presence of Sheng Zhiyu, but she didn’t know how to address him. She looked at the man beside her subconsciously. Sheng Qianmo smiled faintly and said, “Fifth Prince.”
She nodded her head and greeted Prince Sheng Zhiyu.
“This slave pays her respects to Fifth Prince.”
Sheng Zhiyu listened to her soft voice and looked at her cute and petite appearance. He seemed to understand why his Fourth Brother treated this little slave in a special manner.
However, he still felt found it hard to imagine. Although the little girl looked lovely, what kind of woman could Sheng Qianmo not get with a mere word? Was there any need to touch a slave then?
After entering the library to discuss matters, Sheng Zhiyu sat down and could not help but let out a laugh.
“Keke.”
He said somewhat crudely, “I had believed that since you had been abstaining from sex for so many years, that you simply weren’t interested in such matters. Turns out, you like this type of delicate women. Do you want me to find some more of such women for you?”
In Sheng Zhiyu’s view, she was just the type he preferred, and was better than the women from Beiguo Kingdom. What was more, his brother seemed to be very keen on this little slave… it was definitely not as simple as carnal desire.
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1] – ED: Sighs I, too, wonder if this little flower Nuan can grow here.