Chapter 261: Rivals meet, each with their own concerns
After hearing what Shen Qingshu said, Lu Ji looked at the girl calmly.

The woman had a quiet temperament and pretty face. Although she was also a beautiful lady, she was still a bit of a mismatch compared to the elegant Shen Qingshu.

It’s not the woman’s fault, but the man’s temperament is too extraordinary, so the woman looks ordinary.

"Greetings, Your Highness." After listening to Shen Qingshu's introduction, the woman slowly stepped forward and saluted Lu Ji.

After Lu Ji returned the greeting, the woman was about to leave when Lu Ji asked calmly, "Where are you from, young lady?"

The woman paused and replied respectfully, "I am from Lingcheng, Qianzhou."

Lu Ji wanted to ask more, but Shen Qingshu spoke first and told the woman, "The distinguished guests have arrived. Cousin, please go to the kitchen and ask the maids to prepare the feast."

Seeing the woman slowly walking away, Lu Ji turned and looked at Shen Qingshu.

There was inquiry in his eyes.

Shen Qingshu curled his lips and said, "My fiancée is from a humble family. I hope you will forgive me for my impoliteness."

"It's not that this girl is rude." Lu Ji frowned slightly, then smiled and said, "I just didn't expect that a man as romantic as Lord Shen would get engaged in such a hurry. I thought that a woman who could catch your eye must be as beautiful as a fairy."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingshu hurriedly said, "Stop teasing me, my lord."

As he led Lu Ji to the front hall, he explained casually, "I lost my father when I was young, and my uncle helped me a lot. Before he died, he entrusted my cousin to me. Although I, Shen, don't have any great abilities, I am definitely not a treacherous person."

He smiled faintly: "I promised my uncle that I would marry my cousin and take care of her for the rest of her life. I will definitely keep my promise."

Then, half jokingly, he said, "When we get married next year, I will have someone send two jars of wedding wine to the prince."

As they were talking, the two of them entered the main hall.

While drinking, Shen Qingshu casually asked, "I heard that the prince is also getting married."

Seeing Lu Ji remained silent, he joked, "The prince has a noble wife and beautiful concubines, and he holds great power behind the scenes. His life is truly perfect."

"Come, I'll toast you."

After the two of them finished their drinks, Shen Qingshu said, "I am ashamed to say that when I was young and ignorant, I offended the prince because of Ah Ning when I was studying in the Lu Mansion."

Then he picked up the wine cup and said, "Qingshu, I will drink three cups as an apology to the prince."

After drinking the three glasses of wine, Shen Qingshu gradually became drunk, and Lu Ji then started talking about Qin Xiaoning.

"A Ning grew up beside me. In front of others, she always looked calm and composed. But I was the only one who knew how naughty and willful she was in private."

Shen Qingshu laughed twice when he heard this: "That's a problem I got from being spoiled by you, my Lord."

Then, he casually asked, "How is Ning now? Is he okay?"

He sighed again and said, "To be honest, I last saw her when I went to Beijing to visit Miss Su's house last year." Upon hearing this, Lu Ji looked at Shen Qingshu, his deep eyes dark and unfathomable.

He raised his head and drank the wine in the glass, then replied to Shen Qingshu with three words: "She is fine."

When he said this, he carefully watched Shen Qingshu's expression, and Shen Qingshu on the opposite side was also paying close attention to Lu Ji's actions.

The two grown men drank together, each with their own thoughts.

It was not until five days later that Shen Qingshu went to look for Qin Xiaoning.

Qin Xiaoning was writing. When she saw Shen Qingshu, she put down her brush and asked anxiously, "Has Lu Ji left Shu Wang? He didn't suspect anything, did he?"

Shen Qingshu smiled: "He left three days ago. I came to look for you just to be on the safe side and make sure he didn't leave anyone to monitor him."

Qin Xiaoning personally poured a cup of tea for Shen Qingshu: "He is not easy to deceive. This time, I want to thank you very much."

Shen Qingshu took the teacup and replied with a smile: "Knowing that I am the governor here, he just suspected that you would be here."

Qin Xiaoning nodded in agreement. Shen Qingshu suggested, "Today is the day of Shuwang's sea sacrifice. It's very lively. You've been in Shuwang for so long, and you haven't been out for a walk. How about I take you out for a walk while it's so lively today?"

Qin Xiaoning refused, "My baby is not even three months old yet, and it's an unstable period right now. I'd better avoid crowded places."

In fact, this was just an excuse. Qin Xiaoning couldn't explain why. When she was in the mansion before, she wanted to go out and play, and always ran out whenever she had the chance. Now that she was free and no one was restraining her, she didn't want to go out much.

Seeing that she was unwilling, Shen Qingshu did not force her: "Well, when you want to move, let me know. There are many fun places in Shuwang City. I will take you to visit them one by one when I find a chance."

Shen Xiaoning smiled and said yes. Shen Qingshu glanced at the half-written words on the table, picked them up and looked at them carefully, praising: "Your handwriting is really good."

As he said that, he stood up and used the pen she had just used to carefully write the words Qin Xiaoning had just written on the rice paper. Comparing the two, he raised his eyes and looked at Qin Xiaoning: "In fact, my handwriting is not as elegant as yours."

Qin Xiaoning stood up and walked to the table, carefully looking at the two pieces of calligraphy: "Each of them has his own style, but Lord Shen is working for the welfare of the people, so your calligraphy has a bit of uprightness, and since I started practicing calligraphy, I have been thinking about selling calligraphy for money, so no matter how I look at it, there is always a bit of money in my calligraphy."

Shen Qingshu laughed when he heard that, his handsome face brightened: "You are just being modest." He pulled Qin Xiaoning over and commented on her calligraphy: "I think your calligraphy is calm and remote, with a sense of freedom and a sense of non-contention. I'm afraid those collectors also saw this, so they are willing to pay a high price for your calligraphy."

The two were talking here when Songzhi rushed in in a hurry. He didn't even have time to take a breath and hurriedly replied, "A Ning, this is not good."

Seeing this, Qin Xiaoning asked, "Didn't you go to deliver a letter to Jixian Pavilion? What happened?"

Songzhi raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead: "Jixian Pavilion was confiscated by the government."

Qin Xiaoning was stunned when she heard this, so she quickly pulled Song Zhi to sit down and poured her another cup of tea: "Drink some water first and talk slowly."

Songzhi gulped down the tea in the cup in one breath, then raised his hand to wipe his mouth, and said with a sad face: "I heard that the boss of Jixian Pavilion was addicted to gambling and lost a large sum of money. Because he couldn't pay back the money, his shop was closed down."

Songzhi was so anxious that he burst into tears. "A Ning, what should we do? We have signed a three-year contract with Jixian Pavilion. If Jixian Pavilion goes bankrupt, we will lose our source of income."