Chapter 303: Chapter 303

Only one lamp was lit inside the tent.

Shen Hua held a ribbon in her hands, using it as a measure tape to take Xie Xun’s measurements, noting down each detail.

"Isn’t it said that you’re never satisfied with the clothes sewn by Xie Mansion’s embroidery ladies? When I return, I must make some time to personally tailor an outfit for you."

When she said this, she was actually feeling somewhat uncertain.

The girl had not touched a needle and thread for too long.

So long that it almost felt foreign.

Yet, the aura she exuded was full of confidence.

A look of surprise and happiness flickered across Xie Xun’s eyes.

He knew better than anyone else that Shen Hua had abandoned her most cherished embroidery for a full three years. It had become the demon she could not forgive in herself.

But at this moment, Shen Hua, like a proud cat, spoke with exaggerated intonations, busily working with her hands: "Previously, I was stuck in a dead end, avoiding embroidery at all costs, but I forgot it was a skill I honed over many years. The embroidery workshop is still waiting for my return, and I must pick it up again."

"So, I will start by practicing on you."

"Don’t move. If you make me miscount, I will not alter it for you again."

Xie Xun was very cooperative.

When Shen Hua asked him to raise his hand, he raised it.

He remembered that during the accident in the forest years ago, Ms. Shen Chun desperately protected him, and suffered several sword wounds.

Blood trickled from her mouth in steady drips. The burning sensation forced Shen Zhi underneath her to jolt awake.

Ms. Shen Chun’s lips parted and closed as her consciousness faded, still calling out in reluctant and mournful tones.

Until her last breath, she was worried about her most tender and delicate girl—worried that the frail girl would be left without care, worried about her heartbreak upon learning of the incident.

Upon this thought, Xie Xun did not notice the sound outside the tent.

Cui Yun entered and witnessed this very scene.

The girl stood on the tips of her toes, reaching up to Xie Xun’s shoulder. Her eyebrows were curved, their faces very close. In Cui Yun’s eyes, it seemed as if their lips would touch in the next moment. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕·𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎·𝚗𝚎𝚝

The man’s dark eyes deepened, as if stirring up pools of thick ink, which in an instant unleashed a raging whirlpool of waves.

The energy around him turned icy cold, overwhelming the atmosphere.

Shen Hua saw Cui Yun, and her pretty eyes blinked.

Before this, when she and He Chu had agreed on a marriage, Shen Zhi, a scholarly man, beating him until his face swelled, later becoming so distressed he lost his appetite for food and drink, following her around all day.

—I have already shown mercy.

—What’s wrong with having your brother take care of you for a lifetime instead of getting married?

Thus, Shen Hua ultimately did not inform Xie Xun about Cui Yun’s situation.

But Cui Yun lingered about like a lingering specter.

His intentions, Shen Hua had received.

But... he was pursuing her a bit too ardently.

Shen Hua hesitated for a moment: "How did you come here?"

This question did not carry the soft and gentle tone as her previous conversation with Xie Xun about secret love.

The girl even lacked any sign of panic on her face. Did she not care at all about the possibility of their actions being exposed, or, was this Shen Hua’s final answer to him?

Cui Yun’s heart sank sharply.

Xie Xun was somewhat surprised: "Marquis Cui?"

"How come you are here?"

Turning to look at Shen Hua again, he saw that the room was warmed by a charcoal fire, and the girl was only draped in a thin outer garment, without any other accessories, her hair loose, and even her makeup washed away.

Without the brilliance, but with a touch more of distressed allure.

Soon, Xie Xun’s voice became weighty, his usually mild emotions showing an unexpected perturbation.

"A girl’s reputation is of utmost importance. Miss Shen is yet to be married; even if you must enter, you should have asked from outside. How can you enter so casually?"

"If outsiders saw this, wouldn’t it ruin her reputation? Even if innocent, I’m afraid it would be impossible to clear her name."

"Marquis Cui is a man who highly values propriety; this is something I should not need to remind you of."

These were words that Cui Yun should have been the one to question.

Yet the role reversal came from Xie Xun’s mouth.

It was somewhat absurd.

What right did Xie Xun have? Was it because Shen Hua cared about him?

Cui Yun walked step by step towards them, the color draining from his face little by little.

The next moment, the girl’s wrist was seized. A force, unhesitatingly, pulled her away from Xie Xun.

She crashed heavily into Cui Yun’s arms.

Xie Xun was so stunned that his eyes were glued to the scene.

The next instant, a fierce gust of wind rushed past his ear.

Xie Xun didn’t guard against it and took the punch straight on. He staggered backward.

He ’hissed’ as the right side of his face went numb with pain.

"Isn’t Heir Xie going to scram yet?"

Cui Yun still had his usual noble and cold demeanor. He wiped his hands with a handkerchief and flicked his robe as if he wasn’t the one who had thrown the punch.

Xie Xun: "Marquis Cui must be misunderstanding something."

Shen Hua was dumbfounded. She subconsciously ran towards them, but Cui Yun hooked his arm around her waist.

"Why did you hit him! Why did you have to hit so hard!"

There was a dark depth in Cui Yun’s eyes: "Feeling heartache?"

He seemed to find it amusing, letting out a low chuckle that made Shen Hua’s hair stand on end. But soon, seeing that Xie Xun didn’t leave, the laughter suddenly vanished.

"You really must have a death wish."

Xie Xun, helpless and aware of the misunderstanding, said: "I am willing to explain this."

"My relationship with Miss Shen is not what you think. I came here tonight simply to——"

Soon, he fell silent.

Being alone with a girl in the middle of the night, and even knocking out her Shadow Guard. This situation seemed impossible to explain.

In Cui Yun’s eyes, he was being provocative.

Shen Hua, in her anger, smacked at the hand that Cui Yun was keeping firmly on her waist. She was losing her temper: "Heir Xie did indeed come to have a secret rendezvous with me."

"I even need to sew clothes for him."

"A man whom I usually can’t bear to hit, how could you beat him up like that!"

"Aren’t you supposed to be a gentleman!"

Cui Yun’s jawline tensed sharply, slightly trembling as well.

"How many times have you done this behind my back?"

Girl: "And there will be a fourth time, a fifth time."

Cui Yun seriously listened to her until the end, then a chill smile crept on his face.

Holding her waist, he supported her nape with one hand, gentle like caressing a cat.

"Miss Shen has a simple heart, and it’s easy for her to be tricked, to stray off, to make mistakes. I don’t blame you."

Shen Hua was speechless.

That’s some deep love you got there.

Wouldn’t normal men just drop harsh words and leave in a huff?

Cui Yun’s voice was hoarse: "You like that type of man?"

"Didn’t I tell you not to get too close to him?"

He stared at Shen Hua, questioning with what little reason he had left: "Why can’t you listen?"

Xie Xun finally sensed something was terribly wrong.

"What do you mean ’behind the back’?"

"No, no, this sounds like we’re being caught in an affair?"

Boom, he suddenly realized.

Xie Xun became rigid.

Cui Yun’s possessive stance, he was undoubtedly harboring improper intentions towards Yangyang!

From the beginning, it was he who personally sent Shen Hua to Cui Yun’s side. It was he who was constantly giving Cui Yun opportunities!

Xie Xun wished he could chop off Cui Yun’s hands, even the most good-tempered person had finally snapped.

"Cui Yun, your hand! Let go!"

Xie Xun closed his eyes, unable to suppress his rage any longer.

"With the atmosphere , why not go outside to spar and have a fight?"