As the night gets darker, the bright moonlight shines on the Liuguang Pavilion. The shadows of the trees dance lightly in the gentle breeze, like a silent shadow play on the bluestone road.

There was a weak candlelight in the wing room. Shen Qingwan was sitting on the cloud couch, looking down at Lin Sishen who was lying on her lap. There was a gentle glimmer in her clear eyes. She stared at Lin Sishen without saying a word. His eyes ran across her fair skin, delicate and clean edges.

She slowly raised her hand, and her cold fingertips gently fell on Lin Sishen's face, caressing her inch by inch, from her eyebrows to the tip of her tall nose, and then landed on her pale and delicate thin lips, stroking them gently. With.

Lin Sishen had calmed down a lot. She closed her eyes slightly and lingered in Shen Qingwan's gentle caress, as if she had left all the troubles behind her and just wanted to enjoy the silence and warmth of the moment.

When Shen Qingwan's fingertips touched Lin Sishen's chin, she felt a slight tickling sensation that made her raise her head. She opened her eyes and looked at Shen Qingwan, raised her hand and grabbed her fingertips, holding them in her hand. In his hand, he whispered coquettishly: "Princess, it's a little itchy~"

Shen Qingwan curled her lips and smiled fondly. Lin Sishen's fingertips were tightly grasped, and she playfully scratched her palm without giving up. After provoking Lin Sishen to murmur, she opened her lips and asked softly: " Does your hand still hurt?"

Hearing this, Lin Sishen turned her head and glanced at her arm, shook her head, and said with a curl of her lips: "The pain disappeared as soon as the Princess's pear blossom ointment was applied. However, the pain in my hand disappeared, but the anger in my heart did not disappear at all."

After finishing speaking, Lin Sishen paused. Thinking of the frivolous behavior of the fourth prince toward her today, she subconsciously frowned and said with some disgust: "I always feel that he seems a little... weird today."

Shen Qingwan turned her head to look at the expression on her face, narrowed her eyes, and asked: "Weird? Why do you say that?"

Lin Sishen slowly sat up, shrugged and said helplessly: "In addition to telling my secret to my father, he also behaved very frivolously towards me today. I don't know what he wanted to do."

Shen Qingwan's expression suddenly turned cold when she heard this. She frowned, looked at Lin Sishen and asked seriously: "Shen'er, are you saying that the fourth emperor brother is scornful of you?"

Lin Sishen nodded: "Fortunately, I escaped, but he was too unscrupulous to treat me like this in the General's Mansion. I don't know what he has to rely on."

Shen Qingwan lowered her eyes and sneered, her eyes flashing with a cold light: "It seems that he is sure that the position in the East Palace belongs to him, and he actually has the courage to covet you."

Lin Sishen took a deep breath and exhaled, and pondered in confusion: "Although I did see him often when I entered the palace when I was young, I still don't know how I exposed my identity in front of him."

Shen Qingwan raised her eyes to look at Lin Sishen, her eyes softened a lot in an instant: "I discovered that you were a woman by chance after you rescued me from falling into the water. But he seems to have known your identity earlier than me, maybe. You inadvertently exposed your flaws and he saw through them."

"It's too late now to find out the reasons."

Lin Sishen sighed and rubbed her temples with a headache, but she quickly regained her composure, suddenly squinted her eyes, looked at Shen Qingwan with a half-smile, and asked playfully: "By chance? The princess discovered it by accident? My identity, or...some intention?"

When Shen Qingwan heard this, she gave her an angry look: "You and I were still young at that time, what could I have planned?"

After saying that, she raised her lips and smiled again, raised her hand and gently scratched Lin Sishen's chin, as if teasing a puppy, and said jokingly: "If I hadn't discovered that you are a woman, how could I be so curious about you? Pay attention.”

Hearing what she said, Lin Sishen couldn't help but be a little curious: "What does the princess mean, if she didn't know that I was a woman, she would not have paid attention to me, and there would never be such a fate between you and me?"

Shen Qingwan shook her head. Lin Sishen asked such a slightly absurd question, but she thought seriously for a moment, and then said seriously: "Shen'er, I am not interested in you because you are a woman. You are an outstanding person in the world." I have countless men and women, but I am the only one who has fallen in love with you."

While Shen Qingwan was speaking, Lin Sishen stared at her without blinking, her eyes seemed to be twinkling with starlight. After Shen Qingwan finished speaking, she suddenly rubbed her eyes, lowered her head, and said softly: "You know, Princess? It is an eternal honor for Si Shen to be favored by the princess in this life."

"Fool."

When Shen Qingwan heard this, she raised her hand and touched her head gently. She sighed helplessly and said, "I originally wanted to stay by your side tonight, but there are still some things I need to explain. I'm afraid it's time to leave." ."

"The princess wants to leave?"

Lin Sishen raised her head, looked at Shen Qingwan reluctantly, her expression suddenly darkened, and said smoothly: "Did the princess know that the fourth prince came to the general's mansion today, so she came to look for me?"

Shen Qingwan shook her head, and said lightly with some resentment: "I saw you in the palace today looking bad, and I felt a little worried, so I came to see you. I thought you would come to the palace to see you after we said goodbye outside the city. I've been waiting for two days but I still don't see you coming. This shows that you have other things on your mind and can't tolerate me."

Lin Sishen's eyes suddenly widened when she heard this, and she hurriedly explained: "It's not that I don't want to see the princess, but there are too many things to deal with in the past two days, and I can't spare any time..."

Shen Qingwan smiled softly, looked at Lin Sishen with a half-smile, and sighed helplessly: "That's true. Miss Chu has moved into the General's Mansion. You have to entertain guests and deal with the second prince Sun Wenqian. It's true that you think about it. You don’t have time to see me.”

When she mentioned this, Lin Sishen suddenly looked strange. She tilted her head and explained with twinkling eyes: "I didn't want Miss Chu to stay in the General's Mansion. It was my father... He wanted to keep Miss Chu in the General's Mansion, so as not to Sun Wenqian secretly sent someone to kidnap her."

Shen Qingwan saw something strange in Lin Sishen's expression, and the smile on her lips faded, and she lowered her eyes and said leisurely: "Miss Chu is a smart woman, and she is willing to convince General Lin for you for the sake of the overall situation."

Lin Sishen nodded and sighed sincerely: "She is indeed smart and knowledgeable. In order not to implicate the general's palace, she temporarily gave up this great opportunity for revenge."

Shen Qingwan raised her eyebrows when she heard this, and a trace of displeasure flashed across her face. She said with interest, "Oh? It seems you have a high opinion of Miss Chu."

Lin Sishen's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly cried out: "It's unfair, just now... wasn't the princess praising her for being smart just now? I was just agreeing."

Shen Qingwan's narrow eyes were slightly closed. She stared at Lin Sishen's face. She flicked her sleeves calmly and said: "A smart woman, especially a woman who can endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens and has been dormant for many years beside an enemy with a blood feud, no matter what, He will never be a simple character."

Lin Sishen looked startled when he heard this, and asked softly: "What the princess means is that Miss Chu is not simple?"

Shen Qingwan stood up slowly, put her hands behind her back and said leisurely to Lin Sixen: "I don't have much contact with her. If you want to ask what kind of person she is, you should also ask yourself."

Lin Sishen frowned, remembering how Nanxiang Qin had been trying to please her grandmother, General Lin, and Liu Qingyun these days. She was already a little suspicious, but she became even more suspicious when Shen Qingwan said this.

She hesitated and thought for a moment, looked at Shen Qingwan's back and asked softly: "Princess Princess, this Miss Chu..."

But before Lin Sishen finished speaking, Shen Qingwan interrupted her lightly and warned softly: "I don't know what her purpose is, but you must not be blinded by a moment of sympathy to avoid being tricked. Void."

Lin Sishen nodded thoughtfully after hearing this: "I really should send someone to keep an eye on Miss Chu. For some reason, I also feel that she has been behaving strangely recently."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Qingwan turned around, glanced at her with a strange frown, and suddenly asked, "How long has it been since you last seen Ju An?"

"Ju'an?"

Lin Sishen was stunned when he heard this, scratched his head and asked with a confused expression: "Didn't Ju An be sent to the Xichen Temple outside the city for rest a few months ago by the princess?"

Ju An was an orphan girl that Lin Sishen picked up from Longyou. She originally stayed in the general's mansion and was raised by the old lady. But later, after Lin Sishen and Shen Qingwan reconciled, Shen Qingwan took her back to the palace.

Not long after, Shen Qingwan discovered that Ju An seemed to be suffering from a stubborn disease. Whenever there was noise around him, he would have a splitting headache and cry non-stop. Because there were many servants and maids in the palace, and there were bustling streets outside the palace, It was not easy to rest at home. Shen Qingwan ordered Ju An to be sent to Xichen Temple, where he was carefully taken care of by his servants in the mountains behind the temple.

Shen Qingwan sent a letter to Lin Sishen about this matter. After learning about it, Lin Sishen didn't ask much about it. With Shen Qingwan sending someone to take care of Ju An, she could naturally rest assured.

Shen Qingwan raised her eyebrows and asked jokingly: "It's rare that you still remember that I sent her to Xichen Temple?"

Lin Sishen's heart was shocked, and she could not refute Shen Qingwan's teasing. Since she sent Ju An away, she had indeed never visited Ju An once. She lowered her head and said: "This...isn't it because the princess is taking care of him?" , I don’t need to worry.”

Shen Qingwan shook her head slightly, and rebuked in a rare and unhappy voice: "You were the one who decided to save Ju An at first, and now you have adopted her as your adopted daughter and you are indifferent to her, Shen'er, you are like this It’s really too much.”

Lin Sishen looked ashamed. She nodded and admitted her mistake: "I...I was negligent."

When Shen Qingwan saw this, she didn't criticize her any more: "Whenever I leave the city, I will stop by to visit her. But if you want to see her, you don't have to go out of the city. She has rested for a long time, and my father will go there tomorrow. Xichen Temple will take her back to the palace, if you want to see her come to the palace."

Lin Sishen felt guilty and laughed at himself: "Ju An must have forgotten me after we haven't seen each other for so long. It seems that I have to buy some small bowls and go to the palace to cheer her up, lest she think of me as a bad person."

Shen Qingwan closed her head slightly, and after a moment of silence, she raised her eyes to look at the moonlight outside the window, sighed and said quietly: "It's getting late, I think it's time for me to leave."

Lin Sishen reluctantly walked up to Shen Qingwan, looked at her expression, raised his hand and tugged on her sleeve, and asked weakly: "I will go to the palace to see Ju An tomorrow, Princess... Princess If there are no other matters to deal with, you shouldn’t leave the palace tomorrow, right?”

Shen Qingwan glanced at her. Although there was a hint of sullenness on her face, the corners of her lips were slightly raised: "You are here to ask so many questions. Do you want to see Ju An or me? ?”

Lin Sishen blinked in understanding, raised his finger and waved it in front of Shen Qingwan's eyes, and said matter-of-factly: "Of course, both are indispensable."

She said she was leaving, but before leaving, Shen Qingwan was still worried about Lin Sishen. She looked at Lin Sishen worriedly and said softly: "Shen'er, even if General Lin knows your identity, you don't have to worry. Although General Lin has an impatient temper, he is a reasonable person. You are his flesh and blood anyway, and he will not blame you."

When Lin Sishen heard this, the smile on her face disappeared instantly. She lowered her eyes and smiled bitterly: "But my father has put so much effort into me over the years. He has already regarded me as the heir to the general's mansion. Once he knows that I It's a woman, I'm afraid he will feel that all his hard work over the years has been in vain."

Hearing what Lin Sishen said, Shen Qingwan knew that her knot was still unresolved, so she did not leave in a hurry, but asked softly: "Do you think General Lin would think so, or do you think General Lin would think so?"

Lin Sishen shook his head and whispered: "I just..."

Shen Qingwan raised his hand to caress her face and looked at her steadily: "Fool, as long as General Lin thinks about it for a moment, he will understand your difficulties. You have sacrificed so much for the General's Mansion, how can he bear to criticize you harshly? , I think...the reason why he doesn't want to see you for the time being is just because he doesn't know how to face you. It's because he feels guilty that he avoids you."

Lin Sishen's nose felt a little sour when she heard this. She clutched the corner of Shen Qingwan's clothes tightly, feeling a little aggrieved inexplicably: "It would be great if the princess could always stay by my side."

A soft light flashed through Shen Qingwan's eyes. She looked at Lin Sishen intently, suddenly raised her lips and smiled, and softly uttered one word: "Okay."

"Um?"

Lin Sishen seemed to be unable to believe her ears. She looked at Shen Qingwan with a puzzled expression, but Shen Qingwan lowered his eyes and smiled, raised his hand and gently scratched the bridge of her straight and delicate nose, and said with an angry smile. : "Don't you want me to stay with you? Then I won't leave tonight."

Lin Sishen couldn't help but smile when she heard this, but she was satisfied with Shen Qingwan's words, so she waved her hand and breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "Princess, you don't have to worry about me. If you have something urgent to do, go ahead, but don't delay it because of me."

When Shen Qingwan heard what she said, she smiled slightly and shook her head. She took Lin Sishen's hand and turned around to walk towards the cloud bed. She asked in a soft voice: "What important thing is more important than you?"

Lin Sishen followed Shen Qingwan step by step, his eyes falling on the two people's clasped hands, and the corners of his lips raised high.

----------------------------------------

Shen Qingwan slept with Lin Sishen on the cloud couch until the latter half of the night. It was not until Lin Sishen fell asleep that she quietly opened her eyes and stood up slowly, turning her head to look at Lin Sishen who was sleeping soundly holding her arm.

Compared with her usual meticulousness, Lin Sishen, with her black hair hanging loosely, looks like a truly delicate woman. Her eyelashes are thick and curled, trembling slightly with her gentle breathing, like a waving little cattail fan, which is extremely cute.

Shen Qingwan unknowingly stared at her for a long time, and until she had to leave, she finally gently pulled out the arm held by Lin Sishen. Before Lin Sishen could react, she quickly stuffed the pillow on the side into Lin Sishen's hand and replaced it.

Lin Sishen didn't notice at all why Shen Qingwan's arms had become thicker. She just subconsciously tightened the soft pillow with her hands, put her face on it and rubbed it. Maybe there was Shen Qingwan's scent on the pillow, so she smashed it. He closed his mouth and continued to sleep peacefully.

Shen Qingwan smiled silently, tucked Lin Sishen's quilt, leaned over and kissed the side of her face like a dragonfly, then stood up and left quietly.

After leaving the general's residence, Shen Qingwan did not return to the palace, but went straight to the fourth prince's residence, transformed into an elusive white shadow like a ghost, avoided all eyes and ears, and sneaked in gracefully.

During those years when he was working hard in Lingnan, the fourth prince was constantly vigilant. Even his words and deeds were extremely restrained, for fear that he would show any flaw and be caught, and there would be no possibility of returning to the capital.

Therefore, he developed a suspicious temperament. He even kept a self-defense dagger hidden under his pillow. He would be awakened by the slightest disturbance.

After returning to the capital, he relaxed a lot. The emperor's respect had already made him feel carried away. He forgot about his days in Lingnan and only indulged in the dream of holding power and ruling the world.

Even the vigilance is much duller than in Lingnan.

While he was dazed in his sleep, he vaguely felt a gaze falling coldly on his face and looked at him for a long time. After a while, he finally realized that something was wrong and woke up. He stretched out his hand before opening his eyes. He took out the dagger hidden under the pillow, then suddenly turned over, sat up, opened his eyes and looked into the room.

Sure enough, in the slightly dark room, directly opposite the table not far from the bed, there seemed to be a white figure sitting there.

The fourth prince pulled out the dagger and yelled loudly in shock: "Who is there?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the guard outside the door immediately lit the torch and rang quickly: "Your Highness, what happened?"

With the flickering firelight outside the door, the fourth prince could see the face of the figure clearly.

A cold and beautiful woman dressed in white is sitting at the table, her slender fingertips as green as green are playing with an empty tea cup, her eyes are as cold as the sudden appearance of cold light, she is closing her eyes quietly. Looking at him.

Countless guards arrived outside the door. The hurried footsteps were mixed with the harsh sound of swords being drawn out of their sheaths. The gradually lighting up torches seemed to illuminate the entire palace as bright as day. They surrounded the entire room with water.

"Wan'er?"
To be continued...