Shen Yun already knew Qi Yunwei’s true identity, which made his attitude towards him even more indifferent.
Moreover, if he guessed correctly, the Brother Qi mentioned by Yu Changfeng earlier must be him.
It was just that Yu Changfeng had already left with Zhao Ye, so why had Qi Yunwei, who had come along the same road, stayed behind.
“Young Master Qi,” he cupped his hands.
“Brother Shen, ah, I knew you’d have that same distant demeanor towards me.
Honestly, I truly consider you a brother.”
Su Xiaoqi, standing by, thought to herself, “Perhaps brothers now, but mortal enemies in the future.”
Actually, if one were to be precise, a significant reason why Shen Yun had no brothers or friends by his side after his descent into darkness was thanks to this very person.
“I’ve come today to tell Brother Shen some good news,” Qi Yunwei was unfazed by Shen Yun’s attitude.
Only he knew how much of a great help this seemingly indifferent Shen Yun would be to him in the future.
Shen Yun, however, was displeased. He had initially admired Qi Yunwei.
But remembering the deception when he first appeared, it made him lose all interest the moment he saw him, “Oh? What is it.”
At the same time, he also knew that this person’s background was not simple and that he was not someone he could afford to offend.
“Originally, Madam Gu intended to ask the Second Young Master Yu to escort you all to the capital.
But because he had urgent matters to attend to, he left ahead of time, so I will be escorting you to the capital instead.”
What, what, what…
Su Xiaoqi blinked her eyes.
Was Qi Yunwei not taking his own identity seriously?
He himself was someone who needed to conceal his identity in various ways, yet he dared to say he would openly escort them.
Furthermore, given his status, they should be escorting him, not the other way around.
“This is a request from my friend, the Second Young Master Yu. I’ve been to the capital and Mianzhou City a few times.
Regardless, I’m familiar with the road, and I happen to be going to the capital as well. Why don’t we travel together.”
Su Xiaoqi heard him say he was going to the capital, not returning to the capital.
She knew that in the heart of this great young master Qi, he was likely quite displeased with his own inexplicable and sudden presence in the capital.
It was just that they were both skilled at acting and deceiving, keeping their true thoughts well hidden so others wouldn’t notice.
Shen Yun looked at Qi Yunwei, then at Su Xiaoqi. Just as everyone expected him to refuse, he glanced around the manor, sensing the turbulent atmosphere, and nodded, “Then I shall trouble you, Young Master Qi.”
If he was staying for this reason, what was the harm in letting him escort them? With his help, the journey would likely be much smoother!
Qi Yunwei was unaware of Shen Yun’s calculations. Upon hearing his agreement, his face lit up with joy, and a brilliant smile appeared on his face, which was so handsome it was almost demonic.
He extended his hand towards Shen Yun and said, “Good. A gentleman’s word is his bond. We’ll meet at the north city gate on the eighth.”
Shen Yun hesitated for a moment, then extended his hand and met Qi Yunwei’s.
It was a promise between two men, not to be taken lightly.
Qi Yunwei turned, untied the horse tethered in the woods, mounted it, and rode away.
Only Zhao Xiaohua remained.
There was one thing she had said when speaking with Qi Yunwei that she hadn’t actually said.
She had indeed come out today with the same objective as Qi Yunwei.
She had specifically come to intercept Shen Yun.
She knew he would be leaving the next day, and she had to seize this last opportunity. She also wanted to go to the capital.
Back then, when the solitary Shen Yun had gone to the capital, he had brought her along.
Therefore, after the cooperation with the He family was suddenly interrupted, she hadn’t caused any trouble or done anything unnecessary.
She simply didn’t want to alter the events of her previous life.
But strangely, in this life, Shen Yun was about to leave, yet there was no movement from him.
Zhao Xiaohua had been pretending to be a lady of a distinguished family for several days, watching Shen Yun about to depart.
Yet neither he nor his wife had any intention of acknowledging her.
Only then did she become anxious. Forgetting her status as a woman, she rushed over directly.
Coincidentally, she met Qi Yunwei on the road.
In her previous life, benefiting from the close relationship between Shen Yun and Qi Yunwei, she had recognized him at a glance.
Therefore, she approached him casually, and by mentioning a few veiled matters, she made him trust her words.
And she told him how to intercept Shen Yun.
However, the person had been intercepted, and Qi Yunwei had gotten what he wanted.
But they had completely ignored her, seemingly with no intention of taking her to the capital.
“Yun… Young Master Shen, Madam Shen, I, I came to apologize,” Zhao Xiaohua mustered up courage from somewhere and shouted at the two of them.
What she actually wanted to ask was why Shen Yun wasn’t taking her to the capital anymore.
But looking at the people approaching on the official road, no matter how bold she was, she didn’t dare to ask so directly, so she could only apologize first.
But Shen Yun still ignored her, only turning his head to look at Su Xiaoqi with a gentle expression, as if asking if she had anything to say.
Su Xiaoqi nodded, recalling the information He Qiulei’s subordinates had uncovered. She suddenly turned around and saw Zhao Xiaohua following closely behind them.
As she turned, Zhao Xiaohua, unable to stop in time, was about to crash directly into her face.
Just as Su Xiaoqi was considering whether to trip her with her foot or block her with her hand, Zhao Xiaohua, with surprising agility, twisted her waist mid-air and unexpectedly changed targets.
She lunged towards Shen Yun.
Su Xiaoqi watched her flamboyant maneuver, unsure of what she was trying to do, when she suddenly noticed several people approaching from the direction of the official road.
They carried woven baskets on their backs, chatting and laughing, seemingly returning from visiting relatives in town and buying things.
They also saw the scene, assuming there was entertainment to be had, and stopped in their tracks to watch intently. Su Xiaoqi suddenly understood Zhao Xiaohua’s scheme.
She wanted to deliberately fall into Shen Yun’s arms in front of everyone, and then use the crowd’s gossip to link her with Shen Yun.
It was possible, as described in novels, that she might become his concubine, or she might be trying to usurp Shen Yun’s position as wife.
Thinking of this, Su Xiaoqi felt no possessiveness over a man being snatched away by another woman.
She was merely a little excited. She wanted to see how Shen Yun would react.
However, in a mere instant, before Su Xiaoqi’s thoughts had fully formed, someone shouted loudly.
“Oh dear, she fell.”
“Ouch, that must hurt.”
“Tsk tsk, Li Gou’er, what are you shouting about? It didn’t fall on your kid’s head.”
“Hey, this Shen Jieyuan is truly heartless. Such a beautiful girl was about to fall on him, and he didn’t catch her, but dodged instead. If it had fallen on me…”
“Li Zhuzi, shut your mouth.
You henpecked fool, how dare you even think about such things? Aren’t you afraid I’ll turn on you when we get back?”
“Wife, I was wrong, I was wrong, I won’t dare again, never again.”
Scolded by his wife, Li Zhuzi immediately fell silent.
And at this moment, Su Xiaoqi also realized what had just happened.
Zhao Xiaohua, who had perhaps desperately wanted to fall onto Shen Yun, had instead fallen to the ground.
It happened so quickly, and Su Xiaoqi’s attention had been diverted by the other onlookers, so she hadn’t seen clearly.
It was as if Zhao Xiaohua had fallen, Shen Yun had somehow sensed it, and with a complete sidestep, he had perfectly avoided her.
Then came the sound of Zhao Xiaohua hitting the ground.
She fell straight down, her face hitting the stone steps with a dull thud. Su Xiaoqi felt a pang of pain just thinking about it.
Although Zhao Xiaohua also felt a lot of pain.
But she didn’t have time to cry out in pain. She stared fixedly at Shen Yun, pitifully playing the victim: “Young Master Shen, you, have you forgotten? We, we used to have feelings for each other.”
In her past life, she had been by Shen Yun’s side for many years, working for him and accompanying him.