The new year in the Shen family was very lively.
Originally, because of Ren Wanyun and Shen Qing, the atmosphere in the General’s Mansion was gloomy. However, with the arrival of Jing Chuchu and Jing Guansheng, Old Madam Shen was very enthusiastic about making new year preparations. She often let the two siblings walk around the General’s Mansion. Shen Yue was a people person, so not long after, she became good friends with Jing Chuchu. However, no one knew if she was sincere or not.
Although Shen Yue treated Jing Chuchu and her brother well, the place the two siblings liked to go the most was the west courtyard of the Shen family, especially Jing Chuchu. She often sent some snacks and food to the soldiers who trained there. Having learned a lesson, when she came again, she brought enough soup for everyone. However, compared to the soup Shen Miao made previously, the taste was much blander. Those soldiers were straightforward people to begin with and were all thinking about the soup made by Shen Miao. They did not show much gratitude to Jing Chuchu.
It was the same today. After Jing Chuchu brought over the food, Shen Qiu was about to continue practicing his swordsmanship when he was stopped by Jing Chuchu. “Cousin…”
“Cousin, you’d better leave early.” Shen Qiu smiled brightly. “My soldiers are all rough people. It won’t be good if they accidentally hurt you. Besides, you come here all day long. You’re a girl. It’s not appropriate to hang out with us men all the time.”
He was asking her to leave in an inexplicit way.
Jing Chuchu’s face immediately turned red, and she looked at Shen Qiu in disbelief. Her eyes were watery, as if she would cry at the next moment. When other men saw her like that, they would probably feel sorry for her. However, Shen Qiu had never been very compassionate towards women. He just stood there and did not want to go forward to comfort her.
Given the cold shoulder by Shen Qiu, Jing Chuchu’s red face immediately turned pale. She lowered her head, picked up the basket, and said, “I understand.” With that, she turned to run away. Those who didn’t know better would think that Shen Qiu had bullied her.
After Jing Chuchu left, a person appeared behind the pillar. Shen Miao said, “Brother, you are really cruel.”
“Hehe.” Shen Qiu scratched his head. “I’m just afraid that you’ll be angry.”
“Why should I be angry?” Shen Miao said flatly.
Shen Qiu immediately felt a cold wind blow past him. He said, “Sister, you don’t like Cousin, right?”
“I have no grudge against Cousin. What makes you think I don’t like her?” Shen Miao asked.
“Jiaojiao, did that girl secretly make things difficult for you?” Shen Xin, who had just finished practicing swordsmanship, walked over and happened to hear Shen Qiu and Shen Miao’s conversation. He said, “If she does, don’t even bother to speak to her. Just beat her up!”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Seeing that they were talking, Luo Xueyan walked over. When she heard this, she glared at Shen Xin. “Jiaojiao, don’t listen to your father’s nonsense. How can a girl hit people casually? If she bullies you, tell me. I’ll beat her up for you.”
“What difference does it make?” Shen Qiu muttered, “Let me do it. I’m young and strong. I’ll beat her up.”
Shen Miao said, “She didn’t bully me.”
“Then Jiaojiao, why don’t you like her?” Luo Xueyan asked. Even the stupidest person could tell that Shen Miao didn’t like Jing Chuchu. As long as Jing Chuchu came over, Shen Miao would get Shen Qiu to demonstrate throwing darts in the courtyard. Throwing darts was actually a very cruel martial art. Generally speaking, Shen Xin and the others wouldn’t do it in the mansion, afraid of scaring the maids. They would find some small animals to be live targets. Every time Jing Chuchu came over, Shen Miao would say, “Father, Brother, I want to see darts.”
Every time, Jing Chuchu would be scared out of her wits, but she would still stand on the side to watch. After watching the live animals getting struck by the darts and the blood spilling out, she felt horribly nauseous. As time passed, everyone in the courtyard could tell that Shen Miao was deliberately messing with Jing Chuchu.
