HBWMA -Chapter 147 Princess and Knight

Everyone present was smart enough to tell that Fu Sui’er’s act of yielding was prompted by someone’s guidance. Their gazes couldn’t help but drift toward Jiang Huashan beside her.

Shen Zhuang, however, looked very pleased. His thumb slowly brushed over the prayer beads carved with a dragon head, his expression kind.

“Children, the Shen Manor will be lively today. You should play when you can, make some noise when you can—just remember one thing: don’t lose your sense of propriety.”

“Yes.” The younger generation responded in unison.

Shen Zhuang nodded, then looked toward Shen Qian and the others.

“There are many guests today. Look after one another and don’t neglect any important guests.”

“Yes.”

“Alright, just keep it in mind. It’s rare for all of you siblings to gather, so be more casual.”

Only then did Shen Qian smile and look at Shen Lanxi.

“Lanxi, the last time we met was too rushed and I didn’t have time to prepare anything. This time I’ve specially prepared a small gift to welcome you home.”

Yao Ge smiled and handed the gift box forward.

“Thank you, Uncle, Auntie.” Shen Lanxi stood up and glanced back at Gao Zhi. Gao Zhi immediately stepped forward to take the gift.

Shen Qian smiled and nodded, his gaze briefly sweeping over Gao Zhi. Apart from Shen Zhi and Gao Zhi, all the bodyguards and attendants in the main hall were stationed outside the door. It was clear the old master made no effort to hide his favoritism toward Shen Lanxi.

Following Shen Qian’s lead, everyone began giving gifts.

In just a short while, Gao Zhi was already struggling to hold everything with both hands.

Fu Sui’er somehow produced a neatly wrapped gift box and asked Jiang Huashan in a low voice, “Did you prepare a gift?”

Jiang Huashan nodded. “I prepared a bit of a token.”

A “bit of a token”—what exactly did that mean?

After the elders finished giving their gifts and chatting for a while, they went with Shen Zhuang to the tea room.

The Shen family valued etiquette, so Shen Guiling and Shen Qingyu also prepared gifts.

Shen Guiling was very proper and gave a custom fountain pen. The most extravagant was Shen Qingyu, who directly gifted a limited-edition motorcycle.

He toyed with the key and tossed it to Shen Lanxi.

“Brother Lanxi, if you can’t ride it, you can ask me.”

Shen Lanxi casually caught the key and handed it to Gao Zhi. “Thanks.”

Shen Qingyu shrugged. A rigid and boring person like Shen Lanxi would never ride a motorcycle through the streets wearing a helmet anyway. In a few months, he’d find a way to get the key back—that bike would be his.

Shen Mianzhi deliberately waited until everyone else had finished before slowly standing up.

Fu Sui’er tugged at Jiang Huashan. “It’s our turn.”

Shen Mianzhi walked in front, just about to speak when she was suddenly bumped aside by a figure.

Xiao Lanlan directly shoved Shen Mianzhi with her shoulder. She was tall and two years older, and Shen Mianzhi was forced off balance.

“Sorry, Mianzhi.” Xiao Lanlan said with an apologetic look. “I was too rushed just now and didn’t notice you. Are you okay?”

Shen Mianzhi looked at her, then glanced back at Shen Rang who was speaking with the old master. After a brief hesitation, she shook her head and stepped back.

“I’m fine.”

Xiao Lanlan smiled and raised her chin slightly as she looked at Shen Lanxi.

“Brother Lanxi, this is a safety amulet I asked for at Wanfosi Temple. I hope that after returning home, you’ll have a peaceful and smooth life, and everything will go as you wish.”

Fu Sui’er was getting irritated watching this and muttered, “What, is Shen Mianzhi useless? She just let that happen?”

Jiang Huashan: “……”

Fu Sui’er: “What’s that look supposed to mean?”

Jiang Huashan silently took out a yellow talisman from her pocket.

Uh-oh. A duplicate.

Not just a duplicate—the safety charm Xiao Lanlan brought was placed in a red embroidered pouch, covered with gold-threaded patterns. One look and you could tell it was expensive.

Hers, on the other hand, was rough and simple. The yellow paper even had frayed edges. At a glance, it looked very much like… “sincerity.”

Fu Sui’er: “……”

Shen Mianzhi gave a neck massager. Fu Sui’er gave a hip and waist massager. Shen Qingyu burst out laughing.

“Brother Lanxi, the younger sisters really care about your health.”

“Thank you.” Shen Lanxi accepted the gift expressionlessly.

“Kid, what did you give him?” Shen Qingyu asked curiously while looking at Jiang Huashan.

Jiang Huashan silently took out the yellow paper in her hand.

Xiao Lanlan covered her mouth and smiled. “What a coincidence, you also got it from Wanfusi?”

The golden talismans from Wanfusi were very popular among the powerful and wealthy. Although there was no fixed price for a talisman paper and it depended entirely on one’s sincerity, the more “sincere” people were, the higher the price tended to be.

Xiao Lanlan had naturally noticed that what Jiang Huashan was holding was not a Wanfusi golden talisman, which was why she deliberately asked.

Jiang Huashan shook her head. “I drew it myself.”

“Heh~” Xiao Lanlan almost laughed out loud. “You—”

“Thank you.” Shen Lanxi took the yellow paper from her hand, and together with the golden talisman in his hand, he handed them both to Gao Zhi.

To him, there was no difference between a golden talisman and a yellow talisman.

Xiao Lanlan’s expression changed slightly. She glanced at Jiang Huashan without a trace, then turned and walked toward the tea room.

“Brother Lanxi, we’re going out to play.”

Fu Sui’er tugged at Jiang Huashan and gave her a look. Jiang Huashan waved at the others. “See you~”

The four of them: “……”

As soon as they left the main hall, Fu Sui’er immediately pulled her aside.

“You must be careful of Xiao Lanlan today. She is not someone to mess with. That woman is a thousand times more annoying than Shen Mianzhi.”

Jiang Huashan glanced toward the main hall, where Xiao Lanlan was currently holding Shen E’s arm and whispering into her ear.

“Huashan, did you hear what I said?”

Jiang Huashan withdrew her gaze. “I heard.”

Seeing that she wasn’t taking it seriously at all, Fu Sui’er pressed her shoulder, her expression turning serious.

“Huashan, I’m not joking with you. Shen Mianzhi is just a brainless saint, but Xiao Lanlan is genuinely vicious! And she’s the type who hates any girl prettier than herself! I’m not exaggerating—when we were kids, there was a very pretty girl we played princess-and-knight games with. The boys chose that girl to be the princess, and Xiao Lanlan, out of jealousy, tricked her into a kennel full of Tibetan mastiffs. After that, the girl was disfigured.”

“Xiao Lanlan is extremely good at pretending. I saw her myself trick that girl, but no one believed me. Later she even turned the blame onto me.”

Because of her “label,” Fu Sui’er was never believed no matter what she said as a child.

Jiang Huashan understood that feeling. She nodded seriously. “Sui’er, I don’t not believe you. I know.”

Fu Sui’er froze. “You really know?”

Jiang Huashan nodded again. “Yes. Shen Mianzhi is a natural-born saint, and Xiao Lanlan is a natural-born bad seed.”

Cough…

Just as the words fell, a soft cough suddenly came from behind them.

Fu Sui’er and Jiang Huashan exchanged a glance and turned around.

Shen Lanxi, Shen Guiling, Shen Qingyu, along with the other two people involved, were standing about three steps away, silently watching them.

“……”

Shen Mianzhi looked a bit awkward and took the initiative to change the topic.

“Um… Grandpa said today is the first time in over thirty years that Shen Garden has been opened to outsiders. To let the guests enjoy themselves, he wants us to organize a few activities for entertainment.”

Jiang Huashan remained calm. “We’re not good at that kind of thing…”

Shen Qingyu said, “Not good at it? You’ve organized a thousand-person riot before. At the very least, you should be responsible for one activity.”

Jiang Huashan: “……”

Xiao Lanlan smiled faintly, neither warm nor cold. “I just thought of one—Princess and Knight. Why don’t we let everyone choose again who gets to be the princess?”