Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Six
Shen An'an frowned, not understanding who this man who had suddenly appeared was, but thinking of what he had said, she didn't dare to delay. Without a second thought, she ran to the Li residence.
The little maid behind her, seeing her young mistress running so urgently, also started running without thinking.
Seeing her young mistress finally stop, Qiuyu let out a sigh of relief.
"Young Mistress, why were you running like that?" Qiuyu asked, puzzled.
After all, her young mistress was a lady of good standing. Running without any regard for her image like that was simply damaging to her reputation.
"Go knock on the door!" Shen An'an said, hands on her knees, panting heavily.
"Young Mistress, can I... catch my breath first?" Qiuyu pleaded.
She really needed a moment; she had run too fast and was out of breath too.
Shen An'an waved her hand, not having the energy to say more to Qiuyu.
When Li Zhiwei saw Shen An'an, she was taken aback at first.
"I'm sorry, An'an. I left in too much of a hurry earlier; I forgot to tell you," Li Zhiwei remembered then that she was supposed to go shopping with Shen An'an today. Earlier, she had been worried that something might have happened to Xu Qingshi and had rushed off in a panic.
Afterwards, she came straight home, forgetting that Shen An'an was still waiting for her.
"It's fine, it's fine. Let me catch my breath," Shen An'an said, not minding, though she still slumped somewhat ungracefully over the table.
"You two... did you go rob someone?" Looking at the master and servant, both seeming utterly exhausted, Li Zhiwei asked cautiously.
"Zhiwei, there's something very important I need to tell you," Shen An'an said after she had rested enough. She grabbed Li Zhiwei's hand, speaking with great seriousness.
"Hmm?"
For a moment, Li Zhiwei wasn't sure what the proper reaction should be, but she also looked very seriously at Shen An'an, adopting an expression that said she was prepared to listen.
"Today, a man suddenly came up to me and told me to tell you that someone wants to buy your life! But when I went out later to look for him, he was gone. Zhiwei, tell me, is this real, or is someone playing a cruel joke?" Shen An'an was still feeling very confused about the whole thing.
Someone wanted her life?
Li Zhiwei was also startled by this news for a moment, but then she felt it wasn't all that strange.
After all, back in the capital, she had gotten into trouble several times.
"Zhiwei, do you think this could be true? Have you offended anyone you shouldn't have recently?" Shen An'an asked, looking at Li Zhiwei with concern.
"You mean, someone from Li'an County?" Li Zhiwei tapped the tabletop with one finger. If it was Li'an County, wasn't there only the eldest daughter of the Huo family?
Oh, no, there was also The Cao Family.
"Could it be someone from the capital?" Shen An'an didn't know what had happened to Li Zhiwei in the capital.
But thinking that Li Zhiwei had returned from the capital, something bad must have surely happened.
However, since Li Zhiwei didn't speak of it, she wouldn't ask.
"It's fine. Even if those people really come, they can't do much to me," Li Zhiwei said with a smile. Comparatively, she was more worried about Xu Qingshi. After all, he was just a child, and she couldn't keep him confined to the residence all the time.
That meant danger was ever-present.
"Pretty sister!"
Just as she thought of Xu Qingshi, she saw the little boy walk in from outside.
"Oh, what an adorable child." Seeing Xu Qingshi, Shen An'an's eyes lit up. Back at The Cao Family's place last time, she had actually wanted to ask about him but never found the right opportunity.
Seeing him today, she felt very excited. She had never seen such an adorable child before.
"Pretty sister, is this your friend? She's as beautiful as you are," Xu Qingshi said, walking obediently to Li Zhiwei's side.
"Zhiwei, I really like this child. Where did you get him?" Shen An'an's eyes sparkled as she looked at Li Zhiwei. She was always one to appreciate good looks, and she had zero resistance to a soft, cute little bun like Xu Qingshi.
"Qingshi, this is Auntie An'an. An'an, this is Qingshi," Li Zhiwei introduced the two with a smile.
"Oh, you little cutie, I'm sorry. Auntie came in a hurry today and didn't bring you a gift. I'll make it up to you next time, okay?" Shen An'an said happily, pinching Xu Qingshi's cheek.
The feel was just as good as she imagined, so satisfying to pinch.
Moyu, standing to the side, watched as her young master's face grew a bit red, feeling a little heartache.
"Alright, An'an, any more pinching and it'll turn red," Li Zhiwei quickly rescued Xu Qingshi from Shen An'an's hands.
Xu Qingshi's little mouth seemed smeared with honey, coaxing Shen An'an into giving him all the nice things she had on her.
"Here, this is for you to buy sugar-coated haws," Shen An'an said, having nothing else suitable to give. In the end, she could only take out the five hundred tael silver note she was carrying and hand it to Xu Qingshi.
"An'an, that's not necessary!" Li Zhiwei wanted to take it back.
After all, the Shen family's circumstances weren't as good as the Li family's. Five hundred taels was probably money Shen An'an had saved for a long time.
"What, you look down on me? I'm not giving it to you; this is for our Qingshi to buy sugar-coated haws!" Shen An'an insisted stubbornly.
"With five hundred taels for sugar-coated haws, you could buy every single one in Li'an County!" Li Zhiwei said exasperatedly.
"Our Qingshi is worth it!" Shen An'an declared happily.
"Hmm, worth it. And then he'll have no teeth left. Then you'll see a toothless Qingshi," Li Zhiwei said matter-of-factly.
"I don't want to become a toothless Qingshi!" At the thought, Xu Qingshi quickly covered his mouth.
How terrible! No teeth? How would he eat delicious things in the future?
"Then... we'll eat them slowly?" Shen An'an thought about that image, and it didn't seem so pleasant either.
Shen An'an stayed at the Li residence until dusk before leaving.
However, shortly after leaving the Li residence, her path was blocked.
Shen An'an looked at the person in her way, utterly confused.
"Move aside!" Shen An'an said irritably.
She thought to herself, why had she been running into so many strange people lately?
"Young Lady Shen, my master requests your presence!" the servant said expressionlessly.
Shen An'an finally looked up to scrutinize the newcomer, her heart sinking. This person looked... very fierce!
Thinking about the man today who said someone wanted Li Zhiwei's life, could these two be connected?
"I don't know your master. Please go back!"
Shen An'an replied without a second thought.
This person looked fierce; his master probably wasn't a good person either.
She wasn't stupid; she wasn't going.
"That's not for you to decide, Young Lady Shen. There's a saying: if you refuse a toast, you'll be forced to drink a forfeit. I advise you to be sensible, to avoid suffering physical pain," the servant said, not giving Shen An'an a chance to argue further, speaking bluntly.
"Young Mistress, I'll hold him off. You run!" Qiuyu, though terrified, couldn't let anything happen to her young mistress.
"I..." Shen An'an wanted to run, but she simply couldn't run anymore today!
"Young Lady Shen, let's go!" the servant said, a smug, mocking smile curling on his lips.
