Rebirth of Poisoned Empress, by 颜若优雅

Chapter 51

The intelligent and beautiful young lady Shen did not dare to be pleased with the Duke of Jian's praise. Rather, her face immediately paled. As long as it was an affluent family within the Imperial City, who didn't warn their children about the licentious duke? No matter how foolish a person was, they would still know that it wasn't a good thing to be praised by the duke.

Shen Yang, who hugged onto Shen Qiao noticed her stiffness immediately. To protect her and to prevent offending the Duke of Jian, Shen Yang subtly pulled her behind him. After, he clasped his hands together and knelt on one knee, "Greetings to the Duke of Jian and the Imperial Princes."

"No need to be so courteous. The two of you must be Shen Ruiqing's two children? If this lord remembers correctly, isn't he currently working at the Taicheng Temple?" It was rare for the Duke of Jian to appear so amicable. His words were addressed towards Shen Yang, but his eyes never left Shen Qiao's body. Those present could all see that he had already been tempted. But that was the extent of it. Similar to when they sensed Shen Liang's innocence, it had nothing to do with them. This was Shen Qiao's matter. Even the men who admired her didn't dare offend the Duke of Jian for her. 

Shen Qiao who had never been so blatantly sized up with such lewd gaze before, and the other party being the notorious Duke of Jian at that, Shen Qiao turned pale with fright. Her delicate body that was wrapped in Shen Yang's outer robe began to tremble. What she didn't know was the more she was like this, the more excited the Duke of Jian was. His intent to ravage her intensified.

"Yes. Many thanks, Your Highness," Shen Yang had sensed the Duke of Jian's presumptuous gaze, but his hands were tied behind his back. He could only lend the action of standing back up to shield his sister from the duke's gaze. 

"Very good," the Duke of Jian smiled. Even though Shen Yang blocked Shen Qiao from him firmly, the Duke of Jian's eyes still gazed at her. He then said with an amicable tone, "This lord sees that the young lady appears to have suffered from the cold. Why don't you borrow a room on the boat to change your clothes while this lord will send for a physician?"

If she went into the room, could she still come out with her innocence intact?

Shen Qiao was frightened to the point of crying. Shen Yang hurriedly said, "Many thanks, my lord, but we have been out for far too long. Our mother must be worried. Please allow me to take Qiao'er to find her. I will have my father personally pay a visit to thank the lord another day."

No wonder everyone sought for power. If the Duke of Jian wasn't the duke, how could a dignified member of the Marquis Manor be forced to lower himself to this point.

"Very well. The days ahead are long. Young master Shen can take the young lady Shen back first then."

The Duke of Jian wasn't an idiot either. Under the current situation, it was evident that taking Shen Qiao back with him was impossible under public scrutiny today. He didn't pester them any further, but only looked at the brother-sister pair meaningfully. Their scalps felt numb as they hurriedly excused themselves before leaving. However, before stepping off the boat, Shen Qiao suddenly peered over at Shen Liang's direction. It was fleeting, and no one noticed but Shen Liang.

At first, Shen Liang thought she was looking at him. But then he realized that the person she was looking at was the person behind him: Pei Yuanxian. Shen Liang finally realized why Shen Qiao targeted him. It turned out to be because of this sc*mbag behind him.

"You're Shen Liang? Shen Ruiting's heir and Shen Da's younger brother?" It wasn't until the brother-sister pair left and disappeared from sight that the Duke of Jian retracted his gaze. He immediately turned his attention to Shen Liang. Liu Wenjin had praised Shen Liang's appearance excessively before. It was hard for him to not think about it. In addition, he had been stunned already. With Shen Qiao gone, he was able to take another close look at Shen Liang. Shen Liang's beauty made it hard for anyone to look away. Even the Imperial City's number one beauty Shen Qiang paled in comparison to him.