Chapter 1318 - 10: Long Wait
The Third Prince was hit so hard that he saw stars, and he grimaced in pain.
His eyes were swollen shut from the beating, but he still managed to recognize Shen Junshan.
Shen Junshan didn’t recognize him, but he knew Shen Junshan.
The Jibei Marquis Mansion held a significant position in the Capital City, but Shen Junshan was always a troublemaker. Marquis Jibei never took Shen Junshan to important palace banquets, fearing he’d cause trouble.
Shen Junshan had no interest in palace banquets anyway, so he really didn’t recognize the Third Prince.
The Third Prince declared his identity.
Just after stating it, his other eye received a punch.
"Third Prince?" Shen Junshan laughed angrily.
"Just because you’re the Third Prince, you think you can take liberties with my cousin?!"
The Third Prince was speechless.
Who took liberties with his cousin?
He merely wanted to wake her up!
The Third Prince felt as if he couldn’t clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
Yan Ning had fainted from fright, and the Third Prince had already awakened her from unconsciousness.
She opened her eyes drowsily to see Shen Junshan’s fist aimed at the Third Prince.
"Cous... cousin?" Yan Ning called out softly.
With his cousin calling him, Shen Junshan couldn’t bother with the Third Prince anymore.
He’s the Third Prince; Shen couldn’t beat him to death to vent his cousin’s anger.
Shen Junshan helped Yan Ning up, saying, "Did you get hurt, cousin?"
Yan Ning’s cheeks turned red as she lightly shook her head.
She wasn’t hurt because, when she fell, the Third Prince cushioned her fall.
Shen Junshan helped her up and glared back at the Third Prince, "Stay away from my cousin in the future!"
"Or I’ll beat you every time I see you!"
Yan Ning shook her head at Shen Junshan, "Cousin..."
Though fighting was routine for Shen Junshan, Yan Ning didn’t want to see her cousin scolded by her uncle for fighting because of her.
What could Shen Junshan do? His cousin didn’t want him to fight, so he had to let it go.
Holding Yan Ning, he jumped up.
Once he was up, he saw something that made him grit his teeth in anger.
Yan Ning’s maid, Chunchun, was lying on the ground, tightly clutching Yun Chu’s foot, refusing to let go.
Yun Chu looked utterly disheartened.
She had never seen such a persistent maid.
The Second Young Master told her to hold Yun Chu back, so Chunchun dared not let her leave; even if she died, she must stop her.
When Shen Junshan jumped down to rescue, Yun Chu turned and ran, and Chunchun lunged to hold Yun Chu’s waist.
Yun Chu pried open Chunchun’s hand to run.
Chunchun chased too eagerly and fell flat on her back.
Yun Chu turned to look back, only to be caught by the maid again, holding her foot, refusing to let her go.
This maid was serious; unless you killed her, there was no way to make her release her grip.
On reaching the ground, Shen Junshan let his cousin go and walked toward Yun Chu.
The fire in his eyes crackled intensely.
He finally managed to catch her.
Yun Chu felt incredibly guilty, not daring to meet Shen Junshan’s eyes.
Only when Shen Junshan approached did Chunchun dare to let go, get up, and run to her young lady crying, "Miss, you nearly scared me to death."
Yan Ning shook her head at her, "I’m fine."
She was more interested in Yun Chu.
Upon seeing Yun Chu, she thought of the painting her uncle made of the "future sister-in-law," and wasn’t the person in front of her exactly like her?
She was the one who stole the Second Cousin’s brocade robe and the uncle’s horse, leading the Second Cousin to rob the Duke Chong’s Mansion’s cousin, Young Master Zhou.
Such a bold girl, Yan Ning had long wanted to meet her.
Chunchun let go, and Yun Chu bolted only to find herself unable to escape when facing Shen Junshan.
Shen Junshan swiftly blocked Yun Chu’s path.
Running too fast, Yun Chu collided directly with him.
Her forehead bumped into Shen Junshan’s chin, causing tears to stream from the pain.
Shen Junshan felt like his chin was about to shatter, rubbing it and saying, "Are you trying to take me down with you?"
"I didn’t mean to hit you," Yun Chu said, her eyes red from the pain.
Seeing Yun Chu cry, Shen Junshan was suddenly at a loss.
Lacking experience with dealing with girls, he really didn’t know how to handle this situation.
He looked toward Yan Ning.
Yan Ning had a look that said, "Cousin, you made the girl cry; you have to comfort her yourself."
It wasn’t that she couldn’t help but that she shouldn’t interfere.
The eldest cousin was getting married soon, the third cousin was already engaged, only the second cousin had troubles with his romance.
Her uncle and aunt were worried sick, even getting some grey hairs over his lifelong event.
Her uncle quite liked the girl who had tricked her cousin; she couldn’t ruin her cousin’s chance to connect with the girl.
Shen Junshan felt a headache coming on; why was this girl so fond of crying, as if she was bullied, even though she was the one who stole money and a horse?
Could she be pretending to be weak?
"Don’t think just because you’re crying I’ll go soft and ignore it," Shen Junshan said coldly.