Yes, I Do(n't)

Chapter 14: Such a good girl

Seeing that his only daughter would not stop crying and how all of his wives are glaring at him, Prime Minister Xiao concedes to his daughter's wish. His wives are now coaxing his daughter to stop crying. Her brothers are coaxing her too (with food nonetheless).

Underneath her veil, Shen Baiyu smiles before she naturally and gently pats on somebody's hand. At first, she thought that the hand belongs to her younger sister, Shen Lianhua but then that warm and slightly coarse hand gently grips onto her hand momentarily before letting it go. She freezes because she realizes that that hand definitely belongs to a man, she slightly lifted her veil to take a peek at the man sitting next to her. Seeing that the owner of the hand is wearing a dark blue outfit, she let go of her veil before continuing to act as per usual.

What just had happened between Shen Baiyu and Crown Prince Beitang Moran did not escape from the sharp pair of eyes of Deputy Prime Minister Xiao. He already assumed that the unknown man is definitely the neighbouring crown prince. What is interesting for him is that the obvious interest by him towards the soon-to-be ex-fiancée of their crown prince who is adamant to marry the neighbouring princess. Is this something to be joyous about or ...

Crown Prince Beitang Moran's good look definitely can rival their good-looking crown prince too but, despite being younger by 6 years from Crown Prince Nangong Yingjun, he is known to be quite ruthless and cold-blooded towards his enemies. He has been leading the Kingdom of Beitang in various wars ever since he is a 10-year old. In short, for the past 7 years, this crown prince grows on the battlefield, unlike their crown prince who has been living in the comfort of the imperial palace for most of his life.

He is still holding the record of never being defeated by anyone to this day. Even General Shen Jilie once said that if there is a day, he will be defeated in the battlefield, it might be caused by Crown Prince Beitang Moran.

The latest war was in between the Kingdom of Beitang and Kingdom of Nangong but the 2 years of war suddenly ended with a truce. There are rumours that their crown prince not only nearly defeated by the neighbouring prince, Crown Prince Beitang Moran nearly kills him as well but he was stopped by his younger sister, Princess Beitang Xing. Needless to say, she is the saviour of their crown prince.

Seeing that the 'God of War' is sitting in the Xiao family's waiting hall is quite amazing. This cold-blooded prince is only there because eldest miss Shen is here. It might be a good thing for his younger sister to be friends with the young misses Of the Shen family. The third miss Shen is not only beautiful but also known to be quite an expert in martial arts including womanly arts as well such as embroidery, drawing and pipa.

Nothing much has been known about eldest miss Shen due to her reclusive nature, but she has been engaged to the crown prince from birth. Due to her weak constitution, she rarely goes out and refused to join any social gatherings. Because she is the fiancée of the crown prince, she has been raised as the future crown princess. She has been personally trained by imperial tutors. She has been said to excel in literary, drawing, flower arrangements, tea making, guzheng and a lot more. Her personal library is one of the largest in the kingdom due to her passion for reading. Even her understanding of the rules and regulations of the imperial palace is top notched as well. Her only fault is that, due to her habit of wearing a veil, her appearance is said to be quite 'ordinary'.

But is it? He looks at her beautiful pair of fair hands which is for sure soft to be touched as well. The movements of her hands are surprisingly graceful and enchanting as well. Her aura of confidence clearly shows that she is not someone who is shy or timid. She speaks without any fear as well even towards his father. Was it because she is the daughter of General Shen Jilie? All in all, he is quite intrigue by this eldest miss of the Shen family. Too bad someone has already staked a claim on her. And, that someone is not a person he dares to offend in his lifetime.

Prime Minister Xiao stands up and says, "Ke Ai, is this really what you want? Martial arts training is quite hard..."

Xiao Ke Ai lifted her head and nods before more tears coming out from her eyes. By now, his wives are glaring at him as if they wanted to skin him alive there and then. Because of his daughter, all 5 of them are united as one. Ever since she has been born, her daughter like her mother has been the reason where his whole family members, despite their differences, stand united. Especially so when it comes to Xiao Ke Ai.

(Picture available on w*****d)

He smiles in defeat before he gently pats her head before slowly nodding his in agreement. His daughter looks at him with a wide smile plastered on her face. Did he just got played by his daughter? She still has tears in her eyes, but she is obviously not looking troubled or sad even with her non-stop crying. He then heard a soft and melodious laugh coming from eldest miss Shen. That confirms it, he had been played by 2 young girls. His wives then pretended to make a fuss on his daughter while ignoring his existence. His sons just stand there as they continue to check on eldest miss Shen with sharp glares coming from the man sitting next to her.

"Second miss Xiao, not bad... In order to enter the palace, one cannot be too naive. It is quite late now, I have to excuse myself as my father and brother will soon return home for lunch."

Eldest miss Shen gracefully stands up from her seat before she slightly stumbles, Crown Prince Beitang Moran immediately support her by holding onto her arm and waist. This daring act caused the Xiao family members to stare at both of them in shock.

Shen Baiyu steadies herself before making a hand gesture to call her personal maidservant to support her, Crown Prince Beitang Moran only let go of her once Moli has taken a firm hold onto her right hand.

She gracefully turns her body before making a slight curtsy towards him, "This miss have to thank kind sir for his help."

Crown Prince Beitang Moran just smile at her. Luckily for her veil, he did not realize her blushing cheeks. This young man is definitely 'dangerous'. But, despite his lean body, he is definitely strong as he managed to steady her with only one hand though the other hand on her waist is definitely unnecessary. He slightly pinches her waist too before letting go of it. This young man is just so interesting she thought to herself with a smile on her lips. She finds that she is definitely attracted to him.

She then slightly curtsies together with Moli to Prime Minister Xiao and his family members as well, "This young one will be going now. I am really thankful for Prime Minister Xiao's agreement to allow second miss Xiao to join the training. Madames... Young masters... I will be going now. Second miss Shen, I will come to fetch you tomorrow at 6 o'clock in the morning."

With that parting words, she left the waiting hall with Moli still supporting her. Shen Lianhua immediately curtsied before running towards her older sister. Both men, Crown Prince Beitang Moran and Bai Zhishi bowed their heads and leave in silence behind those 3 young ladies.

As she walks in front of the group, both of her hands are supported by Shen Lianhua and Moli on both sides. They are worried as she seems to be slightly unstable just a moment ago. Shen Baiyu let them be because it seems that her body has reached its limit for today. She cannot help but to softly sigh at the realization of how physically weak this body. Seems like she has to work hard to build her endurance to reach at the same level as her original modern body.

Prime Minister Xiao and his sons are watching those departing group of 'interesting' people. Seeing how the eldest miss Shen conducts herself, they can only think of one thing. Her impeccable conduct is definitely the perfect result after years of training to be the future empress of the kingdom. Too bad, the neighbouring kingdom might rip all the benefits.

Prime Minister Xiao suddenly says, "That eldest miss Shen is indeed quite fascinating. She seems to be quite fond with Ke Ai too. It might be a good thing to let them be friends with each other. But... My innocent Ke Ai seems to be slightly corrupted by her..."

His sons are now watching their father. Corrupted? Who? As much as they loved their sister, they do realize that their sister is not that naive. She may be a bit timid, but she is not that naive. She is obviously using their father's weakness so that she will be allowed to join eldest miss Shen's training. Though, that eldest miss Shen seems to use that to her advantage too. Can it be said that the eldest miss Shen is the most cunning of amongst them? There is not a single trace of timidness coming from her. She conducts herself as if the world is hers to be taken.