Chapter 58: Young Lady, Don't Let Your Mind Be Filled With Such Impure Thoughts

It was as if he was especially indulgent toward his younger sister—willing to speak on her behalf even before clarifying the truth of the matter.

When the man looked up, Shen Zhaoxi finally saw his face clearly.

Lu Zhennan.

The very person Jiang Chen had mentioned earlier.

Following the trail of clues had led directly to him.

The adopted son of the Lu family.

Come to think of it, it was quite odd. Despite his youth and obvious talent, Lu Zhennan never joined the military nor dabbled in politics. Instead, he built a commercial empire of his own in Country Y.

In the capital, everyone regarded him with caution and dread.

There was an aura about him—cold and metallic, aloof and distant.

He wore gold-rimmed glasses; his skin was pale, almost icy, exuding an air of restrained elegance. His strikingly handsome features—high nose bridge, sharply defined contours—were even more pronounced as he turned to look at Shen Zhaoxi. In his eyes glinted a trace of coldness, a chill seeming to envelop his entire being.

Yet in that instant, his brows knitted together, and a fleeting, almost imperceptible complexity flashed in his gaze.

It was her.

Lu Zhennan thought to himself.

But whatever emotion had surfaced in his eyes vanished in a heartbeat, replaced once more by that biting chill.

He looked rather intimidating.

At that moment, Jiang Chen stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Shen Zhaoxi.

His voice was low and even, tinged with frost: “You come over here, accusing us without knowing the full story. Why don’t you ask your dear sister who saved her just now?”

At these words, Lu Shangshang’s eyes grew red, her voice trembling with sobs as she pleaded to Lu Zhennan, “Brother, don’t listen to them! They’re the ones who bullied me and made me fall into the lake. I just…”

“What is it?” Jiang Chen watched her intently, genuinely curious about what she would say next.

“I…” Lu Shangshang faltered, her eyes darting away from Jiang Chen’s scrutiny.

She simply couldn’t say it aloud.

How could she admit that she’d noticed someone in the middle of the lake, snuck over to eavesdrop, and ended up in the water before hearing anything, all because of a sudden pain in her knee?

“Run out of words?” Jiang Chen pressed, seeing her hesitate. If he ever showed gentlemanly restraint, it would never be for someone like Lu Shangshang.

“I don’t care…” Driven to confusion by the relentless questioning, Lu Shangshang decided to throw caution to the wind. She clung to Lu Zhennan’s suit jacket, wailing and begging, “Brother, please stand up for me! They bullied me, look! My knee is still red.”

Lu Shangshang wasn’t entirely wrong.

The red mark on her knee was indeed from a stone Shen Zhaoxi had thrown—swift and forceful enough to make her lose her balance and plunge into the lake.

But of course, Shen Zhaoxi would never admit to it.

“It was us who saved you,” Shen Zhaoxi said suddenly, her brows knitted. Beneath the sunlight, her pale face looked even more fragile.

She gazed at Lu Shangshang, confusion clear in her eyes. “Why are you being so unreasonable?”

She continued, “Though you don’t seem to know how to say thank you, it doesn’t matter.”

“I…” At these words, Lu Shangshang’s expression twisted, her brows furrowing.

“You!” She glared at the girl before her, a surge of anger rising in her chest.

Wasn’t this just a roundabout way of scolding her—saying she was ungrateful and rude, even after being rescued?

“And who are you, exactly?” Lu Shangshang demanded, her gaze full of skepticism as she looked past Jiang Chen at Shen Zhaoxi.

How dare she speak to her like that?

“Miss Lu, this is our young lady,” interjected a maid who could no longer bear to watch.

Lu Shangshang scoffed, “Young lady? What kind of young lady sneaks off to the lake for a tryst…” Before she could finish, Jiang Chen cut her off.

“Miss Lu, I’d advise you to watch your words,” he said coldly.

“Did I say anything wrong?” Lu Shangshang sneered. “It’s Grandfather Shen’s birthday banquet today, and everyone else is in the main hall, yet you two are off alone in a boat in the middle of the lake. Who knows what you were up to?”

“If that’s not a secret rendezvous, then what is?” Her tone was brash and domineering, as if she cared nothing for those around her.

She still hadn’t realized that the maid was part of the Shen household, nor that the girl before her was Shen Zhaoxi herself.

To her, the so-called young lady was just another guest at the birthday banquet.

To think she’d be so brazen as to sneak off with someone to the lake for such indecent acts.

But as soon as those words fell, the faces of everyone nearby changed.

Their gazes toward Lu Shangshang were filled with anxiety and concern.

One simply did not make such accusations lightly.

Shen Zhaoxi, however, remained unruffled.

“So you think I was having a tryst with him on the lake?”

“Wasn’t that what you were doing?” Lu Shangshang retorted haughtily.

“Then tell me, just how, exactly, did I have a tryst with him?” Shen Zhaoxi’s voice was gentle and clear, tinged with innocent confusion, as if she truly didn’t understand what Lu Shangshang was implying.

“Yes, do tell,” someone in the crowd echoed, curiosity piqued.

“How does Miss Lu know they were having a tryst on the lake?”

“Did she witness it herself?”

“You… all of you!” Lu Shangshang’s face flushed crimson.

“Miss Lu, could you explain to me what you mean by a tryst?” Suddenly, the girl sheltered behind Jiang Chen reached out and gently pulled him aside.

Only then did those gathered see the girl who had been hidden behind the young man—a vision of ethereal beauty, captivating at a single glance.

Her skin was white as snow, like a soul carved from jade; her eyes, cool and clear, shone with an untainted brilliance.

Her innocent expression radiated sincerity as she looked at the girl sobbing before the handsome young man. Her voice was soft and sweet, stirring a sense of compassion in those who heard it.

Lu Shangshang frowned, gazing at the girl.

She had only seen the two figures talking on the boat from afar and hadn’t seen the girl’s face clearly. In truth, she hadn’t cared to look, but now, confronted with that stunning countenance, she finally understood what true disparity between people meant.

“Young lady, it’s not right to let your mind dwell on such sordid things,” a cool, magnetic voice suddenly interjected.

A striking young man in a black suit stepped into view.

Without another word, he swept Shen Zhaoxi into his arms.

Lu Yunzhou said, “I’ll take you home.”