Chapter 26 Encounter Between Rivals in Love

Gu Qiang quickened her pace but Shen Qianshan grabbed her hand. Then she lost her balance and fell towards his arms. She steadied herself immediately, looked back at him and frowned. Obviously, she was unhappy.

Shen Qianshan was absent-minded when he smelt the pear blossom fragrance from Gu Qiang that permeated the air.

Gu Qiang broke free from Shen Qianshan’s arms instantly, turned around and asked sulkily, “Your Royal Highness, what do you want to do? Do you regard me as that kind of woman?”

Indeed, innumerable women in the capital were eager to marry Shen Qianshan, but he was short-lived. In addition, Gu Qiang bore lots of responsibilities, and many things were to be finished. Therefore, she had never thought about love.

She had a tough life in Gu Family. Anything else was a problem for her.

“I don’t care what kind of woman you are. I only believe what I see. It’s not dark now. Will you go to Anning Street with me to enjoy lanterns?” Shen Qianshan said slowly.

She turned around and looked in strange at the Ninth Duke, wondering what the handsome man meant.

The Ninth Duke was most popular with women. Though he had been given the title of Duke and was impossible to become the next king, he was good-looking and wealthy, so he was the best choice of many ladies.

Such an excellent man was supposed to be surrounded by women, but he got entangled with Gu Qiang. She felt strange.

“Your Highness is inviting me to enjoy lanterns?” Gu Qiang looked up at Shen Qianshan. Though she didn’t know what he meant, she shook her head firmly.

Around the Lantern Festival each year, lanterns would be displayed on Anning Street in the capital. It was an amazing sight of the country. Many people were attracted here by its reputation. The lantern display lasted for a long time.

It seemed that Shen Qianshan had predicted that Gu Qiang would decline. Looking at her standing there innocently, he moved close to her slowly and told her in a low voice, “If you don’t go with me, I have a task to assign and will send Gu Huaian to Sucheng. What do you think?”

When her brother was mentioned, her eyes lit up. Then she stared at him fiercely. Sucheng was quite far from the capital. Shen Qianshan was threatening her.

She once requested Shen Qianshan not to send Gu Huaian far within three months. It was related to Gu Huaian’s safety.

Now Shen Qianshan threatened her with it.

She bit her lips and looked at him coldly.

At last, she took a deep breath, rolled her eyes sulkily and said, “Let’s go.”

Shen Qianshan’s eyes lit up. He became as excited as a kid suddenly and reached out to hold her hand, but she dodged.

He didn’t get angry. Instead, he jumped onto her horse and pulled her up and into his arms. She didn’t feel well and intended to get down the horse. At this moment, he whispered in her ear.

“If I ride there while you go there on foot, it’s OK for me.” He said behind her. The warm breath touched her neck and made her itchy and uncomfortable.

But he was thick-skinned and hard to shake off. Gu Qiang had no choice.

Therefore, she pulled a face and responded slowly, “OK…Let’s go…”

He laughed behind her and then rode down the mountain with her.

As the main road of the capital, Anning Street was extremely bustling. Though it was already midnight, the street was still thronged with vehicles and pedestrians just like a dream.

Gu Qiang brushed the dust off her clothes. She had stayed in the plum blossom garden for a long time, and her clothes were covered with some dust.

After they got off the horse, Shen Qianshan kept following Gu Qiang silently. If she turned around suddenly sometimes, she even forgot there was a person behind her.

It was indeed impressive to be followed by a handsome and expressionless duke. She felt she was more confident.

There were two reasons why Anning Street was so bustling. Firstly, it lay in the capital. Secondly, it was a good place for blind dates because it was possible to come across dukes or young nobles.

The whole street was as bright as daytime. Gu Qiang stopped before a stall and saw a lantern in the shape of a rabbit.

The lantern was beautifully shaped and looked lovely. Gu Qiang liked it very much and reached out her hand to get the lantern. But at the same time, another fair hand reached out too. Gu Qiang turned around and saw a teen girl looking at her with luminous eyes.

The girl must be younger than Gu Qiang. She looked childish and had her nose in the air. Her clothes were extremely gorgeous and her headwear was delicate and sumptuous.

After a casual glance, Gu Qiang knew she must be a princess or an Infanta.

The girl had the typical temperament and pride of the royal family. She was so arrogant that she looked down her nose at everyone.

The girl got the lantern. Gu Qiang was alert. Though she liked the lantern, she wasn’t clear about the girl’s identity, so it was better for her to be cautious.

She thought the girl would go immediately after she got the beautiful lantern. However, the girl showed the lantern behind her, raised her childish face and asked Shen Qianshan behind her with sparkling eyes, “Brother, is it beautiful?”

Brother? Gu Qiang turned around sulkily and looked at Shen Qianshan behind her. The latter looked calm as usual.

Anning Street was really a magic place in the capital. Any woman Gu Qiang came across on the street would have a special relation with Shen Qianshan?

Shen Qianshan was expressionless. Looking at the girl in front of him, he took the lantern from her and said coldly, “The lantern is a gift I prepare for Miss Gu. You’re late.”

The girl’s face froze instantly. Gu Qiang found her face darkened instantly. The girl looked back at her at once.

Gu Qiang turned around to look at Shen Qianshan embarrassedly. Was he crazy? The girl was so young. As her brother, how could you not consider her mood at all?

Sure enough, the girl looked sulky. She parted her lips and turned around to look at Gu Qiang. Finally, she said resignedly, “Brother, this lantern is for the lady? Who is she?”

Shen Qianshan looked back at Gu Qiang. She seemed to be unclear about the situation. Was the girl Shen Qianshan’s sister or someone adoring him?

“She is the daughter of Prime Minister Gu.” Shen Qianshan answered slowly in a tone as casual as usual. The girl was surprised and looked angry.

“You’re a lady of Gu Family. How do you do? I’m Infanta Ziyan, cousin of Qianshan. I will marry him!” Ziyan said joyfully. Her eyes seemed to be full of stars.

Hearing what Ziyan said, Shen Qianshan pulled his face and told her, “What are you talking about? As a girl, don’t you feel ashamed?”

He just looked calm, but now he seemed to be unable to control his expression. His eyes were cold enough to tear Ziyan into pieces.

Ziyan had never seen him like this. She was scared and the lantern dropped. She just stood there and looked at him pitifully.

Gu Qiang sighed. Though Ziyan was young and looked willful, she was only a child.

Then Gu Qiang picked up the lantern from the ground, gave it to Ziyan and said, “Here you are. He is in a bad mood today. Don’t take it to heart.”

According to the etiquette, Ziyan was the daughter of a duke, while Gu Qiang was the daughter of an official. She should give a salute to Ziyan. However, it seemed that the girl didn’t care about it. The girl was quite nice except her willful personality.

Ziyan’s eyes seemed watery, and she looked pitiful.

Looking down at the lantern in the shape of a cute rabbit, Ziyan choked back tears at last. After looking for quite a while, she took the lantern, raised her head and said smilingly to Gu Qiang, “You’re really nice. Can you be my sister?”

Gu Qiang was astonished. The girl was so interesting. Though Gu Qiang was a lady, it was out of her league to become the sister of a duke’s daughter.

Therefore, Gu Qiang said nothing. Shen Qianshan looked at her behind and seemed to expect her answer.

Though Gu Qiang was just a little elder than Ziyan, she was much more mature than the latter.

Of course, different men adored different women. Indeed, many men loved childlike women. However, men, like Shen Qianshan and Shen Zhongbai who enjoyed power and interests, needed a woman with strategic thinking.

A man could build the world as a woman imagined, but the premise was that the woman was loved by the man.

Gu Qiang thought for a while, shook hands with Ziyan and said, “Your Royal Highness, it’s my pleasure to your friend.”

Ziyan jumped excitedly around Gu Qiang. She was a teen girl, but she was still childlike. If a person knew her well, it could be found that she was lovely.

It was getting late. She wanted to take things to Gu Huaian, but it was too late. If she insisted on going to the medicine shop in the evening, it would be sure that she couldn’t go back to greet the Old Lady and Ye the next morning.

Ye always made trouble for Gu Qiang recently. If she got something on Gu Qiang, she would make a fuss, wouldn’t she?

With such a thought, Gu Qiang turned around and said to Shen Qianshan who still stood behind her expressionlessly, “I’ve enjoyed the lanterns. Please allow me to say goodbye.”