The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 44 I don't want to wrong my sister

In this way, the three of them walked, stopped, shopped, and chatted and laughed in this bustling city.
Just as they were chatting and laughing, there was suddenly a commotion from behind.

"Everyone in front, get out of my way!"

A thin man was running wildly on the street, shouting as he ran.

Behind the man were two people dressed as yamen runners, chasing quickly.

"Don't let this damn thief go! He must be tired of living. How dare he steal things in front of the officers?" The bailiff shouted while chasing him.

From the shouting from both sides, it is not difficult to see that this is a chase between a yamen runner and a thief.

At this time, Shen Yuan and two other people were walking side by side, with Qiu'er right in the middle.

When they heard the sound and reacted, the thief had already rushed behind Jiang Qiuer and was about to hit her.

"careful!"

Shen Yuan reacted first. Without having time to think, he subconsciously reached out and grabbed Qiu'er's soft hand, then brought the girl into his arms, hugged her waist, turned around quickly, and avoided the thief's charge.

"Son of a bitch!"

Jiang Fan also reacted. Seeing that his sister was almost hit by the thief, he became angry and kicked forward.

The thief was already running very fast, and now he was kicked hard in the back, and rolled forward a long distance.

But this man was a repeat offender and was quite agile. After falling out, he quickly got up and continued to run away. During the process, he did not forget to look back and glared at Jiang Fan with a vicious look.

"Wait for me!"

Seeing the yamen runners approaching, the thief uttered a harsh word and went into the alley at the corner ahead.

Seeing this, Jiang Fan's face became extremely gloomy. He turned around and looked at Qiu'er in Shen Yuan's arms. Seeing that his sister should be fine, he felt relieved.

Then he said to Shen Yuan, "Keep an eye on Qiu Er, I'm going to chase the thief."

Shen Yuan did not stop him. He nodded and said coldly, "Break that guy's legs."

"Don't worry, that bastard can't even save his two legs."

After Jiang Fan finished speaking, he quickly chased after the two yamen runners.

Everything happened in just a few breaths. Before Qiu'er could react, under Shen Yuan's pull and inertia, her delicate head was buried in the boy's chest.

When the girl looked up again, her brother was gone. After calming herself down, she realized what had just happened.

"Are you okay?" Shen Yuan asked gently, with one hand around the girl's slender waist and the other hand on her shoulders, not yet able to let go.

Qiu'er felt the warmth from Shen Yuan's palm and the masculine scent emanating from the young man at close range. Her fair face couldn't help but blush and her mind became a little uneasy.

"It's okay."

"That's good." Shen Yuan said, loosening his hands.

"hiss--"

As soon as Shen Yuan moved his hand away, he heard Qiu'er groan in pain, and she staggered and almost fell.

Shen Yuan was quick to support the girl and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

"It seems like I just sprained my ankle."

As Qiu'er was speaking, she saw that Shen Yuan looked anxious, so she smiled sweetly at the boy to show him that he didn't need to worry too much.

Shen Yuan frowned slightly when he heard this. It was not convenient to check on the street at that time, so he said, "Sit down for a while. I'll go find a carriage in front and we'll go home."

"Brother Shen," Qiu'er interrupted, paused, and mustered up the courage to say, "Please carry me back. Qiu'er is not heavy."

After saying this, the girl turned her head away, her face flushed.

After listening to this, Shen Yuan was silent for a moment.

Chaoyangmen Street was not far from the courtyard where they lived, just over a quarter of an hour's walk.

Carrying Qiu'er back was indeed easy for Shen Yuan. This was his first reaction just now, but he thought about the differences between men and women.
At this time, the girl took the initiative to propose, and after a slight hesitation, he stopped being pretentious.

Even if you hire a carriage, you still need help getting in and out of the carriage and entering the house, it's just a matter of time.

And if he directly refused, it would surely be extremely hurtful to the girl's self-esteem.

So Shen Yuan said no more, squatted down, let Qiu'er lean over his back, he held the girl's legs, and her slender arms wrapped around his neck.

On the way back, the two of them were silent and it was unusually quiet.

The boy carrying the girl on his back was considered an extremely intimate contact in this era. Qiu'er's cheeks were red, her heart was shy, and her heart was beating fast.

Shen Yuan was not at peace along the way. He was not slow in feeling, so how could he not see the girl's feelings for him.

But, he wanted to marry Baochai, so it would be difficult to give Qiu'er a legitimate status, and it was impossible for the governor's daughter to be his concubine.

Even if the girl didn't care, Jiang Zhongnian and Jiang Fan would not agree.

If they were forced to get entangled together, the consequence would be the division of the Jiang family. There was no way he would want to see things develop like that.

There is another way, which is to ask for an imperial decree based on merit, which is equivalent to the status of a wife. Even if it is not exactly the same, it is possible to accept it.

But he is not an official yet, and it is impossible to predict when he will be able to make achievements. How can he make empty promises and promises to others?
Thinking of this, Shen Yuan sighed in his heart and had to forcefully suppress this emotion.

While I was thinking, I had already arrived at my residence.

Entering the backyard room, Shen Yuan put Qiu'er down, hesitated for a moment, and helped the girl take off her shoes and socks.

A pair of pink and white jade feet are revealed. The instep is so delicate that almost every tiny blood vessel can be seen. The toes are like carefully carved jade stones, small and exquisite, revealing a sense of agility.

The ankle was already a little red and swollen, but after a careful inspection, fortunately, the bones were not injured.

Throughout the whole process, Shen Yuan's eyes were clear and extremely gentle.

Qiu'er stared at the boy's handsome face with her beautiful eyes without blinking, as if she was fascinated.

"Fortunately, it's not serious. It's just that you won't be able to walk for the next few days." Shen Yuan felt a little relieved.

After saying this, without waiting for Qiu'er's response, he took out the ointment and applied it on the girl.

After everything is done, put socks on the girl.

"What does Brother Shen think of Qiu'er?" The girl was silent for a long time, and finally spoke. Although her words were short, she seemed to have used all her strength. She pinched the corner of her clothes in her hand, feeling nervous.

Shen Yuan sat aside, looking at the nervous girl. There was only a thin layer of window paper between the two of them.

"Sister Qiu'er is very pretty and has a kind heart." This is Shen Yuan's inner opinion, without any bias.

"Then we" was affirmed by Shen Yuan, and Qiu'er was delighted.

Shen Yuan looked at the shy girl, was silent for a moment, and said in a clear voice: "Before I met Sister Qiu'er, I had already decided to marry Sister Xue, and my heart has not changed."

Qiu Er was stunned for a moment when she heard this, then smiled and said, "I know. I'm glad that Brother Shen didn't say anything against his will to deceive me."

As the girl spoke, tears began to well up in her beautiful eyes.

"Qiu'er."

"Brother Shen!" the girl said in a stubborn tone, "Listen to what Qiu'er has to say."

"Qiu'er never thought of destroying the relationship between Brother Shen and Sister Bao. Qiu'er is not that bad."

"Qiu'er only hopes that Brother Shen can keep a place for me in his heart."

"I won't fight with Sister Bao for the title. Brother Shen is so gentle. Even if I don't have this title, you will treat me well for the rest of my life, right?"

Shen Yuan remained silent, with a myriad of thoughts in his mind.

The girl in front of him is silly and stubborn, but she is still young after all. She thinks he is good now and is willing to be with him regardless of their status, but there is no guarantee that she will not regret it in the future. What will she do then?

"Some choices cannot be regretted. You are still young, maybe..."

"No maybes!" The girl said firmly, "Brother Shen, as long as Qiu'er is with you, I have thought it through clearly and will never regret it."

Shen Yuan was silent again and fell into deep thought.

If he were to ask himself, he did have a crush on the girl in front of him.

Especially before the time cage was opened last time, the girl cried for him because he missed the autumn examination, and he was moved at that time.

Frankly speaking, Shen Yuan was selfish. Just imagine if this girl who loved him deeply was to be married off to someone else by her father or brother because of his stern rejection, it would be quite disgusting.

After a pause, he said softly, "Sister Qiu'er, I hope you can wait for another two years. First, you are still young and can stay in the boudoir for two more years. Second, I don't want to let you down. If you make achievements in the future, you can use them to ask for an imperial decree for you. This way, you can give an explanation to your father and brother."

Qiu'er pondered over Shen Yuan's words, her beautiful eyes flashed, especially the part about "I don't want to let her down". After a little thought, she understood.

The boy wanted to give her a name
Although she didn't care at the moment, Brother Shen was really thinking about her. Even if she really became his concubine in the future, his words today would be enough.

Qiu Er suppressed all the thoughts in her heart, timidly said "hmm", and said in a trembling voice: "I will listen to Brother Shen."

(End of this chapter)