Hearing Tan Linyuan suddenly ask this question, Nan Yu paused with the chopsticks in her hand.
She tilted her head slightly.
Tan Linyuan's gaze and voice were both calm. It seemed like he was just asking casually.
Nan Yu couldn't help but sneer inwardly. He clearly knew the answer.
Unexpectedly, Shen Yanche, who was asked this question, averted his eyes. He quickly replied with a smile, "It's nothing else. I just wanted to bring Yuyu back to visit relatives."
He turned his head and thoughtfully handed a tissue to Nan Yu. His voice was gentle. "After all, Yuyu and I are getting married soon. We'll be husband and wife. The elders in the family have been saying that they want to meet Yuyu in advance."
Obviously, Shen Yanche didn't plan to tell Tan Linyuan the truth.
That meant this information was to be kept from Tan Linyuan.
Nan Yu noticed this. Although she was puzzled, she didn't expose Shen Yanche on the spot.
After all, Tan Linyuan wasn't really unaware of the reason.
He knew it clearly.
"Yeah, you should come back and have a look."
Tan Linyuan nodded, looking as if he understood. "You've come at a good time. There's a funeral in the family. There are many relatives back, so it's easier to meet everyone."
Nan Yu: …
One had to admit that Tan Linyuan was extremely good at sarcasm.
Who would say that a funeral was "just the right time"? It sounded inauspicious.
It was good that Shen Yanche wasn't close to Uncle Shen. Otherwise, he would have surely changed his expression.
After the meal, the afternoon religious ceremony was about to start.
As a female family member, Nan Yu didn't need to accompany them any longer. Except for the direct blood relatives of the Shen family, others stayed nearby.
According to the family rules, the monks would chant scriptures for the family head, keep vigil, and pray until the burial.
At certain time points, they would also hold a religious ceremony to exorcise the soul.
As the direct eldest grandson of the Shen family, Shen Yanche had to be present throughout. This gave Nan Yu a chance to be alone.
Seeing that the rain had finally stopped outside, Nan Yu left the Shen family ancestral mansion alone.
The Shen family ancestral mansion was located in a remote area. Nan Yu checked the address on her phone. It was no longer in Jiangcheng but more like a mountain village.
However, this suited the preferences of powerful people because it was quiet enough.
Nan Yu wandered around on the unfamiliar road. The air after the rain carried a damp chill. She couldn't help but sneeze twice.
Rubbing her nose, Nan Yu wondered about the probability of escaping from here.
If she took a taxi now, it would take about two hours to get back to Jiangcheng.
Shen Yanche was in the mourning hall of the Shen family now and wouldn't notice her for a while.
Just now, she heard the monk say that this religious ceremony would last until 6 p.m.
This was enough time for her to escape.
After that, she could just make up an excuse that she wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home.
This plan was shattered ten minutes later.
Because she keenly noticed that there were two people following her at a distance.
She tried to shake them off, but it was useless.
Nan Yu was sure that if she dared to get in a taxi now, those two people would immediately drag her out and take her back to the Shen family.
Rather than that, it was better for her to go back on her own.
Nan Yu lost the mood to wander around. She turned around and walked towards the two people.
"Please show me the way back to the Shen family."
The two looked at each other. Knowing that they had been discovered by Nan Yu, they stopped pretending. They respectfully said, "Miss Nan, Young Master Shen asked us to follow you to ensure your safety."
Nan Yu was too lazy to listen to these so - called high - sounding reasons.
She knew clearly that Shen Yanche had just changed from secretly monitoring her to openly doing so.
Her situation would become more and more difficult in the future.
——
After returning to the Shen family ancestral mansion, she found that all the guests in the courtyard had left. Only the nanny and servants were cleaning up.
After asking, she learned that the guests would officially attend the funeral when Uncle Shen was buried tomorrow.
As a result, the courtyard looked much quieter.
The door of the mourning hall was closed. She could hear the sound of the monks chanting scriptures inside. Nan Yu stood at the door for a while and then silently turned around.
There stood Tan Linyuan behind her.
He was still wearing that plain robe. The loose robe made his figure look even taller and more upright. His cold - white skin made him seem to have no warmth at all. He exuded an air of coldness and aloofness.
Nan Yu took a step back. She didn't expect him to be here.
Logically speaking, shouldn't he be in the mourning hall now?
Or was it that for a religious ceremony of this level, he didn't need to be present in person and could just let the other monks do it?
Nan Yu didn't dwell on this question too much.
She just paused for a moment and then prepared to pretend not to see him and walk around from behind him.
But before she could take a step, his leisurely raised arm blocked her way.
Tan Linyuan said expressionlessly, "Now you don't even know how to greet people?"
Nan Yu's eyelashes trembled slightly.
In the end, she still spoke up and respectfully said, "Hello, Uncle Tan."
After saying this, she took a step forward.
Unexpectedly, Tan Linyuan still didn't plan to let her go. His arm was still in the air, blocking her way out tightly.
"Uncle Tan, do you have anything else?" Nan Yu forced a polite smile. "I want to go back and take a lunch break. If there's nothing else, please let me pass."
Tan Linyuan looked at her calmly, with little emotion in his eyes.
The two of them were at a stalemate like this.
After the nanny in the yard had cleaned up the fallen leaves, she left. Only the two of them were left.
Nan Yu wanted to break this atmosphere, so she said again, "Uncle Tan, why aren't you in the mourning hall? I'm sure you still have things to do. I won't disturb you anymore."
Tan Linyuan let out a soft laugh at her clumsy show of respect at the moment. "You've become more polite than before after a few days' absence."
Nan Yu couldn't figure out what he meant.
What else could she do?
Tan Linyuan retracted his hand. His tone was flat. "Have you come up with a solution?"
His question seemed out of the blue, but Nan Yu understood.
Tan Linyuan was asking her if she had come up with a solution to the matter of the Shen family wanting to write her into the family genealogy and engrave her name on the family monument.
If not, what was she going to do next?
Nan Yu looked at the gloomy gray sky, thinking that it would surely rain again in the evening.
She wondered if the soil would be too wet when Uncle Shen was buried tomorrow.
Nan Yu came back to her senses, curled her fingers slightly. Her voice sounded a bit unnatural, but she still smiled. "How is Jia Ran recently? The doctor said before that the recovery period would be long. I heard that you two are preparing for pregnancy?"
She deliberately brought up Qu Jiaran at this moment to change the topic, in order to remind Tan Linyuan of their past and the things they had said.
The two of them had nothing to do with each other now.
Whether she was in trouble or had a solution was no longer his concern.
"Yeah, sort of." Tan Linyuan said indifferently, looking at her. "The recovery is going smoothly. She should be discharged from the hospital in a while."
"That's good." Nan Yu seemed to let out a sigh of relief and showed a concerned smile. "In that case, Uncle Tan should pay more attention to Jia Ran recently."
"The relationship between husband and wife needs to be nurtured more to become closer."
After saying that, she directly stepped aside and walked past Tan Linyuan.
This time, Tan Linyuan didn't reach out to stop her.