She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

Chapter 203 Third Brother's Treasured Treasure

The two brothers walked into the front hall together. Shen Lue eagerly searched for Shen Qingtan's figure and saw her sitting with the Princess of Zhenbei, chatting about something, both of them with smiles on their faces.

Shen Lue was used to being rough and careless; the military camp was full of rough men who didn't care much about etiquette.

Princess Zhenbei's meals were very refined, down to the presentation of the dishes, not to mention the clothes and accessories she wore.

The moment Shen Lue saw Shen Qingtan, a tension immediately gripped him.

Oh no, my sister and mother are the same kind of people.

He tugged at his clothes and saw that the sleeve of the wiping box was filthy, and his eyebrows furrowed tightly.

He covered himself with his sleeve, walked over to the table, and as Shen Qingtan looked over, he took a long stride and sat down on the stool.

"Little sister." Shen Lue grinned at Shen Qingtan, reached under the table, quietly lifted the hem of his robe, turned it over, and secretly wiped the dirt on his sleeves onto the hem of his robe: "I am your third brother Shen Lue, not the 'Lue' of 'abbreviation,' but the 'Lue' of 'great talent and strategy.'"

Shen Qingtan turned to look at Shen Lue. His eyes were clear, his smile was masculine and clean, and he had a hint of naivety.

She smiled and said, "Third Brother."

Shen Lue chuckled twice, glancing under the table and noticing that his sleeves were a bit cleaner.

He secretly rejoiced that he was wearing a dark robe today, so a little dirt wouldn't be noticeable.

"Third brother brought you a gift especially."

Shen Lue, as if presenting a treasure, took out the wooden box and handed it to Shen Qingtan.

Shen Qingtan looked down at the wooden box. The box was not small, but Shen Lue's hands were large, like palm-leaf fans, and he held the box with both hands, making the box look very small.

Under Shen Lue's expectant gaze, she picked up the wooden box with both hands.

Shen Lue urged, "Little sister, open it and take a look."

Princess Zhenbei, Shen Du, and Shen Zhuo had somewhat strange expressions, but they did not stop Shen Qingtan from opening the box.

Shen Qingtan glanced at their reactions, then slowly opened the box, which contained a small clay figurine.

The doll had a large, round head, two thick, short eyebrows, two smears of ink in its eyes, and deep red rouge painted on its cheekbones. The paint on its chubby body looked like several colors mixed together and splashed on, making it look dirty.

"Little sister, do you like it?" Shen Lue leaned close to Shen Qingtan: "Third brother ruined several of them before he finally made this one that he's satisfied with. Eldest and second brothers wanted to take another look, but I couldn't bear to part with it. This time I came to the capital to see you, I specially brought this treasured item that I've kept for many years to give to you."

Shen Zhuo's lips twitched; they didn't want to look at him even once.

The third brother's taste was always different from theirs; he basically collected all the ugly things outside.

Shen Du's eyes hurt, and he turned his head away, unable to bear looking directly at the scene.

Princess Zhenbei was somewhat surprised that the third prince had given his treasure to Manman.

Shen Qingtan looked at Shen Lue's masterpiece, which she treasured.

Whether it was due to his influence or something peculiar about this ugly, big-headed doll, she took a few more glances at it and found it strangely cute.

She smiled and said, "Very cute."

"Third Brother knew you'd like it," Shen Lue said with dissatisfaction. "Second Brother actually called it Ugly."

“This name is quite good.” Shen Qingtan took out the large-headed doll from the box and touched the blush on the doll’s cheek with her fingertips: “From now on, let’s call it Ugly.”

Although Shen Lue felt that the name "A Chou" was not worthy of the doll he sculpted, he did not object further when he saw that Shen Qingtan really liked it.

Princess Zhenbei, Shen Du, and Shen Zhuo thought Shen Qingtan was comforting Shen Lue, but seeing her playing with the big-headed doll, it seemed like she really liked it.

Shen Qingtan was the first person to acknowledge Shen Lue's preciousness, and Shen Lue felt even closer to her.

He moved a round stool and placed it between Shen Qingtan and Shen Zhuo, pushing Shen Zhuo aside.

"Little sister, your third brother has many treasures. Come with us to Liangzhou, and we'll give you anything you fancy."

“Okay.” Shen Qingtan really wanted to go to Liangzhou to see her real home. “But we’ll go to Liangzhou after my husband’s illness is cured.”

"I see..." Shen Lue was somewhat disappointed, but quickly perked up again: "How can his illness be treated?"

Shen Qingtan observed the expressions of Shen Lue, Shen Du, and Shen Zhuo. When they heard about Zhao Yi, their expressions were calm, as if they accepted him.

“Only the Sage of Medicine, Zhong Yuan, can cure my husband’s illness.” Shen Qingtan did not hide anything: “Our people found out that the Sage of Medicine is in Suizhou, Northern Qi. We have already sent people to look for him, and we have news soon.”

“Suizhou…” Princess Zhenbei repeated the place name, saying with some unease, “The Divine Physician Zhong has been hiding in Suizhou for many years, and no news has come out. He doesn’t want anyone to find him. You don’t have a definite location. The Divine Physician Zhong is intentionally hiding his whereabouts, so it will probably be very difficult to find him.”

"I heard that the imperial physician has issued an ultimatum: my brother-in-law has less than six months to live, and we don't have much time left to slowly search for him."

Shen Du made a decision: "I will arrange for someone to go to Suizhou to find Doctor Zhong."

Shen Lue nodded: "We can send our spies to investigate; they're experts at finding people."

They didn't hear Shen Zhuo's response and all turned to look at him.

Shen Zhuo frowned at their "you're not fitting in" expressions and said, "Why are you looking at me? I didn't say I wouldn't look for someone."

Relying on these people's words alone, who knows when they'll find it? It's such a hassle, and he'll have to step in again.

Princess Zhenbei glanced at Shen Zhuo. A moment of stubbornness will always come at a price, and she'll eventually regret it.

"Little sister, don't mind him, that's just how he is." Shen Lue was worried that Shen Qingtan might misunderstand that her brother didn't like her, so he muttered, "Even if the sky falls, he'll still be stubborn and hold it up."

Shen Qingtan chuckled; she could tell Shen Zhuo's awkward personality at first glance.

Seeing that Shen Qingtan smiled, Shen Lue thought of what had happened in the backyard earlier and deliberately changed the subject.

"Little sister, I got lost in the Duke's mansion and accidentally hit one of my brothers on the head with a stone. He wasn't angry at all, and he even gave me directions."

Shen Qingtan frowned, suspecting that Shen Lue had encountered Zhao Jue.

Zhao Jue wants to climb up the social ladder by getting close to the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion, so he will definitely do things to please Shen Lue.

She quickly asked, "Who gave you directions?"

“I don’t know him either. He’s probably one of the men from the manor. He’s about my height, but only half my size.” Shen gestured and tapped his head. “He looks like a complete idiot.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the "idiot" Shen Lue had mentioned entered the front hall.

He was also holding a letter in his hand.