Wen Zilong stopped in his tracks and looked up in shock.
Song Chengyuan's face was shrouded in a dark cloud. His pitch - black pupils reflected the overwhelming gloom.
"Your Highness..." Wen Zilong went limp as if all the air had been sucked out of his body.
When Wen Zilong walked out of the Crown Prince's Mansion, he was in a daze.
Song Chengyuan's words kept echoing in his mind.
"You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. The two women around you, one of humble origin and the other with ulterior motives, must not be kept any longer. As for the child you've finally had after all these years... Don't worry. After this matter is resolved, you can remarry openly. I'll pick a gentle, virtuous and obedient woman for you. You can take as many concubines as you like and I won't say a word."
Song Chengyuan smiled and said, "Sir Wen is just in his early thirties. A great man never has to worry about having no sons."
"Boom!" A loud noise thundered.
The summer weather in Suzhou was changeable. A flash of white light suddenly split a corner of the sky.
Leaves all over the ground were whipped up by the wind and danced wildly in the air.
Wen Zilong stood in the rain with his head up, letting the torrential rain pound on his face.
He was like a clay statue.
All the past events flashed through his mind at high speed, like a reversed performance of an opera.
Eight years ago, at the city gate of the capital, the city was filled with starving people. He saw an extremely beautiful figure.
The woman was wearing a gorgeous white cloak with green calyxes. It fluttered in the cold wind as she threw the tangerine - filled dumplings in her hand to a scholar who also seemed to be coming to the capital for the imperial examination.
The woman was really beautiful!
Wen Zilong immediately thought that if it had been him blocked at the city gate, would it have been him who received the tangerine - filled dumplings?
Later, he found out the woman's name was Lan Jinqin.
At that time, the capital was under the jurisdiction of the Crown Prince. When the plague and famine broke out, the Crown Prince did nothing.
Lan Yuanyi, the Marquis of Yongchang who came to the capital to report on his duties, and his eldest daughter, Miss Lan, set up porridge sheds and refugee camps in the north of the city.
So Wen Zilong went to the refugee camp.
He was always very cautious for fear of being infected with the plague.
But a few days later, he saw that scholar from the city gate again - Xiao Rencheng.
Xiao Rencheng took care of the patients in the refugee camp and accidentally got infected himself. He was seriously ill and seemed on the verge of death.
Lan Jinqin happened to come to check on the refugees. She ordered the accompanying doctor to give him a newly developed formula for treating the plague.
It was said that this formula had not been tested on anyone and no one knew if it had any side effects.
Lan Jinqin used him as a test subject and actually saved his life.
The woman looked cold - faced as she said to Xiao Rencheng, "If you become rich and noble in the future, don't forget to repay me."
Wen Zilong saw it all and felt even more regretful.
If he had known this, he would have taken the initiative to take care of the patients and might have won the beauty's heart!
During his stay in the refugee camp, he had inquired about the Lan family from the people around him.
The Lan family, with outstanding military achievements, was one of the Six Dukes and Twenty - Eight Marquises.
Miss Lan was the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Yongchang.
"Scholar Wen, you look so handsome. If you pass this imperial examination, maybe you'll be chosen by Lord Lan as a son - in - law right after the announcement of the results!"
The refugee camp was full of a worldly atmosphere, and they didn't hold back when joking with Wen Zilong.
Being chosen as a son - in - law right after the announcement of the results?
Wen Zilong kept it in mind.
No.
The chance of waiting for luck was too low.
What Wen Zilong wanted was certainty.
In the severe winter of the 25th year of Yuanzheng, Miss Lan was kidnapped by bandits while on a pilgrimage.
Fortunately, Wen Zilong, who happened to pass by, risked his life to save her, preventing Miss Lan from falling into the hands of the bandits.
The news spread like wildfire.
After that, the people in the capital saw Scholar Wen standing in front of the Lan Mansion every day, waiting obsessively for Miss Lan to go out.
Rain or shine.
"I have a question," Miss Lan raised her eyes and looked at Wen Zilong coldly. "Why did you risk your life to save me from the bandits that day?"
Wen Zilong held an oil - paper umbrella. He looked elegant and handsome, like the bright moon in his arms. Looking at the beauty, he smiled faintly and shamelessly applied Xiao Rencheng's experience to himself:
"Doesn't Miss Lan remember me? That day at the city gate, Miss Lan first gave me tangerine - filled dumplings, and then gave me medicine in the refugee camp. Miss, you saved my life twice. I have no way to repay you. Even if I risk my life to save you once, I still owe you my life."
"I see." A look of realization flashed in Lan Jinqin's eyes. "I have some impression of what you said... So it was you those two times! You looked so shabby then. I didn't recognize you..."
The heavy rain drenched Wen Zilong and made him feel cold, and his heart gradually cooled down.
"I used to like you too," Wen Zilong raised his hands to the sky. The rain hitting his palms hurt dully. He murmured to himself, "But I don't know why it has become like this today."
"Qiner, I once dreamed of being your husband for a lifetime."
The sky and the earth were connected by the curtain of rain.
Thunder rumbled one after another.
Sheng Jiangli woke up with a splitting headache. He opened his eyes and watched the lightning flashing outside the window. It took him a while to remember how he had fallen asleep.
"Qingqing!"
"Ge Qingqing!"
Sheng Jiangli called out twice.
No one pushed the door open.
Sheng Jiangli sat up, rubbing his throbbing forehead and pinching the space between his eyebrows.
He hadn't been this drunk for a long time. He had almost blacked out.
After a while, he called out again, "You little wretch! Why don't you pour me some water?"
The door was pushed open, and the noisy sound of the heavy rain grew louder.
Suobude came in with a basin and a towel, and Duoyong came in with some hangover soup.
Sheng Jiangli frowned. "Why is it you? Where's that little wretch?"
Suobude put down the basin, wrung out the hot towel and handed it to Sheng Jiangli.
"General, you threw Qingqing out last night. Don't you remember?"
Sheng Jiangli's hand paused as he was wiping his face. He looked up at Suobude in confusion. "What?"
Looking at the serious faces of Suobude and Duoyong, he slowly said a few words:
"Surely not..."
An incense - stick's time later, as Sheng Jiangli gulped down the hangover soup, he finally remembered what had happened last night under the complaints of Duoyong and Suobude.
Last night, after learning that Caiyu was still a virgin and feeling that his chances with Caiyu had increased, he pulled Qingqing and started drinking.
The strong - flavored wine on the boat banquet had a powerful after - effect, and the sorghum liquor he drank later was also extremely strong.
Sheng Jiangli got drunk quickly.
"Little follower, it turns out that Caiyu's relationship with the Prince of Yan hasn't reached that stage yet... Do you think I still have a chance?"
Qingqing blinked and looked at the man with his head resting on her shoulder. She also asked:
"Does that mean my chances with Big Brother Sheng are smaller?"
"Huh?" Sheng Jiangli moved his head and rested his chin on her shoulder. He looked at her sideways in confusion. "What chances? What chances do we have?"
"I see!" Qingqing looked at his handsome face, which was so close.
His face was as delicately carved as a work of art, with distinct yet gentle features. His deep eyebrows seemed to hold the wisdom gained from hardships, and his eyes were like stars that had fallen to the mortal world, hiding endless stories.
Qingqing couldn't help but reach out and touch his thin lips with her finger.
She traced the outline inch by inch. "Big Brother Sheng, your lips are so beautiful."
"You're a handsome guy when you don't speak."
But a sarcastic handsome guy when you do.
Sheng Jiangli was drunk. He giggled and asked, "Right? Then do you want a bite of this handsome guy?"
Qingqing was stunned for a moment, then nodded without hesitation the next second. "Yes!"
With that, her red lips covered his.
Anyway.
She had marked him first.
Sheng Jiangli stared straight at her, a bit surprised but too drunk to react.
Her lips were like jelly, soft and bouncy. They brushed against his heart, making it tingle like an ant bite.
He sighed regretfully and turned his head away. "Sister Caiyu..."
Tears seemed to suddenly well up in Qingqing's eyes.
She turned Sheng Jiangli's head back to face her and said seriously:
"If Sister Caiyu and the Prince have kept their feelings in check, I think you have even less of a chance... It shows that they cherish each other.
"A woman's chastity is more precious than her life. The Prince hasn't married her yet, so even though he likes her very much, he hasn't touched her.
"The Prince is going to wait until their wedding night to be intimate with Sister Caiyu."
Then, Sheng Jiangli threw her out of Luoyanju.
Sheng Jiangli took the last sip of the hangover soup. "..."