Chapter 41.1
On the day of the Peach Blossom Banquet, Wen Liang got up early.
Since the family was in trouble, the butler dismissed many servants and maids. In the past, there were a lot of people serving him in the courtyard but now there were only two momos and five servants left.
Wen Liang sat in front of the bronze mirror and after the maid helped him comb his hair, he was still staring at himself in a daze.
He wore a snow-white robe with ice-blue piping embroidered with flowing cloud patterns and a silver white jade hairpin tied up his long black hair.
His eyebrows and eyes are picturesque, his lips are red and his teeth are white, like a white lotus on the mountain that is not tainted with the slightest breath of the world, but the corners of his mouth gently pursed uneasily.
He felt his empty neck and felt as if he were missing a piece of it and the restless emotion was churning back and forth in his chest.
Seeing that Wen Liang was frowning, the servant girl smiled and comforted him, "Young master looks really good today."
Wen Liang shook his head: "You may leave."
The maid bowed and left quietly.
But a short while later, Wen Liang heard the creaking sound of the door being pushed open again. He frowned impatiently, reached out and threw the things on the mirror table to the ground: "Didn't I tell you to leave? Are you deaf or do you not listen to me anymore?"
AD
The things fell to the ground with a crackling sound.
"Xiao Liang, why are you so angry?" Madam Xu's dissatisfied voice sounded behind him, "Can't I, as a mother, come to see my son?"
Wen Liang turned around in shock and saw Madam Xu walking over, followed by a maid holding a guqin.
He hurriedly got up: "Mother, why are you here?"
Madam Xu tapped the tip of his nose, seemed a little angry but more helpless: "Aren't you going to the Grand princess's Peach Blossom Banquet today? I came here to give you something."
"What is it?" Wen Liang asked, his eyes had already caught the sight of the Guqin in the maid's hand.
He had seen that guqin before. It was part of Wen Chi's mother's dowry.
As the only daughter in the family, Wen Chi's mother was naturally doted on. Even the guqin made for the dowry was custom made by her parents at an exorbitant price. Moreover, Wen Chi's mother liked that guqin very much and often played it in her courtyard .
AD
But later, when Wen Chi's mother hanged herself, Wen Liang never saw the guqin again.
He originally thought that the steward had lost the guqin and after searching for it several times to no avail, he had to give up regretfully. But he didn't expect that the guqin was actually taken away by his mother.
Seeing the Guqin again, Wen Liang was both surprised and delighted.
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Seeing Wen Liang's happy smile when he touched the guqin, Madam Xu was overjoyed. She took Wen Liang's hand and said earnestly: "Now that something has happened in the family, a woman like me can't help you, so I found this guqin, hoping that it can help you at the peach blossom banquet."
Wen Liang looked at Madam Xu, his eyes gradually became moist: "Mother…"
Madam Xu patted Wen Liang's head gently: "Father and mother only have you."
Wen Liang nodded and hugged Madam Xu.
After Madam Xu left with her maid, Wen Liang sat down and looked at the guqin seriously.
He liked this guqin very much, otherwise he wouldn't have thought about it for so many years.
However, just now he was immersed in joy and didn't think much about it. After calming down now, he remembered that Wen Chi might be going to the peach blossom banquet with the crown prince. Wen Chi had been looking for the guqin but to no avail. If today Wen Chi saw that he brought the guqin …
AD
Wen Liang suddenly hesitated. He knew the importance of this guqin to Wen Chi and he was afraid that Wen Chi would not forgive him.
Thinking of this, Wen Liang became a little scared. He stroked the strings with his fingertips a few times and an out-of-tune tune was played, then he gritted his teeth, picked up the guqin and went out.
Two servant girls stood guard outside.
Wen Liang asked, "Has my mother left?"
One of the servant girls replied: "Madam left awhile ago."
Wen Liang handed the Guqin to the maid and ordered: "Give this back to my mother and tell my mother that I have another way."
Confused, the servant girl hugged the Guqin and said: "Yes."
After Wen Liang finished speaking, he turned and entered the room.
But after he walked a few steps, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He struggled for a moment, as if he had finally come to a decision he turned and walked out hastily.
He saw the maid walking out with the guqin in her arms.
Wen Liang shouted: "Wait a minute!"
The servant girl turned her head in doubt: "What else does the young master want?"
Wen Liang gasped and said, "I've changed my mind, return the Guqin to me."
After taking the Guqin from the maid, Wen Liang entered the bedroom without looking back. He put the Guqin on the mirror stand and looked up to see his grim expression on the mirror.
"Wen Chi, you forced me to do this." Wen Liang stared blankly at the stranger, muttering to himself, "Since you are unkind to the Wen family, don't blame me for being iniquitous to you."
If Wen Chi hadn't gone to the emperor and complained, how could he have harmed the Wen family to such an extent?
Compared with what Wen Chi has done, what is it if he uses the guqin that Wen Chi's mother left behind?
The system said that his mother would give him a good guqin before departure, as long as he takes this guqin to the peach blossom banquet and plays a song in front of everyone at the peach blossom banquet, he will be able to attract the attention of fourth prince and save the entire Wen family from the dire straits.
He's doing this not only for himself but also for the Wen family…
Even if the system is taken away by Li Hao now, he must not miss such a good opportunity, he must do what the system says.
Chapter 41.2
The Peach Blossom Banquet was held in the Peach Blossom Grove. Looking around, it was all brilliant pink and the scenery was too beautiful to behold.
When Wen Liang followed Li Hao to the banquet in a carriage, many dignitaries who had been invited had already arrived. Everyone gathered together in twos and threes to talk and the scene was very lively.
Although Wen Liang has gone to many large and small banquets with Madam Xu in the past, this was the first time he has come to such a grand occasion. When he thought that he would be seeing the Grand princess and other royal relatives in a while, he was so nervous that his palms started sweating.
There is also the fourth prince Shi Jin, the fourth prince that the system has mentioned to him countless times… He can finally get to see the living person.
Shi Jin…
Wen Chi silently recited the name of the fourth prince in his heart.
For some reason, an indescribable hope suddenly rose from his heart and slowly spread to his limbs and he clenched his hands quietly.
Hopefully everything goes as smoothly as the system says it will.
Li Hao also came here full of hope. He not only expects to get to know the emperor's relatives but he just wanted to take this opportunity to climb up with a few high-ranking officials, so that he could do things more conveniently in the future.
AD
Li Hao chatted with those officials for a while, until a servant came to urge him, then he led the silent Wen Liang into the arena.
Everyone's position has been arranged in the arena. Due to the different identities and status of each person, the positions they were assigned naturally were very different.
The Grand princess and the imperial sons were located in the tents directly in front of them. Those tents were temporarily built and covered with silk veils. Behind them were stretches of peach blossom trees, which made people envious. Slightly behind is the tent where the royal relatives sit. Although it also has shades to block the sunlight, it was relatively simpler than silk veil. The rest of the people were all arranged in the open air, "enjoying" the falling peach petals and the sunshine.
However, Li Hao's identity and status among all the invitees was not high and the location he was assigned was even more remote. There were no peach blossom trees around and the sun was shining directly, making Wen Liang unable to open his eyes.
Wen Liang did not expect such a layout at the Peach Blossom Banquet. He was dressed grandly today and his clothes were thick. Iit would be fine if he only basked in the sun for a while but it would be unbearable if he stayed under the sun for a long time.
In less than half an hour, he felt that his underclothes were soaked with sweat.
He reached out and touched his forehead, feeling the sweat on his hand.
Li Hao, who was sitting next to him, noticed his movement out of the corner of his eye, and he turned his head and glanced at him gloatingly: "Do you regret it?"
AD
Wen Liang pursed his lips, pretending not to hear Li Hao's voice.
"You are already here, what's the point of pretending?" Li Hao sneered disdainfully, "If you can't stay any longer, tell me in advance so that I can arrange for you to leave, so that I won't lose my face here."
Wen Liang shook his head silently.
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
Li Hao stared at him for a while, seemingly bored and turned to talk to the person next to him.
Only then did Wen Liang raise his eyes and cast his eyes on Li Hao's neck – where he wore his stone.
Because there was a red string that he was extremely familiar with looming in Li Hao's neckline.
Wen Liang stared closely at the red string protruding from Li Hao's neckline. He tried to talk to the system but failed repeatedly.
The system once told him to carry the stone close to his body, otherwise he would lose contact with the system and many unpredictable accidents would happen.
He must snatch the stone back sooner!
At this moment, there was a sudden commotion not far away, accompanied by the voices of some girls whispering.
AD
"The fourth prince is here!"
"I knew that the Fourth Prince would come this year, look, I guessed it right, haha!"
"Since the fourth prince is here, then the crown prince will definitely not appear like the previous years."
"…"
The Fourth prince?
When Wen Liang heard these three words, his heart started beating uncontrollably.
He suppressed the excitement that was almost gushing out of his throat, poked his head and followed the girls' gaze.
A slender figure appeared under the sun, a young man in green clothes walked over led by a servant, but he was soon stopped by a potbellied official and the two stood there laughing and talking.
The young man was tall and straight, his handsome face was mostly blurred by the warm yellow sunlight, but even so, the gentle aura emanating from him still made many girls and young masters present feel excited.
Wen Liang was fascinated.
So this person was the Fourth Prince…
It turned out that this is the person who was destined to know each other…
Wen Liang felt that his breathing was gradually heating up and the deer in his chest was about to burst out. He didn't know how much effort he had to put to suppress the urge to run towards the fourth prince.
Until the fourth prince turned his head and looked over as if feeling something—
Their eyes met.
At this moment, it was as if the whole world had fallen silent.
After living for eighteen years, Wen Liang suddenly believed in the "love at first sight" mentioned in storybooks.
On the other hand, Shi Jin's gaze passed through the crowd and fell on Wen Liang, then he imperceptibly frowned.
This person's eyes are too straightforward, as if he is being targeted as prey, making him feel a little uncomfortable.
Just when Shi Jin was about to look away, his sight suddenly fell on Li Hao next to Wen Liang.
At this moment, Li Hao didn't notice his existence at all, with a flattering smile on his face, he was talking to someone.
And suddenly, Shi Jin heard the sound of his own heart beating faster.
Chapter 42.1
What's going on?
Shi Jin clutched his chest uncomfortably, he thought that the sudden feeling just now was just an illusion but it turned out that it was not an illusion as his racing heart did not slow down.
His brows were tightly knitted into a knot and his eyes were fixed on Li Hao's direction without blinking.
He suspected that he was mistaken but he saw a faint golden color emanating from Li Hao's body and the unnatural light was like a star in the night, so profoundly appealing to him.
"Prince1 Xuan?" The voice next to his ear brought him back to his thoughts and Shi Jin saw the official who had just talked to him looking at him worriedly, "What's wrong with Prince Xuan?"
Although Shi Jin had doubts, it was not convenient to say such things at this time. So, he tried not to pay less attention to Li Hao, shook his head and said, "It's nothing."
The official breathed a sigh of relief and made a gesture of invitation: "It's sunny here, I'm afraid you will get sunburnt, why don't we go sit down in the tent and talk."
Shi Jin raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a spring-like smile: "This is exactly what Benwang2 wants."
AD
The official smiled and said, "Prince Xuan please."
After he finished speaking, Shi Jin was led in by the officials.
After walking a certain distance, he finally felt that his heartbeat was no longer so uncontrollable but he still couldn't resist glancing back in the direction of Li Hao.
He saw that Li Hao had already finished talking with the person next to him and he sat on the chair in a lazy manner, tilting his head and talking to the beautiful boy with a mole on the center of his brow.
The young man with a mole on his brow never paid attention to Li Hao and looked straight at Shi Jin with a pair of pitiful eyes.
However, Shi Jin didn't even bother to stare at that boy.
He did not have the energy to pay attention to others because he found in despair that – his heart was beating faster again.
bang bang!
AD
bang bang!
It seemed as if it was about to burst through his chest at any moment.
He had to admit that as soon as he took a look at Li Hao as if something went wrong with his body, like he was possessed by a demon.
In the end, Shi Jin took a lot of effort to force himself to look away.
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
When he came to the tent, he took advantage of the official's time to exchange pleasantries with each other and waved his hand to summon his personal guard.
"Go and find out the name of the young man in blue who is sitting over there." Shi Jin ordered softly, "It's best to find out more in detail."
The guard said: "Yes."
After the guard walked away, Shi Jin's tense expression still did not relax even a little bit.
After a long time, he sighed softly, put a gentle smile on his face again and turned to look for the official.
AD
Wen Liang watched with bated breath as Shi Jin walked further and further away and as soon as he followed the official into the tent, his sight was blocked by the veil and he couldn't see clearly what was going on inside the shed.
He reluctantly glanced a few more times, but still couldn't see anything, so he reluctantly withdrew his gaze.
In the past, he had listened to so many things said by the system and he had not considered the fourth prince as an outsider for a long time but the distance between him and the fourth prince just now made him aware of the gap between them.
Even if the system said that the fourth prince was the destined person in his life, he did not dare to boldly go up and speak with the fourth prince.
The only fortunate thing is—
The fourth prince also noticed him and kept turning his head to look at him and even turned back after walking so far away.
Perhaps, he is also a special existence in the heart of the fourth prince, maybe this is the secret arrangement that the system once said to him.
Thinking of this, Wen Liang was slightly happy but he couldn't show his inner happiness, so as not to let Li Hao notice his emotions.
Wen Liang clenched his palms tightly, desperately pretending to be calm and breezy.
Li Hao was still chattering to him but he was no longer in the mood to listen to what Li Hao was saying, his eyes and heart were filled with the gentle smile of the Fourth Prince.
As long as he thought of the Fourth Prince, he felt a sweetness rippling through his heart, and for a while, it was as if his life wasn't so bitter anymore.
At this moment, Li Hao's voice stopped abruptly.
Wen Liang thought that Li Hao was finally tired of talking with this piece of wood but Li Hao suddenly stood up from his seat excitedly, looking into the distance with his head poking out.
At the same time, the people around him also got up from their respective chairs, and the chatter continued to reach Wen Liang's ears.
"His Highness the Crown Prince is also here!"
"Is this true? Rumor has it that His Highness the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince …" The man was halfway through his sentence when he realized that he had a slip of the tongue and hurriedly stopped talking, only to continue after a moment, "Today the Fourth Prince is here, how come His Highness the Crown Prince is also here?"
"It's true! Just now, Lord Chen said he saw His Highness's carriage outside and His Highness did not come alone this time but also brought a gentleman surnamed Wen."
As soon as these words came out, even Wen Liang, who was listening with his ears open, was shocked.
He covered his mouth in surprise and his face pale.
Could that young man surnamed Wen be…Wen Chi?
Li Hao glanced at Wen Liang, who had a stiff expression. Then with the intention of watching the excitement he leaned over and asked without hesitation, "Dare to ask my lord, do you know the name of the gentleman who is surnamed Wen?"
"Is there any other Young Master Wen in the East Palace?" the man replied, "Isn't it Wen Changqing's concubine son Wen Chi who married into the East Palace instead of his elder brother not long ago and made a huge fuss about it? Because of this, he lost his official position and was demoted several ranks by the emperor."
Others shook their heads and sighed: "I don't know what Wen Changqing was thinking. Although he did this for his legitimate son, sooner or later the son with a red mole between his eyebrows will have to marry like poured out water3. He can't be regarded as an orthodox son. Why did he do that?"
Everyone started discussing with each other.
As Wen Liang listened from the side, his whole face turned white as a sheet of paper, not because of those people's gossip, but because of Wen Chi's arrival.
Even though he had long been prepared for Wen Chi's arrival, now that he is here, he still couldn't help grumbling.
He originally had a glimmer of hope that Wen Chi would not come…
Wen Chi was not interested in the peach blossom banquet and he had personally promised him that he would not set foot in the peach blossom banquet but in the end Wen Chi still broke his promise.
It wasn't until Wen Liang tasted a bit of blood that he suddenly came back to his senses and realized that he accidentally bit his lip. The slight sting was like raindrops, dancing densely on his lips while he stared straight ahead.
Not long after, he saw the familiar figure walking into the crowd.
Buy Me a Coffee at
1
Shi Jin's royal title is 瑄王/ Xuan Wang/ King Xuan. But I will translate it as Prince Xuan to avoid confusion. Usually the title Wang/King is given to a vassal prince. But so far, Shi Jin isn't a vassal prince.
2
Self proclamation title for a Prince/king with a title
3
It means a married daughter is like poured-out water. That is, once a daughter is married off, she is no more a member of her parents' family.
Chapter 42.2
Today Wen Chi is wearing a crescent-white shirt with narrow sleeves and a light blue wide-brimmed brocade belt decorated with auspicious clouds around his waist1. He looked extremely tall and even in the past when those ordinary clothes couldn't hide his handsomeness. Now with these clothes that seemed to be tailor-made for him made him look like a handsome nobleman.
Wen Chi did not have any redundant expression on his face. He looked at the people who came forward to greet him with a slightly apathetic look . Only his clear almond eyes were slightly narrowed by the sun.
Wen Liang doesn't know if it was his illusion but he feels that Wen Chi seems to have gained some weight.
Wen Liang has been disciplined by Madam Xu since he was a child and Madam Xu was extremely strict about maintaining his appearance and figure. Even if he ate just two extra bites of rice or gained two taels of fat, she would blame him in front of all the servants.
"Gaining Weight" for Wen Liang, are two very unpleasant words but now that these two words appear on Wen Chi, he does not feel incongruous but rather he feels that this look of Wen Chi is much better than his previous look.
It is also …
After all, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince loved Wen Chi so much that he not only arranged for his personal Eunuch to accompany Wen Chi back to the mansion but he also brought him to the Peach Blossom Banquet. Presumably, Wen Chi's life in the palace is much more pleasant than when he was in the Wen mansion.
Wen Liang pursed his lips and took a deep breath, feeling suffocated in his heart.
He didn't think that he envied Wen Chi. He just thought that Wen Chi had caused the Wen Family to become what they are now and he is living well in the palace while things were difficult for the whole Wen family.
Wen Liang who was engrossed in his thoughts was pulled out of his trance by a pair of deep eyes. The owner of those eyes was leaning lazily on the wheelchair, openly sizing him up.
AD
Wen Liang was taken aback for a moment and only then did he realize that he had made eye contact with His Highness the Crown Prince who was sitting in a wheelchair.
It has to be said that the image of His Royal Highness is quite different from what he imagined.
He originally thought His Highness the Crown Prince was an ugly weirdo but he didn't expect that after His Highness put on that half-faced mask, he looked no different from a normal person and this half of his face was more handsome than the Fourth Prince.
However, the fourth prince is gentle and elegant and his smile is like a spring breeze.
On the other hand, the Crown Prince was expressionless and he didn't even bother to pay attention to the people who went up to greet him. Although His Royal Highness looked at him without obvious emotions, he was able to sensitively capture the coldness in the eyes of His Highness.
Wen Liang was terrified by the brief eye contact and quickly lowered his eyes to avoid the gaze of His Royal Highness.
After a while, he touched his palm stiffly and it was covered in cold sweat.
AD
The Peach Blossom Banquet was very lively but unfortunately this excitement has nothing to do with Wen Chi.
Wen Chi just concentrated on helping Shi Ye push the wheelchair and at the same time tried to minimize his presence. He doesn't want to take the initiative to stand out and be cannon fodder on Wen Liang's stage.
While thinking about it, Wen Chi quietly observed the scene and as expected, he found Wen Liang's existence in a corner.
It seems that the changes in the Wen family did not stop the development of the plot. In the end, Wen Liang still found the young master of the Li family.
Wen Chi withdrew his eyes calmly, pretending that he neither saw nor knew Wen Liang.
After these people had finished exchanging pleasantries, he pushed Shi Ye's wheelchair into a tent surrounded by silk veils under the guidance of a maid.
The tent was furnished extremely delicately, not only were there green plants but there were also tables, chairs and benches, as well as tea and snacks that looked tempting.
Wen Chi pushed Shi Ye's wheelchair to a table and then stood silently behind Shi Ye.
Shi Ye propped up his chin in boredom, and said without looking back, "Sit."
Wen Chi naturally understood that Shi Ye was talking to him, so he didn't refuse and obediently sat on the chair beside Shi Ye.
AD
Shi Ye turned his head and glanced at Wen Chi, then at the snacks on the table: "Eat as much as you want."
Wen Chi: "…"
How did Shi Ye know that he was looking at those snacks?
Wen Chi thought about it for a while and then refused: "Thank you, His Highness, for your kindness, but I'm not hungry yet."
Seeing Wen Chi's resolute attitude, Shi Ye seemed to have thought of something, chuckled lightly and there was a little imperceptible smile in his eyes. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Afraid you'll go from being full-term fat to awaiting delivery?"
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"…" Wen Chi, who was stabbed in his sensitive point, immediately looked like a cat whose tail was stepped on and said, "You are too much!"
After finishing speaking, Wen Chi immediately realized his tone and his face turned pale. He bit his lips tightly in fright and carefully looked at Shi Ye's expression.
Fortunately, Shi Ye didn't pay attention to what he said and looked out of the tent thoughtfully.
Seeing this, Wen Chi slowly relaxed his grip on his lower lip.
At the same time, the overwrought strings in his mind relaxed and Shi Ye said again: "That person is also here."
Wen Chi was confused for a moment: "What did His Highness the Crown Prince say?"
Shi Ye glanced at him with a half-smile, "The one you looked at seven or eight times when you came."
Wen Chi: "…"
Oh, Wen Liang.
But didn't Shi Ye have his back to him the whole time? Knowing that he had looked at Wen Liang seven or eight times, he seriously doubted whether Shi Ye had an extra eye on the back of his head.
When Shi Ye saw Wen Chi was silent, the expression on his face gradually became playful but there was no emotion in his tone: "Since you care so much about that person, why don't Bengong grant your wish and call that person to you and Bengong will let you look at him openly and honestly."
Wen Chi blushed: "No need….."
However, Shi Ye directly ignored his words and ordered Eunuch Zhu who came with him to summon Wen Liang and the person who brought Wen Liang to the peach blossom banquet.
Eunuch Zhu received the order and left.
Wen Chi sat on the chair with a strange expression. Why did he feel that today Shi Ye was like a child who lost his temper but he didn't have the guts or the life to bicker around with Shi Ye.
Eunuch Zhu moved very quickly and in less than half a stick of incense he brought Li Hao and Wen Liang outside the tent
"Your Royal Highness." Eunuch Zhu called out in a low voice, "They are here."
Before Shi Ye, who was inside, could speak, a figure came out from the adjacent tent. It was Shi Jin who had been idling around.
Shi Jin walked towards Eunuch Zhu: "Eunuch Zhu, is my royal brother inside …"
Before he finished speaking, Shi Jin suddenly caught a glimpse of Li Hao who was carefully hiding behind Eunuch Zhu.
In an instant, his heart started pounding.
Chapter 43.1
In fact, Li Hao wasn't ugly, it was just that he made people feel uncomfortable.
At a glance, Shi Jin knew that this man had grown up in a honey pot and was pampered by his family and he has been wandering around brothels all year round. He smelled of wine and powder and looked thin and decadent and even his cheekbones were a little sunken.
Although Shi Jin always dislikes judging people by their appearance, when he meets people like Li Hao who is ignorant and only knows how to wander around in the streets, he will choose to distance himself intentionally or unintentionally and a situation like today has never happened before.
Shi Jin covered his chest, trying to keep his heart from beating so hard.
Unfortunately, all his struggles were of no avail.
His eyes looked towards Li Hao as if possessed and his legs seemed to have lost control as he walked towards Li Hao. In the end, he seemed to be a different person, and he couldn't help asking: "Who are you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Liang, who had already blushing, suddenly mustered up the courage to stammer and said: "Prince Xuan, I am Wen Liang, the eldest son of Wen Changqing, the former Assistant Minister of Rites."
Shi Jin didn't even look at Wen Liang, his eyes were fixed on the bewildered Li Hao and he said again, "Benwang is asking you."
At that, Wen Liang froze.
The next moment, his unbelievable gaze hovered between Shi Jin and Li Hao, at this moment he could not hide his inner emotions, sadness, disappointment and shock were all clearly written on his face.
AD
However, Shi Jin couldn't see his expression, even if he stood in front of Shi Jin, he would have been like a wisp of wind.
Only Li Hao truly existed.
Li Hao did not feel comfortable being stared at by Shi Jin. It made him feel like he was staring at him like he was a piece of meat and gave him goosebumps all over but he still faced Shi Jin's hot gaze, bowed his head and said respectfully: "Prince Xuan, My name is Li Hao, son of Li Wen. I come from the Li family in Jiangnan. My father was busy with important matters so I came to celebrate the birthday of the Grand Princess on behalf of my father."
"Li Hao…" Shi Jin muttered Li Hao's name, he was very sure that he didn't know Li Hao and he had never seen Li Hao before today.
But why…
Whenever he sees Li Hao, he feels his heart beating faster and his eyes are uncontrollably attracted to the other party…
Before Shi Jin could figure out why, Eunuch Zhu quietly approached him from behind.
"His Highness the Crown Prince is resting inside." Eunuch Zhu made a gesture of invitation, "Please come inside, Prince Xuan."
AD
Shi Jin, who was in deep thought, was brought back to the present by Eunuch Zhu's voice. He looked thoughtfully at Li Hao who didn't dare to look at him, brushed the hem of his clothes, turned and entered the tent.
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Eunuch Zhu looked at the nervous Li Hao and the despair-filled Wen Liang and quickly restrained the smile he had when facing Shi Jin and said, "Both of you can come in, too."
Sitting in the tent, Wen Chi was very anxious. He was holding a cup of hot tea in both hands but he hadn't taken a sip for a long time. He looked down at his frowning face reflected in the tea and couldn't help but sigh secretly.
He couldn't figure out, why did Shi Ye always like to provoke Wen Liang?
If he hadn't known Shi Ye's personality, he would have started to wonder if Shi Ye was interested in Wen Liang… But now that the plot of the novel has more or less changed, it is not impossible for Shi Ye to like Wen Liang.
But after a while, Wen Chi thought became more and more ludicrous.
At this moment, Eunuch Zhu led Li Hao and Wen Liang into the tent.
Li Hao never dreamed that he would have the honor to meet His Highness the Crown Prince one day. He was so excited and at a loss, he didn't even know where to put his hands for a while, so he hurriedly bowed to His Highness the Crown Prince with Wen Liang.
Compared with Li Hao, Wen Liang who followed behind was much calmer, but looking closely, you can see that Wen Liang was in a daze, as if he was daydreaming, occasionally his eyes turn to look in Shi Jin's direction, it's a pity that Shi Jin's attention is all focused on Li Hao.
Wen Chi vaguely sensed the subtle atmosphere between the three of them and couldn't help but feel puzzled.
AD
Although the first encounter between the protagonist gong and shou1 was brought forward with Shi Ye's "help", as the protagonist gong, Shi Jin would not ignore the protagonist shou, Wen Liang to such an extent and the look of Shi Jin's eyes when he gaze at Li Hao is really very difficult to say …
Could it be that the plot of the novel has changed? Or is it that Shi Jin will only be swayed when Wen Liang plays the guqin?
The atmosphere in the tent was rather weird, but Shi Ye didn't notice it at all. He waved his hand to the servants who were waiting on the side to make tea for Shi Jin and asked in a very calm tone: "Does fourth brother want something from Bengong?"
"Oh, it's not anything important." When Shi Jin was called, he finally took his attention away from Li Hao, smiled and said, "I have nothing to do and it just so happens that the royal brother's tent is next to me, so I wanted to come and talk to the royal brother."
Shi Ye said, "What do you want to talk about?"
Hearing this, Shi Jin subconsciously looked up at Wen Chi with a complex expression. Originally, he planned to take this opportunity to discuss with Wen Chi about the locust plague in Jinzhou. It would be best if he could get some good ideas from Wen Chi.
But since he saw Li Hao, he has been distracted, his whole body felt wrong from top to bottom so he does not have the energy to ask Wen Chi about the locust plague related matters.
Shi Jin barely suppressed his feelings towards Li Hao, twitched the corners of his mouth and showed a wry smile: "Since Royal Brother has guests right now, why don't I come back later."
Shi Ye propped his chin wearily, glanced sideways at Li Hao and Wen Liang who were standing there like two elementary school students and said indifferently: "If you want to stay, you can stay. They are not guests, they are just two random people called by Bengong."
As soon as these words came out, Li Hao and Wen Liang's bodies obviously tensed up a lot.
Wen Chi also felt miserable.
Look at Shi Ye's appearance, it really fully reflects the look of a villain in the early stage. He was afraid that the more he provoked, the more he would get beaten in the later stages.
Shi Jin smiled and didn't speak any more but his gaze still couldn't help but drift towards Li Hao.
Shi Ye seems to be accustomed to Shi Jin's lukewarm nature, so he ignored him and turned to look at Li Hao and Wen Liang. More precisely, his eyes passed Li Hao in front of him and landed on Wen Liang.
He said, "Wen Liang."
When Wen Liang heard his name, he was terrified and hurriedly said: "Yes."
"Tell me." Shi Ye's mouth curved into a half-smile, like a cat teasing a mouse, "Why is Bengong looking for you."
"I…" Wen Liang was so scared that his heart was in his throat, which made it difficult for him to breathe smoothly. He said anxiously, "I don't know…"
Shi Ye suddenly let out an inexplicable laugh: "Your Wen family violated their promises, broke my trust, swapped people and replaced you, the precious son, with someone else and gave him to me. For your brother Wen Chi's sake, I didn't hold you responsible but now you take the initiative to send yourself to the door. Do you think that Bengong will let you leave this peach blossom banquet?"
Wen Liang's face turned completely white, he couldn't control his weak legs, his body slumped and sat down on the ground, after reacting with hindsight, he hurriedly kneeled upright, trembling and begging for mercy: "Your Highness, forgive me, I was just confused for a moment, I know I was wrong."
Shi Ye smiled: "I see that you don't seem to be aware of your mistakes at all."
Wen Liang was so frightened that he couldn't speak, his body shook like chaff.
Shi Ye seemed to like to see Wen Liang like this and after admiring for a while, he gradually said in a cold voice: "It seems that Bengong is too kind and you still have the courage to hang around in front of Bengong after you have made a serious mistake. Since Wen Changqing can't control you, then I will take care of you for him."
"Your Royal Highness, spare your life! Your Royal Highness, spare your life!" Wen Liang had never been so frightened before and his soul almost flew out of his body.
Soon his eyes turned red and tears rushed out, in the blink of an eye, tears were all over his face. It was the first time he saw His Highness the Crown Prince and it was also the first time he was so frightened by the royal aura that he almost fainted.
However, Shi Ye seemed unable to hear his begging for mercy and shouted: "Zhu Xian."
Eunuch Zhu immediately walked to Wen Liang's side: "The servant is here."
Shi Ye didn't bother to look at Wen Liang who was about to faint from crying, so he waved his hand: "Deal with him."
Eunuch Zhu said: "Yes."
Wen Liang watched Eunuch Zhu summon two guards and was so anxious that he couldn't even care about his face and turned his pleading eyes to Shi Jin, who was watching from the sidelines: "Prince Xuan, please help me, I don't want to die yet, please …"
Shi Jin was still thinking about Li Hao but suddenly Wen Liang grabbed his trouser leg, he was stunned and didn't even know what happened.
Seeing that Shi Jin had no plans to save him, Wen Liang felt a sense of desperation and he had no choice but to turn to Wen Chi: "Wen Chi, please speak for me to His Royal Highness, obviously you were also involved in that matter, you know father would do that …"
"It's so noisy." Shi Ye said impatiently, "Take him out."
So the two guards clamped Wen Liang's shoulders from left and right and dragged away Wen Liang, who was powerless, without any effort.
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Gongshou is the distinction between two boys in BL culture. Gong belongs to the doer in the sexual relationship, and Shou belongs to the passive in the sexual relationship
Chapter 43.2
For a while, the tent was quiet.
Shi Ye got a headache from Wen Lian's earth-shattering cry, so he closed his eyes and rubbed the center of his brows.
"Royal Brother has always hated people who love to cry." Shi Jin sighed, "It must have been really hard for imperial brother just now."
Wen Chi: "…"
Originally, he was considering whether to beg for the protagonist Wen Liang. However, after hearing what Shi Jin said he was so frightened that he quickly swallowed back the words that had been lingering on the tip of his tongue.
Forget it, he, who is also a crybaby, should not rush to his death.
Wen Liang came in and was taken out again within less than a stick of incense. This sudden change of events stunned Li Hao who came in together with Wen Liang. He stood there with a pale face and suddenly wanted to leave.
It's a pity that this place is not where he can come and go whenever he wants. He felt his legs were so weak that they could not support the weight of his body but he had to force himself to continue standing.
At this moment, Shi Ye's gaze turned to him.
AD
Li Hao noticed Shi Ye's gaze wandering over him and almost slumped to the ground like Wen Liang just now.
"As for you, Li Hao…" Shi Ye's hesitant voice rang out, seemingly recalling something, "Bengong seems to have heard this name somewhere."
Eunuch Zhu said in a timely manner: "Your Royal Highness, you may have forgotten that he is Li Hao, the son of Li Wen from the Li family in Jiangnan and he was also one of the main culprits who kidnapped and imprisoned a folk woman three years ago. Although the matter was not a big deal at the time, several Lords mentioned this to you and said that Li Hao has been taken into custody. I do not know why he was released so quickly. "
Li Hao: "…"
Shi Ye let out a long sigh: "I remember now, so you are that Li Hao."
Li Hao was stunned. How could he have thought that he was only here to attend a peach blossom banquet but someone rehashed the old millet and rotten sesame seeds1 a few years ago.
And the person who found out about it was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince…
"Your Royal Highness, please spare my life, I have paid the due punishment. I have changed myself to be a new man." Li Hao knelt down on the ground with a thump, kowtowed and pleaded.
AD
Shi Ye lowered his eyes and looked down at Li Hao: "Just three years, how is it enough for you to reform yourself?"
After he finished speaking, he called again, "Zhu Xian."
Eunuch Zhu hurriedly said: "The servant is here."
Shi Ye ordered lightly: "Throw him back into prison and keep him locked up for another thirty years."
When Li Hao heard this, his eyelids rolled instantly and he fainted from fright on the spot.
However, this did not affect the actions of the guards, who immediately stepped forward and dragged him out like a dead fish.
However, no one noticed that the red thread that Li Hao casually hung around his neck fell out while being dragged by the two guards and silently fell on the grass.
After the two guards dragged Li Hao away, a pair of black boots stopped in front of the stone.
Then, a hand picked up the stone.
AD
Shi Jin watched Li Hao being dragged away. He felt very uncomfortable but he couldn't explain the reason for his discomfort, so he got up and said goodbye to Shi Ye and went back to his tent to rest.
Wen Chi hesitated for a long time but still couldn't help saying: "Your Royal Highness, are you going to kill Wen Liang?"
Shi Ye didn't answer but instead asked, "Do you want me to kill him?"
Wen Chi shook his head: "Although my relationship with him is indeed not that close, I don't want him to die at the hands of me or Your Royal Highness."
Hearing this, Shi Ye paused, turned his head and looked at Wen Chi with an unpredictable expression. He could not tell whether he was happy or angry, his eyes were as calm as a lake with no ups and downs: "You can't bear to part with him?"
Wen Chi still shook his head.
Shi Ye said stubbornly, "Give me a reason."
It's not because he is cowardly but he is afraid of being retaliated against by Wen Liang and the system and even more afraid of being backlashed by Wen Liang's protagonist halo.
However, it was absolutely impossible to say these words, so he could only tactfully change the words: "I don't want to kill people."
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When he got this answer, Shi Ye was stunned for a moment and suddenly laughed out loud. The more he laughed the louder it became and his long and his eyes narrowed slightly, but there was a frightening cold light in them.
After a while, Shi Ye raised his hand: "Do you know how many lives have been killed by Bengong's hand?"
As the saying goes, the more you know, the sooner you die. Wen Chi doesn't want to know how many people Shi Ye has killed. He saw that the topic was about to run in an uncontrollable direction, and he suddenly caught Shi Ye's hand suspended in midair with both hands.
Shi Ye stared at him in surprise.
Wen Chi said solemnly: "I believe Your Royal Highness was only defending yourself."
After he said that, Shi Ye suddenly grabbed Wen Chi's wrist with his backhand. Without waiting for Wen Chi to react, his hand exerted a slight force and easily pulled Wen Chi in front of him.
Wen Chi was taken aback and reflexively wanted to dodge to the side, which ended up in him staggering and directly to sit on Shi Ye's lap.
Wen Chi: "…"
F*ck…
He had a premonition that his head would be smashed in the next moment.
Just when Wen Chi was about to stand up, he suddenly saw Eunuch Zhu lifting the veil and walking in from the corner of his eyes: "Your Highness, the banquet will start soon, please move …"
Before he finished speaking, the voice abruptly stopped.
When Eunuch Zhu realized that something was wrong, the teacup on the table had already risen into the air and rushed straight to Eunuch Zhu's forehead.
After resting for a long time, Shi Jin felt that the inexplicable palpitations eased a lot. He suspected that he was sick or had eaten something he shouldn't eat and planned to go back and let a doctor have a look.
After the banquet began, all the people in the tent had to move outside.
Shi Jin came to his seat weakly and sat down. Facing the good wine and food and the enchanting and beautiful dancers, he couldn't arouse the slightest interest.
Don't know how long the banquet has been going on but the Grand Princess's maid suddenly took out a small ball made of wicker. She said that when the Grand Princess beat the drum with her back to the crowd, the crowd should pass the ball in order of their seating position.
Finally, when the drum stops, the person who gets the ball needs to perform a talent.
When everyone heard these words, they clapped their hands and applauded.
The Grand princess started to beat the drum enthusiastically and the ball was passed down by the crowd in turn.
The Grand Princess beat the drum for a long time and suddenly stopped.
"Who got the ball?" The eldest princess turned to look and said with a smile, "The one who got the ball should stand up by himself."
Following the Grand princess's words, the crowd very tacitly looked in one direction.
Wen Chi also curiously looked in that direction.
According to the plot in the novel, Wen Liang had the opportunity to play the guqin in public through this game but now that Wen Liang was taken away by Shi Ye's people not long ago, this plot should also change…
Soon, Wen Chi saw a tall and thick man standing up shyly. He blushed and struggled for a long time and finally said with great difficulty: "I am a rough person so I don't have many talents, how about I play the guqin for everyone to listen."
Wen Chi: "…"
At the same time, Shi Jin who was absent minded suddenly raised his head to look at the man. He recognized the man, he was a well-known military general in the court. He had made many military exploits in recent years and was extremely trusted by his father.
But why…
Why did his emotions, which had finally calmed down, start tumbling again? His heartbeat was even faster than before.
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A metaphor for an old, irrelevant word or thing
Chapter 44.1
Although Wen Chi didn't know that man, from the noisy whispers around him, he knew that the man was General Lin who had been very popular in recent years.
Of course, the man's identity was not important, what was important is that he found a guqin from nowhere and then walked to the open space in the middle under the eyes of everyone who was staring at him in shock and fear.
After all, the Grand Princess is someone who has seen the world. She was the first to react and immediately ordered the two maidservants to prepare the tables and chairs.
General Lin put the guqin on the low table, bent over and sat down.
"I will be playing the song 'Butterfly', I'm going to make a fool of myself."
After General Lin finished speaking, the pair of hands that were used to swords jumped on the strings, his ten fingers plucking the strings exceptionally skillfully, as if he had been playing the zither for a long time.
At the same time, the soft and gentle tune covered the pin drop silence arena.
Not to mention whether the song is pleasant to the ears or not, just the scene of the tall, burly and brave General Lin playing the guqin in public is enough to frighten a lot of people, except for Shi Jin who is staring straight at General Lin and and Shi Ye who is expressionless like an outsider, everyone else present looked like they had seen a ghost and even the smile on the face of the Grand Princess who was extremely self-controlled gradually cracked.
The person who was most shocked was Wen Chi.
He remembered that the song "Butterfly" should have been played by Wen Liang, and if he was not mistaken, the guqin that General Lin was playing was a relic of the original owner's mother and one of the props that helped Wen Liang capture Shi Jin at the Peach Blossom Banquet, so how did it end up in General Lin's hands?
AD
There was great doubt in Wen Chi's wide-open almond eyes, he couldn't figure it out no matter what, he felt like he had fallen into the clouds wrapped in fog and his feet couldn't land on the ground.
He scratched his head depressedly. Since he couldn't figure it out, he didn't want to. He reached out to touch the cup of tea on the table. Just now he ate too many snacks and wanted to drink tea to moisten his throat.
But as soon as his fingertips touched the porcelain surface, he was hit by something as hard as a pebble on the back of his hand, which made him cry out in pain and immediately retracted his hand.
He hissed in pain, rubbed the back of his hands frantically, and looked down, only to see a red mark on his fair skin and the skin there was torn but it wasn't bleeding.
Wen Chi suppressed the anger in his heart, turned his head and looked around.
However, the people sitting near him were all attracted by the shocking scene of General Lin playing the guqin and no one noticed him at all. He searched for a long time but he couldn't find the suspect who hit him with a pebble.
So Wen Chi took a breath, calmed down and could only continue to stare at General Lin's side face in a daze. After thinking wildly for a while, he remembered that he had forgotten to drink water, so he reached out to touch the cup of tea on the table.
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This time he paid special attention but he still didn't find any suspect who might hit him with a pebble, so he boldly picked up the teacup, put it to his lips and was about to take a sip when the pebble came again and accurately hit him on the back of his hand again.
AD
Wen Chi, who was suddenly hit again, his fingertips trembled and the unsteady teacup fell straight down.
Seeing that the teacup was about to be knocked over on Wen Chi's leg, the next moment it was firmly grasped by a hand that suddenly stretched out. This hand came from below and long and slender bony fingers just wrapped around the whole teacup. The teacup was of blue and white porcelain and at first glance there is nothing special about it but now that it is grasped by this beautiful hand, it looks like a handicraft that should be treasured.
At this moment, Wen Chi suddenly understood the importance of a hand model and it was a pity that the owner of this hand did not become a hand model.
Oh no…
That's not the point!
Wen Chi hurriedly stopped the thoughts that were about to drift to the Pacific Ocean, his almond eyes were filled with anger and he frowned and looked at the owner of this hand: "Are you the one hitting me…"
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly fell silent.
Because he looked up and saw Shi Ye's cold face.
Today, Shi Ye was wearing that pure black half-face mask but he couldn't resist the charm of his face in the slightest. The other half of his face was as gorgeous as a lotus in the water and he couldn't take his eyes off it but his eyes were extremely daunting and frightening.
Even though there was some distance between Wen Chi and Shi Ye, he seemed to be able to see the cold air coming out from Shi Ye.
AD
Shi Ye put the teacup in front of Wen Chi but he didn't pull back, so that the bottom of the porcelain made a crisp sound when it hit the table.
Wen Chi quietly rubbed the back of his hand with two red marks. He glanced at the pebbles that fell by his feet and after a closer look, he realized that they were not pebbles at all but candies used to entertain guests at the banquet.
Wen Chi: "…"
Yes, there is mud in front and candy in the back. Anyway, you can play whatever you have at hand, which is very in line with Shi Ye's style.
Wen Chi felt aggrieved, his brows were wrinkled, he wanted to ask Shi Ye why he hit him with the candies but he didn't dare to ask, he didn't dare to drink tea and in the end he could only shrink his shoulders pitifully and look at the tea in front of him helplessly .
He really wants to drink water woo woo woo woo woo…1
Perhaps Wen Chi's gaze was too desperate and after a while, that beautiful hand stretched out again, holding a cup of tea in his palm.
Wen Chi's mouth was so dry that he didn't even look at the person who handed him the tea. He picked up the cup of tea and gulped down the tea in it.
After holding the teacup with both hands and putting it back, Wen Chi realized that the cup of tea was not his, but the one that Shi Ye drank a few sips and there might be some saliva left by Shi Ye in it.
Wen Chi stared at the teacup for a while and continued pretending not to know anything.
He said with seemingly heartfelt gratitude, "Many thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince."
Instead of answering his words, Shi Ye suddenly asked out of nowhere: "Does it look good?"
Wen Chi was dumbfounded.
Shi Ye seemed to be kind enough to repeat: "Lin Zhe plays the zither, is it good?"
Lin Zhe is the name of General Lin who replaced the protagonist shou in the plot.
Wen Chi didn't understand what Shi Ye wanted to express and of course he didn't dare to ask, he hunched his shoulders, hesitated for a moment, then nodded cautiously: "It's okay."
As soon as the words fell, Shi Ye's eyes turned colder by several degrees and he said, "Keep watching then."
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Wen Chi crying LOL