Chapter 52 Erotic Book Eaten

Hearing Ji Wenxuan's words, Mo Langzhuo shamelessly fell into a trance of tenderness and got out of the car with difficulty.

Seeing Mo Langzhuo get out of the car, Ji Wenxuan reached out and poked Lin Yanshu, saying in a spoiled tone:

"Alright, now that he's gotten off the bus, you can talk now."

Lin Yanshu remained stubbornly defiant, denying Ji Wenxuan's conjecture:

No, you're overthinking it.

Having grown up in the inner quarters, Ji Wenxuan understands the innermost thoughts of young women best. Lin Yanshu says he's fine, but he actually has something important on his mind.

She didn't press Lin Yanshu for answers, but sat up straight, her tone full of provocation:

"Alright then. I'll take you back to your residence right away and have a good questioning with His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"If you don't want to tell me, you'd rather tell His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Lin Yanshu was startled by Ji Wenxuan, like a lamb to the slaughter. She quickly grabbed Ji Wenxuan's shoulder to stop her from issuing orders. She said in a panic:

"I'm telling you, don't look for him!"

Ji Wenxuan sat up straight, looking at Lin Yanshu with great interest, clearly adopting the demeanor of a judge, and replied righteously:

"Speak."

Lin Yanshu lowered her eyes shyly, her long eyelashes trembling with embarrassment.

"I... have fallen for Ah Zhao."

Ji Wenxuan responded calmly:

"Oh, and then?"

Lin Yanshu opened her eyes and looked at Ji Wenxuan. Wasn't this enough? Wasn't this news surprising enough for her?

"I already knew that! You spend every day with His Highness the Crown Prince, and your behavior is so intimate. Everyone knows it."

So... everyone else knew, only she didn't.

"Isn't there anything else?"

Other... what else? Doesn't she count as not being worthy of being with Li Chengyi?

But she was too ashamed to say it.

Lin Yanshu lowered her head again. Ji Wenxuan assumed she was embarrassed outside and told the driver to return to the Ji residence. "It'll be easier to talk about it inside," she thought.

Lin Yanshu was thus unwittingly dragged to the Ji residence by Ji Wenxuan. She sat in Ji Wenxuan's boudoir when Mo Langzhuo brought in a plate of grapes, which Ji Wenxuan then chased out.

Ji Wenxuan lay on the bed, lazily turning her head to look at Lin Yanshu:

"Now, just say what you want to say, and let me answer your questions."

Lin Yanshu stared blankly at Ji Wenxuan and asked:

"Are you very knowledgeable about this?"

Ji Wenxuan sat up triumphantly, looked up at Lin Yanshu, and said proudly:

"Of course, young women in the capital spend all their time in their inner quarters, and that's about it—marriage and weddings."

"If I still can't understand matters of the heart, I'm unworthy of being the eldest daughter of the Ji family!"

Lin Yanshu looked intently at Ji Wenxuan. She thought Ji Wenxuan was amazing, she was so proficient in this matter, so she could ask her for advice.

Feeling a little smug under Lin Yanshu's adoring gaze, Ji Wenxuan picked up a grape and popped it into her mouth.

"So, if you have any questions, just ask me!"

Lin Yanshu swallowed hard, clenched the hem of her clothes, and asked nervously:

"If... two people of vastly different social statuses, yet their hearts are connected, but their fate is destined to be separation, what would you do, Miss Ji?"

Ji Wenxuan kicked her legs up and rested her chin on her hand as she thought:

"Why worry about so much! Let's get them first!"

"Besides, how long can a momentary liking last? It's better to follow your own desires."

What was said casually was taken to heart by Lin Yanshu. Ji Wenxuan spoke lightly, but Lin Yanshu remembered it all.

Don't worry about the future, just focus on the present. Get him, get Ah Zhao.

How can I call him?

Lin Yanshu asked sincerely, "Then what can be calculated?"

When this was mentioned, Ji Wenxuan suddenly jumped off the bed and went to the low table in the room, where a pile of books was stacked, with the Women's Precepts on the top.

Ji Wenxuan pulled out several storybooks she had bought from outside and slammed them on the table. They contained all sorts of stories, from a pretty young lady faking her death to a regent going blind for love. Lin Yanshu was overwhelmed by the variety.

"What are you doing?" she asked Ji Wenxuan, puzzled.

Ji Wenxuan pointed at the storybook and said:

"Just like in the books, she took advantage of the man and left him completely!"

Lin Yanshu listened attentively and nodded in agreement:

How can we get rid of them completely?

Ji Wenxuan, looking annoyed that her student was so slow to understand, tapped her on the head and scolded her:

"Read books! How will you know if you don't study!"

Lin Yanshu obediently opened the storybook and began to study it diligently. In the first chapter, the two main characters in the storybook were already embroiled in a love triangle, and then…

Lin Yanshu's eyes widened suddenly; this was an erotic book.

What does Chi Wen-hsuan think of this kind of book?

She closed it, then opened it again, and read it once more. Many of the things described were things she and Li Chengyi had done. Lin Yanshu blushed as she read, feeling… her relationship with A-Zhao was like an erotic novel, except for the very end…

Lin Yanshu's cheeks flushed, and she closed the book. She felt that she still needed to learn more from Ji Wenxuan.

Her eyes were filled with anticipation for acquiring new knowledge as she met Ji Wenxuan's gaze:

"May I stay here tonight? I'm not going back."

"I need some time to learn these things."

Ji Wenxuan agreed without hesitation. She sent a servant to inform His Highness the Crown Prince that Lin Yanshu would stay at the Ji residence.

Seeing Lin Yanshu engrossed in his studies, Ji Wenxuan was pleased and had a servant bring him a pot of hot wine.

Ji Wenxuan poured Lin Yanshu a glass of wine, and Lin Yanshu looked up:

"I won't drink it."

Ji Wenxuan pouted and said unhappily:

"Boring, you won't even have a drink with me in my room."

Ji Wenxuan kept nagging in Lin Yanshu's ear, so Lin Yanshu could only drink one cup. The wine was hot and spicy. Lin Yanshu downed it in one gulp.

She choked, her face turning red, and coughed violently. Ji Wenxuan looked at him teasingly and burst into laughter.

She now finds Lin Yanshu extremely amusing.

Lin Yanshu glared at her unhappily, then lowered her head and continued reading the storybook.

Seeing her curiosity, Ji Wenxuan, emboldened by the alcohol, brought out all her most treasured possessions.

Lin Yanshu was utterly dumbfounded. Ji Wenxuan looked at Wenwen and wondered where she had gotten all these random books!

Ji Wenxuan loved seeing Lin Yanshu's expression; it made her feel superior to Lin Yanshu, even if it wasn't in a serious way.

Ji Wenxuan began to talk to Lin Yanshu in a very engaging manner. The more she talked, the drier her mouth became, and before she knew it, she had finished the whole pot of hot wine.

Lin Yanshu thought Ji Wenxuan was drunk, but she insisted that she wasn't. She pinched Lin Yanshu's face, took the fire-avoidance diagram in her hand, and showed it to Lin Yanshu.

Lin Yanshu was being "learned" all sorts of strange things by Ji Wenxuan. Meanwhile, Li Chengyi, after receiving a message from a servant of the Ji family, couldn't sit still any longer.

Li Chengyi's hand trembled as he wrote, and the brush broke on the paper. The room fell silent.

Anyone with eyes could see that Li Chengyi was in a bad mood, so he stood respectfully to the side, not daring to utter a sound.

Li Chengyi dismissed the servants.

He took a deep breath, grabbed the ink-stained paper from the table, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it on the ground.

He had already noticed Lin Yanshu's deliberate distancing today. He stayed at the mansion all day, waiting for Lin Yanshu to return so he could ask her about it.

She actually didn't come back; she stayed at someone else's house. She truly has no feelings for him at all, leaving him alone in the house.

Li Chengyi stayed in the study until late at night, then went out and asked a servant:

"Has Miss Lin returned?"

The servants looked at each other and said, "Your Highness, no."

Li Chengyi's brows were sharp as knives, and his voice was cold:

"Prepare the horses, let's go to the Ji residence."

Li Chengyi arrived at the gate of the Ji residence in a carriage. He stood outside in the wind and snow for a while, thinking that he should give Lin Yanshu another chance and let her come back on her own.

However, Lin Yanshu was currently enjoying himself in a gentle embrace, completely forgetting his homeland.

Li Chengyi's outer robe was covered with a thin layer of snow. He sent someone to inform the Ji family that he was coming to pick them up.

When Lin Yanshu received the message, Ji Wenxuan was already completely drunk, and Lin Yanshu couldn't stop her.

She turned around in surprise and asked the servant:

"The Crown Prince is here to fetch me?"

"But I've already told him I'm not going back tonight."

The servant replied to Lin Yanshu with a look of anxiety:

"It's true, Miss Lin, His Highness is waiting outside. He's soaked in the snow."

Lin Yanshu stood up and was about to leave when Ji Wenxuan grabbed her arm. She carefully stuffed the storybook and the accompanying fire-avoidance diagram into Lin Yanshu's arms, then collapsed onto the bed and waved her hand.

Lin Yanshu, carrying his books, ran outside without even putting on his outer robe.

Li Chengyi was indeed standing outside.

Snow fell thick and fast, accompanied by swirling wind and snow. Lin Yan stood at the entrance of the Ji residence, while Li Chengyi stood beside the carriage, draped in a fox fur robe. The drifting snowflakes blurred Lin Yan's vision.

The two looked at each other across the flying snow. Lin Yanshu frowned slightly as she looked at Lin Yanshu, whose thin clothes were fluttering in the cold wind.

Li Chengyi had been holding back a lot of resentment, but the moment he saw Lin Yanshu in the wind, it all vanished.

He stood still, waiting for Lin Yanshu to walk towards him. Lin Yanshu walked quickly to him, looking at the snow on Li Chengyi's shoulders with heartache.

Why is he standing here? The snow is so heavy.

Lin Yanshu's eyes were full of heartache, and she didn't notice the cold at all.

Li Chengyi handed the hot water bottle in his hand to Lin Yanshu; he had brought it especially for her.

Seeing this, Lin Yanshu quickly withdrew her fingers, afraid of touching Li Chengyi in the slightest. She carefully touched the wall of the hot water bottle and circled it outside her palm.

Li Chengyi's eyes darkened. He could tell that Lin Yanshu was doing it on purpose, deliberately avoiding him.

Li Chengyi's expression darkened. He pursed his lips, his chin clenched into a line, and untied his outer robe, draping it over Lin Yanshu.

Lin Yanshu lowered her head, watching as the robe, still warm from Li Chengyi's body, was draped over her. She opened her mouth to refuse:

"I don't need it, Ah Zhao, you can wear it."

Li Chengyi's face darkened completely; this was yet another rejection from Lin Yanshu.

He stared intently at Lin Yanshu, a thin layer of anger veiled in his eyes, and said:

"I'm not cold, get in the car."

Lin Yanshu sensed that Li Chengyi seemed somewhat unhappy. Li Chengyi helped her into the car.

Lin Yanshu sat awkwardly in the car, glancing furtively at Li Chengyi, and after much hesitation, asked:

"Ah Zhao, are you unhappy?"

Li Chengyi snorted coldly: "So you could tell."

Lin Yanshu didn't know why Li Chengyi was angry. She wasn't going back, even though she had already asked someone to tell him. But what was he angry about?

Lin Yanshu looked at him, puzzled, and explained:

"I've already asked someone to let them know that I won't be going back tonight."

Mentioning Lin Yanshu's overnight stay outside, Li Chengyi was so angry that his teeth itched, and he opened his mouth to sneer:

"You're having so much fun out there that you've forgotten all about home."