Chapter 107 The King Seizes His Minister's Wife if Line Jinjiang Official

After bringing Tao Jinrong back to the palace, Gu Shi suddenly didn't know how to talk to her.

She looked as if she had lost her soul, her face was pale, and she stared at the floor silently. Her hair hung down and lay limply on the side of her cheek.

Looking at her thin shoulders trembling slightly, a sense of guilt arose from the bottom of Gu Shi's heart. He didn't like himself becoming a villain who bullied men and women.

And he doesn't have the habit of forcing others to do things.

He said awkwardly:

"Take her to learn some etiquette first, and don't skimp on food, clothing, and other necessities."

Tao Jinrong had already lost hope, but after a month, she began to suspect that he really wanted to force her to learn etiquette.

In the morning, her aunt taught her how to behave, and in the afternoon, her teacher taught her how to read and write. No one gave her any trouble, and her daily routine was very regular. She felt that she had become much healthier.

In fact, she could still recognize a few words, but she was not well educated. After being taught by the teacher, she became more knowledgeable and her figure also looked a little more like a lady.

That's right. Although she didn't know his identity, she cursed Gu Shi with vulgar words and slapped him. It was good enough that he didn't kill her. It was not an excessive thing for him to just force her to study in class.

Besides, this place is not bad. Classes are free, and food and accommodation are provided. My aunt is also very kind, so she doesn't feel any resentment.

But Qin Sizhao must be worried about her at home...

Now that she had gained some knowledge and considered herself well-educated, she wanted to write him a letter that was a little more polite.

She picked up the pen and started writing, then revised it, and wrote again. No matter how she looked at it, she was not satisfied. She simply crumpled the yellowed rice paper into a ball, and the black ink spread in the palm of her hand.

After writing it over and over again, it’s still plain language…

Tao Jinrong sighed.

Even if it is written with great literary talent, this letter home will not reach him.

She looked out the window resentfully. A flock of wild geese flew across the dome. Could it be that Gu Shi had forgotten her?

She was hoping that he would let her go home after he had had enough of her trouble.

Seven days later, Gu Shi seemed to have finally remembered her and summoned her to inspect the results.

She was no longer noisy, and greeted and saluted politely, saying only auspicious words. Her voice also changed, and she hummed a few words softly.

Tao Jinrong leaned forward, took a long breath, and relaxed his shoulders.

She has learned to walk unsteadily and speak in a mosquito-like voice. Now he should be satisfied.

Gu Shi curled his lips and said:

"I'm going to test you on how to make couplets. I'll give you the first line, and you answer the second line. If you can answer it correctly, you can go home. If you can't, you can study again."

Tao Jinrong was dumbfounded and quickly covered his lips, almost unable to maintain the appearance of being "well-educated and well-mannered" that he had barely established.

She was really afraid that she would accidentally say a dirty word again.

She's still making couplets... Does Gu Shi think she's going to be the top scorer in the imperial examination?

"What? Do you think I'm putting you in a difficult position? Your husband is the runner-up in the imperial examination, and you can't even write a couplet... How can we communicate with each other when there's such a huge gap in our knowledge? As time goes by, his beauty will fade and his love for you will slacken, and he'll grow tired of you."

"Your Majesty, I am not a skilled practitioner, and I am afraid I cannot satisfy you."

"Then learn more."

Hearing this, cold sweat broke out on her forehead and her calves trembled like sieves.

"Your Majesty... Please... set the questions..."

"First line: The moon moves and the shadows of the flowers move."

"Second line...Second line..."

While Tao Jinrong was cursing Gu in his heart, he also cordially greeted his eight generations of ancestors.

She bit her lower lip hard, afraid that she would accidentally blurt out the truth again.

"Day...day...day..."

The sun and the moon are antithetical, but unfortunately what she wanted to say was "fuck your ancestors".

"Sun Yin Cao Guang Mian?"

She cleverly wove all the dirty words in her mind into the second line and couldn't help but smile triumphantly.

"This couplet is too awkward, and the rhyme is forced."

Gu Shi frowned and said;

She looked up at Gu Shi in dissatisfaction, humph, he doesn't look like a king, he just sits around doing nothing all day long, or eats, drinks and has fun, he must be a piece of paper, where does his knowledge come from?

Well, all her knowledge was acquired on the spur of the moment, and she believed that he was better than her, but his knowledge was definitely not as good as Qin Sizhao's.

"Come and sit down."

He extended a bony hand, motioning her to sit next to him.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this is not proper."

Tao Jinrong pretended to shake his head.

"My aunt taught me that married women should try to avoid seeing other men. If they have to, they must be careful with their words and actions."

Gu Shi looked at her with resentful eyes again:

"Come here quickly."

She had no choice but to walk over slowly, unsteadily, and sit next to Gu Shi.

He dipped the brush in ink and wrote the couplet she had just made on the rice paper.

"The tones of the upper and lower lines of a couplet should be opposite. The first half should be 仄平平仄仄, while the second half should be 平仄仄平平."

Tao Jinrong's eyes became blurry and her mind wandered off. She only felt the heat around her. Gu Shi was sitting so close to her, but he didn't really touch her.

She had no choice but to hide aside without leaving any trace.

He spread out his hand, with the brush flat on his palm, and said:

"Write it again."

She stared at his open palm, the brush split his white palm in half, and she almost didn't dare to reach out.

Tao Jinrong stretched out two trembling fingers and clamped the brush. Her hands kept shaking, and her nails dyed with phoenix hair occasionally scratched his palm, causing an unbearable numbness.

He inadvertently looked at his palm and accidentally caught a glimpse of the delicate wrist exposed under her sleeve, and suddenly felt his cheeks hot.

She had already held the brush awkwardly in her hand, staring at the rice paper.

It was already difficult for her to recognize words, so asking her to pick up a pen and write would be too timid.

The tip of the pen created a small black dot on the rice paper. Beads of sweat appeared on the tip of Tao Jinrong's nose. The powder on her face melted a little, and the rouge on her lips became a little mottled.

Gu Shi stared at the mottled rouge on her lips for a long time and said:

"If you can't write it, kiss me."

After saying this, Gu Shi's ears turned slightly red.

"Why?"

Tao Jinrong was stunned, the brush slipped from between his fingers, turned his head and stared at him in a daze.

"As long as you listen to me, I will let you go home for two days."

He closed his eyes, and Tao Jinrong silently took out a handkerchief and wiped the rouge on his lips.

She put her thumb and palm together, pretending they were her lips, and touched Gu Shi's face.

“…”

Gu Shi opened his eyes and looked at her with some suspicion.

"Your Majesty...it's time for me to go home..."

She lowered her head softly, revealing a fair and slender neck. Her voice was clear, thin and sweet, with a prolonged ending. It was as if her voice had a hook, hooking him again and again.

Gu Shi looked at her, biting his lower lip with resentment.

Did she think he was a fool?