Chapter 45 Why is all you thinking about when you're handing in your work? It's all about kissing!

And he ate so much in one go!

Qingduo rubbed her eyes, unable to believe what she was seeing. The circle of handsome men surrounding her transformed into a giant blade, shredding her heart into pieces, turning it into a savory, messy mess that couldn't be reassembled.

Zeng Zhengqing seemed to sense their gazes and turned to meet her eyes. The moment their eyes met, he froze, then whispered a few words to the person beside him, bowed in farewell, and strode towards them.

Qingduo and Zhu Yi both took a step back, as if afraid of getting tainted by something unclean.

Zeng Zhengqing: "..."

"How did you all end up together?" Zeng Zhengqing asked, glancing at the three of them.

“That’s not important,” Qingduo stared straight at him. “But you, why are you with those handsome young men?”

"Brother, are you discussing business?" Zeng Zhengji couldn't help but speak up for his brother.

Zeng Zhengqing nodded and said, "That's right. He invited me to go with him, but I only found out where this place was when I arrived."

Zhu Yi remained unconvinced and asked, "Is it just business?"

Zeng Zhengqing said unhappily, "What do you take me for?" He then turned around and saw that Qingduo also looked doubtful. He sighed heavily.

I've been having a really bad run of luck lately. First, my wife suspected me of being impotent, and then people misunderstood me as having homosexual tendencies. Even though the lotus flower rises from the mud unsullied, it can't escape the fact that the "mud" has blinded the world.

He glanced at Zhu Yi, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. He decided to explain this to his wife privately.

*

The osmanthus flowers in Zeng Garden were in bloom, their golden petals clustered together, densely adorning the gaps in the leaves, scattering a delicate fragrance along the way. Walking along the lotus pond, Zeng Zhengqing and his brother led the way, discussing the arrangements for returning to their hometown to pay respects on the anniversary of their father's death. Qingduo followed behind, finding their voices as noisy as the fragrance, which annoyed her.

She deliberately stopped in her tracks, but Zeng Zhengqing was only focused on discussing with his younger brother. The two of them walked side by side without turning their heads, let alone noticing that Qingduo hadn't followed.

Hmph! I'll see when he realizes I'm not here!

Qingduo crossed her arms in front of her chest and impatiently slapped the ground with one foot, only to see the two figures walking further and further away.

"Huh?" Qingduo lowered her arm in shock. If she didn't catch up soon, she wouldn't be able to see their backs anymore. She couldn't help but run a few steps after them, but she was still unwilling to give up. Looking around, she inadvertently caught sight of a small stone on the ground, and her eyes lit up. She picked up the stone, placed it in front of her, took a few steps back, then took a running start and launched herself forward—

"Ah!" Zeng Zhengji cried out in pain from his calf, and he and Zeng Zhengqing both instinctively turned around to look.

Qingduo was startled when she realized she had missed her kick. Seeing two pairs of eyes looking at her, she immediately pretended not to know anything, looked around, and suddenly pointed to the lotus leaves in the pond: "Such big leaves!"

Zeng Zhengji asked in surprise, "Sister-in-law, when did you go there?"

Qingduo said irritably, "Of course I stopped. Did you expect me to walk over and then run back? I'm not crazy, why would I run around like that! But you're quite quick-witted, you even noticed I was gone."

"No, I just posted it too..."

“After all, they did find out,” Qingduo interrupted him, giving Zeng Zhengqing a fierce glare. “Some people probably haven’t even found out yet!”

Zeng Zhengji glanced silently at "someone," not wanting to meet his brother's gaze, noticing a hint of embarrassment on his face. Knowing this was no place to linger, Zeng Zhengji wisely turned and quietly left.

After Zhengji left, Zeng Zhengqing noticed Qingduo staring at him. After a moment's thought, he hesitated and said, "Is Madam still concerned about that matter...?"

“No, then?” Qingduo said, enunciating each word clearly.

Zeng Zhengqing sighed, walked up to Qingduo, and explained, "I did discuss business with Boss Chen. He chose the location. He was being very secretive, saying he wanted to thank me for the solution I gave him last time. I only found out when I arrived at the place with him."

“Mmm, mmm, mmm,” Qingduo nodded vigorously, then sneered, “That’s right, that’s what my dad said back then too. He said it was all because of some old friend’s invitation, but what happened in the end? Once became twice, twice became two months, two months became half a year, and look what happened? He ended up living with Aunt Zhu!”

"In this world, women are expected to remain faithful to one man, while men can have multiple wives and concubines. That won't do with me!" Qingduo said resolutely. "If I like many people, you can like many more. If I only have you, you can only stay with me. There can be no unfairness between us! I can't tolerate other women around you, and men certainly can't!"

"With you, why would I need anyone else?" Zeng Zhengqing sighed helplessly. "You've really misunderstood me!"

He tried to hold Qingduo's hand, but Qingduo refused, her hands behind her back: "What misunderstanding? Explain yourself!"

Zeng Zhengqing had no choice but to sigh repeatedly, "Madam, you've really ruined me!"

"Me?" Qingduo pointed to herself in confusion.

"The first time you sang the clapper talk, Mr. Chen and I were on the second floor of the teahouse across the street, and we saw your performance clearly."

Zeng Zhengqing said quietly, "Do you remember what you were dressed like back then?"

Qingduo frowned as she recalled, then casually replied, "The servant's attire! Sister Lu Nong said that since I'm the Zeng family's wife, I shouldn't be too conspicuous, so Brother Zhu helped me come up with a new identity. What's wrong?"

Zeng Zhengqing looked uneasy and said in a low voice, "Perhaps it was because I was too 'uncontrollable' when I looked at you that day that Boss Chen didn't notice you were a woman and mistakenly thought I had homosexual tendencies, so he specially invited me to that kind of place today..."

Qingduo was stunned, then burst into laughter. "Oh my, oh my, you're killing me! You...you...hahahaha! You, how, how did you find out?"

"How would I know!" Zeng Zhengqing said angrily. "I thought it was just Mr. Chen's peculiar hobby, and I could only accompany him!"

Qingduo laughed so hard she bent over, clutching her stomach and gasping for breath: "Hahaha, you, you, hahaha, and then what?"

"When Boss Chen saw that I was not interested, he avoided them like the plague and mistakenly thought that I only liked one type of girl," Zeng Zhengqing said with a resentful look. Qingduo looked up when she heard this, tears of laughter hanging on her eyelashes. She was about to ask Boss Chen what type he thought he liked when she heard him grit his teeth and say, "Order someone to wear the same kind of servant clothes as that day and come in to serve me!"

"Thump!" Zeng Zhengqing was startled and hurriedly reached out to help her up, but Qingduo had already sat down on the ground with a thud, laughing so hard that she was pressing her stomach with one hand and slapping the ground with the other. In the end, she started coughing violently, her shoulders heaving.

Zeng Zhengqing was already embarrassed, and Qingduo's laughter made him even more uncomfortable. Seeing her cough, he could only helplessly squat down and gently pat her back. He finally managed to help her catch her breath, but when she looked up and saw his face, she burst out laughing again.

He was embarrassed and said awkwardly, "Madam!"

"Oh, poor Xiao Qing!" Qing Duo cupped his face, pinching and kneading it wantonly, laughing heartily, "Being wronged twice in one day, you're so pitiful! Hahaha!"

Looking at her gloating smile, Zeng Zhengqing said slowly, "In the end, this matter started because of you. Tell me, shouldn't you compensate me?"

The laughter stopped abruptly, and Qingduo's eyes widened: "What compensation?" She belatedly remembered something, immediately covered her mouth, and said in a muffled voice: "Do you want to 'kidnap' each other?"

"My lady may wish, but I do not." Qingduo was about to retort that she herself did not wish, when suddenly he picked her up and said, "Only if my lady also embarrasses herself can I relieve the hatred in my heart!"

I'm going to throw you into the water!

As he spoke, he hugged himself and shook him, pretending to throw himself out, while shouting, "One! Two!"

Qingduo screamed in terror, "I won't laugh anymore! Put me down! Put me down!" Zeng Zhengqing completely ignored her. As soon as he shouted "Three," Qingduo felt her body sway towards the pool. She clung tightly to his neck and screamed, "No! No! Ah—"

Huh?

There was no "plop" sound.

Qingduo quietly opened one eye, saw that there was no water beside her, breathed a sigh of relief, opened her other eye, and met Zeng Zhengqing's ambiguous smile.

He was deliberately trying to scare her!

Enraged, she punched him hard in the shoulder: "Zeng Zhengqing!"

He frowned and cried out, "It hurts! I can't hold you anymore!"

"Huh?" Qingduo instantly felt his hands loosen their grip on her, and she was so frightened that she hugged him again, her legs wrapping around his body and turning into green vines, tightly binding his body.

Hearing his muffled chuckle, she paused for a moment, then turned to look. She saw his hand loosely encircling her body. Although he wasn't putting any pressure on her, there was no way she could fall. He was just teasing her again!

Hearing his hearty laughter, Qingduo became even more furious. She punched him a few times in frustration and declared in a fit of rage, "If I, Tang Qingduo, ever believe you again, I'm a dog!"

*

The next day, Qingduo returned home from painting class. On the way, she tried to think of a way to replace singing the clapper talk, but her head ached from thinking about it and she couldn't come up with anything. However, she saw something on her desk that bothered her even more.

"The Admonitions for Women?"

How did this thing end up on her desk?

Fangqing entered the room and saw her staring blankly at the book. She said, "This was sent by the young master. He wants the young mistress to read it carefully."

Qingduo slapped her forehead; she remembered! When she was pretending to be a well-bred young lady, Qingqing once said that this book suited her personality. Later, the book was never delivered, and Qingqing never mentioned it again. She had long forgotten about it.

Another thing she had forgotten was continuing to pretend to be "virtuous and gentle." She suddenly felt guilty. Qingqing hadn't mentioned this matter for a long time, but now she suddenly sent a book over. Was she implying that things were inconsistent?

Without a word, she pulled out a chair, sat down at the table, and "devoutly" began to read. However, the text clashed sharply with her own nature. The idea of ​​"going to bed late and getting up early" was utterly inappropriate; she was too lazy to do so. The phrases "women are beautiful because they are weak" and "giving birth to a daughter is like having a mouse, yet one still fears she might become a tiger" were also problematic. She wanted to be the "tiger," as "mice" were universally hated. Even more offensive was the statement, "The husband is like heaven. Heaven cannot be escaped, and the husband cannot be separated from..."

Qingduo threw the book aside with a "thud," annoyed, "What nonsense! It's making me dizzy!" She stood up, put her hands behind her back, and paced back and forth in the room, feeling irritable.

She was at a loss for words, so she might as well tell the truth and tell Qingqing that she was not a lady at all and that he had misunderstood! If he felt deceived and sad because of this, she could just make it up to him herself! It was just a matter of "two, three, four, five kisses," anyway, she had already done "one," so what did it matter if there were "two, three, four, or five" kisses!

Thinking of this, she felt her face burning and quickly covered it with her hands. What's wrong with her lately! Even though no one has brought it up, she keeps thinking about kissing him!

Bad flower!

She shook her head frantically, trying to shake off the thought of "dear," and it actually worked. She staggered and grabbed the chair for support, feeling dizzy and unable to think about anything else.

Hmm, I'll stick to drawing! I haven't finished the task Dad assigned me yet, and I can sell the finished drawing for 150 yuan. What's more important than money!

There were things more important than money. As she smeared the makeup on her face, she couldn't help but start thinking of ways to spread Sailinfu's scandals. She couldn't swallow her anger, but thinking of the woman who found them afterward, she realized that besides Qingqing, so many others had been deceived. If she could let more people know Sailinfu's true colors, perhaps there would be no more victims in the future.

Oh right, she stopped writing and looked up. She had forgotten to tell Qingqing about that woman yesterday. Just then, she heard footsteps outside and heard Fangqing call "Young Master." She quickly put down her pen and got up to greet her.

"I was just about to discuss something with you when you came back. It's like we're telepathically connected!" Qingduo ran up to him with a smile, but then paused, as Zeng Zhengqing looked at her with a serious expression.

Qingduo had never seen him so serious before. She blinked and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you unhappy?"

Instead of answering, he questioned, "I'm asking you, did you go and sing clapper talk again yesterday?"

Qingduo was stunned for a moment, remembering that he had told her not to go again, but she hadn't listened to him. So that's why he was angry. Feeling guilty, she whispered, "Um..." But she immediately held up one finger and explained loudly, "I'll just go this one last time. Anyway, the effect isn't good. I plan to..."

“I told you not to go again!” Zeng Zhengqing rebuked.

Qingduo was startled and trembled all over. Her fingers were still frozen in mid-air as she stared blankly at him.

Qingqing...you're insulting me?

In an instant, her mind went blank, and she couldn't utter a single word of explanation.

He shouted angrily, "You're even spreading rumors that I signed those people! What nonsense! Don't you think I'm already in enough trouble?"

"Tang Qingduo! You're too willful!"

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Author's Note: Qingduo: Woof woof woof woof woof!

[On the road~ Next chapter July 9th]