Chapter 1047: A Difficult Level

The beautiful woman's eyes glistened with tears as she looked at Hu Mian with tender affection and said, "Young master, it's getting late, and I'm lost. May I stay at your home for the night?"

The beautiful woman's voice was soft and gentle, sending shivers down one's spine. Even Lin Yuesha, a woman, felt as if an electric current was running through her body.

Lin Yuesha looked at Qi Heng. Qi Heng acted quickly. Where did he find such a talent?

“He is my subordinate, but he is a man.”

Qi Heng, with a strong desire to survive, explained that he had such a capable subordinate who, when dressed as a woman, was even more delicate than a woman herself.

"man?"

Lin Yuesha was taken aback; she hadn't noticed.

Not far away, the beauty's body went limp, leaning against Hu Mian as if she had no bones. Hu Mian's face flushed red, and he took a step back. The beauty lost her balance and fell into the snow.

"ah!"

The beauty exclaimed in surprise, her voice melodious and lingering, and gave Hu Mian a mournful look.

"Young lady, men and women should not touch each other."

Hu Mian stepped back a few paces, bowed, and said, "It's getting late. If you have nowhere to go, you can come home with me."

His house was crowded, so Hu Mian would arrange for the beauty to stay overnight at the village chief's house.

"But I don't know any village chief."

The beauty stood up and stepped forward, throwing herself into Hu Mian's arms. Hu Mian put his hands behind his back and kept backing away.

The two went back and forth, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Lin Yuesha watched coldly, thinking that Qi Heng's subordinates were being a bit over-the-top. Women have their pride; how could they just throw themselves into a scholar's arms?

"That definitely won't work."

Rushing in doesn't make a sale; if Hu Mian is a step behind, he might actually gain an advantage.

"This is enough to test Hu Mian's composure."

Time was limited, and there was no time to make arrangements; we could only make a preliminary attempt.

Qi Heng prepared several tests to see Hu Mian's character.

"Husband, do you think there really is a Liu Xiahui who could remain unmoved even with a woman in his lap?"

Lin Yuesha raised a question that had always been on her mind: she had heard that Yuwen Kun was not interested in women, and that when someone undressed and climbed into his bed at Jinyu Pass, Yuwen Kun threw them out.

Yuwen Kun is quite old, yet he is still a blank slate, which is very suspicious.

"What's suspicious?"

Not all men prioritize women; some are quite self-disciplined, like him.

"I suspect that Yuwen Kun is attracted to men, but he just doesn't know it himself."

Hearing that Yuwen Kun and Miaoyin had not yet shared a room, Lin Yuesha was even more certain of her guess.

Qi Heng remained silent. He wouldn't offer a single word of explanation for his rival, but he felt it necessary to defend himself, since he and Lin Yuesha had never consummated their marriage.

"My wife, how about we test it out tonight?"

Qi Heng leaned against Lin Yuesha's side. He was ready to give in any longer. If his wife took the initiative, he was willing to offer himself to her immediately and wholeheartedly.

"Never serious."

Lin Yuesha rolled her eyes at Qi Heng and said reproachfully.

The two have reached a consensus on consummating their marriage after returning to the capital, paying respects to heaven and earth, and obtaining their parents' approval.

Qi Heng respected Lin Yuesha, and therefore endured it.

Ahead, Hu Mian saw villagers passing by on their way to the market. He immediately explained the situation to them and asked them to send a message to the village chief so that they could pick up the woman in an oxcart.

The villagers went to deliver the message, but Hu Mian didn't leave. He kept a certain distance from the beauty, sat in a sheltered spot, and organized the tools he would use for the portrait today.

The beauty was quite helpless; she had encountered a block of wood who didn't understand romance.

After passing the first test, the pace quickened, and another group of people arrived as planned.

A group of men dressed as servants came to capture the beauty and take her back.

"Young master, please save me! My parents sold me to Master Qi to be his eighteenth concubine!"

The beauty was quite resentful that she couldn't stay warm in bed on such a cold day, and in the course of her conversation, she brought Qi Heng in.

He dared not openly defy his lord, so he said it in a hushed tone, secretly pleased with himself.

A group of unidentified people arrived and kidnapped the beauty. Hu Mian was no match for them and it was too late to stop them.

Watching helplessly as the beauty was taken away, Hu Mian was unwilling to meddle, but his conscience wouldn't allow it. After much deliberation, he decided to go to the city to report it to the authorities.

Upon hearing that Commander Wu loved the people like his own children and punished evil and promoted good, Hu Mian went straight to the Commander's residence.

On his way to the garrison, he first met a pitiful old man. He gave the old man the money he got from the portrait to buy him food and left some for him. After settling the old man in, Hu Mian quickened his pace, but accidentally stepped into a trap pit.

"You designed all of this?"

Lin Yuesha couldn't bear to watch; she felt a little embarrassed to be tormenting such a frail scholar like this.

"A scholar isn't just about being learned; he also needs to be physically strong. Otherwise, even a minor heartbreak can take him away. A wife wouldn't want her best friend to marry a sickly man and end up a widow, would she?"

Qi Heng kept finding ways to torment Hu Mian. After Hu Mian finally managed to climb out of the pit and continue forward, he found a package by the roadside.

Hu Mian opened the package and was immediately shocked. Not only was there a lot of gold and silver jewelry inside, but there was also an old ginseng root.

This is the most challenging moment, and it's clear that Hu Mian is very conflicted.

“Husband, Hu Mian’s mother is ill and hasn’t fully recovered. He might want to give her ginseng to nourish her body.”

Even from a distance, Lin Yuesha could tell that Hu Mian was having an internal struggle, and sighed at how difficult the challenge Qi Heng had set up was.

About fifteen minutes later, Hu Mian did not return. Instead, he picked up his package and ran resolutely toward the garrison headquarters.

He was thinking that his mother really needed ginseng to nourish her, but he could earn money by drawing more portraits for people to buy it.

The package he found wasn't his, and the owner must be very anxious. What if the ginseng inside was a life-saving item? He couldn't delay; he had to find the owner as soon as possible.

Hu Mian quickened his pace and went to the garrison headquarters to request an audience. He was not ignorant of administrative affairs; he asked the guard to announce his arrival and even knew to give the guard a few copper coins as a reward for his trouble, so he could buy some wine.

"Hu Mian's character is acceptable."

Despite facing numerous setbacks, Hu Mian remained calm and patient, overcoming each obstacle step by step, which earned him Qi Heng's approval.

“My husband, if I ask myself honestly, I probably can’t do what Hu Mian did.”

Lin Yuesha hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Could it be that my wife can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman?"

Qi Heng sarcastically remarked that people's judgments of character are limited to just a few points.

People who can eloquently criticize others often find themselves unable to accept their own arguments, so Hu Mian's approach is truly commendable.

"No, Sister Yan often tells me that true beauty lies in the bone structure, not just the skin, and teaches me how to read bone structure. I haven't learned it yet, and I can't just look at a skeleton after someone is gone."

Under Yan Yan's brainwashing, Lin Yuesha has become extraordinary. She doesn't judge people by their appearance, otherwise she wouldn't have married the pockmarked man.

Of course, Lin Yuesha secretly hoped that Qi Heng might be a beauty similar to Zi Yuan, in which case she would be in luck.