Chapter 71 Say You Love Me

Tang Xinuan discovered that even a tough man like Zhou Chuanxing could act cute and spoiled.

The man followed them closely as they left the Marquis's residence.

He held her left hand tightly for a moment and refused to let go.

Upon returning to the Prince's residence, they skipped the Hall of Diligent Governance and went directly to the inner quarters with her.

“I was just about to kill Chu Yanzhi,” Zhou Chuanxing carefully observed the little girl’s expression, “Were you scared?”

How could there be such a handsome man in the world? Tang Xinu gently stroked his cheek, "Don't be afraid."

Zhou Chuanxing gripped her restless little hand tightly. "I'll only do that to other people, I'll never do it to you."

Tang Xinuan believed him, "I know."

It's easy to guess what ordinary people are thinking, but Tang Xinuan is not an ordinary person.

The girl agreed too readily, and Zhou Chuanxing really couldn't be sure of her true feelings.

"He just shook your hand."

Driven by possessiveness, Zhou Chuanxing looked at the little girl with a heart full of grievance.

Tang Xinuan has had two relationships.

In the first part, she was naive and confused, with familial affection outweighing romantic love. She was young and had an unusual mindset. Before she understood what love was, they had a relationship without really knowing what it meant.

She didn't even know that you can only give yourself to a man if you truly love him.

Now, facing Erlang's affectionate eyes, his heart suddenly raced.

She understood what shyness was for the first time.

Meeting his burning gaze, she trembled all over, her breath grew increasingly hot, and she felt as if she were about to suffocate.

She wanted to avoid him, but she couldn't bear to completely ignore him.

"Erlang, my heart is beating so fast."

"Really?" Zhou Chuanxing pressed his hand against her chest. "Is this only true for me?"

It turns out that falling in love with someone can make you do many things that you can't even control yourself.

For example, her cheeks were flushed, and she was shy and embarrassed to talk to him.

It was such a simple question, but she was too embarrassed to ask it.

It took him a long time to nod in response to his eager anticipation.

"Um."

She had never done this before.

Zhou Chuanxing cried tears of joy, “Nuan Nuan, remember how you feel right now. Only when you truly love someone will your heart beat faster for them. You love me, and you only love me.”

Tang Xinuan, turning into a curious child, asked, "Does your heart race when you're with me?"

Zhou Chuanxing took her small hand and pressed it to his chest. "Feel it."

The young girl was so beautiful that she could shame the moon and flowers, her innocent charm subtly revealing a hint of alluring charm.

She was wearing a pale yellow strapless dress at the moment.

The girl, who had fully developed, had fair and jade-like skin, full and plump, and exuded a sweet and alluring fragrance.

Zhou Chuanxing's heart was racing, his chest was heaving, and even his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

Touching the girl's delicate fingers, my blood surged uncontrollably, like a bursting dam.

He put the little girl's finger to his lips, and the thought that her little hand had just been touched by another man made his heart burn with jealousy, anger, and a desire to kill.

Tang Xinuan watched helplessly as Erlang put her finger in his mouth.

Her thin lips were slightly cool, but they quickly became so hot that her heart trembled.

First her index finger, then her middle finger, ring finger, and little finger were all "favored" by him, as if one of her arms did not belong to her.

Su Su's mother couldn't control it.

"Erlang..."

Unconsciously, a soft moan escaped her lips.

She felt so ashamed that her whole body went limp, as if her bones had been removed, and she leaned completely against the man's chest.

"If you keep acting like this, I feel like... I'm not going to make it."

Of course, the phrase "can't survive" doesn't mean he really can't survive.

Rather, she couldn't describe how she felt at that moment.

I want to refuse, but I can't bear to.

She wanted to stay away, yet she also longed for him to be closer, just a little closer.

“No, it won’t,” Zhou Chuanxing finally finished licking her fingers.

The warm breath touched her sensitive neck skin.

Tang Xinuan couldn't help but tremble again, "You're so mean, I don't want to talk to you anymore."

Her soft fingers, devoid of any strength, landed on Zhou Chuanxing's heart, their coy resistance quite evident.

"Can't take it already?" Zhou Chuanxing used his mouth to rip open the straps of her strapless top.

His clothes slipped off.

Her delicate, snow-white skin was revealed.

Being suddenly seen by someone made me so ashamed that I couldn't contain myself.

Tang Xinu first tried to cover her body, but found that her hands were too small to cover it properly, so she then tried to cover her face.

"You bad guy!"

Zhou Chuanxing adored her bright red lips.

Gently and softly apply it, gradually deepening the color.

It's just a pity that the two met too late; otherwise, if he had asked the Empress Dowager to make the decision, he would have married her long ago.

"Bad?" Zhou Chuanxing raised an eyebrow and looked at her, as if he wanted to see into her body.

“Shout out to Erlang.”

Tang Xinuan had called him "Erlang" quite naturally, but his fiery eyes made it seem as if she had done something wrong.

It hovered around his lips for a while before he finally let out the cry.

"Erlang."

"Do you love me?" The girl looked away, refusing to meet his gaze, but he insisted on looking into her eyes.

Tang Xinuan was forced into a corner by him, biting her lip and nodding shyly.

“Not enough,” Zhou Chuanxing said, “Say it.”

"I love you." Tang Xinuan was forced to look him directly in the eyes.

His deep eyes held endless meaning, captivating her and leaving her flustered and helpless.

Zhou Chuanxing wasn't satisfied yet, "Say you love me."

Tang Xinuan hesitated for a long time, feeling extremely embarrassed. "I love you," she said, then pulled the blanket over her face. "I'm so embarrassed. I always have to be the one to say these things."

Zhou Chuanxing wasn't going to let her off the hook. "Say it again."

Tang Xinuan quickly pulled off the blanket, said "I love you" in a flash, and then pulled the blanket back over her head.

Zhou Chuanxing couldn't help but chuckle, "You little rascal, you've got the nerve to tease me now."

The two played around for half the night. Tang Xinuan had to teach students the next day. Zhou Chuanxing felt sorry for the girl and tried his best to suppress his urges. He then got up and left.

Tang Xinuan held onto him tightly, refusing to let go. "Erlang, when can we get married?"

Zhou Chuanxing smiled gently as he tucked her in. "It'll be soon. We'll get married once these students walk into the exam hall."

It was only a little over a month later, and Tang Xinu got up again and kissed Zhou Chuanxing on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Erlang."

Zhou Chuanxing adored the little girl's little gestures. Whenever he saw her, he felt that the world was so beautiful, and all the hard work was worth it.

Getting these students into the examination room smoothly is not so easy.

With the Grand Tutor and Prince Rui's factions keeping a close eye on him, constantly trying to trip him up, Zhou Chuanxing was careful at all times, but there were still times when he couldn't avoid them.

In an attempt to stop the imperial examination, the Grand Tutor's faction fabricated a false recommendation document.

The plan was to have countless fake students rush into the academy with recommendation letters on the day the imperial examination began.

To disrupt the imperial examination.

Fortunately, Chen Yu discovered it and promptly informed Zhou Chuanxing.

Zhou Chuanxing had long harbored extreme hatred for the Grand Tutor's faction, so he decided to take this opportunity to wipe them out completely.

The Left Chancellor fabricated a case of treason involving two thousand people.

Since all the officials from Jiangnan were secretly escorted to the capital, Zhou Chuanxing ordered Prince Duan to conduct a thorough investigation.

There was also evidence provided by Chu Yannuo.

A month later, more than two hundred people were killed at Caishikou.

If it weren't for his only niece kneeling outside the Xiaoqin Hall for an entire day, begging him to spare her grandfather, he would have executed the Grand Tutor as well.

However, while he may be spared the death penalty, he will not escape punishment. He will be imprisoned in the Grand Tutor's Mansion and never be allowed to leave.

The Left Chancellor's entire family was executed, and his property was confiscated.

Together with more than a hundred officials in Jiangnan, they confiscated over ten million taels of silver.

Such a shocking sum of silver chilled Zhou Chuanxing to the bone.

The imperial court supported them with the intention of benefiting the people, but they only knew how to exploit the people.

The Great Zhou Dynasty has fallen to its current state because of these parasites.

This made it so that he couldn't even find time to spend with the young girl.

Since the execution of these two hundred-plus people and the imprisonment of the Grand Tutor, the court has become much quieter.

Even Prince Rui, who had been constantly jumping around, showed some brotherly affection.

Those muddle-headed old officials who felt they had accomplished nothing and were merely occupying official positions all submitted their resignations.

Zhou Chuanxing approved each of their requests, instructing them to return to their hometowns as soon as possible.

A donation box was set up in the imperial court.

Anyone who knows what's good for them will voluntarily return all the dirty money they've swallowed over the years, and he will forgive and forget.

But if someone doesn't know what's good for them, he might send someone to investigate.

In less than half a month, the national treasury received another five million taels of "donations".

Jiangnan executed over a hundred officials, so they had to temporarily borrow a group from neighboring prefectures.

Now, half of the court is empty, and there is an urgent need to fill the vacancy with talent.

This imperial examination became even more important.

With the exams approaching, Zhou Chuanxing was so busy he couldn't sleep at night, striving to do everything perfectly to ensure all students could complete their exams smoothly.

Logically, after the provincial examination, a metropolitan examination should be held the following spring.

After the provincial examination, there is the palace examination.

Zhou Chuanxing decided to cancel the provincial examination.

After the results of the provincial examinations were released, the palace examination was held directly, and all successful candidates were immediately assigned official positions.

First, ensure the normal operation of the system from the imperial court to the local level.

On the day the exam officially began, Tang Xinuan changed into men's clothing and personally went to the entrance of the examination hall to see off all the students.

She didn't know what results she would achieve in the next month and a half.

However, all the students who heard her lectures respected her and addressed her respectfully as "Teacher".

Zhou Chuanxing plans to divide the math scores into four categories.

Good to poor.

Some official positions require excellent mathematical performance, while others allow for a minimum requirement.

Poor grades, unless you excel in other subjects, are basically equivalent to elimination.

Tang Xinuan is not responsible for these matters and cannot offer any opinions.

Anyway, she felt that whatever decision Erlang made was good.

“Young master,” Xiaoqian said, pointing to Chen Yu who had just entered the examination hall, “he bowed to you just now to express his gratitude.”

For the first time, Tang Xinuan realized how important she was.

If her parents are watching from heaven, they should be able to rest easy seeing how outstanding she is.

"I hope they all get good grades."

"cousin--"

Suddenly hearing a familiar voice shattered her good mood. Tang Xinuan froze, instinctively wanting to run away.

Chu Yannuo had finally caught a glimpse of her, how could he bear to let her escape?

"Cousin, I've found the person who killed your parents."

Tang Xinuan paused, turning back to look at Chu Yannuo, "Really?"

Zisu and Lianqiao blocked Chu Yannuo from getting close to Tang Xinuan.

But you can't cover his mouth.

"Cousin, when have I ever lied to you? It's not convenient here, let's find a more convenient place to talk."

After recovering from his serious injuries, he went to the Prince Duan's residence to demand his cousin's return, only to discover that she was not there at all.

Meanwhile, at the Regent's Palace.

Outright robbery wouldn't work, so he knelt outside the Xiaoqin Hall for three days straight, but Zhou Chuanxing refused to grant him even his simple request to see his cousin.

Although my cousin goes to the academy every day, she has countless bodyguards protecting her all the way from the palace to the academy.

He couldn't get close at all.

Today, the students are taking the imperial examinations. Zhou Chuanxing has been focused on the exams, and he has finally gotten his chance.

"Cousin, the hatred between our parents is irreconcilable. Our maternal grandfather, uncle, and aunt died with their eyes wide open in anger. Don't you want to avenge them?"