Chapter 33 I love the connection of interests!

Lu Wensheng's voice immediately lowered: "When did Your Highness arrive at Qianyu Palace?" How much did he see? And how much of that muttering did he hear?

"You arrived when you were scrubbing the soap for this new crown prince." Strangely enough, the previous annoyance and anger dissipated inexplicably when he saw the unreliable Lu Wensheng in person.

Lu Wensheng released his grip on Shen Hegui's wrist, slumped to the ground, utterly dejected: "So Your Highness heard everything?"

No wonder the guards haven't returned yet after so long.

Shen Hegui poked at the rabbit's leg: "I heard everything."

Lu Wensheng raised his hand to cover his face, screaming in his heart for Xiao Yuan, repeatedly questioning how it had been keeping watch.

At first, Xiao Yuan pretended to be dead, but later she whispered, "Have you ever seen a mouse be sent to see a snake and the mouse survive?"

Lu Wensheng: ...

Excellent, truly excellent! A high-tech system is actually afraid of paper-based ancient people!

Looking down at Lu Wensheng, whose ears and neck had turned bright red, Shen Hegui mercifully raised his hand and let her go.

Judging from Lu Wensheng's appearance... well, I'll remember this for now and let him off the hook for the time being.

Shen Hegui's gaze fell on Lu Wensheng's wrist, and he slowly asked, "What is Truth or Dare? What happens if you lose the game and don't come to the East Palace?"

Lu Wensheng explained in a low voice: "It's like a game of rock-paper-scissors where the loser has to choose between truth or dare. If they choose truth, they have to honestly answer the more private or embarrassing questions asked by other players. If they choose dare, they have to complete a more challenging task assigned by the players."

Shen Hegui withdrew his gaze and looked at her face: "You chose Truth or Dare?"

Feeling utterly humiliated, Lu Wensheng, like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water, propped himself up and sat up. "Yes."

Lu Wensheng's eyes were red from being rubbed, and with the tears welling up from her embarrassment, they looked very shimmering.

Peach blossom eyes, naturally expressive and alluring, are most likely to captivate the heart. Something seemed to stir something within Shen Hegui's heart, causing his heartbeat to instantly become erratic.

He suddenly raised his hand and covered her eyes, making an excuse for himself, "Close your eyes, I'm going to turn on the light."

Lu Wensheng paused for a moment, then slowly lowered his hand, which had touched Shen Hegui's fingertips.

The crescent-shaped scales swayed in front of her fair wrist, and Shen Hegui's Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably.

His eyes dimmed, and he restrained himself from looking away, getting up to light the lamp.

Does Lu Wensheng really like his scales that much? She even wears them close to her wrist, and those words just now...were they a confession? Lu Wensheng wants to give herself to him. But does he deserve a partner? Will Lu Wensheng hate him in the future? A man loving another man...

He was burned on the hand by the rising flames, and Shen Hegui was brought back to his senses in an instant.

Ha, Shen Hegui, what nonsense are you thinking about!

One by one, the nine lamps lit up, the light from the scales almost imperceptible.

As the color of his eyelids changed from black to red, Lu Wensheng's heart stirred.

She could easily blame everything she did today on the "Truth or Dare" game; that would explain her sneaking into the East Palace at night and beating up Chen Xin. She's so clever!

Lu Wensheng opened his eyes and coaxed, "Isn't Your Highness curious about what my dare is about?"

Shen Hegui turned to light another nine-branched lamp, not taking the bait: "Support that stupid rabbit to ascend the throne in the Eastern Palace, and then find him thirty male rabbits to breed with here?"

"!!!" Lu Wensheng jumped up abruptly, his voice trembling with surprise, "What did Your Highness say?!"

Shen Hegui glanced at Lu Wensheng's expression and kindly explained, "That's a female rabbit in her prime. Thirty male rabbits would probably only be enough for her for a quarter of an hour."

Lu Wensheng slumped back to the ground in a daze, his face full of confusion and helplessness: "But the stall owner told me that it was a male rabbit that had been slapped off."

It's over. She still has to rely on Shen Hegui to complete the task, but she is actually a little afraid of Shen Hegui, so it's hard for her to ask him to cooperate with her.

Blowing out the tinder in his hand, Shen Hegui couldn't bear to see Lu Wensheng looking like the sky had fallen. He followed his heart and tried to help Lu Wensheng up, but he couldn't get over the hurdle that had suddenly grown in his heart. So he said in a stern voice, "Originally, you should have been the top scholar who passed all three levels of the imperial examinations. And you are a man. Are your testicles not grown or were they castrated so that it can't be seen?"

At this moment, Lu Wensheng was heartbroken and didn't want to care about any details. She shook her head and said, "I just didn't see it."

If it weren't for this damned mission, her life would be so wonderful. Now, whenever the system issues a mission, it feels like a huge rock has been dropped on her chest.

"Stand firm, the ground is cold." Shen Hegui pinched her armpit and lifted Lu Wensheng up with one hand.

Why is she so thin? It seems Zhang Chanyi will have to prescribe some tonics for Lu Wensheng. She's short and unnaturally thin. And her skin feels too soft; could she be malnourished?

Shen Hegui slightly curled his knuckles, restraining the urge to pinch her again.

Fine, helping Lu Wensheng won't hurt.

Shen Hegui: "I can overlook your crime of sneaking into the Eastern Palace with a mother rabbit tonight. What's the challenge? Tell the truth, no lying!"

Upon hearing the words "mother rabbit" again, Lu Wensheng felt a lump in his throat and said dejectedly, "I'll sneak into the East Palace at night, wake up the sleeping prince, steal the soap he uses for bathing, take it home and hide it, and also, pick someone I don't like and beat them up."

Shen Hegui frowned and said in a deep voice, "Who did you play this game with? You woke me up before stealing, he was trying to harm you! Besides, this Eastern Palace is just for show. I rarely lived here when I was the Crown Prince."

The fool, Lu Wensheng, responded listlessly, "Oh!"

She suddenly wished she could switch bodies with Xiao Yuan. Being a turtle would be so much better; she wouldn't have to go to work or do tasks, and she wouldn't have to face Shen Hegui, that feudalistic father, while hiding in her shell.

"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—" Lu Wensheng's stomach made a series of sounds; she was hungry.

Shen Hegui's brows furrowed even more deeply, and he asked in a deep voice, "Didn't you have dinner?"

Lu Wensheng lowered his head and shook it.

She had no appetite at all. Even if she finished the task at hand, there were countless tasks waiting for her. Her period would eventually end, but the tasks would never end. She was afraid she would be working until she was practically a board.

Shen He picked up the rabbit and specifically instructed, "Wait here for me to come back."

Lu Wensheng was completely absorbed in his own thoughts: "Oh!"

Life is so tiring, I just want to lie down.

With the thought that since Shen Hegui was temporarily not around, he could just give up and do whatever he wanted, Lu Wensheng climbed onto the bed in Qianyu Palace and sprawled out on it.

A palace maid quietly entered to clean up the mess, and Lu Wensheng pulled the quilt over her face.

She knew that her current mindset was a bit off, but she just wanted to give up, to escape, and to not care about anything.

This wasn't the first time she'd been scammed while buying things. The initial trigger for her brother getting into that trouble was a basket of pomegranates she bought that looked fine on the outside but were full of bruised and damaged fruit underneath.

When she was discovered, there were guests at home. In front of several uncles, her father pointed at her and said, "Your brain is really not like my own. You have no business acumen at all. You are stupid and dumb. You were born to lose money and you will only do bad things while you are alive."

At the time, she simply lowered her head and did not argue, because past experiences told her that the more she argued, the worse things would become.

Actually, that day, she just felt sorry for the old man selling pomegranates and thought she could help him out. Now, thinking back, that basket of pomegranates wasn't even worth as much as the beaded hairpin she was wearing that day.

She could laugh off the harsh words from outsiders, but the harsh words from her family members whom she lived with day and night were always particularly painful. So later, she used her child's body to cry uncontrollably, trying to vent all the unhappiness in her heart.

Her brother was heartbroken to see her face turn purple from crying, so he went to the street to find the old man and try to get justice for her. He ended up meeting another old man who was selling his wife and daughters and learned about the much-discussed silk case.

She had advised her brother not to get involved, but he didn't listen. And rightly so; young and impetuous, and well-versed in classical texts, he was bursting with a sense of justice.

Lu Wensheng hid under the covers and secretly wiped away her tears. Over the years, she had asked many people to help her find her brother, but no news had come.

The rabbit was bought because she felt sorry for the old woman on the street. Before buying it, she repeatedly told her to choose a young and healthy male rabbit, not a female rabbit.

Hearing Lu Wensheng's sobs, the palace maids tidying up the bedchamber gave her a signal and sent a short, pink-clad maid to find Shen Hegui.

Lu Wensheng raised his sleeve and wiped his nose.

She always seems to be tainted by "deception" and "scam" at crucial moments in her life.

Old Man Shiliu's deception indirectly led to her losing her brother.

The governor of Yingtian's fraud turned her into a court jester. Prince Su was utterly unfit to be a ruler.

And this mother rabbit today...

A cool breeze swept across his face, and his vision brightened. Lu Wensheng opened his bloodshot eyes and let out a hungry burp.

With rough fingertips, Shen Hegui wiped away Lu Wensheng's tears and pulled her up: "A man doesn't easily shed tears. What fool tricked you? I'll take you to kill him!"

With so many tears, he simply pulled out a silk handkerchief from his pocket and roughly wiped her face a couple of times without any gentleness.

Lu Wensheng was caught off guard when Shen Hegui returned.

Shen Hegui glanced at the skin that he had wiped until it was slightly red, paused for a moment, hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand and gently wiped away the last bit of moisture from her cheek with his fingertips.

Are the skin of an eighteen-year-old human male really this delicate and smooth? He didn't even rub it hard.

Lu Wensheng blinked, finally realizing what Shen Hegui was doing.

It was too close, and what he did was too ambiguous.

Lu Wensheng hurriedly moved to the left to create some distance and explained, "I just suddenly thought of some unhappy things. I was cheated when I bought things before, and I was even beaten and scolded by my father for it."

With his hands suddenly empty, Shen Hegui sat down beside her, still feeling unsatisfied. The hems of their clothes intertwined in the warm candlelight.

Shen Hegui asked solemnly, "Was the amount swindled a large sum?"

Lu Wensheng shook his head and lamented, "It wasn't a lot, just a few dozen coins. And I only spent it because I felt sorry for the old men and women on the street. Your Highness, do you think that kindness can sometimes become a sin, harming both others and oneself?"

Shen Hegui raised his hand and gently tapped her forehead: "I thought it was hundreds or thousands of taels. I've never met your father, but there are many parents in this world who don't love their children. If they don't love them, then everything they do is wrong. Your life has just begun. Never let the evil of others stifle your own goodness. You can be sad if you are let down, but you cannot be dejected, much less give up on yourself! You are a dignified official in the capital, the future pillar of countless people in the world, and you must not cry!"

Lu Wensheng wiped his wet nose, his eyelashes still damp: "Your Highness's last two sentences sounded like I'd become the Grand Secretary in the future."

Shen Hegui's words of comfort were very convincing: "Why not! The average age of the top three Jinshi graduates has always been around thirty to forty, while you are fourteen, which is almost twenty years longer than others."

These words were like a ray of light, suddenly shining into her heart.

Lu Wensheng took a deep breath, and the surging emotions in his chest gradually subsided. He even felt a bit of courage to climb up the tangent: "Now that Your Highness mentions it, I do seem to be quite capable. My father used to call me stupid and clumsy, but now it seems he was wrong! When I enter the cabinet, I will earn my mother the title of Lady of the Imperial Decree!"

Looking at Lu Wensheng, who had regained his spirits, Shen Hegui's eyes unconsciously blossomed with a smile: "So you've agreed to be my loyal subject?"

Looking at Shen Hegui, who was sitting so close to her, Lu Wensheng's heart suddenly raced, pounding like a drum: "If I agree now, will Your Highness cooperate with me on a mission tonight?"

Shen Hegui answered without hesitation: "Yes!"

The turning point came unexpectedly, and an overwhelming joy instantly overwhelmed the dam of reason. Lu Wensheng's mind went blank, and he could only instinctively hug Shen Hegui: "Your Highness, how can you be so good! I love you to death!"

The sudden hug made Shen Hegui freeze. He was about to push Lu Wensheng away when she stopped him with her words, "I really love you to death."

His well-defined hand rose, fell, and then slowly rested against her waist.

If it were Lu Wensheng, it wouldn't be unacceptable, and Shen Hegui naturally rested his chin on Lu Wensheng's shoulder.

The unique fragrance of a young girl gradually wafted into Shen Hegui's nose, slowly eroding the defenses in his heart. A fleeting white scale flashed across the corner of his eye.

Since Lu Wensheng likes him so much, why not give him a chance? Besides, a bond of mutual benefit involving emotions seems to be stronger than a purely economic bond.