Chapter 218 Win or Lose

Lingyun Pavilion.

Qingsong took off Wen Zhiheng's cloak and walked into the house, a warm breath coming towards him.

Dim light leaked in from the hexagonal window lattice. Wen Zhiheng took a deep breath, sat by the window, and fiddled with the charcoal fire for the tea brewing on the stove.

The lid of the teapot was lifted by the steam, and the crisp buzzing sound of the porcelain was lost in the tea and disappeared.

A pot of tea, a plate of crab roe cakes, and a book, refreshing and comfortable.

Qingsong smiled when he saw it.

"Master, don't eat too much snacks. You won't need much for dinner later."

"Um."

Wen Zhiheng replied nonchalantly.

"In the past two years, Pei Zhizhou has been looking for loopholes to find faults with you. There are more than 20 things, big and small, and you have solved them one by one. It seems that he is a little overconfident."

Wen Zhiheng's mind was on the book, and he just nodded vaguely.

"After so long, he only used these tricks. I overestimated him."

Qingsong asked again.

"Master, do you want to go out for a walk? You just stay in Lingyun Pavilion every day. You don't go to social events when people below call you. You also postpone those banquets if you can, and you just go through the motions and come back when you can't. You can't be like this."

Wen Zhiheng closed the book helplessly.

"It's too noisy outside, Qingsong, and you've become quite noisy too."

Qingsong chuckled twice and heard someone reporting from outside.

"What is it?"

"It's a letter from Jiangzhou."

Qingsong asked while holding the letter.

"Master, this is Pei Luoshu's. Do you want to see it?"

Wen Zhiheng replied casually.

"You read it."

Qingsong opened the letter, read it roughly, and his face turned pale instantly.

Wen Zhiheng frowned slightly.

"What's wrong?"

"Pei Luo reported that the young lady's husband, aunt Bai Songlin, was the director of the gold mine in Binzhou. He took advantage of his position to embezzle a huge amount of gold from the mine."

Only then did Wen Zhiheng become serious.

"Master, Pei Luoshu saw that he couldn't deal with you, so he attacked you, and his methods were outrageous."

"That's not the case. The methods he used were just a trick to confuse my vision and hearing."

Wen Zhiheng was silent for a while, then sighed deeply.

"Bai Songlin took office the year before last. He was induced by people sent by Pei Luoshu to embezzle gold. The amount is huge, which shows that the embezzlement has been going on for a long time. I think from the beginning, Pei Luoshu has never had to deal with me, but Bai Songlin. Bai Songlin is Zhirou's husband. As long as Bai Songlin gets into trouble, Zhirou will be implicated. He wants me to choose between Chen Shiyi and Wen Zhirou."

Qingsong's expression was solemn.

"This…"

Wen Zhiheng smiled bitterly.

"He used this tactic very well, attacking from all directions."

"Master, how should we fight back?"

"No need."

The light that leaked in shone on Wen Zhiheng's hands, his fingers were slender and even. His tea was finally ready. He picked up the teapot and poured a cup. He took a sip and the fragrance entered his mouth, lingering and long-lasting.

"Why not?"

"Withdraw all the people, including those on Chen Shiyi's side. They won."

Qingsong looked at Wen Zhiheng and felt very sad.

"Grandpa, you..."

"Okay, no need to talk anymore. Go ask the kitchen if dinner is ready."

"yes."

In the dining hall of the Marquis's mansion, when Wen's mother saw Wen Zhiheng coming to eat, she stood up in a hurry, not knowing where to put her hands.

Her eyes were filled with tears, but she didn't know how to start.

"Mother, let's have dinner together."

Mother Wen's eyes were filled with tears and she nodded excitedly.

"Heng'er, you are finally willing to talk to your mother."

Wen Zhiheng sighed and scooped a bowl of soup for his mother.

"Eat quickly."

"Uh-huh…"

They talked a lot while eating, and Wen's mother saw that Wen Zhiheng seemed to have changed a lot.

"Heng'er, I'm sorry for what happened to you. After so many years, I hope you can let it go."

"Okay, mother, let's not talk about the past anymore."

Mother Wen nodded happily, and then she asked cautiously and tentatively.

"Heng'er, these years, you haven't had anyone who cares for you. Qingsong is a big man, there is no woman who can serve him properly. What do you think of mother finding a girl for you?"

Wen Zhiheng nodded.

"Well, it's up to you!"

Qingsong frowned slightly when he heard this.

But it’s also good this way. It’s a good start that the Marquis is willing to let go of his obsession.

Don't waste your beautiful years on someone who doesn't love you.

Mother Wen acted very quickly. After she finished her shift the next day, a pretty girl was brought into Lingyun Pavilion.

The girl was wearing a long turquoise skirt and only had a jade hairpin in her hair. She looked timid, with eyes like a pool of autumn water, and she seemed to want to speak but hesitated.

Wen Zhiheng just glanced at it, then sat behind the desk with a hoarse voice.

“Can you grind ink?”

The girl nodded.

"Okay, come and help me grind the ink."

Wen Zhiheng quietly looked at the ink on the inkstone, which was evenly distributed and clear. Well, she did a good job.

"What is your name?"

"I am Qiu Ying, your servant."

"Go to the second row of bookshelves on the third shelf and get the Yi Yunhaizhi."

"yes."

Qiu Ying then stood still again.

"My Lord, I cannot read."

"Forget it, I'll get it myself."

Qiu Ying knelt down hurriedly, his face pale.

"Please don't punish me, my Lord."

"No, go out first, and I'll call you back in."

Qingsong, who was guarding outside, watched Qiuying retreat, then walked into the study.

"Grandpa, what book do you want?"

"I've already taken it."

"I will send her back to Madam and replace her with a trained one."

Wen Zhiheng kept looking at the book in his hand.

"No need, I'm just a little timid, that's okay."

She is said to be timid, but she actually acts very boldly. Wen Zhiheng returned to the bedroom, and Qiu Ying took off her dress and knelt on the nanmu bed. Her dark hair was thick and hung around her shoulders and neck, making her fair skin look even more shiny and lustrous.

Wen Zhiheng stood at the door and was silent for a long time.

A soft sigh escaped from his mouth, and he walked forward slowly, lifted her hair with his slender fingers, and picked up the clothes that had been taken off beside him and put them on her.

"It's cold at night, be careful to keep cool, you can sleep here tonight."

After saying that, he opened the door, turned around and walked out.

Qingsong discovered that Wen Zhiheng had developed some new hobbies recently.

He always loves to go to the kitchen to learn how to make a bowl of noodles.

Everyone in the kitchen was afraid of him, but over time, they felt that the Marquis had a kind temper and began to be more casual with him.

"You need to knead this dough hard. The harder you knead it, the chewier it will be and the tastier it will taste."

Wen Zhiheng smiled.

"Let me try."

Wen Zhiheng has been practicing martial arts for a long time, so his hands are very strong and he can knead the dough very smoothly.

The chef told Wen Zhiheng with a smile again.

"Mr. Hou, make a bowl of noodles. The soup is the soul."

"How do you make soup?"

"Put water in a clay pot for boiling soup, put a whole old hen, add fresh spring bamboo shoots, soaked black fungus, and high-quality matsutake mushrooms, and bury the pot in a small pile of fire over charcoal fire. After a whole night, the chicken will be completely soft in the soup, and it will be so delicious that it will make your tongue melt."

"No wonder you have to drink up all the soup when eating noodles. Such a delicate and meticulous method is really rare. It takes two days to prepare a bowl of noodles."