Bai Qingzhou waited for a while, but the woman didn't speak, so he asked in a low voice, "What are you thinking about?"
Chen Mianmian lowered her eyes. "I just can't understand it. Although you are not royalty, you are still a descendant of a nobleman. Even if you had a traumatic childhood, you still lived a life of luxury. Why do you take life and death so lightly? Do you know that there are many people in the common people who, even if they are beaten and starved every day, and many women are forced into prostitution, still want to live?"
"And what about you?" Bai Qingzhou countered. "Although you are not the principal wife, you are treated well by your mother in the Marquis's mansion, and the servants respect you. I have not seen any fear of death in you. So why do you not want to live?"
Shen Mianmian earnestly protested, "No way, I want to live!"
You have to survive until the main storyline of the novel ends!
If Jiang Yinjin and the Prince of Qin are already together and she hasn't traveled back in time, then it doesn't matter; she won't care about life or death at all.
Bai Qingzhou sighed, "Mianmian, do you know what kind of feeling you give me?"
"How does it feel?"
"You seem to always be detached from everything. You don't get angry when others criticize you; you're not very moved when others love you. I really want to ask the people at Yanyufang what you've been through in the past and why you're like this?"
"..."
Chen Mianmian felt awkward—she hadn't experienced anything, she just couldn't fully empathize.
This is still a book after all. If she didn't know that, it would be fine, but the problem is that she does know, so there are still some obstacles to fully empathizing with the characters in the book.
It's not a sense of superiority or condescension, but rather an awkwardness of being a guest in someone else's home and feeling embarrassed to take over.
Shen Mianmian felt that things couldn't continue like this. Feng Chu's intelligence was increasing at a visible rate. If this continued, he might figure out something.
We have to change the subject!
“Your Highness is so shameless. I asked the question first, so you should answer it first. If you refuse to answer, fine, but instead you are making things difficult for me.”
Bai Qingzhou, feeling blamed, hurriedly begged for forgiveness, "Okay, okay, it's my fault. How did I make things difficult for you?"
Chen Mianmian raised an eyebrow. "Then answer me."
Bai Qingzhou pondered for a moment and said, "Why am I not afraid of death? I hadn't thought about this question before. Now that I've reflected on it, perhaps it's out of despair. Indeed, as the heir of the Marquis of Anning's mansion, I live a life of luxury. Compared to the poor common people, it would be pretentious for me to be dissatisfied."
But reason prevails over emotion. High-rise buildings and luxurious houses are not what I desire, nor do I crave fine clothes and sumptuous food; I only wish to be treated as a human being.
From childhood to adulthood, I was constantly beaten, scolded, and belittled, and I always saw disappointed looks in people's eyes. Even the most delicious food tasted like wax to me.
I am content with my life, but unhappy. Nothing each day brings me joy or anything I long for; my mood is low every day, so… I don't seek death, but I'm not afraid of it either. Life and death make no difference to me.”
The boy spoke slowly and softly, but to Shen Mianmian, it sounded like a solitary bell standing on a precipice, striking her heart with each beat.
Unconsciously, Chen Mianmian grabbed his hand, "Then... what about now?"
Bai Qingzhou smiled broadly, "Of course I want to live now! I'm going to study hard for the exams, get official rank, and have a voice. Then I'll discuss with my father about divorcing Jiang Yinjin, giving her more money as compensation, and fabricating some charges against me. After everything is done, I'll take you with me, and we'll be sent down to be officials."
By day, I strive to be a good public servant; by night, I come home to live with you, and we'll grow old together, day after day.
"..."
Chen Mianmian fell silent and secretly let go of the boy's hand, only to have it gripped back by him.
Bai Qingzhou gazed into her eyes and asked softly, "Where exactly do you want to go?"
Sleepyhead—So, I can't talk to Fengchu about these heartfelt topics anymore. He's too smart and too perceptive.
Bai Qingzhou gripped her hand, tightening his grip, and his tone became more urgent, "Where do you want to go? Tell me, and we'll go together."
Chen Mianmian felt she needed to do something to change the subject.
Thinking of this, she broke free from his hands, wrapped her arms around his neck, and threw herself into his arms. "I miss being in Your Highness's arms. Have you missed me these days?"
The woman leaned against him, her breath sweet and fragrant, her warm breath disturbing Bai Qingzhou's thoughts. "...Of course I think about it, not a day goes by that I don't."
"Oh?" Chen Mianmian raised her voice, "Where does it think? Is it the phoenix chick that thinks, or the little phoenix chick?"
Bai Qingzhou—it seemed like he was hearing her call him Phoenix Chick for the second time. Why Phoenix Chick? If he was Phoenix Chick, then Little Phoenix Chick…
The boy's face flushed red instantly. "I...I want to."
"Oh, little phoenix doesn't want to? Why not? Is it because someone is satisfying it?"
As he spoke, he used his lips
She touched his fair earlobe.
An unnamed fire surged through his body, and the boy's breathing became erratic. "How could this be? How could I do such a thing behind your back? Besides, there are no women in Qingfeng Residence, not a single one."
"I didn't say the young master stole food, but what about Fifth Miss?"
"What Fifth Sister? I don't know the Fifth Sister."
Chen Mianmian took the boy's hand and manipulated his slender fingers one by one, "One, two, three, four, five."
"..." Bai Qingzhou.
Watching someone's fair and jade-like face grow increasingly red, and his clear eyes tinged with desire, Chen Mianmian felt that she had probably managed to fool him.
She glanced outside—the night was long, and he might bring up the topic again soon; she had to find a way to get him to sleep.
It's so easy to make a man fall asleep from exhaustion.
She looked away and sealed his lips with hers.
really……
A simple-minded person instantly forgot all their thoughts and was driven by primal impulses.
...
early morning.
The two woke up almost simultaneously, looked at each other, and then said in unison—
Bai Qingzhou said, "Mianmian, you can sleep a little longer. I'm going to read."
Chen Mianmian said, "Your Highness, please sleep a little longer. I'm going to practice martial arts."
The two of them were speechless.
Chen Mianmian chuckled, "That's perfect. Let's get up together. I'll practice martial arts while you study."
He paused, puzzled, and asked, "But didn't you say before that you had memorized the Four Books and Five Classics? Why do you still need to study them so diligently?"
"Well, Mr. Ouyang believes that I should continue to memorize, and memorize tirelessly. Moreover, Mr. Ouyang also found many annotations by famous scholars, as well as many notes from the top three in the past for me to look at. Cough... Actually, the preliminary examination is not difficult, the difficult part is to achieve the top three in the preliminary examination. Mr. Ouyang wants me to strive for the top three in the preliminary examination."
As she spoke, Bai Qingzhou muttered shyly in a low voice, "I don't care too much about the ranking, as long as I can pass the provincial examination. But Mr. Ouyang insisted, and I couldn't refuse his kind offer."
Chen Mianmian blinked—didn't she care? Her eyes clearly showed a hint of eagerness.
Bai Qingzhou felt awkward and changed the subject, "What about you? Didn't the competition end? Why are you still practicing martial arts?"
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