Chapter 103◇
◎A lady with a conscience today◎
"Your Highness, you may not know this, but although the disaster in Ancheng has been resolved, the hidden dangers in the surrounding area remain. The young master's idea is for us to open a charity here to specifically treat homeless children and at the same time help those desperate people and provide them with a way to survive."
The children in the orphanage don't have such lofty ambitions. It's already difficult enough for them to survive. But now that they have the opportunity to make something of themselves, they naturally feel obligated to do so.
"Husband, have you been busy with these things lately? No wonder I rarely see her." Feng Ran finally realized that Duan Jingchuan was quietly working on something big.
"Princess Consort, please don't be offended. This charity hall was opened by the Prince in your name, which shows that he also wanted to give you a surprise."
As for why she told the Crown Princess about the surprise beforehand, Song Si Mei thought to herself, "Anyway, the Crown Prince won't take the initiative to talk to me. He probably won't bother me later when he finds out I let it slip. Telling him now will at least make the Crown Princess smile; it's a win-win situation no matter how you look at it."
Feng Ran was indeed pleasantly surprised, but not astonished, because she remembered that a long time ago, Duan Jingchuan had tested her, asking him if he could use her name to do good deeds. Unexpectedly, this man had not mentioned a word, and everything had already been arranged.
When the people saw Feng Ran arrive, they naturally couldn't leave her all alone. Duan Jingchuan had already been pulled away by the men to drink, while the girls surrounded Feng Ran, saying without any hesitation, "Princess Consort, dance with us!"
Feng Ran looked at Duan Jingchuan, who was being forced to drink alcohol, smiled slightly, and reached out her hand to the girls in front of her, "I'm not very good at dancing, can you teach me?"
Song Si Mei and Song Liu Mei each grabbed one of Feng Ran's hands, "Princess Consort, we'll teach you. It's very simple, just move to the rhythm."
A large circle was formed in front of the campfire. As soon as Feng Ran arrived, she immediately made room for the group to squeeze in.
After Feng Ran imitated their poses, the girls began to sing folk songs. She couldn't understand the local tunes, but she inexplicably felt her blood boiling, and began to move with her heart, jumping and skipping to the rhythm.
The flames illuminated the dark night, making even the starry sky pale in comparison. The young men of Ancheng also showed their talent for singing and dancing, clapping and shouting incessantly from behind.
Between dancing around the campfire, Feng Ran glanced at Duan Jingchuan and found him smiling at her from a short distance away.
A thought struck her, and she released her hands, running like lightning to Duan Jingchuan's front.
Duan Jingchuan opened his arms and caught Feng Ran squarely.
"Husband, dance with me!"
Feng Ran took the lead in inviting Duan Jingchuan, and the girls dancing around the bonfire also invited their families.
The flames suddenly grew larger, and regardless of whether they were men or women, only the joy of celebrating together remained.
At first, Duan Jingchuan was a little hesitant and stiffly followed Feng Ran's movements. But seeing that everyone around him was deeply engrossed in the activity and few people were paying attention to the two of them, he gradually caught up with the rhythm and began to enjoy it.
Duan Jingchuan's breath carried a faint scent of wine. Feng Ran leaned closer to smell it. "Husband, are you drunk? Will you cause trouble later?"
His usually clear eyes were somewhat confused, and the noise around him made it impossible for him to see Feng Ran's incessant little mouth. All he wanted to do now was shut her up.
Feng Ran anticipated Duan Jingchuan's movements and stopped him from bending over, smiling as she said, "I'm afraid you'll want to crawl into a hole after you sober up tomorrow, so I won't indulge you today. Be good."
Duan Jingchuan looked at Feng Ran with his watery eyes, dissatisfied. Seeing Feng Ran's unquestionable expression, he nodded aggrievedly, which made Feng Ran's blood boil. She almost picked up Duan Jingchuan and left.
He was clearly quite drunk, so Feng Ran didn't want to keep him outside in the wind, fearing he would have a headache the next morning.
Fortunately, she was strong, otherwise she would have been helpless against Duan Jingchuan, who had long arms and legs. After squeezing out of the crowd, she almost bumped into the huge creature in front of her.
Looking up, Chen Guangjun was blocking his way, like a mountain reeking of alcohol.
Chen Guangjun was clearly drunk, in a state of semi-drunkenness and semi-consciousness. Taking advantage of his drunkenness, he accused Feng Ran in a loud and aggressive voice: "Since the Crown Princess has such good archery skills and is so strong, why can't she inherit the mantle of the Marquis of Dingbei and take up an official position in the military camp?"
Just how much alcohol did she drink? Feng Ran wished she could pinch her nose.
Even when drunk, Duan Jingchuan in her arms smelled sweet, but the man in front of her reeked of a foul stench that made her want to vomit. She could only pinch her nose and say, "I am what military strategy calls a reckless man. I can charge forward without thinking, but I can hardly avoid open and hidden attacks, deceit and treachery. I do not belong here, and my ambitions lie elsewhere. General Chen, you don't need to waste your time."
After saying that, he ignored Chen Guangjun's expression and walked away from him.
After Feng Ran left, Chen Guangjun straightened up, his eyes no longer showing any trace of drunkenness. He looked regretfully at the departing figures of Feng Ran and the other person, and sighed deeply, "I was too idealistic."
After getting drunk, Duan Jingchuan was obedient and did whatever Feng Ran asked him to do.
Feng Ran had planned that today's fine weather would be perfect for romance and poetry. However, to her utter surprise, the usually well-behaved Duan Jingchuan slept like a log, unresponsive to any of her attempts to move him.
She took a deep breath, pulled Duan Jingchuan out of the bathtub, wiped him casually with a towel, wrapped him in a blanket, and threw him naked onto the bed.
He thrashed about for a moment, then lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
She was really tired; to hell with the little devils fighting in her head!
Duan Jingchuan slept very restlessly that night. He first had a strange dream that he had turned into a peacock, circling around Feng Ran and constantly displaying his feathers. After much effort, he finally won Feng Ran's favor, but his feathers fell off one by one, and in the blink of an eye, he turned into a bald fake chicken.
Feng Ran turned and left in anger, and he chased after her in a panic. But with every step he took, a feather fell out. In the end, he fell naked into Feng Ran's arms and turned into a roast duck.
He gasped in fright and woke up instantly.
In the dim light, looking at the bed curtains above my head, my wildly beating heart slowly regained its rhythm.
Wait, look at his body...
She touched it again in disbelief, and her whole body turned bright red; the pink color could be seen spreading across her bare shoulders.
He gently felt the woman in his arms and found that she was fully clothed. He couldn't quite describe his feelings, so he silently got up, put on the undergarments at the head of the bed, and then tiptoed back to lie down.
After thinking it over carefully, he realized he hadn't done anything out of line last night, so he held Feng Ran in his arms and fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, when Duan Jingchuan opened his eyes, Feng Ran whispered in his ear, "Although this silk feels nice, it's nowhere near as smooth as you, my husband."
Duan Jingchuan's throat tightened, and for some unknown reason, he grabbed Feng Ran's hand and reached inside.
Touching a small steamed bun, Feng Ran mischievously tugged at it and said in a pretentious tone, "What a pity, General Chen has been waiting for you since early morning, you don't have time."
Duan Jingchuan covered his eyes with one hand and sighed, "Madam, you really have a conscience."
Why provoke him at this critical juncture when you can't do anything? Aren't you just trying to put him in a dilemma?
Feng Ran smiled awkwardly, realizing that her actions were not very good. She reluctantly withdrew her hand and clicked her tongue regretfully, "Then you'd better get up and stop bothering me."
The most unreasonable woman in the world is none other than his wife.
Duan Jingchuan turned to the side and kissed the cheek of the person in his arms. "Be good, we're about to set off, take a break."
No one knew what agreement Duan Jingchuan and Chen Guangjun had reached. Chen Guangjun arrived with a worried look on his face but left with a big smile. Everyone was completely baffled.
Of course, none of this mattered to Feng Ran. She boarded the return carriage early, and there was an extra, rather inconspicuous carriage compared to the one she had brought.
"Husband, are you out of money? Why does this carriage look so simple?" Feng Ran's voice was filled with concern despite her surprise.
Duan Jingchuan's lips twitched. It seemed that his wife had to add another characteristic: overthinking.
"That was prepared for Huang Que and Mr. Fang Yuan."
Fang Yuan seemed to sense something and looked at Huang Que with concern.
Huang Que was completely bewildered, not understanding why a separate carriage had been prepared for him. Had he done something wrong that prevented him from riding in the better one?
Duan Jingchuan dismissed everyone, leaving only Feng Ran and the two of them.
Looking at Huang Que with a hint of reluctance, but also with firmness, she said, "You should go back to where you were originally."
Huang Que was completely stunned, as if struck by lightning. Fang Yuan wasn't much better off. The master and apprentice looked at Duan Jingchuan in astonishment and couldn't help but exclaim, "You know?!"
Duan Jingchuan shook his head seriously, "What do I not know?"
In a flash, Fang Yuan understood something, grabbed Huang Que's shoulder and whispered, "Fifth Young Master, please don't say anything more."
Upon hearing the Fifth Young Master's words, Huang Que finally understood that these people probably all knew his true identity but were just pretending not to.
He should have been furious at these people's ill intentions, but the kindness they had shown him these past few days was genuine, so what could he say? He didn't even know how to express his gratitude.
An unspoken secret led the three to reach a consensus.
Duan Jingchuan's biggest question was whether Feng Ran knew about it. He didn't want to hide it from her, so he kept Feng Ran by his side and had Huang Que say goodbye to her, in case she was heartbroken after discovering that Huang Que was missing.
Feng Ran, who should know nothing, was unusually calm at this moment. Ignoring the veiled tension in Duan Jingchuan and Fang Yuan's eyes, she squatted down and affectionately rubbed Huang Que's head.
"Little Sparrow, it's a pity that I can only accompany you this far. But you've seen the world and want to know what you want. Go back! You deserve a more brilliant life."
At this point, her eyes welled up with tears. After all, he had raised him like his own son for so long. If something hadn't happened, Duan Jingchuan definitely wouldn't have sent him away. She couldn't let him live.
He glanced up at the sky as if to cover his embarrassment, and asked softly, "What about the future?"
Duan Jingchuan also squatted down and put his arm around Feng Ran's shoulder. "Don't worry, I've arranged everything. He'll be safe."
Huang Que understood perfectly well that the secret he had been so carefully hiding was nothing in the eyes of others.
Even knowing he was a troublemaker, she still took good care of him, taught him knowledge and principles, asked nothing of him, only showed him endless love.
Some things you may know in your heart, but you can't say them out loud.
Huang Que solemnly knelt down on both knees and kowtowed three times to Duan Jingchuan and Feng Ran.
"I am deeply grateful for your help, and I bid you farewell." This was the first time Huang Que had revealed his name.
Duan Jingchuan and Feng Ran did not dodge this time. They accepted his bow, and this was a once-in-a-lifetime event for them.
Feng Ran wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and helped Huang Que up. "Do you know what it means to repay evil with kindness?"
Huang Que knew the normal meaning of these words, but he understood that his sister wanted to give him another explanation, so he humbly asked for her guidance.
Feng Ran held Huang Que's small hand and wrote the character "De" (德) crookedly. Finally, she closed his palm and said softly, "De is now in your hands. If anyone dares to provoke you, just slap them. Huang Que can eat mantises, so don't let anyone bully you. Otherwise, all my teachings will be in vain."
Huang Que's eyes trembled, and tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably. So that's how Huang Que got her name? Did she know that all along?
At that time, he was truly hated by everyone, a hot potato that everyone avoided. Even though he was of noble status, he didn't even dare to say his name. How lucky he was to receive the most sincere kindness in the world.
A note from the author:
I'm worried about my male lead; if he had a child, he'd definitely be a little devil.
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