Chapter 45 Copy (Part 3) To think someone could love so humbly! ...
Shen Changfeng's voice was quiet but menacing, like a beast lurking in the shadows. The blood on his hands flowed down the blade, leaving no doubt that he would kill at any moment. But his face was twisted, as if he was enduring great pain.
Chuqi had no time to think and walked quickly towards the pavilion. The moment he was out of the crowd, someone suddenly grabbed his arm.
"A gentleman should dress properly, look respectful, and value dignity." Lu Qingyan adjusted his black gauze crown and said slowly, "It would be bad if others saw it."
Zhou Liangnian, who had also passed the imperial examination, scoffed, "The hat's crooked, so what? It's so sour."
Lu Qingyan glanced at the golden osmanthus branch on Chuqi's crown, but ultimately said nothing more.
Looking forward again on the seventh day, the atmosphere on the pavilion seemed to have undergone subtle changes again.
Lin Meizhu replied, "The peony is too conspicuous. I took it down. You won't be angry, will you?"
She lied, she must have lied. But she asked herself if she was angry, she still cared about her feelings.
Perhaps afraid of losing her temper, she looked uneasy. Her curled eyelashes resembled those of a startled butterfly, and her dark almond-shaped eyes were misted with water. Days of neglect and sleeplessness had left her face the size of a palm, and dark circles were visible under her eyes. She looked innocent, even a little pitiful.
Shen Changfeng was immediately certain that she had been tricked! How could someone as pure and kind as her take the initiative to betray him? She must have been forced into it! He had originally wanted to force her to reveal who the man was and then kill them both, but now he had changed his mind. He couldn't let them be together, not even to die together!
There must be something fishy going on! If he exposed this scandal in public, Lin Meizhu would lose face and be cursed to the point of never being able to hold her head up again. And if the man couldn't die, he could move on to another place, marry, and have children. He might even boast about his achievements privately. He knew exactly what the man was thinking.
He couldn't let that happen.
He pulled the corners of his mouth weakly: "It's just a small matter, don't be angry." As if to convince her, he picked a pink and white flower from their arms and pinned it on her head.
Everyone around looked at Lin Meiju eagerly, hoping that she would take this evil god away.
Then Lin Meizhu turned around, took off the flower, and pinned it on his hair crown, smiling softly, "What others have, my husband must have too."
All the anger in Shen Changfeng was instantly drained away. The cry of "husband" softened his bones. His mind was empty, and he couldn't think of anything. All he could see was her smiling at him. He didn't know what expression was on his face. It seemed like he was grinning, but also like he was crying. With a distorted face, he followed her words and asked, "Does it look good?"
Of course Lin Meizhu couldn't say it wasn't pretty, so she nodded slightly.
Shen Changfeng asked again: "How does it compare to the top three scholars?"
The eighth prince was sweating in the next room, feeling a little amused and helpless: he still remembered to compete with the two most handsome men present, so it seemed that he was not completely crazy.
All eyes turned back to her, and the hopeful Lin Meizhu had no choice but to follow Crazy Shen's words, "You are the most beautiful."
"What are you doing with a knife? Everyone's looking at us."
"I've just learned some new sword techniques. I'll show you how to use them."
"You scared others, let's go back, okay?"
"good."
The vicious dog with bared teeth and erect pupils was completely tamed in just a few words and was led away obediently, leaving the crowd looking at each other in shock.
When he saw Shen Changfeng again, he had returned to human form.
The eighth prince sighed so hard that leaves fell to the ground. Although he quickly thought that Shen Changfeng was going to perform while drunk, and although the emperor had already left, and although Shen Changfeng did not have a conflict with the Jinwu Guards, Shen Changfeng's behavior was too extreme, and as expected, he was soon met with a tide of impeachment.
Shen Changfeng was severely reprimanded by the emperor and was dismissed from his post and sent back home to reflect on his mistakes.
The Eighth Prince said, "Fortunately, the key evidence in the corruption case has been collected. Please wait patiently. I will help you find a solution from your father."
The Eighth Prince sighed again: "What on earth are you crazy about?"
Shen Changfeng didn't have much emotional fluctuations about his treatment. After all, he had more important things to do right now. "It's just a family matter. I can take care of it soon."
The Eighth Prince, also a man, was also very perceptive. He immediately understood and pressed his shoulder, "The important things are more important. Don't act impulsively again."
Shen Changfeng agreed and was about to leave when the Eighth Prince suddenly remembered something. His face, which had been tense all day, finally relaxed a little. "Your previous guess was correct. The person has been found."
He said he could take care of it, but in fact, Shen Changfeng had not figured out how to take care of Lin Meizhu.
After returning to the palace, he sat facing a blank sheet of paper for several hours, until the ink on the inkstone dried up, but he still couldn't write a single word. He pressed his brows and called for Shen, the chief steward: "Tell the chief secretary to write a letter of divorce for me."
Chief Steward Shen was startled and said with a frown, "Your Highness, please forgive my frankness. Since marrying into the palace, the Crown Princess has devoted herself to managing the internal affairs. From the elders of the clan to the farmers, everyone praises and loves her when they talk about her. How can Your Highness be so frank today..."
Shen Changfeng felt very upset and said in a deep voice, "As soon as possible. I need to report to His Majesty."
Manager Shen sighed inwardly and asked, "What excuse does the prince intend to give?"
Jealous? Obviously not, she was very generous and even took the initiative to take a concubine for him.
Talkative? Not really, she never asks about her own affairs.
Theft? No, and how could it be considered stealing if she took her own things?
Childless? They had been married for less than a year, and during that time he was away on official business and in jail. How could she possibly have a child on her own? No way.
Debauchery.
He thought back to the scene: both she and the man were clothed, and she'd raised her hand at the end, probably to push him away. Their most intimate gesture was probably just a flick of her hair. He recalled the man's large hand gripping the armrest, the messy hem of her skirt on the floor. What were they doing? Were they kissing? Or something even more extreme? He couldn't bear to let her do that!
Lin Meiju was having her meal when she heard the sound of teeth grinding. The man opposite her with a gloomy face suddenly stood up.
She slowly put down her chopsticks and thought to herself: It's finally here.
In fact, she knew that Shen Changfeng must have misunderstood something. She wanted to explain, but she felt that explaining at this time would only make things worse for someone as proud and conceited as him. Fortunately, he didn't see Chuqi's face. The worst result she could think of was that he would kick her out.
She had originally thought that she could wait for Li Jieyi to come back so that she could get the divorce papers smoothly and give herself and him a decent ending, but now it seems impossible.
As always, when Shen Changfeng was hesitant about trivial matters, he would think of Lin Meizhu. He felt he needed to have a good talk with her. He would send the divorce letter after killing that man, but seeing her acting so calm made him furious. How could she still eat? She even ate two bowls! Was she so happy seeing that man that she even had a good appetite?
After waiting for a long time, he didn't speak. Lin Meizhu's lips moved, and Shen Changfeng immediately interrupted him loudly: "You are tired too! Rest early!" Then he ran away.
Lin Meizhu shook her head. She hadn't expected him to be so patient, or perhaps so indecisive? She almost looked down on him.
Shen Changfeng sat in the study room for half the night until his legs were sore. He wandered around like a wandering soul, and finally he accidentally found Pingxiangwu right in front of him.
It was unbelievable that after all this happened, he still wanted to hold her in his arms while she slept.
Lin Meizhu couldn't sleep. Partly because today's events were truly disturbing, but mostly because she was overfed. Her rare appetite, she crammed it down, adding to the soothing soup she'd been drinking like water. Even after midnight, she still felt queasy. Her eyelids were drooping with sleep, and even when she closed them, she couldn't fall asleep. She'd been living like this for over half a month now; it was excruciating.
A familiar chest pressed against her back. She listened to the chaotic heartbeat, and the last trace of sleepiness disappeared.
After an unsettling silence, Lin Meizhu rolled over and met the equally awake Shen Changfeng. Their eyes met, a quiet undercurrent surging in the darkness. Lin Meizhu's expression was strained as she lowered her eyes before turning back.
The next moment, someone grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back, and then a passionate kiss fell on her lips. He kissed her fiercely and urgently. She didn't know what he was going to do next, so she bent her elbow and hit him twice in the chest.
Shen Changfeng chewed up those muffled groans and sent them into her mouth and throat. The strong smell of blood spread between her lips and teeth.
…
Lin Meizhu stopped resisting. The tranquilizing decoction hadn't quite worked, but perhaps a crazy affair would. After all, it had always been like this.
Shen Changfeng sensed her surrender and slowly slowed down his kiss, while at the same time, he backed away little by little. Lin Meizhu was completely unaware and continued to kiss his upper lip.
The bitten lower lip felt a slight sting from time to time, and I couldn't tell who was in more pain.
Lin Meizhu half-raised herself and kissed his lips.
Shen Changfeng thought, she still likes her own Chenkou Wang Zhu so much. He put out the bait, and when she took a tentative sip, he held the back of her neck, which was a kind of recognition and encouragement.
His heart gradually settled down. She was still the same as before, not very relaxed, just waiting for him to take the lead. But when pushed into a corner, she would become incompetent and scratch, tickle and bite him. She didn't have time to learn bad habits.
The man in Qiying Pavilion was clearly a young civil official. Did she like that? Gentle and refined? A steady and long-lasting relationship?
Holding her sweaty face, Shen Changfeng couldn't help but wonder: Who is perfect? Men make mistakes, and so do women. She was good enough, simply deceived and momentarily bewildered. She might have been unfaithful, but she never spoke ill of him. She had always been silently supporting their family behind his back, her dedication obvious to all. More likely, nothing had happened between them at all.
Then, as long as she is willing to confess and admit her mistakes, he will reluctantly consider forgiving her.
Lin Meizhu's initial thought was simple: she could just sleep when she was exhausted. After all, that was how it had always been.
However, Shen Changfeng was uncharacteristically patient tonight, to the point of being outrageous.
She was mad with hunger, but there was no food to eat. She soon discovered the crux of the matter - the cook had only prepared the food, and she was almost exhausted due to fatigue.
When he repeated the same trick again, Lin Meizhu could no longer bear it. She reached her hand through his arm from bottom to top and hugged his shoulders with her backhand.
Shen Changfeng suddenly turned sideways and she came to a completely unfamiliar place.
My tailbone feels itchy and numb, as if something is about to grow out.
A voice sounded in Shen Changfeng's mind: Ah, so she likes this.
Lin Meizhu was a little panicked. Status was secondary. The most important thing was that she couldn't get over the hurdle in her heart...
How could Shen Changfeng agree to that? He asked her to sit down without any hesitation.
Lin Meiju could hear his strong heartbeat in her ears.
Her five senses were already confused, and she was shivering continuously as if she was extremely cold.
“I didn’t…”
"Need not."
He also did the work that should have been done by her.
…
Lin Meizhu then fell asleep as she wished. However, for a long time afterwards, whenever she saw bamboo shoots breaking through the soil, her legs would shrink and her roots would soften, and she no longer wanted to eat anything related to bamboo shoots.
Shen Changfeng was still in good spirits. He held Lin Meizhu in his arms, stroked her back, and kissed her eyebrows and nose from time to time. He could still deeply feel the presence of the person in his arms.
He knew that a good lover would strive for perfection, such as comforting her after a mishap, so he liked to hold her and let her know that he was still there.
In fact, he also wanted her to hug him back like this, but she was very tired and fell asleep before it was over. He would not wake her up for such a trivial matter.
Of course, he wouldn't wait until she woke up to deliberately ask her such an insignificant request, which would make him seem so fragile.
He took her hand and put it around his waist, so that she was hugging him.
He felt like a tool, but it didn't matter. Even if he was a tool, he was the most useful one. Besides, there were many men who wanted to be tools but didn't have the ability.
If Shen Changfeng saw this scene before his marriage, he would definitely find it incredible: How could someone love so humbly! What's even more outrageous is that that person is actually him!
After thinking about the so-called punishment for Lin Meizhu, Shen Changfeng could finally calm down and deduce the identity of the deceiver.
The rapist was a civil official, with long knuckles and fair skin, and he wasn't short. Shen Changfeng estimated the man's height and continued to speculate: even if his appearance wasn't top-notch, it was definitely not bad, and he was likely very friendly. He was very good at sweet talk, which was how he could let people down, coax them into a happy mood, and make them unable to refuse.
In addition, he also had to be very familiar with Lin Meizhu's recent situation, know that she had had an argument with him recently, and find the right opportunity to take advantage of it.
He also needed to have the opportunity to come into contact with Lin Meizhu, and because of his identity and reputation, few people would suspect him. That person might even have secretly flaunted his power in front of him...
The clever Shen Changfeng unraveled the case, analyzed calmly, and pondered calmly. Combining Lin Meizhu's unusual behavior since the Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, he quickly identified the suspect who committed the heinous crime.
Only that person! He let everyone outside think that he was the one he loved the most, pretended to laugh at me for not knowing Lin Meizhu's nickname, and even kindly warned me in advance that Lin Meizhu would "escape" and leave, and even openly mocked me for my madness!
There is only him - the son-in-law of the Minister of Justice, Lu Fei'er's husband, Shao Erlang, the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
