Chapter 21
From then on, Lu Wancheng started to care about the dynamics of Qingdai Pavilion and asked about it every day. Huan Tong came in from outside, and before she could say anything, Lu Wan Cheng pinched his throat and said, "Young Master, something has finally happened in Qing Dai Pavilion!"
Lin Qingyu: “…”
Huan Tong looked confused: "What?"
Lu Wancheng smiled and said, "I guess you're going to say that later. I'm learning how to speak like you."
Lin Qingyu interrupted him on the spot: "First, Huantong won't call me 'Young Master'. If you want to learn, you should learn to be like that. Secondly, it will take time for the aphrodisiac to hurt a person's root." Lin Qingyu was suspicious, "Why are you more anxious than me?"
"Well, it's just that recuperation is too boring. I can't sleep because I'm always coughing."
Lu Wancheng really hasn’t slept well recently, and there’s a hint of blue under his eyes.
Lin Qingyu thought for a moment and asked Huantong: "What do you want?"
"Oh oh," Huantong watched the two of them talking back and forth, and almost forgot about the business, "Manager Zhang is here."
Lin Qingyu said: "Let him in."
When Zhang Shiquan came this time, he told the two of them a strange thing. Among the various industries of the Marquis' Mansion, restaurants and shops in the city and villas in the countryside each account for half. The villages depend on the weather for their livelihood. A drought or flood could cause them to have no harvest for most of half a year. At the beginning of this year, Xuzhou had been suffering from drought. Strangely, the income of several farms in Xuzhou increased instead of decreased. There seemed to be no problem on the account, and the grain was indeed delivered to the warehouse of the Marquis' Mansion, which was really puzzling.
Huan Tong saw Zhang Shiquan's worry and asked, "The harvest is more, not less. Isn't this a happy event?"
Zhang Shiquan said: "I'm afraid the money is from unknown sources. If it is black money, once it is discovered, the entire mansion will be implicated."
Lin Qingyu caught a glimpse of Lu Wancheng lying on the couch. The nobleman leaning on the couch was still relaxed and contented despite his illness, with his eyes half closed, looking as if it had nothing to do with him and as if he was indifferent.
Zhang Shiquan asked, "Young Master, do you want to send someone to investigate this matter?"
Lin Qingyu's heart moved, and he changed his words when he was about to speak: "No need, the money is not less anyway, I am too lazy to care."
Lu Wancheng's eyes were fully open, and Lin Qingyu seemed to see his ears pricked up, which she couldn't help but find funny.
Zhang Shiquan hesitated and said, "Young Master, I think this matter cannot be taken lightly. It is best to investigate it."
"Let's talk about it later." Lin Qingyu stood up and said, "I'm a little tired, I'll go back to my room and take a short rest, you guys can do whatever you want."
When Lin Qingyu left, he left behind a worried steward and a salted fish looking at each other in bewilderment.
As everyone knows, the young marquis has always been indifferent and detached from the world. He never asks about family affairs, no matter how big or small. As for those in charge, they only need to obey the orders of the young master. Now that the young master has said he will not investigate, even though he does not agree with this approach, he can only obey orders.
Zhang Shiquan sighed: "Young Marquis, I will withdraw first."
"Wait." Lu Wancheng said in a deep voice, "The matter in Xuzhou needs to be investigated, and you must investigate it in person. I suspect..." Lu Wancheng paused, "There is no time to lose, you should leave as soon as possible."
After Zhang Shiquan entered the Marquis's Mansion, the young Marquis only gave him one order, which was to ask him to share the worries of the young prince, and nothing else. The young marquis suddenly intervened, and said subconsciously in surprise: "But the young master said..."
"Young Master is tired, and it's unavoidable that he will make mistakes in judgment." Lu Wancheng said reluctantly, "I will just worry about his inheritance for once more."
Zhang Shiquan did not dare to delay and set off for his villa in Xuzhou the next day. After Lin Qingyu found out, Lu Wancheng's mood became subtle.
Lu Wancheng sees more clearly than anyone else what should be done, what should not be done, and what can be done or not done. But he was just too lazy to move and just wanted to lie down. When there is really no one to help him do what he should do, he will struggle and force himself to do it.
Lu Wancheng once said that he hated studying but still managed to get the top score. At that time, he just thought Lu Wancheng was talking nonsense, but now... he believed it.
The summer is hot and the heat is unbearable. Lin Qingyu stayed in the bathroom for half a day. His thin clothes were soaked with sweat and stuck to his body, which was very uncomfortable. He reached out to test the water temperature and felt it was okay, so he asked Huantong to push Lu Wancheng over.
Although Lu Wancheng was lazy, he paid great attention to personal cleanliness. When he was in good health, he would take a bath every day in summer. Lin Qingyu was worried that he would catch a cold, so he asked him to take a bath every two days, but he was not happy and kept making a fuss. Fortunately, the Marquis' Mansion was a wealthy family and the servants served them attentively. Lin Qingyu was annoyed by him and just let him go.
Lin Qingyu sprinkled the powder into the bathtub. When he heard the noise coming from the door, he said without turning his head, "Here I come."
Lu Wancheng was a little surprised: "Why are you..."
"Your cough has not improved for a long time and it disturbs your sleep at night. Taking a medicinal bath before going to bed may help." Lin Qingyu turned around and tucked the hair that was stuck to her cheeks due to sweat behind her ears.
There were candles lit in the bathroom, and the air was filled with mist. Lin Qingyu's cheeks were flushed, and even her lips seemed to be covered with a layer of water.
Lu Wancheng said "Oh" and silently looked away. Lin Qingyu said: "Huantong, help the young marquis undress."
Huan Tong said with full energy: "Yes, Master."
Lu Wancheng let Huantong take off his clothes and asked, "Qingyu, do you want to stay and watch me take a bath?"
"No. The water temperature of the medicinal bath is very important. One degree higher or one degree lower will affect the effect, so I have to stay and watch over it."
Lu Wancheng blinked: "Then just watch me take a bath."
Lin Qingyu's tone became more serious: "I said no."
Lu Wancheng smiled and said, "Hey, what should I do if I'm a little shy?"
Lin Qingyu only used seven words to make Lu Wancheng feel shameless: "Sworn brother, good brother?"
Lu Wancheng woke up as if from a dream: "...good brother!"
Lu Wancheng was stripped down to his underwear, and was helped into the bathtub by two people, complaining: "This body is like a weak chicken, without any abdominal muscles, it's so ugly."
Having stayed at home to recuperate for many years, Lu Wancheng's skin color is even whiter than some women, and his limbs are slender. He is definitely not ugly. Lu Wancheng dislikes ugliness, probably because he prefers strong and muscular bodies.
The bathtub was not very big, so only Lu Wancheng's chest and below were immersed in the medicine. Lin Qingyu and Huan Tong each took a ladle and scooped water onto his shoulders, allowing the medicine to fully soak his entire body.
The bathroom was filled with the aroma of medicine, mixed with hot steam, making people breathe faster than usual.
Lin Qingyu suddenly said: "Young Marquis."
Lu Wancheng splashed the potion on himself: "Hmm?"
Lin Qingyu stretched out his hand, lifted Lu Wancheng's chin, and looked at him carefully under the light.
Lu Wancheng's heartbeat gradually became unstable, and he said in a low voice: "Why are you looking at me?"
Lin Qingyu let go of his hand and smiled, "I think I understand you now."
Seeing Lin Qingyu laughing, Lu Wancheng couldn't help but laugh too: "What do you mean?"
"You appear lazy on the surface, but you are actually a competitive person at heart. You, like me, don't like being inferior to others. So even if you hate studying, you will still force yourself to work hard in order to get the top spot; even if your 'mother' gives you an important task and you don't get enough sleep, you will still learn everything well; even if you don't want to wade into the muddy waters of Nan'an Marquis' Mansion, you still take action in the end."
He is lazy and doesn't like to lose, but he can still win by being lazy. Lu Wancheng is truly a strange man.
The smile in Lu Wancheng's eyes became even bigger: "You are right, but not completely right. In the past, when I was studying, someone competed with me. I didn't want to lose so I had to learn. But now I am in Nan'an Marquis Mansion, I am a dying man, what is there to compete for." After saying this, Lu Wancheng himself was confused, "Yes, why should I compete."
Lin Qingyu said calmly: "You have to ask yourself this."
Lu Wancheng thought for a moment and looked up at Lin Qingyu. Lin Qingyu's eyebrows were shrouded in smoke, as if tinged with a hint of tenderness.
"That's because the young marquis only needs to talk in the mansion, and other things are done by others, so it's not tiring."
Hearing Huan Tong's voice out of the blue, Lu Wan Cheng was so shocked that he dived into the water, leaving only his head above the water: "Why are you here?"
Huantong scratched his head: "I have been here the whole time."
Lu Wancheng: “…”
After taking the medicinal bath, Lu Wancheng slept soundly that night. When I woke up the next day, I felt much better and my cough was not as severe as before. Lu Wancheng couldn't help but guess: "Could this be the legendary last gasp of light?"
Lin Qingyu nodded: "Yes, we can start preparing for your funeral."
Lu Wancheng smiled and said, "Then I have to think carefully about which clothes would look more handsome when I die."
In the past, Lu Wancheng often joked about life and death. Lin Qingyu had heard it so many times that she naturally didn't take it to heart. But now...
Lin Qingyu looked at the lush trees outside the window and slowly clenched his palms.
After lunch, Lu Wancheng went to bed for a nap as usual, but was awakened by the sound of stringed instruments and bamboo pipes. Lin Qingyu asked Hua Lu to go out and check what was going on. It turned out that the singer and actress that Lu Qiaosong kept in the courtyard was playing music.
Lu Qiaosong's Qingdai Pavilion and Lanfeng Pavilion are far apart. Normally, Lu Qiaosong would not disturb them when he was having fun in the courtyard, but today, for some reason, Lu Qiaosong set up his pipa in the pavilion closest to Lanfeng Pavilion. In addition to the sound of the pipa, the sound of orioles and their laughter could be heard from time to time in the Lanfeng Pavilion.
Lin Qingyu said without disguising: "Why is he not dead yet?"
Lu Wancheng said, "Is your medicine not working?"
"How is that possible?" Lin Qingyu said coldly, "I think he knows that he is weak and doesn't dare to drink and have fun as usual. I'll go and take a look."
Lu Wancheng sighed and stood up with difficulty: "Then I will too."
Lin Qingyu pushed Lu Wancheng to the pavilion and saw from afar that there were quite a few people inside. These young gentlemen were all Lu Qiaosong's poetry friends. Lu Qiaosong prided himself on being elegant and refined, and often gathered with his poetry friends, saying that they drank and wrote poetry, but only they themselves knew whether they did anything else.
Lu Qiaosong was still under house arrest and could not leave the house, so his poetry friends came to his door. But they were seen sitting in a circle in the pavilion, each holding a beautiful woman in his arms, and there were several actors playing pipa music under the pavilion.
Lu Qiaosong held a wolf-hair brush and wrote with ink, which aroused cheers from his fellow poets. A singing girl leaned against him, fanning herself with a smile.
The first people to see Lin Qingyu and Lu Wancheng were a few Pipa girls. Although they had never met Lin Qingyu as they were both in the Marquis' Mansion, they had heard from others that this young master was a person who was not easy to mess with. The last time, the two people were punished by the young master himself. One was demoted to the lowest servant, doing dirty and tiring jobs all day long, and the other went crazy and was sent out of the marquis's mansion. That one was the lady's trusted nanny.
As soon as the Pipa girl saw Lin Qingyu, she stopped playing and the music came to an abrupt end, attracting the attention of the others. Lu Qiaosong's face changed, and he threw the wolf hair brush in his hand onto the painting, and the ink stains slowly spread on the paper.
Compared to him, the way his poet friends looked at the two men was much more intriguing. Everyone who is familiar with Lu Qiaosong knows that Lu Qiaosong has a sickly older brother who will not live long. He must be the one in the wheelchair.
All I can say is that as expected of the eldest son of a noble family, Young Marquis Lu still looks noble even when he is in a wheelchair. And the one behind him... They were all veterans in the world of romance and had seen all kinds of beauties, but when they first saw this person, they were still a little stunned and exchanged playful glances with each other.
I didn't expect that although Young Marquis Lu was so sick, he was actually so lucky in love. It’s a pity that no matter how beautiful the beauty is, he is not lucky enough to enjoy her.
"This must be Young Marquis Lu." A young man in royal blue brocade clothes said, "My name is Zeng Tianlei, nice to meet you, Young Marquis."
Lu Wancheng supported his cheek with his hand and asked with interest: "Why did you stop? Keep playing the music and keep dancing."
Everyone looked at each other. Zeng Tianlei was a man who could read people's faces. He smiled and said, "But are we disturbing the young marquis by enjoying the music here?"
Lin Qingyu said coldly: "What do you think?"
After he spoke, others could finally look at him openly. A man next to Lu Qiaosong seemed to have drunk a lot of wine. He couldn't stand steadily. He stared at Lin Qingyu and said, "Brother Qiaosong, is this beauty your eldest brother's concubine?"
Lin Qingyu's pupils shrank slightly, and the hands that were pushing the wheelchair suddenly tightened.
Lu Qiaosong laughed and said, "When it comes to having a sharp eye, who can compare to Brother Huang? Come on, tell me why you think he is a concubine and not a wife?"
The drunk man said nonsense: "Marry... Marry a virtuous wife. The legal wife is busy taking care of the husband and children and managing the house. How could she grow up to be such a seductive woman?"
Zeng Tianlei whispered, "Brother Huang, stop talking."
"Why not? He said it well!" Lu Qiaosong picked up the wine glass, "Just for what Brother Huang said, I'll toast you a glass!"
Lin Qingyu was about to explode when the back of his hand was suddenly patted. He heard Lu Wancheng laughing and said, "My wife is dignified and generous, with an elegant temperament. She clearly looks like a principal wife. Does this brother have an eye disease?"
Zeng Tianlei bowed and said, "Brother Huang is rude to you. Brother Huang drank a lot of wine and said those words when he was drunk. I hope you don't take it to heart."
"That won't do. Whether you're drunk or not, you've already said it. But you're all guests here, so I have to give you some respect." Lu Wancheng tapped the armrest with his fingertips. "How about this, let Brother Huang drink ten cups as punishment, and I'll let this matter go. How about that?"
"Ten cups?" Zeng Tianlei said in embarrassment, "Brother Huang is already so drunk, how can he drink ten cups?"
Lin Qingyu said coldly: "You feel so sorry for him, why don't you drink for him?"
"this……"
The wine Lu Qiaosong brought out to entertain his friends today was all aged fine wine. Three cups would make one drunk, five cups would make one intoxicated, and ten cups would surely make one pass out, and it would take at least two or three days to recover.
"It's just drinking, I'll drink for him." Lu Qiaosong volunteered, "Come on, serve the wine."
Zeng Tianlei stopped him: "Qiao Song, you can't do that. The doctor said that your body..."
"It's just drinking. Who am I, Lu Qiaosong, afraid of?"
Zeng Tianlei couldn't stop him and watched Lu Qiaosong drink one cup after another. He was still sober at the end. After finishing the last glass, Lu Qiaosong turned the glass upside down on the table, wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth, and looked at Lu Wancheng provocatively: "How is it, are you satisfied?"
Lu Wancheng clapped his hands and laughed: "Third brother has a good alcohol tolerance."
Lu Qiaosong snorted coldly: "You've been fined for drinking. If you don't have anything else to do, I'm sorry I won't see you off."
Lu Wancheng chuckled and said, "Madam, let's go back."
Lin Qingyu glanced at Lu Qiaosong as if he was looking at a dead person.
That night, a woman's scream broke the usual tranquility of the Marquis' Mansion. Then the noise gradually arose, and the chaotic footsteps mixed with whispers gradually spread from Qingdai Pavilion to Lanfeng Pavilion. Not long after, Huan Tong, who rushed in, finally said, "Young Master, Little Marquis, something has finally happened in Qingdai Pavilion!"
Lin Qingyu stood in front of the window, turned around and smiled at Lu Wancheng: "Wancheng, do you want to go and take a look?"
"Let's go, let's go." Lu Wancheng was stunned after saying this. He always felt that something was wrong. It took him a long time to realize something and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
It turns out that if you want the beautiful villain to change his words, you just need to make him succeed in "doing evil." If he's happy, he might say anything.
It's pretty good, but it's a bit kidney-damaging. After all, it's not going to destroy his kidney, so just let it be.
Lu Wancheng looked down at the position of his heart and suddenly had an idea.
If... if Lin Qingyu called his own name, how would he feel.
The author has something to say: When someone else travels through a book, it is our duty to influence the villain!
Salted Fish Travels into a Book: Keep doing evil and keep dancing!
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