Marriage certificate
"yes."
Wen Ruo lowered her eyes, her voice sounding as if squeezed out from her chest, almost inaudible.
Qi Guanlan froze on the spot. The cold air slowly seeped into his body with his breath, and his blood seemed to freeze at some point, making it impossible for him to even bend his fingertips.
The two remained silent for a long time. The moonlight hid in the glass lamp, and darkness enveloped them. Everything before their eyes began to blur.
But she was too familiar with someone's movements, and occasionally when she woke up from a dream, she could still recall that disappointed and desolate figure.
After a long while, Wen Ruo finally found her voice, which sounded a little hoarse, "Have you ever thought that I can never give you what you want?"
Qi Guanlan suddenly loosened his grip on the ointment, his Adam's apple bobbing slowly, and he relaxed for some reason. "I don't want anything. I will try my best. If you can like me a little more each day, that will be enough."
So you're asking for it!
Wen Ruoguang felt a chill run down his spine when he thought about it. No matter how lightly he tried to downplay it, Gu Yu had already admitted it.
The images she had considered nightmares were now being presented to her as stark reality, evoking a profound sense of shared fear.
“No one likes spoiled brats, so I was thinking of changing my way of life. I didn’t really want to die. When I was in danger, my biggest thought was that I had to live, that I had to lie to you, and that I would get my revenge.”
"When you fall in love with Gu Ying, and are so determined to marry him that you're willing to die for him, you'll find out it's me in the end."
"I was just joking, don't cry."
Wen Ruo couldn't hold back her tears, which fell like pearls from a broken string.
"I have gotten what I wanted."
Qi Guanlan wiped them away one by one, her tone gentle as if she were holding the most precious thing in the world, "Really, don't feel sorry for me. I brought this on myself. The hardships I didn't want to endure when I was a child are now being faced with again as an adult."
Wen Ruo slapped his hand away, turned her face away, and said stubbornly with red eyes, "Who said I felt sorry for you?"
The warm fingertips touched him again, and Qi Guanlan visibly relaxed. "That's good. When I was little, someone said I had exceptional talent, so my uncle and aunt found many people to teach me, but I quit because I thought it was too tiring."
"Later, I asked myself honestly, and I realized that I was a spoiled and arrogant person, and there was really nothing about me that was likable."
He paused for a moment, then gripped her hand tightly, following her fingertips, and pried open her curled fingers one by one. "Count them, there must be three, right?"
Wen Ruo clenched her fists. It was almost February, but the night wind was still chilly. She hid her hands and said, "I won't count."
Qi Guanlan suddenly spread his long sleeves, and Wen Ruo buried herself in a warm embrace, the faint scent of crabapple lingering around her nose.
"You really became Tao Yan's disciple? What's with the fragrance on you? Is the medicine you're taking really a Vitality-Boosting Pill?"
Did you see his face?
Qi Guanlan sighed, "You don't know your master. I can't really make things difficult for him. I'm not as good as you at learning, and Gu Yu even recognized me."
"The Gu worms on his body have a unique fragrance, which is why yours was able to find its way. This is what he lost to me; before it was fully tamed, it could only be suppressed with medicine."
So what she thought was a nightmare was actually the worms reacting, which he then suppressed with medicine.
The strong, powerful heartbeat continued to echo in her ears, and Wen Ruo couldn't help but hug herself tighter, as waves of lingering fear still washed over her.
Qi Guanlan gently patted her trembling shoulder, then smiled, "What you took was indeed the Replenishing Essence Pill!"
"However, it's not the same one Zhao Heng mentioned."
"I hadn't made up my mind at that time."
Sensing her intention, he deliberately pointed to the wrong place, so she couldn't tell anything even after taking the medicine.
So he's doing this on purpose. Thinking of this, Wen Ruo exerted more force, thinking she might as well strangle him to death. But she felt inexplicably relieved, realizing he was just worried about being exposed.
"Why don't you punch me a few times?"
Wen Ruo gritted her teeth and said in a muffled voice, "Don't think I'm reluctant."
"Who else knows your identity?"
"Uncle, Yang Shen's situation was accidental."
Wen Ruo suddenly looked up, her mouth agape in astonishment. "Your Majesty is willing to do this?"
"I only found out when I asked for the imperial decree."
That's why Gu Yu mentioned Gu Ying in the letter. It turns out only he knew that he had kept it to himself for so long. What was this, his reward for helping him? A friendly reminder?
General Gu was not an honest man either.
Wen Ruo thought to herself, and in the moment she was lost in thought, she felt a coolness on her lips. A kiss landed without warning, and a wet, hot tongue slid through the gap and teasingly sucked on her lips.
She instantly forgot to think and followed her instincts, closing her eyes without noticing the involuntary upturn of the corners of the lips opposite her.
Qi Guanlan smiled and put his arm around her waist, deepening the kiss. Wen Ruo's tongue began to go numb, and her whole body was filled with his fragrance.
"This is what I wanted. Seeing you looking at me with such concern, I had no choice but to come and get it myself."
With his beloved in his arms, looking at him with teary eyes, who would dare to be a saint?
Wen Ruo glanced at him, suppressing her reddened lips, "There's no need to feel sorry for someone who deliberately seeks suffering."
Qi Guanlan raised an eyebrow, her eyes sparkling with a hint of flirtatious charm. "Indeed, you should feel sorry for yourself. Once you're entangled with someone like me, you'll never escape."
He couldn't help but laugh out loud, "And just now, you were simply the best example of Lord Ye who loved dragons but was terrified of them."
"You're handsome, have a good personality, and are good at martial arts, but I didn't see you pounce on me. You almost gave me a heart attack, and I thought I was going to be kicked out!"
Wen Ruo frowned and sneered, "I'll kick you out right now."
In early February, Wen Ruochi carried a huge pen case on his back, like a scholar taking the imperial examination. He stayed in the East Palace until the end of the spring examination and was not allowed to go out!
Wen Ruo made great contributions to the Lanzhou case, and Chi Xu was repeatedly assassinated for uncovering corruption, all because the two were extremely meticulous!
As the two officials responsible for reading the texts, they are of upright character and have relatively shallow political backgrounds. With His Majesty the Crown Prince as their backer, they would never form cliques, engage in favoritism, or commit malpractice.
"Take a break!"
The quiet copying room had five main rooms running through both ends. Only sunlight and the rustling sound of turning pages could be heard through the screens. "Why doesn't Guanlan come to see you?"
"Why don't you let me go back?"
Wen Ruo flipped through the exam paper in her hand and replied casually that she was so busy that the Crown Prince still had the leisure to care about her life's most important matter.
Qi Mingshuo stopped in front of the desk, glanced at her expression, and said with certainty, "You two had a fight."
"What did Guanlan do to offend you? Tell me, and I'll help you."
Wen Ruo's hand holding the pen froze in mid-air. She was the one who provoked Qi Guanlan. At that time, Qi Guanlan said something that struck a chord with her. The thought that she couldn't escape made her want to back down.
She's fine with talking about love, but when it comes to marriage, she doesn't want to at all unless she keeps him by her side.
Setting up her own household was now a piece of cake for Qi Guanlan. The princess's betrothal gifts were almost at her doorstep, so she had no choice but to pack her bags and hide in the East Palace.
"He always talks about his children's personal feelings."
Grand Tutor Wang was practically following the Crown Prince around; though his hair was already covered in frost, he still wandered around with his cane.
At this moment, Wen Ruo slammed her cane into the ground, feeling a pang of heartache. What if it broke? It was made of golden nanmu wood.
He was very dissatisfied with their lack of focus. "How much have you been looking at? Although you have extraordinary talent, not just anyone can participate in the imperial examination. I want to see if your knowledge is as good as you claim, or if Qi Guanlan is just blind to love."
"Please have a seat, sir!"
The imperial court recruited talented individuals without being bound by convention. Grand Tutor Wang posed questions on the spot, and anyone confident in their abilities could participate. Naturally, many sought to become his students.
Wen Ruo handed over several exam papers, saying, "These are all questions that I am unsure about. Please take a look, Grand Tutor."
"What are these two stacks over there?"
"The few are naturally talented individuals, but unfortunately there are only two or three from humble backgrounds. On the other hand, having spent many years in the capital, I have noticed that some young masters are merely empty names, such as the Dou and Cen families. I suspect that they may have had their writings copied by others."
Wang Chong sat down to the side and flipped through the papers one by one, his smile growing wider and wider.
Qi Mingshuo coughed lightly, "What does the teacher think?"
Wang Zhong put down the test paper, his smile suddenly vanishing. "Dean Tanxue really doesn't hold back; you've seen it all?"
Without some knowledge and experience, one naturally cannot distinguish between good and bad, right and wrong.
Wen Ruo smiled and nodded, saying, "Of course, the Dean said that without the Grand Tutor, we wouldn't be able to see this unique book."
After Wang Taifu left, Wen Ruo received many exam papers one after another, collected under various pretexts, and even smuggled in personal messages, such as a note from Qi Guanlan begging for mercy.
Apologizing with thorns on one's back? The drawing is quite cute; she took the opportunity to elaborate a little!
I've missed you quite a bit these past few days.
Wen Ruo rubbed her face. "Calm down!"
No matter how good Qi Guanlan was, he could only think about it for an hour each day.
Qi Guanlan booked Lenghualou Restaurant to entertain his two childhood friends. After only a few drinks, he couldn't help but ask for advice, "She's angry with me, what should I do?"
Zhao Heng and Cao Xi exchanged a glance. Cao Xi clasped her hands together and placed them on the table, calmly asking, "What did you do to offend her?"
Wen Ruo has a good temper and rarely gets angry, mainly because she doesn't care about many things. Qi Guanlan won't steal her money; in fact, he'll offer it to her with both hands, so she's quite curious.
Qi Guanlan thought for a moment and finally confessed, "I said I was Gu Ying, and that she was just a hypocrite. It was just a joke, and she kicked me out. Don't you think she did it on purpose?"
Zhao Heng nearly choked on his saliva. "You're Gu Ying?"
"But she still doesn't want to marry me." Qi Guanlan looked frustrated. How could she just kiss me and run away?
Zhao Heng lowered his head, his shoulders shrugging slightly. He had said that Wen Ruo wasn't so easily changed.
"What are you laughing at!" Qi Guanlan slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily.
Zhao Heng cupped his hands in apology and comforted her, "She has already accepted the imperial decree, what are you thinking? You haven't even delivered the betrothal gifts, how do you know she doesn't want it anymore?"
"I need to deliver the marriage certificate, but she's not here!!!"
"Isn't her mother here?"
“Her mother said she couldn’t make the decision, so Wen Ruo must have said something. Cao Xi, why do you think she’s unwilling? She clearly likes me.”
Zhao Heng immediately became serious, and the two of them looked at Cao Xi with bright eyes, as if they were asking the same question.
Cao Xi held her wine glass, stared at him for a long time, and then suddenly smiled, "Didn't she tell you how she left Lanzhou and got to the capital?"
Qi Guanlan was stunned. He had wiped out the group of people in Lanzhou, hoping to find Wen Ruo's family. However, after searching through all the old records, he found that the years had passed and the people had changed several times, leaving no trace at all.
"Her second marriage lasted only a year from love to boredom. The man took several concubines on the grounds that she had no children. Her mother wanted a divorce, but the man couldn't bear to part with her dowry and bribed officials to prevent her from leaving."
"Her mother couldn't bear it any longer, so she packed her valuables and took her away with her. They were chased all the way and abandoned her. She was later rescued by Hong Shiliu."
"She has a sense of justice, which is why she is generous at the academy."
"The more you love her, the more afraid she becomes."
Qi Guanlan's expression immediately turned ugly.
Cao Xi glanced at it and said indifferently, "It's not like she doesn't want to get married!"
"The dean also spoke to her, saying that she is slowly changing. She has endured it for five years, so why rush things?"
"I suspect part of the reason she's trying so hard to make a name for herself is because of you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com