Chapter 22 Self-Strategy for Collapsing Together
Shen Hegui's gaze was so intense that it forced Lu Wensheng to speak again: "The Hanlin Academy is a powerless government office, and my salary is meager. This wall... the wall..." Realizing the logical contradiction, Lu Wensheng's voice grew softer and softer.
Shen Hegui sneered and exposed: "I remember your home is in Luanshu Hutong. This courtyard is near the biggest brothel in Yanjing, where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold. Since you have built another house here, would you be short of money to repair the walls?"
“It’s not that we lack money, but it’s all money I earned through hard work. If we can avoid repairing this wall, we should. It’s something that can be solved by drilling, why make it to the point of needing to repair the wall?” Lu Wensheng pointed behind him, “Your Highness may have had a good time chopping it down, but after a while, I’ll have to find someone to clean up the mess!”
"The Embroidered Uniform Guard will handle this." Shen Hegui's gaze fell on Lu Wensheng's lips, which had just finished uttering the vulgar words: "You are a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics, when did you become so vulgar and crude?" It was so soft and even had a faint fragrance when it touched her lips.
Shen Hegui's already thin filter of affection for Lu Wensheng was gradually crumbling at this point.
Lu Wensheng: "..."
She was speechless for a moment and decided to silently retreat to her little nest.
How hateful! Why don't girls have tools for committing crimes? If she had pulled out something bigger than Shen Hegui's, she could have shown him right then and there what vulgarity and crudeness really meant!
Wipe your butt!
Tch! If you're so capable, then finish your big one and don't wipe it! Keep it clamped!
After silently complaining, Lu Wensheng felt relieved. She bent down to crawl through the dog hole when she felt a tightness around her neck, and suddenly there was nothing there. In the blink of an eye, she was inside the wall instead of outside it.
"How stupid!" Shen Hegui released his grip and slowly walked forward.
Lu Wensheng took a deep breath, put on the standard smile of a corporate slave, and praised insincerely, "Your Highness is so smart, and your martial arts are amazing!" So why did you break the wall when you could have just turned her over? To show off your sword!
The prince's heart is as unfathomable as a needle at the bottom of the sea.
Although Lu Wensheng didn't come to this courtyard often, it had all the basic necessities he needed.
After treating Shen Hegui's arrow wound, they changed their clothes, washed their hair, and drank a large bowl of ginger soup to ward off the cold.
As Lu Wensheng stood in front of the stove, preparing to solve the problem of dinner for the two of them, she was still wondering why the arrow wound on her collarbone wasn't deep at all, despite having lost so much blood. She suppressed her doubts and asked, "There are only noodles and dried bamboo shoots here. Is it okay to have noodles for dinner?"
Shen Hegui lowered his head and smelled the dried bamboo shoots, his face wrinkling slightly: "Why would your house have something with such a strange smell?"
Lu Wensheng was amused by his expression and compromised, saying, "Then let's not have bamboo shoot noodles, and have plain scallion noodles instead?"
When Shen Hegui saw her hang the salted meat back up, he immediately changed his mind and said rather arrogantly, "I won't eat noodles without meat."
"Alright, alright!" It's a good thing Shen He doesn't live at her house, otherwise, if he wanted meat at every meal, he would be too difficult to please.
Nowadays, it is said that a gentleman should stay away from cooking. As Shen Hegui watched her skillful movements in front of the stove, and recalled the casual conversation he had overheard at the noodle stall, his heart softened: "Did you have a hard childhood?"
It was already dark. Although the rain had stopped, the dampness lingered, creating a stuffy atmosphere. The oil lamp in the kitchen cast a warm glow, but it wasn't very bright.
Lu Wensheng scalded the small dried bamboo shoots in boiling water and squinted at the eaves in front of him.
"Whether it's good or not depends on how you compare it. Compared to ordinary people who can't even get enough to eat, my life is pretty good. But compared to..." Lu Wensheng paused, then continued, "Compared to Zhang Zhidong, who is showered with love and has everything he wants, it's naturally not good."
Lu Wensheng was cutting a rather tough piece of ham, and the knife wasn't sharp, so it was quite difficult.
Shen Hegui couldn't stand it anymore and naturally reached out for a knife: "The knife is all worn out, do you have a whetstone at home?"
“Yes.” Lu Wensheng took out a brand new whetstone from the cupboard: “I’m not very good at using this. I used to use a wood-chopping knife to chop meat.”
As the image appeared in his mind, Shen Hegui curled the corners of his lips, took the whetstone and knife, and squatted down by the eaves. He was wearing Lu Wensheng's clothes, which were barely acceptable when standing, but when he squatted down, most of his hands and legs were exposed.
The cool breeze made the lamplight flicker, and Lu Wensheng stepped forward to shield him from the west wind.
The sound of sharpening knives echoed rhythmically in the twilight.
Shen Hegui: "When comparing myself to others, I thought you would use me as an example." Perhaps because the atmosphere was too good, he suddenly didn't want to maintain the image of a lonely person in front of Lu Wensheng.
Lu Wensheng had seen his father sharpen knives when he was a child, so he brought a bowl and filled it with some water.
Shen Hegui naturally took the knife and poured water onto its blade.
Lu Wensheng squatted down beside him, resting her chin on her hand. The flesh of her lower cheek was squeezed onto her upper cheek. Looking down at Shen Hegui's skillful movements, a strange longing welled up in her heart. If only her father hadn't died so young.
Lu Wensheng said softly, "Your Highness's background is indeed good, but I understand that royal children actually have a tough life. I once heard a saying: 'Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.' Ordinary people can drink and throw tantrums when they are unhappy, but emperors and princes can only grit their teeth and swallow their anger, because so many eyes are watching! Not to mention the censors who dare to point their fingers at the emperor and scold him over trivial matters."
Shen Hegui paused in his knife-sharpening motion, then turned and stared intently at Lu Wensheng.
The warm yellow candlelight cast a gentle glow on Lu Wensheng's soft face, making his eyes sparkle like a luxurious long-haired cat, utterly endearing. In truth, when he was very young, he had also looked forward to Shen Zhao's birth, dreaming of living with his beloved younger brother.
Unfortunately, Shen Zhao is also a tiger, and two tigers cannot share one mountain. If he were more obedient, like Lu Wensheng, how wonderful it would be if he were a cat, occasionally making silly mistakes that would scratch him, but not fatally.
"Where did I say something wrong? Or did I aggravate my wound? Should I try?" Meeting Shen Hegui's serious gaze, Lu Wensheng quickly went through the few words he had just said in his mind and found no problem.
Shen Hegui's lips suddenly lifted slightly, and ripples appeared in his eyes. This heartfelt smile was so fleeting that Lu Wensheng almost thought he was seeing things.
She had seen Shen Hegui smile before, but most of those smiles were superficial, like a mask that had been worn for a long time, never truly reaching the depths of his eyes.
"No." That hit the nail on the head.
Shen Hegui tested the blade with his fingertip, found it comfortable, and got up to cut the ham.
Looking at the perfectly evenly sliced meat, Lu Wensheng couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Your Highness's knife skills are so good?"
"Spend a few days in the Zhaoyu prison, and you'll be able to train too."
Lu Wensheng rubbed his arms: "This joke isn't funny at all." In Zhao Prison, the only thing people use for practice is human flesh.
"Fear?"
“Who wouldn’t be afraid of going to Zhaoyu, that place that eats people without spitting out bones?” Lu Wensheng stared at the cutting board: “That’s enough, any more and the soup noodles will be too salty.”
"I can tell you were completely unafraid during that scene at the chicken coop just now." Shen Hegui wiped his hands, then took the oil lamp and placed it next to the stove.
Lu Wensheng was pondering how to defend himself when he was interrupted by someone else: "This afternoon in the accounting office, I saw you having difficulty seeing in the dark. Did you injure your eyes?"
The room suddenly brightened considerably. Lu Wensheng noticed that the dried bamboo shoots were almost fully soaked, so he first stir-fried the sliced meat in the charcoal pot, and then added the shredded bamboo shoots, boiling water, and noodles in that order.
Lu Wensheng: "I'm not injured. My eyesight is probably the price I paid for rushing through the imperial examinations. I read too many books and became a little nearsighted."
What is nearsightedness?
Remembering that Shen Hegui was a true ancient scholar, Lu Wensheng patiently explained, "It means that you can't see things very far away clearly, and it's quite difficult to read words in low light."
Shen Hegui nodded thoughtfully: "Have the imperial physician examine you when you have time. A person can be mute, but cannot be blind or deaf."
Lu Wensheng was amused by Shen Hegui's sudden seriousness: "It's a minor problem, nothing to worry about. Besides, I haven't been reading much these past few years."
Judging that it was cooked enough, she lifted the lid and gently stirred it with a spatula, releasing a savory and fresh aroma. She ladled a spoonful of noodle soup, added two slices of meat, and handed it over: "Try it first and see if you like it?"
His gaze pierced through the misty steam and met those bright, expectant eyes. Shen Hegui felt a pang of regret once again that Lu Wensheng was not a woman.
Because of the dried bamboo shoots, the noodle soup was light brown. Shen Hegui took a small bite with some doubt, but the salty and savory flavor burst on his tongue, and he couldn't help but try a piece of meat.
Lu Wensheng could tell from his expression that it suited his wishes.
The pot of noodles was divided into two bowls, and the two people sat facing each other, both enjoying their meal immensely.
After calming his stomach, Lu Wensheng began to struggle with the bed in front of him.
She used to come here alone to spend the night, but now that Shen Hegui is here, how should the bed be divided?
She didn't want to sleep on the floor, but it didn't seem appropriate to let Shen Hegui sleep on the floor either.
"What are you doing standing here?" Shen Hegui had just washed his face, his hair still damp. He casually shook the quilt cover embroidered with pink peony branches, and then said, "Too girly."
These three words instantly became Lu Wensheng's excuse to convince himself: "Then I'll bring this quilt and sleep on the floor, while Your Highness sleeps on the bed."
"Don't you have any other blankets at home?"
"No, Your Highness is the first outsider I've brought home." As she spoke, she reached for the blanket.
Shen Hegui was pleased by Lu Wensheng's words. He gently slapped Lu Wensheng's hand away and said, "You sleep inside tonight, and I'll sleep outside."
Lu Wensheng was incredulous, thinking he had misheard: "We're sleeping in the same bed tonight?"
"You don't want to?" Shen Hegui's brows furrowed slowly. Lu Wensheng had always coveted him, but now that he had offered to share a bed, he was unwilling?!
Seeing that Shen Hegui was about to frown, Lu Wensheng quickly jumped onto the bed. In all her years in Yanjing, she wasn't afraid of Prince Su, nor the Emperor, but she was terrified of this Crown Prince's dark expression. She couldn't understand it, nor could she find the reason.
Seeing Lu Wensheng's swift and decisive movements, Shen Hegui remained silent for a moment, then tied his belt into a tight knot before slowly explaining, "It's cold and damp in the rain, and we've already been caught in the rain during the day, so it's not advisable for us to sleep on the floor. I didn't mean anything by it, so don't overthink it."
Lu Wensheng was preoccupied with the fact that Shen Hegui would suggest sleeping on the same bed, and that he would turn sour when she hesitated for only a moment, as if he hadn't listened carefully at all.
"Mmm, I know all of that," Lu Wensheng replied without thinking.
My side caved in, and then a surge of heat rose from the blankets and hit my face.
If she hadn't been fleeing for her life that afternoon, she would have been shivering from the cold long ago. After entering her private quarters, Shen Hegui hadn't left, so she hadn't been able to take a bath to warm herself up. Therefore, at this moment, she was feeling cold and desperately craved a source of heat.
While her father was still alive, life, though not without its ups and downs, was generally stable and normal. The family was well-off and didn't want their only daughter to marry far away, so her mother and father had already planned to find her a husband when she came of age, with the criteria to be set by her.
Her criteria were simple: a good figure and face, a simple family structure, and most importantly, the ability to keep the bed warm.
When the memory reached this point, Lu Wensheng inexplicably moved it outwards.
The bed wasn't big to begin with, and with this movement, she bumped into Shen Hegui's strong arm as she wished. The dividing line of the quilt was pushed open by Lu Wensheng's body, and the warm air under the quilt kept flowing towards her.
It was so comfortable that she couldn't help but sigh.
Shen Hegui was a perceptive person, and even with his eyes closed, he noticed Lu Wensheng's subtle movements immediately.
He rolled over and opened his eyes.
Should he have considered the bigger picture and let Lu Wensheng sleep with him? If Lu Wensheng insists on getting something out of him tonight, should he agree or disagree? Is it the same for a man to get something out of another man as for a man to get something out of a woman...?
Shen Hegui lay on his side next to Lu Wensheng, his mind filled with the ten thousand whys he had asked himself.
The lamp on the table was still lit, but it wasn't very bright.
Shen Hegui's round pupils gradually enlarged and diffused until they almost filled the entire white of his eyes, making him look extremely inhuman.
He couldn't help but purse his lips and curl his fingers, thinking of the scene during the day when Lu Wensheng dragged him away.
Lu Wensheng's hands were not only small, but also exceptionally warm and soft, completely different from his own, which was usually cold. And that hurried kiss in the rain wasn't actually unpleasant; no, upon closer reflection, he actually kind of liked it...
Shen Hegui turned and ran away. Lu Wensheng lay in the cold bed and counted the 290th sheep. He found himself becoming more and more awake as he counted, so he simply sat up and whispered, "Your Highness, are you asleep?"
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