Chapter 26 Should we jump out of the car? Would you be satisfied with the result?
Li Chongke's sunken eye bags twitched slightly as he said contemptuously, "Lu Wensheng, how come you, a rogue courtier, are on the other side?"
Lu Wensheng never actively seeks trouble, but that doesn't mean she's afraid of it. She immediately retorted, "Because you're such a pedantic old man who's read too many books, I had no choice but to come to the other side!"
Li Chongke was so enraged by the vulgar language that his face turned pale: "Filthy language! Vulgar and disgusting!"
When it comes to arguing, Lu Wensheng is an expert: "You're so noble, yet you use your toothless, rotten mouth to slander the royal family's bloodline as impure, mock the late empress's unclear origins, and even try to ruin people's reputations and ostracize those from humble backgrounds with your petty tricks. I don't think even the five-step snakes that have become spirits outside the city are as venomous as you."
Before Lu Wensheng could catch his breath, Li Chongke opened his mouth to retort.
Lu Wensheng lifted her eyelids and immediately replied, "Don't talk, your tone is too strong, I'm worried you'll open your mouth and poop." She raised her chin arrogantly, "His Highness is over there, I'm afraid he'll be harmed by the smell, it would be heartbreaking."
Shen Hegui paused in his tea-drinking motion, a strange brightness rising in his heart.
“You…” Li Chongke pointed at Lu Wensheng, his whole body trembling. He was furious.
Seeing Li Chongke stand up, Lu Wensheng simply dragged her chair to Shen Hegui's side. As she walked, she said, "It's cold in early spring, Lord Li, remember to cover yourself with more soil tonight so you don't catch a cold. Sometimes, I really don't understand you guys. You can never win an argument with me, yet you still insist on finding fault with me. I'm just a minor repairman, what have I done to offend you?"
Wang Minzhi wiped the sweat from her palms and pulled Li Chongke back to his seat.
Wang Minzhi: "Your men have been arguing with Lu Wensheng for over three years, and when have they ever won?!"
It would have been better if he hadn't brought it up; the moment he did, Li Chongke got even angrier.
Lu Wensheng gloated and grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the table to start munching. After eating two or three, she simply took the plate to Zhan Xingxiu and the others: "The spiced sunflower seeds from Yuhua Terrace taste pretty good. This big plate probably costs one tael of silver. Let's eat some to replenish our energy. Anyway, it's not our money, so why not eat it?"
After thinking for a moment, she reached out and grabbed two more handfuls, scooped them up with the hem of her dress, and said to everyone, "I'll go to the front and peel some melon seeds for His Highness."
She is always generous and cheerful towards friends on the same side, like the warm, gentle sun in winter, naturally spreading ease to everyone.
A cracking sound rang out, and after a short while, Shen He returned to his side, where the officials who hadn't been talking much before began to converse in detail.
The atmosphere on both sides was so different that an invisible pressure was suddenly released towards the other side.
The young censor Xu was the first to succumb to the pressure and knelt down, begging for mercy: "Your Highness, please spare my life! My father sent me here..."
Shen Hegui nodded slightly, and the Imperial Guards on the side pulled the man away for questioning.
Someone raised their hand to wipe the sweat from their forehead, and a lingering sense of panic gradually welled up in everyone's hearts.
Lu Wensheng's hands moved very quickly, and the fragrant melon seeds and meat gradually piled up into a small mountain.
Shen Hegui remained unmoved, and Wang Minzhi and the others also remained silent, resulting in a stalemate between the two sides.
Time passed in silence, and the plump melon seeds gradually filled the white jade teacup. Lu Wensheng took half for himself and then pushed the other half of the teacup to Shen Hegui.
She only meant to be polite, but she never expected that Shen Hegui would actually start eating them one by one.
"Something's not right with Shen Hegui!" Lu Wensheng muttered to himself.
About an incense stick later, the sound of armor approached from afar. Lu Wensheng craned his neck to look and saw that it was Luo Jiangsheng leading his men down.
Luo Jiangsheng bowed and said, "Your Highness, all those involved in the incident in the capital have been secretly arrested and sent to the Imperial Prison. Those not in Yanjing have been secretly arrested."
Wang Minzhi suddenly stood up: "Shen Hegui, aren't you afraid of paralyzing the court by arresting so many officials at once?" Having torn off all pretense of civility, he didn't even address the Crown Prince anymore.
Shen Hegui calmly poured the remaining claw meat from the white jade cup into a white handkerchief, then put it in his bosom, saying, "So this is what you rely on. I thought you were waiting for that old bastard Zhang Mianzhi to come and save you."
His narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes curved into a sharp arc: "There are plenty of people who want to be officials, but you don't need to worry about my empire, Wang Dan!"
"Lin Shoubai, bring the man to your place and interrogate him thoroughly. As for this No. 1 Restaurant in Yanjing, burn it down. February 3rd is no auspicious day. Wang Minzhi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Zhang Chongke, the Right Censor of the Censorate, were feasting here when they tragically perished in the fire!"
Lin Shoubai clasped his hands in obeisance and accepted the order: "Your Highness, I obey your command!"
Shen Hegui got up and left.
Wang Minzhi slumped back into the armchair behind him.
Lu Wensheng pursed her lips, turned around and took one last look at Wang Minzhi and the others who had always ostracized her, even though they were on the same side in the past.
Unexpectedly, she would witness the downfall of these villains. How satisfying! Shen Hegui now holds military power and has also taken over the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He is no longer the same Shen Hegui he once was. How can these people not see through him!
...
Lu Wensheng was still in a daze even after he got into the carriage.
It wasn't that they were shocked by Shen Hegui's ruthless methods, but rather that they regretted the restaurant.
After hesitating for a long time, Lu Wensheng said, "Your Highness, it's a pity that this restaurant has burned down. Aren't you short of money? Why not recruit the owner and put him to work for you?"
Shen Hegui opened his eyes. "Do you know who the owner of that restaurant is?"
Lu Wensheng shook his head.
The sun had risen sometime earlier, casting a warm golden light on Shen Hegui's profile: "Wang Minzhi."
Lu Wensheng choked: "Then it's better to burn it for peace of mind."
Her dispute with Zhang Chongke was a war of words, but her case with Wang Minzhi was a matter of life and death; they could never reconcile.
Experience from the past: A dog that bites doesn't bark.
That was her second year as an editor. Wang Minzhi secretly altered the edict she had drafted, changing the reward of ten mu of land to a reward of a thousand mu. Fortunately, she had developed the habit of checking everything she handled, which saved her from disaster.
Later, Wang Minzhi used his connections to try and transfer her to a remote, cold place so he could kill her without her noticing. She swallowed her pride and begged Prince Su for help, thus escaping another calamity.
The third time, Wang Minzhi went completely awry and sent someone to kill her. Coincidentally, she ran into Shen Hegui, who was being assassinated, and took advantage of the chaos to shift the blame and slip away.
That very day, she went to Zhang Mianzhi and asked him to keep a close eye on his adopted son. After all, they were all in the same boat, and if she pressed him too hard, he might do something immoral.
That night, Wang Minzhi, who was nearly forty, was beaten and forced to kneel in the ancestral hall, the Zhang family's ancestral hall.
"What are you thinking about?" Shen Hegui asked.
Lu Wensheng pulled himself out of his thoughts: "I was thinking that Your Highness's move was just right. How does Your Highness plan to deal with that despicable scoundrel, Wang Minzhi?"
Shen Hegui leaned leisurely against the carriage wall, not answering, but instead slowly said, "Aren't you going to ask me where I'm taking you this time?"
Lu Wensheng lifted the half-open carriage curtain and looked outside with a relaxed expression: "Isn't this supposed to be taking me to the Hanlin Academy for my shift? This doesn't seem like the way to the Imperial Prison."
Is Shen Hegui going to send her to jail?!
Lu Wensheng was suddenly startled, her dark eyes darting around nervously. She had just saved him yesterday, and today he wanted to mess with her! A leopard can't change its spots; once he's hooked her, he won't let go?!
Is it too late to jump out of the car and run? Pshaw, I take back what I said before!
Lu Wensheng pressed down on the seat cushion, slightly propped up his upper body, ready to jump off the train and escape at any moment.
"The Hanlin Academy is not far from the Zhaoyu Prison." Shen Hegui's tone was ordinary, revealing nothing.
Lu Wensheng gritted his teeth.
Great! It really is going to the Zhaoyu Prison! She doesn't want to go.
Lu Wensheng pretended to look at the scenery outside, his expression very nonchalant: "It's not far, only about half an incense stick's distance. Right now, there are quite a lot of people on the street."
Using the wide sleeves of her robe as cover, Lu Wensheng quietly raised her hips and focused intently on moving outwards, counting down the time she would exert force from five.
The first three numbers went smoothly, but at number two the carriage suddenly jolted, causing Lu Wensheng to lose his balance and fall forward.
In front of her, Shen Hegui sat with relaxed eyebrows, half-closed eyes, and upright posture, like a Bodhisattva.
Unable to stop, Lu Wensheng could only resign herself to closing her eyes. Shen Hegui's carriage had always been very stable, and she didn't believe it was an accident!
Lu Wensheng screamed inwardly at Xiao Yuan: "Is it you causing trouble, or is it the plot causing trouble?"
Xiao Yuan: [It wasn't me, it's part of the plot. You two are sitting too close.]
Lu Wensheng: "..." It was impossible to defend against and he was speechless.
As her cheek touched the cool fabric, the delicate fragrance emanating from Shen Hegui filled her nostrils. Lu Wensheng quickly held her breath. She remembered that last time in the West Corridor, the scent of Shen Hegui had caused her to black out, and then the original character started causing trouble through her mouth. She would never make this mistake a second time!
Thinking he had successfully avoided the danger zone, Lu Wensheng was secretly pleased with himself. He tried to get up by using the momentum, but his small hand pressed into a hard groove and moved up a little.
What is this hard thing? It's softened now, but it seems a bit too soft, like boneless meat.
The texture was so peculiar that she grabbed it a couple more times.
"Lord Lu, are you satisfied with the result of your touch?"
Hmm? What does Shen Hegui mean by that?
Lu Wensheng raised his head, his gaze falling from Shen Hegui's half-black face to his own hand that had caused the trouble.
Lu Wensheng gasped! Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap… It’s all over, it’s all over…
"Your Highness, please let me explain!"
"Take your hand back!" Shen Hegui used all his lifelong self-control to calm himself down.
"I didn't mean to!" Lu Wensheng quickly withdrew, but forgot that he was still holding on, causing Shen Hegui to groan.
"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to!" What a mess! If she were a genuine man, she would never have made such an outrageous mistake. But Shen Hegui really is quite something.
After the lingering pain subsided, Shen Hegui gritted his teeth and shouted, "Lu! Wen! Sheng!"
“I know I was wrong, so... so…” Lu Wensheng hardened his heart and decided to give up the innocence of his hands: “How about I rub them for Your Highness?”
Shen Hegui clenched his fists tightly, his voice carrying three parts mockery and seven parts restraint: "Don't even think about it!" Lu Wensheng had been behaving himself all night, and he had thought he had finally turned over a new leaf, but it turned out it was all an act. Did Lu Wensheng really want him that badly?
Seeing Shen Hegui about to devour her, Lu Wensheng hurriedly said, "Anger is bad for your health. Would Your Highness like to hear about a way to replenish the national treasury?" She reasonably suspected that if she didn't find another topic, Shen Hegui would get so angry that he would want to chop her up.
I've heard that's the most vulnerable part of a man's body, full of nerves and extremely sensitive to pain. It must have been in excruciating pain for Shen Hegui to be so angry.
Shen Hegui leaned against the small table, rubbing his temples, and said sparingly, "Speak!" He suppressed a strange sense of irritation that words could not describe.
If he told Lu Wensheng directly that he was impotent, would that make him give up on the idea? No, he didn't want to kill him yet. Oh well, he'd just have to bear with it. After all, Lu Wensheng was only getting a small advantage, nothing serious.
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