Chapter 43, Chapter 21: The Heir Apparent's Wife
Yu Wanwan smiled and shook her head slightly.
"I don't have that much time to come here just to see you make a fool of yourself."
Xiaotang choked, feeling extremely aggrieved.
She and Yu Wanwan actually didn't have much interaction.
She had once considered starting with her, but this woman was too much of a homebody. She waited for a long time, but she couldn't wait for her to come out.
The only direct confrontation was that time in Cangyan County.
She suffered a crushing defeat, losing both her wife and her army.
Now, whenever Xiaotang sees Yu Wanwan's gentle smiling face, she feels like tearing her apart. "Then what are you doing here!"
Yu Wanwan stroked her chin with one hand, sizing her up.
"I'm just curious, why didn't you use the prop card on Young Master Ye?"
Xiaotang's pupils suddenly contracted, and she broke out in a cold sweat.
Xu Qingzhou also paused and turned to look at her.
She still had that gentle, smiling look, as if she had just asked what I ate today.
Xiaotang was terrified and abruptly turned her head away, closing her eyes and not daring to look at her.
I don't know what you're talking about!
"You really don't know?"
She lifted Xiaotang's chin with one hand and lightly tapped her forehead with her index finger.
"Then I'll find one myself!"
Yu Wanwan didn't care at all whether Xu Qingzhou would notice something was wrong.
When Daoguo was around, she could keep an eye on her, but now that Daoguo is asleep and there's no one to restrain her, she's become increasingly reckless.
Her fingers were warm, but Xiaotang felt only a chilling coldness emanating from the finger touching her brow.
It looked as if what touched her brow wasn't a finger, but a sharp blade.
It could easily pierce her skin.
Xiaotang's body was trembling, but she still bit her lip tightly and refused to say anything.
Yu Wanwan just chuckled, and slowly increased the pressure of her index finger pressing against her brow.
Xu Qingzhou couldn't figure it out.
In his eyes, Yu Wanwan did nothing except place her finger between his eyebrows.
Xiaotang, the person involved, could clearly feel that as she increased the force, something slowly flowed into her brow and traveled through her body.
It didn't hurt at all; in fact, it was warm and soothing. Xiaotang had never experienced anything so mysterious before, not even when she was bound to the system!
She was so frightened that she immediately opened her eyes, and large tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Isn't this just an ordinary ancient world?
Why does this woman possess these methods that only the system has?
Yu Wanwan loosened her grip and looked at her with a faint smile.
Xiaotang swallowed hard, glanced at Xu Qingzhou who was calm and composed, showing no signs of surprise or shock, and then bit her lip before speaking.
"I failed to win over Xu Qingzhou. His favorability towards me has now dropped to negative numbers. The system has run out of energy and shut down, and the system shop is also closed. I can't buy any item cards!"
Yu Wanwan raised an eyebrow.
No wonder she couldn't find the system after searching all over.
It turns out the phone was turned off.
"What did you use to buy the item card?"
This time, it wasn't Yu Wanwan who spoke, but Xu Qingzhou.
Yu Wanwan glanced at him, while Xu Qingzhou, with a tense expression, looked back at her.
Why are you looking at him?
As the person involved, am I not even allowed to ask questions?
Damn it, why does this woman have a system shop while he doesn't?
Yu Wanwan pursed her lips and looked away.
Xiaotang was afraid that Yu Wanwan would put that strange thing into her body again, so she didn't dare to hide it from her.
"The system tells me to increase my favorability with men. Once I have enough favorability, I can buy item cards in the shop."
"Any man's favorability will do?"
"Um."
"..."
Yu Wanwan didn't know what to say.
This system really doesn't discriminate; it's clearly not a legitimate thing.
Xu Qingzhou's feelings were also complicated.
This is much simpler than him working himself to the bone to clear his name and protect others.
"Then why did you choose Young Master Ye?"
"Before the system shut down, it gave me a side quest: to win over Young Master Ye. If I succeed, it can restart the system."
"Side quests? What about the main quests?"
Perhaps because she had already said so much, Xiaotang had no intention of hiding anything.
She lay on the ground, looking at Xu Qingzhou.
"Of course, it's about winning you over."
Xu Qingzhou remained silent.
That's really not surprising.
"Did you use a prop card on me back then?"
"certainly!"
The young master is not a fool. Although he is a womanizer, he is not vulgar. He is also very satisfied with and respectful of his fiancée, Xi Qingyao.
Without the prop cards, she would have no chance to attract his attention or have any further contact with him.
"If I hadn't used the item card on you back in Kuran, would you still hate me so much?"
"meeting."
Xu Qingzhou answered without hesitation.
He glanced at Yu Wanwan subconsciously.
Xiaotang could scheme against him, but she couldn't scheme against her.
Who knows if he would have been able to complete his mission if she had succeeded in her scheme?
Xiaotang twitched the corners of her mouth, understanding what he meant.
"Men..."
Apart from their first encounter, when she used a prop card to attract the young master's attention, she hadn't done anything else to him.
The young master's feelings for her afterwards were all genuine.
In such a short time, he was able to completely let go of all his past feelings and fall in love with someone else.
Xu Qingzhou frowned and instinctively looked at Yu Wanwan's reaction.
He knew he wasn't the heir apparent, but did she... know?
However, Yu Wanwan did not react.
Xu Qingzhou didn't know whether he should breathe a sigh of relief or feel a little disappointed.
Having gotten the answer she wanted, Yu Wanwan lost interest in Xiaotang.
Without hesitation, he let go of Xiaotang and turned to leave.
Her decisive departure surprised Xiaotang.
"You have no other questions?"
From the beginning until now, she has only asked one question; all the others have been asked by Xu Qingzhou.
Yu Wanwan waved her hand.
"Not interested."
Before leaving, Yu Wanwan stopped again and looked back at Xiaotang, who was still lying on the ground.
"The system is shut down, and it can't control you anymore. Haven't you thought about living the life you want?"
Xiaotang froze, her gaze becoming somewhat blank.
Could she... do something else?
Yu Wanwan left after saying just that one sentence.
Before leaving, he made sure to lock the room again.
On the way back, none of the three spoke.
Xu Mingche received a lot of information that night and is still confused and unable to sort out his thoughts.
Yu Wanwan's curiosity was satisfied, and she had nothing to say.
As for Xu Qingzhou, he had a lot to say, but there were too many questions, so he didn't know where to begin.
By the time he figured out how to ask, Yu Wanwan was already asleep in bed.
Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, Xu Qingzhou choked up completely, a breath stuck in his chest, unable to come up or down.
After looking at her for a while, I finally couldn't bring myself to wake her up.
Never mind, I'll ask again tomorrow.
To his surprise, when he asked about it the next day, Yu Wanwan looked at him in astonishment.
"What are you talking about? When did we go out last night? Were we going to the Ye residence to find Miss Xiaotang?"
Xu Qingzhou had considered that she might make up some reasons to deceive him, and he had also considered that she might ask him why he wasn't surprised at all about the system, as if she already knew about it.
But I never expected that she would deny it so confidently.
Not only did she deny it, she also turned the tables and accused him.
"My dear husband, you're not still hung up on Xiaotang, are you?"
"..."
Grass!
Xu Qingzhou was furious, but he was completely helpless against her.
Even when Xu Mingche came, she gave the same answer, without changing a single word.
What else can the two brothers say besides being filled with love for plants?
We can't possibly sneak into the Ye residence again at night to confront Xiaotang!
When Xu Mingche asked him about the system and the favorability rating, Xu Qingzhou decisively chose to play dumb.
Anyway, Xu Mingche didn't know he wasn't the original, so he might as well blame it all on her.
As the imperial examination drew closer, Xu Mingche lost interest in asking about these matters.
Perhaps it was Yu Wanwan's words that influenced Xiaotang that day, because the Ye family calmed down afterwards and no more bad rumors came out.
And the imperial examination finally arrived.
Xu Qingzhou and Xu Mingche both passed the imperial examination and entered the palace examination without any surprise.
The questions for the imperial examination revolved around the vast desert.
Xu Qingzhou became curious about the expansion of the Hanhai Desert after reading that biography, and he consulted many books to verify and understand it.
Xu Mingche pestered him every day during that period and watched a lot of things with him.
The two also discussed the issue of desert migration many times.
At this moment, the test question seemed tailor-made for the two brothers.
Xu Qingzhou didn't lower the score too much.
As for Xu Mingche, he remembered what Xu Qingzhou had said to him after the results of the provincial examination came out, and silently lowered his score.
In the end, Xu Qingzhou won second place, while Xu Mingche only got the title of Shujishi.
The top two scholars were too eye-catching, so the second-place scholar was just right in the middle.
This was the result of him lowering the score based on His Majesty's attitude towards the Marquis of Chengqing's residence, which was not unexpected, but Xu Mingche's score...
Xu Mingche just smiled.
"A tall tree catches the wind, and now is the perfect time for that."
Xu Qingzhou had nothing to say.
Marquis Chengqing was very satisfied with this result.
Yu Wanwan did not interfere with Xu Qingzhou's career, and everything proceeded smoothly as if it were a plot device.
The Xu brothers entered the Hanlin Academy together, and with the help of the Earl of Changrong, they did not face any discrimination within the academy.
Of course, because of their background, they did not receive any preferential treatment.
However, for the Chengqing Marquis's mansion, not being ostracized was already the best treatment they could receive.
Three years later, the third son of the Marquis of Chengqing returned to the capital and, with the help of the Marquis of Chengqing's connections, entered the palace and became an imperial bodyguard.
Xu Mingche accepted the transfer order and went to the south with his wife and children to serve as a county magistrate.
As early as after he entered the Hanlin Academy, Lady Hou had arranged a marriage for him.
His wife was the second daughter of a fifth-rank official in the capital. Her status was neither high nor low. Although she was the second daughter, she was still a legitimate daughter and had been well-educated since childhood.
Originally, a legitimate daughter should not become the principal wife of a son born out of wedlock. However, Xu Mingche's status in the Marquis's mansion was not bad, and he also entered the Hanlin Academy. Therefore, this legitimate second daughter could be considered to have married up.
They had a child just three months after their marriage, and the following year their eldest son was born.
Because of this, Xu Qingzhou and Yu Wanwan were constantly urged, both openly and subtly, by the Marquis of Chengqing and his wife.
Yu Wanwan would listen with a smile each time, but after returning, she would still do what she always did, unmoved.
What could Xu Qingzhou do? Having a child isn't something he can just decide to do on his own.
He could only silently bear the pressure from Marquis Chengqing and his wife.
Not long after Xu Mingche and his wife and children left Beijing, Xu Qingzhou also left the capital.
The migration speed of the vast desert is getting faster and faster. The methods that Xu Qingzhou wrote during the imperial examination have been observed and tested for three years, and now His Majesty has finally made a decision.
An imperial decree was issued, ordering the Crown Prince to lead a team, with Xu Qingzhou assisting, to the Han Hai Desert area to prevent the desert from further deteriorating.
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