Chapter 149 You Will Always Be My Brother Forever
The word "corruption" made Mu Dong's blood run cold.
He looked at Mu Zhiqiu for help.
Mu Zhiqiu still had a smile on his face, but the corners of his mouth were very stiff, and his hands hidden in his sleeves were deeply clenched in his palms.
Poor family...
Poor family...
The Mu family has come a long way to this day, and she doesn’t know how many times she has heard this word.
Just because her father was of humble origin and was just a peddler weaving straw mats, even though her father later passed the imperial examination and became a new noble and close minister to the emperor, those young ladies from wealthy families still looked down on her!
It was just a mere five hundred thousand taels of silver, but because her family was from a poor family and not as well-off as the famous and prestigious families, even if her brother could come up with it, others would think that it was the proceeds of her family's corruption!
But unfortunately, she really couldn't explain the source of her family's money.
Mu Zhiqiu took a deep breath, barely suppressing the resentment in his chest, and said with a smile, "My brother is naughty. He was just curious at the moment, so he bid a random price. Since the prince wants this lamp, and no one here has bid higher than the prince, then this lamp belongs to the prince."
The maid brought the lamp to the private room where Xie Guanlan was.
Cuicui sighed, "The prince never spends extravagantly on weekdays, but I never thought he would spend a fortune on this broken lamp today! I wonder what secrets are hidden in the lamp. Even I am curious!"
Wen Xingluo drooped his eyelashes.
In his eyes, is her secret worth so much money?
Is it to protect her, or to maintain the reputation of the palace?
Wen Xingluo couldn't tell the difference.
There was a lot of noise below, and people were also speculating.
A drunken gossipmonger shouted, "Your Highness, you spent so much money to buy this lamp. Could it be that the secret inside the lamp is related to your sister? After all, Miss Mu said that the secret inside the lamp is related to a certain lady present!"
"Could it be that Miss Wen released this Kongming lantern? Miss Wen must have written the name of the man she loves on it, and the prince took a picture of it to prevent Miss Wen from being embarrassed in public!"
"Your analysis makes a lot of sense!"
"Then the question is, why did that man hide from the public?"
"It's not necessarily something that can't be seen in public, maybe it's because of his special identity that he can't be known to outsiders."
"Then what is so special about it that outsiders cannot know about it?"
Everyone was talking at once, and amidst all the nonsense, they were actually gradually getting closer to the truth.
Wen Rufeng frowned, "How come I didn't know that Xingluo had a crush on a man? She's so reserved. She didn't even tell us about this. Does she even take us brothers and sisters seriously?!"
Wen Yueyin was also puzzled.
In the previous life, I never heard that Wen Xingluo liked anyone.
She lived in the palace, and her closest contacts were with several princes. Could it be that...
Wen Yueyin suddenly opened her eyes wide and looked towards the elegant seats upstairs in disbelief.
Could it be that Wen Xingluo, like herself in her previous life, fell in love with a certain prince?!
Xie Guanlan's face was gloomy. Just as he was about to order the end of the charity sale, a voice of collapse suddenly rang out in the restaurant:
"Stop talking!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and found that the person who spoke was Shen Yu, the son of the Shen family.
Chen Yu stood up and pointed at everyone angrily, "Yes, Wen Xingluo likes me, so much so that he even wrote my name on a Kongming lantern! But I'm a low-key, reserved, and steady person. I just want to live a quiet life. I don't want to be the topic of your after-dinner conversation, and I don't want to be the focus of your attention! You have to dig deep and rack your brains to dig out the male protagonist me before you will give up, right?! You're going too far, too far!"
The whole room was silent.
Everyone: “…”
No, none of them wanted to dig him out.
Song Lianxin stood up and curled her lips in disdain, "They are jealous of my cousin for being born a dragon among men. There is nothing I can do about it that they pay attention to my cousin."
Everyone: “…”
No, zero of them wanted to pay attention to him.
Chen Yu swung his sleeves coldly, "Now that I'm standing here, are you satisfied?! You forced me to do this, I will never forgive you!"
His eyes were red again, and he pointed to the private room upstairs. "And you, Wen Xingluo! I know you're concerned about my body, but don't think you can force me to marry you in this way! Although I've been preparing for our wedding, I now officially announce that the wedding is canceled!"
Wen Xingluo: “…”
She thanked his entire family.
After Shen Yu finished yelling, he rushed out of Jinweizhai in a rage.
Everyone's face was filled with indescribable expressions.
Although Shen Yu was good-looking and the Shen family was among the top five wealthy families in Shu County, for some reason, they did not think that Wen Xingluo would fall in love with Shen Yu. These two people were not a good match at all.
Could it be that Wen Xingluo was deliberately playing tricks on Chen Yu?
The Prince of Zhenbei Palace was too concerned about Wen Xingluo. For such an insignificant secret, he actually spent so much money...
"Sister," Mu Dong said indignantly, "How could things turn out like this?! Where did this Chen Yu come from? I've seen narcissistic people before, but I've never seen anyone as narcissistic as him. He really ruined our good thing!"
Mu Zhiqiu sneered, "There's a long way to go, no need to rush."
After the charity sale ended, the crowd gradually dispersed.
Xie Guanlan did not let Mu Zhiqiu's people take away all the silver and money raised from the auction. He sent his capable accountant to supervise the whereabouts of each charity sale proceeds to ensure that every copper coin was spent on the reconstruction of people's livelihood in Shu County.
Shu County was his fiefdom, and the people were prosperous and strong, which was a hundred benefits and no harm to him.
The Qibao Canal flows continuously, and businesses are lined up on both sides of the canal.
Xie Yanchen sat on the reef, threw a small stone into the water, and tilted his head to look at the two people not far away.
Xie Guanlan was handing the Kongming lantern to Wen Xingluo.
Wen Xingluo took it and hesitated to speak.
"I didn't read what was written on it." Xie Guanlan said calmly, "This is your secret. As long as you don't want to tell it, no one else has the right to know."
Wen Xingluo looked down at the Kongming lantern in his arms.
The lamp cover is broken and the bamboo frame is old.
When the river breeze blew, the tattered lanterns with their names on them trembled like old cotton wool.
She remembered that Xie Guanlan once asked her what her secret was.
But now the secret was right in front of him, and he didn't even look at it.
Wen Xingluo put the Kongming lantern into the burning fire.
The orange flames licked the Kongming lantern and gradually swallowed the two words.
Wen Xingluo watched it burn to a mess in the fire, and a sharp pain rose in her heart, as if it was not the lamp stand but her heart that was rolling and burning in the fire. The scorching temperature was about to burn her internal organs and all her delusions to ashes.
She whispered, "You will be my brother for the rest of your life. Isn't that right?"
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