Throbbing
Zhao Qinglan had originally planned to leave, but after a few steps, he realized that Zhao Fanghua had no one to protect her, not even a maid or guard. The Festival of the Dead was packed with tourists and pedestrians, from all walks of life. If anything unexpected happened...
Zhao Qinglan frowned. He was simply worried that something might happen to Zhao Fanghua, which would bring disgrace to the royal family. After all, it would be disgraceful for a princess to get into trouble during the Festival of the Dead. But as soon as he turned around, he saw Zhao Fanghua and her ex-husband, who had been divorced for eight hundred years, arguing publicly.
Zhao Qinglan's chest heaved as she snorted coldly. Why was he still here worrying about her getting into trouble? Wasn't she enjoying herself well with her ex-fiancé under the moonlight right now?
She was just talking about wanting him to come into the house, but the next moment she was entangled with another man.
Haha, big liar.
But the more I watched, the less I thought that was the case. The two seemed to be in an argument. Just as Zhao Fanghua seemed to be about to leave, Shen Xiujin grabbed her wrist.
By the time Zhao Qinglan reacted, she had already arrived in front of the two of them and pinched Shen Xiujin's restless hand.
Looking at Shen Xiujin's embarrassed back as he left, Zhao Qinglan frowned slightly.
Shen Xiujin was this year's third place winner, and he was naturally impressed by him. He was a young talent, a brilliant young man, and had a bright future. Not only because of his outstanding performance in the palace examination, but also because of his poem "Traveling to the Immortals" at the Qionghua Banquet, which won the heart of the eldest princess and later obtained the approval of the empress dowager for their marriage.
In fact, their relationship was not only that of a king and his subject, but also that of a son-in-law and an uncle-in-law.
But his actions during this period, coupled with what I saw today, showed that he was nothing but a despicable and shameless person who bullied others by taking advantage of his power. He was truly unfit for such a big responsibility. He was not even worthy of being a small clerk in the yamen.
Not to mention that Shen Xiujin is just an editor in the Hanlin Academy now. Even if he really becomes a prime minister one day, who would have the guts to touch a hair of the royal family?
Zhao Qinglan is not dead yet, and it is not the turn of a small Shen Xiujin to make the decision in Dasheng.
Zhao Fanghua looked at the little mute cautiously. Seeing that he had been staring at the direction where Shen Xiujin left, she felt a little uneasy. She was afraid that Shen Xiujin's words would cause him to misunderstand, so she immediately explained: "Don't get me wrong, he is my ex-fiancé. We broke off the engagement before I met you. We have our own paths and our own marriages. It's just that I didn't check the almanac before going out today, and I got stuck in this pile of shit. Now my heart and eyes are full of only you!"
Zhao Qinglan was stunned for a moment, his heart skipped a beat, his ears burning, and he turned his head blankly to look at this outspoken woman. How could she say such, such... outrageous words in public?
What's with "he's the only one in my heart and eyes"? She doesn't even know what she looks like or her name, and she's lying to him again.
Haha, big liar.
"But..." Zhao Fanghua scratched his head, "You must stay away from him if you see him next time."
Huh? Zhao Qinglan looked at her in confusion.
Zhao Fanghua looked around cautiously before saying mysteriously, "Oh, you might not know this, but he's this year's third place winner. I heard the emperor really likes him."
…
Zhao Qinglan: I don’t like it, stop talking nonsense.
Zhao Fanghua: "And he just said that when he becomes prime minister, he will kill both of us!"
Zhao Qinglan: He doesn’t deserve it.
Zhao Qinglan raised an eyebrow in confusion. Although Zhao Fanghua didn't know the identity of the little mute, didn't she know her own identity? She was the eldest princess of a country, the emperor's sister, and a mere editor in the Imperial Academy was actually saying that he wanted her life. It was simply ridiculous.
She could even put Shen Xiujin in the Heavenly Prison for interrogation on the charge of great disrespect, with the punishment being exile a thousand miles away at the lightest and beheading in the autumn at the worst.
Zhao Qinglan took Zhao Fanghua's hand and spread out her palm.
His fingertips, with a burning temperature, gently moved across Zhao Fanghua's palm, like a feather brushing past, stirring up a tingling sensation.
"You're afraid of him." Zhao Fanghua whispered, a frown on his face. "That's right! I've been pretending to be the grandson of the emperor for a long time in front of others, and it took a lot of effort to get rid of him!"
Zhao Qinglan's forehead jumped, and he chuckled in his heart. It turned out that she had been so attentive to him before just to break off the engagement with Shen Xiujin.
That would be fine, but she actually said she was pretending to be a grandson in front of him? It was obviously her who was treating him like a grandson.
Zhao Qinglan remained puzzled. While the Empress Dowager was indeed too rigid and biased in her judgment of their affairs, she was still merely an editor in the Imperial Academy. What was there to be afraid of? Could it be that Shen Xiujin could transform into something extraordinary and devour her alive?
Zhao Fanghua looked at Zhao Qinglan with a puzzled look, scratched his head, and decided to give up. "He's the original hero—" Zhao Fanghua paused for a moment, then continued, "It's the protagonist's aura, you know? It's that kind of... he succeeds in everything he does. Everyone along the way automatically becomes his stepping stone. No matter how difficult and arduous the road, no matter how incredible the task may seem to outsiders, he always achieves extraordinary success in the end."
Zhao Fanghua said this and remembered that she had previously rewarded Shen Xiujin with fifty strokes of the cane. That was fifty strokes! According to Shuyu, they even borrowed money to hire a doctor and used the worst medicine. But even so, Shen Xiujin was not disabled and bedridden. Instead, he was so lively and energetic so quickly that he could even walk around in front of her.
The protagonist's halo is too strong. It is normal for Zhao Fanghua, who calls himself an ordinary person, to be afraid of him.
Zhao Qinglan pondered for a moment, and his fingers wandered over Zhao Fanghua's palm again.
"Son of Destiny." Zhao Fanghua then softly recited the words. Then, agreeingly, he said, "Yes, yes, that's right, Son of Destiny!"
Zhao Qinglan snorted coldly. He was the only one in the world worthy of being called "Son of Destiny". To him, killing a mere Shen Xiujin was as easy as crushing an ant.
"Anyway!" Zhao Fanghua concluded. "He said today that he'll become a prime minister in the future. Don't take it as a joke. It's possible. Anyway, stay away from him when you see him. Just treat him as a plague god. Whoever comes into contact with him will be unlucky."
Zhao Fanghua's words today were a bit disorganized, even illogical in Zhao Qinglan's opinion, and she also said some incomprehensible words. What was the "original book"? How did she know so many things?
Quite interesting.
Could it be that Shen Xiujin has some secrets that he doesn't know?
"that……"
Zhao Fanghua tugged on Zhao Qinglan's sleeve and gently shook it. "Could you please not leave without saying goodbye this time?"
Zhao Qinglan came back to his senses and looked at Zhao Fanghua in a daze.
"That's it..." Zhao Fanghua counted on her fingers, "We've only met twice in total, but every time we met, you saved me from dire straits like a hero. I know that perhaps in your eyes, my words and actions may be too bold, but I have always believed that life is short, and if you like someone, you should bravely pursue them, so..."
Zhao Fanghua grabbed Zhao Qinglan's sleeves with both hands and looked up at him: "Can you please not leave?"
The lights of the Festival of the Dead faded, the number of people on the street gradually thinned out, and even the shouts of the vendors gradually became weaker and finally dissipated in the cool night breeze.
Zhao Qinglan stared at Zhao Fanghua in a daze, her fingers trembling slightly, her heart beating uncontrollably. What had she just said? She said she liked me?
There were many women in this world who had expressed their desire to be favored by him, either implicitly or boldly, or had performed a stunning dance in the palace on the path he had to pass, or had written an acrostic poem at a palace banquet. There were even bold officials who placed beautiful women in cool clothes in his room when he was on a secret tour.
But it was the first time that someone told him so directly and boldly that they liked him.
What she liked was not his supreme status, but a little mute who had nothing.
Zhao Qinglan looked at Zhao Fanghua. Her almond-shaped eyes were big and round, and her pupils were black and bright, like black jade immersed in clear water.
He lowered his eyelids, and his restless heart began to calm down.
She knew nothing about herself. She didn't know that she was the person who had made her pretend to be her grandson for so long, and she didn't know that her true identity was just a despicable bastard.
How true is it that she likes me?
She doesn't understand herself at all, but she keeps saying the word "like". Is it because she just broke off the engagement with Shen Xiujin and can't wait to find a new love to heal her heartache?
Or is it really because I saved her twice as she said?
But if that's the case, she has saved me twice, so could it be that I like her too?
It was as if a certain secret corner of Zhao Qinglan's heart was suddenly poked. His pupils suddenly constricted, his Adam's apple rolled twice rapidly, and even his breathing became disordered.
Zhao Fanghua tilted her head and looked at the silent Zhao Qinglan for a while, then suddenly frowned slightly, as if she had made a remarkable discovery: "You here..."
As she spoke, her fingertips inadvertently touched his Adam's apple, and her white index finger slowly moved along the raised curve. With every gliding of her warm fingertips, she could clearly feel the rolling of the Adam's apple under her hand.
"How interesting..."
In an instant, it was as if thousands of fireworks exploded in Zhao Qinglan's mind. His breathing stagnated, and a suppressed groan unconsciously escaped from his throat.
Just when Zhao Qinglan was at a loss, a crisp and urgent "Your Highness" broke the charming atmosphere.
"Shuyu?" Zhao Fanghua turned to look at the source of the voice, let go of the little mute's Adam's apple, and waved at Shuyu, saying, "I'm here!"
As she was speaking, the cloth slipped out of her hands with a whoosh. When she turned around, the little mute was nowhere to be seen. Only the hand that had just grabbed the little mute's sleeve still had the lingering fragrance of the Epiphyllum.
Zhao Fanghua stared at his palm and muttered to himself: "I let you get away again..."
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