Meng Qingluan: "..."
Say it or not, it's up to you.
Seeing her silence, Li Zhanjue assumed she was too scared to speak and felt secretly pleased with himself.
"Touch me."
"What?" Meng Qingluan wondered if there was something wrong with her ears and couldn't help but ask.
Li Zhanjue glanced at her inexplicably, his expression unchanged, and repeated what he had just said.
"I'll let you touch me."
Are you sick?
Meng Qingluan blurted out, even taking a few steps back, afraid that the water in Li Zhanjue's brain would be transferred to her.
Li Zhanjue frowned after being scolded and said, "You beg me not to tell anyone, and that's your condition."
"I won't touch it, you can say whatever you want."
Meng Qingluan ignored him and turned to walk away.
"Why?"
Li Zhanjue beat her to it, placing his arm across the door frame to block her path.
"Why so many questions? I'm not touching you, that's all. If you're in heat, go find a servant to take care of it yourself," Meng Qingluan scolded him.
Li Zhanjue's earlobes turned red upon hearing her blunt words.
He just let her touch him, how did he get aroused?
"What nonsense are you spouting? I told you to touch my wound, the one on my face." Li Zhanjue emphasized the location of the wound.
"..."
So?
Now it was Meng Qingluan's turn to look at him like he was an idiot.
Seeing that she still refused to touch him, Li Zhanjue felt somewhat discouraged and a little resentful.
"You're so good to Chen Yan, why won't you touch my wound?"
"Shen Yan and I are a married couple who have been married before heaven and earth. What relationship do I have with you?"
“It’s okay,” Li Zhanjue said matter-of-factly, “but my wound hurts too.”
Meng Qingluan: "..."
What does this have to do with her?
It wasn't her who hit him.
Li Zhanjue saw that she looked indifferent, and even looked at him with some disdain.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became, and the angrier he got, so he threatened her viciously.
"I won't tell anyone if you touch me."
Coincidentally, Meng Qingluan is the type of person who responds better to gentle persuasion than force.
When she threatened him, his rebellious mentality intensified.
"You say, you go and say it with fanfare, or if you can't say it, I'll handwrite a speech for you, how about that?"
"..."
Li Zhanjue choked, speechless for a moment.
Isn't she even a little bit afraid?
Li Zhanjue persisted, even throwing a tantrum.
"You want me to talk? I won't, I won't do as you wish, you little devil. I don't care about anything else, you have to touch me today."
"I was beaten because I stepped in to break up the fight for you. If I hadn't stopped you, fists and feet don't discriminate, and these wounds would be on your body."
Meng Qingluan: "..."
Are they really trying to fool her like she's a fool?
Don't think she couldn't see it; the punches Shen Yan and Li Zhanlan threw at him were clearly intentionally aimed at his face.
Although she couldn't guarantee that Li Zhanlan wouldn't deliberately beat her, Shen Yan wouldn't hit her.
cut.
Seeing that she still didn't move, Li Zhanjue became a little anxious, but on the surface he remained calm and composed.
"Alright, stop standing there like an idiot. I don't need to thank you. Just touch my wound, that'll be enough to show your gratitude."
Meng Qingluan: "..."
Unrequited love.
Li Zhanjue had already brought his face close to hers, and even closed his eyes.
It looks a bit like a tabby cat waiting to be petted...?
Meng Qingluan shook off the goosebumps on her body, squatted down, and slipped through his arm to run away.
With such a large empty space, would she really be stupid enough to just stand there and touch him without crawling through?
idiot.
"..."
Li Zhanjue only heard a series of footsteps. He didn't expect Meng Qingluan to squat down and crawl out with her eyes closed, urging him on.
"Hurry up and touch it."
"..."
No one answered, but soon a pair of cool, large hands touched his face.
Li Zhanjue frowned. How could this hand be so big?
A burst of cool pine resin wafted into his nose, and Li Zhanjue instantly opened his eyes, taking a step back to create distance, his hand already on the dagger at his waist.
"Why is it you?"
Li Zhanlan blinked and spread his hands.
"I was just about to go into the Buddhist hall to pray for blessings when I unexpectedly saw my brother extend his face for me to touch. Heaven and earth bear witness, I didn't mean to take advantage of my brother. I originally intended to go in by myself and not disturb him, but my brother..."
"Shut up." Li Zhanjue couldn't stand it anymore.
“…Oh.” Li Zhanlan had barely finished speaking when he asked again, “Brother, why do you have such a peculiar hobby?!”
"..."
Li Zhanjue's face turned green with anger.
Li Zhanlan, however, was oblivious to people's expressions and continued speaking without any tact.
"Brother, I know that you don't have a sister-in-law. It's normal for you to go astray because you've been lonely for so long."
"……I don't."
Li Zhanlan ignored his rebuttal, patted his chest, and lowered his voice to make a promise.
"Fifth Brother, don't worry. I won't tell anyone else about this. I will protect your reputation. This is something only heaven, earth, you, and I know."
"Oh wait," Li Zhanlan turned to look at Eleven standing outside, "Eleven, you didn't see anything, right?"
Eleven nodded mechanically. "I just went to the outhouse."
"How is it, Fifth Brother?"
Li Zhanlan grinned, revealing a few bright teeth.
"roll."
Li Zhanjue was furious, especially when he saw the disdain and astonishment filling Eleven's eyes.
"..."
Li Zhanlan stood there watching him leave, a fawning smile still on her face, but her eyes held no warmth whatsoever.
Eleven walked to his side. "Your Highness, why let that woman leave? Why not take this opportunity to call someone over? A man and a woman alone in a room—if word gets to the Emperor, the Fifth Prince will surely..."
"Tsk." Li Zhanlan interrupted impatiently, "Eleven, when did you become so impatient?"
"..."
Shiyi remained silent, dejectedly lowering his head.
It wasn't that he was impatient, but rather that everything had deviated too far from their original plan.
Last time, when we were suppressing the bandits, everything was planned out, but His Highness insisted on staying an extra day.
They didn't return until the next day when Shen Yan brought Meng Qingluan back to the capital.
Naturally, all the credit ultimately went to the Fifth Prince.
He felt that his prince was somewhat bewitched.
Li Zhanlan said indifferently, "Eleven, you know that if you do it yourself, you'll always give others something to hold against you."
“But Your Highness, we can’t just sit here and wait to die. We can wait, but the others can’t,” Eleven retorted.
Li Zhanlan chuckled twice, his cool voice carrying a chilling undertone.
"Who said I was going to sit and wait to die? If I had been waiting all along, why would I have provoked Shen Yan to fight me today?"
"Your Highness?"
Eleven only had a superficial understanding of the situation, and he took it as Li Zhanlan provoking Shen Yan in order to lower his standing in the Emperor's eyes.
"Isn't Consort Wan our most effective weapon? Her current targeting of Meng Qingluan is practically a declaration that she's aligned with Shen Yan and Fifth Brother's faction."
"Sixth Brother's ambition will soon be exposed."
Li Zhanlan smiled and shook his head, then couldn't help but fiddle with his folding fan again.
He nodded eleven times.
Only by sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight, and waiting for both to be severely injured, can one reap the benefits.
Li Zhanlan's gaze fell on the burning incense in the incense burner. He walked over, reached out and touched it, and a piece of red paper fell into his hand.
Its surface was covered with the birth dates and times of the worshippers who came to pray.
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