Shen Mingzhu stifled her laughter, supported her forehead, replaced all the expressions on her face with surprise, then looked up at Xie Lang and said, "Wait! Mr. Wen Song is you!?" Hearing Shen Mingzhu's voice, Xie Lang suddenly looked up. Seeing the expression on the person in front of him, he couldn't help frowning subconsciously and said, "Are you pretending to be surprised?"
[Could Shen Mingzhu be lying to me?]
"Ah!" Shen Mingzhu withdrew her hand, slightly widened her eyes at Xie Lang and said, "What could I possibly lie to you about? Surely not, Xie Lang. Are you really Mr. Wen Song?"
Xie Lang gave Shen Mingzhu a suspicious look before continuing, "Yes. Didn't I paint a picture for that someone last time?"
Seeing this, Shen Mingzhu put on an even more surprised look and said to Xie Lang, "Well then, could you paint one for me next time?"
"Of course." Xie Lang replied, with a hint of pride in his eyes. Then he raised his eyebrows at Shen Mingzhu and said, "I'll paint as many as you want!"
It was as if he were coaxing a child.
Shen Mingzhu chuckled silently in her heart, but still pretended to be surprised and watched Xie Lang rattle on.
...
In the side courtyard of the temple guest - room.
The woman looked ugly. She glared fiercely at the maid in front of her and then continued, "You didn't stop me just now! I ended up making a fool of myself in front of the noble guests for nothing!"
The little maid's face immediately turned pale. She knelt on the ground. Seeing the fleeting cruel look in the woman's eyes, she raised her hand and slapped herself, saying as she did so, "Madam, it's all this servant's fault! It's all this servant's fault! This servant will..."
Before she could finish, a young girl in a cyan dress beside the woman said to her, "Sister, tell her to stop. This is a temple. It won't look good if others see this."
The little maid cast a grateful glance at the girl.
"Why not just sell her off when we get back home? She's just a lowly servant. Why do you have to take it to heart and get angry over such a low - born person?"
The girl was beautiful in appearance, with a gentle air around her. She glanced indifferently at the pale - faced maid kneeling there, then turned to look at the woman.
"Where did you see the consort and the princess?"
The girl asked. Seeing the dissatisfaction appear on the woman's face again, she continued, "Where did you meet them, sister?"
She reached out to pour a cup of tea for the woman, then looked at her gently.
"Over there." The woman pointed and continued, "At first, I thought that man looked like Mr. Wen. So I wanted to go up and see if I could strike up a conversation."
"Mr. Wen?" The girl pretended not to understand and looked at the woman. "Which Mr. Wen?"
"The one who came to our house last time. Your brother - in - law treated him very carefully back then. I never got a chance to talk to him." The woman glanced at the girl. "It's all for you. If it weren't for finding a good marriage for you, why would I go through all this trouble?"
Hearing this, the girl smiled and said to the woman, "Sister, I knew you were the best to me."
Saying so, she got up, walked in front of the woman and squatted down. She leaned her head on the woman's leg and coquettishly said, "If I can marry well, I can also give you some support."
"Qu Yunli." The woman reached out and patted her head as if comforting a child, then continued, "Do you have any ideas?"
Qu Yunli was startled. She looked up at the woman, maintaining her composure on the surface and saying, "Sister, Li'er doesn't understand what you mean."
Qu Yunhua, Qu Yunli's elder sister, looked at her. Her expression gradually darkened, and she said to her, "The consort and the princess are said to have a poor relationship. The princess has now fallen out of favor with the most noble one. Although the consort is a well - known playboy in the capital, the Xie family behind him is a newly - rising noble family."
She reached out and stroked her younger sister's head again. There was an indescribable look in her eyes, and her action was a bit heavier than before, with a hint of threat.
"Sister." She looked up at Qu Yunhua, with a look of disbelief in her eyes, and said, "But he's the princess's husband. If we really anger her, how can we deal with the consequences?"
"You're still too young, Li'er." Seeing the reluctance in Qu Yunli's eyes, Qu Yunhua's tone couldn't help but turn impatient. "You don't know what men are like. If he really likes you and you have the ability, it's not impossible for him to give everything for you."
"Moreover, a proud person like the princess would never lower herself to compete with you for such things."
"Think it over carefully." Qu Yunhua stood up, looked down at her younger sister and then continued, "Your brother - in - law and I just arrived in the capital and haven't yet established a firm footing. You're my sister. Of course, I won't hide things from you."
"I didn't come up with this idea out of the blue." Qu Yunhua sighed and continued, "There will be a banquet in a few days. Xie Lang will attend. This is a once - in - a - lifetime opportunity. Even if our methods aren't clean, so what?"
"It's not that hard to lower yourself, Li'er." There was a passionate look in Qu Yunhua's eyes, even a bit of indescribable fanaticism. "Xie Lang is someone we can meet now and the most likely one for us to succeed with."
Qu Yunli sent her sister out of the room. On the surface, she was obedient and said, "Sister, please give me some more time to think."
Qu Yunhua gave Qu Yunli a deep look before turning around and said meaningfully, "I know you're smart."
Qu Yunli maintained a smile on her face, but as soon as she entered the door, her face suddenly darkened. Her expression changed abruptly, and there was a hint of embarrassment in her eyes.
Is my sister crazy! She actually wants me to seduce a married man? This Xie Lang is a well - known playboy in the capital. Even a newcomer like Qu Yunli has heard of his dissolute deeds. One can see how dissolute he used to be.
Just after seeing him once, Qu Yunhua is eager to make me seduce him. Is she crazy!
Qu Yunli took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in her heart. With a gloomy face, she opened the brocade bag in her hand.
She only had twenty or thirty taels of silver in her hand now. If she went out to fend for herself without any income, it would only last for about a year at most.
Her sister married her brother - in - law as a concubine at first. But last year, her brother - in - law's first wife passed away, and he promoted her sister to the main wife.
Qu Yunhua thought that she had a low birth. Her husband was worried that his legitimate son from his first marriage would be wronged, so he didn't let her have children. So she pinned her hopes on her younger sister.
If Qu Yunli could marry into a high - ranking family, her own status would naturally rise.
She's simply insane!
Qu Yunli sighed and began to think about her own way out. She wasn't a person without ambition, but this time her sister had really lost her mind.
Maybe... maybe the way out lies with that princess she mentioned?
There was a faint look in Qu Yunli's eyes, with a hint of cruelty. Her fingernails dug tightly into her palm, leaving several deep marks.
...
Shen Mingzhu and Xie Lang were staying in the same courtyard tonight. Xie Lang probably slept too much in the morning and afternoon, so he wasn't sleepy. He suddenly knocked on the door late at night and asked seriously, "Is Your Highness there?"
What on earth is he up to?