When Shen Shiqiu had just finished the court session and was walking towards the gate of Bian Palace with Dan Chenghuai, the chief secretary of the Discipline Department, chatting about the work arrangements for the New Year, Rong Liu, a young servant from the Shen Mansion, rushed over in a hurry and whispered a few words in his ear. Instantly, Shen Shiqiu's expression changed significantly. He turned around, bowed to Dan Chenghuai and said, "Secretary, there are some urgent matters at home that I need to attend to. Please forgive me for leaving first."
Dan Chenghuai nodded and reminded him, "The court will be adjourned tomorrow. Prime Minister, don't forget that tomorrow is New Year's Eve. You have to enter the palace early to get things done."
"Got it." Shen Shiqiu simply bid farewell, then rushed into the sedan chair and ordered the carriers to hurry back home.
However, no matter how fast he rushed, by the time he got home, Lu Yan had already been "politely invited" away by Shen Qingfeng.
Shen Shiqiu gasped for breath as he walked to a stool and sat down. Looking at Shen Qingfeng, who was leisurely saluting him, he asked, "Feng'er, where is the Marquis of Dingbei?"
Shen Qingfeng blinked and said casually, "There's something up at the Marquis's Mansion, so he went back."
Shen Shiqiu hesitated for a moment. He looked at Shen Qingfeng and asked, "...Feng'er, what's going on between you and the Marquis of Dingbei?"
Shen Qingfeng pursed his lips and didn't answer the question directly. "Father, do you object to my marriage with the Marquis of Dingbei?"
Shen Shiqiu was taken aback. Naturally, he was not happy about it.
Shen Shiqiu had always doted on Shen Qingfeng. In daily life, he would try his best to meet all of Shen Qingfeng's needs. Even when he found out that Shen Qingfeng's sexual orientation was only understood by a small number of people in Lixia, he didn't try to stop him. But the only thing he couldn't accept was Shen Qingfeng's relationship with Xia Chuli. Not to mention that Xia Chuli was out of favor. Although the people in the Prime Minister's Mansion all followed the ancestral rules and stood on the side of Xia Chuli, the legitimate son, there was a powerful faction in the palace led by Queen Qi and the eunuch Chen Qi who were against them. Xia Chuli's position was on shaky ground. As a father, how could he allow his son to get involved with such a person?
As for Lu Yan, the Marquis of Dingbei who was bestowed to marry Shen Qingfeng, he was well - known at a young age, handsome in appearance, and a feudal lord. He seemed to be a good match. But once Shen Qingfeng married Lu Yan, he would have to go to the northern kingdom with him. Just thinking about not being able to see his youngest son for a long time, Shen Shiqiu felt really reluctant. But the main reason was that he always thought that Shen Qingfeng didn't want him to ask King Xiajie to annul the marriage because he wanted to catch Xia Chuli's attention. Although he didn't know what Xia Chuli and Shen Qingfeng had talked about today, Shen Qingfeng's previous actions were so deeply ingrained in his mind that Shen Shiqiu simply didn't believe that Shen Qingfeng would obediently marry Lu Yan.
Seeing that Shen Shiqiu didn't say anything, Shen Qingfeng was too lazy to continue this topic. He just said, "Forget it, Father. Just remember not to act rashly regarding this marriage contract for the time being. I have my own plans." Although he said so, Shen Qingfeng actually had no real confidence. He didn't even know how to get along with Lu Yan. Just now, when he saw Lu Yan's burning gaze on him, his first reaction was to escape.
Shen Qingfeng slowly straightened up. He was neatly dressed, looking as if he was about to go out. Shen Shiqiu saw this and asked, "Feng'er, are you going out?"
Shen Qingfeng nodded and smiled gently at Shen Shiqiu. "Yes, I'm going out to get some fresh air."
Shen Shiqiu didn't say a word. Finally, after Shen Qingfeng's figure disappeared at the door, he let out a long sigh.
Many people didn't believe that he had suddenly fallen out of love with Xia Chuli. Shen Qingfeng naturally knew this. After all, his feelings for Xia Chuli, from the initial passion to the final indifference, had really taken him more than a decade. It was good that no one believed him now. He could take this opportunity to do something.
Xia Chuli was the legitimate eldest son of King Xiajie and the son of Princess Liuli, the princess who was sent to Xirong for marriage. According to the ancestral rules, he should inherit the throne. But unfortunately, Princess Liuli died early. King Xiajie didn't want Xia Chuli, who had Xirong blood in his veins, to take over the regime of Lixia. So he appointed Qi Yan as the new queen and ignored Xia Chuli more and more.
But the ancestral rules couldn't be abolished. The ancestors of Lixia had once said that the royal power of Lixia couldn't fall into the hands of others. It should be passed on to the legitimate son instead of the illegitimate son. They even specifically divined and erected a stele as proof. King Xiajie wasn't unaware of this principle. It was just that he was infatuated at first and insisted on marrying Princess Liuli as the queen. Now that Princess Liuli was dead, leaving Xia Chuli in an embarrassing position, King Xiajie had to waver between the ancestral rules and reality. It was really ironic.
The Prime Minister's Mansion had always followed the rules and dared not violate the precedents. So the Shen family and other noble families had always been firm supporters of the crown prince. In that case, why was the first thing Xia Chuli did after ascending the throne to confiscate all the property of the Shen family and execute everyone in the family?
At that time, the Shen family had been struggling under the suppression of King Xiajie. They thought that the situation would improve after Xia Chuli ascended the throne, but they never expected such an outcome.
Shen Qingfeng couldn't understand this at that time, and he still couldn't understand it now.
However, it might be that he had never really seen Xia Chuli clearly from the beginning.
Xia Chuli seemed to have always hidden a lot of things from him. Now that he thought about it, Shen Qingfeng wasn't even sure whether the tender love that had once made him fall head - over - heels in love with Xia Chuli was real or fake.
Now that Heaven had given him a chance to start over, he must find out the ins and outs of this matter.
Shen Qingfeng didn't take A Man with him. Instead, he put on a bamboo hat alone and covered his face tightly with a layer of white gauze. He walked out of the main gate of the Shen Mansion, wandered through the alleys for a while, then walked into Wutong Street and headed towards Shifang Zhai in the East Workshop.
-
"Senior Brother?" Xu Ruhui had just finished his lunch when he saw Lu Yan walking into the Marquis's Mansion with a dejected look on his face. Instantly, he became interested. The word "gossip" seemed to be written all over his face. He even said in a tone of watching the fun without thinking it's too much trouble, "Why are you back at noon? Didn't your wife - to - be keep you for lunch?"
Hearing this, Lu Yan turned his head and glared at him fiercely, then rushed into his own room with his head down.
This action startled Xu Ruhui. He quickly chased after him and grabbed the door that he was about to close. He said in a hurry, "Hey, Senior Brother, what's wrong with you? Don't tell me you were kicked out by your wife - to - be?"
"Get out!" Lu Yan gritted his teeth.
"Hey, why are you being so petty? Your wife - to - be doesn't know about your pettiness. Don't get angry. If you get angry too much, you'll have premature ejaculation. You'll lose your manly dignity. How are you going to satisfy your wife in the future, Senior Brother?"
Xu Ruhui had a sharp tongue and talked nonsense. His words made Lu Yan's face turn blue and white alternately, and his teeth gritted so hard that they made a clicking sound.
"My dear Senior Brother, don't be impatient. As the saying goes, constant dripping wears away the stone. You've just started. You can't be impatient." Xu Ruhui babbled. While Lu Yan wasn't paying attention, he slipped into the room and closed the door. He continued, "Besides, Senior Brother, you're usually very smart in other things, but you always act like a one - track - minded person when it comes to your wife - to - be. Come on, tell me what happened today. I'll analyze it for you."
"No, get out!"
Xu Ruhui didn't back down but instead moved forward. His eagerness for gossip was like bamboo shoots sprouting after the spring rain. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn't cut them all. "Hey, just tell me. An expert in love is here to analyze it for you. If it were someone else, I'd charge one tael of silver for emotional guidance."
"I don't need it!" Lu Yan pushed him away impatiently. Unexpectedly, Xu Ruhui grabbed the hand that was pushing him, glanced at the bandage on it, and asked with a smile, "Did your wife - to - be bandage it for you?"
Lu Yan quickly withdrew his hand. "What's it to you?!"
"Ah! I see. Did you get injured and your wife - to - be saw it? Then he kindly bandaged it for you. But just when you thought you had a chance to confess your feelings, you were poured a bucket of cold water on your head? No wonder your face looks as stinky as if you've eaten shit. You probably wanted to dig a hole and hide in it at that time, right?" Xu Ruhui said.
Lu Yan: "..."
He guessed it all right!
Lu Yan was so angry that he was about to draw his sword and chop him on the spot. This action scared Xu Ruhui so much that he jumped up high. He quickly crouched down to avoid Lu Yan's chop, and still didn't forget to say, "Hey! Don't chop! Don't chop! Senior Brother, think about it. If your wife - to - be bandaged you, it means he cares about you. He knows you're his fiancé but doesn't avoid suspicion, which means he doesn't reject you!"
Lu Yan stopped his action. A trace of pain flashed in his eyes. "But he clearly went to the Shanhe Hall to reject the marriage!"
"Then why did he bandage you?" Xu Ruhui tidied up his clothes that had been messed up during the dodging. "This is called playing hard - to - get. Do you understand? It's all about romance, okay?"
"Ro...mance?" Lu Yan was completely stunned and stood still on the spot.
It was a pity that Lu Yan, the feudal lord of the northern kingdom, was handsome, charming, and both talented in literature and martial arts. But everything has its two sides. Lu Yan seemed to have no emotional intelligence when it came to love. Compared with Xu Ruhui, who often haunted brothels, Lu Yan generally believed whatever Xu Ruhui said in this aspect.
"Yes!" Xu Ruhui didn't even think before coming to a conclusion. After all, watching Lu Yan's extremely entangled expression every day was really torture. It would be better to let him take a plunge. If he got it right, everything would come naturally. If he got it wrong, he would fall into the Yellow River and would have to turn back eventually.
"So, your wife - to - be is just shy. You have to be more proactive." Xu Ruhui closed his eyes and started to talk nonsense.
"I..." Lu Yan widened his eyes, completely unaware that he was being tricked.
"What do you mean 'I'? Be proactive! First, ask him out. Then hold his hand and kiss him. You'd better seduce him into bed as soon as possible. Be direct." Xu Ruhui said straightforwardly, completely forgetting what he had just said about "constant dripping wears away the stone".
Lu Yan was in a daze and stood there as if he was thinking about something.
Xu Ruhui walked up to him, put his arm around his shoulder, lowered his eyes and looked at Lu Yan's crotch meaningfully. He said suggestively, "Find a chance to ask your wife - to - be out quickly. Look at your hands. They're so tired every day. If you really wait until this 'iron pestle' is ground into a needle, your wife - to - be will probably run away long ago - Ow!!!"
Lu Yan punched him hard in the face without any courtesy.