After finishing their meal, Liu Yueti and Ling Buzhan took a walk around Mingyue Tower to look for Bai Zhen’er.
—There was no way Bai Zhen’er could resist coming over to join in the fun.
But they couldn’t find Bai Zhen’er. Instead, they ran into Cang Yu outside the restaurant.
Cang Yu bowed to her. “Miss Liu, Miss Bai is waiting for you across the street.”
“Oh? Is the Regent there too?” Liu Yueti’s eyes lit up. “I’ll go over right now.”
“Wait!”
Ling Buzhan stopped her, frowning as he asked in a low voice, “You’re going to see Shen Hanzhi again?”
“You know what kind of person he is, don’t you?”
Liu Yueti looked confused. “Of course I do.”
Ling Buzhan couldn’t understand how she could be so clever one moment and so clueless the next. He cleared his throat and reminded her, “Don’t consider that man when you’re looking for a husband. He doesn’t exactly look like someone destined for a peaceful end.”
“Bah, bah, bah! What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean, he won’t have a good ending?”
Liu Yueti glared at him.
If Shen Hanzhi didn’t have a good ending, wouldn’t her dear Zhen’er end up a widow?
“You’re defending him too?” Ling Buzhan stared at her in disbelief. “What do you mean by that?”
“He’s the man Zhen’er likes!” Liu Yueti pointed at him. “Come to think of it, you should stop picking fights with the Regent for no reason. Don’t bully him!”
“Me?”
Ling Buzhan pointed at himself.
“I’m a seventh-rank official, while he’s the most powerful man in the court. Who’s bullying whom?”
Remembering how Shen Hanzhi had given him a hard time in court that day, his irritation flared again. Without even realizing it, there was a hint of grievance in his voice as he complained to Liu Yueti,
“You didn’t see how he treated me in court today. And you—you actually took his side!”
Liu Yueti felt a little guilty.
“Y-you shouldn’t take it so personally.”
“Besides, you can’t bully him now. Once you become a high-ranking official in the future…”
“Won’t you be able to get your revenge then?”
“Of course I’ll get revenge.”
Ling Buzhan raised an eyebrow.
“I’m a petty man who holds grudges.”
Liu Yueti gave an awkward laugh. “I can tell.”
“So, Miss Liu, since you took his side today…”
Ling Buzhan narrowed his eyes threateningly.
“Be careful. I might take revenge on you along with him someday.”
“I’ve warned you!”
With that, he turned and stalked away indignantly.
“Feiying, let’s go.”
Liu Yueti’s eyes widened. She turned to Wei Zhao.
“Is he sick or something?”
“What did I ever do to him?”
“He definitely has something wrong with him.”
Wei Zhao patted her back soothingly.
“Don’t be angry, don’t be angry.”
She couldn’t help thinking to herself that Ling Buzhan was usually so deep and calculating. He could smile sweetly while his mind was already spinning through eight hundred schemes.
It was rare to see him like this.
At moments like this, he actually seemed like an eighteen-year-old young man.
She glanced at Liu Yueti.
Could it be that Xie Anshi claimed not to like her, but in reality…
A smile curled at the corner of Wei Zhao’s lips.
Liu Yueti reached out and pinched her cheek.
“What are you smiling about?”
“Nothing.”
Wei Zhao covered her face.
“Come on. Let’s go find Miss Bai.”
……
Meanwhile.
“Master!”
Ling Buzhan was walking so quickly that Feiying had to hurry to catch up.
“Miss Liu definitely doesn’t like the Regent!”
“It’s Miss Bai who likes him. Even I can tell!”
“Why are you angry?”
“I can see that perfectly well. I’m not blind.”
Ling Buzhan raised an eyebrow.
“Besides, whether she likes Shen Hanzhi has nothing to do with me.”
“I just hate hearing her defend him.”
“Yes, yes, you’re right.”
Feiying nodded.
“Then perhaps you could walk a little slower?”
Ling Buzhan took a deep breath before asking,
“Feiying, do you really think Liu Yueti is nothing more than an ordinary scholar’s daughter?”
“No matter how I look at it, something about her doesn’t seem right.”
“Exactly.”
Feiying nodded in agreement.
“Miss Liu is even prettier than those noble young ladies. She looks like the daughter of some powerful family no matter how you look at her.”
Ling Buzhan was speechless.
“Who asked whether she was pretty?”
Was that even something worth asking?
“Oh. Then there’s nothing else suspicious about her, right?”
Feiying scratched his head.
“But from what I’ve seen, Miss Liu seems to really like you.”
“Didn’t we hear her telling those noble ladies that where there’s a will, there’s a way, and that she was determined to marry you?”
Ling Buzhan: “…”
Feiying gathered his courage.
“Master, Princess Pingyang is always trying to arrange a marriage for you too. Why don’t we just agree to Miss Liu…”
“That way, no one else will keep setting their sights on you.”
Ling Buzhan’s expression turned cold.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
He lowered his eyes.
“What if we eventually discover that our enemy is someone extremely powerful?”
“After I take my revenge, I’ll have to flee for my life. Am I supposed to drag her along with me?”
Feiying lowered his head and fell silent.
“Besides, I’ve borrowed Brother Xie’s identity. I have to return it eventually.”
Ling Buzhan closed his eyes.
“Once I’ve avenged him, I still have to go to his uncle and aunt and confess my sins.”
“I carry their lives on my back. What right do I have to think about these things?”
His gaze dimmed as he suppressed his thoughts and the faint stirrings of his heart.
“Forget it. Don’t think about it.”
“Find out how many imperial consorts are staying at Xiangguo Temple, and which one was closest to Empress Dowager Shen.”
“Yes!”
……
Liu Yueti entered Jufu Pavilion.
She hadn’t wanted to go upstairs and disturb Bai Zhen’er and Shen Hanzhi’s rare time alone. She planned to sit downstairs and wait for her.
But Cang Yu insisted on bringing her upstairs, saying it was the Regent’s order.
Shen Hanzhi studied her.
There was a smile on his lips, and his eyes actually held a hint of satisfaction.
Liu Yueti felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze. She rubbed her arms and moved closer to Bai Zhen’er.
“What did you do to him?”
“Hehe.”
Bai Zhen’er wore the exact same smile.
Liu Yueti immediately became wary.
“What happened to you two?”
“I heard that Miss Liu has taken a liking to that Xie fellow.”
Shen Hanzhi smiled faintly.
“How is it going?”
“Oh…”
Liu Yueti finally understood.
“You two called me here to gossip.”
She sighed.
“It didn’t work.”
“He refused to marry me.”
Shen Hanzhi slowly shook his head.
“He doesn’t know what’s good for him.”
“Exactly!”
Bai Zhen’er immediately put her hands on her hips and agreed.
“He doesn’t know what’s good for him!”
“In a few days, Pei Yu, the top scholar, will be holding a poetry gathering on Mingde Lake.”
Shen Hanzhi took a sip of tea.
“Talented young men and beautiful young ladies will take boats out onto the lake. They’ll write poems and place them on lanterns floating in the water, waiting for someone fated to find them and add another line.”
“As the top three scholar, Xie Anshi will definitely attend. You should go too.”
“Huh?”
Liu Yueti pointed at herself.
“But I can’t write poetry.”
“Who asked you to write poetry?”
Shen Hanzhi was speechless.
“When the time comes, you and he will ride on the same boat.”
“As long as everyone in the capital sees the two of you together, I can petition His Majesty to grant you both a marriage.”
“Don’t worry. Every boat on Mingde Lake will have to go wherever I tell it to.”
“Will that really work?”
Liu Yueti was stunned by this unexpected assistance from the villain.
“You… you’re actually a really nice person!”
Shen Hanzhi looked down at his teacup, trying to hide his embarrassment.
“It was merely a whim.”
“As for what happens after you’re married, you’ll have to handle that yourselves.”
“Don’t worry! We’ll deal with that later.”
Liu Yueti looked completely serious.
All she needed was the position of the male lead’s legal wife.
That would keep Bai Zhen’er alive!
“Um…”
Liu Yueti’s eyes shifted.
“Since Your Highness has already helped us this much, why don’t you help us with one more thing?”
Shen Hanzhi glanced at Bai Zhen’er before patiently asking,
“What else?”
Liu Yueti grabbed Bai Zhen’er.
“Why don’t the two of you get married too?”
“Then we can have our weddings together!”
“Cough! Cough!”
Shen Hanzhi choked on his tea.
“Impudent!”
Even his ears had turned red.