The Regent still hadn’t agreed.
Bai Zhen’er and Liu Yueti sat in the carriage back to the Bai residence, sighing at each other.
Liu Yueti said, “Come on, sweetheart, don’t lose heart!”
“I can tell Shen Hanzhi is all bark, but he clearly has you in his heart.”
“If you ask him for something, he’ll agree to anything.”
He’d even agreed to help set her up with the male lead!
“Really?” Bai Zhen’er was skeptical. “Then why does he keep denying it?”
The two stared at each other, but neither could come up with a reasonable answer.
Liu Yueti could only comfort her. “He’s still better than the male lead.”
“Is he blind?” Bai Zhen’er protested. “Does he really have no reaction at all?”
“Could it be that you just didn’t notice?”
“You’ve always been slow to realize when people like you.”
“It’s different this time!” Liu Yueti insisted. “Before, I simply wasn’t paying attention to those people. This time, I was seriously watching him!”
“Although nothing has really progressed, I’ve gotten a preliminary understanding of the male lead.”
Bai Zhen’er immediately leaned closer. “What did you figure out?”
“This man…”
Liu Yueti raised one finger.
“He won’t yield to either force or persuasion.”
“He won’t submit if you come on strong, and he won’t take the bait if you act vulnerable. He’s incredibly difficult to deal with.”
Bai Zhen’er drooped. “Then what do we do?”
“I think the Regent’s plan is more reliable.”
Liu Yueti rubbed her chin.
“Getting the male lead to fall for me on his own probably won’t work. We can only ask His Majesty to grant us a marriage. No matter what, he can’t openly defy an imperial decree, right?”
“The problem is, His Majesty is much closer to him than he is to us…”
“I wonder if it would work if the Regent made the request himself.”
After all, all she wanted was the position of his legitimate wife to save Bai Zhen’er’s life.
Whether there was genuine love between them…
That didn’t matter.
The image of Ling Buzhan’s smiling peach-blossom eyes suddenly flashed through Liu Yueti’s mind.
She hurriedly shook the thought away.
—Stay calm! The male lead’s eyes probably look affectionate even when he’s looking at a dog! I can’t let him fool me!
“No!” Bai Zhen’er frowned. “If he doesn’t like you, why would you marry him?”
“Wouldn’t that just mean you’d suffer?”
Liu Yueti blinked and quickly reassured her.
“It’s only for now. We’ll see what happens later. There’s no rush!”
……
Bai Zhen’er and Lin Qingwan deliberately took the same boat, leaving Liu Yueti by herself.
“Come on, Yueti! Good luck!”
Bai Zhen’er pumped her fist encouragingly.
“Miss Liu.”
Lin Qingwan also smiled at her.
“Don’t forget the poems I taught you.”
Liu Yueti sighed helplessly.
“Yes, yes. I certainly won’t embarrass you, Miss Lin.”
Lin Qingwan covered her lips and laughed.
Normally, attending a poetry gathering meant preparing at least two poems.
Originally, the two girls had wanted to ask Lin Qingwan to help them write a couple of lines.
Who would have thought that Lin Qingwan was so upright that she insisted poems must never be written by someone else? She was only willing to teach them how to compose their own.
Bai Zhen’er had given up early on.
Liu Yueti, meanwhile, had earnestly studied for two days and produced something that barely resembled poetry.
She couldn’t even tell the difference between the poetic tones!
With a heavy sigh, Liu Yueti climbed into the boat behind them alone.
—Wei Zhao had taken leave early that morning, claiming she needed to go outside the city to punish evildoers and uphold justice. She couldn’t accompany Liu Yueti either.
Liu Yueti guessed that the male lead probably had something important to do. Since he couldn’t get away from the poetry gathering, he’d sent Wei Zhao to handle it for him.
The boatman bowed to her, his eyes darting away somewhat guiltily.
Shen Hanzhi had arranged everything in advance.
The boatman would first take Liu Yueti around the lake. Once they spotted the male lead, he would steer over and pick him up as well.
As soon as he boarded, the two would be sharing a boat, making it much easier for the Regent to intervene.
Liu Yueti rested her chin in her hands, wondering how she should greet the male lead once he boarded.
Should she be smug and tell him, Hehehe, you can’t escape my grasp?
Or should she pretend to be shy and say, Young master, I’ve waited so long for you?
Maybe that would disgust him enough to make him surrender.
She noticed the boat turning around and secretly lifted the curtain.
Ling Buzhan was already standing by the shore.
He was smiling and exchanging pleasantries with people. He looked perfectly charming and at ease, but Liu Yueti could tell he was already getting a little impatient.
She quietly lowered the curtain and shrank back into the cabin.
Now that the moment had actually arrived, she found herself getting nervous.
She had already decided that, for Bai Zhen’er’s sake, she would do whatever it took to become the male lead’s legitimate wife.
But if he refused to board the boat in front of everyone…
That would be pretty embarrassing.
The curtain was suddenly lifted.
There was so little room in the cabin that even though Liu Yueti had tried to hide, there was nowhere to go.
When Ling Buzhan saw who was inside, he froze as well.
Liu Yueti nervously clenched her skirt and stole a glance at him.
And immediately saw Wei Zhao standing behind him.
Liu Yueti: “?”
What are you doing there?
Wei Zhao gave her a smile that clearly said, Leave it to me.
Then she suddenly kicked Ling Buzhan straight into the cabin.
“Whoa!”
Caught completely off guard, Ling Buzhan stumbled forward and landed right in front of Liu Yueti, their faces nearly touching.
Liu Yueti: “!”
Girl, you’re incredible!
Ling Buzhan couldn’t speak for a moment.
“You…”
The curtain behind him had already dropped.
Wei Zhao hadn’t even let Feiying board.
The boatman hurriedly pushed the boat away from the shore.
What was done was done.
Liu Yueti steadied herself and narrowed her eyes mischievously.
“Lord Xie, why are your ears red?”
“Nonsense.”
Ling Buzhan kept a straight face and refused to lose.
“It’s clearly Miss Liu who’s blushing.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Liu Yueti raised a hand to cover her face.
The two of them immediately turned away, sitting with their backs to each other.
The cabin fell silent.
Ling Buzhan knew perfectly well that Liu Yueti had deliberately arranged this.
He also knew he should leave as soon as possible.
But the image of her just now kept flashing through his mind—her lowered lashes, her flushed cheeks.
For some reason, he simply couldn’t bring himself to speak.
After a long silence, he asked,
“Did Miss Liu write a poem?”
“I… did.”
Liu Yueti awkwardly rubbed her nose.
“But Miss Lin said it doesn’t count as a poem yet.”
Ling Buzhan chuckled.
“Then let me see it.”
“No.”
Liu Yueti flatly refused.
Ling Buzhan turned his head toward her.
“Why not?”
“Miss Lin said the greatest taboo in poetry is forcing emotions that aren’t there. You need genuine feelings and inspiration from the heart.”
Liu Yueti looked up guiltily.
“Mine is just… too heartfelt. I can’t let you see it.”
“If you put it that way, I’m even more curious.”
Ling Buzhan held out his hand.
“Let me see.”
“No?”
“Really not?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Then I’ll get off the boat.”
“We’re in the middle of the lake. Where are you going?”
Liu Yueti shot him a sideways glance.
“Are you planning to swim?”
Ling Buzhan gave a quiet laugh and stood up, making as though he really intended to leave.
“Hey—”
Liu Yueti hurriedly grabbed his sleeve.
“Fine! I’ll show you!”
“Wait.”
She picked up a lotus lantern from the cabin and stole a glance at Ling Buzhan.
Then she gripped the brush and carefully wrote one stroke at a time.
Her grip on the brush was awkward, and her handwriting was messy and weak.
Ling Buzhan read the lines aloud with a smile.
Tonight, I won’t sleep early,
I’ll eat braised chicken legs at midnight.
His eyes twinkled as he continued.
To share the same flavors with you…
But the smile in his eyes slowly faded as he quietly read the final line.
And live to be a hundred together.
“Here.”
Liu Yueti handed him the lotus lantern.
“I can only write something like this.”
“I’m only letting you see it, okay? Don’t show anyone else. They’ll laugh at me.”
Ling Buzhan took the lantern.
After a moment of silence, he asked,
“What if someone… is destined not to live a long life, and many people are hoping for his death?”
“Then I’ll do everything I can to make sure he lives to a hundred.”
Liu Yueti looked at the flower lantern.
That was her heartfelt wish for Bai Zhen’er.
It will definitely come true.