After picking up the White Cut Black Prince

Song Yusheng looked at her with a smile in his eyes, mocking her. Without giving her time to react, he began to take off her outer clothes.

He clearly looks like a banished immortal, yet he is doing such obscene things.

Maybe it was due to the steam or something else, but Wen Chu's cheeks were flushed. There was a peach tree planted in the courtyard of Yuhui Hall, and Wen Chu looked like the peach blossoms on the tree.

Summer clothes are not many to begin with, and before long, only one thin piece of clothing is left.

Song Yusheng seemed to be torturing her, hooking his fingertips on the straps on her back but never untying them.

Wen Chu was so angry at Song Yusheng's shameless behavior that she felt dizzy. The heat made it hard for her to breathe. Song Yusheng's fingertips touched her back intentionally or unintentionally, making her feel even more tormented.

She couldn't even cry anymore and could only shake her head desperately to express her resistance. She wanted to say something, but as soon as she opened her mouth, Song Yusheng hooked his fingertips.

An evil wind blew up in the yard out of nowhere, blowing the peach blossoms into pieces. The petals fell to the ground, leaving only the stamens.

All of Wen Chu's words were swallowed back into his stomach because of his action. His lips moved, and thousands of words turned into nothingness.

The air was filled with mist, and when I looked down, I saw a smear of white.

Wen Chu was about to be crushed by this endless humiliation. She would rather Song Yusheng smash her palm than be insulted by him like this.

She said, "I should have let you die outside and brought a heartless person like you home. Why did you force me to this point? How is this different from Lin Sujian?!"

Song Yusheng's expression became more and more gloomy, with an unfathomable darkness in his eyes. His hands were placed on the edge of the bathtub, and his slender fingers pressed against the wall of the bathtub with such force that they almost turned white.

Because of anger, Wen Chu's chest trembled violently when he spoke. Song Yusheng felt bloated and uncomfortable, but seeing that she was still provoking him recklessly, he reached out and grabbed her hair, forcing her to look up at him.

His voice was a little hoarse. "How am I different from him? I can do what he can't do."

The expression in his eyes was no longer concealed. The usually upright and elegant man had completely changed his appearance. Wen Chu watched him untie his belt and turn to hide on the other side of the bath. But as soon as she moved, he grabbed her arm first. He took the belt and trapped her hands. No matter what she said or scolded, she refused to listen.

Soon, he stepped into the bathtub.

He cornered the man and asked condescendingly, "Let me ask you one last time, what is Qi Ziyuan's relationship with you?"

"It's none of your business! It's none of your business!"

Song Yusheng said: "But he wants to take you away today."

Wen Chu didn't know why Song Yusheng was so upset about Qi Ziyuan, but she could only cut off ties with him now. She hurriedly said, "That's his business. I know my heart as well as the sun and the moon can bear witness to it! You know, except for the time when the Third Miss dragged me away, I have been by your side all day! How could I have the chance to get entangled with him?"

"Are you scared now? But you wanted to kill me just now. You didn't have the chance to get involved with him today, but what about before? You ran into him on the street then, why did you ask him for something?"

Wen Chu didn't know why he had so many questions, but under such circumstances, she didn't dare to say a word of rebuttal.

"I didn't do that before. Last time I was in a panic and tried all kinds of treatments."

Her voice was full of tears, as if peach blossoms had been severely watered by rain, wind and frost.

Seeing her admit her mistake so quickly, Song Yusheng actually sighed. He said, "You are always like this. Wouldn't it be fine if you had answered like this earlier? Why do you have to get to this point?"

Song Yusheng laughed, but this laugh seemed to be soaked in water, different from the usual clear and gentle laugh, with some indescribable meaning. He said, "You said something very nice this time, I can let you go."

Before Wen Chu could even breathe a sigh of relief, Song Yusheng grabbed her shoulders and turned her back to him.

He put his hand down into the water, and ripples slid wherever he passed. His voice seemed to have a hint of seduction.

Wen Chu heard him say, "I let you go, and you should help me, right?"

He was not a gentleman, and he did not hide his thoughts. If it was bound to come to that point sooner or later, he did not care about the time. But he did not dare to push her too hard at once. If he pushed her too hard by mistake, he was afraid that she would be afraid and resist in the future.

Song Yusheng wasn't asking questions at all; his words were unquestionable, and his hands were very firm, not allowing anyone to refuse.

Wen Chu's hands were tied and she was leaning against the stone wall. She was about to turn around and ask "What help do you need?", but as soon as she turned around, Song Yusheng's hands had already covered her eyes.

No one knew when it started raining outside. The petals of the peach tree in the Yuhuitang courtyard were completely washed clean by the rain, leaving no impurities. Only a clean pistil was supported on the branch, and no matter how the wind and rain washed against it, it never withered.

At this time of year, peach blossoms were in full bloom, but a sudden heavy rain washed away the petals.

Except for the corners of Song Yusheng's eyes being red from the steam, the rest of his appearance looked normal. His long black feather-like eyelashes drooped, hiding the expression in his eyes very well.

Wen Chu had his eyes covered by him and dared not move.

Song Yusheng leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

His voice sounded a little deeper than usual.

Wen Chu's mind had been distracted and drifting somewhere else, but after hearing these words, he came back to his senses and his face turned extremely red.

Later, after an unknown amount of time, the rain outside stopped and Yuhui Hall fell into deathly silence.

Some of what happened here today had been spread out, but no one in Yuhui Hall dared to guess what Song Yusheng was thinking. Everyone watched him closely, and seeing that the person involved didn't want to bring up the matter, they all pretended not to know.

After this incident, Song Yusheng really forgot about spanking her, and did not pursue what happened afterwards. Wen Chu also left the purification room and returned to her own residence.

Along the way, Wen Chu scolded him thousands of times, from heaven to earth. Because he was so angry, he couldn't help but curse out loud from time to time.

How could there be such a shameless person? How could this be considered letting her off the hook? She didn't dare to argue with him inside, fearing that if she angered him again, he would really do that. Today's situation was already unbearable. If it really came to that.
Wen Chu didn't dare to think about it anymore, and turned around to scold Song Yusheng again.

Song Yusheng was crazy. He had to punish and torture her like this. If it was a spanking, she would be willing to do it, but it had to be like this? He was very powerful. He knew that she would not be obedient after being spanked. But now, after this, she was obedient and did not dare to argue with him.

Dirty villain!

All the curses that Wen Chu uttered on his way back were heard by the secret guards.

The passion in Song Yusheng's eyes faded away, and he had returned to his usual indifferent and ruthless look.

The secret guard spoke tremblingly, glancing at Song Yusheng's face from time to time, only to see him sitting on a chair, not looking angry at all. The secret guard breathed a sigh of relief, and recited those curse words to Song Yusheng in pieces.

Song Yusheng could imagine Wen Chu cursing just by listening to the secret guard's words. But it would be abnormal if she didn't curse today.

He didn't take it seriously and ordered the secret guards to retreat.

The lights in the main room were already lit, and the sparks of the lamps made crackling sounds from time to time. Song Yusheng sat there alone, as if in a trance, motionless. In the silent night, he seemed particularly lonely and desolate.

When the wind blew, the hexagonal bell hanging under the corridor outside the main hall was blown, making a crisp sound.

Song Yusheng's mind was finally pulled back to reality.

He looked at Chun Feng who was standing by and waiting, and asked, "What do you want to report?"

Chunfeng said, "We have already found out some of the things that the master asked us to investigate. The collapse of Qinji Hall was probably because of the shoddy materials used during the construction. It was okay at first because the hall was not high and did not collapse. But later it was built higher and higher. It was only two stories high and it could not hold up anymore. This hall was destroyed after two months of construction. But when I investigated the people who participated in the incident, many of them had been executed as soon as the incident happened. There were also a few who survived after they were released. I have been investigating for a long time and can only find out these."

The collapse of Qinji Hall happened four years ago. At that time, the Empress Dowager wanted to build a temple for worshiping Buddha. The cabinet then approved two million taels of silver to be given to the Ministry of Works, and asked the then Minister of Works He Hong to do it.

However, after two months of construction, it still collapsed and was completely destroyed. He Hong, the supervisor at the time, was arrested and sent to the Ministry of Justice for dereliction of duty and incompetence. However, when the Ministry of Justice could not convict him, he was sent to the Censorate. The Censorate did not dare to offend him and the Empress Dowager, so they sent him to the Dali Temple for conviction. But what about the Dali Temple? The then Dali Temple Minister You Qi had been bribed and connected with the He family and the Empress Dowager's people.

Just like that, all the people involved in the incident died, but He Hong, who was in charge of the matter, was still safe and prosperous after three times in and out.

Later, the people from the Imperial Observatory said that the land around the Qinji Temple was not suitable for building a temple because of bad feng shui. In addition, all the people who built the temple had died, whether they should have died or not. So the matter was forgotten and the temple was no longer built. As for the two million taels of silver for the temple construction, after it went into the Ministry of Works, it could never be paid out again.

After hearing Chunfeng's words, Song Yusheng already understood most of it. In fact, he had guessed it after the incident in Qinjidian that year, but he was more certain this time.

He said, "The Qinji Palace was supposed to have three floors, but the second floor collapsed right after it was built. You can imagine how poor the materials used were. Of the two million taels of silver, it's unknown whether 200,000 taels were actually used. They never intended to build this palace from the beginning. They just used the pretext of building a palace to commit corruption. They simply didn't even bother to decorate it, and simply used the worst materials so they could get more. If it collapses, it collapses. Anyway, there are plenty of people who will help them die and who can help them lie."

The matter has become very clear. The collapse of Qinji Hall was planned by the He Party in order to embezzle money.

As for You Qi, the Minister of Dali Temple, it was obvious that He Hong had accepted bribes from He's party and became a member of that party, so the incident was dealt with lightly, and He Hong was left unscathed, with only twenty lashes of the board in the end.

If Song Yusheng wanted to target You Qi, he would naturally target He Dang. But what if he wanted to separate You Qi and He Hong first? Would a selfish person like He Hong protect him?
His expression was as indifferent as water, and even when there were no outsiders around, there was always a faint smile on the corner of his lips. This had almost become a habit for him, he was used to such a disguise.

He said, "Don't let them find out about this, but let me show some clues in front of You Qi so that he knows I'm investigating his corruption. He's a weak man and can't stand this kind of shock. He will definitely go to He Hong and cry."

*
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night, and Huang Ruotang followed his mother, Mrs. Huang, home. Along the way, Huang Ruotang's expression was not very good.

Madam Huang pulled Huang Ruotang's hand and said, "Tang'er, why are you still so angry? Didn't your aunt say that she would help you take care of your in-laws? Don't worry about it."

Huang Ruotang was filled with resentment, but even so, the expression on his face did not collapse and he remained decent throughout.

But her words were obviously filled with anger. She said, "In-laws? Mother said, which in-laws in the world can compare to the Duke's Mansion, and which man can compare to my cousin? I, Huang Ruotang, want to marry a man who is unparalleled in the world. But what does father mean by this today? He said that he was once a student of Prime Minister Song. On a day like today, he is clearly on vacation but he is unwilling to go to the Duke's Mansion. How can my aunt feel comfortable with this?"

Madam Huang has always known that her daughter is very ambitious. Although she thinks that a child as outstanding as Tang'er should marry into a high position, how can they get close to the Duke's Mansion? She said, "Tang'er! Mother knows that you have always been a picky person, and it is your father who is holding you back! How can we, as fifth-rank officials, get into the Duke's Mansion?!"

Huang Ruotang said, "Why not? So what if he is a fifth-rank official? I, Huang Ruotang, will never belittle myself! My father is a fifth-rank official, so why does he always do these things to hinder me? I am trying to please my aunt, but he is doing this beside me? What does he want to do? He himself is not doing well, so why does he want to hurt me from behind? Is there any father like him?!"

Madam Huang wanted to say more, but during the argument, they had already arrived at the Huang residence. Huang Ruotang got off the carriage and walked inside regardless. After entering the house, Madam Huang wanted to pull her aside, but she pushed her away fiercely. She said, "Today I must ask my father what he wants. If he does this kind of thing to hinder me in the future, it would be better for me to die."

Mrs. Huang saw that she couldn't stop her, so she could only follow her and keep persuading her: "He is your father after all."

"I would rather not have a useless and cowardly father like him!"

Huang Ruotang's voice was so shrill that it reached the ears of Huang Jian, who was sitting alone in the yard drinking.

When he heard this, his body was obviously shocked, but he quickly concealed his emotions, pretending that he heard nothing, and poured himself another glass of wine.

Huang Ruotang entered the courtyard, strode forward, snatched his wine glass, and threw it hard to the ground. She asked in a shrill voice: "Do you really want me to die before you are satisfied?"

Huang Jian pretended not to hear this, stood up and said, "Tang'er is back. Why did you smash Daddy's wine glass?"

As he said this, he squatted on the ground and tried to touch the wine glass.

Since the founding of the country, there has always been a saying that the person who wins the third place is more glorious than the first place. Logically speaking, the first place is the first in the first class, and the third place is the third in the first class. How can the third place be more glorious than the first place? That is because the person who wins the third place is handsome, and he is the one with the best appearance among all the Jinshi, without exception. Of course, except for Song Yusheng's imperial examination, no one can compare with him as the first place.

Huang Jian was a top scholar in the imperial examination, and he was indeed very handsome. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for him to catch the eye of his mother Huang Ruotang at first sight. Even when Huang Jian was drunk now, he still looked like a romantic scholar in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, wearing white clothes and taking Wushisan. His every move was quite elegant and romantic.

But his action of picking up the wine glass made Huang Ruotang even angrier, and she stepped forward and kicked the wine glass away.

The wine glass rolled far away.
Huang Jian could never pick it up again.

He stood up with a sad face. Even though Huang Ruotang did such a thing, he was not angry. He just said, "If you have any anger, just vent it on me. Why did you throw the cup like that?"

Huang Ruotang was furious, but seeing that Huang Jian didn't take her words to heart, she became even angrier and said, "I'm going to vent my anger on you? How useful is it? Mother and I have told you so many times, but you always turned a blind eye! Your aunt has helped you so many times, but you are still only a fifth-rank doctor. How many people are as useless as you? It's useless even after all this."

Huang Ruotang has never been as angry as she is today. Since she was young, she has been studying the Four Books and Five Classics, and she is also good at playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. She is committed to making herself a young lady with all-round development in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and labor skills. But no matter how hard she tries, with such a father, it seems that everything she does will be in vain in the end.

Her voice was gentle and sounded miserable. "At your age, I don't expect you to be successful, but I just want to marry a good man. Why is it so difficult?"

Mrs. Huang couldn't bear to listen any longer and cried, "It's all my fault. It's all my fault." She turned around and hit Huang Jian, cursing, "You useless thing, you've made us suffer!"

Huang Jian also lost his temper and became very depressed. After a long while, he seemed to have lost his soul and said in amazement, "Good man. What is a good man?"

The moon is especially round tonight. Under the moonlight, Huang Jian's eyes are filled with unspeakable sorrow.

Are there still good people in this world?

*
A few days later, in a manor outside the northern suburbs of Kyoto, two court officials, still wearing scarlet official uniforms, sat facing each other.

One of them was the Dali Temple Minister You Qi, and the other was the Minister of Works He Hong.

You Qi looked very unhappy, and said to He Hong: "He wanted to investigate what happened as soon as he returned to Beijing. Isn't it obvious that he is targeting me?"

Compared to You Qi's panic, He Hong seemed much calmer. He slowly picked up the wine glass and took a sip, then said, "It's been a long time since these things happened. Even if he investigates, what can he find out? Why are you so surprised?"

You Qi was about the same age as He Hong, but He Hong was a little fatter. His greasy face looked a bit drunk, with two spots of drunkenness on his yellowish face, making his face look even more greasy and disgusting.

You Qi was so angry at He Hong's words. After all, he was a member of the He family and had the Empress Dowager's support behind him. If something really happened, wouldn't he be the only one who would be in trouble?

You Qi said angrily, "So you're just going to let him investigate now, right? Qin Jidian was your man back then, and if he finds out, you won't care?"

He Hong said, "Since the Qinji Hall collapsed, I was first arrested by the Ministry of Justice, then sent to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and then to the Dali Temple. How many times have I been arrested? Since the three judicial departments couldn't convict me back then, why do you think you can bring up the old account from four years ago and bring it up again today? You are just too timid."

He was full of wine and food, and he burped loudly while talking. He continued, "Even if Song Yusheng is very capable, so what? Do you really think he can turn the world upside down? Listen to me, just relax, eat and drink as you should, and you won't have to worry about your happiness if you follow us, right?"

After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and called a servant. I don't know what he said, but after a while, the man led a group of girls into the house. They looked only twelve or thirteen years old.

The farm where they were staying was He Hong's private property, and these girls had been kept on the farm.

Youqi was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. How could he have the mood to do these things? He stood up, said sorry and left.

He Hong had no time to care about him and just grabbed a woman and started having fun.

*
Since that day, Wen Chu felt uncomfortable when he saw Song Yusheng, and always felt that something was wrong. Therefore, he poured cold showers on himself for several days in a row, even in summer, but such abuse of his body was unbearable for even the strongest body, and Wen Chu got what he wanted and got himself sick.

But she was also unlucky. The date that was supposed to come in several days was brought forward.

Because of her reckless prank, his lower abdomen was in excruciating pain, and he also caught a cold, which almost cost him half his life.

At 3 p.m. that morning, when Song Yusheng was getting up, Chenxiang saw that Wen Chu had not gotten up yet and didn't know what had happened, so she went to knock on her door, but no one came to open it.

After a long while, when Chenxiang thought that there was no one in the room, the door was finally opened.

Wen Chu looked very ugly, his face was pale without a trace of blood, he was only wearing a simple coat, and looked like he had just got out of bed.

Chen Xiang was shocked by her and asked hurriedly, "What's wrong with you? Why do you look so ugly?"

Wen Chu covered his mouth and coughed twice, then said, "I may have caught a cold accidentally. I'm afraid I'll pass the disease on to the prince. Please tell the prince that I will take care of myself for a few days and won't serve him for the next few days."

Seeing Wen Chu's sick look, Chen Xiang said worriedly, "Are you really okay? Should we call a doctor to check it out?"

Chenxiang now understood that Wen Chu did not look like a maid. If she really was a maid, the prince would be so sad about her. So Chenxiang was naturally very worried when he saw her so sick.

Wen Chu said: "No, no, no, my illness is not serious. You go and take care of the prince. I will be fine after lying down for a while."

Chenxiang had no choice but to leave after hearing her say this. He just said, "I'll come to see you later."

After Chenxiang left, Wen Chu lay back on the bed. She felt dizzy after catching a cold, and wanted to fall asleep immediately, but the pain in her lower abdomen made her wake up and unable to sleep.

It was clearly summer, but I felt hot and cold.

Wen Chu never thought that she would end up like this. She clearly just wanted to catch a cold. Why was she always so unlucky? All the bad things happened at the same time.

In a daze, Wen Chu thought that she only hated that she was born with a dishonest heart, but she was destined to be an honest person in this life and could not do anything bad. If she had any bad ideas, she would be in trouble.

After Chenxiang left, he told Song Yusheng that Wen Chu was ill.

Song Yusheng asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Chen Xiang did not dare to hide it and said truthfully: "It seems that she has caught a cold. She does not look well and her complexion is particularly ugly."

Before she finished speaking, she was interrupted by Song Yusheng, "Go outside and call the secret guards to wait for me in the main hall."

Chenxiang agreed and hurried out to call the secret guards who usually hid in the dark.

This secret guard is a woman, and she usually keeps an eye on Wen Chu's every move.

Song Yusheng never believed Wen Chu. He always felt that she was not honest and was thinking about running away.

When he came out of the dark room, the secret guard was already waiting in the main hall. He said, "She was fine a few days ago, but suddenly caught a cold in such a hot day. Tell me what she did."

The secret guard told Song Yusheng everything about Wen Chu pouring cold water on herself every day. After listening to it, Song Yusheng's face turned very ugly. He cursed "idiot" and got up and walked towards her room.

Wen Chu felt dizzy and was about to fall asleep when he heard the door being opened.

Her mind was a little unclear and she thought it was Chenxiang who had returned.

She didn't even have the strength to open her eyes, and she just said in a hoarse voice: "Chenxiang, I'm fine, just pour me a glass of water."

She didn't hear Chenxiang say anything. After a moment of silence, she suddenly felt a hand as cold as snow on her forehead.

She knew it was not Chenxiang, but Song Yusheng.

She forced herself to open her eyes, but saw Song Yusheng with a cold face. He only laughed twice, looking extremely gloomy. He said, "It's nothing serious. Do you really have to kill yourself to feel comfortable?"

Wen Chu was so frightened by these words that her brain was forced to wake up. Her throat was in so much pain that even the words of quibbling were stuck in her throat.

She couldn't stand Song Yusheng's gaze on her, so she decided to just hide under the quilt. She went in without thinking.

Song Yusheng sat down on the edge of the bed, reached out and pulled off the quilt covering her head, forcing her to reveal her face.

There was not a trace of blood on that face, and the already fair skin was now only a pale color.

Wen Chu wanted to grab the quilt, but he was held down by him.

She couldn't win against him, so she simply let go and turned inside.

Seeing her like this, Song Yusheng was silent for a moment.

"What do you want to do by making yourself like this?
Wen Chu didn't answer. How should she answer?
When she curled up with her back to him, her figure looked even thinner. Seeing that she didn't say anything, Song Yusheng didn't force her to speak, and asked to himself, "Are you hiding from me?"

Although it was a question, the tone was very certain.

Seeing that she still refused to speak, he sighed and said, "You are afraid of me, but what should I be afraid of? Didn't I do anything that day?"

His tone even had a hint of innocence, as if he was some great and kind man.

Song Yusheng knew what words would touch her pain point. Wen Chu could no longer sit still. She stood up while enduring the pain in her lower abdomen. She said, "Can you please stop talking about it? Since you didn't do anything, why don't you just stop talking about it?"

Her voice was extremely hoarse, and Song Yusheng frowned as he listened.

He looked at her and said, "So that's why you're avoiding me?"

Facing Song Yusheng's icy eyes, Wen Chu couldn't nod her head. She was quite annoyed and shook her head, "I'm not hiding, I'm just sick."

"You poured cold water on your head every day, so you got sick?" His tone was very cold. He touched her forehead while speaking. Her skin was burning hot under his palm. He said, "Your brain is burnt like this, yet you dare to say that nothing is wrong. What? You want to burn yourself into an idiot, so that you can ask me to end your life for you?"

"It's not a serious illness. I just got it by accident. I caught a cold. I'm not going to die."

She had suffered all kinds of hardships since she was a child, but she could not die. It showed that she had a strong life. If that was the case, she did not believe that a cold could really take her life.

But before she could finish her words, Song Yusheng covered her mouth with his hand. He said coldly, "Do you really have to curse yourself like this?"

She had a fever and her breath was very hot on his hand.

Song Yusheng himself didn't believe in these metaphysical things, but he was afraid that these things would come true for her.

Wen Chu felt his hand was cold, so he reached out and took it away, then touched his head and said, "Besides, your hand is so cold, so everything you touch will be hot. I feel very comfortable touching it myself."

But as soon as she finished speaking, Song Yusheng suddenly leaned over and pressed his forehead against hers.

He was afraid that Wen Chu would hide, so he pressed her head with his other hand to prevent her from hiding. His fingers were inserted into her hair, and the two of them were so close that their hot breath and cold breath collided at this moment.

Wen Chu's head was already unable to move due to the heat, and he was frightened out of his wits by his action. His brain froze for a moment, and even his hands were unable to move as if they were tied up.

(End of this chapter)