After picking up the White Cut Black Prince

He Hong was already waiting in the reception room of the Ministry of Rites. His coming here as the Minister of Works would inevitably alarm those people in the Ministry of Rites, but perhaps he did it on purpose. There was no one else here and he was the only one waiting.

Huang Jian didn't know why He Hong came to look for him. He and He Hong had no connection. He came to look for him probably because what happened at the polo field that day reached his ears.
The polo match hosted by the Qi family, what happened reached his ears, and his ears and eyes had reached such an extent.

In this way, He Hong would definitely know what Huang Jian said that day.

He Hong has always been vindictive and petty. If that's the case, why not just let someone kill him? Why bother meeting him? What's there to talk about between him and him?

Even though Huang Jian had been used to doing face-saving work over the years, he hated He Hong from the bottom of his heart. Since he stepped into the reception room, his every move was accompanied by subtle resistance. Huang Jian looked at him, and it was clear that he was trying his best to curb his hatred for him, but the expression on his face was still not very good.

He Hong was the Minister of Works, a high-ranking official of the second rank.

Huang Jian saluted him.

When He Hong saw him coming, he did not stand up but remained sitting on the chair. After watching him salute, he laughed twice in a sly manner and said, "How dare I accept the great gift from Mr. Huang?"

His words and actions made Huang Jian more certain that He Hong knew about what happened at the polo field that day. Since he knew, Huang Jian was too lazy to bother with him anymore. He stood up with an indescribable coldness on his face. Huang Jian said, "Since the Minister is unwilling to accept my gift, I will not be polite. If you have something to say, you can just say it. Anyway, there is no point for you and me to stay together."

He and Huang were of similar age, both in their forties. One was as noble as a jewel, with a golden pheasant embroidered on his scarlet official uniform symbolizing his noble status, and his face was quite proud; while the other, whose official uniform had been washed so much that it looked pale, and whose face was full of wrinkles, did not look like a man in his forties at all.

At this time, one person was sitting and the other was standing.

He Hong was not angry when he heard him say such rude words, but the smile on his face faded a little, and he had grown a short beard on his face. The beautiful beard was also a manifestation of his noble status.

He stroked his beard, and then said calmly, "Huang Qingwei, you are the second and third place winner, and you have become famous overnight. You are so promising. Do you remember that I also participated in the imperial examination in the same year as you? Although you are the first place winner, and I am only a third place winner, but so what? Now I am a second-rank minister, but you are only a fifth-rank doctor. Tell me, what's the point of being so famous back then? Now you still have to call me sir respectfully."

It's funny to say that He Hong and Huang Jian were both tribute scholars in the same year and they were about the same age, but Huang Jian was gifted and won the third place in the imperial examination at the age of 23, while He Hong was only a third-class Jinshi, which was not bad, but far inferior to the young third-class Jinshi.

He Hong is still so arrogant now that he is old, and he was even more arrogant when he was young. Back then, his father always compared him with Huang Jian at home, saying that although he was not born in a high position, he was so capable. He even extended an olive branch to him and invited him to join the He Party. Unfortunately, Huang Jian refused in the end.

The young and energetic He Hong was not willing to be inferior to others. He did not dare to talk back to his father at home, so he could only try to trip up Huang Jian behind his back.

When Huang Jian won the third place in the imperial examination and entered the Imperial Academy, he suffered from being excluded in the Imperial Academy, which was due to He Hong. Of course, it was also because he became famous at a young age, which brought a little arrogance of youth, and he was not open-minded enough to deal with things other than studying.

He Hong was unwilling to let Huang Jian go at first, but later the tutor died, and Huang Jian seemed to have his soul taken away. Seeing him becoming more and more decadent day by day, He Hong knew that he was almost useless.

He was too lazy to care about him, but how dare this useless person interfere in his affairs? !
When He Hong thought of this, he laughed sinisterly twice and said, "Huang Qingwei, are you trying to follow in your husband's footsteps? One person's greed can bring suffering to the whole family. Tell me, how come the fate of the Wen family is not enough to warn you?"

When Huang Jian heard such a hypocritical and disgusting person like He Hong talking about what happened in the past, he was so angry that his whole body trembled. The tip of his tongue was bitten and a strong smell of rust oozed out.

He Hong was still not giving up. He said, "Tell me, is there anyone as greedy as him in the world? What does he want to do? He obviously has everything, so why is he still not satisfied? He has fame, wealth, and even a good reputation after his death, but he still thinks that's not enough? He even wants to do something omnipotent in Kyoto. Test who?" He pointed at Huang Jian, then at himself, and asked sternly, "Are you going to be tested, or me, or all the officials in Kyoto?!"

The performance evaluation system mentioned by He Hong was one of the measures of the new policy proposed by the Grand Tutor. Seeing the increasingly rampant corruption in the officialdom, Wen Lilian introduced the performance evaluation system with the intention of monitoring officials at all levels. In theory, if this policy can be implemented, it will always be able to limit some illegal and disorderly phenomena. But how can officials be willing to be supervised by others? Wen Lilian's implementation of the performance evaluation system is actually against the entire bureaucracy in Kyoto.

Therefore, both during his lifetime and after his death, many people hated Wen Lilian extremely.

Wen Lilian attempted to use the Performance Evaluation System to restrict evil deeds. Later, the Performance Evaluation System was indeed introduced and implemented for a period of time. However, it was during that period that Wen Lilian was reported to have committed the crime of corruption.

Wen Lilian became the first person to die because of the Performance Evaluation System.

When He Hong mentioned the performance evaluation method, Huang Jian could no longer bear it. He said, "If you don't do anything wrong, you don't have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door! If you want to test me, then test me. I haven't made any mistakes, so why should I be afraid of people checking me?"

He Hong saw Huang Jian raise his voice and suddenly slammed the table, "You are not afraid, so you push it! How can this be?! Trying to monitor all officials under the emperor's nose, is that reasonable? Is it reasonable! Well, the performance evaluation system has been implemented as you wished! What can you do in the end? The first person he killed was himself! What, are you satisfied? You are satisfied. Wen Lilian already has everything, who made him so greedy? Since he is greedy, it is no wonder that he ended up like this."

He frowned and smiled, "Tanhua Lang, you were bullied in the Imperial Academy, and he just happened to show up. As a result, you took him as your belief. I guess you were just deceived by him, right? You and I are of the same age. I advise you that he has already turned into a pile of yellow earth. There is no need for you to keep thinking about him, right? How come these ten years of ups and downs in the officialdom can't teach you to shut up?"

He Hong was a little fat, with a slightly protruding belly, and the way he pretended to be friendly was even more disgusting.

Huang Jian frowned, glanced away, and asked, "If you want my life, just take it. Why do you have to be so hypocritical?"

He Hong's smile became even more strange. He looked at Huang Jian and said, "You are right. Killing you is not as easy as killing an ant. But now a cricket has jumped onto my neck. What do you think I will do? I will feel itchy all over, but soon this little cricket will chirp pleasantly. Tell me, isn't it interesting? Why don't I play with this overconfident little thing and tease it for a while?"

In his words, Huang Jian was just the most insignificant thing. What's more, his father used to compare the two of them from time to time. It would be a lie to say that he was not happy to see the high-spirited Tanhua scholar back then become what he is today.

He Hong said: "Huang Qingwei, what can you do if you don't like me? You can only dislike me. Even if you know what I did behind my back, what can you do? How dare an ant shake a big tree? If you want to touch me, do you have any evidence? If there is no evidence, why should I be afraid of you? In my eyes, your every move is nothing but a clown."

He Hong looked at Huang Jian's pale face and laughed even more wildly. He stood up and walked out, leaving Huang Jian with only his arrogant back.

He asked him, what would happen even if he knew?
Yes, even if you know, what can you do?

But how do you know if you don’t try?

Why can an innocent person be accused of guilt by them, and why can a guilty person be turned into an innocent person?

How can such a thing be possible in this world?

*
The days passed uneventfully. Song Yusheng had been investigating the case of the girl's corpse, but over the past twenty days, he could only find some clues. Even though Song Yusheng could roughly guess the truth behind it, he couldn't do anything without evidence.

In the blink of an eye, it is the end of the month again and we are about to enter August.

The summer heat in July and August is extremely hot and irritating, but Wen Chu seems to be unaware of it. Perhaps it is because she suffered a lot from the cold in her childhood, so she actually likes this kind of weather very much. It is warm and makes her feel inexplicably at ease.

Wen Chu sat in front of the window in a daze. From here she could see the yard outside, in which there was a round-leaf magnolia planted, which was blooming luxuriantly this month.

Wen Chu had been worried for some time, fearing that Song Yusheng would have an accident due to frequent intercourse. Fortunately, her period finally came yesterday, which made her feel relieved. But she was also afraid that she might be lucky enough to get away with it these times, but she would never be lucky again in the future.

Song Yusheng seemed to be in a desperate fight with her. No matter what she said, he refused to give her the contraceptive pills. He seemed determined to let her give birth to a child, as if he could tie her down to death.

Wen Chu gritted his teeth in hatred when he thought about it. How could there be such a person? Do you still have any shame?

Fortunately, Wen Chu was a very adaptable person. Except for the initial period when he was so angry that he couldn't even eat, he later became a little numb. He even occasionally thought that it would be better to just live like this, since he couldn't escape it anyway.

But every time she had this thought, Wen Chu would slap herself twice and scold herself. When she was in the pigsty, she also thought about it, why not just be a pig.

The feeling of powerlessness is the most likely to wear down a person's spirit, because no matter what one does, one cannot break free from the shackles. This often makes people think that instead of trapping themselves with these things, it is better to accept the shackles and wear them.

But a person who is assimilated by misfortune no longer looks like a human being.

The reason why people are people, not pigs, is because souls are hard to come by. The soul is willing to be imprisoned, looking at the mountains to calm down, knowing the difficulty and giving up, but she is unwilling.

To put it nicely, we can praise her for her tenacity. To put it bluntly, it can only be described in four words: she is still harboring evil intentions.

Wen Chu sniffed, sitting by the window and looking outside, she seemed to be able to smell the fragrance of magnolia. Because last time she poured cold water on her forehead, she caught a cold, and the cold healed quickly at that time, and she recovered in just a few days. Who would have thought that it would leave a root of disease, maybe the cold water was too harmful to her body, hurting her lower abdomen, and she often had stomach pain during her period, and when it hurt, her whole body would feel uncomfortable, and she felt uncomfortable everywhere.

This really can't be blamed on anyone else, it's her own fault. There's nothing she can do about the pain, she can only bear it.

Near noon, Chenxiang brought lunch.

Although Wen Chu had no appetite, he still forced himself to get up and eat.

Because of the abdominal pain during her period, her lips turned extremely white.

Chenxiang felt quite sad seeing her like this. His own young master seemed to be such an upright person on weekdays, but he was too persistent in this matter. What fun was there in doing something unwillingly?

But since the prince still refused to let go, there was nothing Chenxiang could do even if she couldn't bear it anymore. She could only persuade Wen Chu to think more positively. If he did, he wouldn't feel so bad.

Chen Xiang said, "Miss, the prince treats you very well. If you give in to him, he will understand your feelings and treat you better. There is no need to fight him to death. We will suffer the consequences."

Wen Chu knew Chen Xiang's feelings, and she persuaded her this time just to make her feel more comfortable, but Wen Chu refused to give in. Why should she give in? What did she do wrong? She was full of resistance, and she was unwilling to do anything loving with him.

Wen Chu also got a little angry, her tone was a little harsh, she put down the chopsticks in her hand and said, "What did I do wrong? If I did anything wrong, it's just that I didn't know him well enough to save him and send him home. But why should I bow to him? It's obviously him who imprisoned me to this point, so it's my fault."

Chen Xiang didn't expect that these words would make her so angry. She said hesitantly, "I just thought that you would be too tired. If you don't want to hear me say this, I won't say it."

Wen Chu realized that she was too angry. It was clearly Song Yusheng's fault. Why did she go to Chenxiang to vent her anger on him? She looked at Chenxiang's bewildered look and said hurriedly, "I'm sorry, Chenxiang, I shouldn't have lost my temper with you. I know you were doing this for my own good."

Chen Xiang didn't expect her to apologize. She didn't take it to heart. She just thought that what she said upset her. When she heard Wen Chu say this, she said hurriedly, "No, no, you don't have to apologize to me. I just thought that if you keep going like this, it will be very sad."

Chenxiang found that Wen Chu was too resistant to Song Yusheng and stopped saying good things about him.

Wen Chu smiled after hearing this, and she said, "It's okay. No matter how hard it is, I can get through it. It's nothing. As long as you can endure, there will always be light at the end of the tunnel."

She couldn't say anything else to comfort herself, so she could only say this.

Just as the two were talking, there was a noise at the entrance of Yuhui Hall. They were sitting at the table in the main hall eating, and when they looked up, they could see the noise at the entrance. They didn't know who was coming this time, and even the guards at the entrance seemed unable to stop them.

Wen Chu and Chenxiang looked at each other, and confusion appeared in their eyes at the same time.

When someone came in, Wen Chu still had some impression.

This person seemed to be the old nanny who followed Madam Song.

The old lady walked up to Wen Chu and said, "The old lady wants to see you, young lady, come with me."

Wen Chu didn't know why Old Madam Song suddenly wanted to see her, and her heart was beating fast for a moment.

She was somewhat stunned and asked, "Old Madam wants to see me? Why?"

Aunt Xing did not answer her, and her face was expressionless, leaving no room for guessing. She said, "How would I know if you ask me? Just come with me, young lady."

She was someone close to Old Madam Song. How could she not know what Old Madam Song was looking for Wen Chu? She knew it was a bluff, but Wen Chu didn't ask any more questions when she saw that she didn't want to say more. The people in Yuhui Hall couldn't stop the old lady, so how could she say no?

After all, filial piety is highly valued in this dynasty. No matter how disrespectful Song Yusheng is to his elders, unless he completely breaks off relations with the Song family, he has to save face no matter what.

Even though Wen Chu didn't know what was going on this time, he still got up obediently and went out with the others.

When they arrived at Rong'an Hall, there was no one else there except Old Madam Song.

She was sitting on the main seat with her eyes closed, holding a long string of Buddhist beads in her hands. When she saw Wen Chu coming, she still did not open her eyes. Wen Chu didn't know what this meant, and was in a dilemma for a moment. He didn't dare to move easily. Seeing that she seemed to be still muttering scriptures, he didn't dare to say a word and just stood there in a daze.

Although Wen Chu had spoken to her a few times last time, the old lady of the Duke's Mansion did not reveal her true feelings in her words and deeds, making it impossible to guess what she was thinking.

After an unknown amount of time, Old Madam Song finally opened her eyes and said calmly, "Here it comes."

Seeing that she stopped reciting the sutra, Wen Chu bowed and replied, "Yes. I wonder why the old lady called me here?"

Wen Chu guessed that it was probably not a good thing, otherwise why would he leave her alone for so long.

Old Madam Song glanced at her, her eyes were calm, and she said, "My dear sister has already told me about your affairs. I heard that you are not very willing to stay with Qi'an?"

After Song Liqing discovered that Song Yusheng had imprisoned Wen Chu that day, she could not rest day and night whenever she thought about it. She did not dare to tell her mother about it because she knew that her mother would stand on her brother's side. After thinking it over, she still felt that her grandmother was easy to talk to and her brother would probably listen to some of what her grandmother said.

Song Liqing felt that her brother's behavior was inappropriate. She was also a woman, and a playful one at that. She felt like ants were crawling all over her body when she thought about someone doing this to her. Moreover, she had always felt guilty about Wen Chu because of what she had done to her at Madam Song's birthday party. Seeing her like this now, she felt even more guilty.

In the end, she told the matter to Old Madam Song, hoping that she could make the decision for Wen Chu.

Wen Chu raised her eyes and looked at the old lady, and found that she was also looking at her.

Wen Chu actually had some expectations in her heart. If Old Madam Song knew about this, would she be able to help her? After all, Song Yusheng was like this, which was a shame for his personal morality. If it was spread out, it would ruin the reputation of the Song family.

Wen Chu nodded, agreeing with what Old Lady Song said that she was indeed not very willing to follow Song Yusheng.

She knelt on the ground and said, "I am not worthy of the prince, if possible, could you please let me live?" Wen Chu didn't know what to do, but if there was a chance, she would also like to ask for help. What if, what if it was possible?

Fortunately, Song Yusheng is not here. If he were, he would probably be angry again.

Old Madam Song was also slightly shocked by her sudden action. She winked at the old nanny, who quickly stepped forward to help her up. She advised, "Young lady, why can't you just say what you want to say nicely? Why are you kneeling?"

Old Madam Song also spoke up: "Why don't you stand up and talk first? What are you doing?"

After saying this, Old Madam Wen Chusong no longer dared to kneel down and stood up following the hand of the nanny.

The woman looked a little thinner than the last time we met, and I could tell from her facial expression that she had not been doing well these days. But even so, her beauty remained as beautiful as ever, and her slightly pale lips even made her look more delicate, which made me feel even more pitiful.

Old Madam Song saw her begging her on her knees, but still had no sympathy. She asked again, "Are you sure you don't want to stay with Qi'an?"

When Wen Chu heard this, he thought there was something going on and kept nodding his head.

But who would have thought that the old lady would pour cold water on her with her next words. The old lady ignored Wen Chu's earnest eyes and said slowly: "Over the years, no one has been able to catch Qi'an's eye, but since he has set his eyes on you, I think you must have some outstanding qualities. You follow him, and he protects you, so why would he not be willing? He has a stubborn temper. If he sets his eyes on something, he will not let it go easily. You beg me? I am an old woman with half of my bones buried in the soil, and there is nothing I can do."

How could Wen Chu not understand what this meant?

She finally understood that the Song family was all one-sided, and why would Old Madam Song go against Song Yusheng for her?

After she understood this, her lips turned even paler. Then why did she come to me?
The old lady also saw what she was thinking and continued, "But don't worry. Qi'an has been very heartless since he was young. How can a heartless person's feelings last long? You just stay with him for a year or two. If he loses interest in you, he will let you go sooner or later."

Wen Chu couldn't believe what he heard, and looked at the old lady with shock in his eyes.

Is this something a pure person could say?

When Song Yusheng lost interest in her, he would let her go. Then what was she, a toy for people to play with? She came when she was needed, and was discarded when she was used.

This old lady looked like a Buddha, with kind eyes and benevolent features. Who would have thought that she could say such words? Wen Chu was so angry that his whole body was shaking. The old lady saw that she was angry, but she still refused to let him go, and even her tone was a little worse.

She scolded coldly, "You need to know your position clearly. With your status, being a concubine to the prince is not up to par. At best, you are just a concubine or a maid. It's good to have backbone, but if you are too stubborn, that's a problem. If you serve the prince well and don't have any thoughts that you shouldn't have, even if the mistress comes to the house, if the prince still wants you to stay, you will have a rich and prosperous life. The Song family is a big family, not a small family. Do you understand? Don't make any ugly things again."

Her words were nothing more than a warning to Wen Chu to keep her quiet and not make any noise. If Song Yusheng liked her, as long as he didn't make a scene, the old lady wouldn't care whether Wen Chu was willing or not, at best she would just make her a concubine.

Old Madam Song was not thinking about Song Yusheng, but she thought that if she had an argument with Song Yusheng over this matter, it would be a loss.

It would be better to follow his wishes, since Wen Chu is the only one who matters.

This time, Wen Chu finally saw clearly the true face of the old lady of the Song family. Although she looked kind, she was actually very vicious.

Wen Chu curled his fingers tightly and couldn't help but sneered, "What if I don't want to? Old Madam, are you going to kill me?"

Old Madam Song also knew that Wen Chu would not be at peace easily. The last time she met Wen Chu, she knew that she was a tough person and would not give up easily, otherwise she would not run around and make trouble again and again.

The old lady withdrew her gaze and stopped looking at her. A servant was adding ice to the ice jar, and a trace of cold air seeped out.

The old lady's voice was as cold as ice. She said, "Qian values ​​you the most now, so I won't kill you at this time and offend him. But you also know that it won't matter if I don't touch you. What can you do?"

"You can't do anything."

Wen Chu didn't know how she got out of Rong'an Hall. She only realized today that she was so slow. The Song family was not a noble family. She should have known about the quarrel between Song Yusheng and his father in the study. The death of the Grand Tutor might have been related to them. How could such a family be considered a good family?

When Wen Chu returned to Yuhui Hall, her complexion was extremely bad. She had already been feeling unwell, and after hearing what Old Madam Song said, she felt even more nauseous and vomited as soon as she came back.

Chenxiang didn't know what happened to Wen Chu, why she became like this after going to the old lady's place, and she didn't know what the old lady said to her there.

Seeing Wen Chu feeling so sick and uncomfortable, she didn't dare to ask anything, for fear that asking again would hurt her again.

She didn't say anything more, and just told him about it after Song Yu returned home after giving birth.

After hearing this, Song Yusheng frowned and asked, "Did you vomit?"

Chen Xiang nodded and replied, "I was having lunch when I was called over. When I came back, my face looked terrible, and then I vomited not long after."

After hearing this, Song Yusheng knew that his grandmother had said something that she shouldn't have said, which made him feel uncomfortable. He also remembered that she had her period yesterday and she was not feeling well. After she vomited, she didn't know what kind of trouble she was in. Thinking of this, Song Yusheng's face became even darker.

He didn't need to ask Chenxiang where Wen Chu was now.

It will never be anywhere else except in the house.

He calmed down and soon returned to the house as usual.

Wen Chu felt exhausted all over. She lay motionless, facing the inside of the wall. The thin quilt covered her body, forming the shape of a small hill.

Song Yusheng pursed his lips tightly. He found that she seemed to have lost some weight in recent days. He saw that Wen Chu's breathing was irregular, so he knew that she was still awake and not asleep.

He walked to the bedside, lifted his robe and sat on the bedside. He did not touch her, but asked calmly: "What did she say to you today? You are so disgusting."

Wen Chu heard it, but did not respond to him and still said nothing.

Seeing her like this, Song Yusheng reached out and pulled her up from the bed. He held her shoulders with both hands, looked at her and said, "Speak."

Wen Chu was a little annoyed, brushed away his hand on his shoulder, frowned and said: "Can't you guess what she said? If you can't guess, can't you go ask her yourself? Why are you asking me to do it?"

Wen Chu's words sounded very angry, and Song Yusheng was even more certain that the old lady had said something very unpleasant, but she didn't even want to mention it. She didn't want to talk about it, so Song Yusheng didn't force her anymore. He stretched out his hand and took her into his arms, frowned, and said, "Okay, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't talk about it. You vomited today, so don't lie down. Get up and drink some throat-clearing soup and eat something."

Song Yusheng has been very peaceful these days, just like today, even when Wen Chu talked to him like this, he still spoke in a gentle manner. However, the more he did this, the angrier Wen Chu became. No matter what she did, Song Yusheng never took her seriously. He looked tender and affectionate, but he never cared about her wishes. She didn't want to have a child, but he didn't care. He just did what he wanted and didn't even give her a bowl of contraceptive pills.

There were too many things she was unwilling to do and too many things that could make her angry, but Song Yusheng was always like that, easily brushing aside all her emotions and letting things go as they should afterwards.

It was as if he had made up his mind to deal with her with such a conciliatory policy, to let her accept it all imperceptibly, to endure it, to endure until she lost her temper, to endure until she was too lazy to fight, to endure until she was willing to stay by his side, and there would be no more lies and deception between them.

Wen Chu couldn't stand it anymore and asked, "She asked me to serve you well, and she also said that with my status, it's not enough for me to be your concubine. Are you comfortable, Song Yusheng? Are you comfortable with her saying that?"

There was no ice jar in the room, because Song Yusheng found that Wen Chu seemed to be very afraid of cold, and he didn't like to use ice to cool off even on such a summer day. So Song Yusheng didn't ask anyone to put an ice jar in the room, and he would only use it at night when the two of them were doing it.

However, there was clearly no ice jar in the room. After hearing Wen Chu's words, Song Yusheng felt a chill invading his chest, and his body also became a little cold.

He pulled the corners of his mouth and spoke with some difficulty, "You know, I never thought about it this way. It was you who lied to me again and again. What can I do?"

His words carried a hint of grievance, as if he really felt that he had suffered great pain, and his tone was full of confusion and helplessness.

Wen Chu didn't want to hear him say such disgusting words anymore. Before he could finish his words, she interrupted him. She pushed him away and broke free from his arms.

Seeing that Song Yusheng was still so calm, she suddenly laughed.

He wants to torture her, right? Then let him.

Wen Chu looked at him. Song Yusheng didn't know what she wanted to do. She was quite excited, but suddenly she started laughing. She seemed to be laughing sincerely, and even her eyebrows were softer than usual. But after a while, Song Yusheng saw that she looked serious.

Wen Chu counted on his fingers and said, "Song Yusheng, let me calculate. You are now twenty-two, but I am only sixteen. You are six years older than me. Do you want to outlast me? Then let's see who can outlast the other."

This really hurt Song Yusheng. He was six years older than her and had missed too much with her in the past. When she and Qi Ziyuan were climbing trees and catching fish together, he and the crown prince were studying in Wenhua Hall. Song Yusheng knew that Wen Chu was a nostalgic person. If not, he would not be so obsessed with those people.

It seemed that he would never be able to compare to others in her heart.

Moreover, he now forced her to stay with him, and it seemed that the two of them could no longer get closer.
To put it in the most clichéd way possible, he could touch her body but he could never touch her heart.

Wen Chu couldn't tell how happy she was. She was smiling when she said this, but she felt indescribable sadness and unwillingness in her heart. She used this to stab him, but she also stabbed herself. She said it easily, but if you think about it carefully, it means countless springs, summers, autumns and winters, countless days and nights. How can she endure it?

Wen Chu had never felt so tired before, because she knew that Song Yusheng was too strong, and he could laugh and smile without getting upset no matter what happened. Wen Chu was afraid that one day she would not be able to compare to Song Yusheng, and she would really become what Song Yusheng wanted her to be.

She is not her, so what.

Sure enough, after a moment of silence, the ugly look on Song Yusheng's face disappeared in an instant, and he soon returned to his usual bright and cheerful appearance.

He smiled and actually reached out to rub her head.

"Good girl, you must live a long and healthy life and try to walk behind me."

Wen Chu gnashed his teeth in hatred, "Definitely."

*
Song Yusheng didn't stay here any longer. He got up and went to Rong'an Hall.

Old Madam Song seemed to know he would come and waited in the room.

Song Yusheng came up to her and greeted her.

Madam Song didn't respond, but she looked at him with a hint of shock. She said, "You think so highly of her?!"

She had just pulled Wen Chu over to talk for a while today, and he came here right away. He usually didn't come here, but today he came so eagerly, so it was obvious that it was for that woman.

Seeing that she didn't respond to his greeting, Song Yusheng ignored her and sat down on the chair. He looked normal, and didn't seem angry or dissatisfied. He just said calmly, "Grandma, she is timid and thoughtful. She has always been insecure. I forced her to stay. Why are you scaring her?"

When Madam Song heard this, even though she was old and calm, a crack appeared on her wrinkled face, showing shame and anger. She said, "I scared her? Isn't she very brave! How come I said a few words to her and it was considered a scare? People who don't know would think she is the apple of your eye, a rare treasure! Qi'an, grandma scolded her for your own good, how could you do this? Did she say something bad to you?"

A gentleman is cautious about what he does not see and fearful of what he does not hear. She just doesn't understand. Song Yusheng always behaves with moderation, why does he act like this when he meets Wen Chu?

Seeing that Song Yusheng was unmoved, the old lady said coldly, "Qian, you are the eldest son of the Song family. You will be responsible for the entire Duke's Mansion in the future. How can you do such an unethical thing for the sake of love?"

Old Madam Song is now saying that he is against etiquette, but that's just not enough. If she knew that he wanted to marry her, she would be so angry that she would die.

Song Yusheng did not tell her about this, but just asked, "Is it against etiquette?"

The old lady didn't understand his question and asked sharply: "Is this something glorious?"

Song Yusheng looked at the old lady, his eyes full of sarcasm, "It's against etiquette and dishonorable."

He first repeated her words, casually turning the jade ring on his hand, and then after a while, he suddenly said, "You always like to do this. Back then, you intended to kill me, but you followed the etiquette and human ethics. It's fine if you did such a thing, but grandma always likes to use this to stab me. What? Is Qi'an heartless? Or is it that the eldest son of the Song family should be heartless? Grandfather passed away, but there are grandfathers everywhere in the Song family. You want me to become the next grandfather, right?"

Song Yusheng laughed wantonly, like a smile of ice and snow, a warm spring coming to the world. Old Madam Song had never seen him like this before. He laughed wantonly, not restraining himself at all because the person in front of him was his grandmother.

But his words were more stern than ever before. He said, "In that case, you might as well just assume that Song Yusheng had died the year he was sent to the temple."

Song Lin once said that Song Yusheng did not abide by the clan rules and did not observe moral conduct, and his grandmother now also said that he was not in accordance with etiquette.

But what exactly are clan rules, and what are virtues? He talks about morality, righteousness, and hypocrisy. There are more than 300 clan rules, and each one is life-threatening. What about brotherly love and respect, and the prosperity of the family? Why should he abide by them, and why should they ask him to abide by them?

When he was too weak to speak, their first reaction was to kill him and abandon him, but now they dare to be so shameless. They thought that Song Yusheng could be tamed, because at least he also had the blood of the Song family flowing in his body, right?

However, Song Yusheng had a weak bond with his family, and what he hated most was the word blood relationship.

If possible, he would like to peel off their skin and pull out their tendons, reborn, and return the blood of the Song family to them.

(End of this chapter)