Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

Lin Wantang took it with one hand and took a small bite without ceremony. "Wow, it's very sweet! It's quite delicious, even..."

Not wanting to reveal her identity, she changed her question: "Would you like to try some?"

As she spoke, she handed the candied hawthorn to him. Seeing Wei Wujiu frown, she smiled and urged, "It's really delicious. I can't finish it all by myself. Who bought it? Did I ask you to buy it? Since you bought it, you have to share it with me."

Thus, Wei Wujiu had no choice but to condescend and gently bite off one of the two.

It is indeed very sweet. The hawthorns are not frozen solid since it is early winter, and they have a slight sourness, making for an excellent taste.

Lin Wantang couldn't help but chuckle as she thought about the candied fruits and sweets in his room. So he loved sweets. She pursed her lips without revealing her thoughts, and then coaxed and persuaded Wei Wujiu to eat most of the candied hawthorn skewer.

Li Jinzhi watched silently from behind, his face already showing a shocking change in expression.

He glanced down at Zhang Qian, then winked at him, but Zhang Qian didn't notice anything amiss and couldn't figure out what he was doing, so he simply ignored him. Helpless, Li Jinzhi leaned down and whispered, "Zhang Qian, are you blind?!"

Zhang Qian clenched his fists, already wanting to hit someone.

But Li Jinzhi immediately followed up, "What's going on between my senior brother and Young Master Lin? Doesn't he already have a fiancée? How come he's... having an affair with his brother-in-law? Is this proper? Is this right?!"

Zhang Qian then realized what was happening, looked up at Lin Wantang who was taking out copper coins to buy osmanthus cake, and then naturally fed one to Wei Wujiu. He stared at the two of them in astonishment, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Lin Wantang's ear piercing.

Both men and women in this dynasty could wear earrings, but fewer men in the Central Plains wore them, and those who did only wore them on their left ear. Lin Wantang's ear piercing was clearly on his right ear.

"Shut up first." Zhang Qian scolded Li Jinzhi, then took a few quick steps and glanced at Lin Wantang's left ear. She still had an ear piercing, and he understood immediately.

"Li Jinzhi, are you stupid?" Zhang Qian retaliated, glaring at her fiercely again. "Can't you tell that this so-called Young Master Lin is actually Miss Lin!"

"Huh?" Li Jinzhi was taken aback for a moment, but then breathed a sigh of relief without saying much more: "That's good."

But for the rest of the trip, no matter how noisy and crowded the market was, Li Jinzhi restrained himself while riding, trying to keep a certain distance from Lin Wantang as if avoiding suspicion, not wanting to be abrupt, nor wanting to make his senior brother jealous.

It took them quite a while to leave the capital. The roads were wide and open, so the three of them didn't need to hold back and spurred their horses on, galloping along the way.

Unfortunately, Zhang Qian had neither a horse nor the legs to run fast.

He limped slightly and had no choice but to call out, "Hey, wait! Wait for me! Li Jinzhi!"

Seeing that no amount of shouting could bring him back, leaving only a cloud of smoke that choked him and infuriated Zhang Qian, he cursed, "You bastard surnamed Li, I'll curse your ancestors!"

The sound lingered high and echoed for a long time.

Finally, a sliver of conscience returned to Li Jinzhi. He rode back, but rudely grabbed Zhang Qian and shoved him onto the horse before galloping away again.

Wei Wujiu knew that his junior brother Li Jinzhi was carefree and loved to talk and make a fuss. Usually, due to his official position, he had to keep a cold face and speak less. But when he had free time, Li Jinzhi would inevitably revert to his original nature, being unrestrained and cynical.

However, Zhang Qian was straightforward and somewhat tongue-tied, and not good with words. Because the two often couldn't argue, they were considered rivals. Zhang Qian was Wei Wujiu's right-hand man and the Black and White Duo who inspired fear in those around them.

Wei Wujiu let the two of them fool around for a long time. They stopped to rest halfway through the journey. Lin Wantang took out some snacks she had bought at the market and gave most of them to Li Jinzhi and Zhang Qian. She wasn't hungry, so she kept a few pieces and fed them to Wei Wujiu on the spot.

"Is it delicious? When I have time, I'll make the Governor something new and interesting."

When Lin Wantang was still in her boudoir, she liked to study novel things, especially Qimen Dunjia. However, Chen Shi disliked it and felt that those were not things that a young lady should learn. She always had the teaching nanny urge her to learn female virtues and precepts, as well as needlework.

Helpless, she couldn't suppress her inner urges. She often pretended to learn cooking and secretly tinkered with utensils and weapons, but she also inadvertently figured out how to make a few different dishes.

Wei Wujiu had been fed quite a bit by her various excuses along the way, and his stomach was a little bloated. He looked down at her with slight displeasure and said, "No need, I don't like these. You can eat them yourself."

Lin Wantang looked at the remaining half of the hibiscus cake in her hand and gave a helpless wry smile: "Alright, but I really made it delicious. Are you sure you don't want to try it, Commander?"

As she ate the half-eaten hibiscus cake, she caught up with Wei Wujiu and said, "It's made with fresh milk, soft, sweet, and fragrant. One bite and the aroma lingers on your lips and teeth. Everyone who's tried it says it's delicious!"

Wei Wujiu strolled along the stream, watching the horses drinking and grazing, his gaze drifting to the distant mountains. "Who ate them? Who were they?"

Lin Wantang, unsuspecting, said, "My older brother and younger brother, and a few little ones."

They were all Lin Rucong's children, but only her brother, like her, was born to the Chen family. The other five children, including Lin Che, were all born out of wedlock. However, Lin Wantang's words did not include Lin Qinglian.

In fact, her parents had also eaten the food, and Lin Rucong praised it highly. However, Madam Chen not only overturned the food bowl, but also scolded Lin Wantang for cooking haphazardly and for being unruly, and punished her by making her kneel in the ancestral hall all night.

At the time, I only thought that Ms. Chen was well-behaved and deeply influenced by etiquette, but now that I think about it...

Lin Wantang shook her head slightly at the right moment, not wanting to talk about these things and too lazy to disturb her rare interest, so she dismissed her thoughts and looked at Wei Wujiu: "Governor, after we finish this case, I will make it for you to taste."

As she spoke, she stretched out her hand, revealing only a sliver of her fair little finger.

"Let's pinky swear, I won't go back on my word."

Wei Wujiu looked down at her twitching little finger, then chuckled and brushed it away with one hand: "Nonsense."

His tone was very calm, without a hint of blame.

Lin Wantang pouted, then grabbed his sleeve and shook it lightly, saying excessively, "What nonsense are you talking about? I clearly wanted the Commander to taste more delicious food, and I even added herbs, which are good for his health!"

"Let go."

"No! Governor, please promise me first, make a pinky promise with me."

"What kind of behavior is this?"

"This is the middle of nowhere, there's no need for formalities."

……

Li Jinzhi sat on a treetop some distance away, pretending to look at the surrounding scenery but actually observing the terrain. However, he also smiled as he listened to the conversation by the stream.

He smiled with satisfaction, and with a sense of relief.

I thought that my senior brother, burdened with the secrets of the Blood Sea, was a lone figure who could not confide in anyone. He had a long life ahead of him, and the road ahead was unknown. He could only walk alone in loneliness and solitude. But I never expected that fate would be kind to me.

That would be excellent.

If my master were alive and could see this scene, he would close his eyes in peace.