CH 66

Chapter 66 A feast

“When will you lend me the one in your house to play for two days?”

Bai Shiyan snorted a sip of alcohol and said kindly, holding Fang Wuyang’s neck: “I advise you not to have any funny ideas with Zhongming’s side you little punk or your little help won’t be enough to pay it back. If you have free time these few days, go take a look at the mourning appearance of Ning Wang and you’ll understand.”

“Ah, I have seen Ning Wangye,” Bai Shilei finally had a chance to interject: “He has a teary face that can’t cry out to anyone. Was he disciplined by the Emperor again?”

“Basically the same as being disciplined by the Emperor. This is another thing you can ask Zhongming. Ning Wangye almost lost his pants trying to compensate him.”

Liu Zhongming asked back innocently: “What’s the point of asking me, Wangye gave it voluntarily.”

Ning Wang did a lot of wicked things like this, but only when those things are placed in front of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager and making a ruckus in public wasn’t good, was he able to get any advantages.

On the one hand, it is much better than those who suffer from secret losses. On the other hand, to capture the majesty of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, Ning Wang had to bow his head and apologize to him.

After he deliberately avoided the invitation twice, Ning Wang knew that this matter could not be ended casually, and that he could only spend money to eliminate the disaster. Although it was not as serious as Bai Shiyan mentioned, he is still quite satisfied with the newly acquired shops.

Of course, Fang Wuyang was reluctant to give up on anything. After thinking about it, he could only complain: “How about playing for a bit, it won’t spoil. I’m very tender to the fairer sex and I promise to keep him beautiful and fresh.”

Bai Shiyan chuckled at the side: “It’s over. If you say that, Zhongming will not be able to let you borrow even more.”

Liu Zhongming kicked him under the table, and the topic was over.

But what they talked about after that, somehow, he couldn’t get it into his ears at all.

Chenzhou? He thought about Fang Wuyang’s words, and the wounds on his back and waist that had grown for a long time seemed to be aching again.

The real murderer.

If that little thing that seemed gentle and supple, but was actually a thorn was really entered by another, he was afraid that it would fight to the death with that person.

But… He suddenly remembered the mild-colored birthmark, a secret that only he knew— if it was him, he could try it, rub the person soft first…

Liu Zhongming shuddered and came back to his senses. When he did, he saw Bai Shiyan staring at him inexplicably, and turned his face away uncomfortably.

After the last misunderstanding, Bai Shiyan didn’t mull over what he had with the little wild cat. He also wanted to put on an innocent attitude, but after discovering Qu Chenzhou’s secret, he started unknowingly liking to tease the person.

Qu Chenzhou was willing to go out to be beaten and starved, but he couldn’t reveal the fatal birthmark.

Regarding his three rules, he was still a fan of his own way at first. He clearly told him not to go out easily. Because of Dan Lang’s case, Ling He concentrated a lot of unsolvable components on Qu Chenzhou, and now Huai Wang was even more like a huddled hedgehog with no way of talking.

Whether it was Ling He or Huai Wang, they all needed to be avoided for the time being.

He was also observing the attitude of the Emperor.

There were too many riots from last year to this year. If something happened again, he was afraid it would be a big storm that couldn’t be easily calmed down. It’s not time yet.

But Qu Chenzhou had his own idea and walked out the door with him.

If someone hadn’t tipped off the news and he hurried away, Qu Chenzhou and Ling He would be only one street away and would meet.

Still such a reckless temper.

Liu Zhongming’s lungs almost exploded with anger and he carried the person all the way home.

But Qu Chenzhou argued with reason, saying that with Liu Zhongming in front of him as a shield, he had to kill Ling He first and he would just suffer a little.

He knew that Qu Chenzhou’s way of doing things couldn’t be changed, but he couldn’t argue with his tongue, so he could only press the person on the desk in a fit of anger, clamped a pair of slender wrists with one hand, and put one palm on his waist.

“Are you going to admit your fault!?”

The stubborn man naturally refused to admit his mistake. He even kicked him a few times while struggling, and his legs were pinched by him. With a burst of anger, he rubbed around his waist.

Almost at the same time, he heard a soft and sweet moan. It went from his ears to the top of his heart, as if being gently licked by a barbed cat’s tongue, it was maddening. 

Qu Chenzhou was also aware of his gaffe. When he was about to break free, he was tightly restrained. He couldn’t exert his strength, so he could only blush and scold: “Let go!”

The end tone wasn’t light or heavy, so with a bit more nasal sound and no momentum, it only sounded pitiful.

Liu Zhongming only felt a fire burning all over his body. He wanted to tear up the prey in his hand, but he was even more happy that the man would not bow his head. His hand was at times light, heavy, unhurried, and quick and turned the man into water.

When he stopped, Qu Chenzhou was so shaken that he could barely stand, and he kept sliding down, and was only supported by his legs.

Although he was still silent, he lost the strength to struggle. His eyes were already as red as a rabbit, one cheek was full of tears, and even the desk to which he was attached to was wet.

This lesson was quite effective.

Qu Chenzhou was now a lot more obedient. He didn’t even need to really punish him now, he only needed to clamp the man’s hands, and he could see the reddish moist corners of his eyes.

On one hand, he felt a little distressed, but on the other hand, he couldn’t help but want to find fault with the other.

Perhaps he was so distracted that he forgot to restrain himself, but when he got off the carriage, he was dizzy due to the cool wind blowing, and Liu Zhongming realized that he had drunk too much.

When going out in the morning, Qu Chenzhou clearly told him to drink less alcohol outside.

He sat on the threshold for a while, waiting for the servant to bring the hangover soup, then he turned to take a shower, changed his clothes, and then walked to the study.

Before entering the door, he lifted his sleeves and smelled it. It smelled of sycamore flowers.

The sycamore flowers were picked up in the spring by that person, dried and put in a gauze bag. He smelled the nice smell, then he quietly took two packs from Qu Chenzhou’s trunk and stuffed them in his closet.

Qu Chenzhou heard the footsteps, put down the brush, stood up and stood by the desk.

Liu Zhongming was used to him not saying hello, so he walked around the desk and read the words on it: “Finished?”

“En.” Qu Chenzhou responded, feeling slightly annoyed.

In his last life, since Zhongming started teaching him to write, he wondered why he wrote the same content many times.

Moreover, Zhongming was quite strict, and no stroke was allowed to be out of place.

It wasn’t until a long time later that he realized that Zhongming had done something wrong and was punished by Marquis Liu, and he pulled him to help copy the house rules.

Therefore, he was very fluent with reciting the Liu family rules.

What he didn’t expect was that, after coming back to life, he still couldn’t escape the life of helping copying the house rules. Even when Zhongming quarreled with Madam Liu before, Marquis Liu punished him to copy the house rules 20 times and he was his ghostwriter.

Disgusting.

“Why is it still empty?” Liu Zhongming looked through the sheets, and from time to time, he pointed to the blank space in the middle, and asked, “Didn’t I teach you to write many times?”

This sounded too familiar, and Qu Chenzhou had an illusion for a moment. The boundaries of life and death were blurred, and they were teenagers of the past.

“The writing’s not similiar”

The word “zhi” had the simplest structure, but it was also the most difficult. He only used this word to learn the charm of Zhongming’s writing.

Liu Zhongming picked up the pen, touched the ink, did not fill the empty space, but invited: “Come here.” 

The pen was stuffed into Qu Chenzhou’s hand, and a blank sheet of paper was spread out in front of him.

“Write it for me to see.”

He tilted his head, first looking at the warm sun spreading on the table through the window paper, then raising his eyes inch by inch, he saw his own reflection in those dark brown pupils.

The old sunset that shone into Jinxi Academy back then also shone upon them like this.

He lowered his head slightly and wrote a “Zhi” on the paper.

——Tender peach, shining magnificence. When the son marries, they should be suitable for his family. Tender peach, they should be abundant with seeds. When the son marries, they should be suitable for his family. Tender peach, its leaves are luxuriant. When the son marries, they should be suitable for his family.

In the past, when he could not write this word well, Zhongming once asked him to copy this poem again and again, and then told him – Chenzhou Er, one day, I will marry you in an open and grand manner.

It’s a pity he… couldn’t wait for that day.

One hand rested on the table on the left side, and the other hand was on the back of his hand, holding the pen with him, and encircling him in a small corner in front of the table.

“Strength comes from the waist, and its roots are in the feet,” Liu Zhongming patted his waist to make him sit firm, and then took his hand to write quickly together: “Hasn’t your teacher taught you? Use your wrists to exert force.”

The full stroke of the pen fell on the paper, and Qu Chenzhou’s mind was swayed. The breath that was imprisoning him and surrounding him left his back with the last stroke.

Leaving him stunned.

“Teacher… had taught me before, but I didn’t learn it well.” He replied softly, “Thank you, Shizi.”

Liu Zhongming held the remaining warmth in his palm and was in a trance for a moment. After such a daze, he was called back by the voice of thanks and went to sit by the window.

“Don’t go out tomorrow and practice calligraphy at home.”

In fact, when he got the first family rules written by Qu Chenzhou, he could see that the individual characters were fine, but if they were linked together, their writing style was completely different. It can’t be used to fool his Dad.

Qu Chenzhou didn’t practice martial arts, so his words lacked strength and sharpness.

But he was still happy to have the other person copy the house rules. He liked to see Qu Chenzhou’s anger and not daring to speak. It was good that there was something to detain the person at home. Ling He tried to find him a few times, but he dodged him, so not going out at this time would be the best.

When he didn’t leave, Qu Chenzhou could only respond in a dull voice. He just lowered his head to write a few words, and then heard someone ask, “Have you heard of a kind of alcohol…called Intoxicated Feast.”

Qu Chenzhou raised his head inexplicably . “I haven’t heard of it.”

Liu Zhongming looked at him for a moment, then turned his head: “It’s alright, I was just asking.”

Because of the new shop that Ning Wang gave him, he stopped by to see the blacksmith shop and liquor shop that Qu Chenzhou bought for him before, especially paying attention to the liquor shop with the words “Nourishing Clumsiness”.

The blacksmith shop was just an ordinary blacksmith shop. Except for the fact that it does not make farm tools but weapons, which surprised him, there was nothing special about it.

The person in charge of the shop was a rough man, who was keen on forging and had his accounts all a mess. He probably was taken advantage of thus the shop was sold at such a cheap cost.

Liu Zhongming left the steward there to help sort out the accounts, and then went to Nianhua Alley to take a look. Unfortunately, he did not meet the little wild cat with the different eyes.

The shopkeeper was a careful person, remembering the accounts clearly, what alcohol was produced in the shop, where it was collected, where it was made, and how each alcohol was accounted for.

The accounts were clear, and it was much easier to take over. Liu Zhongming originally planned to simply flip through it, but noticed that the alcohol on the last page only had an entry date but not an export.

The shopkeeper explained to him that this “Intoxicated Feast” alcohol was left by someone. Before the autumn equinox every year, someone would bring the alcohol, and then guests would take it away, and it would not be sold.

As for who took it, it was impossible to say due to the instructions of the depositor.

He listened to it inexplicably, and thought that the alcohol shop was collected by Qu Chenzhou, so there must be a purpose for it. However, Qu Chenzhou only said that he only knew that the shop was a little weird, and he didn’t understand the specific weirdness, so he could only buy it first.

He thought his older brother thing in the past was confusing enough, but he didn’t expect that there were so many invisible shadows hidden around him.

Now even Qu Chenzhou doesn’t know, so he could only give up.

“Chenzhou, I want to go back to the mansion for a while, and I can’t let you stay here alone. You go follow Shiyan back to the Bai house to live there. It’s not as good as home and you’ll be wronged for a few days, but I’ll pick you up soon.”

“Ok.”

Qu Chenzhou naturally knew what Liu Zhongming was going to do.

The Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching. But besides the Mid-Autumn Palace feast in the palace, Liu Qingyan was killed at this festival.

Zhongming had to go back every year at this time, and only in this way will he feel that his family had not broken up.

Perhaps it was because he recalled his brother, but Liu Zhongming didn’t want to stay any longer, and when he got up and went out, he remembered something and ordered.

“When you go out, be cautious in your words and deeds. When it’s difficult to deal with the situation, remember the fourth rule. Without the permission of your owner, you are not allowed to answer other people’s questions at will, let alone fortune-telling.”

This time, Qu Chenzhou did not answer, but after Liu Zhongming went out, he said softly, “Thank you.”