translator â xiao he lian
thursday updates â> chapter 5/12
chapter 144.1
wen chi was startled for a moment and looked at ruo fangâs hand.
he saw ruofang holding a picture scroll in one hand and a small colorful stone in the other. she was not very interested in the picture scroll and had been observing the stone carefully.
that stone was the spiritual stone that shi ye gave to wen chi.
but wen chi clearly remembered that he hid the stone in the cabinet. when was it taken out?
ruo fang and several maids took turns guarding the door of this room. there were also xiao shuanzi and servants patrolling outside from time to time. except for shi ye, no one would come in.
then the only person who placed the scroll and spiritual stone beside him was shi ye.
wen chi couldnât figure out why shi ye brought out these two things but from the beginning to end, he had an ominous feeling in his heart. he stretched out his hand: âruo fang, show me the scroll.â
hearing this, ruo fang quickly handed over the scroll in her hand: âhere, young master.â
wen chi opened the scroll and saw a familiar face.
the man in the painting was exactly the one who looks very similar to wen chi.
moreover, this scroll was extremely familiar to wen chi. if he guessed correctly, this scroll was the one he found in shi yeâs study after being reminded by xiao shuanzi.
the person in the painting was exactly the same as the painting in terms of clothes and gestures.
but why did shi ye bring this scroll to him?
or did shi ye already know that he was rummaging around in the study and did this to remind him?
this idea was rejected by wen chi as soon as it came up.
he shook his head with a very confused expression. he didnât think shi ye was a person who would do such petty things.
just then, ruo fang noticed that wen chi had not moved for a long time, so she came over to take a look at the painting. she did not know the twists and turns in it, and said in surprise: âhis royal highness is really thoughtful and painted the young masterâs appearance so vividly. .â
wen chi closed the scroll blankly, remained silent for a moment and then said: âthe person in this painting is not me.â
âah?â ruo fang said in surprise, âyoung master, what are you talking about? the person in this painting is you. with this appearance and figure, who else can it be?â
wen chi also wants to know who this is.
who looks exactly like him?
who had a past with shi ye before he met shi ye?
at this moment, it would be a lie to say that wen chi felt nothing in his heart. he obviously felt the familiar sourness quietly emerge from his heart and he was once again overwhelmed by those sour bubbles.
wen chi didnât dare to think about it. he was afraid that the more he thought about it, the more messy thoughts he would have. now that shi ye had taken out the scroll, it meant that shi ye had no intention of hiding it.
he should find shi ye and ask him about it.
once this thought was born, it could no longer be suppressed.
wen chi put the scrolls and spirit stones away and asked ruo fang to call xiao shuanzi in.
ruo fang saw something was wrong with wen chiâs expression and although she was worried, she didnât dare to ask any more questions. she responded and hurried out to call xiao shuanzi who was working in the backyard.
after yesterdayâs incident, xiao shuanzi was severely punished by eunuch zhu. he didnât dare to do anything wrong again and he didnât even dare to say anything in front of wen chi. when he came in, he lowered his head and asked wen chi what his orders were.
wen chi didnât want to beat around the bush and said directly: âplease help me tell eunuch zhu that i want to see the crown prince.â
wen chi only hated that there were no mobile phones in ancient times. when looking for someone, he not only had to contact each other like a string of gourds, but also had to wait for a long time. sometimes even xiao shuanzi couldnât find eunuch zhu, so he could only wait at home for shi ye to come home.
ah!
mobile phones are really a great invention.
if he had a mobile phone, he would only need to send a wechat message to shi ye, why go through all the trouble like now.
after wen chi sighed inwardly, he turned his eyes to see xiao shuanzi with a troubled look on his face.
âthisâ¦â xiao shuanzi hunched over, not daring to meet wen chiâs eyes. he said cautiously, âanswering to the young master, eunuch zhu has given special instructions. his royal highness will be busy with the succession ceremony. so if you want to find his highness the crown prince, you should wait until his highness is finished with it.â
wen chi heard many people mention the upcoming succession ceremony. he had already put this matter behind him but now when he heard xiao shuanzi mention it again, he couldnât help but wonder if shi yeâs intention to go out yesterday was regarding just the succession ceremony?
usually, wen chi would just stay put after hearing what xiao shuanzi said. anyway, he was not in a hurry to know the answer right away.
but at this moment, he actually didnât want to wait any longer. he had waited for so long and couldnât wait for shi ye to take the initiative to confess, so he might as well take the initiative himself.
âthen take me into the palace.â wen chi said, âthe crown prince doesnât have time to come out to see me, so itâs always okay for me to go in and find him, right?â
xiao shuanzi fell to his knees with cold sweat streaming down his face: âno way, young master, this is absolutely impossible!â
wen chi choked: âwhy not?â
âbecause, because eunuch zhu specially orderedâ¦â xiao shuanzi suddenly stopped talking as if he realized something in the middle of his sentence. he took a breath before continuing, âbecause the young master is pregnant with the eldest son of his highness the crown prince and this servant dare not let the young master go out so easily. if something happens to young master, i will not be able to shoulder this responsibility even if i have a hundred lives!â
now, no matter how slow wen chi was, he could sense the meaning of xiao shuanziâs words to stop him.
he didnât know what eunuch zhu had ordered xiao shuanzi and he didnât understand why xiao shuanzi was so afraid of him going out. but remembering that xiao shuanzi had encouraged him to have more contact with his royal highness yesterday, he was speechless: âyesterday didnât you tell me to get closer to his highness the crown princeâ¦and that itâs better to have a few more children?â
wen chi was a bit embarrassed to say the last sentence.
unexpectedly, upon hearing this, xiao shuanzi shook his head in fear and said: âyoung master, itâs all this servantâs fault. i was spouting nonsense and was punished yesterday and i have already realized my mistake. this servant dare not talk nonsense in front of young master anymore.â
originally, wen chi had many more things to say but when xiao shuanzi said this, all his words were immediately blocked in his throat.
wen chi fell silent, but ruo fang next to him was unhappy. she curled her lips and muttered in an audible voice: âyoung master was soft-hearted yesterday and asked me to give you so many good things to mend your health. when you were collecting those things, why werenât you as eager as you are right now to draw a line between the relationship with the young master?â
xiao shuanzi, ââ¦â
xiao shuanzi knew that he was in the wrong and his face turned red then white. he also knew that no matter how much he explained, it would be of no use. he might as well just lie down and accept the ridicule, so he lay on the ground tremblingly and said nothing.
wen chi didnât want to embarrass xiao shuanzi too much, so he let xiao shuanzi leave.
after lunch, wen chi sat in the bedroom, looking at the scroll and the spiritual stone placed on the table in a daze.
just then, ruo fang walked in.
ruo fang whispered: âyoung master, young master zhang from prince qiâs mansion has sent someone here again, saying that young master zhang wants to invite you to visit ju shan restaurant.â
ju shan restaurant is the place where wen chi and young master zhang met to make pastries yesterday. it seems that that place has become young master zhangâs private place to hang out with his friends.
wen chi didnât want to go out so often, but on second thought, he thought that if he stayed at home, he would only be thinking about the scroll and the stone. anyway, he couldnât think of a reason to refuse, so he might as well go out for a walk to kill time.
with this in mind, he accepted young master zhangâs invitation.
that afternoon, wen chi took a carriage to ju shan restaurant.