Chapter 374: Educating Luo Longwen After that incident, Yan Shifan could no longer maintain his composure. His plump face flushed with humiliation and anger, and under the pretext of changing clothes in the rear courtyard, he left the banquet in a hurry. The moment he disappeared, the hall erupted into chaos. The once-lively atmosphere now […]
Chapter 373: Magnificent Indeed, Shen Lian Zhu Ping’an had been the first— but he was by no means the last. The air at the banquet had grown wild and reckless. The wine burned bright in every man’s veins, and even the normally aloof Yan Shifan had been swept up in the fever of the moment.
Chapter 372: Lord Yan, Protect Me After Zhu Ping’an took the initiative to raise his cup in a toast, the mood at the banquet table shifted ever so subtly. The invisible currents of tension, which moments before had been pressing upon him, now swirled away to other corners of the hall—for the time being, the
Chapter 371: A Toast “Expressing ‘thanks’ is far too easy. Surely, as the newly crowned top scholar, you wouldn’t neglect to offer a toast to honor Lord Yan, would you?” The moment Zhu Ping’an’s words fell, Luo Longwen, seated at the lower end of the table beneath Yan Shifan, arched an eyebrow and gave him
Chapter 370: The Minor Banquet of Imperial Favor The invitation that others would have envied endlessly felt in Zhu Ping’an’s hands like a blazing-hot coal. If he could, he would have handed it off to someone else in an instant. It wasn’t even about Ouyang Zishi. Just thinking about the scene at the Imperial Street—when
Chapter 369: The Grand Banquet of Honor and Grace “Spring lingers late, the grasses and trees grow lush and thick; the oriole sings sweetly, gathering mugwort in merriment.” — The Book of Songs On the first morning after the imperial examination results had been posted, Zhu Ping’an finished his breakfast and mounted his matte-black “Shamate”
Chapter 368: Little Sister, Don’t Cry “Don’t cry, little sister. Elder Sister won’t hit you.” Through the glimmering veil of Sixth Miss’s tear-streaked face, Li Shu stepped forward, her movements calm and graceful, her voice soft as silk. She reached out her slender jade-like hand to wipe away the tears that clung to the corners
Chapter 367: The Fiery One Li Shu’s four simple questions hadn’t directly accused anyone of poisoning her sweet soup—but when one connected those questions together, then combined them with the servant girl’s earlier answers, the implication became glaringly clear. No matter how one looked at it, this bowl of poisoned dessert was inseparable from the
Chapter 366: Questioning The polished silver spoon, once gleaming like freshly fallen snow, suddenly turned pitch black—so unmistakably dark that it could not be ignored. “Miss! Don’t drink it… it’s poisoned!” the little maid Baozi cried out, her voice trembling with terror. She had just watched her young mistress scoop up the sweet porridge, only
Chapter 365: An Unexpected Change “Fufu… don’t laugh at your elder sister, little one. The moment I laid eyes on these sweets, I simply had to try them. You wouldn’t mind, would you?” Li Shu’s eyes, dark as ink and glimmering with playful mischief, swept slowly over the Sixth Miss of the Marquis’ household. Her