Elder Crown Princess Consort

ECPC Chapter 12: Late Night Historical Talks

Ruan Tangling stared at those four words for a long time and finally burst out laughing.

Lu Xunfeng: "Madam, why are you so happy?"

Ji Weiming never pays attention to what Ruan Tangling says. As long as it's something he can handle and solve within his household, Ruan Tangling is free to do as she pleases.

"How many concubines does Young Master Lu have and how many places does he keep his mistresses?"

Lu Xunfeng answered, "None."

"How many mistresses has he had?"

Continuing to answer, he said, "None."

"What does the term 'Romantic' mean?" Ruan Tangling was truly curious. She thought that clever people would not boast about their cleverness every day, and wealthy people would not go around talking about their wealth. Although Qin Fuyu had described Lu Xunfeng as a 'Charming or flirtatious' person, Ruan Tangling did not agree. Being 'romantic' did not mean being surrounded by admiring people like the flowers in a garden. In a society where money and power were everything, one had to first attain a certain social status before being considered 'Romantic'.

Lu Xunfeng replied, "Human nature is naturally romantic, but it's a pity that these wonderful moments are just illusions."

Ruan Tangling sat on the side and laughed, "Then why not be romantic like him?" She pointed a finger at Ji Weiming and raised her eyebrows in a challenging manner.

Ji Weiming sat leisurely on the side, feeling that he should show off his romantic side to her.

Unexpectedly, when Lu Xunfeng turned his fan, four words appeared: "That is extremely true!" Ruan Tangling and Ji Weiming were immediately stunned!

"That is extremely true" can be said to be a universal sentence, no matter who you talk to, as long as the other person has some subjective meaning, these four words can be used to express agreement. And obviously, the most charming use of it is by Lu Xunfeng to praise himself. It must be said that beneath Lu Xunfeng's calm appearance lies a frivolous heart.

"Ahem." Ji Weiming cleared his throat and brought the topic back, "Are you here to deliver a book, sir?"

Lu Xunfeng had a thick book in his hand, the complete graphic version of "Late Night Historical Talks". He drew the whole book in two days, and it must be said that he had a divine touch when he put pen to paper.

The ink was not yet dry, and it was clear that he had just finished drawing it and sent it over.

Ruan Tangling's impression of him improved a bit. He acted efficiently and quickly.

Ji Dong stepped forward and took the book. Lu Xunfeng looked around a few times, as if looking for Qin Fuyu.

Ji Weiming flipped through a few pages and nodded. "Thank you, Ji Dong. Take Mr. Lu to collect the reward."

Lu Xunfeng's eyes lit up when he heard the words "reward money", and Ji Weiming saw it but didn't say anything.

When they left, only he and Ruan Tangling were left in the room.

The pages of the book rustled, and Ji Weiming's fingers were stained with ink. He sniffed it, a light ink fragrance, and Ji Weiming smiled and continued to look at the picture book.

Ruan Tangling was slightly dissatisfied: "Ji Weiming, this book is for me, give it back to me!"

Ji Weiming looked up at Ruan Tangling, who was full of resentment, and smiled: “Wife, what's yours is mine."

As soon as he called her "wife," Ruan Tangling felt like half of her body was numb, not because she was drugged, but because she was blown up like a crispy pastry. The taste was like a five-spice dough, indescribable.

Ruan Tangling felt very wronged, and pouted as if she was about to cry out, "As a Crown Prince of the Great Ji Dynasty, do you really need to compete with me for a picture book?"

Her heart is about to cry, tears are about to fall, but then Ji Weiming stood up in front of her, brushed his sleeves, half-bent over to look at the tears she couldn't shed, and reached out to touch her head: "Don't cry, Tang Tang. It's just a picture book. I'll personally draw one for you tomorrow!"

"Hey!" Ruan Tangling wanted to stop Ji Weiming, but he had already walked out of the door, happily holding Lu Xunfeng's picture book and returning to his room.

Ruan Tangling took a deep breath and gritted her teeth. She really wanted to ask Ji Xiao why he didn't just hurry up and capture Ji Weiming if he wanted to, or just kill him if he wanted to, so that she could regain her freedom.

As the Crown Princess Consort, she was actually an unpaid bodyguard and she wasn't happy about it at all.

……

Ji Weiming casually flipped through the book as Ji Dong had already sent Lu Xunfeng out.

"Your Highness, this book..." Ji Dong wanted to say that this book was what Madam wanted, but you see, this kind of fully illustrated miscellaneous history book is not only useless but also ridiculous, isn't it?

Ji Weiming furrowed his brow and flipped through a few pages, tearing some of them off. He stood up and said, "Let's go to the study room!

"

Ji Dong looked at the intact book that Ji Weiming had torn into several pieces and thought that Ruan Tangling would probably be angry.

Why did Ji Weiming tear the book? Does the book have any secrets?

The two went to the study room, Ji Weiming opened the book that Lu Xunfeng had sent, while Ji Dong was grinding something on the side. Ji Weiming's writing speed was very fast, almost copying Lu Xunfeng's book at a flying speed, page by page, until late at night.

When Ji Weiming didn't return the book to Ruan Tangling as promised, she closed the door to Qiao Mu Pavilion and took out a fan to examine it alone.

Ruan Su said that there was something wrong with Lu Xunfeng's fan, but she only saw eight big characters on the front and back of the fan. If there was anything abnormal, it must be the material of the fan!

Lu Xunfeng was so down-and-out that he had to sell books to make a living. How could he afford such an expensive black paper fan?

With an extraordinary background, at this moment Ruan Tangling doesn't think that bumping into Lu Xunfeng at the book market was a coincidence anymore. And he suddenly wanting to draw a miscellaneous history book for Ruan Tangling was not to get Qin Fuyu's attention. So, who is he?

Recently, among the group of people active in the capital city, aside from the followers of Ji Xiao and the group led by Ruan Su, there may be some mixed in who are not trustworthy. No wonder even though Ji Weiming is surrounded by skilled individuals, Ruan Su is still worried about his safety.

Ruan Tangling stared at the folding fan in her hand as if it were the one in Lu Xunfeng's hand. Thinking about Qin Fuyu's attitude towards Lu Xunfeng earlier, she felt that Qin Fuyu was probably not one of Ji Xiao's people. If Qin Fuyu was one of their own, she probably wouldn't have made Ruan Tangling feel that distance between them.

People like Ji Weiming, who appear to be wandering and idle, are actually very shrewd. Ruan Tangling concluded that Ji Weiming suddenly took the book away must be related to Lu Xunfeng.

Quietly leaving Qiao Mu Pavilion, she saw the light on in the study room from afar. Ji Dong appeared less energetic, while Ji Weiming was focused on writing something.

Next to him lay a book, and Ruan Tangling immediately recognized it as the one brought from Lu Xunfeng.

Diagonal shadows, clear moonlight, looking into the distance calmly and peacefully, shedding the noise and disguise of the day, she felt from the bottom of her heart that Ji Weiming was like a hermit crab, living under the vermilion mansion of the capital, seemingly unable to withstand the storm, but waiting for it. Suddenly, she looked forward to his safe return to Xihuai, so that she could see the true Ji Weiming.

The breeze came gently, and the fragrance floated. Ruan Tangling sniffed a faint fragrance in the air and immediately chose a place to hide.

With the scent of the rose-colored flowers, Qin Fuyu is nearby!

In the middle of the night, why did she come to the study room? Could it be that she thought the study room was empty like a few days ago and wanted to search for something?

But the fragrance always lingered faintly in the air, with no intention of approaching the study room. Did Qin Fuyu see Ji Weiming and that's why she was watching from afar?

Looking around, Qin Fuyu did not hide. Ruan Tangling could see her standing tall like a green bamboo in the dark night, right in the courtyard facing the door of the study room, watching Ji Weiming inside the study with concentration. Suddenly, there was a hint of tenderness in her cold and unmoving eyes, as if she was looking at her beloved without blinking.

Ji Weiming suddenly looked up, not at the door, but at the slightly tired Ji Dong, "You go back first."

Ji Dong immediately perked up: "No, I'll accompany Your Highness."

Ji Weiming smiled and said: "No worries, I'll go rest soon. Nothing will happen."

Ji Dong looked suspiciously at the illustrated version of "Late Night Historical Talks" and stopped his hand, saying: "Then you should rest earlier."

When Ji Dong left, he casually closed the door. Qin Fuyu was obviously stunned when the figure in the study was separated by the door. Then the door opened again, and it was Ji Weiming who opened it. He looked outside and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. It was obvious that he saw Qin Fuyu. In the moment when their eyes met, Qin Fuyu turned her head and went straight back to Bi Huai Pavilion.

It seemed that the person who had just given a deep gaze was not her, which surprised Ruan Tangling a bit.

Ji Wei Ming lowered his head and hesitated for a moment before sitting back at his desk.

The rustling sound of pen and paper rubbing against each other could be heard in the wind. Ruan Tangling was still pondering over Qin Fuyu's strange behavior just now.

Could it be that there is an unusual relationship between Qin Fuyu and Ji Weiming?

I knew that the elite circle in this capital city was a small one. Since Ji Weiming is familiar with Wang Ruyan, he must have known Qin Fuyu before Ji Xiao arranged for them to marry. At that time, he probably didn't have any hostility towards Qin Fuyu.

Qin Fuyu's deep gaze just now made Ruan Tangling somewhat unpredictable.

But in the end, ever since she entered the crown prince's residence, whether it was Ji Weiming, Qin Fuyu, or Lu Xunfeng, Ruan Tangling felt that everyone had their own purpose as if no one was simple. The simplest one was only herself, and her task was to protect Ji Weiming.

With this thought, she felt extremely unwilling.

Ji Weiming yawned. It was already three in the morning, and he had a pile of papers to go through.

Ruan Tangling didn't know what he was writing, but she felt no exhaustion standing in the cold wind at night. She was wondering what was wrong with herself when she immediately came up with a grand reason: to protect Ji Weiming at all times!

She despised herself for such a false reason, but her feet remained honest and did not move.

Ji Weiming was probably tired of writing, propping his head up with one hand for a long time, feeling that it was difficult for Lu Xunfeng to finish a whole book in two days. Tang Tang was really something, obviously able to read, why did she insist on looking at pictures? Helplessly, as someone who aspired to be a good husband, he had to provide for himself and his family.

He realized that he couldn't finish it in two days, so he roughly flipped through Lu Xunfeng's sketchbook at first, feeling that there was something strange about it. Upon further thought, he realized that this thick book couldn't be finished in two days even if he didn't sleep. Ji Weiming was good at reading handwriting.

At first glance, there was no abnormality, but upon closer inspection, he could see that this full-graphic version of "Late Night Historical Talks" was not the work of one person.

Although the handwriting of the artist was almost similar, he still saw some flaws.

How could Lu Xunfeng, a person who makes a living by selling books, have the spare hands to especially collaborate with Ruan Tangling on drawing?

Looking solely at the album, it is apparent that this person is not necessarily just a down-and-out scholar who has failed in his official career, regardless of whether or not he is holding a black paper fan.

There are two reasons why Ji Weiming kept the book. If it was arranged by Ji Zhou's people, this is a rare opportunity to pass on information in a situation where they are being closely monitored, and Ji Zhou's subordinates will not give up. If it was the enemy, it is also a good opportunity to plant evidence.

Both sides are keeping a close eye on him. Unless he makes a mistake, Lu Xunfeng is a simple person. It's just a waste of a few days to copy a book.

Unconsciously, the vision became blurred and the waxing crescent moon slowly disappeared into the clouds. It was silent around, and Ji Weiming stopped writing and rubbed his eyes, feeling a headache.

It had to be admitted that Lu Xunfeng was an extremely talented person. Even the official history, which was plain as water, could be written like a popular novel, let alone the non-serious unofficial history.

After dozing off for a while, he unknowingly leaned on the table. The starlight was dim, and there was a cool night breeze outside the door. He felt comfortable.

Ruan Tangling walked in quietly. Ji Weiming was asleep, and his delicate and exquisite face was half-lit by the dim candlelight. Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat, and she turned her eyes away to look at the scattered papers on the table.

The lines on the paper were clear and smooth, and the funny little figures were saying humorous things. Ji Weiming had just drawn the generation before Ji Xiao and his father Ji Zhou. Ruan Tangling felt warm in her heart and thought of what Ji Weiming had said during the day: if she wanted to see his drawings, she could find him.

Even though she knew that Lu Xunfeng's picture book might have some problems, Ji Weiming treated her request with such care. Living in Luming Lane for sixteen years, apart from her father and Ruan Dazhuang, no one had ever treated her like a normal person before. She suddenly felt a sense of joy from being valued.

In the study, there was a thin blanket. Softening her heart, Ruan Tangling took the blanket from one side and placed it over Ji Weiming's body.

As she flipped through the drawing paper, she suddenly felt like there were words behind it.

I turned it over and saw a few words: "One page costs ten copper coins, and the entire book is expected to have five hundred pages. Tang Tang, if you can't come up with the money, why don't you pay with your body instead?" Signed: Ji Weiming.

Ruan Tangling immediately became furious and pounded the table with a fist. The sound of the fist falling seemed to echo in the distant wind.

Ji Weiming suddenly opened his eyes and sat up. He saw Ruan Tangling, who was full of murderous intent, and pulled the blanket on his back, complaining slightly: "Tang Tang, getting angry easily causes wrinkles, like that flour dough. This is not just anger, it can start a fire!"

Ruan Tangling: "..."