Chapter 245: Lose and You Marry Me

With a clatter, Lin Ru Jun was startled by the voice of the person behind her, and the teacup in her hand slipped and fell to the ground, shattering.

She turned around, incredulously looking at Cheng Ming standing behind her—just moments ago she had seen him sitting opposite, when had he silently crept to her back?

That would have been fine enough, but he was actually eavesdropping on her conversation?

The key was that she had made a bet with the Princess Consort of Rui about which beauty Cheng Ming would ultimately win, and this too had been overheard.

Lin Ru Jun's face instantly flushed a mix of green and red, her embarrassment reaching its peak.

She always conducted herself openly and honorably; this was the first time she'd been caught red‑handed, so she hurriedly looked to Gu Jiu Ling beside her for help.

Gu Jiu Ling this time was like an embarrassed mother opening the door for an embarrassed child—embarrassment had reached home.

She suddenly clutched her stomach and groaned, "Oh no! Did I eat something bad? Excuse me! Excuse me! Everyone, excuse me!"

Lin Ru Jun watched Gu Jiu Ling leave with pleading eyes, then stared dumbfounded—"Don't run away!"

Wasn't it you, Princess Consort of Rui, who proposed this little wager for fun? Why then dump her alone to be dealt with by Cheng Ming?

Her complexion shifted slightly; because of the commotion, everyone turned to look at her, and Lin Ru Jun saw there was nowhere to hide.

Especially Cheng Ming's sharp gaze, which to Lin Ru Jun felt like a blade, making her flinch slightly.

She glanced around wildly, hastily covering her stomach with her hand, before she could say anything, Cheng Ming coldly laughed ahead: "Feigning a bathroom break or whatever—have you thought up an excuse yet?"

Lin Ru Jun's cheeks instantly turned the color of pig's liver; although she was usually bold and carefree, her cheek was still a tad thinner than the Princess Consort of Rui's, making it impossible for her to just walk away.

Moreover, she did want to leave, but Cheng Ming's tall figure before her blocked her retreat completely.

Lin Ru Jun hurriedly said in a low voice, "Young Marquis, today's mistake is mine—I shouldn't have teased you!"

"Can you forgive me?"

Lin Ru Jun had never lowered herself like this before, after all she had done something guilty.

Cheng Ming laughed loudly, "What's the big deal? Miss Lin's game is very interesting; I, Young Master, also want to play—what do you suggest?"

He slowly bent forward to look at Lin Ru Jun standing before him, his eyes holding an anger he himself didn't even notice.

What right did she have to joke about his marriage, even placing a bet on which beauty he would ultimately bring home?

As for those vulgar beauties, he had truly grown tired of them, yet she went along and stirred up the fuss.

Cheng Ming himself hadn't expected that over such a trivial matter he would go to great lengths to quarrel with her.

She actually dared to watch him bring home another beauty—how—how could she?

Cheng Ming's voice suddenly rose as he coldly laughed, "Miss Lin, aren't you trying to place a bet on whom I, Cheng Ming, will finally be united with?"

As soon as his words fell, an uproar erupted all around.

Good heavens! Is this Miss Lin really unwilling to marry? How could this be so absurd—who would bet on such a thing, and moreover, a young lady actually gambling on these matters?

Her mother is a refined lady from the Li family's scholarly lineage—how could she have produced such a creature?

Although Lin Ru Jun was usually blunt and carefree, she could not withstand Cheng Ming's loud humiliation; she lifted her eyes and stared fixedly at him, a chill flashing in her gaze.

That decisive, battlefield‑hardened Lin Miss, the heroine who never yielded to men, had returned.

Cheng Ming saw Lin Jun's gaze that seemed to want to kill him, and for some reason he felt a surge of excitement.

He slowly smiled, "Young Master, I've grown bored of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—it's utterly dull."

The surrounding noble ladies instantly felt a flicker of disappointment in their eyes—turns out he doesn't like that, huh?

Yet how could Cheng Ming feel that standing before Lin Ru Jun, her demeanor was somehow off?

Cheng Ming fixed his stare on Lin Ru Jun, gritting his teeth and enunciating each word: "Since Miss Lin is so playful, why don't we have a match? I see you've brought a sword."

Lin Ru Jun staggered a moment, guiltily glancing at the Grand Princess seated nearby; the Grand Princess's gaze toward her son gradually grew more profound.

This kid couldn't possibly be fond of……

Lin Ru Jun then looked toward her own elder brother, the Lin Heir Apparent; Lin Heir Apparent lowered his head, daring not to look at his sister.

In such a grand setting, does this little lass still not mind losing face?

He would love to drag this girl back to the Lin manor and lock her up, so as to cause less trouble.

Lin Ru Jun saw that none of these people expressed an opinion; instantly she hardened her heart—she too had been forced into this situation by Cheng Ming and had no choice but to accept the challenge.

"All right! Let's sword‑fight then!" Lin Ru Jun agreed readily; she wasn't the type to put on airs.

Moreover, being blocked here by Cheng Ming, although she was at fault first, this guy wouldn't let reason stop him, and she felt like beating him up.

Previously, Cheng Ming's swordsmanship was slightly better than hers, but these days she had obtained a sword manual and secretly practiced many tricky moves, perfect for now using them to feed Cheng Ming's techniques in public.

"Hold on!" Cheng Ming gave the woman before him a meaningful look and coldly chuckled, "A sword fight without a wager wouldn't be fun, would it?"

Lin Jun's eye twitched—was this guy picking a fight with her?

She smiled lightly, "Fine! Please place your bet!"

Cheng Ming, on the contrary, fell silent, as if he had pondered for an eternity—so long that even the crowd that had come to watch the spectacle began to nod off.

Cheng Ming suddenly enunciated each word: "If I win, will you become my wife?"

With a clatter!

Immediately all around came the sound of many teacups being knocked over, and everyone stared at Cheng Ming in disbelief.

The Cheng family and the Lin family?

Both are among the eight great aristocratic families, yet these two look down on each other—after all, one is a military‑merit clan, the other a scholarly lineage.

One literary, one martial; at court the two clans have often clashed, and even when Cheng Ming's father was alive he still passed judgment on the Lin folk.

The Lin clan's offspring—nothing but pedantic scholars!

After that remark spread, from then on whenever the Lin and Cheng families met they either said nothing or launched into an argument.

As a result, Cheng Ming bluntly threw out, "Lose and you marry me?"

The Grand Princess was completely bewildered.

Lin Ru Jun's cheeks instantly flushed crimson, almost as if blood could seep out; she coldly regarded Cheng Ming and said, "What if you're the one who loses?"

Cheng Ming proudly lifted his head, like the most dazzling peacock in the sunlight: "Young Master has never lost! Want to fight or not? You're scared, aren't you—afraid or just timid?"

Cheng Ming kept using the provocation method, appearing arrogant and overbearing to the extreme, but the hand hidden behind him, clenched into a fist, trembled slightly, he was nervous to death.

He really worried that if the woman in front of him didn't agree, that grudge would surely become a big feud.

Admitting he liked Lin Ru Jun would really be somewhat embarrassing; he didn't want to be that embarrassed, so he would use force to conquer that ignorant, foolish woman and bring her under his protection.

Otherwise, if she were that stupid and just married off casually, he would feel upset seeing it.

Lin Ru Jun didn't feel the genuine inner excitement of Young Marquis Cheng Ming; she thought this brat was just humiliating her.

On the way to Wuzhou before, she had already taken a dislike to him.

What's with Zhang Yang's arrogance? He actually thought he was invincible.

"Good!" Lin Ru Jun said with a cold smile.