Chapter 379: The Incompetent Gao Yang

Watching Li Tai leave laughing like a total idiot, Chen Yan was momentarily speechless, and Li Chengqian wore a look of admiration.

"Zi Anxiong, you really had to be the one to make it happen—actually getting Li Tai to give up the contest and turn to studying that so‑called Kongming lantern."

"When it comes to pulling strings, I wouldn't trust even the wall, only you."

"Gao!"

"......"

"Gao Gao Gao, you damn Gao!"

Two blue veins bulged on his forehead, "What does 'to hype' mean?"

"What did I hype him about?"

"You damn cat, don't speak recklessly!"

"Right, right, right!" Li Chengqian slapped his own mouth, looking as if he'd misspoken, "Zi Anxiong didn't hype Li Tai; he just gave Li Tai a goal."

"Just that the goal is fundamentally impossible to achieve, I get it, I get it."

Chen Yan, with a weary expression, "So you always thought I was fooling the Prince of Yue?"

"Isn't that so?" Li Chengqian asked, surprised.

"Just stop it!" Chen Yan retorted irritably, "The Prince of Yue isn't stupid; how could he be fooled by an unattainable goal? The knowledge I taught Sizi is all true; building a huge Kongming lantern that can lift people is also true."

"This thing is indeed hard, but theoretically it's possible for us; if the Prince of Yue is clever enough to use the Kongming lantern as a base and gradually enlarge it without rushing, he could indeed make a hot‑air balloon that carries people into the sky."

"Hot‑air balloon?"

Li Chengqian blinked bewilderedly, his face written with the two characters for "don't understand."

"Forget it." Chen Yan patted his shoulder, "Regardless, your Crown Prince position is firmly secured; unless you bring trouble on yourself, no one should be able to threaten your status."

"At this point, everything is heading in a good direction; when we both have time, let's go to Pingkang Workshop again."

Li Chengqian's eyes brightened, and he nodded solemnly.

The year before last, when he went to Pingkang Workshop with Chen Yan and the others to see beautiful women, it was the most relaxed and happiest time of his life, and he still can't forget it.

But because Chen Yan and the others started families and became busy, their four great swordsmen of Chang'an haven't been to Pingkang Workshop for a long time.

Precisely because of that, Li Chengqian later took so many concubines, which earned him a scolding from Empress Changsun and Chen Yan.

Another familiar evening arrived; in the room Li Chengqian arranged for Chen Yan's family, Chen Yan and his three‑person household sat together, while Gao Yang glared at the two of them.

"Shall we... settle the score?"

"Settle what?" Chen Yan pretended to be clueless, "What account could there be between husband and wife?"

—Bang!

Gao Yang slammed a heavy palm onto the table, "Chen Yan! Do you have to make me clarify my words?"

"What you did yourself aren't you clear about?"

"Then tell me, what did I do?" Chen Yan said with an innocent face.

"You... you you you, you're shameless!"

Gao Yang, angry, immediately wanted to take advantage of last night while the two were asleep… but the words stuck in her throat and she couldn't utter them.

In the end, she was just a woman raised in the feudal era by the old feudal Empress Changsun; even though she was bold and thought differently, and already married, she still possessed a woman's sense of shame.

Moreover, one of them was her husband, the other her sister.

How could she say that?

"Sorry, Gao Yang... yes, it's my fault."

Li Lizhi didn't want to watch them argue; after all, this wasn't their own home, so she proactively took the blame onto herself.

"I know exactly whose fault it is!" Gao Yang glared at Chen Yan, "I'm pregnant, my sleep is light, I heard everything you two said!"

"Regardless, in front of me… was that too much?"

"Are you jealous?" Chen Yan suddenly asked.

Gao Yang: "......"

Hard!

Gao Yang's fist hardened!

Goddamn, I'm jealous.

I envy your grandpa!

She was about to explode, and Chen Yan added, "Back then you promised me, that as long as I gave you something, you'd obey me in everything."

"Now you won't settle the account?"

"I..." Gao Yang thought of the poem Chen Yan gave her, and suddenly choked, unable to speak, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

She finally understood what it means to court trouble.

Pretending to be a fool comes at a price.

The point is she didn't even pull off the act well.

"Then… you can't do that, I'm still here, there's your bloodline in my womb." Gao Yang was depressed to death.

"Alright, I know you've been wronged; I'll make it up to you slowly, okay?" Chen Yan's tone softened, coaxing gently.

Gao Yang fell silent.

To put it bluntly, it's about taking the soft and not the hard.

Chen Yan leaned over, clasped her waist, "Haven't many things happened recently?"

"Recently too many people coveted our silk and brocade; the Wei family's fire burned our workshop, killing two people. Though I retaliated, the recent situation is even more dangerous; a misstep could be fatal."

"Tang'er, please don't be angry, okay?"

Gao Yang understood his implication: he was under great pressure and hoped she could understand.

Honestly, if Gao Yang didn't know Chen Yan well enough, she probably would have believed it.

He even tried to collude with Li Chengqian to get them a room, and thinking about it, he felt not a bit of pressure.

But anyway, Chen Yan gave her a way out, his attitude still being good, and her nature wouldn't let her keep clinging to the matter without letting go.

Gao Yang yanked Chen Yan's hand away forcefully, her face cold, "This won't happen again!"

Having said that, she left in a huff to rest.

Chen Yan and Li Lizhi exchanged a glance and burst into laughter.

Then Chen Yan followed, and Li Lizhi's eyes flashed an odd hue before fading; she rose to rest without a word.

At midnight, Chen Yan didn't dare to provoke Gao Yang's bad luck and had already fallen asleep.

Half‑dazed, he suddenly felt a warm, delicate body slip into his arms, the little hand still being mischievous.

Chen Yan opened his eyes blankly, looked down at Li Lizhi whose eyes sparkled, radiating a devouring heat and desire, and was stunned.

No.

Today Gao Yang, fearing they'd do something bad, slept in the middle; how did Li Lizhi manage to come over?

Before he could think further, two lotus‑like arms coiled around him, delivering a lychee‑flavored kiss.

Can this be endured?

In the darkness, a pair of angry eyes opened dimly, slammed the bed hard, then turned away in fury.

The movement beside him halted abruptly; without waiting for Gao Yang's smugness, the battle resumed, its momentum three times fiercer than before.

Gao Yang: "......"

"......"