[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal":3,"chapter-investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-chapter-241":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Investing in the Reborn Empress, She Actually Calls Me ‘Husband’",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},596364,846,"Chapter 241: Zhuangyuanlou Poetry Gathering: Classmate Lis Chuseok Gift","investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-chapter-241",241,"\u003Cp>The night in Yunzhou City was unusually vibrant, with countless lights blending into a neon tapestry against the sky, the clouds tinged like the flush of drunkenness. Before heading out, Li Mo went to check on Murong Xiao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still as stiff as ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Placed in the backyard, he resembled a solemn statue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, Brother Murong. Don’t say I forgot about you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mo was nothing if not loyal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He placed a plate before Murong Xiao, stacked with mooncakes arranged like a pagoda.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not just loyal, but thoughtful too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lakeside tavern was swarming with mosquitoes, so he lit three coils of incense, stuck them in a burner, and set it before Murong Xiao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Murong Xiao: \".....\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, he looked positively divine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Too bad you’re busy tonight and can’t join the fun. In that case, stay here and bless my endeavors.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mo clasped his hands together and bowed earnestly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many townsfolk made offerings today—mountain dwellers prayed to mountain gods, riverside folk to water deities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t particularly devout, but he had a flair for ceremony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stepping out of the tavern, he spotted the girl by the lake, gazing absently at the bustling streets. The noise surged around her but never touched her, a perfect embodiment of ethereal detachment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when her eyes landed on a certain young man did they flicker with warmth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where to first?\" Li Mo asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Zhuangyuan Tower.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ying Bing tied up her hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During dinner, she’d overheard the lively chatter about Zhuangyuan Tower. The market there was Yunzhou’s liveliest, lined with stalls selling trinkets, all accessible via Yulong Street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She hadn’t decided what to give Li Mo yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nor did she know what couples did on dates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was fine. She could always \"see how the pigs run.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They stepped into the street, and the splendor of a thriving era enveloped them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ying Bing studied the stalls with newfound focus, her eyes lingering on trinkets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mo, familiar with every vendor on Yulong Street, paid them little mind...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze kept drifting to Ying Bing. She’d changed into a shorter dress after dinner, revealing slender, pale calves. Her dark hair was tied with a red ribbon, her jade-like face radiant enough to eclipse the moon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elegant, aloof—standing beside her was intimidating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Li Mo’s mind flashed to her first attempt at cooking, when she’d smeared her face like a messy kitten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noticing his amused stare, Ying Bing recalled the couples they’d passed, all chatting and laughing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...The moon is beautiful tonight,\" Ying Bing said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is,\" Li Mo agreed, eyes still fixed on her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"......\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ying Bing didn’t know how to respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You didn’t even glance at it, yet you answer so decisively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence settled between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet beneath the dazzling lanterns, Ying Bing felt oddly at peace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying nothing was... comfortable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps this was what it meant to go with the flow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speak if you wish, stay silent if you don’t—no awkwardness, even in wordlessness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, they reached Zhuangyuan Tower, where the crowd was even thicker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eight-story tower loomed over the surrounding pavilions, surrounded by layers of people, their voices a downpour of excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’s going on here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mo scanned the crowd and spotted familiar faces—the Three Heroes of Hengyun, who’d visited him earlier that day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Chushu wasn’t alone. A well-dressed young lady, likely from a wealthy family, stood beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was speaking with smug confidence, as if he had everything under control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Jinghong and Cao Mu, meanwhile, were shooting him death glares.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So this was why the bastard had invited them to the lantern festival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d brought a date!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No honor among bros.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What are you all discussing?\" Li Mo interjected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"......\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Chushu’s smile vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bad memories resurfaced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The smiles didn’t disappear—they just migrated to Bai Jinghong and Cao Mu’s faces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I, uh, brought Miss She to the poetry contest at Zhuangyuan Tower,\" Wu Chushu coughed, then gestured to the woman beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Wife-Luck Battle Soul!\" Miss She blurted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mo: \"......\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Can’t we pay to change the Hidden Dragon Ranking’s descriptions?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Take a bribe or something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He changed the subject. \"What’s this poetry contest about?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eager to impress, Wu Chushu launched into an explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mo got the gist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Legend had it that a swordsman from Yunzhou, peerless in both blade and verse, once aced the imperial exams, earning the title of Zhuangyuan (top scholar). But at the celebratory banquet, drunk, he penned a poem criticizing the court, angering the late emperor, who stripped him of the title.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he quit officialdom and built this tower upon returning to Yunzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Every lantern festival, they hold a poetry contest here. Answer correctly, and you win prizes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This year’s prize is a jade hairpin. Quite exquisite.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Chushu’s smile returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a lifelong show-off (in his own eyes), he fancied his literary skills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhuangyuan Tower was his chosen stage...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Chushu, I really want the contest prize~\" Miss She cooed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Jinghong and Cao Mu trembled with rage, fists clenched. What nonsense! What absolute nonsense!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By the way, Young Master Li, why are you out alone?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t tell me...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Li Mo solo, the two felt slightly consoled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least they weren’t the only ones suffering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then Ying Bing reappeared, holding a lantern. She wasn’t just attending the festival—she was a celestial being gracing the mortal realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps due to the crowd, she stood unusually close to Li Mo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Jinghong: \"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Mu: \"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They exchanged a glance. Should’ve just rotted in Sword City. Why’d they have to come here?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ice block.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mo suddenly reached out, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. His fingers brushed skin like satin, warm as jade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hm?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your hair keeps coming undone.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The ribbon’s a bit loose.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ying Bing was momentarily dazed, then nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her distraction wasn’t just from the lively scene—it was the past flooding back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time last life, where had she been?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Probably standing atop the lofty Cassia Palace, watching the mortal world ebb and flow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knew all too well the chill of solitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, bound by vows of detachment, she’d never stepped into the red dust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then... how about I get you a hairpin for Mid-Autumn Festival?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mo’s voice pulled her back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ying Bing lowered her gaze, studying the boy who’d led her into this world. A faint smile curled her lips, giving form to the moon’s gentle glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd around them froze, stupefied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Miss She gaped, forgetting to pout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Okay.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"......\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mo was the one stunned now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d been racking his brain, trying to recall a poem to plagiarize for clout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But seeing that smile, he didn’t need to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A verse—one he remembered but not its author—rose to mind.\u003C\u002Fp>",1128,"2026-05-30T17:19:00.270Z","2026-06-01T04:31:46.286Z",1,"novelbin.me","e6728048a824c10ffabdbc2abf459d682930fc5f39242cb1c69a33a842a073eb","investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-chapter-242","investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-chapter-240",737,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Finvesting-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-cover.jpg"]