Chapter 381

He Jinglan's eyes flashed, she asked, "An Qinghe, you haven't been with him all along today?"

How did Lord Jiang come running here?

An Qinghe said, "I brought him here."

Just now, Jiang Mingyuan composed two poems at the table and drank several more cups of wine.

He felt a bit uncomfortable from the alcohol rising, so he wanted to go out to find a quiet place to get some fresh air and sober up.

An Qinghe was familiar with the layout of the Xiao He residence, so he took him behind the artificial hill.

It wasn't yet the season for lotuses to bloom, so few people came here specifically.

At that time, there was no one else by the lotus pond, so An Qinghe found a spot near the fake mountain stone for Jiang Mingyuan to sit.

An Qinghe then said, "I saw he was uncomfortable, so I wanted to make some honey fu tea to sober him up."

He looked at Gu Xixi, "You know, when your stomach feels upset, drinking a warm bowl can relieve it."

He Jinglan sighed in exasperation, "Get to the point; now is not the time to discuss tea ceremony."

An Qinghe made an acknowledging sound and went along, "I just pried a piece of tea cake from the room and sent it to the kitchen."

"Seeing the water hadn't boiled yet, I heard a commotion outside—something about someone falling into the water, something about going out to find a doctor."

"I also heard someone mention Boss Gu, and I got anxious, couldn't bother with boiling tea, so I hurried over here."

He Jinglan nodded, lost in thought.

An Qinghe asked again with concern, "How is Brother Jiang?"

He Jinglan said, "Fortunately, Xixi's timely rescue should mean nothing serious."

An Qinghe blamed himself, "It's all my fault; I knew he'd drunk too much, yet I left him alone there."

"Perhaps he sought coolness, walked to the water's edge, but couldn't keep his balance."

Gu Xixi reassured him, "Let's go check on him later."

An Qinghe nodded, "All right! I'll wait for you outside."

Yuzhu Courtyard

Gu Xixi was still bathing.

He Jinglan looked at the person leisurely drinking tea beside her and asked, "How did you also come along?"

Dou Rongshan leaned back in the chair, looking completely self-assured.

"I really didn't want to come today, okay?"

"If it weren't for your ultimatum threatening me, I would have been forced to sit here drinking your tea."

He Jinglan glanced sideways, "When did I give you an ultimatum?"

Dou Rongshan looked at her, "You've sent out everyone's invitations days ago, yet you only just sent one to me."

"Not an ultimatum—does it mean something else?"

He Jinglan was at a loss for words; when she sent out the invitations, she really seemed to have a tendency in that regard.

Dou Rongshan sat up straight, holding her teacup, and said, "You're just afraid I'll reveal her relationship with my cousin."

"I came just to make it clear to you: I promised not to tell anyone."

"Even if you hadn't threatened me, I still wouldn't have said anything."

"Yo." He Jinglan turned to Dou Rongshan, wearing a teasing smile.

How did you suddenly change your ways? Looking at you now, you don't seem as unpleasant as before.

Dou Rongshan gave a light snort, proud, "Same to you."

He Jinglan stared at her for a moment, then smiled sincerely, "After three days apart, one should look at a person with new eyes; I shouldn't have kept viewing you with old eyes—I apologize."

Dou Rongshan raised a hand to stop him, "No need, I haven't suffered any loss."

"Today I drank those unique, delicious sweet soups at your house and watched all those wonderful performances."

"It actually helped me gain much inspiration; at least the trip wasn't in vain."

He Jinglan furrowed her brows, having an ominous premonition.

"You wouldn't really be writing this into a popular chapbook, would you?!"

Dou Rongshan gave her a "don't worry" look, "How could writing a story possibly name names directly?"

"Besides, drawing material locally can't be used that directly—just like your kitchen has many ingredients, you still need to carefully prepare and cook them before serving."

He Jinglan was skeptical, "You really won't write it so obviously that readers can guess who it is at a glance?"

"No way!" Dou Rongshan said confidently.

"Worst case, I'll let you be the first to see it when I finish the first volume."

He Jinglan thought, "That's right, you still need to write it slowly."

"After finishing, you submit it to the publishing house; if they don't like it, there's no chance of it being printed and released."

Dou Rongshan grew unhappy, "He Jinglan, I see you haven't changed at all!"

"You just like to dampen others' interests!"

He Jinglan couldn't recall having done similar things to Dou Rongshan several times as a child, which caused her to hold a grudge to this day.

All he could do was give an embarrassed laugh, "I'm not trying to dampen you; on the contrary, I want to encourage you to persevere."

"These days, how many scholars, failing repeatedly in the imperial exams, rely on writing popular chapbooks to make a living?"

"I've gone to the publishing house and, several times, encountered people whose submissions were rejected, leaving them dejected as they walked out."

"But I believe you can do it! No matter how long it takes, as soon as the publishing house starts selling your chapbook, I'll definitely buy a copy!"

Dou Rongshan glanced wistfully at He Jinglan, "Really?"

He Jinglan nodded earnestly, "Really!"

Dou Rongshan pursed her lips, "Well, if it were my book, people would just look down on it."

He Jinglan thought, "This woman is really hard to coax."

But she still grinned and said, "You still have me, your reader."

"You forgot what you just said—you wanted to be the first to show me?"

Dou Rongshan then laughed, but she forced her face to stay straight, putting on an air of complete indifference.

"Alright, I'll try to write faster."

The two fell silent for a moment, then simultaneously turned toward each other.

He Jinglan: "What do you think about Jiang Mingyuan falling into the water?"

Dou Rongshan: "Could it really be that cousin pushed Lord Jiang into the water?"

They both spoke at the same time, and after speaking they were both stunned.

He Jinglan's expression was complex.

Dou Rongshan, meanwhile, couldn't hide her excitement: "The icy Prince and the village maiden, by a twist of fate, became entwined; the Top Scholar cousin hides deep affection for his cousin sister."

"The overbearing Prince wants to monopolize the person he likes; the gentle Top Scholar adheres to his original intention, unwilling to yield!"

"In this love rivalry, in the end—who will win, who will lose?"

He Jinglan rubbed her forehead and said weakly, "I was wrong; I shouldn't have suggested you write the reader's book."

"You should go tell stories."

She sighed, "The key is what Xixi thinks in her heart."

Someone as proud as Mu Nan Zhao—waiting for him to voluntarily clarify things for himself is simply impossible.

Would Xixi think that Mu Nan Zhao deliberately harmed Jiang Mingyuan?

At this moment, Xixi walked in, already dressed anew.

She smiled and casually asked, "What are you two talking about?"

He Jinglan and Dou Rongshan came to their senses, each hiding their reaction.

"She said I'm suited for storytelling."

"Right, we were talking about the folk reader's book she wrote."

Xixi hasn't been very interested in folk reader's books; she nodded and said, "Then shall we go to the front courtyard?"

She politely asked Dou Rongshan, "Miss Dou, would you like to come along?"

Dou Rongshan's eyes lit up, "Great!"

What might happen next—could it be 'the village maiden visits the Top Scholar, the Prince overturns the vinegar jar'?

Such an opportunity is rare; we must not miss it.

Whenever they went out, whenever Xixi intentionally or unintentionally glanced at Dou Rongshan.

Dou Rongshan would shrink her gaze, subconsciously avoiding eye contact with her.

He Jinglan noticed the clue, and while Xixi was talking to Light Pearl, she asked, "Are you afraid of her?"

Dou Rongshan denied being intimidated: "Where am I scared? If I were afraid, I would have left long ago."

However, given He Jinglan's intelligence and her understanding of Xixi.

After a moment's thought, she understood: "Even the daughter of a military family is actually afraid of the dead."