She had little favor and was in a difficult position, having interfered with the Golden Elixir case and affected those people’s interests. Today’s incident with Qi Yun was their warning. It seemed the Qi family would find it hard to stay out of trouble in the future.

With Qi Yun’s marriage settled, the male nobles present, many from prominent families, looked at each other. In just a moment, someone reacted and began offering congratulations.

Meng Jun sat dumbfounded in his place. Sang Shen beside him was always well-informed, and upon hearing the Empress announce Qi Yun’s future wife-master, he immediately began gossiping with Meng Jun in a low voice.

“Strange, it’s not the Duchess of the Stern Prince. Li Duchess has been sending quite a few pastries and snacks these days. I thought they were getting close. Jiulang, you live next door to Li Duchess, have you noticed anything these past few days?”

“…” Meng Jun was stunned, pondered for a moment, and said, “Does a pleasure boat count?”

“Pleasure boat?!” Sang Shen, being worldly-wise, immediately understood and smiled, “No wonder. I reckon Li Duchess must have gone boating at night.”

The young gentleman glanced at him in surprise, immediately putting Qi Yun’s marriage out of his mind. He curiously asked Sang Shen for the reason.

“Jiulang, we’re not yet married, we shouldn’t hear too much about these things. However, a few days ago, my mother had her ear twisted by my father, all because of this nighttime pleasure.”

“What’s there to see at night? It’s not the Lantern Festival with lantern shows. You can’t even see a fish in the pitch-black lake,” Meng Jun didn’t understand.

Sang Shen smiled and said, “Who said those women go there to see the scenery?! There are all kinds of beautiful people on the pleasure boats. They go there to have fun.”

Oh!

No wonder he couldn’t find Li Ruantang. The young gentleman immediately became three parts annoyed, angrily pinching his own sleeve.

As the palace banquet dispersed, the carriages parked outside the palace were scattered in twos and threes, either traveling side by side or going their separate ways.

As soon as Li Ruantang got into the carriage, she saw the young man curled up in the corner. Before she could ask, as the carriage curtain fell, Meng Jun suddenly stood up and covered her lips directly.

His brows were serious as he lowered his voice and whispered in her ear, “Don’t make a sound, or else I’ll… I’ll…”

It was his first time threatening someone. The young gentleman frowned, inexperienced and blurted out, “Or else I’ll bite you!”

Bite?!

Li Ruantang secretly laughed but nodded along with him. As the carriage slowly moved forward, Meng Jun’s tense nerves finally relaxed.

The sweet fragrance on her body mixed with a faint medicinal scent.

The young gentleman originally had many questions to ask, but when he started, he inexplicably asked this one first, “Tangtang, why did you save me?”

“Because I couldn’t bear to watch,” she hooked her lips lightly, her eyes gentle.

“Eh?” Meng Jun’s face reddened, thinking she meant he was too stupid to see through such a trick.

He turned his face away a bit embarrassed, “Actually, at that time, I did have my suspicions.”

But that eunuch clearly said it was a poetry gathering, and he had just sent a love poem to Li Ruantang, so he was happily thinking Li Ruantang had invited him. However, that wasn’t the point.

“I remember, you said you didn’t like me.” The young gentleman lowered his head, but his sidelong glance expectantly peeked at the girl sitting properly, “Then why did you still wade into this muddy water?”

Since she was willing to come save him, she must have at least a bit of pity for him, Meng Jiulang, right?

Li Ruantang smiled faintly, “It’s not really wading into muddy water, after all, Qi Yun invited me over too. As for helping you—”

She deliberately paused, seeing those curious phoenix eyes slowly raise, then said seriously, “It was just convenient.”

Meng Jun: “…”

Although he had expected Li Ruantang’s explanation, the young gentleman still felt a bit uncomfortable. He secretly pouted, not giving up and asked again, “Then what about the oiled paper package I asked Wei Dan to give you before?”

“I’ve been busy with official duties lately and haven’t had time to open it. If Young Master Meng has something important, since we’re in the same carriage anyway, why not just say it?” She was as usual oblivious to romantic gestures.

The young gentleman silently gritted his teeth.

Li Ruantang pressed her lips together and said, “But, I thought you came over to ask why I broke off your marriage arrangement with Official Wei for no reason.”

“Although Official Wei’s methods were indeed unsavory and could easily ruin a man’s reputation. But since you agreed to the meeting, you must have been looking forward to it, right?”

“I wasn’t!”

“Oh?” Li Ruantang glanced lightly at the young gentleman who was about to get angry, “I heard that slave used ‘poetry gathering’ to lure you over. As I recall, at the spring outing poetry gathering, you did indeed publicly give Official Wei a poem.”

“I, I was young and ignorant then!”

Li Ruantang lightly tapped on the carriage wall, and the clip-clop of horse hooves gradually slowed. She looked the youth in front of her up and down several times, “Young Master doesn’t look much older now.”

“…”

The young gentleman angrily gritted his teeth. Hmph, Li Ruantang really knew how to bring up the wrong topics. That was ancient history, but he couldn’t very well say outright that he had clearly sent her a love poem and fell into the trap because of her.

Meng Jun’s jade-like handsome face immediately flushed red, especially those clear black and white phoenix eyes, widened into circles.

Hmph, he really wanted to bite this blockhead awake!

After all, Li Ruantang bullied him first. The young gentleman turned this over in his mind a few times, secretly mustering his courage. Taking advantage of her turned profile, he suddenly pounced forward.

As luck would have it, the carriage wheel hit a bump at that moment, bouncing slightly into the air.

The lips that were originally meant to land on Li Ruantang’s shoulder, under her gaze, landed directly on her lips instead. The soft warmth that met his lips immediately set the young gentleman’s heart racing, his face blushing.

He, he had intended to bite her, but her lips were so soft. If he really bit them, it would probably hurt.

Li Ruantang’s arm was still around Meng Jun’s waist. If not for her quick reflexes, the young man in front of her would have been bumped until his eye corners were flushed red and tears welled up.

Although, even now his face was completely red as he quickly pressed his lips against hers.

Just as her slender fingers were about to tighten their embrace, the young gentleman who had gotten a taste of sweetness suddenly leaned back, breaking free from her arms. Those beautiful phoenix eyes were moist and bright, like a little fox who had stolen some cream, yet he still said to her very seriously, “There, I warned you not to make a sound. You said so much, so I bit you!”

Outside the wind-lifted carriage curtain, the lanterns of the Stern Prince’s mansion hung high.

He secretly glanced at Li Ruantang’s expression. Before the carriage had fully stopped, he covered his burning cheeks and darted up the stone steps of the Meng residence.

Fortunately, Li Ruantang hadn’t reacted yet.

Meng Jun nervously ordered people to close the main gate, but in a flash, he happily curled up the corners of his lips. Although Li Ruantang wouldn’t admit it just now, if she didn’t care, how could she have noticed in time that he had also been tricked into going to Lanxu Hall?

The young gentleman happily burrowed into his bedding, hugging the soft pillow he had taken from her, and foolishly laughed out loud.

Stern Prince’s Mansion. Ding ding

The gauze lamps were always brighter at night, as if the stars had been plucked from the sky, casting a warm glow on the ground.

Wei Dan followed closely behind Li Ruantang. When she wasn’t looking, Wei Dan first rubbed her own eyes, then pinched her arm hard.

Since her vision was clear and her sense of pain normal, the smiling young lady now must truly be their usually taciturn, unsmiling, and cold-hearted young mistress?!

Something was off, very off.

When they entered the palace this time, the young mistress had clearly said it was a treacherous banquet. Wei Dan couldn’t understand but didn’t dare ask more. She carefully attended to Li Ruantang as she bathed and changed clothes.

In the misty steam, a faint sigh could be heard.

When the moon rose above the treetops, the green gauze window finally quieted down. Li Ruantang had let her hair down, her jade-like fingers lightly tapping on the lowered gauze curtain.

She slowly wrote in the air, the smile at the corner of her lips becoming more and more obvious.

By the pillow, on the open piece of paper, handsome and proper handwriting secretly conveyed the young man’s feelings.

Subtle and reserved, not at all like his various ways of getting close.

Li Ruantang pressed her lips together, recalling that figure fleeing in panic, and couldn’t help laughing out loud. Where was there such a way of biting someone? Only in his little head could there be so many strange tricks.

Silly, but also sweet.

Li Ruantang absently stroked her own lips, a name suddenly surging in her mind.

“Jiu Jiu?”