My husband, please respect yourself. The princess is here to grab the bride.

It was exactly noon.

Dongfang Changying drove into Xiling City wearing a conical hat and a face scarf.

The streets and alleys of Xiling City should have been quiet at this time.

But today is more lively than ever!

The champion of the Zhuxi Literary Society has been decided!

Someone had already returned from Zhuxi and announced the tragic news to the residents of Xiling City.

The prince's son-in-law Bai Shaoqiu won the first place in this literary competition!

This news was undoubtedly like a thunderclap exploding in the sky above Xiling City, leaving more than 200,000 people in the entire Xiling City stunned after hearing the news.

Staying is short-lived.

What followed was the wailing that permeated the city—

"God damn it Song Zigui! He actually lost to Bai Shaoqiu!"

"I'm going in... the hundred taels of silver I was going to spend on purchasing goods is just going to go down the drain?"

"What's your one hundred taels of silver worth? Did you know that Blacksmith Zhao went to a bank and borrowed three hundred taels of silver at high interest to buy Bai Shaoqiu and lose? Blacksmith Zhao was originally hoping to make a small profit, but this guy is probably going to jump off the building!"

"Hey, hey, hey, I heard that Widow Li also used the dozens of taels of silver she kept under her pillow to bet on Bai Shaoqiu to lose?"

"Isn't this normal? I heard that Chang Ye Huan's courtesan Su Sanniang also paid two thousand taels of silver to buy Bai Shaoqiu to lose, and now he has lost all the money he used to redeem himself!"

"The little bit of silver you heard about is nothing! Let me tell you, Chang, the Chang who runs the bookstore, heard someone bet 50,000 taels of silver on Bai Shaoqiu to lose!"

"And the City Guard House also spent a lot of money to bet on Bai Shaoqiu to lose!"

"..."

"What do you think... is there something fishy going on here? We've watched Bai Shaoqiu grow up. If he really is so talented, how come we didn't know anything about it?"

"There's a bullshit trick!"

"With Her Highness the Ninth Princess personally in charge, two great scholars, Elder Si and Elder Fang, watching over us, and so many students participating... we lose, so we lose. This only proves that Master Bai hid himself too well for the past ten years, and also that you are too greedy!"

"..."

All kinds of words came into Dongfang Changying's ears.

She was very happy to hear that.

My heart is itching——

The bet was right!

She borrowed 60,000 taels of silver from Sibaozi and mortgaged the jewelry she had saved over the years. She decisively bought Bai Shaoqiu for 100,000 taels of silver before the market closed and won!

A desperate gamble made her profit one million taels of silver!

Shisan Niang was guarding the Jubao Money House, so she should have received the news by now.

Sure enough, a horse will not be fat without night grass, and a person will not be rich without windfall!

With such a large sum of money, the food and wages owed to the Red Tassel Army for half a year could finally be paid out.

Well, it can sustain the Red Tassel Army’s expenses for a long time!

This husband... is simply the God of Wealth sent by God!

Thank God!

Thank you!

Thank you, His Majesty, for bestowing me with the title of son-in-law!

Dongfang Changying happily drove the carriage and hummed a song, taking Bai Shaoqiu to Shangling Academy.

Dongfang Meng carried the stick and ran all the way to Shangling Academy.

The academy was quiet.

There was only an old doorman sitting in front of the door on a tattered chair, drinking wine and basking in the sun.

When Bai Shaoqiu and the other two arrived at the academy's gate, the old gatekeeper looked up and asked:

"Not a student from the academy?"

"No, I came here to look for Song Zigui."

"Song Zigui? He's not in the academy."

"...Where did he go?"

"He went to the Zhuxi Literary Society... Oh, by the way, he came back an hour ago and moved some of his things out of the house. He said...his father was seriously ill and needed to stay in the hospital."

Bai Shaoqiu's heart skipped a beat, and a bad thought suddenly arose in his mind.

The doorman took another sip of wine and asked, "Who are you, sir?"

"Ah, my name is Bai Shaoqiu."

The old doorman stared in astonishment for three breaths, "Bai Shaoqiu? The champion of this literary gathering?"

"That's right!"

The old doorman took a deep breath and said, "Good for you, Bai Shaoqiu!"

Bai Shaoqiu: “…”

"Well, you've been playing dumb for over ten years, so I figured you'd lose this time, so I took out my decades-long savings of a hundred taels of silver and bet on you to lose!"

"You actually won!"

"This guy has cost me all my money, ah..."

He sighed deeply, took another sip of wine, and blinked twice:

"Oh, right, a general came back and said...if you come to Shangling Academy, go to Wanglou Pavilion and wait."

Bai Shaoqiu grinned: "Old man, I'm willing to accept the loss, this is not my fault!"

"Of course I understand this principle, but... I feel bad!"

"I say, how on earth have you managed to remain inconspicuous for over ten years?"

Bai Shaoqiu bowed and said, "I have no comment to make!"

"Goodbye, old man!"

He was about to walk into the gate of Shangling Academy when Dongfang Changying stopped him:

"Are you going to wait for someone here?"

"Ah."

"How about this? I'll take my brother back to Chunman Cottage first, and then I'll have Shisan Niang pick you up at Jinli Alley in the evening. How about that?"

Dongfang Meng shook his head when he heard this: "Sister, Sister Xiaoxi is treating me to braised chicken tonight!"

"...Sister will buy you a braised chicken."

Dongfang Meng grinned and said, "Twenty?"

"Okay, twenty!"

"Okay, my sister and I will go. Brother-in-law, if someone bullies you, just call me and I will help you kill him!"

Bai Shaoqiu: “…”

"Oh, by the way, brother-in-law, if you see Sister Xiaoxi, tell her that I'll give her some money someday and she promised to support me!"

Bai Shaoqiu: “…”

Dongfang Changying: "..."

The carriage left.

Dongfang Meng continued running with the stick in his hand.

Bai Shaoqiu entered Shangling Academy again.

The academy was empty, and it would probably take an hour or so for the students to come back.

He wandered in the square of the academy.

At this moment I felt a little dazed again.

Just like when he retired and entered the campus, he liked the tranquility of the campus and the scent of books on campus.

Of course, there are also those youthful, pure and energetic smiling faces on campus.

He didn't really fit in.

It's not because he is cold-blooded or aloof, but... he has experienced life and death and seen the darkness of the world. He can't allow himself to be a pure student, nor can he become a simple person like those students!

He was like a bystander.

See the youth he never had.

Now that he has come to such a world, he still likes those students, but he knows that he cannot get closer to them.

There is a huge gap in thinking.

The pursuit of ambitions is very different.

He just wants to live his life quietly.

Coming to the Wall of Knowledge, he looked at the questions and answers on the wall again.

Interesting.

That's their talent or insight.

The cloud couplet was still posted there, but someone had already written his second line on the paper.

He also carefully wrote: Bai Shaoqiu is right!

He grinned. This should be the only name he left in Shangling Academy.

He walked on again, passed the moon gate, looked at the six-story library, but did not go in.

He came to the lotus pond, which was full of lotus leaves and many lotus flowers had bloomed.

Summer has not yet arrived in Xiling City.

There is no annoying chirping of cicadas yet, but dragonflies are already playing among the lotus flowers.

He walked through the winding corridor and came to the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

Look around,

There are red,

There is green,

There is a gentle breeze,

Have……

A girl in a white long dress came in gracefully!