This is terrible! My future prime minister keeps trying to kiss me forcibly.

All that could be heard was Ye Xiaoxiao's pitiful voice, her tone as if it had pierced the heart of the listener, making one feel sympathy involuntarily.

“My lord, I did not object when you insisted on lending money to Scholar Lin.”

He Jing raised an eyebrow: ?

“You thought he was just a scholar living in poverty, so you generously lent him more than ten taels of silver so he could study hard. Now that he has passed the imperial examination and become a scholar, we are happy for him. We will not bother him anymore.”

He Jing frowned: ?

“If there were no urgent matters at home, it would be fine, but now my mother is seriously ill, my two younger brothers and sisters are still young, and I am also six months pregnant. My family is so poor that we can’t even afford to eat.”

He Jing frowned: ? ? ?

"That's why we had no choice but to come to him. But he can't just turn his back on us and deny everything that happened back then."

He Jing frowned: ? ? ? ?

Ye Xiaoxiao leaned against He Jing's chest and cried her heart out, looking so pitiful that it evoked sympathy.

He Jing was stunned. His right hand instinctively wrapped around the woman in front of him. He knew that nine out of ten of what the woman said was fabricated.

He didn't refute it, but felt his heart racing uncontrollably, and even the tips of his ears turned slightly red.

Why did she hug me?

Listening to He Jing's pounding heartbeat, Ye Xiaoxiao smiled: He's throwing himself into her arms; his "darkening" level should be dropping by now.

She cried so bitterly, her sobs filled with grievance, and every word she spoke was out of consideration for the scholar, as she was afraid of causing him trouble. As a result, the onlookers were all moved by her kindness.

"I never expected Lin Xiucai to be this kind of person?"

"His conduct is poor; no wonder he failed the imperial examination last year."

"He's ungrateful and doesn't repay kindness. Tsk tsk tsk, I despise him!"

"It just occurred to me that a few days ago, I saw him sneaking off to a place like that..."

"Where? It can't be...?"

"It's just what you're thinking, that kind of shady place..."

"He always seemed like a gentleman. I never imagined he was this kind of person!"

"..."

Seeing everyone pointing and whispering about him, Lin Xiucai became furious and said to Ye Xiaoxiao with a ferocious expression, "You're talking nonsense! All that money you gave me in the past was your own willing help. You said that when I became successful, you would follow me and live a life of luxury!"

Ye Xiaoxiao straightened up: "So you admit that you spent my family's money?"

Lin Xiucai was speechless and stammered, "I...it wasn't more than ten taels, just a few strings of copper coins!"

"Fine," the woman said, her back to the crowd, a disdainful look on her face. "Consider that silver as..."

"You heartless, ungrateful, and promiscuous woman! Does your vulgar, country bumpkin husband even know you've seduced someone like this again?"

He Jing walked up to Lin Xiucai, casually kicked him to the ground, squatted down beside him, and a sharp glint appeared in his cold eyes: "I am her husband."

Ye Xiaoxiao was taken aback by He Jing's actions. After a moment of surprise, she quickly chimed in, "Husband, let's go home."

He Jing himself didn't know why he did this, and even blurted out the words "I am her husband" without thinking.

By the time he realized what was happening, the scholar had already been kicked to the ground. Turning his head, he looked at the woman standing at the alley entrance. Her face was full of smiles, her beautiful eyes sparkled, and her brows seemed to be like a pool of spring water, giving him a strange feeling.

"Young Master Lin, didn't you say that as a scholar you regard money as dirt? Then go back and see if your family's outhouse can support you?"

Ye Xiaoxiao lowered her eyes and stared at the disheveled person on the ground. She snorted coldly, "Aren't you arrogant? Don't you think you're superior just because you know a few words? Don't you think you can play with women's feelings at will?"

She parted her red lips slightly: "If you can pay back the money you took from me before, that would be great; if not, I'll just consider it giving money to a beggar."

As soon as she finished speaking, she hooked her arm around He Jing's and crossed the crowd.

"Phew! That felt so good, I got a real kick out!"