El viaje de un mendigo alrededor del mundo

Capítulo 57

Fan Bing's eyes lit up. "Wouldn't it be extremely impolite if one party showed up in an inappropriate place on the wedding day?"

Three black lines appeared on Fan Qingbo's forehead. Why did she feel like she'd been shot when he was clearly mocking Zhou Zice...?

The scholar was very pleased. "You can infer the other three from one example; you are teachable! Shouheng, you are indeed exceptionally talented and insightful—a scholar of exceptional ability, one in a hundred years!" You've killed two birds with one stone! Shouheng, you're amazing!

Fan Bing repeatedly cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "It's all thanks to Master's excellent teaching. I deserve the honor without hesitation." Feigning madness, you're not bad at being a traitor to your own family.

"It would be shameful to accept it and disrespectful to refuse it," the scholar whispered a reminder.

"…I like to say it, what's it to you!" Damn it, he wanted to take back what he said and reiterate—what kind of lousy teammate is this! Is he being discriminated against because he's not well-educated?!

The newly formed alliance was on the verge of collapse in an instant.

Fan Qingbo could easily see through their little tricks. Speechless and helpless, the song "The Three of Us Are a Happy and Auspicious Family" inexplicably echoed in his mind. Hmm, should he teach them this song? It's getting cold; a family of three gathered around a hot pot stove singing "The Auspicious Three Treasures" would be quite fun…

And so, the scholar Fan Bing and his companion were busy arguing amongst themselves, while Fan Qingbo was preoccupied with imagining strange things and letting out eerie laughter, leaving Zhou Zice alone to silently watch everything unfold. If he had any lingering resentment before, seeing this scene should have dispelled any remaining thoughts. He finally admitted that even without his father's interference, he and she were not the most suitable couple. At least, he had never seen her so dazed before. Yes, she had always been intelligent, witty, and capable in his presence—qualities he admired. But now, she was foolish, adorably foolish, but ultimately, she was not his.

The three people in front of him seemed out of place, yet they got along so well that he had no room to interfere.

Zhou Zice suddenly found it funny. He ignored his wife on their wedding night, but came to find a woman who already belonged to someone else? He wanted to talk to her alone, but forgot what he originally wanted to say. Wasn't that ridiculous?

Thinking this, he actually burst out laughing when Fan Qingbo snapped out of his reverie and asked, "By the way, what did you want to say?" From a light laugh to a loud laugh, it became uncontrollably funny, until both of them turned around and gave him strange looks. He barely managed to stop. He waved to Fan Qingbo and said, "It doesn't matter anymore, none of it matters. I'm going back to see my bride. Goodbye, Xiao Fan." With that, he stumbled out the door, bursting into another fit of wild laughter.

Fan Qingbo seemed to understand something, paused, and chased after him.

Fortunately, he didn't go far as he walked, stopping frequently. She took a few steps forward and said, "I'm sorry."

Seeing that he seemed surprised, she waved her hand and said, "Don't ask me why I apologized. It's not important anymore. I just said it to make myself feel better. Just listen and forget about it."

Zhou Zice was taken aback, then clicked his tongue, "How come I never noticed how selfish you were before?"

Fan Qingbo laughed, "You used to think this was funny. Congratulations, you've had a complete awakening and escaped from suffering."

Zhou Zice also twitched his lips, "Hmm, I'm starting to feel sorry for your husband. What's that 'bookish' thing again? A bookworm, huh? That's an interesting name."

Fan Qingbo put on a stern face, "My husband's surname is Shu, his given name is Sheng, and his courtesy name is Qinzhi. Calling him names like 'bookworm,' 'idiot,' etc., is reserved for him. Don't call him that, young master, or I'll suspect you have ulterior motives."

"So protective of him, even a joke gets you bitten back?" Zhou Zice's smile was somewhat bitter. He wasn't a very magnanimous person, especially when it came to relationships. There was no point in staying any longer. He shook his head, turned to leave, but then remembered something and, after some consideration, spoke up: "There are people in the court who want to harm Madam Xie. Xie Dongfeng is very likely to sacrifice her for power. I think you are her friend and might want to know these things."

Watching Zhou Zice's departing figure, Fan Qingbo gritted her teeth and thought: Xie Dongfeng not only wants to sacrifice Xie Yiren, he's even taken advantage of Fan Qingbo! She reaffirmed her determination to retaliate. You stingy bastard, just you wait and see.

After making her vow in a fit of resentment, she remembered a problem that she had ignored for a long time.

Many people had seen Xie Yiren and Fan Qingbo, but no one connected the two, including Zhou Zice, who had once been deeply infatuated with her. The scholar, however, recognized her instantly at the Minister's residence that day—not by chance, not by accident, but with absolute certainty. Her easygoing nature, in his eyes, was like the Emperor's New Clothes. Like… no matter what she disguised herself as, he only saw one her, not Xie Yiren, but Fan Qingbo.

It was a strange feeling, as if the fragmented her had become whole again in his eyes.

She suddenly felt happy and excited, not wanting to delve into why. At that moment, all she wanted to do was kiss him, hug him, and then pull him into bed!

Just as Fan Qingbo's desires were beginning to stir, Fan Bing's voyeuristic desires were also beginning to stir on the other side.

"No, you surnamed Shu, we have to go out and check it out. I heard there have been a lot of cases of women being trafficked in Beijing lately." He anxiously stared at the door while calling to his team members, who, though not very helpful, were better than nothing.

After a long silence, she turned around and saw the scholar with a cold face, slamming down his teacup and standing up. "I'm not going. Whoever wants to go can go."

"Hey! Aren't you afraid your owner will be stolen away?"

The scholar paused in his steps toward the inner room, then quickly continued forward, uttering an even colder remark: "Whoever wants to take it can take it."

"Damn it, changing his face so easily? Does he think I'm easily scared? He's got no skills, but he's got quite a temper." Fan Bing mimicked a scholar's tone, saying, "Let whoever wants to take it take it," then scoffed and rolled his eyes, "He can't cook, do laundry, sweep, haggle, or tailor anything. I really don't know what he's so arrogant about. The master will divorce him sooner or later—wait!" Realizing something was amiss, he quickly turned his head. A gust of cool wind brushed past his ear and landed on the wall behind him. Turning around, he saw a throwing knife.

Staring at the deadly hidden weapon, its blade completely embedded in the wall, Fan Bing was dumbfounded and still shaken. After a long while, he managed to squeeze out, "Being able to throw knives doesn't change the fact that you can't do laundry or cook, and you'll be divorced by your master sooner or later!"

With a whoosh, seven throwing knives shot out in quick succession. He dodged them in a sorry state, but still managed to cut off a few strands of his hair.

"You, surnamed Shu! How dare you, someone who has crippled himself, throw knives so accurately! Just because I haven't shown my teeth doesn't mean I'm a pushover. Meow, believe me or not, I'll send out invitations to find someone to challenge you to a duel!"

Just then, Fan Qingbo walked into the room. "You're having another episode, aren't you? You're ignoring the facts again!"

"Again? I bullied him? No! I...I...I!" Fan Bing pointed to himself, then to the row of throwing knives on the wall, his heart filled with grievances, unable to defend himself, on the verge of tears. His only recourse was to leap forward, but unfortunately, Fan Qingbo, consumed by lust, was acting exceptionally well, and Fan Qingbo escaped. He missed his target, paused, and then roared even louder, his voice shaking heaven and earth: "Master! Aa ...

Fan Qingbo ignored him and rushed back to the new house. Not finding the scholar, she took a side hall and found him in the study.

"My lord—"

He was interrupted as soon as he called out, "It's late, my wife, you should rest early."

His voice was undeniably cold, but his puffed-up face was so adorable that it couldn't make her back down; instead, it only made her more aroused. "Husband, that's exactly what I wanted too. Let's rest early!" she said, walking over and doing something she'd wanted to do for a long time—sitting on his lap. She didn't know where the confidence came from, but she knew that even if he was unhappy, he wouldn't push her off.

Sure enough, all his muscles tensed up, and his hands were on her waist, as if he wanted to push her away or hug her.

She blinked, feigning surprise. "Oh dear, husband, why are your ears so red? Did I pinch them too hard? They must hurt, right? Come here, a kiss will make it stop hurting." She said "kiss," but in reality, she took his earlobe into her mouth, sticking out her tongue to lick and tease it passionately. She quickly sensed the hardness pressing against her buttocks and smiled with satisfaction. Hmm, this really was his erogenous zone.

Unfortunately, his words were clearly not as honest as his actions. "My wife, please have some self-respect. I think it would be better for us to sleep in separate rooms tonight."

"Is that so? But I think the moon is bright and the stars are shining tonight, perfect for making love." He said this while his body continued to move.

"Isn't it appropriate to kill someone?" His face flushed red, and he gritted his teeth as he grabbed her waist and pushed her away, stopping her malicious rubbing.

She was busy touching him all over, and also fighting off his occasional attempts to stop her. She was panting heavily when she heard his question. She looked up and chuckled, "How about killing you like this?" As she spoke, her hand slid into his waistband and grasped something hot...

"My wife, have some self-respect!!! I'm still angry!!!"

"Oh, don't be angry. As Confucius once said, life is short, so seize the day and make love..."

The intimate whispers of the boudoir, brimming with shyness, were gradually swallowed by the night. A crescent moon appeared and disappeared in the sky, illuminating a corner of the mundane world: men and women in the throes of passion, their desires intense yet unfulfilled, boundless romance hidden in the clouds. It also illuminated another corner: several groups of people were heading to the capital, carriages rumbling, horses neighing, a storm brewing.

40. You were the one who wanted a room allocation back then.