Actually making tea?

Tang Si felt it was too unfair—she was working hard reading, while this guy was leisurely making tea.

Unable to contain her anger, she immediately became furious.

“Hey, Muruo, I’m talking to you! Are you deaf? Or are you deliberately ignoring me?”

“…”

“Hey!” Tang Si angrily stood up. “If you don’t say something, I’m going to find A’Ji.”

He still sat there calmly, reaching out to grasp the teapot handle and pouring a cup of tea.

The tea’s fragrance permeated the air!

Refreshing to the heart!

He slowly uttered a sentence. “You know, why are you so inconsiderate?”

His tone was neither salty nor bland.

Tang Si walked over and demanded, “How am I inconsiderate?”

“Ai.” His heart was so tired. He was too lazy to explain. Waving his hand, “You should hurry and go read. In books there are houses of gold. If you read more of those medical texts, not only can you save lives and heal the wounded, but it can also help you calm down.”

Earnest guidance.

“Calm what down? This young lady is full of anger right now.”

“Where does this anger come from?”

“From that corrupt official.” She beat her chest and stamped her feet. “No one in this world has ever dared to tie this young lady up. Tying me up is one thing, but he actually pressed me to the ground and even wanted to hit me. Does he think this young lady is easy to bully?”

So angry!

Muruo smiled. “I say, what do you have to be angry about? You were just tied up for a bit and got a few shallow marks on your wrists. But Lord Zuo was beaten half to death by your whip, not a good spot on his whole body. If it weren’t for Jingrong’s orders, I estimate you would have beaten him to death. So tell me, what are you angry about? Did you somehow suffer a loss?”

“How could this young lady possibly suffer a loss?”

“Then why are you still angry? Hurry and go read. Stop the nonsense.”

“I…”

She was stumped.

The next moment, her eyes widened and her head tilted, as if pondering something. Then she plopped down beside Muruo, wanting to reach out and pick up that cup of tea.

Smack!

Mercilessly, Muruo struck her hand sharply.

She painfully pulled her hand back and glared at Muruo. “That hurt.”

“If you know it hurts, why do you dare to randomly touch other people’s tea?”

Speechless!

She didn’t bother arguing, just stared at him hard with her large eyes.

Calculating something in her mind.

Muruo focused on making tea. Only after a long while did he notice the gaze falling on him. Turning his head, he met Tang Si’s eyes, frowned, and asked, “Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

“No.”

“Then why are you staring at me?”

She bit her lip, shifted her bottom closer to him, revealing a gossipy expression, and asked, “Let me ask you—have you ever liked any girls?”

“Of course!”

“Ah!” Her expression darkened. “Who?”

The flavor of the empress interrogating.

Muruo answered readily, “Many. For example, Miss Lin from Shangshan Tower, Miss Jiang from Baozhai Pavilion, and Miss Lu Yun from Liushui Workshop in West City County. She has a wonderful voice—her singing is like an oriole’s gentle call, flowing pleasantly to the ear. Of course, my favorite is still Miss Que’er from Nancheng Tower. She plays the qin so well. Just watching her play makes one’s heart race, unable to look away, reminiscing for a long time.”

His eyes shone!

The more he looked like he was enjoying the memories, the more displeased Tang Si became. Immediately, she pounded her fist hard on the table, glaring at him and loudly demanding, “What’s so good about those women? They’re all women of the pleasure quarters—unclean and impure.”

Though she disparaged them so, Muruo wasn’t upset. He even smiled.

Belittling with a sentence, “Can’t eat the grapes, so you say the grapes are sour.”

“This young lady doesn’t care at all. So what if they can play the qin? This young lady knows martial arts! Those things that look good but are useless aren’t as impressive as the whip in my hand. I’ve saved your life with my whip. Can those people singing and playing the qin save you?”

Of course not!

But Muruo found it extremely amusing. He secretly glanced at her—that woman actually had a face full of anger, as if… she was jealous.

Could he be seeing things? His heart momentarily froze.

Then he pushed the cup of tea that Tang Si had wanted earlier toward her.

“Come, cool down!”

Bah!

“You’re the one who needs to cool down.”

“Ai.” Muruo sighed again, shaking his head.

Tang Si felt uncomfortable in her heart—her chest felt stuffy and sour. Plus, with a ball of fire burning inside, she stretched out her foot and from under the table kicked Muruo’s knee hard.

“Ah!”

That pain.

Very piercing.

The culprit then fled back to the desk, opened the medical text she had closed, stared at the densely packed words above, and pretended to know nothing.

That face hidden by the medical book looked somewhat unhappy.

Actually, she herself couldn’t figure out what she was thinking.

Toward Muruo, she both loved and hated him.

That feeling instead stirred up some self-loathing in her.

Muruo, however, was a thoughtless person who couldn’t see through Tang Si’s thoughts at all. He only felt that the girl was probably having a fit, so he could only endure the pain in his knee, grit his teeth, and stop paying attention to her.

The two of them just sat there like that, neither speaking.

One focused on fiddling with the tea in hand!

One stared listlessly at the medical books, yet didn’t remember a single word!

…

The next day.

Jingrong ordered someone to bring Wen Panshi over.

In just two days’ time, that man no longer looked as graceful as before. His originally rather refined features were now covered with stubble, his eyes were sunken and lifeless, his cheeks gaunt.

Completely dejected!

Jingrong sat there and carefully looked him over once.

Suddenly he let out a relaxed laugh and asked, “General Wen, is that prison cell comfortable?”

“Snakes, insects, rats, and ants—no shortage of them.”

“Do you want to go back in?”

“Why must Your Highness beat around the bush? If you have something to say, you might as well speak directly.” Wen Panshi kept a straight face.

That appearance made Jingrong couldn’t help but sneer coldly. Picking up the tea beside him and taking a small sip, he asked, “If this Prince hadn’t already seen through your plan at that time, would you really have killed this Prince?”

“Yes!”

Without hesitation!

Hehe!

“Then do you think, if Mr. Ji hadn’t stopped me then, would this Prince have killed you?”

“Yes.” Wen Panshi still answered directly.

“That’s right. If not for Mr. Ji, you and your soldiers would already be dead.”

Yet Wen Panshi said very stubbornly, “If you want to kill, then kill.”

One life to give, one head to offer.

From the moment fourteen years ago when he decided to avenge the Duke of Yuguo, he had already prepared for the possibility of sacrifice at any time.

“Are you forcing this Prince’s hand?”

“Your Father Emperor could kill all under heaven for the throne. You’re his son—for your own benefit, what does killing a few people matter?”

Hehe!