Flower Stealing Master

Knowing full well they were deliberately provoking him, Song Qingshu still decided to counter. Not for himself, but out of righteous conviction…he refused to let them turn the world upside down.

“You can summon wind and rain?” Wan Qi laughed as if he’d heard the funniest joke. “Do you take me for a three-year-old? If you can, then perform for us and broaden our horizons.”

Song Qingshu gave him a cold look: “I’m not a street performer. You expect me to exert myself just because you say so? Do you take me for a fool?”

“Tch, I knew you wouldn’t dare,” Wan Qi sneered dismissively. “Anyone can talk big.”

At his cue, Zhang Jun and his faction chimed in with ridicule.

Among the assembled officials, though many despised the likes of Wan Qi and Zhang Jun, this time they agreed with their judgment. After all, everyone present had passed the imperial examinations, grown up reading the sages’ works…they naturally scoffed at such supernatural nonsense.

“Never mind them…don’t stoop to their level,” the Yellow-Robed Maiden’s voice suddenly came through sound transmission, filled with concern. She could see Wan Qi was provoking Song Qingshu and feared he’d take the bait. Forgetting their cold war, she hurriedly warned him.

Though she knew him well and recognized his peerless martial arts, she still didn’t believe he could truly summon wind and rain. That was beyond common sense…no matter how skilled in martial arts, one was still mortal. Weather manipulation belonged only to immortals in legends. Even Huang Shang, whom she regarded as an earthly immortal, couldn’t do such a thing.

“Why should I let it slide?” Song Qingshu replied casually.

She was taken aback, watching the young man in the hall…the slight smile at the corner of his mouth, the pride and confidence in his brow…and felt momentarily dazed.

“Ahem~” Zhao Gou deliberately coughed and raised a hand, signaling for quiet. “Young Master Song proposed marrying two of our dynasty’s princesses today. But since our dynasty’s founding, never have two royal daughters married the same man. I govern with filial piety and dare not break ancestral precedent. However, if Young Master Song truly can summon wind and rain, then it is heaven’s will. Even if I face my ancestors’ reproach, I will grant your request. What do you say?”

“Your Majesty, that’s too unfair,” the Yellow-Robed Maiden said anxiously, whether for Song Qingshu’s sake or her sisters’…she knew well the situation of Zhao Huer and Zhao Yuanyuan. They’d given their hearts to him, even shared intimacy with him in Jin. Now the emperor was deliberately making things difficult, using an impossible task to refuse him. The ones who’d suffer most were those two girls.

If Song Qingshu failed, he’d have no face to press the marriage proposal…he might end up marrying neither. She worried that Zhao Huer and Zhao Yuanyuan, who’d been waiting so eagerly, wouldn’t be able to bear such a blow.

Wan Qi chuckled: “Two royal daughters marrying the same man is unprecedented. Naturally, it requires special trials. Any ordinary man would need eight lifetimes of accumulated merit to wed one royal daughter…to wed two at once, hmph, would cost him years of his life. If Song Qingshu can’t prove he can defy fate, even if the princesses marry him, he won’t have the fortune to keep them.”

The Yellow-Robed Maiden bit her lip, wanting to retort: *When the Jin army breached Bianliang, countless royal daughters became slaves and playthings for the Jin…what virtue did *they* have? The sisters in the Laundry Bureau suffered unspeakable humiliation, yet those Jin men lived well.*

Of course, she knew those experiences were wounds that would never heal, so she kept silent.

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.” Song Qingshu’s warm voice came to her ear. She turned to see him smiling at her, and her cheeks flushed as she looked away.

“Who’s worried about you? Don’t flatter yourself,” she replied coldly through sound transmission.

“What do you say, Young Master Song?” With Zhao Gou’s voice, all eyes were on him again.

Song Qingshu replied unhurriedly: “I think this wager is unfair to me.”

“Oh? What’s unfair?” Zhao Gou chuckled inwardly. *I knew you’d make excuses…I’ve prepared all sorts of counters to corner you step by step.*

“Princess Chengde and Princess Roufu have been my women since our time in Jin…” At these words, the hall erupted. Even the Yellow-Robed Maiden blushed and cursed under her breath. *How could he say that? By speaking so openly, he’s ruined their reputations. If he doesn’t marry them in the end, what man will ever want them?*

“If I lose, I lose them. But even if I win, they’re still my women…Your Majesty loses nothing. Isn’t this just trying to get something for nothing?” Song Qingshu continued.

Wan Qi stood up furiously: “Nonsense! Since when are our dynasty’s princesses your women?”

“If you don’t believe me, you can ask the princesses yourselves,” Song Qingshu replied calmly.

Wan Qi was momentarily speechless…he dared not ask. As head of the officials, he knew secrets that ordinary people didn’t. He knew what kind of place the Laundry Bureau was…nothing that happened there would be surprising.

Song Qingshu added: “In fact, not just Princess Chengde and Princess Roufu, but even Princess Maode…”

“Ahem…” Zhao Gou seemed to choke. He knew well the filth of the Laundry Bureau and feared Song Qingshu would say something damaging to the royal reputation. He quickly interrupted: “What wager do you propose, then?”

He was certain summoning wind and rain was beyond any human’s ability…victory was assured…so he might as well be generous.

Song Qingshu smiled slightly, his gaze suddenly falling on Ah Ke beside Zhao Gou: “Since my wager is my women, why doesn’t Your Majesty wager one of yours?”

The hall fell deathly silent. Many jaws dropped…how dare he say something so suicidal?

Following his gaze, everyone naturally realized he meant Consort Wu.

Ah Ke hadn’t expected this turn of events either. Feeling all eyes on her, her heart pounded, a dizzying sensation washing over her. She instinctively lowered her head in shyness, nervously twisting the hem of her robe beneath the table.

Everyone saw her skin like snow, her jade-like bones and ice-cold flesh…a face seemingly carved from jade. Her limpid eyes sparkled, beautiful and refined yet delicately alluring, enough to make any man salivate.

Many men in the hall had fantasized about Consort Wu’s peerless beauty. But she was the imperial consort…any such thoughts were quickly suppressed by reason. None dared voice them openly like Song Qingshu.

Zhao Gou’s face was dark as water. Since losing his virility, he’d been more sensitive than anyone on this matter. Song Qingshu’s demand had touched his very core…he looked ready to explode.

“Such audacity! To harbor such filthy thoughts about Her Highness!” Wan Qi seized the moment, leaping up with righteous indignation.

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