As Bai Shiqi was about to fall, she was suddenly pulled by someone, and fell directly backwards into someone’s arms.
She opened her drunk eyes, looked up, and said with a smile: “Looks like I’m already drunk, I can’t even walk steadily anymore. Brother Yan, come here and face me. Don’t join forces and bully me from afar.” She was leaning against Wen Tao’s arms, trying to sit up straight, but perhaps because Wen Tao was sitting too casually, leaning on the backrest, or perhaps it was because she was feeling too weak, when she was about to get up, she fell back again.
“Am I too drunk?” Bai Shiqi covered her head: “Which fine wine from what year did you bring to entertain us today?”
Wen Tao chuckled, as if he was not interested in helping the one who wanted to get up from his arms: “Not that long, the wine was only thirty years old.”
“Thirty years?” Bai Shiqi was stunned: “I’ve really troubled Brother Wen!”
No wonder the wine tasted mellow but the strength was strong. Not to mention she drank a lot on an empty stomach, perhaps enough to fill two jars, and then chased Yan Fei for several laps. Currently, her head was spinning, and she could only keep leaning: “Let me rest for a while.” Then she continued with a slurred speech: “Brother Zhao, in a moment… let’s go back to the ship.”
With Wen Tao by her side, she might have to keep one eye open even when she takes a nap.
Wen Tao gritted his teeth secretly, and wrapped his arms around her waist, only to feel that there was a thick layer around her waist. Now that the weather was getting warmer, everyone had already taken off the padded cotton in their clothes. Wen Tao stared and touched them secretly. The more he touched, the more interesting it became. In the end, he laughed out loud: “Why are you going back to the ship? If my father knew that you came to Yancheng and slept on the ship, he’d peel my skin off! We will go to my house in a while.”
Bai Shiqi‘s mind was slow, but she was able to answer normally: “What about Big Brother Zhao?”
Wen Tao saw that she was reluctant to leave His Highness Prince Zhao. His eyes darkened, and he politely said: “If it is acceptable, why don’t we stay in my house together?”
His invitation was not very sincere, but he didn’t expect His Highness Prince Zhou to take it seriously: “I’m going with Shiqi, so of course I will live where she lives. I’m so sorry to bother Young Leader Wen.”
Wen Tao felt very uncomfortable.
After the feast, the group of young people walked away hand in hand.
Bai Shiqi was supported by Wen Tao and got into the carriage heading for Wen Tao‘s house, while Zhao Wujiu and Shu Changfeng were seated in the other carriage.
He did it on purpose because he wanted to separate the two. Bai Shiqi also wanted to have a private chat with Wen Tao, so they hit it off. She was so drunk that once she got into the carriage, she had to close her eyes and lean against the wall for a moment, trying her best to suppress the tipsy feeling. When she opened her eyes again, they bumped into an enlarged handsome face with deep eyes.
The carriage was moving very slowly, and Young Leader Wen was crouching in front of her, looking straight at the indifferent face in front of him: “Shiqi, I have a question in my heart for many years, and I would like to ask you to clear it up.”
“Please tell me.” Bai Shiqi rubbed her temples, trying her best to sober up, but found that the wine was too strong, and her mind only became more disorganized as time went by.
Wen Tao seemed to have been troubled by this matter for many years and lost his patience. He asked straight to the point: “Are you a man or a woman?”
Bai Shiqi giggled, “Brother Wen, do I look like a woman?”
Wen Tao was not confused by her words, but took a step closer, almost face to face with her: “Who said women have to be gentle and submissive? I always felt that you are sometimes like an annoying naughty boy, but sometimes you are as cute as a little girl. Are you a man or a woman?”
Bai Shiqi slapped him on the face: “Don’t get so close. Don’t you feel disgusted being so close with a man?”
Unexpectedly, Wen Tao took a step forward and hugged her firmly, and said in a hoarse voice, “Shiqi, do you know? The first time I had a spring dream, it was you that I dreamed of.”
[spring dream is… uh. wet dream] [E: yeeeewww]
Bai Shiqi pushed him with disgust on her face: “Are you a homosexual? Why didn’t I notice this before?”
Wen Tao was also very puzzled: “Besides dreaming of you, I really don’t like men. And you in the dream…was dressed in women’s clothes. After that, in my wildest thoughts, I feel that…perhaps you’re a woman.” He never spoke of these words even to Wen Bao. This was the first time he ever spoke about it, while staring at her flushed cheeks after drinking and her teary eyes, the emotions that had been suppressed for many years could no longer be restrained. He hugged her tightly and threatened: “Believe it or not, if you don’t tell me the truth, I will strip your clothes in this carriage to verify.”
Bai Shiqi was frightened by his shamelessness: “Seriously, Brother Wen? You and I have been brothers for many years. You are as masculine as you are, so…don’t use me as a pretense to be a cut-sleeve.” She began to feel that Wen Tao was simply abnormal: “Besides…don’t you know? I like women, I even took in concubines.”
Wen Tao seemed like he had heard a joke: “Shiqi, don’t try to amuse me. Many people have been spreading rumors about the young leader of the shipping group being a romantic person. But how could someone who has never been on a couch with a woman be called a ‘romantic person’? I dare to guarantee that you have never touched your concubine, right?”
Bai Shiqi‘s mind was buzzing, and she used a dry smile to cover up her panic: “How does Brother Wen know so much about…the matters in my room?”
Wen Tao’s hands wandered around her waist. He pinched her waist twice and laughed lightly: “I didn’t know it before. What is wrapped around your waist that makes it look like a young man’s figure? It must be because you’re afraid that someone would notice your slim waist, right? Well, what about your Adam’s apple?”
Trying to get a better look, he drew closer, but Bai Shiqi punched him in the face with her fist. Her expression seemed to have changed: “Y-you… I kindly came to Yancheng to tell you about some news, but here you are, thinking about messy things. Since we can’t speak of business anymore, I’ll just go and talk to Uncle Wen.”
Wen Tao was punched in the face by her, but he was not as flustered as he was in the past. Instead, he smiled brightly: “I guessed it right, didn’t I? Because I’m right, you became angry?” He grabbed her Adam’s apple with a bit of force and unexpectedly… unexpectedly pulled it off…
Bai Shiqi was furious: “Wen Tao, you bastard!” She raised her foot and was about to kick him.
“Sure enough, it’s a girl!” Wen Tao squeezed her leg, hugged her even tighter, and rubbed his face against her neck again and again with a sly face: “If you still don’t admit that you are a girl, I will really take off your clothes to verify it!”
[E: ew]
What can’t this bastard do?
Bai Shiqi‘s hands and feet were suppressed by him, so she hit her head against his, and stared at his eyes: “So what if I’m a woman?”
Wen Tao exclaimed “aiyah” in pain, and his forehead had already swelled up. He grimaced in pain, but still managed to smile without restraint: “Nothing much ah. It’s just that I’ll be able to fulfill my dream. I will let my father propose a marriage to Uncle once I return. I want to marry you!”
Because of the pain in the head, the tipsiness gradually disappeared, and Bai Shiqi’s eyes turned cold: “You want to marry me to let me fight for your affection with those seventeen or eighteen concubines of yours?”
Wen Tao raised his eyebrows and smiled: “If I have you, what are those concubines for? I’ll send them all away!”
Bai Shiqi looked at him speechlessly, as if she was looking at a fool.
“Can we stop talking about private matters and talk about business?”
Wen Tao kept chattering: “What’s up with you and that Prince Zhou?”
Bai Shiqi rolled her eyes: “The salt group is about to be schemed against by others, why are you still so muddled?”
The matter was of great importance, Wen Tao finally sobered up, and was pushed away by Bai Shiqi: “Sit far away, let’s talk properly.”
Wen Tao reluctantly let her go and moved to the side, still sitting very close, as if he was afraid that Bai Shiqi would run away from the carriage: “Tell me, I’m listening.” He also wanted to hold her hand shamelessly. But after being given a sideway glare, he stopped trying.
“I got news that there are pirates hiding within the salt group. With the friendship between my old man and Uncle Wen, I don’t want Uncle Wen‘s effort to be ruined, so I specially followed His Highness Prince Zhou. Tell me the truth, is the salt group colluding with the pirates?”
Wen Tao’s expression abruptly changed: “Which bastard spread that rumor? How could the salt group be linked with pirates?”
“Could it be that your subordinates did something that neither you nor Uncle Wen knew?”
If one ignored Wen Tao’s rambunctiousness in the matters of men and women, he had always been ‘righteous’ in the group, willing to cover up the brothers below when they commit crimes, that was why he was very popular.
Whoever said that his brother was not good, he’d fight that person.
So he didn’t fight Bai Shiqi on the spot for what she said today: “How is that possible? How could the brothers of the salt group be linked with the pirates? Yes, they sell private salt and are involved in fights, but they never rob from merchant ships, taking people’s money and lives. If I knew about it, I wouldn’t be so forgiving!”
Bai Shiqi couldn’t completely believe his words.
There were many members of the salt group. Some were good, some were bad. If they earnestly wanted to hide something from the Wen family father and son, it was not impossible.
“What if you’re just not aware of it?”
“How could I not be aware?” He was arrogant. If he treated his brothers well, his brothers must also show their sincerity. This was why he was even more irritated by Bai Shiqi’s unreasonable questioning: “Shiqi, you also make ends meet on the river with your brothers. Could it be that you also casually suspect the brothers in your own group?”
Bai Shiqi was afraid that he would get angry and lose his mind, so she spoke calmly: “I won’t casually suspect the brothers in the group, but Wen Tao, if there are eyewitnesses and clues, I will definitely check the brothers in the group and introspect. Counting on ‘loyalty’ is not a long-term solution. Sometimes it is not external attacks that bring down a group. Even a powerful organization will fall apart as long as there is an internal problem.”
Wen Tao looked as if he had just known Bai Shiqi for the first time, and stared at her quietly.
Bai Shiqi touched her face: “What are you looking at?”
Wen Tao: “I suddenly feel as if I’ve never known you before. I didn’t expect you to be full of great truths.”
Bai Shiqi leaned against the wall of the carriage and persuaded him with good words: “If you think what I said makes sense, cooperate with me and Prince Zhou to investigate secretly. You also know that this year is probably going to be an eventful year, and whether you can survive it depends on your ability. Don’t think that I brought Prince Zhou to Yancheng to cause you trouble. Think about it, on the other hand, isn’t this giving the salt group a chance to cleanse? The imperial envoy that was sent to investigate the Lianghuai salt road has arrived in Jiangnan. Soon, Jiangnan will change, if not already.”
Wen Tao was thoughtful.
The carriage arrived at Wen‘s house, and Wen Tao helped Bai Shiqi to get out of the carriage. She fought with Wen Tao all the way, and the tipsiness had already disappeared completely.
The housekeeper of the Wen family also recognized her, and greeted the guests at the gate with a bright smile: “I heard that the Young Leader is coming to be a guest. Young Master had sent someone back early to ask this old servant to clean up the room and send a letter to the master. He is also very happy, he should be back soon.”
Bai Shiqi smiled and said: “I’ve troubled you.”
The group was standing at the gate, waiting for Shu Changfeng to help Zhao Wujiu to get off the carriage, when suddenly a saddle horse came from a distance. When the horse reached the gate of Wen’s house, the rider pulled at the reins. The horse raised its front hooves up high, and stopped with a long neigh.
As Bai Shiqi was about to fall, she was suddenly pulled by someone, and fell directly backwards into someone’s arms.
She opened her drunk eyes, looked up, and said with a smile: “Looks like I’m already drunk, I can’t even walk steadily anymore. Brother Yan, come here and face me. Don’t join forces and bully me from afar.” She was leaning against Wen Tao’s arms, trying to sit up straight, but perhaps because Wen Tao was sitting too casually, leaning on the backrest, or perhaps it was because she was feeling too weak, when she was about to get up, she fell back again.
“Am I too drunk?” Bai Shiqi covered her head: “Which fine wine from what year did you bring to entertain us today?”
Wen Tao chuckled, as if he was not interested in helping the one who wanted to get up from his arms: “Not that long, the wine was only thirty years old.”
“Thirty years?” Bai Shiqi was stunned: “I’ve really troubled Brother Wen!”
No wonder the wine tasted mellow but the strength was strong. Not to mention she drank a lot on an empty stomach, perhaps enough to fill two jars, and then chased Yan Fei for several laps. Currently, her head was spinning, and she could only keep leaning: “Let me rest for a while.” Then she continued with a slurred speech: “Brother Zhao, in a moment… let’s go back to the ship.”
With Wen Tao by her side, she might have to keep one eye open even when she takes a nap.
Wen Tao gritted his teeth secretly, and wrapped his arms around her waist, only to feel that there was a thick layer around her waist. Now that the weather was getting warmer, everyone had already taken off the padded cotton in their clothes. Wen Tao stared and touched them secretly. The more he touched, the more interesting it became. In the end, he laughed out loud: “Why are you going back to the ship? If my father knew that you came to Yancheng and slept on the ship, he’d peel my skin off! We will go to my house in a while.”
Bai Shiqi‘s mind was slow, but she was able to answer normally: “What about Big Brother Zhao?”
Wen Tao saw that she was reluctant to leave His Highness Prince Zhao. His eyes darkened, and he politely said: “If it is acceptable, why don’t we stay in my house together?”
His invitation was not very sincere, but he didn’t expect His Highness Prince Zhou to take it seriously: “I’m going with Shiqi, so of course I will live where she lives. I’m so sorry to bother Young Leader Wen.”
Wen Tao felt very uncomfortable.
After the feast, the group of young people walked away hand in hand.
Bai Shiqi was supported by Wen Tao and got into the carriage heading for Wen Tao‘s house, while Zhao Wujiu and Shu Changfeng were seated in the other carriage.
He did it on purpose because he wanted to separate the two. Bai Shiqi also wanted to have a private chat with Wen Tao, so they hit it off. She was so drunk that once she got into the carriage, she had to close her eyes and lean against the wall for a moment, trying her best to suppress the tipsy feeling. When she opened her eyes again, they bumped into an enlarged handsome face with deep eyes.
The carriage was moving very slowly, and Young Leader Wen was crouching in front of her, looking straight at the indifferent face in front of him: “Shiqi, I have a question in my heart for many years, and I would like to ask you to clear it up.”
“Please tell me.” Bai Shiqi rubbed her temples, trying her best to sober up, but found that the wine was too strong, and her mind only became more disorganized as time went by.
Wen Tao seemed to have been troubled by this matter for many years and lost his patience. He asked straight to the point: “Are you a man or a woman?”
Bai Shiqi giggled, “Brother Wen, do I look like a woman?”
Wen Tao was not confused by her words, but took a step closer, almost face to face with her: “Who said women have to be gentle and submissive? I always felt that you are sometimes like an annoying naughty boy, but sometimes you are as cute as a little girl. Are you a man or a woman?”
Bai Shiqi slapped him on the face: “Don’t get so close. Don’t you feel disgusted being so close with a man?”
Unexpectedly, Wen Tao took a step forward and hugged her firmly, and said in a hoarse voice, “Shiqi, do you know? The first time I had a spring dream, it was you that I dreamed of.”
[spring dream is… uh. wet dream] [E: yeeeewww]
Bai Shiqi pushed him with disgust on her face: “Are you a homosexual? Why didn’t I notice this before?”
Wen Tao was also very puzzled: “Besides dreaming of you, I really don’t like men. And you in the dream…was dressed in women’s clothes. After that, in my wildest thoughts, I feel that…perhaps you’re a woman.” He never spoke of these words even to Wen Bao. This was the first time he ever spoke about it, while staring at her flushed cheeks after drinking and her teary eyes, the emotions that had been suppressed for many years could no longer be restrained. He hugged her tightly and threatened: “Believe it or not, if you don’t tell me the truth, I will strip your clothes in this carriage to verify.”
Bai Shiqi was frightened by his shamelessness: “Seriously, Brother Wen? You and I have been brothers for many years. You are as masculine as you are, so…don’t use me as a pretense to be a cut-sleeve.” She began to feel that Wen Tao was simply abnormal: “Besides…don’t you know? I like women, I even took in concubines.”
Wen Tao seemed like he had heard a joke: “Shiqi, don’t try to amuse me. Many people have been spreading rumors about the young leader of the shipping group being a romantic person. But how could someone who has never been on a couch with a woman be called a ‘romantic person’? I dare to guarantee that you have never touched your concubine, right?”
Bai Shiqi‘s mind was buzzing, and she used a dry smile to cover up her panic: “How does Brother Wen know so much about…the matters in my room?”
Wen Tao’s hands wandered around her waist. He pinched her waist twice and laughed lightly: “I didn’t know it before. What is wrapped around your waist that makes it look like a young man’s figure? It must be because you’re afraid that someone would notice your slim waist, right? Well, what about your Adam’s apple?”
Trying to get a better look, he drew closer, but Bai Shiqi punched him in the face with her fist. Her expression seemed to have changed: “Y-you… I kindly came to Yancheng to tell you about some news, but here you are, thinking about messy things. Since we can’t speak of business anymore, I’ll just go and talk to Uncle Wen.”
Wen Tao was punched in the face by her, but he was not as flustered as he was in the past. Instead, he smiled brightly: “I guessed it right, didn’t I? Because I’m right, you became angry?” He grabbed her Adam’s apple with a bit of force and unexpectedly… unexpectedly pulled it off…
Bai Shiqi was furious: “Wen Tao, you bastard!” She raised her foot and was about to kick him.
“Sure enough, it’s a girl!” Wen Tao squeezed her leg, hugged her even tighter, and rubbed his face against her neck again and again with a sly face: “If you still don’t admit that you are a girl, I will really take off your clothes to verify it!”
[E: ew]
What can’t this bastard do?
Bai Shiqi‘s hands and feet were suppressed by him, so she hit her head against his, and stared at his eyes: “So what if I’m a woman?”
Wen Tao exclaimed “aiyah” in pain, and his forehead had already swelled up. He grimaced in pain, but still managed to smile without restraint: “Nothing much ah. It’s just that I’ll be able to fulfill my dream. I will let my father propose a marriage to Uncle once I return. I want to marry you!”
Because of the pain in the head, the tipsiness gradually disappeared, and Bai Shiqi’s eyes turned cold: “You want to marry me to let me fight for your affection with those seventeen or eighteen concubines of yours?”
Wen Tao raised his eyebrows and smiled: “If I have you, what are those concubines for? I’ll send them all away!”
Bai Shiqi looked at him speechlessly, as if she was looking at a fool.
“Can we stop talking about private matters and talk about business?”
Wen Tao kept chattering: “What’s up with you and that Prince Zhou?”
Bai Shiqi rolled her eyes: “The salt group is about to be schemed against by others, why are you still so muddled?”
The matter was of great importance, Wen Tao finally sobered up, and was pushed away by Bai Shiqi: “Sit far away, let’s talk properly.”
Wen Tao reluctantly let her go and moved to the side, still sitting very close, as if he was afraid that Bai Shiqi would run away from the carriage: “Tell me, I’m listening.” He also wanted to hold her hand shamelessly. But after being given a sideway glare, he stopped trying.
“I got news that there are pirates hiding within the salt group. With the friendship between my old man and Uncle Wen, I don’t want Uncle Wen‘s effort to be ruined, so I specially followed His Highness Prince Zhou. Tell me the truth, is the salt group colluding with the pirates?”
Wen Tao’s expression abruptly changed: “Which bastard spread that rumor? How could the salt group be linked with pirates?”
“Could it be that your subordinates did something that neither you nor Uncle Wen knew?”
If one ignored Wen Tao’s rambunctiousness in the matters of men and women, he had always been ‘righteous’ in the group, willing to cover up the brothers below when they commit crimes, that was why he was very popular.
Whoever said that his brother was not good, he’d fight that person.
So he didn’t fight Bai Shiqi on the spot for what she said today: “How is that possible? How could the brothers of the salt group be linked with the pirates? Yes, they sell private salt and are involved in fights, but they never rob from merchant ships, taking people’s money and lives. If I knew about it, I wouldn’t be so forgiving!”
Bai Shiqi couldn’t completely believe his words.
There were many members of the salt group. Some were good, some were bad. If they earnestly wanted to hide something from the Wen family father and son, it was not impossible.
“What if you’re just not aware of it?”
“How could I not be aware?” He was arrogant. If he treated his brothers well, his brothers must also show their sincerity. This was why he was even more irritated by Bai Shiqi’s unreasonable questioning: “Shiqi, you also make ends meet on the river with your brothers. Could it be that you also casually suspect the brothers in your own group?”
Bai Shiqi was afraid that he would get angry and lose his mind, so she spoke calmly: “I won’t casually suspect the brothers in the group, but Wen Tao, if there are eyewitnesses and clues, I will definitely check the brothers in the group and introspect. Counting on ‘loyalty’ is not a long-term solution. Sometimes it is not external attacks that bring down a group. Even a powerful organization will fall apart as long as there is an internal problem.”
Wen Tao looked as if he had just known Bai Shiqi for the first time, and stared at her quietly.
Bai Shiqi touched her face: “What are you looking at?”
Wen Tao: “I suddenly feel as if I’ve never known you before. I didn’t expect you to be full of great truths.”
Bai Shiqi leaned against the wall of the carriage and persuaded him with good words: “If you think what I said makes sense, cooperate with me and Prince Zhou to investigate secretly. You also know that this year is probably going to be an eventful year, and whether you can survive it depends on your ability. Don’t think that I brought Prince Zhou to Yancheng to cause you trouble. Think about it, on the other hand, isn’t this giving the salt group a chance to cleanse? The imperial envoy that was sent to investigate the Lianghuai salt road has arrived in Jiangnan. Soon, Jiangnan will change, if not already.”
Wen Tao was thoughtful.
The carriage arrived at Wen‘s house, and Wen Tao helped Bai Shiqi to get out of the carriage. She fought with Wen Tao all the way, and the tipsiness had already disappeared completely.
The housekeeper of the Wen family also recognized her, and greeted the guests at the gate with a bright smile: “I heard that the Young Leader is coming to be a guest. Young Master had sent someone back early to ask this old servant to clean up the room and send a letter to the master. He is also very happy, he should be back soon.”
Bai Shiqi smiled and said: “I’ve troubled you.”
The group was standing at the gate, waiting for Shu Changfeng to help Zhao Wujiu to get off the carriage, when suddenly a saddle horse came from a distance. When the horse reached the gate of Wen’s house, the rider pulled at the reins. The horse raised its front hooves up high, and stopped with a long neigh.
