Before the provincial examination, Sheng Mingjian was finally able to move around freely.
Sheng Mingjian had a very thick skin. He didn’t care at all about the strange or mocking looks people gave him as he went to take the provincial exam.
If he passed this time, he would become a juren (provincial graduate). Then, he could take the national exam six months later.
After finishing the exam, Sheng Mingjian seemed to be in good spirits, and there was a smile on his face.
In his dream, he hadn’t taken this provincial exam, so he didn’t know the questions. But he did know the questions for this session’s national exam and the palace exam.
Why? Because in his dream, the academy’s master had taken the exam papers of the top three candidates from this session and broken them down for the class to study.
Sheng Mingjian firmly believed the exam questions from his dream were correct.
So, he just needed to pass the provincial exam and become a juren. The national exam and palace exam after that would just be a formality for him.
Therefore, after resting for a day following the exam, Sheng Mingjian summoned Qingxin to attend to him on the second night.
But Qingxin wasn’t happy at all.
When she first heard the rumor that Sheng Mingjian preferred men, Qingxin didn’t believe it one bit!
She had personally experienced his vigor and ferocity. How could Sheng Mingjian possibly like men?
So, after his two personal attendants, Gaoshan and Jingxing, died, Qingxin went to Sheng Mingjian’s courtyard every day, just as often as the household physician.
Once, when Sheng Mingjian had just had his wound dressed, the pain caused him to lie prone on the bed and pass out.
Qingxin secretly lifted the thin gauze covering the lower half of his body.
And then she saw the wound.
At that moment, Qingxin felt like she was looking at “hell” and nearly screamed in terror.
She felt her world had been violently shaken. The things she had once firmly believed in instantly crumbled. She stumbled out of the courtyard.
After that incident, Qingxin felt she couldn’t continue to treat Sheng Mingjian as her exalted, untouchable young master anymore.
Now that she was summoned to attend to him, her whole body felt wrong. She felt clumsy and heavy, moving much slower than before.
“Sister Qingxin, whatever you do, don’t let your feelings show on your face… If you can bear him a son or daughter, you won’t have to worry about the future,”
Xiaoque comforted her softly.
Qingxin took a deep breath of the night air, thick with the scent of flowers, feeling a bit suffocated.
Yeah, she had never gotten pregnant.
If she could get pregnant, she could refuse Sheng Mingjian.
After composing herself, a smile appeared on Qingxin’s face as she stepped into Sheng Mingjian’s courtyard.
Entering the inner room, she saw that Sheng Mingjian had already washed up and was wearing a set of sleepwear.
When Sheng Mingjian saw her, a dark look flashed in his eyes. This helped Qingxin regain a bit of her old memories.
Her cheeks felt hot.
Usually, at this point, the young master would come over, scoop her up by the waist, toss her onto the bed, and then…
She waited a good while, but the young master didn’t come. Confused, she looked up and saw him casually taking off his clothes and lying down on the bed.
“Tonight, you take the lead.”
Qingxin felt like she’d been struck by lightning. Her body was stiff for a long time before she slowly shuffled over to the bed.
Meanwhile, Xiaoque was keeping watch outside.
Normally, she wouldn’t be stationed here. In the past, with Gaoshan and Jingxing around, the young master would usually make a racket for half the night, or even the whole night. Now that Gaoshan and Jingxing were gone, and Sister Qingxin was scared, she waited outside.
She found a spot leaning against a pillar, planning to doze off if she got sleepy later.
But before long, she heard noises coming from inside, along with the young master’s curses.
He was cursing viciously and crudely!
Xiaoque immediately tensed up. Could the young master have developed a new fetish? Liking to curse while doing that?
She quickly realized her assumption was wrong.
Because she saw Sister Qingxin run out, her clothes all askew, with a slap mark on her face, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Her eyes were filled with terror.
“Go, let’s go quickly…”
Sister Qingxin grabbed her hand and ran outside.
As if fleeing from a flood or a wild beast.
“Sister Qingxin, what’s wrong?”
After they left the young master’s courtyard, Xiaoque couldn’t help but ask.
Qingxin shuddered.
Her body couldn’t stop trembling.
It was too horrible!
Just when things were getting critical, Sheng Mingjian suddenly let out a strange yell, slapped her off him…
She belatedly smelled an… odor. Following the source of the smell, she saw a puddle on the lower half of Sheng Mingjian’s body…
If her eyes weren’t deceiving her, it was shit.
That part of Sheng Mingjian was ruined. He couldn’t even hold his shit in…
“Ugh—”
Qingxin couldn’t hold it back either and threw up her dinner right there.
At that moment, she was almost glad she had been on top. Otherwise, wouldn’t she be covered in shit?
At that instant, Qingxin no longer wanted to serve Sheng Mingjian.
She only felt disgust!
On top of that, she found Sheng Mingjian useless. All those times before, and he still couldn’t get her pregnant…
Maybe Sheng Mingjian was inherently sick and couldn’t get a woman pregnant.
The more Qingxin thought about it, the more possible it seemed.
She felt she couldn’t continue following a disgusting and useless man. The image of Sheng Yong gradually surfaced in her mind.
Sheng Yong had more masculine charm than Sheng Mingjian, real power, and he was still in his prime. No matter how you compared them, Sheng Yong was superior.
Qingxin felt she had been so stupid in the past! She couldn’t be that stupid anymore in the future…
That night, the fact that Sheng Mingjian had urgently summoned the household physician became known to Sheng Yong, Sheng Minmin, and Huang Yaning.
Those three also knew the exact reason Sheng Mingjian called the physician.
After hearing it, Sheng Yong seemed to age ten years all at once.
Huang Yaning had mixed feelings—neither thrilled nor particularly sad.
Only Sheng Minmin felt like having a good drink, if she weren’t currently pretending to be sick.
At the same time, in Prince Qi’s mansion, Xia Zhi, who was dressed in a moon-white outfit and carefully made up, headed to the waterside pavilion.
Xia Zhi now had her own courtyard and serving staff.
Every day, she had exquisite meals, tea, fruit, and snacks… Princess Jing had even excused her from coming to pay respects.
In the past, Xia Zhi wouldn’t have dared to dream of living such a wealthy and carefree life!
Having tasted the sweetness of riches, she never wanted to live like a low-class person again in this lifetime.
So, she needed to win his favor.
After being brought into Prince Qi’s mansion, Prince Qi only came to look at her once, gave some rewards, but didn’t stay overnight.
She had to bear the Prince’s child before the princess and the secondary consort entered the mansion.
Thus, Xia Zhi spent a large sum to bribe a servant in Prince Qi’s courtyard.
That person just informed her that the Prince was in a bad mood and drinking alone at the waterside pavilion.
Xia Zhi imitated Sheng Mingzhu’s style and went to the pavilion.
Zhu Qisheng in the pavilion was already a bit drunk. From afar, he saw a blurry, beautiful figure.
The color of her clothes, the way she walked… it resembled Sister Mingzhu.
Zhu Qisheng’s gaze locked onto her. She drew closer and closer.
He found she looked so much like his dear Mingzhu.
“Sister Mingzhu…”
He called out tentatively.
“Sheng gege…”
Zhu Qisheng heard the reply.
It really was his Sister Mingzhu! Only his Sister Mingzhu would call him that.
But how could Sister Mingzhu appear here?
Zhu Qisheng felt his mind was a mess. He shook his head.
He thought he must be dreaming.
The Mingzhu in his dream smelled so good, looked so beautiful, and she even sat on his lap…
Zhu Qisheng, being a passionate and vigorous young man, couldn’t hold back.
Thus, that night, Xia Zhi became Zhu Qisheng’s woman, all the while Zhu Qisheng still thinking he was dreaming.
