#69You could become Lord Shen's concubine.
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Chapter 69 You can be Lord Shen's concubine!
Shen Yulou feigned surprise, "Lord Zhang, has your beloved also gotten married?"
Zhang Xinjie nodded, tears welling up in his eyes.
Shen Yulou asked, "Who did she marry? Could it be a high-ranking official in the court?"
Zhang Xinjie's expression stiffened, and he said helplessly,
"Alas, don't ask. She is now someone far beyond my reach. Lord Shen, come, let us drink our fill today."
Shen Yulou said, "Good, we won't stop until we're drunk. My treat today."
"Lord Shen is truly generous. From now on, we are good brothers!"
After a few drinks, Shen Yulou asked,
"Lord Zhang, I heard you are the Top Scholar of the new imperial examination, so your literary talent must be outstanding. How about we write a poem to commemorate our departed love?"
Zhang Xinjie was startled, repeating Shen Yulou's words, "Commemorate departed love... I've truly never heard such a phrase before. Lord Shen is indeed a romantic figure. This is a good suggestion! Someone, bring the Four Treasures of the Study!"
Zhang Xinjie slapped a silver ingot on the table, and immediately a girl came over with brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone.
The two no longer listened to the music and began to write poems.
Shen Yulou quickly wrote a poem.
Zhang Xinjie took a look and immediately praised him.
"Lord Shen, what fine literary talent."
The noble attire is now worn by another,
When the concubine smiles, spring's beauty shifts.
Thus, it's known that worldly fate is set,
A grand dream awakes, only tears fall in vain.
Shen Yulou smiled, "Lord Zhang, you flatter me. You are the Top Scholar, your literary talent must be even better than mine."
The Top Scholar didn't even notice his acrostic poem.
"Lord Zhang, you should also write a poem, to remember past affections."
Zhang Xinjie nodded, his spirits high at this moment.
Twilight invades clothes, old alleys are deep,
Yunshu's faint shadow, nowhere to seek.
The homeland still recalls a flower's smile,
A sudden breeze comes, filling the lap for a while.
Zhang Xinjie quickly finished a poem. Regardless of how well the poem was written, his calligraphy was much better than Shen Yulou's.
Moreover, he even wrote the name of the imperial concubine, the two characters 'Yunshu' of Li Yunshu, in the poem, showing his immense longing for her.
Shen Yulou asked, "Lord Zhang, have you ever shown this poem to your childhood sweetheart?"
Zhang Xinjie nodded, "When I went for the imperial examination, I wrote the first two lines. The last two lines were unfinished. I originally wanted to write about reunion, but I didn't expect it to turn into a farewell."
Shen Yulou sighed and patted his shoulder.
"Lord Zhang, we feel like old friends at first sight. How about we exchange our calligraphy as a memento?"
Zhang Xinjie did not suspect him, "If Lord Shen doesn't mind, then please take it."
Shen Yulou blew dry the ink on Zhang Xinjie's poem and carefully folded it.
He put it into his bosom as if holding a rare treasure.
"Lord Zhang, you drink slowly, I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."
Shen Yulou gave Song Hu a look, and the two walked out.
Seeing the Madam at the entrance, Shen Yulou said,
"That is Top Scholar Zhang; he's paying today, so don't neglect him."
"Oh dear! So it's the Top Scholar, we will definitely serve him well."
...Returning to the Wet Nurse Department, as soon as Shen Yulou entered, he saw Qin Guiru, who was distracted.
After Qin Guiru learned that Shen Yulou had been granted a marriage, her mood was very complex, and she was depressed all day.
She didn't know what was wrong, even she couldn't figure herself out.
What did Shen Yulou getting married have to do with her?
Hadn't she been worried about him asking His Majesty for a granted marriage before? Now there was no need to worry, wasn't that even better?
Just as Qin Guiru's mind was in a mess, Shen Yulou walked in.
"Gui Ru, what's wrong?"
Seeing Shen Yulou return, Qin Guiru's expression changed, and she quickly stood up and said,
"Lord Shen, please call me director Qin from now on, so as not to cause misunderstandings."
Shen Yulou was stunned, "What happened?"
Qin Guiru gave a self-deprecating smile, and with a complex expression, she said, "Haven't you already been granted a marriage by His Majesty? You are about to become a Commandery Prince Consort, so it's better to keep a certain distance from me."
Shen Yulou smiled, so it was because of this.
He sat down next to Qin Guiru and said,
"Do you know what 'cheating' means?"
Qin Guiru was startled, then shook her head, "I don't know."
"It roughly means 'the red apricot tree leans over the wall,' but cheating also includes men having affairs."
Qin Guiru frowned, "Why are you telling me this?"
Shen Yulou said, "Before, I had a dream. I dreamt that in my previous life, I was already married. My wife was gentle, beautiful, and well-educated.
One day she asked me, 'If there's a next life, will you still marry me?' I said, 'Of course.'
She asked again, 'But what if in the next life, our fate isn't enough, and you marry someone else?'
I told her, 'If I marry you, I will never cheat in my life.
If I marry someone else, then my cheating partner will be you.'"
After speaking, Shen Yulou stood up, walked over to Qin Guiru, and whispered,
"Do you still remember what happened in the previous life?"
Qin Guiru took a few seconds to react, then finally understood what was going on, and her face instantly turned red.
"You lecher, shameless! What previous life and this life, dreaming those idle dreams!"
Qin Guiru quickly turned away, not daring to look at Shen Yulou with her burning red face.
Every word he said was quite proper, but how could they combine in his mouth to be so shameless?
Shen Yulou stood up, then suddenly stretched his neck and gave Qin Guiru's burning cheek a fleeting kiss.
"Gui Ru, our fate is not something you can just sever."
After speaking, Shen Yulou hummed a tune and walked out.
"You betrayed my love, left me behind..."
Qin Guiru reacted for a few seconds before she came back to her senses.
"Shen Yulou! You're too much, I'll kill you!!!"
Tao Hong walked out of the room and said,
"Gui Ru, what's wrong? What did Lord Shen do to you again?"
Qin Guiru gritted her teeth, "He's about to have a family, and he's still bullying me!"
Qin Guiru recounted what had just happened.
Tao Hong was startled, "What's the big deal? Lord Qin, although you are a female official and different from ordinary women, you are still far below the status of a princess.
Even if Lord Shen marries a princess, he can still take concubines, right? It wouldn't be a grievance for you to be his concubine, would it?"
"Tao Hong, you..."
Qin Guiru was speechless.
"If you want to be a concubine, you go!"
"I wish I could, but I'm not qualified."
Both women's hearts fluttered, and their minds began to fantasize about Shen Yulou marrying them... Shen Yulou unhurriedly arrived at the entrance of Fengyi Palace, performed a set of high-knee raises at the door, then breathlessly knocked on the door.
Xiao Yue opened the door, frowning.
"Lord Shen, why are you only just arriving?"
Shen Yulou gasped for breath. High-knee raises truly exercised the heart and lungs.
"Miss Xiao Yue, after I returned to the palace, I immediately... immediately ran over. The Prince is ill, and I wouldn't dare to be negligent."
Seeing Shen Yulou out of breath, Xiao Yue's expression softened considerably.
"Hurry in and see! The Prince is still running a fever!