The Frigid Li Wan: Dry Firewood Meets Raging Flames; Infatuated Baoyu Stuns the Whole Room

Li Wan was feeling restless and uneasy when she suddenly sensed a gaze roaming over her. She instinctively looked up, only to meet Sun Shaozong's eagle-vulture eyes head-on.

Her heart immediately began pounding wildly. She hurriedly lowered her lovely head to her chest, cursing that reckless Jia Lian a thousand times over.

Seeing the embarrassment and annoyance on Li Wan's face, Sun Shaozong instantly realized something was amiss. He hurriedly shifted his gaze back to Granny Jia and put on a look of utmost deference for the plump, kindly old lady.

By then, Granny Jia had someone bring her Tortoiseshell Glasses. Holding the frames, she scrutinized Sun Shaozong for a moment longer, then clicked her tongue in praise. "Truly a young general of extraordinary valor. No wonder you held off so many salt bandits on the river—tell me, you are both descendants of meritorious families, so why are all the children of our Rongguo Mansion so delicate and bookish?"

Once Old Madam started talking, she found it hard to stop, and sighed casually, "Studying hard and striving to advance is all well and good, but if one's body is not sturdy, then even if one achieves success for a time, how can it last?"

Those words struck straight into Li Wan's heart. Never mind her husband, who had died young—her son Jia Lan was forever falling ill as well. If one day...

At the mere thought, she felt ice-cold to the marrow.

"Granny!"

Jia Lian had been eager to show off all along. Seizing the opening, he said with a grin, "You are underestimating Second Master here. He does not merely have a fine physique—he can solve bizarre cases too!"

"I've heard, I've heard."

Granny Jia lightly patted the Rosewood Kang Table and grinned. "Someone told me long ago about 'Captain Sun Solves a Strange Case in Half a Day, Chancellor Ruan Recognizes a Talent with Keen Eyes.' They even turned it into a little tune and sing it everywhere."

Jia Lian puffed out his chest proudly. "What your grandson is about to tell you isn't that old tale, but something fresh that I saw with my own eyes!"

With that, he recounted in detail how Sun Shaozong had taken office as Shuntian Prefecture's Vice Prefect and been called in to investigate the naked corpse case. The women throughout the room gasped in amazement, only then realizing that this fierce man, built like an iron pagoda, possessed a mind of exquisite ingenuity as well.

Stories like these could previously only be found in old tales, but how could they compare to Jia Lian's firsthand account, told so vividly?

Even Li Wan found herself engrossed before she knew it.

When she heard how Sun Shaozong had followed the faintest clues, step by step pinning down Nine-Fingered Jade Phoenix, only to refuse credit and depart with casual grace, she found him even more extraordinary—just this worldly wisdom in dealing with others was something few of Jia Manor's many men could match.

Unable to resist, she raised her head again to study Sun Shaozong's appearance.

Who would have thought that, seeing Jia Lian recount the tale with such animation, treating him as nothing more than a prop for bragging, Sun Shaozong had grown terribly bored and was secretly looking at Li Wan as well? Their four eyes met once more!

Both froze.

Then Sun Shaozong smiled awkwardly. Li Wan immediately lowered her lovely head as if shocked by lightning, yet for some reason, Sun Shaozong's powerful, towering figure filled her mind, and improper thoughts rose in her heart: If my dead husband had possessed such a strong body, would I still have needed to worry about my son dying young?

Then she thought again: if Jia Zhu had truly possessed such a physique, how could he have died so early, leaving her all alone to sleep by herself night after night?

Whatever one lacks in life is what one's heart cares about most—when faced with pretty young gentlemen like Jia Lian and Baoyu, Li Wan had always remained as still as water. Yet at the sudden sight of a rough man like Sun Shaozong, her heartstrings had somehow been plucked in confusion.

In a daze, a scene from the passionate days of her newlywed life abruptly surfaced in her mind: husband and wife entwined in joyful union. The groom's face was still Jia Zhu's, but his body had become one as powerful and imposing as Sun Shaozong's...

Amitabha!

Li Wan hurriedly murmured the Buddha's name, struggling to drive the Evil Thoughts from her heart.

Yet she ordinarily suppressed her natural human desires with scriptures, and who knew how much dry firewood had accumulated in her heart? Now that a fire had suddenly erupted in the old house, how could it possibly be doused so easily?

The more she recited the Buddhist scriptures, the more she felt a wave of heat rise from her lower belly, burning hot as it stirred her heart. After a moment, even Jia Zhu's face in her mind grew blurred, leaving only that powerful, towering figure...

"Second Brother, you truly have no sense of loyalty!"

Just then, someone outside the door uttered a half-serious, half-playful complaint. The Shu Brocade door curtain was lifted, and a youth fair as carved jade burst in. The instant he spoke, the red embroidered ball atop his purple-gold crown began bobbing wildly, making him look both impish and festive.

He complained, "With such strange and marvelous happenings, why did you not think to invite me along to see them?!"

As he spoke, those glossy black eyes, bright as stars, circled only around Sun Shaozong, brimming with curiosity.

Seeing his red robe and jade belt, and that he was dressed even more extravagantly than Jia Lian, Sun Shaozong guessed that the newcomer must be Jia Baoyu, protagonist of Dream of the Red Chamber. He focused his gaze on him, only to discover that this noble young prince had a vivid smear of rouge on his lips—the sort only women used. He could not help but stare.

Could the reason Dream of the Red Chamber became a tragic love story actually be because this guy was gay?!

With that thought, Sun Shaozong no longer quite dared to meet Baoyu's probing gaze directly.

"Who did I think it was? So it is you, you clever little monkey, eavesdropping outside!"

Granny Jia beamed and beckoned. "Quick, quick, quick—come warm yourself over here. In weather this cold, aren't you afraid of freezing your body standing outside?"

Baoyu answered with a giggle, but did not hurry over. Instead, he stepped up beside Sun Shaozong and cupped his hands in greeting. "You must be Second Brother Sun, then? No wonder Sister Rong gave you her heart. You truly are not like the common muddy rabble!"

Since he had been with Daiyu, he had naturally met Ruan Rong as well.

Seeing that he was only thirteen or fourteen, and that his sexual orientation was highly questionable, Sun Shaozong did not take it too seriously.

Just as he was about to return the greeting, Baoyu unexpectedly bowed deeply again. "This is my first time meeting Second Brother Sun. There is an unreasonable request I should not raise, but if I keep it bottled up inside, Baoyu will feel truly miserable. I fear I can only presume upon you, Brother."

An unreasonable request?

Sun Shaozong assumed Baoyu wanted him to remember to bring him along the next time he investigated a case. Shaking his head, he smiled. "If you want to come watch me investigate cases, I do not dare agree carelessly—the scene of a murder is bloody. If it frightens you, I will not be able to answer to Old Dowager here."

At the side, Jia Lian also pulled a stern face. "You are such a little thing—how could you bear to see such bloody scenes? That corpse today, for instance, had no fewer than dozens of cuts slashed across its face. It looked even more savage than the evil ghosts in City God Temple!"

But Baoyu merely shook his head with a smile. "That is not what I wish to ask."

With that, he bowed all the way to the ground once more and said earnestly, "I only beg Second Brother Sun not to betray a young lady's wholehearted sincerity. Quickly abandon that wretched official post, so that you and Sister Rong may become a pair of carefree immortal lovers together!"

It has been quite a few chapters since I last asked for bookmarks. Today is my first time getting recommended, so I will shamelessly ask for bookmarks and recommendations.