I Really Didn't Do Anything

"It's been several days. I've forgotten. It's so late already, let's go to sleep!" Li Hao naturally wouldn't admit to something like that, but he wouldn't deny it, either.

"Shameless." Lin Shiyin had spent so many days with Li Hao that she knew just how shameless he was. What she hadn't expected was that he'd resort to such a despicable trick just to claim her for himself.

She couldn't understand how her upright, peerless-hero of a cousin had ever sworn brotherhood with him.

"It's so late. Stop fooling around. They're all asleep." Lin Shiyin tried to push Li Hao's hand away, but she didn't have much strength.

To Li Hao, Lin Shiyin's gestures clearly meant she wanted to say something but was holding back—she was pretending to resist while secretly welcoming him!

"Shiyin, what did you often eat when you were little? Yi Lin's secretly asked me about it several times."

"What else could I have eaten? Just steamed buns and noodles." Lin Shiyin knew what Li Hao was getting at, and answered with flushed cheeks.

This rascal was always finding some topic to wear down her defenses, making her sink deeper and deeper.

"Just as I thought. Coarse grains really do nourish you!" Li Hao remarked.

"You can't take this one, too. I really have nothing left to wear." Lin Shiyin pressed down on a piece of silk.

She'd been embroidering little undergarments every day lately. Her eyes were nearly going blind from it.

But after she finished one on the first day and washed it, she wore it the next day—and by the third day, it had vanished. If Li Hao had nothing to do with it, she'd eat her hat.

All day long, she was just embroidering, embroidering, embroidering... She never stopped. Why didn't he take Yi Lin's or Sister Ning's? Why always hers?

Waaah... This was too much!

"I only wanted to study Shiyin's handiwork. I really wasn't planning to take it. It's an academic study." Li Hao said frankly, his old face turning red.

As for whether he felt awkward, his principle was that if he didn't feel awkward, then other people would.

Hmph. Still trying to resist? Did she think his maxed-out Skillful Undressing was a joke?

Modern clothes with four or five rows of buttons couldn't defeat his one-handed squeeze. These little things tied with a bow were child's play.

Before long, Lin Shiyin's resistance was barely more than a formality.

"Shiyin, let's get some rest!" Seeing that the time was right, Li Hao didn't dwell on it any longer.

Silence spoke louder than words. There was no point in saying more.

It was early autumn. Frogs still croaked and insects chirped beyond the window, though a faint chill had crept into the air.

"Could you two please stop making so much noise? You're keeping everyone else from resting..." Those two were just too much. They didn't care about disturbing anyone at all.

Yi Lin was carefree and sleeping soundly, but Ning Zhongze had been woken up right from the start.

Ning Zhongze figured Li Hao was doing it on purpose. Otherwise, why would he make such a racket without regard for where they were?

The worst part was, the damn rascal was only using one hand. Did he think he was scratching an itch?!

He was, in a way—an itch of the heart.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Lin Shiyin was mortified and quickly burrowed her head under the covers.

"Dawn's broken. It's time to get up and go exercise." Ning Zhongze said angrily.

"The weather forecast says the weather's bad today, so it's not suitable for outdoor activities. If you want to exercise, you'd better do it indoors." Li Hao smacked his lips.

"Who is this Weather Forecast? What a strange name. And what's indoor exercise?" Ning Zhongze was curious about the weather forecast. That little rascal often used words she'd never heard before.

"You don't need to worry about the weather forecast. You should worry about yourself..."

On the night of the full moon, atop the Forbidden City, a sword flew in from beyond the heavens.

Canhe Manor was designed in the traditional style of Suzhou Gardens. The flowers and trees were arranged with care. There were no mosquitoes in summer and few fallen leaves in winter. Living there filled you with a sense of ease and peace.

On top of that, the quality of sleep there was especially good.

Li Hao slept until around ten in the morning. He was estimating based on his own body clock; in his previous life, he'd been used to sleeping in the morning and writing at night.

"Second Young Master, you're awake." By the time Li Hao woke, Ning Zhongze and the others had been up for ages.

"Mm. Where are they?" Li Hao looked around, but couldn't see Ning Zhongze and the others.

Li Hao was remarkably adaptable. Since everyone at the manor thought he was the Second Young Master, then he might as well be the Second Young Master!

The Murong Family was rich, anyway. Surely it wouldn't hurt to help them spend a little! Who knew? After Murong Fu lost his mind, all that vast fortune might end up being his. Just thinking about it made him happy.

Looks like I'll have to find a chance to kill Murong Fu. Li Hao silently added killing Murong Fu to his agenda.

"Madam and the others went shopping in Gusu City first thing this morning. Don't worry, Second Young Master. Big Brother Deng went with the guards. Nothing will go wrong." A Zhu said casually.

There wasn't a single young master in all of Gusu who dared offend anyone from Canhe Manor.

"And what are you two doing here...?" Li Hao looked at the two maids standing at the entrance with gift boxes in their arms.

"Second Young Master, the chief steward said you've only just returned to the Murong Family, so he asked us to take you to visit your maternal aunt." Little A Bi was quick on the uptake. She'd even beat the other one to the answer.

"My maternal aunt? Who's that?" Li Hao's heart gave a thump. Could the aunt they meant be Madam Wang, Li Qingluo? She was an unparalleled beauty with the looks of a goddess.

Li Qingluo might have been vicious, but Duan Zhengchun had driven her to it. She was a tragic figure, in a way.

"Wait, where's that kid Duan Yu?" Li Hao suddenly asked.

Damn it, make sure that brat stays away from Wang Yuyan. Otherwise, that clingy little pest will never let go.

"Second Young Master, you didn't know?" A Zhu looked at Li Hao in confusion.

"What happened?" Li Hao had left after receiving the illustrated book the previous night. Deng Baichuan had handled everything that came afterward.

"Duan Young Master went crazy this morning for some reason and kept trying to kill himself. He tried jumping into the lake, hanging himself, leaping into a well, and slitting his throat. He tried everything. After Big Brother Deng stopped him, he calmed down. Later, he limped away."

"Second Young Master, what did you do to him last night? The young lord Duan..." A Bi trailed off, looking bashful.

"Hehe, what could I have done? You know I like pretty young girls like you. As for whether Big Brother Deng did anything, I have no idea." Li Hao grinned, putting on the look of a big bad wolf eyeing Little Red Riding Hood.

Deng Baichuan: You don't know what I did? It was all your idea!

"Second Young Master, you're so wicked." A Zhu and A Bi both grew bashful.

Murong Fu was nearly thirty. He was a very refined, elegant gentleman.

But compared to Murong Fu, young girls like A Zhu and A Bi preferred Li Hao's roguish, bad-boy charm.

A lecher isn't a bad person—it's for the sake of the next generation.