Then he chuckled.
"You know it too. I'm a man," he said.
Ye Linger froze for a moment. "So what?"
Zhou Cheng did not answer immediately. He lifted his teacup, took a leisurely sip, and set it down before speaking.
"Suppose-just suppose." He held up one finger. "Someone suddenly handed you ten taels of silver in the street and told you to spend it however you liked. If you accepted, nothing would happen. If you refused, you'd bring a whole heap of trouble down on yourself."
He paused. "Would you take it?"
Ye Linger frowned in thought for a moment, then answered hesitantly:
"I suppose... I would? It's not as if I'd lose anything."
Zhou Cheng nodded, looking pleased that she could be taught.
"Exactly. That's why I'll marry you." He leaned back in his chair, his tone as casual as if he were commenting on the fine weather. "I'm a man. Having three wives and four concubines is perfectly natural. I lose nothing by marrying you."
Ye Linger froze.
It took her three full breaths to understand what he meant.
-She was those ten taels of silver.
She. Was. Those. Ten. Taels. Of. Silver!
[Negative emotions from Ye Linger +233!]
"You-!" Ye Linger slammed her palm onto the table and shot to her feet, trembling with rage. Her pointing finger nearly jabbed his nose. "You-you've gone too far!"
Zhou Cheng raised a hand and gently pushed aside the finger that was almost poking his face, his tone amiable.
"Easy, easy. Of course you're worth far more than ten taels of silver." He paused, his lips curving into an earnest smile. "With your looks and bearing, Miss Linger, you'd fetch at least several thousand taels even at the Drunken Immortal Residence."
Ye Linger's face instantly turned green.
The Drunken Immortal Residence.
A brothel.
He had compared her to a prostitute.
One with a price tag, no less!
She clenched her fists so tightly that the veins at her temples throbbed.
Staring at Zhou Cheng's matter-of-fact expression, she felt an overwhelming urge to punch him in the face.
If she acted, she could do it!
Zhou Cheng's guards were all outside the door. With her current strength at the peak of the sixth rank, flattening that hateful face would take only-
One punch.
But... in the end, she did not dare.
Ye Linger's eyes suddenly reddened, partly from anger, but mostly from hatred of her own cowardice.
"What... what do you take me for?" Her voice trembled, carrying a hurt she could not suppress. "I don't care what you think. I-I don't want to marry you!"
She abruptly raised her head and stared hard at him.
"I want someone devoted to martial arts, someone powerful who shares my ideals! Neither of us wants this, so why can't you go and call off the engagement?"
Zhou Cheng raised an eyebrow.
"You're the one who doesn't want it. I'll ask you again." He stressed each word. "Why don't you go?"
Ye Linger opened her mouth.
"...Of course it's because-"
She faltered.
Zhou Cheng watched her at his leisure, as though enjoying a splendid mime performance.
After struggling for a long while, Ye Linger spoke in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"...I'm a girl."
"Heh."
Zhou Cheng laughed.
His smile was not exactly mocking, yet it embarrassed Ye Linger more than any mockery could.
"So, when all's said and done," he drawled, leaning back in his chair, "the eldest young lady of the Ye Family only picks on easy targets and fears the tough ones. You don't dare ask His Majesty to cancel the engagement yourself, so you came here to try your luck with me."
He paused, the smile fading from his lips.
"I thought Ye Linger of the Ye Family despised evil, had a chivalrous heart, and knew exactly whom she loved and hated. Turns out those were just baseless rumors."
Ye Linger flushed scarlet. "Who-who says so? That's not true!"
Zhou Cheng said nothing.
He simply looked at her.
There was no contempt in his gaze, no mockery, not even much emotion.
Yet that was precisely what made Ye Linger feel she had nowhere to hide her humiliation.
She clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white.
A long silence passed.
"...Fine."
She unclenched her fists, her voice dropping, edged with a bitterness of defeat she had never shown anyone before.
"I admit it. I don't dare ask His Majesty to cancel the engagement."
She paused, then raised her head to meet Zhou Cheng's gaze as though throwing caution to the wind.
"But even if I marry you, I won't let you touch me. Unless, one day-" She enunciated each word. "You can withstand three moves from me."
Zhou Cheng raised an eyebrow.
"Now that's a decent idea."
He sat a little straighter and held up three fingers.
"Three moves, then. If I withstand them, you'll be mine from that day forward. If I can't, whether you want me to call off the engagement myself or agree to some other condition, I'll do it!"
Ye Linger's eyes lit up.
"It's a deal!"
She was terrified that Zhou Cheng might change his mind!
When Zhou Cheng nodded again, she nearly laughed aloud.
She did not believe Zhou Cheng could withstand three of her moves!
She, Ye Linger, had practiced martial arts since childhood. Her talent was extraordinary, and before turning sixteen, she had already reached the peak of the sixth rank, just a hair's breadth from the seventh.
Among all the scions of the Capital's nobility, no one her age could surpass her cultivation!
Zhou Cheng?
It was not that she looked down on him.
Never mind that Zhou Cheng had never practiced martial arts-even if he had trained since childhood, he could not possibly withstand her Great Coffin Splitter at full power!
"Let's find somewhere to spar right now!"
Ye Linger practically sprang up in her eagerness, her ponytail swinging high.
"As you wish."
With that, Zhou Cheng set down his teacup and slowly rose.
He had only just straightened up-
Boom-!!
A deafening crash suddenly erupted outside the window, followed by people shouting and fleeing in a violent commotion.
Chapter 27: Assassination on Ox Pen Street
A quarter of an hour earlier.
A carriage drawn by two blue-maned horses rolled leisurely along the smooth bluestone road in South City, their short steps pattering against the stone.
The wheels rumbled steadily over the paving, and pedestrians ahead moved to either side well in advance when they heard the carriage bells.
There was still some time before his meeting with the Second Prince, so Fan Xian was in no hurry.
Rather than stay cooped up inside the carriage, he and Teng Zijing rode the horses side by side, the empty carriage trailing behind them.
The two chatted intermittently, occasionally taking in the sights along the street.
The carriage passed beneath a towering stone archway. Fan Xian glanced up at it, then instinctively looked at Teng Zijing beside him.
"Why does this street look so familiar?" he asked with a frown, his gaze roaming over the shop signs on either side.
Teng Zijing smiled. "Of course it looks familiar. Isn't this where you beat up Guo Baokun?"
Fan Xian paused, then realization dawned. "No wonder. I didn't recognize it in daylight."
After muttering that, he added, "But what do you mean, I beat up Guo Baokun? We beat up Guo Baokun. I did it for you."
Without even glancing at him, Teng Zijing merely smiled. "Yes, yes, yes. Everything you say is right."
When the expected retort never came, Fan Xian grew puzzled.
"Why do you seem so strange today?" Fan Xian pointed his riding crop at him. "Normally, you only have one expression. What, are you in a good mood today?"
Teng Zijing looked a little embarrassed at his words, but his smile only deepened.
He lowered his eyes, unable to suppress the curve of his lips.
"Last night..." He paused, seemingly weighing his words. "My son called me something."
Fan Xian understood at once, but still asked, "Your son called you something? What did he call you?"
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