Nine out of ten gamblers lose; I've run into a jerk!

Chapter 43 The Dust Settles

After listening to Du Zhong's vivid report, Shen Che raised his hand and frowned. He had only been gone for half a day, and his third sister had already caused such a mess!

He glared at Shen Qing, who was awkwardly chuckling to himself while touching his nose, and then closed his eyes to think.

If it were just a simple matter of bringing back a courtesan from the Invitation Moon Pavilion, it could be explained to outsiders as a young man's infatuation, and a small reward could be given to send her away and the matter could be easily dismissed. But judging from this, it seems that Third Sister is planning to smuggle someone out of the country into the delegation.

Ordinary people are one thing, but Du Zhong had also heard about this person's reputation. He was involved with most of the top nobles in Qi Kingdom, so he was definitely not a good person.

The mission came for peace between the two countries. If word got out, it would be easy for people to use it as an opportunity to attack them. In fact, Revlon's appearance was a setup by someone.

"Send them back." Shen Che opened his eyes and made the decision.

"Thud—" The tray landed on the ground, and a cup rolled to Shen Che's feet.

Everyone in the room turned to look at the door, where they saw a woman looking at them with a helpless expression, her misty eyes filled with tears as she apologized repeatedly.

"I apologize, but I only came to pay my respects upon hearing of your return, Lord Shaoqing."

"It's all my fault for being so clumsy... If I've bothered you, I'll leave now."

With that, he turned to leave.

"and many more!"

Shen Qing called out to her, quickly walked up to her, and said worriedly, "Princess Jiahe's people are still looking for you. If you go out, aren't you just sending yourself to the wolves?"

Lu Huanong bit her lower lip, tears welling up but not falling, her voice as melodious as a forest breeze, "The delegation has come for the sake of diplomatic relations between our two countries, and I cannot cause you any trouble, my lord."

Shen Che's attitude softened as he said, "The delegation will stay in Qidu for a few more days. You can hide there for a while. If you find a benefactor you can ask for help, I can send someone to deliver a message for you."

Shen Che thought that with so many patrons of Lu Huanong, there must be some willing to protect her, so sending a message wouldn't be difficult.

Lu Huanong shook her head, gazing at a pear tree in the courtyard, her voice mournful and melodious, "Beauty fades before favor ends; how can one serve another with beauty for long?"

Heaven and earth seemed to feel the sorrow of the beautiful woman; suddenly a gust of wind arose, and pear blossoms fluttered down, creating a desolate and lonely picture of the beautiful woman.

Even Du Zhong felt a pang of pity, reflecting on whether he had been too harsh on people. Shen Qing narrowed his eyes, wondering what kind of prop this was.

In the end, Lu Huanong stayed at the post station for the time being. Shen Che thought that perhaps Princess Jiahe was just acting impulsively and would stop shouting for violence after a few days. He also wanted to take this time to see if there were any other influential people who could step in to mediate. Even if most men are cold-hearted, there must be one or two who have a little bit of sincerity.

Shen Qing is working so hard to keep this dangerous person around because he doesn't want to easily let go of this rare research subject. Whether or not to smuggle him out of Qi is still undecided. He will observe him for the next few days.

This created a strange situation. Lu Huanong's original intention was to get closer to Shen Che so that he would fall in love with her and achieve her goal. However, Shen Qing would chat with her from time to time, interfering with her actions.

Du Zhong felt a pang of sympathy. If he didn't know Shen Qing was a woman, he would have thought he was blinded by lust... Wait! Who says women can't be with other women! He couldn't help but shudder and get goosebumps when he thought of some of the romantic secrets of the upper nobility.

For the past few days, Du Zhong had always seemed hesitant to speak whenever he saw Shen Qing, leading Shen Qing to wonder if the young man had taken a liking to him. He secretly sighed, "My charm is truly irresistible!"

Lu Huanong was speechless at Shen Qing's constant pestering of her sister. If it weren't for the system showing that her favorability rating was still 0, she would have thought that Shen Qing liked her a lot!

Faced with Shen Qing's impressive acting skills, Lu Huanong couldn't help but feel wary. She had also discussed it with the system in private. Since Shen Qing disliked her so much, why didn't he just kick her out? Did he want to kidnap her? But the other party didn't seem to be short of money.

This matter has been a thorn in Lu Huanong's side. She can see the influence Shen Qing has on Shen Che. If this hidden danger is not dealt with soon, it may hinder her subsequent plans.

Thinking about it, Shen Qing's initial level of goodwill towards her was 80%, but it dropped to zero after listening to Du Zhong's words. It's normal for an ordinary woman to feel disgusted after hearing her reputation. Now that the root of the problem has been found, all that's needed is to treat the symptoms.

On this day, Shen Qing chatted with Lu Huanong again, and when asked why she didn't find a husband to settle down with, she told a story that was different from Du Zhong's version.

"My dear Sanlang, you may not know, but I come from a merchant family and have long been disgusted by money. I prefer the life of a scholar."

Shen Qing nodded in agreement. He was the same in his previous life; he didn't like doing business and went to work in the entertainment industry instead.

"Later, my father, coveting wealth and status, sent me to the palace to be selected as a concubine, but..." Lu Hua lowered her voice, "His Majesty is nearly fifty years old, and I really..."

Shen Qing understood; since ancient times, Chang'e has loved young men.

"Besides, I have always admired the second son of the Yuan family. He did not abandon me because I am from a merchant family. I threatened to kill myself to make my father give up the idea and agree to the Yuan family's marriage proposal."

The beginning of the story wasn't too different, so Shen Qing couldn't help but ask, "And then what happened?"

Lu Hua frowned as if lost in sorrowful reminiscence, “When I went to the temple with my mother to offer incense, I was taken aback by the heir of the Marquis of Dingbei and became obsessed with him. I refused to yield and told him that my future husband was also an official of the court. I never expected that this would bring disaster upon Erlang.”

Tears streamed down her face, the emotions they expressed seemed genuine.

"Erlang was the most outstanding child in the Yuan family. After suffering such a great calamity, the Yuan family had no hope of restoring its former glory. Seeing that there was no profit to be made, my father forcibly broke off the engagement."

Lu Hua said with deep resentment, "How can I not avenge such a deep-seated hatred! But I am weak and have only my body to use. From then on, I was unable to stop myself and fell into prostitution against my will."

The subsequent developments were pretty much as Du Zhong had predicted. Shen Qing pondered it and found that there were no logical problems; in fact, this version was even more reasonable than what Du Zhong had said.

If Shen Qing hadn't already known that Lu Huanong had a strategy system, she might have actually believed this explanation.

A clever lie is often seven parts truth and three parts falsehood. Shen Qing watched Lu Huanong wipe away her tears, and he realized that this involuntary situation was probably true, much like the consequences of being bound to the system that he had initially anticipated. He couldn't help but feel pity for her.

[Favorability 60%]

As the system notification popped into her mind, Lu Huanong secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as Shen Qing was offering words of comfort, a commotion arose outside the door. Worried that it might be Princess Jiahe or someone from Yaoyue Tower coming to visit, she told Lu Huanong to hide inside while she went out to check.

When Shen Qing arrived at the entrance of the post station, he learned that it was Emperor Qi who was announcing the appointment of a crown prince and posting an imperial edict to inform the world.

Squeezing forward, I saw the notice that read: "The third son of the Emperor, Jingchuan, is the legitimate heir of the Empress of the Great Qi Dynasty. By the will of Heaven, in accordance with the initial edict, the rites, and the public sentiment, I hereby solemnly inform Heaven, the ancestral temple, and the state that I hereby bestow upon him the imperial seal and establish him as the Crown Prince, to be placed in the Eastern Palace. This is hereby proclaimed to the world so that all may know."