Quick Wear Dream Qiqi

Chapter 436: Training the Prodigal Son 6

She gritted her teeth and turned her head away, but Zhao Chengye pinched her chin and turned her head back. When their eyes met, she saw an unprecedented passion and... tension in those eyes that were always playful?

Everything happened too suddenly.

When Meng Qiqi came to her senses, Zhao Chengye had already turned over and lay on his side, his heavy breathing gradually subsiding.

She looked at the intricate patterns on the tent ceiling and complained silently in her heart: He was said to be the best playboy in the capital, how come he is now... all good-looking but useless?

Zhao Chengye turned his head to look at her red eyes and messy hair, and his Adam's apple rolled.

He reached out to tidy up the loose hair on her forehead, but Meng Qiqi turned her head away.

"Does it hurt?" His voice softened rarely, his fingertips hanging in the air, not daring to drop them.

Seeing Meng Qiqi didn't answer, he laughed at himself and said, "I'll have someone send some blood-activating medicine tomorrow..."

"No need to be so hypocritical!" Meng Qiqi pulled the quilt up to wrap herself, curled up with her back to him, "Zhao Chengye, you'd better stay away from me!"

In the darkness, Zhao Chengye stared at her slightly trembling back, feeling an inexplicable pain in his heart.

He sighed softly, reached out to tuck the corner of the quilt for her, then put on his clothes and stood up.

Before leaving, she turned back to look at the figure on the couch. The moonlight sprinkled on her scattered black hair, like an unfinished ink painting.

Only after the door closed again did Meng Qiqi slowly open her eyes.

She touched her hot cheeks, and suddenly felt upset when she thought of Zhao Chengye's last gentle look.

The sound of the night watchman's clapper came from outside the window. She turned over and buried her face in the pillow - this playboy would be even more difficult to deal with in the future.

Less than half an incense stick of time after Zhao Chengye left, the wooden door was gently pushed open again.

Meng Qiqi was already feeling sleepy, but she suddenly woke up when she heard familiar footsteps approaching.

His warm body pressed against her back, and his cool nose brushed against the tip of her red ear. The man's hoarse voice, tinged with the lingering smell of alcohol, said, "Madam, you smell like me. Sleeping alone...it's easy to catch a cold."

Meng Qiqi's whole body was tense, and a slight tremor came from the back of her neck.

She could clearly feel Zhao Chengye's arms tightening around her waist, and through the thin nightgown, a hot and hard thing was pressing against her lower back.

"Zhao Chengye!" She gritted her teeth, "You..."

"Don't move." Zhao Chengye suddenly groaned, his hot breath spraying on her collarbone, "Move again... I really..."

His voice stopped abruptly, and the low moan that escaped from his throat was a bit hoarse from suppressed endurance.

Meng Qiqi froze in place, her cheeks flushed red, her mind ablaze with chaotic thoughts—this scoundrel! Hadn't he already left? Why was he still...

The night was as thick as ink, but the air inside the gauze tent became increasingly hot.

Meng Qiqi counted her own violent heartbeats, and the numbing feeling from Zhao Chengye's light pecks on the back of her neck spread down her spine.

She clutched the corner of the quilt, her nails almost digging into her palms: "How long are you going to make this fuss?"

"A lifetime." Zhao Chengye murmured vaguely, his hot palm slowly moving up through the cloth.

Meng Qiqi couldn't stand it any longer, and the accumulated strength suddenly burst out, raising her leg and kicking back fiercely! There was a dull thud, accompanied by Zhao Chengye's exclamation, and the man fell hard to the cold blue brick ground.

The house fell into an eerie silence.

Meng Qiqi wrapped herself tightly in the quilt and sat up. In the moonlight, she saw Zhao Chengye lying on the ground in a mess, his long black hair scattered in front of his forehead, and his moon-white shirt wrinkled into a ball.

He blinked blankly at first, then looked down following Meng Qiqi's burning gaze, and suddenly froze in place - the tent erected high somewhere in his clothes was particularly dazzling in the moonlight.

"You...you are a hooligan!" Meng Qiqi grabbed the soft pillow beside her and threw it at him. The tip of her ear was so red that it almost bled.

Zhao Chengye frantically pulled the quilt over his lower body, his handsome face flushed red, and his usual playful tone was gone. "I... this is a normal reaction!"

"Get out!" Meng Qiqi picked up the inkstone on the table and pretended to smash it. "If you dare to step into this room again, I will..."

Her threat came to an abrupt end because Zhao Chengye suddenly laughed out loud.

The man leaned against the bedpost, his hair falling to hide the red corners of his eyes. His low, hoarse laughter carried a hint of despair. "Madam, are you angry and embarrassed? Fine, I'm leaving."

He deliberately staggered as he stood up, pretending his legs were weak as he moved towards the door.

Before leaving, he turned back and gave her a half-smile: "But Madam, please think carefully - if you kick me out of bed again next time, I will really..."

Before he could finish his words, the door was slammed shut.

Meng Qiqi collapsed on the bed, covering her burning face with the quilt.

The moonlight outside the window had become hazy at some point, and the sound of the night watchman striking the fourth watch could be heard in the distance.

She stared at the ceiling in a daze, Zhao Chengye's hoarse breathing and scoundrel teasing still echoing in her ears.

This damn playboy had messed up her life!

But why, when I think of the panicked look on his face as he fell to the ground and tried to cover himself up, a secret sense of pleasure welled up in my heart?

…………

After Zhao Chengye slammed the door and left, Meng Qiqi tossed and turned in bed for a long time.

She pulled the quilt over her head, muttering, "What kind of dandy is this in the capital? He's nothing but a shameless scoundrel! He looks like a decent person, but he's so unreliable when it comes to his work..."

As he cursed, he thought of the ridiculous things that happened last night. His whole face turned red and he couldn't help but punch the pillow a few times.

The next morning, when Chuntao came into the house with water for washing her face, she saw that her young lady had two dark circles under her eyes and her hair was a mess like a bird's coop.

"Miss, you look so pale, are you sick?" Chuntao reached out to touch her forehead, but Meng Qiqi pushed her away.

"It's okay!" Meng Qiqi quickly finished washing up and combed her hair in front of the mirror.

The person in the mirror still had an abnormal blush on his cheeks. Thinking back to the scene last night when Zhao Chengye kicked him in anger, he couldn't help but mutter, "Useless thing, how dare you come back to pester me..."

She was sulking here when suddenly there was a noise outside.

Chun Tao lifted the curtain and took a look. She immediately ran back in a panic: "Miss! Young Master Zhao sent a lot of things over. Silks, satins, and jewelry filled the whole yard. He also said... he also said he would hire a chef to cook Jiangnan cuisine for you!"

The wooden comb in Meng Qiqi's hand fell onto the table with a "bang".

She looked through the window and saw the servants of the Duke's Mansion busy moving things. Zhao Chengye was leaning against the gate. When he saw her appear, he immediately smiled brightly and raised the food box in his hand: "Madam, would you like to try some freshly baked osmanthus cake?"

"Who wants to eat your food!" Meng Qiqi turned around and left, but she was worried in her heart.

Has this prodigal son changed his nature?

I kicked you off the bed last night, and now you're trying to please me today?

Are you up to some new trick?

In the next few days, Zhao Chengye was like a plaster that couldn't be thrown away.

When Meng Qiqi was walking in the garden, he held a birdcage and said he wanted to teach her how to raise a thrush; when she was reading in the house, he held an account book and said he wanted to learn how to do accounting from her.

One time, Meng Qiqi deliberately hid in the kitchen, and soon saw Zhao Chengye wearing an apron and holding a spatula from outside: "Madam, I will cook for you myself. Would you like to try the sweet and sour fish I made?"

Looking at the charred fish pieces on the plate, Meng Qiqi couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Zhao Chengye came over shamelessly and said, "It's good that you smiled. Smiling means you are not angry with me anymore."

He suddenly lowered his voice and whispered in her ear, "Madam, didn't you dislike me the other day? Why don't you give me another chance to prove myself tonight?"

Meng Qiqi's face flushed red, and she grabbed the rag on the table and threw it at him: "Zhao Chengye! Do you still have any shame?"

Looking at the man's back as he dodged away with a playful smile, she bit her lip and turned around, feeling inexplicably expectant.

But at this moment, she didn't know that this man, whom she once despised as "good-looking but useless", would really take countless days and nights to make her completely change her mind.

----

In the golden autumn of October, the ginkgo leaves inside the palace walls turn golden yellow.

Meng Qiqi leaned on the beauty couch in the west courtyard of the Duke's Mansion, listening to Chuntao retelling the news she had heard from the vendor at the palace gate. Her fingertips unconsciously stroked the rim of the cup, and suddenly she chuckled, causing ripples in the Biluochun in the cup.

"Just a beauty position?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at the swaying bamboo shadows outside the courtyard. "The daughter of the prime minister tried so hard to get close to the rich and powerful, but in the end she only got a lowly ninth-rank position?"

Chun Tao handed over the freshly peeled grapes and lowered her voice, "I heard that on the day of the selection, Miss Meng danced to 'Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Coat', but the eunuch beside His Majesty said that her dance was 'beautiful but lacked the royal bearing'. His Majesty is already old, and there are many newcomers in the harem..."

Before he finished speaking, hurried footsteps were suddenly heard outside the yard.

Zhao Chengye strode into the courtyard with big strides. His dark brocade robe was still covered with dust, and it was obvious that he had just returned from outside.

He dropped the reins and walked straight to Meng Qiqi, his handsome face showing a rare solemnity. "News came from the palace. This morning, while the Ministry of Internal Affairs was shopping, someone saw Meng Wanqing kneeling outside the Imperial Garden. Her forehead was bleeding, just to ask for an audience with His Majesty."

Meng Qiqi paused holding the grapes and looked up at Zhao Chengye: "Why is she doing this? Although a beauty's rank is low, she is still the emperor's woman after all."

"Of course she's unwilling to accept this." Zhao Chengye pulled a chair over and sat down, casually picking up a grape from the table and popping it into his mouth. "I heard the new Consort Xian is a great dancer, and her performance of 'Jinghong' surpassed all the other beauties, making her the most favored by the Emperor. I'm afraid Meng Wanqing is getting anxious, trying to pull off her old tricks to win back His Majesty's attention."

He suddenly leaned in close, his warm breath brushing against her ear, "Why, Madam, don't you find it interesting?"

Meng Qiqi turned her head away, but couldn't help imagining Meng Wanqing kneeling and begging in embarrassment.

The daughter of the emperor who once acted so high and mighty in the prime minister's residence was now nothing more than a speck of dust that was trampled upon by anyone in the cruel harem.

She put down her teacup, stood up, and walked to the corridor. "The intrigues and struggles in the harem are even more exciting than what's played on the stage."

Zhao Chengye looked at her back, a smile flashing in his eyes.

Ever since the ridiculous farce that night, he liked seeing her calm and composed yet sharp look more and more.

Just as he was thinking about it, a servant came from outside to report: "Master, someone from the palace has come to announce the emperor's invitation to the Duke's Mansion for a banquet tomorrow!"

When Meng Qiqi turned around, she happened to meet Zhao Chengye's meaningful gaze.

Both of them understood that at this palace banquet, someone might want to use Meng Wanqing as an excuse to embarrass the Duke's Mansion.