At precisely ten in the morning, the sun was shining brightly.
In the remote village of Mingcheng, the vast wheat fields were fully ripened; the plump ears of wheat glistened with a golden hue under the radiant sunlight.
Noon marked the harshest time of the day, and ordinarily, the villagers engaged in agricultural work would have retreated to their homes to rest. However, at this moment, a considerable number of people had gathered outside Qiao Ran’s house, surrounding the golden rice paddies.
Among the onlookers were mostly young girls and middle-aged women.
They had heard that a man named “Da Zhu” had recently arrived in the village. From the looks of it, he was truly handsome, not only tall and well-built but also possessing delicate facial features.
Moreover, “Da Zhu” differed from the rough and unrefined villagers. Although he, too, wore a simple outfit made of coarse cloth, his every movement exuded a refined scholarly charm.
However, the regrettable aspect was that he was a mute who couldn’t speak.
During this period, “Da Zhu” didn’t often appear in the village, except for noon when he would come to help Xiao Jiao, the blind young man, harvest the rice paddies in front of his house. This limited appearance added to the air of mystery surrounding him.
In order to catch a glimpse of him, many people took advantage of the noon break to rush to Qiao Ran’s doorstep, hoping to join in the lively atmosphere.
Hence, at this moment, a crowd had gathered outside Qiao Ran’s rice paddies.
At this moment, He Heng wore a sun-shielding conical hat and held a sickle in his hand. He was cutting the last bundle of rice in the field, swiftly tossing it aside. He then wiped the sweat from his face.
“Da Zhu.”
Just then, a familiar voice echoed from a distance.
He Heng turned toward the sound and saw Qiao Ran, guiding himself with a cane in one hand and carrying a teacup in the other, crossing the dense rice paddies towards him.
Upon seeing this, He Heng immediately set aside his farming tools and walked towards Qiao Ran.
As He Heng approached Qiao Ran, he gently touched the other’s shoulder as usual. Then, Qiao Ran extended the teacup he held, asking, “Do you want some water?”
He Heng naturally reached out, taking the offered teacup. His slender fingers delicately brushed over Qiao Ran’s hand, and he expressed “thank you” in the palm of the blind young man’s hand.
“No need to thank me.”
Qiao Ran smiled at him. Then, as if recalling something, he fumbled in his own clothes and pulled out a clean silk handkerchief.
In the instant when He Heng’s palm had touched him, Qiao Ran felt the perspiration from the other’s palm.
So, holding the handkerchief, Qiao Ran spoke up and asked, “Feeling hot? Have you been sweating a lot? Do you want to wipe it off?”
However, the blind young man couldn’t see and had no sense of direction. Qiao Ran stood there, hand holding the handkerchief, suspended in mid-air, completely unsure of what to do next.
The next moment,
A slender and strong hand gripped his wrist. Unconsciously guided by the other, Qiao Ran took a step forward. Soon, he felt the hand holding the handkerchief against warm skin, and the man’s heated breath brushed against his neck. It seemed as if the distance between them had suddenly shortened.
He Heng, with Qiao Ran’s wrist in his hand, used the handkerchief to gently wipe from his own cheek down his neck to the chest.
His movements appeared casual, but they made the blind young man, holding the handkerchief, tense with anticipation.
Under He Heng’s guidance, Qiao Ran’s fingertips traced the other’s high nose bridge, sharply defined jawline, and the well-defined Adam’s apple, finally stopping at the collarbone.
Although he wasn’t the one doing the farm work, his cheeks felt as if they had been exposed to the sun for half an hour. Even the rhythm of his breathing was disrupted.
While Qiao Ran was still in a daze, He Heng released his wrist and wrote in his palm,
“I’ve finished harvesting this section of the rice paddies.”
This sudden action brought Qiao Ran back to reality. He mumbled, “Oh, good. Thank you.”
Upon hearing this, He Heng wrote a few words in Qiao Ran’s palm, “Wait for me, we’ll go back together.”
With that, he walked over, tossed the remaining bundles of wheat into the car, and naturally took Qiao Ran’s hand, intertwining their fingers. Together, they headed towards the cottage.
Unbeknownst to them, behind a rice paddy, someone was secretly observing their departure through binoculars.
This person wore a sleek white robe, with red ties at the cuffs, and had lustrous black hair tied up into a high ponytail with a hairpiece.
Fu Yunyu had a neutral beauty, but her feminine identity was still easily discernible through her figure.
The moment she lowered her hands, her majestic features, previously obscured by the black binoculars, were revealed. Her narrow phoenix-like eyes seemed to be smiling and not smiling.
Upon seeing this, a guard-like figure immediately approached her and whispered, “Your Highness, what do you think?”
The title “Your Highness” was typically reserved for princes, but Fu Yunyu broke the centuries-old tradition of the Daliang.
Fu Yunyu was referred to as “Your Highness” not because of her status as the eldest princess but because she held military authority and led troops into battle.
Before the current Crown Prince was born, Fu Yunyu had been raised by the Emperor as if she were a prince. Originally, with no male heir, the Emperor saw Fu Yunyu as the guaranteed successor to the throne. However, when she was fourteen, a concubine suddenly gave birth to a prince.
Upon hearing the guard’s words, Fu Yunyu handed the binoculars to him with a cold laugh and remained silent. When she had chosen “He Heng” as her future husband, she had only thought about his humble background, selecting him as a puppet she could easily control. She knew that sooner or later she would have to marry, so why not marry someone she could manipulate.
But who could have thought that this person’s thoughts were so profound?
The cold laugh just now was Fu Yunyu mocking herself. She laughed at herself for not seeing things clearly, for only skimming the surface without delving into the deeper layers of content.
She should have anticipated He Heng’s ambitions when he initially exchanged the mermaid’s eyes for the Emperor’s favor, gradually climbing to his current position. His ambitions were certainly not limited to being a simple “puppet” husband.
Now, as she watched He Heng and the blind young man walk back to the house together, Fu Yunyu thought to herself that this man indeed had some skills. He played his role thoroughly, pretending to be mute – she had to give him credit for coming up with such schemes and carrying them out with a poker face.
Finding another scoundrel of this level would likely be a challenge throughout the entire Daliang.
However, half of the blame for this situation could also be placed on the mermaid’s forgetfulness. After being deceived once, he stood there foolishly, ready to be fooled again.
The reason Fu Yunyu appeared in male attire here can be traced back to half a month ago.
Currently, the Emperor of the Great Liang, Fu Yunyu’s father, Emperor Fu Ting, was deeply engrossed in alchemy, neglecting state affairs. He spent his days listening to the deceitful words of a charlatan royal tutor who was well-versed in supernatural arts.
The idea of land reclamation and dam construction was suggested by that royal tutor. On the surface, the Emperor proclaimed it to be an effort to open up water routes and develop maritime trade. However, in reality, it was for the construction of a platform at sea three months later, allowing the royal tutor to command the elements and summon spirits, aiding the Emperor in achieving immortality sooner.
Aside from these absurd actions, Emperor Fu Ting was obsessed with concocting elixirs for longevity. He neglected his duties daily, spending his time discussing alchemy with the royal tutor.
In reality, the search for precious medicinal herbs was a considerable drain on the treasury. The Emperor’s obsession with alchemy had caused significant financial losses in the Daliang’s national treasury over the years. A substantial portion of the funds was secretly pocketed by that cunning charlatan.
Ministers had tried to advise him over the years, but the Emperor, blinded by the pursuit of immortality, turned a deaf ear to their counsel, allowing himself to be misled by the pursuit of eternal life.
Among the myriad medicinal ingredients prescribed by the royal tutor, the most challenging to obtain was the mermaid’s eyes. It was with the contribution of this medicinal ingredient that “He Heng” was bestowed with his current position as a third-ranking local official by the old Emperor.
Due to the Emperor’s prolonged immersion in alchemical activities and exposure to toxic metallic substances, his health had severely deteriorated. Sustained only by a breath of “immortal energy,” Fu Yunyu had long plotted to launch a coup once the old Emperor passed away, seizing power from her half-brother, whom she regarded as useless.
However, half a month ago, an inexplicable event occurred within the palace, disrupting all her plans.
On a particular day half a month ago, the Crown Prince accidentally fell into the water during an outing and, after being rescued, fell into a prolonged feverish coma. When the entire royal physicians’ office was at a loss, even preparing for the funeral, he miraculously woke up on his own.
Moreover, after this unexpected incident, Crown Prince Fu Yunwei underwent a sudden and drastic change in temperament, as if he were a different person.
Fu Yunyu knew her half-brother very well. Fu Yunwei was originally cruel, indulgent, and extravagant, yet weak-willed and indecisive. He was accustomed to reveling in drinking and horse riding, showing no interest in governance.
However, after that near-drowning incident, he transformed into a somber figure, suppressing his once fierce nature. Overnight, he became very close to the royal tutor, and together, they intensified their influence over the old Emperor, urging him to expedite the alchemical process with cunning counsel.
Moreover, his words and actions exuded an eerie atmosphere. One day, out of the blue, he addressed her as “Princess,” and soon after, even his handwriting changed.
Fu Yunwei’s series of actions set off alarm bells in Fu Yunyu’s mind. All signs indicated that he was covertly vying for the throne against her.
Nevertheless, regardless of the circumstances, Fu Yunyu’s determination to seize the throne was unwavering. When foreign invaders attacked years ago, she led the army to repel them. She could not afford to hand over the throne to someone who was indulgent, neglectful of state affairs. She couldn’t bear to witness the downfall of the Daliang under such a person.
Even though there was no precedent for a female emperor in the Daliang’s history, rules were created by humans and not inherently present in nature.
Moreover, if Fu Yunwei were to become the Emperor, how could he allow the presence of such a time bomb as her?
To prevent potential dangers, she had been secretly monitoring his every move.
Initially, Fu Yunwei displayed nothing unusual. However, recently, he unexpectedly advised the old Emperor, claiming that the elixir for immortality was about to be completed. The only missing ingredient was the mermaid oil extracted from the mermaid, and this specific ingredient had to come from the same mermaid whose eyes were used for the elixir.
Under this pretext, Fu Yunwei sent numerous spies into Mingcheng. According to reports from Fu Yunyu’s own informants, the targets of these spies were directed towards the highest-ranking local official in Mingcheng and her husband – He Heng.
Therefore, Fu Yunyu suspected collusion between He Heng and Fu Yunwei in the shadows. She believed that they had united to target her under the pretext of obtaining mermaid oil.
In order to uncover the truth behind this matter, she changed into casual clothes and rushed to Mingcheng overnight to investigate.
However, as soon as Fu Yunyu arrived in Mingcheng today, she witnessed the scene of He Heng using a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off the blind young man.
In her mind, she muttered,
‘Scumbag! What a scumbag. Unbelievable. Digging out people’s eyes and then pretending to be mute to deceive others emotionally. I wonder if he can sleep at night.’
Fu Yunyu wasn’t someone who liked to meddle in others’ affairs, but this situation was something she couldn’t ignore. Throughout history, the heartless characters and unfaithful lovers in fictional novels couldn’t compare to the infuriating individual in front of her.
Even though the blind young man no longer had eyes, she still wanted him to see clearly what kind of person “Da Zhu” truly was.
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