#58 - The villain also has a childhood sweetheart?
Chapter 58: The Villain Also Has a Childhood Sweetheart?
The silence in the room lasted for several breaths before the burly man broke it with an awkward laugh, saying to smooth things over:
“Hahaha, Qiner and I haven’t been back to the capital for three years. It’s normal that virtuous nephew Changtian didn’t recognize us right away.”
“Haha! That’s right, after all, a girl changes a lot in eighteen years!”
Wei Xianzhi laughed along while frantically winking at Wei Changtian.
Wei Changtian didn't hesitate. He immediately understood and put on an expression of utter surprise, blurting out to the woman, "You're Qiner?!"
The woman tilted her head slightly, her large almond-shaped eyes glancing at Wei Changtian: "Changtian-ge才 just remembered?"
“No, Qiner! You really can’t blame me for not recognizing you!”
Wei Changtian loudly protested without hesitation: "How did you become so beautiful? Compared to when you left a few years ago, it's like you've become a different person!"
“So, I wasn’t good-looking before?”
The woman still looked askance, but she didn't seem angry anymore.
Indeed, complimenting a woman on her beauty is never wrong.
Wei Changtian quickly waved his hands: "Of course you were good-looking before, it’s just that you’re even more good-looking now."
“Hmph!”
The woman snorted softly, looking at Wei Changtian with a touch of emotion: "Changtian-ge, you're different than before too."
“Is that so? How am I different?”
“You weren’t so glib before.”
“Hahaha, I’m not being glib, I’m just speaking from the heart.”
Wei Changtian gave a guilty laugh, but the woman didn't say anything, just staring at him with her big eyes.
They stared at each other for a long time. Just when Wei Changtian was starting to feel uneasy and almost thought he had revealed something, the woman called Qiner finally lowered her eyes and softly spat out:
“I don’t believe it…”
… …
After a long separation, there were naturally many things to talk about.
After that, Wei Xianzhi and the other two kept reminiscing about the past. Wei Changtian could only sit there and listen, at most occasionally echoing with a few meaningless words like “That’s right!”, “So nostalgic!”, “Of course I remember.”
However, after listening for a long time, he roughly understood the identities of these two people.
Not the kind of mixing that involves debauchery, but the kind of mixing that involves socializing.
Apart from not being able to visit brothels together, the two of them had basically done all sorts of bad things together, and were once known as the "Male and Female Fiends" in the capital.
It was a pity that three years ago, Liang Zhen took up the post of General of Shu Prefecture, and also brought Liang Qin with him. The Male and Female Fiends were disbanded from then on.
The border garrison general had to return to the capital every three years to report on his duties. This time, the two of them came back for this reason.
“Brother Liang, when do you plan to see the Emperor?”
Wei Xianzhi refilled Liang Zhen’s cup of tea and said with a smile, “If it doesn’t work, tell the Emperor and transfer back to the capital. There are no battles to fight these days. At most, you’ll be suppressing bandits and killing demons in Shu Prefecture. What’s the point?”
“Ah, I want to come back.
Liang Zhen sighed: "But there are no vacancies for real positions in the capital now. It's better to stay in Shu Prefecture and be a mountain king. It's pretty good."
“Haha, you can be your mountain king if you want. I won’t persuade you.”
Wei Xianzhi laughed twice, glanced at Liang Qin, and then said: "But I can't let you delay Qiner's important matters."
“Although Shu Prefecture is rich, it’s mostly landlords and wealthy merchants, with few prominent families. Why don’t you leave Qiner in the capital this time? I’ll help you find a suitable match for her!”
“Ah, it would be nice if she was willing to stay. This girl is very fond of Shu Prefecture now.”
Liang Zhen continued to sigh, but his eyes vaguely looked at Wei Changtian: "As for the matter of getting married... there's no rush. We still have a month before we return to Shu Prefecture. Maybe this matter will be settled by then."
“Hahaha, that’s right!”
Wei Xianzhi stroked his palm and smiled, the meaning being self-evident.
The four chatted for a while, agreed to have dinner together that night, and then Liang Zhen and his daughter bid farewell and left.
Wei Changtian was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief at this time, and finally started talking to Wei Xianzhi about serious matters.
“Dad, Xiao Feng has hooked up with the Liu family.”
“What? Tell me in detail…”
“…”
In order to arouse Wei Xianzhi's enough attention, Wei Changtian basically revealed all the information this time.
However, he didn't mention that Yang Liushi was a fox demon.
As for how he conquered Yang Liushi to be used by him... that was naturally because of his handsome appearance and world-shocking poetic talent.
After some conversation, Wei Xianzhi did take this matter very seriously and immediately agreed to send people from the Suspended Mirror Division, and even personally take action to help Wei Changtian complete the plan to counter-kill Xiao Feng.
As for the Liu family's side, because he didn't know the other party's specific actions yet, all he could do for the time being was to be vigilant and prepare for a counterattack.
… …
The Wei and Liang families' dinner was held at the Wei residence.
Because Wei Changtian had specially asked Wang Er in the afternoon to cram some "relevant knowledge", he was finally able to say a few words during the dinner, so he wouldn't be as ignorant as he was during the day.
The atmosphere was pleasant, the food was delicious, and Liang Zhen's wife was big... that was his entire feeling about this meal.
Besides that, it was the elders of both families hinting at a match between them.
Wei Changtian was honestly not very interested in this.
Liang Qin was undoubtedly extremely beautiful among ordinary women, but compared to his current women... not to mention Yang Liushi, even Lu Jingyao and Xu Qingwan couldn't compare.
What's more, she never appeared in the novel at all.
After eating, the group moved to the hall to drink tea and chat, talking about nothing more than the two families' mutually helpful "beautiful memories".
Wei Changtian felt so sleepy after listening for a while that he kept pouring tea into his mouth.
Liang Qin, who was sitting next to him, hesitated for a while, then suddenly asked softly: "Changtian-ge, will you accompany me for a walk?"
“Oh, okay.”
After all, they were "childhood sweethearts", so Wei Changtian didn't refuse.
The two greeted everyone and walked out of the room, strolling aimlessly in the Wei residence side by side.
The night sky wasn't very dark. The moonlight and starlight sprinkled white light through the gaps in the leaves, which made Wei Changtian think of a poem—the moon shines brightly where the wutong tree is missing.
Of course, he wouldn't be so insane as to recite this poem to show off, but just walked slowly.
Liang Qin followed silently beside him, not knowing what she was thinking in her mind.
The two walked like this for a while, until they stopped by a small lake.
“Let’s sit for a while.”
Liang Qin turned her head and asked. Seeing Wei Changtian nod, she wiped off the water droplets on a piece of bluestone with her long sleeves, and then sat down on her own.
Wei Changtian first sat down next to her, but then felt uncomfortable, so he simply lay down on the stone surface.
The lake water behind him rippled slightly. Liang Qin looked at the man lying beside her, but still at a distance, and suddenly said:
“Changtian-ge, my parents seem to want to marry me to you.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” Wei Changtian replied indifferently.
“Then… do you want to marry me?”
Under normal circumstances, if a woman asked a man this question, the subtext should be—hurry up and marry me!
However, Wei Changtian heard another meaning at this moment.
He was slightly stunned, and then directly asked back: "Do you want to marry?"
“…”
Liang Qin didn't speak, nor did she hesitate.
She just looked at Wei Changtian under the moonlight, and then gently shook her head.
