My Beloved Concubine Only Wants to Eat Melons

In truth, Guardian General Zhou Pengze was barely in his forties, so he didn\'t arrange for any grand festivities. He merely invited a few relatives and colleagues to his residence for a gathering.

Nevertheless, Zhou Ruolan woke up early to assist her mother in welcoming the guests who arrived at their residence.

The sixteen-year-old young lady was as radiant as a begonia in bloom, and her every movement displayed such natural grace that all the guests couldn\'t help but praise her.

Before long, Zi Zhu came running to her, saying, "Miss, Young Master Qi has arrived."

Young Master Qi?

Her heart steadied as she told her mother, "Mother, the benefactor who helped me return home the other day has arrived. I\'ll go welcome him."

Madam Zhou had already heard about this matter and nodded, "Go quickly, and don\'t be remiss in your duties."

Zhou Ruolan acknowledged and headed to the front courtyard.

When she arrived, she saw that Qi Shuguang had just entered the hall. He wore a bamboo-green robe that wasn\'t particularly luxurious compared to others, yet his bearing set him apart.

Perhaps it was because most of the guests today were military officials, but as a scholar among them, though he appeared somewhat thin, he had an otherworldly presence.

She quietly observed him, and when she approached, she hurriedly introduced him to her father, "Father, this is Young Master Qi who helped me return from Changchun Garden that day."

Upon hearing this, General Zhou quickly greeted Qi Shuguang, "So it\'s Official Qi, please forgive my discourtesy."

In the past few days, the court had successively announced appointments for the new imperial scholars, and General Zhou had heard that this Third Place Scholar had been appointed as an Imperial Lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, surely destined for a brilliant future.

Qi Shuguang replied, "I don\'t deserve such courtesy. I\'ve boldly come to disturb you today to wish the General happiness as vast as the Eastern Sea and longevity like the Southern Mountains. I\'ve brought a humble gift, though it\'s hardly worthy."

He then presented his gift.

General Zhou quickly ordered someone to accept it and smiled, "I should be the one thanking Official Qi. Please, have a seat. I\'m a military man, and there aren\'t many formalities in my household, so please don\'t feel constrained."

As he finished speaking, Zhou Ruolan, standing beside her father, also smiled and said, "Yes, please don\'t stand on ceremony, Official Qi."

Qi Shuguang quickly agreed, wearing a gentle smile.

General Zhou secretly raised his eyebrows.

A father knows his daughter best, and this was the first time he had seen his daughter being so friendly toward an outside man.

However, if he hadn\'t seen it with his own eyes today, he wouldn\'t have known that the new Third Place Scholar was so young.

He appeared to be not even twenty?

I wonder if he\'s married yet...

Just as he was about to ask, an announcement came from outside that Princess Changping had arrived.

Immediately, all guests, both men and women, went out to welcome her.

Seeing everyone so nervous, Yuwen Hui giggled and said, "Everyone, please don\'t be so formal. I\'m just here to chat with Ruolan and wish General Zhou a happy birthday."

This made General Zhou extremely anxious, and he quickly said, "This humble servant thanks Your Highness for your kindness."

Yuwen Hui nodded, and as her gaze wandered, she spotted a somewhat familiar figure among the male guests.

She exclaimed in surprise, "Isn\'t this... the Third Place Scholar?"

Qi Shuguang hurriedly bowed again, "Your humble servant Qi Shuguang pays respects to Your Highness."

Yuwen Hui glanced at Zhou Ruolan, then addressed everyone, "Everyone may rise. I\'m going to chat with Ruolan."

She then pulled Ruolan toward the back courtyard.

Naturally, Yuwen Hui wanted to know why Qi Shuguang was here.

Zhou Ruolan pretended to be shy and told her about that night\'s events.

After hearing the story, Yuwen Hui immediately exclaimed, "Your carriage broke down on the road, and he happened to pass by? Isn\'t this fate? I must say, you two look quite well-matched."

Zhou Ruolan didn\'t tell her that the carriage breaking down on the road had another reason.

But since both of them had returned safely, this must indeed be fate\'s arrangement.

She only responded shyly again, "Your Highness, please stop teasing me."

Just then, new guests arrived to pay their respects to Yuwen Hui, and their conversation paused.

Although the celebration wasn\'t grand, there were still dozens of guests at the residence today.

Zhou Ruolan accompanied Yuwen Hui to meet some people, and when Yao Huiqin appeared with her mother, her heart steadied.

That woman had indeed come.

Yuwen Hui could barely hide her disdain—

This Yao woman had just recently tried to trip up Ruolan, how dare she show her face here today?

She truly had the thickest skin in the world.

However, before long, she understood why this Yao woman had the nerve to come to the Zhou residence.

It turned out her second brother, the Second Prince Yuwen Sheng, had also come today.

Just as when they had greeted her earlier, upon hearing the announcement, everyone in the residence went out again to welcome him.

Everyone respectfully bowed their heads, except for Yao Huiqin, whose face was covered in an undisguisable blush as she kept stealing glances at the Second Prince.

Yuwen Hui understood then that this woman must have set her sights on her second brother, which was why she had the nerve to come to the Zhou residence.

Hmph, what wishful thinking.

Yuwen Hui suppressed her contempt and casually asked her second brother Yuwen Sheng, "Second Brother, why have you come as well?"

Yuwen Sheng coughed and said, "I was passing by the Zhou residence and saw many carriages outside. Then I remembered it was General Zhou\'s birthday today, so I came to take a look."

He then addressed everyone, "Please don\'t be nervous, I\'ll just stay for a short while."

He told everyone to rise and entered the hall accompanied by the hosts.

The Zhou family naturally wouldn\'t dare to be negligent and immediately ordered for the feast to be served.

Thus, everyone followed and took their seats at the banquet.

Yuwen Hui hadn\'t come today for the feast, so after eating for a while, she pulled Ruolan out to the courtyard.

After complaining about the Yao woman\'s thick skin and chatting about other matters for a while, they gradually heard the sound of men\'s voices and cheering.

Yuwen Hui craned her neck to look and saw that in a pavilion by the lake nearby, several young men were playing touhu (arrow throwing game).

Among them, there was one notably thin figure who was immediately recognizable.

Yuwen Hui\'s eyes lit up, and she quickly pulled Zhou Ruolan forward, "It seems they\'re playing touhu? Let\'s go take a look."

Zhou Ruolan didn\'t refuse.

She had also recognized that among the young men playing touhu was Qi Shuguang.

She had been worried that he might feel constrained on his first visit to their residence, but it seemed he was getting along quite well with the others.

Her heart relaxed, and she followed Yuwen Hui.

Yuwen Hui was determined to play matchmaker today, and upon reaching the pavilion, she volunteered to join the touhu game, insisting that Ruolan join as well.

As it happened, among these young men, almost all were Zhou Ruolan\'s cousins, either from her father\'s side or mother\'s side.

Therefore, she wasn\'t shy and joined everyone in the game.

After several rounds, everyone was having great fun, their laughter filling the garden, which attracted others to join.

Zhou Shulan and Yao Huiqin appeared beside them at some point, asking, "May we join in as well?"

The young men were very open-minded and readily agreed, distributing several arrows to them.

Thus, the touhu group grew larger.

The game continued, and it was soon Zhou Ruolan\'s turn again.

Her aim was actually quite good, and at this moment, she raised the arrow to take aim.

Just then, a figure wearing a royal blue dragon robe appeared not far away.

It was none other than Yuwen Sheng.

At this moment, everyone was watching Zhou Ruolan\'s movements.

Only Yao Huiqin, who had been harboring her own intentions, was the first to notice Yuwen Sheng\'s figure.

She vaguely saw that the Second Prince seemed to be watching Zhou Ruolan\'s movements as well.

She knew that Zhou Ruolan\'s aim was very good, having hit the target with all three arrows earlier.

Now, as she watched Zhou Ruolan raise another arrow, about to throw it,

Her heart filled with jealousy, so she hid her own arrow in her sleeve and quietly moved closer to Zhou Ruolan, attempting to use her dress as cover while trying to poke Zhou Ruolan\'s leg with the arrow.

However, at that very moment, Zhou Ruolan suddenly stepped forward.

And the arrow hidden in Yao Huiqin\'s sleeve struck Zhou Shulan instead.

The sudden pain caused Zhou Shulan to lose her balance and fall forward.

Instinctively, she grabbed onto her cousin Ruolan\'s sleeve.

However, it didn\'t help, and she continued to fall forward, pulling her cousin Ruolan down with her.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Ruolan instinctively reached out toward the young man across from her.

He simultaneously extended his hand, steadying her before she could hit the copper kettle.

Zhou Shulan, however, was not so fortunate. She fell heavily to the ground with such force that it produced a dull thud.

Everyone was startled and rushed to help her up, only to find that a large bump had already formed on her forehead, and her dress was covered in dust, making her look quite disheveled.

Zhou Shulan had never suffered such humiliation before, and combined with the genuine pain from the fall, she immediately burst into tears.

Seeing this, Zhou Ruolan turned to confront Yao Huiqin, "Miss Yao, why did you cause my cousin to fall?"

Yao Huiqin hastily tucked the arrow into her sleeve while defending herself, "I didn\'t do anything! Miss Ruolan, you must be mistaken."

Before she could finish speaking, Yuwen Hui grabbed her arm and demanded, "What\'s this? Why are you hiding an arrow in your sleeve? You used this to trip someone just now, didn\'t you?"

Startled, Yao Huiqin quickly tried to defend herself again, "Your Highness, please understand, I merely placed it there absent-mindedly. I have no grudge against Miss Shulan, why would I want to make her fall?"

Yuwen Hui nodded with a sneer, "Indeed. If you have no grudge against Shulan, then you must have been trying to harm Ruolan? After all, Ruolan was closest to you - why else would you have moved so close to her?"

Yao Huiqin was frightened and hurriedly protested, "No, no, I bear no ill will toward Ruolan either..."

Aliali: 674843b7c4f3f33ac47659ac

Before she could finish, Yuwen Hui interrupted, "Oh, so you weren\'t trying to harm Shulan or Ruolan - perhaps you were attempting to harm me instead? Guards, seize her!"

This thoroughly terrified Yao Huiqin, who immediately fell to her knees and began repeatedly kowtowing.

"Please spare me, Your Highness! I absolutely had no such intention..."

The scene descended into chaos as Zhou Shulan\'s and Yao Huiqin\'s crying mingled together.

Observing this situation, Zhou Ruolan finally spoke up, "We apologize for alarming Your Highness today. Our Zhou family has failed in our duties as hosts. Please calm your anger."

She then instructed the maids, "Help Sister Shulan back to change her clothes."

The maids acknowledged the order and led the disheveled Zhou Shulan away from the scene.

Zhou Ruolan then turned to Qi Shuguang and said, "Thank you, Lord Qi. If not for you, I would have fallen as well."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yuwen Hui shot Yao Huiqin a fierce glare before quickly adding, "Indeed! Lord Qi has helped you twice now, Ruolan. You should really think about how to properly thank him."

Before Qi Shuguang could respond, Yuwen Sheng, who had been standing outside the pavilion the entire time, flicked his sleeves and walked away.