Currently, the control of the Imperial Treasury is in the hands of Li Yunrui, Lin Wan'er's birth mother. On the surface, Li Yunrui supports the Crown Prince's faction, but secretly she supports the Second Prince.
The Second Prince, however, uses his control of the Imperial Treasury to embezzle money to support his private army. Now that Zhao Tianhao wants to marry Lin Wan'er and take over the Imperial Treasury, he is naturally encroaching on the Second Prince's interests.
Therefore, the Second Prince has been watching Zhao Tianhao since he entered the capital, and today's rendezvous with Lin Wan'er is the Second Prince's opportunity to strike.
The important thing isn't who Zhao Tianhao is rendezvous with, but that he went out. Otherwise, he couldn't just go directly to the Fan residence to cause trouble; only a brainless prince would do that.
Besides, Fan Jian is no pushover.
A commotion outside the sedan chair disrupted Zhao Tianhao's plans.
Zhao Tianhao released Ye Ling'er's sweet lips, pulled back the curtain, and saw that Guo Baokun, the son of the Minister of Rites, had already begun causing trouble with "Fan Xian's" *Dream of the Red Chamber*.
*Dream of the Red Chamber* was originally written by Fan Xian for Fan Ruoruo, who found it interesting and shared it with the ladies and young women in the palace.
Unexpectedly, thanks to the collection and copying by those with ulterior motives, it not only circulated throughout the streets and alleys of Qing Kingdom but also spread to Northern Qi Kingdom.
This shows the popularity of *Dream of the Red Chamber*. When Zhao Tianhao saw Guo Baokun, he knew he was sent by the Second Prince to cause trouble; there was no escaping it.
As long as his engagement with Lin Wan'er remained, and as long as he took control of the Imperial Treasury, he would be the Second Prince's enemy.
What left Zhao Tianhao speechless was that Guo Baokun had already made his move so quickly, even during their brief kiss.
He didn't even bother to come up with a better excuse, as if afraid Zhao Tianhao wouldn't see through him, or perhaps afraid that once Zhao Tianhao entered the Fan residence, he wouldn't come out again, leaving no opportunity.
"Gentlemen, my name is Guo Baokun. My father is the Minister of Rites. I am not talented, but I am also a compiler in the palace. I have studied literature since childhood and value etiquette most. Since you are all scholars, you should be reciting the classics. This kind of filthy and disreputable book is simply an insult to civilization!"
Guo Baokun's words drew a crowd of onlookers. He became increasingly excited and agitated as he spoke, finally throwing the copy of *Dream of the Red Chamber* on the ground.
He stomped on it. "In my opinion, from today onwards, this book should be banned!"
Guo Baokun glanced in the direction of Zhao Tianhao's sedan chair after speaking.
Zhao Tianhao watched this idiot's performance quietly through the curtain.
"He's here for you," Lin Wan'er thought cleverly, or perhaps Guo Baokun's actions were simply too obvious.
"Hmm, Madam, I'll go take care of things first. We'll continue after I'm done."
"You're so annoying! This is too embarrassing! Be careful!" Lin Wan'er shyly slapped Zhao Tianhao, then looked at him with concern, clearly not wanting anything to happen to him.
"Don't worry, watch how I teach this silly dog a lesson. Come on, give me a kiss." With that, Zhao Tianhao kissed Lin Wan'er on the lips. "Ah!" Lin Wan'er, embarrassed, pretended to be an ostrich again.
"Ling'er!" Zhao Tianhao called out to Ye Ling'er, who had been playing dead since they separated.
"Hmm?" Ye Ling'er subconsciously looked up and saw a face that kept getting closer.
After kissing Ye Ling'er on the lips as well, Zhao Tianhao put the two women down from his arms and got off the carriage. Looking at Zhao Tianhao's back, thinking about the man who had taken her "virginity," Ye Ling'er felt no disgust at all; instead, she felt quite fond of him.
In ancient times, it was practically unheard of for a woman to hold hands, hug, kiss, or sleep with someone other than the same man.
In some cases, even being hugged by a man was considered a loss of virginity.
Furthermore, it was unheard of for a woman to only give her virginity and first kiss to her husband on their wedding night.
Now that Zhao Tianhao had taken Ye Ling'er's first kiss, the fact that she felt no resentment was obvious.
Ye Ling'er secretly glanced at Lin Wan'er and found her smiling at her.
Ye Ling'er panicked; after all, he was her best friend. She anxiously said, "That... he forced a kiss on me! Don't worry, I won't see him again!"
"You're so heartless! You're not the Ye Ling'er I know anymore. It seems someone's heart has been captured by that bad guy."
"No way!" Ye Ling'er denied it.
"Alright, I'm not blaming you. Blame that jerk! You're my best friend, we can share a husband, I'm overjoyed!"
Looking at Lin Wan'er, who was holding her hand with an earnest look that didn't seem fake, Ye Ling'er asked, "Really? You really think so?"
"See, you still won't admit you have someone you like," Lin Wan'er directly exposed her.
"Fine, you're just teasing me!" Ye Ling'er said angrily, playfully wrestling with Lin Wan'er.
"Okay, okay, haha, I was wrong, I shouldn't have teased you, haha, but I meant it!"
Lin Wan'er, tickled by Ye Ling'er, gave in.
"Wan'er, you're so good," Ye Ling'er said, touchingly, pulling Lin Wan'er along.
"Hehe, you're my best friend, how could I not be good to you?" Leaving aside the two women in the sedan chair who had already reached an agreement, let's talk about Zhao Tianhao after he got off the carriage.
Guo Baokun, pretending to have just seen Fan Xian, began to speak sarcastically, "Oh, I was wondering who got off the carriage. Turns out it's the illegitimate son of the Marquis of Sinan, raised in Danzhou. Hey? Isn't this the Fan residence gate? Why don't you live at home?"
Zhao Tianhao stretched his limbs, walking towards Guo Baokun as he said, "Are you prepared to stay in bed for a month?"
"You, you, you..." Guo Baokun was stunned by Zhao Tianhao's unpredictable behavior, then filled with anger. "Just an illegitimate son from the countryside! Get him!"
Guo Baokun's servants quickly surrounded Zhao Tianhao, swarming him forward.
"Hmph," Zhao Tianhao snorted coldly, channeling his inner energy. With a stomp of his foot, all the surrounding servants were sent flying.
Zhao Tianhao showed no mercy; his attacks were basically either fatal or crippling. Guo Baokun watched as his servant, after only one exchange, was knocked down before even getting close. Terrified, he retreated, stammering, "You...you...don't come any closer! I'm a disciple of the Crown Prince! Hitting me is an act of enmity against the Crown Prince!"
Zhao Tianhao slapped him across the face. If he weren't afraid of attracting excessive attention from the Emperor, he would have killed him long ago.
Guo Baokun's face swelled up from the slap, and he mumbled incoherently.
Zhao Tianhao took it as a threat and decided to slap him on the other side, symmetrically.
However, seeing the growing crowd of onlookers, simply beating him wasn't a solution.
"You, get over here!" Guo Baokun clutched his slapped face, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. It seemed the accuser was talking to him.
"It's you!" Guo Baokun walked over fearfully.
"Pick up the book on the ground."
"I won't!" Guo Baokun said defiantly.
Seeing Zhao Tianhao about to raise his hand to slap him, Guo Baokun decisively backed down. He picked up the book and handed it to Zhao Tianhao.
"Have you read this book?" Zhao Tianhao took the book and casually flipped through it.
"This... I can't even finish reading all the classics, how can I waste my time reading this kind of thing?"
"You haven't even read the book, and you're already criticizing it!"
"The author of this book is unknown, what good could he possibly write?" Guo Baokun jumped up again like a clown.
"Are you judging by the article or the fame? If you're not famous, can't you write good works? Without learning, one cannot broaden one's talents; without ambition, one cannot achieve learning. Your vision is so shallow, yet you call yourself a scholar, a man of principle! You don't even have the refinement to respect others' writing. All your reading has gone to waste!"
"Insolence! How dare you, a country bumpkin, comment on scholars and talented individuals? Young Master Guo, are you alright? I am He Zongwei," He Zongwei, standing among the onlookers, jumped out to speak on Guo Baokun's behalf before Guo Baokun could even speak.
This He Zongwei was a scholar with some fame in the capital.
"Who do you think you are? If all scholars in the world were like you, I would be ashamed to associate with you," Zhao Tianhao said disdainfully, looking at the fool who had come to sided with Guo Baokun.
"Young Master Fan's words are excellent," Prince Li Hongcheng stepped forward from the crowd. "Your Highness," Guo Baokun and He Zongwei bowed.
"Without learning, one cannot broaden one's talents; without ambition, one cannot achieve learning." I've pondered these two sentences carefully, and they hold profound meaning. This alone reveals a glimpse of Master Fan's talent.