The Male Lead's Harem Belongs to Me (GL) - Chapter 27
The tiny, sparkling starlight painted the night into a magnificent star river picture, the sky and earth so close at hand, as if reaching out could pluck a star and tuck it into one’s bosom.
Gu Hanyun let out a whine and grumbled, “Princess, you’re too mean. I almost got emotional.”
Jiang Han laughed. Just then, Chun Zhu arrived with a shawl. Jiang Han got up, taking the shawl from Chun Zhu, and said, “I was kidding. If it really came to that, I’d starve myself to make sure you’re full.”
Gu Hanyun was touched, “Sister Jiang, you’re so good to me.”
Jiang Han smiled, took the shawl, walked gently to Liu Shuwei, and handed it to her, “Weiwei, put this on. It’s cold at night, be careful not to catch a chill.”
Gu Hanyun, who was just touched, sat up resentfully and looked at Jiang Han, “Sister Jiang, what about mine?”
Jiang Han raised an eyebrow slightly, “Isn’t there one at Dan Ju’s place?”
Gu Hanyun said, “I want Sister Jiang to hand it to me personally.”
Jiang Han laughed, “Isn’t it all the same? Would the one I hand you be warmer?”
Seeing that Jiang Han ignored her, Gu Hanyun simply snorted, “Sister Jiang is good at coaxing people. You said you’d rather starve yourself to make sure I’m full, but I bet when the time comes, Sister Jiang will give everything to Sister Weiwei and forget about us.”
“How could that be? That’s just your imagination.” Jiang Han said, continuing to walk towards Liu Shuwei.
Liu Shuwei’s eyes flickered slightly, and the corners of her lips curved slightly, “Thank you, Sister.”
Liu Shuwei reached out to take the shawl, but it paused just before reaching her hands. Then, Liu Shuwei watched Jiang Han walk behind her and draped the thick, warm shawl over her shoulders.
Gu Hanyun said sourly, “Sister Jiang really knows how to favor people.”
Liu Shuwei wasn’t annoyed, but the smile on her lips betrayed her mood.
Jiang Han looked at the dramatic Gu Hanyun amusedly and said, “I’m not favoring anyone. I treat all my sisters equally. It’s just that the prince specifically asked me to take good care of Weiwei.”
It was just an excuse, but when Liu Shuwei heard it, she paused, and the smile on her lips faded slightly.
So, it was just because of the prince’s words that she was being taken care of.
After a moment of silence, no one spoke, and the air became quiet. Yu Weiwan suddenly sighed, which was especially noticeable in the quiet night.
Gu Hanyun couldn’t help but turn her head, “Wanwan, what’s wrong? You haven’t looked happy since we came back.”
Yu Weiwan’s eyes flickered, and after a long time, she replied, “My father asked me when I’m going to have a child, why my stomach hasn’t moved after being married for so long… but I haven’t shared a room with the prince since I got married. Even on the wedding day, the prince left in a hurry for some reason.”
Jiang Han was surprised. So Yu Weiwan hadn’t shared a room with the male lead yet?
At this moment, Gu Hanyun said, “Actually, neither have I. The prince left in a hurry on the wedding night too.”
Jiang Han, “Me neither…”
Chang Qianjiao said in surprise, “Me neither, for the same reason as you… what’s going on?”
Jiang Han became excited. She sat up and made a bold guess, “Do you think it’s possible that the prince… can’t do it?”
“Wow!” Gu Hanyun also sat up, her eyes shining, “I think that’s really possible.”
After a moment of silence, they all laughed. Jiang Han turned to Liu Shuwei, smiling mischievously, “Weiwei, I think you should really consider whether you want to marry the prince.”
Liu Shuwei’s eyes flickered, and she said jokingly, “If I don’t marry the prince, will Sister stop taking care of me?”
Jiang Han pretended to think seriously and smiled, “If you don’t marry the prince, it won’t be my turn to take care of you.”
In other words, if Liu Shuwei didn’t marry the prince, another man would marry her, and they would have nothing to do with each other.
Liu Shuwei smiled and stopped talking, but her eyes dimmed.
They chatted for a while, and as the night deepened, they all returned to their rooms.
••••
After a few autumn rains, the weather gradually turned cold.
The human trafficking case that shook the capital was finally solved after more than half a year. The perpetrator was actually the current Minister of Rites, He Buwei. Along with this revelation, He Buwei’s betrayal of his friend many years ago was also uncovered.
It was said that He Buwei, fearing that the body would be discovered, had imprisoned the person in his mansion. When the person was rescued, they were emaciated and unrecognizable.
This incident angered the emperor, who not only confiscated He Buwei’s home but also implicated his friend, Minister Chang Laian of the Ministry of Revenue, who was confined to his home to reflect and was not allowed to go out.
Chang Qianjiao was both relieved and amazed. She was relieved that this incident had no substantial impact on her father and amazed that the princess had told her about it. No matter how much her father listened, at least he had some preparation.
Chang Laian, having nothing to do at home, wrote to his daughter, asking her how she knew about He Buwei’s past. Chang Qianjiao told him everything. Chang Laian was surprised and asked her to express his gratitude to Jiang Han.
At this time, Jiang Han and the others were painting each other in the courtyard.
They had nothing to do, so they each took paper and pens to compete in painting skills. Jiang Han painted Gu Hanyun, Gu Hanyun painted Chang Qianjiao, Chang Qianjiao painted Yu Weiwan, Yu Weiwan painted Liu Shuwei, and Liu Shuwei painted Jiang Han.
Chang Qianjiao looked at Yu Weiwan but said to Jiang Han, “Princess, my father asked me to thank you.”
Jiang Han, focused on her painting, replied casually, “Thank me for what?”
Chang Qianjiao said, “Did the Princess forget the gossip you told me the other day about Minister He?”
Jiang Han thought for a moment and understood why Chang Laian wanted to thank her. She looked up at Chang Qianjiao and smiled, “No need to thank me…”
Chang Qianjiao raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking that Jiang Han hadn’t finished speaking.
Sure enough, the next second, Jiang Han looked up from her canvas. From Liu Shuwei’s perspective, she could see her delicate, fair profile and her slightly curved eyelashes in the sunlight.
Jiang Han was naturally charismatic, and even the sunlight seemed to favor her. Every ray of sunlight on her was just right. She didn’t look like a married woman but was full of youthful vitality.
Liu Shuwei’s heart fluttered. She didn’t listen to what the others were saying. The hand holding the brush paused slightly, then continued to paint on the clean paper. Every stroke of Liu Shuwei’s was meticulous and deliberate. She looked up at Jiang Han from time to time, watching her frown in thought, watching her smile. Every glance made her eyes softer.
Gu Hanyun also looked up from time to time while painting, but she soon noticed something was wrong. Why didn’t the princess look up at her even once while painting her?
Gu Hanyun became suspicious. She stopped painting and tiptoed towards Jiang Han. The others raised their eyebrows, not reminding Jiang Han. They were also curious about what Jiang Han was painting so intently.
Gu Hanyun walked to Jiang Han in everyone’s eyes. She thought that the princess was so engrossed that she must be painting her beautifully, so she leaned forward expectantly.
The next second, her expectant expression cracked, and she exclaimed in shock, “Sister Jiang! What is this?”
Jiang Han was startled by the sudden sound beside her. She instinctively wanted to protect her painting, but when she saw Gu Hanyun’s expression, she felt it was unnecessary. After all, she had already seen it.
Jiang Han smiled awkwardly, a little guilty but also righteous, “It’s you. Isn’t it lifelike? It has a nose and eyes.”
Gu Hanyun was speechless. The others couldn’t help but gather around to see what kind of painting had made Gu Hanyun react like this. Jiang Han guiltily covered the painting, “I haven’t finished yet. I’ll show you when I’m done… hey, don’t take it away…”
No one paid attention to Jiang Han. Gu Hanyun snatched the painting and showed it to everyone, her face full of accusation. On the painting was a distorted stick figure with only one eye, holding something and waving it. From a distance, it looked like a stick; up close, it looked like a shovel.
Everyone fell silent, then looked at Gu Hanyun with sympathy.
Yu Weiwan tried to salvage the situation, “…Princess must be an abstract artist.”
Chang Qianjiao said awkwardly, “It’s okay. Although it’s a bit ugly, at least… it doesn’t waste ink.”
Gu Hanyun chuckled, “The princess has the skills to paint and the talent to paint.”
Jiang Han was devastated and looked to Liu Shuwei for comfort.
Liu Shuwei: “…”
Liu Shuwei struggled to say, “It’s actually quite… Sister, why don’t you take a break?”
Liu Shuwei couldn’t bring herself to lie. Jiang Han felt like she had been struck by lightning and said stubbornly, “Let me see how good your paintings are!”
She got up and went straight to Chang Qianjiao’s painting. She flipped it up and glanced at it, then silently put it down and went to Yu Weiwan’s painting. After a moment, she put it down again and went to Liu Shuwei’s painting.
Seeing Jiang Han’s expression become increasingly devastated, Liu Shuwei couldn’t bear it. But when Jiang Han saw her painting, her eyes suddenly lit up. She said excitedly, “Wow! I didn’t expect…”
Everyone was surprised by Jiang Han’s sudden excitement and wondered if Liu Shuwei’s painting was worse than Jiang Han’s. That shouldn’t be possible…
Everyone gathered around and heard Jiang Han continue, “I didn’t expect I was so beautiful!”
Gu Hanyun/Chang Qianjiao/Yu Weiwan: “…”
Jiang Han admired her portrait happily. Suddenly, her eyes rolled, and she coughed lightly, “I have a suggestion. Since we’re all painting each other, why don’t we sign our names on the paintings and give them to the people we painted?”
Liu Shuwei, seeing Jiang Han’s smug expression, found it amusing. Before she could agree, Gu Hanyun floated in front of them like a ghost, “I… don’t… agree!”
Jiang Han nodded seriously, “Okay, since no one has any objections, it’s settled.”
She ran to Liu Shuwei happily and said, “Weiwei, you painted so well. Do you have time to paint a few more for me? I have several new outfits I haven’t worn yet.”
Liu Shuwei shook her head helplessly and amusedly, “I don’t have a problem with that.”
Gu Hanyun: “…” I don’t agree! I’m angry! I’m really angry! Waaah, the princess is so mean.
They played around for a while, and Jiang Han suggested playing blind man’s bluff, rolling dice to decide who would be “it” and go catch the others.
Perhaps she had done too many bad deeds, Jiang Han rolled the lowest number.
Gu Hanyun mocked her, saying, “Evil will be punished.” Jiang Han didn’t care and happily took the blindfold, tying it around her eyes. Her smile gradually became mischievous, “Are you ready, beauties? Here I come!”
Jiang Han listened to the giggling and “come and get me” from all around, secretly pleased. Who would have thought she could play such a game with so many beauties? Hehehe, just thinking about it was exciting.
••••
On the other side, Qi Ze, having finished the case, finally had time to breathe. He thought about his wives in the neighboring courtyard and wondered if they had repented after being punished for so long.
Thinking this, he got up and went to the neighboring courtyard to check.
As he walked into the woods, led by a servant, he heard giggling and “come and get me” echoing in his ears.
Qi Ze frowned. Why did it sound so improper?
With curiosity, Qi Ze walked into the woods and saw a scene he would never forget. His wife, Jiang Han, was blindfolded, bending over and laughing as she ran around, saying in a strange voice, “Beauty, where are you? Beauty, I’m coming to catch you~”
Qi Ze, with a dark face, watched Jiang Han get closer and closer. She grabbed his arm, her smile widening to her ears, “Beauty! I caught you!”
Author’s Note:
Qi Ze: …
Qi Ze: ???
T/N: Wahahaha… This chapter made my day! I couldn’t stop laughing 🤣.