HCB Chapter 16 Running
Chapter 16 Running
Chapter 16 Running
"Whoosh..."
Wang Wenzhou was panting heavily, his heart pounding like a drum, feeling like it was about to jump out of his throat.
Wang Qiang walked casually to the side, glancing sideways at his young master. His young master was exhausted, his head and face covered in sweat, and his clothes were soaked through.
Wang Qiang said, "Young Master, stop running. You can't even run as fast as I can walk. Forget it!"
"Phew... No way!" Wang Wenzhou gritted his teeth and said, "No pain, no gain! How can I sleep with a goddess without... without eight-pack abs?"
"Abs? Goddess? What nonsense is this?" Wang Qiang rolled his eyes at Wang Wenzhou. He really couldn't understand whether his young master had gone crazy again. He originally thought that he had come with his young master to supervise the yamen runners. Who knew that his young master insisted on running with the yamen runners.
As it turned out, the yamen runners had already finished running two laps around the county town and returned to the yamen on official business. The young master, on the other hand, had only just finished one lap after more than an hour.
Wang Wenzhou wiped the sweat from his face. He was running like his life depended on it, all for the sake of sleeping with his goddess! There was no other way; to lose weight, the only options were more exercise and less food. Less food was easy enough, but more exercise was truly painful for his current weight.
"Shut up... Huff... Run..." Wang Wenzhou cursed, he didn't want to give up!
"Young Master, I can't run away! If I run, you'll disappear! I can only follow you slowly!" Wang Qiang said with a smile.
"Hoo hoo..." Wang Wenzhou rolled his eyes at Wang Qiang, thinking to himself, "You little brat, I won't let you run with me tomorrow. I'll bring my goddess along and let her run with me. Besides, having my goddess by my side will give me even more motivation to keep running."
Wang Wenzhou developed a habit of running in the mornings during his boarding school days in high school, and he continued to run for a while every morning after graduating from university. Running two laps around Hanshan County, which is only about 20 li (approximately 10 kilometers), was something Wang Wenzhou used to be able to do without getting out of breath or his heart racing. But now, with his weight of over 200 jin (approximately 100 kilograms), even taking a single step is difficult.
Wang Wenzhou gritted his teeth and ran for a while longer. He was truly nearing his limit; his legs felt like lead, and he desperately wanted to give up. But then he thought of the goddess spreading her white, shapely legs, letting him play with them, and he gritted his teeth and persevered! This young master would keep going! Only with eight-pack abs could he win the goddess's heart?
"Whoosh..."
Wang Wenzhou gritted his teeth and persevered through two laps. When he looked up at the sky, he realized it was lunchtime.
Wang Wenzhou knew that after strenuous exercise, one should not rush to rest, but should walk slowly for a while.
As he walked, he said to Wang Qiang, "Xiao Qiang, go to the No Return Pavilion and order a few dishes. Have Old Zhang deliver the food to the Drunken Flower Pavilion. Remember, don't give him any money!"
Old Zhang, that stubborn old man, insisted on marrying his granddaughter to Wang Wenzhou, but Wang Wenzhou didn't want to get away with it so easily. He specifically instructed Wang Qiang not to pay for the meal.
"Haha!" Wang Qiang said with a laugh, "Okay, I'll be going now."
Wang Wenzhou strolled leisurely back to Zuihualou.
Because the Drunken Flower Pavilion had just been booked by Wang Wenzhou, many people were unaware of its existence. Occasionally, customers would come, but upon hearing that the county magistrate had booked the entire pavilion, they would shake their heads as they left. A thousand taels of silver for a year—was Magistrate Wang out of his mind?
Sheng Lan was chatting with her friends when she looked up and saw Wang Wenzhou. She quickly stood up and went to greet him, saying happily, "Wang Wenzhou, you're back?"
"Ah!" The girls at Zuihualou all stared at Dongshuang (Sheng Lan) in shock. Dongshuang, what's wrong with you? How dare you call the county magistrate by his given name?
The madam shook her head slightly, utterly exasperated! "Dongshuang, Dongshuang! What did I tell you yesterday? I told you to serve Lord Wang well. Dongshuang, you're an old maid! How can you still be so clueless! How dare you call him by his name! He booked the Drunken Flower Pavilion for a year because he likes you. But you can't take his favor for granted!"
"What's wrong? Why are you so tired?" Sheng Lan gently wiped the sweat from Wang Wenzhou's face and asked.
"It's nothing! I just went for a run!" Wang Wenzhou replied.
"Why are you running?" Sheng Lan really couldn't understand Wang Wenzhou. As the head of a county, shouldn't he be surrounded by a retinue when he goes out? Why would he be running for no reason?
"Haha..." Wang Wenzhou chuckled to himself. Goddess! Why else would I be running?
"I'm exhausted!" Wang Wenzhou said with a wry smile. "I'll go inside and rest for a while. You play with them first. Xiaoqiang will bring the food over in a bit. Have him bring it inside, and we'll eat together. I don't know what you like to eat, so I just had Xiaoqiang order a few dishes."
"Mmm!" Sheng Lan felt as sweet as if she had eaten honey, her heart filled with joy. The man was such a good man, thinking of her even while eating.
As soon as Wang Wenzhou went upstairs and entered Sheng Lan's room, the madam and the girls rushed up to him and began to criticize Sheng Lan.
"Dongshuang! It's not that I'm scolding you, but how can you take advantage of my favor and be so arrogant! You dare to disrespect adults by their names!" The madam earnestly advised.
"Sister Dongshuang, I really envy you. The adults like you so much, and he doesn't even get angry when you call his name."
"Peach Blossom, don't make things worse, Winter Frost, Mom is right! You can't do this!"
Sheng Lan smiled wryly. How could she not know that she couldn't be rude to an adult? But the adult was acting very strangely, insisting that she call him by his given name. When she called him "Master," he got angry.
Upon Sheng Lan's explanation, the madam immediately laughed and congratulated her, "Dong Shuang, congratulations! When you marry the master as a concubine, you mustn't forget your mother!"
The sisters were incredibly envious. Although some were unhappy that the adults hadn't chosen them, on the surface, they all wore smiles of happiness for Sheng Lan.
While Sheng Lan was chatting and laughing with her sisters, Zhang Jiao, dressed in men's clothing, walked in.
"Young master, I'm sorry! Drunken Flower Pavilion has been booked by Lord Wang. From now on, Drunken Flower Pavilion will not accept outside guests!" Peach Blossom greeted him and said.
"Hmph!" Zhang Jiao snorted coldly, glanced back at Wang Qiang, and asked in a cold voice, "Qiang, where is your shameless young master?"
Wang Qiang walked over quickly, carrying a food box, and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, don't be angry. The young master may not be back yet."
Wang Qiang asked Sheng Lan, "Sister-in-law, has my young master returned?"
"Bang!" Zhang Jiao kicked Wang Qiang and said irritably, "Who are you calling sister-in-law?"
Wang Qiang smiled awkwardly, thinking to himself, "You're all my sisters-in-law! Sisters-in-law, why are you angry with me? If you're jealous, you should take it out on the young master!"
"Oh dear!" The madam rolled her eyes at Zhang Jiao and sneered, "So you're a girl! I thought you were a boy! A young lady should have some self-respect. This is the Drunken Flower Pavilion! It's not a place for young ladies!"
"Hmph!" Zhang Jiao snorted coldly.
"Young Master Qiang, who is this?" Sheng Lan asked Wang Qiang, pointing to Zhang Jiao.
“Sister-in-law, this is also my sister-in-law, my young master’s betrothed concubine,” Wang Qiang replied.
Sheng Lan sized Zhang Jiao up and down with an unfriendly expression. Her face was fairly attractive, and she wasn't very old, but her chest was flat. However, her men's clothing made her look rather odd. She wasn't even the master's legal wife, just a concubine, yet she acted so jealous—she had no manners at all!