In no time, Song Wei indeed followed the guard to Songhe Building.
Upon entering the private room, he did not even glance at the middle-aged man in luxurious attire, walked straight to Wen Wan, carefully examined her from top to bottom, as if ensuring that this pair of master and servant had not harmed her, and visibly relaxed, "Wanwan, are you alright?"
The unease in Wen Wan’s heart dissipated instantly upon seeing Song Wei; she curved her lips and shook her head, indicating that she was fine.
At this moment, the middle-aged man spoke, "Mr. Song, please have a seat!"
Only then did Song Wei raise his eyes to look at the person opposite, but he didn’t scrutinize him excessively and quickly withdrew his gaze, pulled out a rosewood chair, and sat down.
The middle-aged man was about to say something further when Song Wei directly picked up the chopsticks, dragged the porcelain white bowl in front of Wen Wan, placed food inside, and then pushed it back, softly saying, "You must be hungry after waiting for so long. Have something to eat first."
Wen Wan accepted the chopsticks handed over by Song Wei but didn’t move, stealthily glancing at the middle-aged man opposite her from the corner of her eye.
The expression on the middle-aged man’s face clearly showed a moment of astonishment.
The guard behind them couldn’t stand it, furrowing his brows and coldly sneering, "How audacious! To show such disrespect in front of my master, what should be your punishment?"
Song Wei’s expression remained unchanged as he slowly picked up the soup bowl, served Wen Wan a bowl of creamy, fragrant fish soup, and urged her to drink it slowly.
The guard kept a stern face, his right hand gripping the hilt of the sword at his waist.
The middle-aged man didn’t give him the chance to act, blocking him first, then turning to Song Wei, "Mr. Song, are you criticizing me for bringing your wife to the restaurant without permission?"
"Compared to you abducting my wife first, my little discourtesy seems trivial," Song Wei’s voice was neither loud nor quiet, not deliberately cold, but somehow carried an indescribable weight.
The middle-aged man was stunned again, then chuckled softly, "Arrogant and unruly, truly worthy of being the great scholar of Pingjiang County. I was merely curious, given your aloof nature, why would you privately curry favor with County Magistrate Lu and that salt merchant named Zhang?"
Song Wei paused slightly in his action of picking fish bones for Wen Wan.
Before he could say anything, the middle-aged man introduced himself, "My surname is Xiao."
Seemingly genuinely interested in the young man before him, who was calm and collected, he appeared quite pleased, "I know everything about what you two did from start to finish."
"So, Mr. Xiao, are you planning to report me to County Magistrate Lu, or are you going to use this to blackmail me?" Song Wei asked.
Mr. Xiao laughed heartily twice, poured himself a full glass of wine, and respectfully toasted him, "Young man, tell me, why are you taking the imperial examination?"
"Why else take the imperial examination, if not for fame, power, and wealth?"
Song Wei had no intention of elaborating and, seeing that Wen Wan had almost finished eating, stood up, cupped his hands towards the person opposite, "If the two of you have nothing else, my wife and I will take our leave first. I have another exam tomorrow, I apologize for not being able to stay."
Mr. Xiao watched him with a smile, "Young man, we will meet again."
"Perhaps!" Song Wei said lightly, "I hope next time, Mr. Xiao can meet me in a more aboveboard manner."
Mr. Xiao glanced at Wen Wan beside Song Wei, shaking his head with an amused smile.
After Song Wei and his wife left, the guard stepped forward, his brow tightly furrowed, "Emperor, do you really think this arrogant, self-important Song Wei can take on great responsibilities?"
Indeed, the middle-aged man who had proactively sought to meet Song Wei was none other than the current Holy Emperor, Emperor Guangxi, surnamed Zhao, with Xiao being part of the traditional character 趙.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Guangxi drained his glass of wine in one gulp, chuckling lightly, "Chu Feng, you’ve been by my side for so many years and still haven’t improved your vision one bit."