Chapter 95

Yun Kai walked into the study and asked in surprise, "Aren't you complaining about the heat upstairs? Why don't you use the air conditioner on the first floor, but instead use the fan on the second floor?"

Yueming fanned herself and raised her chin towards the writing brush, inkstone, and brush on the table. "I'm copying scriptures! I'm a fool. My eldest sister asked me to copy scriptures and burn them at the temple to do good deeds. I agreed without a second thought. I only came to my senses after the ink was ground. I must be copying the scriptures in Chinese characters. I wonder if the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of Siam can understand them."

Yun opened his briefcase, walked to the desk, and picked up Yueming's copy of the sutra, examining it carefully. Calligraphy and painting have been inseparable since ancient times, and perhaps because of his painting skills, Yueming's calligraphy was quite good despite his average academic attainments.

This "Heart Sutra" is written in small regular script with extremely hard strokes and distinct brushstrokes.

Yunkai put down the scroll and nodded in praise, saying, "Well written. Even if the Buddha can't understand what you wrote, he can still feel your sincerity."

I didn't look carefully when I entered the room just now, but now I realize that Yueming is dressed differently today.

She wore a lilac-colored, solid-textured silk cloak with a ruyi cloud pattern and fragrant silk trousers. The solid-textured fabric was thin and transparent, revealing a magnolia-shaped bodice with slanting branches. Perhaps genuinely afraid of the heat, her dark hair was tied back, with three auspicious cloud-shaped, blue rhinoceros hairpins tucked into the bun. The tourmaline ruyi tassels dangling from her waist fan, a Suluo fan, swayed leisurely with the gentle movement of her wrist.

Looking at Yueming, who looked like she had stepped out of an ink painting, Yunkai asked with a smile, "Why are you dressed like this today?"

Yueming supported the table with one hand and fanned himself with the other as he glanced at Yunkai: "This dress is cool to wear."

Yun Kai approached, slowly bent down, reached out and stroked her face, and said in a hoarse voice: "You are dressed so uniquely, are you wearing it specially for me to see?"

Yueming felt embarrassed by his burning gaze and turned her head away from him, covering half of her face with her fan and saying stubbornly, "We Han people usually dress like this. We didn't do it specifically for you."

He glanced over and saw Yun Kai's understanding smile, and suddenly he felt embarrassed. He feigned anger and said, "Where's the letter? Are you going to read it or not?"

Yun Kai chuckled and took out the letter from his suit pocket. Seeing a round stool next to the desk, he sat down casually.

Yueming came to his side, leaned on his back and read the letter from the Tusi Mansion with him.

The letter was not long. It simply asked the two people to finish their work and come back as soon as possible. It was finished in a few glances.

Seeing Yueming finish reading the letter and still clinging to his back, Yunkai burst out laughing and turned his head slightly to look at her: "You missed me! You missed me so much that you locked the door every night before going to bed?"

Yueming slowly straightened up, tugging at the tassels of her fan with her fingers and humming softly, "We see each other every day, what's there to miss?"

Yun Kai stared at the faintly visible Magnolia flower in the gauze dress, unable to take his eyes off it, and said in a deep voice, "I miss you so much!"

"Hmph, who would believe that!" Yueming snorted and gave him a cold look, and wanted to leave the study, but Yunkai grabbed her sleeve.

His face showed a mixture of resentment and anger, but his fingers were restlessly climbing up his sleeves. "I've been so busy these past few days that it seems I've neglected you, but in reality, I'm the one being left out. I came looking for you as soon as I got home, but you refused to give me a good face. I wanted to be close to you, but you turned me away every night. Tell me, are you cruel?"

She placed her hands on Yueming's shoulders, and with a light flick of her fingers, the gauze dress fluttered down to Yueming's feet, who were wearing satin embroidered shoes.

"Ouch!" Yueming screamed, and just as she was about to raise her hands to cover her chest, Yunkai grabbed her waist, turned around, and pressed her onto the desk.

Her parched back suddenly pressed against the cool surface of the table, and Yueming couldn't help but shudder. The magnolia flowers on her fragrant silk bodice trembled with each breath. Yunkai's eyes darkened as he watched.

Sunlight streamed in through Shu Lang's curtains, casting a shadow on the spotless wooden floor. The room was completely silent, with only the rising and falling sounds of their breathing echoing.

Yunkai leaned over Mulanhua and kissed her gently, the familiar tingling sensation spreading through her limbs. She gritted her teeth and said in a trembling voice, "This is the study..."

"Yes! This is the study room," Yun Kai echoed softly, "Let's review our lessons." His right hand slowly reached down, untied the gauze pants, took them off, and stroked them lightly.

"A silver bottle breaks and water splashes out, Iron cavalry rushes out with swords and guns ringing. Do you think this poem is appropriate for the scene?"

Yueming's mind was a mess. She pondered the poem over and over for a long time before she finally realized what was happening. Blushing, she spat at him in shame and anger, "Bah! How dare you call yourself a scholar? You're the only one in my nearly eighteen years who can read Bai Juyi's poetry so obscenely."

Yun Kai chuckled softly, kissed the corner of her lips, and said lovingly, "Silly child, we are just husband and wife telling some jokes about sex, which is not considered vulgar. You haven't heard anything truly vulgar yet!"

Yueming struggled with the last bit of clarity in her mind and said, "Aren't you going out later? If you keep doing this, you won't be able to have dinner in time."

Yun Kai reached out and plucked the magnolia branch from her chest, muttering, "There's something delicious lying around, why should I eat?"

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce's dinner was packed with businesspeople, and almost all the prominent figures in Bangkok's business community were present. Su Shiyue and Luo Er, accompanying their father at home, attended the social event. They were absent-mindedly waiting for Yun Kai to arrive, and then they quietly slipped out to the club for a drink.

The party was already halfway through, but Yun Kai still hadn't shown up. Su Shiyue smoked a cigarette and asked impatiently, "Is he going to be at home with little A Yue again?"

Luo Er smiled and said, "You should also be considerate of him. At home, with so many people watching him, he could only look at the meat but not eat it. Now that he's in Bangkok and no one is watching him, he should be able to eat his fill."

Su Shiyue shook his head: "If he loves me like this, I'm afraid he won't marry a concubine in the future?"

"How dare he? His father-in-law is the biggest contributor to his family's current situation. As long as his father-in-law is alive, he won't dream of getting involved with any other woman except Xiao Ayue in this life."

"The gratitude is deep, the hatred is great. Little Ayue is lucky to have his favor. Otherwise, her father would never leave the Yunxiang Mansion in his lifetime. How could Yunkai's father watch this cash cow help others get rich? Lan Yingde is so powerful in Kunming. The Yunxiang Mansion has plenty of ways to make him disappear without a trace."

"What are you talking about me? What methods does our family have?" Yun Kai arrived late and just heard the last sentence.

Su Shiyue smiled and said, "You said you should do something to strengthen your husband's authority. You knelt down at home and begged Xiao Ayue for a long time before she agreed to let you go out, right?"

Yun Kai waved for the waiter to bring him a glass of wine, and after sitting down on the sofa next to Luo Er, he said to Su Shiyue, "Don't make my Yueming sound like a yaksha. She's very well-behaved."

Luo Er disagreed with his words: "She is well-behaved? I ate so many of her dishes in Kunming, and you tell me she is well-behaved!"

Yun Kai was no ordinary protective child. He rolled his eyes at him and said, "You deserve it, don't you? If you hadn't messed with her friends, would she have treated you like that? What are you dissatisfied with? Would you die from hearing a few words from her? Besides, even my Yue Ming looks cute when she rolls her eyes."

Luo Er was stunned by his words. Cute as hell! If he couldn't beat him, Luo Er really wanted to pick up the ashtray on the table and hit him.

Seeing Luo Er's fierce expression, Su Shiyue was afraid that a bloodbath would occur in public, so he quickly tried to smooth things over and change the subject: "That lovely girl of yours has already prepared your consort's residence. Are you really planning to go to Kunming?"

Yunkai shook his head. "That's just everyone trying to cheer her up! If my father-in-law really wanted to go back to Kunming, why would he let me buy land and build factories in Siam and the Philippines? Because of the Japanese, domestic industry is struggling. How long can we fight a war without industry? If we really have to leave, I guess we'll just try to find a place in Southeast Asia that hasn't been touched by the Japanese. I also thought that I would have to come to Bangkok as a last resort, so I brought Yueming here this time to let her adapt to life here in advance." After saying that, he sighed again. "Yueming is easy to deal with. She will definitely follow me wherever I go. My father and wife will definitely not be able to persuade her. If it really affects Yunxiang, I'm afraid my father and eldest brother will fight the Japanese to the death."

Talking about war always makes people unhappy. Seeing the tense atmosphere, Luo Er clapped his hands and said, "It would be a great thing if you could really come to Bangkok and settle down. We brothers could get together more often, instead of just seeing each other once or twice a year."

Su Shiyue also advised: "Things will work out when the time comes. Your father-in-law is a man of great talent. He has laid out more than one way out, so there's always one way to go. Think positively. What if the Japanese are defeated by you? Then there will be peace in the world."

A few people were chatting about current affairs when a waiter came over and told Yun Kai that someone from the Yun Mansion was calling him.

He stood up to answer the phone. Su Shiyue snorted in disdain, "Why is this little Ayue clinging to him so tightly, like he's still nursing? Yun Er hasn't even had time to relax on the phone and he's already come after me. We can't let him go later. We have to keep him drinking until midnight before letting him go home."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yun Kai came back angrily. With a sullen face, he said to Luo Er, "Can you help me find out where Ti Ling is?"

Su Shiyue and Luo Er looked at each other. Wasn’t it Xiao Ayue who called? What did it have to do with Ti Ling?

Yun Kai gritted his teeth and uttered, "She took my Yueming out to play."

Ti Ling took little A Yue out to play? Su Shiyue and Luo Er exchanged glances. Now there was something fun to watch!

As for why Yueming plays with Tiling, it was all because of An Kejian.

At a dance party, Ti Ling learned that Yue Ming was An Kejian's cousin and took the initiative to greet her. After they got to know each other better, Ti Ling told Yue Ming that she liked An Kejian and wanted Yue Ming to help her.

Yueming was surprised and refused outright.

Ti Ling was puzzled: "Why don't you help me? I don't want to be your cousin's wife, I just want to have a relationship with him."

Yueming frowned, "You're just trying to play with him, this is even worse."

Ti Ling thought Yue Ming didn't help her because they weren't close enough, so she often went to see Yue Ming when Yun Kai was away. Knowing that Yun Kai was going to attend the Chinese Chamber of Commerce dinner tonight, she called Yue Ming and mysteriously told her that she was going to take her to a fun place.

After Yueming hung up the phone, she told Feng Xiaosai to tell him that if Yunkai had not returned yet, she would go out to play with the girls from Chen's Cotton Mill.

It took Feng Xiaosai a while to realize that the lady from Chen's Cotton Mill wasn't Ti Ling. Thinking of Ti Ling's reputation among Bangkok's socialites, he didn't dare to waste a minute and immediately called Yun Kai.

As for Yueming, who had gone out with Ti Ling, she now regretted it. She and Ti Ling had played together a few times, always going to places like jewelry stores, cafes, and tailor shops.

The place they came to this time was brightly lit and bustling with people, but since the sign was only in Siamese, she couldn't understand it and followed Ti Ling in. As soon as she entered, she realized something was amiss.

The lights in the hall were dim, and smoke was curling between the curtains used as partitions. Under the background of rich Arabic spices and music, even the air became decadent.

A man in an Arab robe came to greet Ti Ling, bowing and leading the way, his tone of voice full of flattery: "Miss Ti Ling, please come this way. I have arranged the best seat for you, in the first row in front of the stage..."

A table was placed on the gorgeous wool carpet, and several male servants quickly brought wine, fruit, and snacks. Ti Ling leaned back on the cushions on the carpet and handed the hookah mouthpiece to Yue Ming. "Try this, it's quite exciting too."

Yueming shook her head: "No, I don't want to smoke." The environment here was too weird, she didn't dare to touch anything.

Ti Ling seemed to see her concerns but did not explain. She waved to the Arab man who led them in and whispered a few words to him. The man looked at Yue Ming twice, nodded and left.

Seeing the two of them acting so mysteriously, Yue Ming felt a little panicked. She grabbed her small handbag and said, "Ayun should have gone home. He doesn't allow me to go out at night. I have to go home."

After saying that, he tried to stand up, but Ti Ling pushed him back. She raised her eyebrows and smiled, "What? Are you afraid that I'll sell you? How much can your skinny body fetch? Don't worry, I brought you here to have some fun. You'll know in a moment."

Yueming had no choice but to lean on the mat, thinking that if he stayed a little longer he would find a chance to pee.

After a while, a male dancer wearing a gauze came on stage, the musicians changed the music, and the dancers danced to the music.

Yueming breathed a sigh of relief. They'd come to see the dancing; it had nearly frightened her to death. Not to mention, the dance was quite fresh. She confidently took a sip of the wine on the table. Suddenly, the dancers on the stage shed their veils and threw them off the stage. From the curtains came bursts of women's screams, and someone threw handfuls of money onto the stage.

The wine in Yueming's mouth sprayed out like an arrow. She touched her chest and thought in fear, could it be that Ti Ling brought her to see a striptease?