Chapter 32 The Mistress's "Battlefield"
A crescent moon hung between the swaying shadows of the trees. A gentle breeze rustled by, and the moonlight on the ground shimmered like wine, spilling over the doors and windows and flowing to Le Jin's feet.
The dripping water fell, each drop landing on her anxious heart, resonating with her subtle breaths.
Le Jin hid behind the door, her ear pressed tightly against it, praying desperately, "Don't come, don't come."
In the middle of the night, her fiancé encountered a hot-blooded young man in her room who wanted to elope with her. Le Jin couldn't explain herself no matter how hard she tried.
In the utter silence, something suddenly fell to the ground with a "thud."
Startled, Le Jin turned around. Feng Yu'en, clutching a handkerchief, looked awkwardly at the powder box she had just accidentally knocked over.
Seeing Le Jin looking at him, Feng Yu'en hurriedly pointed to the box, then to a water stain on his clothes, silently apologizing.
It turned out that he had gotten some ice water on the outside of the ice chest, and while looking for a handkerchief to wipe his clothes, he accidentally knocked over the powder box from his bedside dressing table.
Le Jin shook her head helplessly and waved for him to squat properly.
Two more knocks sounded behind her, followed by a gentle voice: "Lady Le, I saw your door open just now, were you awake? Shutai has something for you."
Prayer was useless, it still came...
Le Jin closed her eyes, her body limp as she leaned against the door, feeling as if her spine had been removed. She stared at the narrow crack in the door, unable to resist imagining a cold dagger thrusting in the moment the door opened.
My heart skipped a beat: So this is what they call a guilty conscience.
But is stealing someone considered theft? The person actually offered themselves to the thief, so it's probably less serious than theft...
After offering some words of comfort, Le Jin pretended to be nonchalant and yawned, "I'm going to sleep now. Give me anything else tomorrow."
Meng Shutai chuckled from outside the door, "But this thing is only useful tonight."
Seeing that she couldn't persuade him to leave, Le Jin peeked through the crack in the door to see if he was holding a dagger or something else.
An eye peered through the crack, and upon closer inspection, it was Meng Shutai's clear, bright eye, smiling, silently watching her through the crack!
Two eyes, looking at each other through the door.
"ah!"
Admittedly, Meng Shutai's eyes were very beautiful, but the scene was too terrifying, like something out of a horror movie. Le Jin screamed in fright, but she had no choice but to open the door.
With a forced smile, she opened the door and immediately stepped back to create some distance between them. "What is it, Young Master Meng?"
Meng Shutai stood calmly outside the square doorway, displaying a gentlemanly attitude with no intention of entering.
But when his gaze fell on Le Jin, a dark undercurrent suddenly surged within him, and he lowered his eyes, no longer looking at her.
With a slight swallow, Meng Shutai handed over a mahogany box with both hands. "Lady Le ate too much tonight, so she must be having trouble sleeping. This is a digestive powder. Just mix it with water and take it. It works very well. Lady Le can give it a try."
"You timed it really well..." Le Jin gritted her teeth in resentment, and became even more suspicious that he had done it on purpose that night.
"Thank you, my lord."
With her arms outstretched, the bright moonlight shone on her smooth, rounded arms, making her skin appear even whiter than snow, like a shimmering halo of light that coquettishly stole the spotlight, yet remained invisible and untouchable.
However, what's enviable is that someone caught this light—there was a gray handprint on her arm.
Just as Le Jin was about to touch the box, Meng Shutai deftly pulled it back into his arms.
"But now that I've seen her, I'm afraid Lady Le will find her own way to have fun without needing any digestive medicine."
Huh? What method?
Meng Shutai's voice was icy. After speaking, he turned his head away, leaving her only with his handsome profile. Le Jin realized something was wrong and looked down—
A light blue, form-fitting strapless bra tightly clung to her body, revealing her soft, curvaceous upper body in a way that was undeniably alluring and seductive. In modern times, such a style might be considered fashionable, but in ancient times…
Le Jin's mind went blank for a moment, and she quickly explained, "I'm just too hot and want to cool off. I'm like this at home, really..."
"Oh, is it just too hot?"
Meng Shutai's tone was low and gloomy, seemingly smiling yet harboring resentment, as he scratched at Le Jin like a cat's claws.
"Wasn't it playing with people at night to aid digestion?"
It was like being struck by lightning.
Le Jin stood there stunned... How could you, a peerless and stunning beauty, say such shameless and unashamed words so casually?
Le Jin's mind went blank; she had absolutely no idea what to do.
Her eyes were wide with fear, both bewildered and innocent. She seemed frozen in place, only the rapid blush rising on her cheeks betraying the turmoil within her.
Meng Shutai took off his coat, stepped into the house, and draped it over Le Jin's shoulders.
He was extremely tall, and when he looked down, his two fingers deftly fastened the buttons. In the moonlight, his shadow completely covered Yue Jin.
Le Jin's heart pounded as she heard him speak gently, "Is the person inside still not coming out? Are they going to share a room with Le Niangzi tonight? It's a pity that this room only accommodates one person at a time, and it would be inconvenient for two people to stay together. How about I take you to an empty room where you'll be more comfortable?"
Le Jin was shocked and couldn't believe her ears.
At this critical juncture, he wasn't there to catch his mistress, but rather to worry that she was living in a cramped apartment.
What magnanimity this is!
The scene of Yuyang Nunnery that day flashed through Le Jin's mind like a revolving lantern. She couldn't help but wonder, was Meng Shutai really so indifferent to matters of the sexes? Was he really impotent in some way?
If that were true, Le Jin felt a sense of relief, like clinging to a piece of floating ice in boiling water. His inability to have sex was a great thing for her, meaning she wouldn't have to endure his disgust and repulsion after marriage.
But that's a separate matter for now; Feng Yu'en absolutely cannot be taken away by Meng Shutai. If he were to harbor ill intentions halfway through, Feng Yu'en would likely be reduced to ashes.
Le Jin tugged at Meng Shutai's sleeve and smiled sweetly, "There's no one here, how could there be anyone here..."
Before she could finish speaking, Meng Shutai suddenly looked up at the ice chest, smiled, and nodded in that direction, as if welcoming a guest.
Le Jin turned around suddenly and saw that Feng Yu'en had already stood up.
Brother, will you listen to him or me?!
The handsome young man slowly stepped out from behind the cover, walked to Le Jin's side, and bowed to Meng Shutai.
“Young Master Meng, I am Feng Yu’en from Shuzhou, and I am Yue Jin’s childhood sweetheart. I have long admired your kind and benevolent reputation, and I am truly impressed to meet you today.”
Meng Shutai nodded in greeting, "Young Master Feng, it's late tonight. How about I host a banquet for you tomorrow to welcome you back, and then we can chat and laugh?"
Le Jin walked behind Feng Yu'en with her hands behind her back and poked him, gritting her teeth and whispering, "Reject him."
Feng Yu'en looked at Le Jin, then at Meng Shutai, as if undergoing a fierce internal struggle, and after a long while replied, "Thank you very much, Young Master Meng. I am extremely grateful."
He stepped forward and asked earnestly, "Where shall I stay tonight?"
Le Jin's heart shattered with fear, and she wished she could smash Feng Yu'en's pig head with a hammer.
Is it possible for a mistress to get this close to the wife? Aren't you afraid that the wife will poison you, cripple you, behead you, or dispose of your body?
But then I thought, everyone in the book's world thinks Meng Shutai is a kind and gentle gentleman, but who knows that he is actually a ruthless killer?
Feng Yu'en believed that his good reputation was well-deserved, and compared to Le Zhao, who punched and kicked him from the start, Meng Shutai was clearly a more approachable person.
Thus, Le Jin watched helplessly as her fiancé led one of her lovers to the villa under the moonlight. They spoke softly and gently, getting along harmoniously without any conflict. The "battlefield" thus dissolved without a trace.
She felt she really should go to sleep.
However, it felt like she was carrying a red-hot stone in her chest; it was both pressing and burning as soon as she lay down, making it impossible for Le Jin to sleep well.
As dawn broke and birds chirped three or four times, Le Jin threw off the covers to change her clothes.
With Feng Yu'en causing all this trouble, how can she stay with Meng Shutai? He can't stay here; it would be best to get rid of him today.
She stomped on her shoes furiously, seething inside: "I said I wanted to break up, but I still can't. Men are such a hassle!"
But as soon as the door opened, Madam Wu and Madam Zhang were standing in the courtyard.
The two ladies looked as if they had been disturbed in the middle of the night and their sweet dreams had been interrupted. They had deliberately covered their eyes with thick layers of lead powder to conceal them, but the weariness in their eyes still betrayed them.
Upon seeing Le Jin, they immediately beamed with exaggerated smiles and called out to her, "Lady Le!"
"What are you doing here so early in the morning... Hey! Hey! Where are you going?"
Without saying a word, the two grabbed one of Le Jin's arms and dragged her away.
"My lady, didn't you want to know how to please your husband? Yuzhen and I have thought of many things to discuss with you. Let's go to our Zen temple. Besides, my winery's best chef is here today; let him show off his skills to you, Madam Yue..."
"But I have important business to attend to!" Le Jin took a step to the side, refusing to move, her face contorted as she struggled with them.
“We’re also dealing with serious matters,” Madam Wu said, seeing that she couldn’t pull her away, and then she started to sob. “Miss Le, you don’t know, actually… actually, my husband has abandoned me, and I have no one to confide in about my sorrow and grievances…”
Le Jin blinked at her, "But that's not what you said yesterday."
Yesterday, Madam Wu clearly said that although the Censor was busy with official duties, he would bring her small gifts home every day, which was very sweet.
Mrs. Wu was speechless for a moment, and the handkerchief she was using to wipe her tears turned into a tool to wipe her sweat.
Madam Zhang stared at her in disbelief, never expecting that Meng Langjun's sudden request last night would drag even her own family into the mess.
Seeing her friend make such a great sacrifice, Mrs. Zhang immediately chimed in to smooth things over, saying, "I just found out!"
She held Le Jin's hand tightly, "We only found out about it last night, it really shocked us. They say that guy from outside has moved in and is now living in our house!"
Madam Wu burst into tears, looking utterly pitiful.
Le Jin gasped: Was last night some kind of mistress's night?
"Um... have you met that person outside? Who knows, maybe you two can get along well?"
After all, she witnessed it with her own eyes last night.
Madam Wu and Madam Zhang exchanged bewildered glances, their shocked gazes falling on Le Jin: "What kind of talk is this?"
Le Jin shuddered and laughed awkwardly, "I was just talking nonsense, just talking nonsense."
Madam Wu cried uncontrollably. Le Jin originally wanted to comfort her for a bit before going to find Feng Yu'en and Meng Shutai, but in the end, she was dragged to their place instead.
Before leaving, Madam Zhang gave a wink to the servant boy in the courtyard. The servant boy nodded to her and silently went to Meng Shutai to deliver the message.
Besides worshipping gods and Buddhas, Huayan Temple also had a Ficus pumila garden specifically for gatherings and social events for royalty and nobility.
In the ivy garden, Meng Shutai was directing his servants to repair the flower arrangements to be displayed at the small banquet.
“This flower… the deep purple is too heavy and intense, change it to pale yellow. Here, make it a little shorter, give me the scissors.”
"My lord, Madam Wu and Madam Zhang have already taken Lady Yue to their courtyard."
Meng Shutai cut off a section of broad-leaved orchid, and the emerald green leaves fluttered between his fingertips, forming a beautiful curved flower.
"Tell them to do their best to keep Lady Le here and not let her come."
He focused intently on pruning and manipulating the flowers, and before long, a floral landscape that incorporated the flowers of all four seasons, exuding elegance and refinement while retaining a sense of understated beauty, appeared in Meng Shutai's hands.
He looked around carefully, then smiled with satisfaction and turned to the servant boy, saying:
"Go and invite Young Master Feng over."
The servant boy retreated upon hearing the sound, and the flower arrangement was taken away and arranged by the servants, while the flower scissors with the red thread wrapped around the handle were still held between Meng Shutai's fingers.
A note from the author:
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Le Jin: My worldview has been shaken...
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