Chapter 53 The Turning Point: It's not me killing him, but this time you're not allowed to have children with me again...
Outside the courtyard, the sound of horses' hooves rose in the night. Song Chengzhi paused, his hand holding a pen, and looked out the window by the dim candlelight. Under the cold moonlight, a tall figure dismounted and knocked on his courtyard gate.
Song Chengzhi was puzzled. Why were people looking for him at unusual times lately?
He took a lantern and went out of the house, asking warily in the courtyard, "Who is it?"
“It is I who inherit it.”
The man answered easily, and Song Chengzhi immediately recognized him as Chen Song, a colleague from the painting academy.
The door creaked open, and he asked with a smile, "What brings you here?"
Chen Song's lips twitched into a strange smile. "I'm bringing you something."
"What is that?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a short knife plunged into Song Chengzhi's chest, and blood gushed out.
Chen Song's face trembled, his eyes flashing with a fierce light as he stared at Song Chengzhi's terrified eyes like a wolf.
"Of the thirty-six painters in the academy, you just had to be promoted, you deserve to die!"
His voice was hoarse and angry as he roared about his years of ups and downs at the art academy.
Chen Song was the foremost painter of landscapes, flowers, and birds in the academy, but he didn't get the lucrative job of surveying the site for the Buddha's relics, so it was understandable that he felt resentful.
Song Chengzhi grabbed his wrist, trembling, "You're confused, if you kill me... how will you get away with it?"
"It doesn't matter. As long as you die tonight, my wife and children will be rich for life. I don't care what happens to me."
Under the moonlight, Chen Song grinned maliciously, his madness tinged with a sense of desolation.
Song Chengzhi stumbled backward and bumped into the door, finally turning his head to look at the light shining from inside the room. He had just finished painting a portrait of Jinniang tonight, but hadn't had time to apply makeup to the beauty in the painting yet…
Chen Song kicked him with his toe to make sure he was dead, then ran to the alley entrance, knelt down suddenly in front of the man, and burst into tears:
"I have completed all of your instructions, my lord. As for my wife and children... I ask that you continue to take good care of them."
Concealed by the cloak, the moonlight could only illuminate half of Meng Shutai's face. His jade-like skin exuded a chilling aura, and beautiful shadows fell on his brow bones and nose, making him resemble a somber plum blossom under the cold light.
"Have you remembered everything I taught you?"
“I remember, I killed Song Chengzhi because I was jealous of his rapid rise in rank.”
Meng Shutai gave a satisfied hum and waved a finger at him.
"Go home and spend your last night with your wife."
Song Chengzhi's poverty was immediately apparent; his house consisted of a single room, a kitchen, and a courtyard, but nothing else. Meng Shutai circled around him, his brows furrowed with disdain.
If Le Jin were to struggle with him, wouldn't she have to stay in such a miserable place? Meng Shutai seemed to see Le Jin's pitiful appearance with her forehead and nose covered in dirt and ash. He felt inexplicably angry, but his heart also softened terribly.
How could she live that kind of life?
Just imagining it made Meng Shutai feel a pricking sensation all over his body, and a layer of prickly sweat broke out on his back.
He was holding Song Chengzhi's painting under the cloak. He stepped into the room, raised his hand to take down the lamp and was about to burn the painting when he saw another painting, Yue Jin, on the table.
The figure in the painting was not yet colored, but was looking at Meng Shutai with a beautiful and obedient smile.
Song Chengzhi specialized in portraiture, capturing expressions and demeanor exceptionally well. Meng Shutai unconsciously smiled gently at the portrait, bending down to lean closer to the image of Yue Jin in the painting, and speaking softly:
"I didn't kill him, so don't be angry with me this time." Meng Shutai gently stroked "her" cheek with his fingers, reluctantly saying, "What a pity."
Having finished speaking, the oil lamp beside him fell onto the portrait, and the flames instantly leaped up and burned fiercely. The painting of the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet was also thrown by Meng Shutai and burned here.
Returning to the mansion at breakneck speed, Meng Shutai removed his cloak and quietly sat down beside Le Jin's bed.
She usually sleeps very well, able to fall into a deep sleep the moment her eyes are closed. But after all the commotion he caused her today, she is now completely still.
But the sounds from the chaise lounge still lingered in Meng Shutai's ears, like snakes burrowing into his body.
The warbling of orioles was terrifying.
It's strange, really. Meng Shutai had always thought that sex was like that of pigs and dogs, that people were naked and producing one pig or dog after another, it was disgusting. He deliberately rubbed Le Jin to vent his anger and relieve that almost hallucinatory malice.
I was so angry that I wanted to punish her.
The strange thing is that as soon as she cried out, something broke out in Meng Shutai's heart, eager to take over his meridians and bones, squeezing him inside his body with a cracking sound.
He felt it very clearly.
Twice, the watery valley rippled with trembling waves. She seemed unable to breathe; all sound ceased, her face flushed red, her eyes tightly shut, her brows furrowed as she desperately suppressed something.
After a while, the warm, gentle waves under his fingertips stopped, and she gasped again, her whole body relaxing and trembling slightly.
How fun!
Meng Shutai looked at the sleeping Le Jin. He hadn't expected that just touching her would elicit such a wonderful reaction from her.
This was simply the strangest thing that had ever happened to him. Even the vastness and inclusiveness of death paled in comparison; a single Le Jin surpassed all the ineffable mysteries.
Looking at her sleeping face, Meng Shutai suddenly remembered something.
A small wooden box containing the jade sat on the dressing table. He took out the jade and examined it closely in the moonlight; its delicate shape must have been specially chosen to resemble his personal seal.
A brilliant idea suddenly popped into my head.
The delicate, oyster-like stamens always resisted his excessive probing.
Moreover, the flower stamens often tremble and open and close when startled, as if their souls are trembling.
We should give her something small to comfort her, otherwise, she's too pitiful, isn't she?
Meng Shutai's heart pounded, and his skin felt slightly hot.
"The sound of chess pieces." He called quietly, "Prepare water, I want to take a bath."
After a slight pause, Meng Shutai added:
"cold water."
The next day, as dawn broke, the beaded curtain shone brightly, sparkling and translucent. Le Jin was stung by the light as soon as she opened her eyes, and quickly closed them again for a moment.
However, when she opened her eyes again, she saw that there was someone lying next to her.
With a sharp "smack," Le Jin slapped the slumbering man's face, leaving a pink blush on his fair skin.
"Who gave you permission to sleep here?! Get out!"
She was still reeling from yesterday's absurdity, her heart filled with rage. That dog of a man!
Le Jin was neither too old nor too young, so of course she knew what Meng Shutai had done to her. Fortunately, this was just a transmigration into a book, and she could still treat it as a pipe dream, but the anger in her heart was still rising steadily.
At seventeen, he was a paragon of virtue; by twenty-one, he was already bullying girls. Men are all the same! Bastard, ptooey!
Meng Shutai was awakened by the slap and said in a daze, "No one can sleep on the chaise longue..."
Upon hearing this, Le Jin raised her hand and slapped him again, glaring at him like a little tiger: "Nonsense! How come you can't sleep?"
"There's water on the tatami mat; it's wet."
Meng Shutai took two solid slaps but didn't say anything, just blinked repeatedly, looking aggrieved.
Le Jin was both ashamed and angry. She kicked the blanket with her legs and threw the small wooden box next to her pillow away.
"Meng Shutai, you scoundrel!"
Meng Shutai suppressed a laugh, his face still showing a bewildered and innocent expression: "Are you going to smash me again?"
"I!"
Le Jin was speechless, her teeth chattering, unable to utter a single word, wishing she could chew Meng Shutai up on the spot!
Before she could grab Meng Shutai and bite him, Baoyin suddenly rushed over to report.
"My lady, the painter Song is dead!"
Dead?!
Le Jin glanced at Meng Shutai, who was lying beside her with his head propped up, and the suspicion in her eyes was self-evident.
"I stayed with you all night."
"Baoyin, how did he die?"
Le Jin didn't believe Meng Shutai's words and asked Bao Yin directly in a cold voice.
"They say some colleague from the painting academy was jealous of his involvement in the Ministry of Works and, in a moment of madness, broke into his house and committed the crime. That person has now been arrested and taken to the Prefect of the Capital..."
"Although the painting academy is an inner court, it is actually a lowly and poor place. Painters can neither take the imperial examination to become officials nor engage in other businesses. It is common for them to fight tooth and nail for a little appreciation."
Meng Shutai added leisurely, subtly touching the bruise on his forehead and letting out a soft hiss.
Le Jin immediately shifted her gaze, no longer engaging in a tense standoff with him. After a moment of silence, she surrendered, pulled the blanket over her head, and lay down again.
Meng Shutai finally smiled silently, clenching her fist to hide her smile. Her gaze shifted to the small wooden box she had just thrown out; the jade had snapped in two.
"Sigh..." he sighed softly.
This material is not blessed.
Next time, it's better to use his own finger.
——
Inside Jude Winery, Le Jin huddled in a small corner by the window, hugging her knees, watching the people coming and going downstairs, hoping to soak up some of their liveliness.
Staying at the Meng residence meant she would see Meng Shutai, and every time she saw him, she would remember what happened on that bed.
Why didn't she kick him?! Why didn't she scratch his face or gouge out his eyes?!
Le Jin was filled with remorse. It was true they hadn't consummated their marriage, and Meng Shutai hadn't broken his promise, but… he cheated!
Ugh, what a bad person!
Le Jin held her face in her hands and sighed again.
"Lady Le?"
A familiar voice sounded from behind; it was Jiang Yingyun.
Meng Shutai was Jiang Yingyun's benefactor and friend. Le Jin thought that Jiang Yingyun would sever all ties with her after she found out that she had hurt Meng Shutai, but she never expected that Meng Shutai would take the initiative to greet her.
A sour feeling welled up in my nose, and my eyes started to hurt too.
Le Jin knew that she probably had a bit of a "female bird" complex towards Jiang Yingyun, and every time she was in front of her, she always hoped that Jiang Yingyun could understand her and know her.
But right now, Le Jin didn't know how to start the conversation, so she could only give Jiang Yingyun a bitter smile.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Yingyun returned her a similarly bitter smile.
Le Jin's expression changed. "What's wrong with you?"
"Isn't Lady Le unhappy too? How can she still have the mind to meddle in my affairs?"
Despite saying that, Jiang Yingyun still sat down with Le Jin.
Le Jin's eyes lit up instantly, and she asked timidly, "I'm a bad woman, don't you hate me?"
Jiang Yingyun smiled as if she had heard a joke, and shrugged: "Me too. My father, grandmother, uncles and aunts still think that I killed my cousin, but you don't hate me."
The two "bad women" sat calmly, the worldly gossip like withered leaves on the water's surface, not disturbing their peace.
For the first time in days, Le Jin smiled genuinely.
"Alright, I'm very happy now. Tell me about your story." If she had a tail, Le Jin could whip it around like a whirlwind.
Jiang Yingyun was amused by her smugness, but her eyes were filled with sadness.
"He and I... can't be together."
Le Jin felt a jolt in her mind, as if a giant boulder had crashed into an abyss. She frantically tried to recall the original storyline—was a bad ending about to happen?
Jiang Yingyun indeed told her what Le Jin already knew. The Zhennan Prince's family returned to Luojing, and his sister, Princess Zhaode Xie Lianhui, would later become Yuan Jingming's wife.
Yuan Jingming now knows that his father, the Prince of Pingning, wants to use a marriage alliance to appease the non-royal princes who have been granted titles for their military achievements. He is currently having a big fight with his family, hoping to seize a glimmer of hope.
But Jiang Yingyun had already sensed the irreversibility of power.
Le Jin felt a mix of emotions and looked deeply at the distraught Jiang Yingyun.
She can't rashly change the original plot, but what if she makes some progress under her mission?
Zhennan King Xie Xianheng... she remembered him as Meng Shutai's "green hat number two".
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Author's Note: Meng Shutai: How many are you going to talk about? I don't understand...
P.S.: Goodness, I was so nervous writing the last chapter, afraid the male lead would be too evil and everyone would scold me, but you guys just kept throwing landmines and nutrient solutions at me! [Facepalm laughing and crying][Facepalm laughing and crying][Facepalm laughing and crying] I get it! [Let me see]
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