Chapter 44 Chapter 44 Self-recommendation
Jiang Hexue laughed out loud.
"Do you know what a forced kiss is?" She poked Shen Qingchen's shoulder with her fingertips. "A forced kiss is a direct and anxious kiss. How can you be so blunt and ask if it's okay? Is this even remotely related to 'forced'?"
"Is that okay?" Shen Qingchen asked again.
"Of course... um!"
The back of her neck was held, and the rest of her words were drowned out by his kiss.
Jiang Hexue discovered that every time Shen Qingchen kissed her, he would stick to her very closely. Now she was embedded in his arms, with no room for her to retreat.
Despite such a strong and intimate posture, he kissed her gently and restrainedly. His lips were always light when they touched hers, always containing a hint of caution and tentativeness. His cool breath was like feathers, brushing across her cheeks itchily.
The one who felt it was not enough was Jiang Hexue.
She reached out and ran her hands through his braids, pressing him tighter.
Shen Qingchen didn't allow her to touch his hair, stepped back slightly, and took her hand in his palm.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the fragrant pills in the bamboo basket on the table and reached out to take them.
"I told you not to eat it earlier." Jiang Hexue stopped him, half-raising her eyes, her gaze alluring. "I like the way you taste."
Shen Qingchen's neck tightened and he looked at her solemnly.
She was wearing her old silk dress today, the royal blue hem touched his clothes, and the same color made his heart soften.
Her dark hair was casually tied up with a wooden hairpin, and she wore a little makeup, which made her skin white and lips red, making her look gorgeous and charming.
"I'll make you a dress of this color, okay?" Shen Qingchen asked before kissing him again, her voice low and unclear. "And make you a fox fur coat with black fox fur, and we can match each other."
They matched so many pieces of clothing, and when you put them together, you could tell they were a couple.
Jiang Hexue responded with a kiss.
The flexible tip of her tongue pried open his teeth. She wanted to hold the initiative in her hands. Shen Qingchen did not argue with her. Only when she was too tired to retreat did she take the initiative and take it away.
She pulled back, so he put his arms around her and chased her to kiss her.
"Stop for a moment." Jiang Hexue turned her head away from him. "I can't bear it anymore. Let me catch my breath."
Shen Qingchen stopped as he was told, and was reluctant to step away. He put his nose against her cheek and asked again, "What will you do?"
He rubbed some of her lip balm on his lips, which was quite fragrant, charming and seductive. Jiang Hexue calmed her breathing, put her arms around his neck again, and smiled with her eyes curved: "Me..."
"I will say," she nuzzled his lips. "Husband, more."
-
It was broad daylight, there were other people outside, and I had to entertain guests, so I was embarrassed to kiss her for too long.
"I need to go back to my room to put on some lip balm." Jiang Hexue swung her legs. "Carry me upstairs."
Qianxiangfang has two floors. The outer room of the first floor is used to sell incense and receive customers, the inner room is used to make incense, and the second floor is where Jiang Hexue lives.
This was the first time Shen Qingchen entered her bedroom.
The wooden couch was against the wall and looked no more than five feet wide. She didn't like to make up her quilt and curled up in a small ball on the couch.
There was a window on the south wall, and on the wooden table facing the window was a round mirror, which she used for dressing.
There were also two bamboo tubes, one containing her makeup tools such as eyebrow pencil and lip balm, and the other containing a bunch of freshly picked red plum blossoms, with dew still on the delicate petals.
"This is the red plum blossom I picked this morning." Xue picked up a lip balm at random. "The bamboo tube is leftover from buying bamboo tube ice cream in the summer. I washed it and used it."
Shen Qingchen was no longer silent now. He would just say "hmm" when she said something, and his eyes continued to scan.
Her bedroom wasn't big. Apart from the bed and the wooden table, there was only a wardrobe against the wall. She had somehow managed to stick out two bamboo poles on the side, with...
The moment he saw it clearly, Shen Qingchen suddenly looked away, his ears red as if bleeding.
"What's going on?" Jiang Hexue finished applying lip balm, tilted her head and looked, unable to help but laugh. "What did you see?"
Shen Qingchen was so embarrassed that she couldn't say anything. She had no choice but to follow his gaze and see two lilac-colored pieces hanging on the slanted bamboo pole of the wardrobe.
It was the small clothes she had worn yesterday and washed. She hung them up to dry this morning and they were not dry yet. Drops of water occasionally dripped from the semi-transparent fabric into the wooden basin below.
"Is that Xiaoyi?" Jiang Hexue walked over and squeezed out some water, which dripped into the basin. "You're so embarrassed just by looking at her?"
Shen Qingchen didn't respond.
"It's not the first time I've seen you. You've taken it off before, and the first time you even pretended to put it on for me. Now..."
"Qiong Qiong!"
"Why are you so angry?" Jiang Hexue shook the water off her hands and hugged him from behind. "Husband, do you still remember what day it is today?"
"The first day of the lunar month."
"I thought my husband had come to see me today..." She pressed her palm down through the fabric of his clothes, pressing on his lower abdomen, and smiled maliciously. "I offer myself as a pillow and bed."
-
Jiang Hexue decided to quit while he was ahead.
And since she was on vacation today, she happened to ask Shen Qingchen to accompany her to Qimengxuan to pick out some helpers.
"Why are you going to a brothel to pick someone?" Shen Qingchen asked after getting into the carriage. "You can just ask for someone from the palace."
"Any help is a blessing." Jiang Hexue leaned against him like a boneless person. "The one sitting with me today was someone I saved by chance. He was previously sold to Qimengxuan."
"I won't accept anything that's not suitable for me." She pinched his knuckles. "Don't worry."
Xue Zhu, Shen Qingchen's long-time attendant, handed over two curtains at this time. Jiang Hexue took one and put it on, then asked, "Why do you want to wear it too?"
The people of Longlin are open-minded, and nowadays few people wear veils. Only a few noble ladies from aristocratic families wear them when going out, and there are even fewer men who are so particular about it.
"I never go to places with fireworks." The curtain was put on, and Shen Qingchen's face, as noble as jade, was covered with mist. "I will go with you this time. If someone with ulterior motives takes my words out of context, I..."
"It has a bad reputation."
Ever since they got married, whenever people thought of him, they only thought of Jiang Hexue. If he went to a brothel, someone with ulterior motives would misinterpret his words and mistakenly accuse him of being unfaithful to the princess...
Shen Qingchen felt unexpected and hard to accept when he thought about it.
But explaining is extremely troublesome and time-consuming, not to mention that everyone has their own opinions, and he is unable to correct them.
But Jiang Hexue was amused by him.
"You're as concerned about your reputation as a young girl." She reached into the curtains and rubbed his face. "You're still very thin-skinned."
This seemed to be the first time she rubbed his face, and the touch felt much better than she had imagined.
He had a narrow face, little flesh on his cheeks, and many of his bones were sharp and pressing, but they were soft and smooth in her palms, and she could knead them like dough.
Jiang Hexue tried to rub his ears even harder, but just as her fingertips were about to touch, he grabbed them and moved them away.
"Stingy." She tickled his palm.
"We're almost there." The carriage was slowing down, and Shen Qingchen held her hand tightly. "Follow me closely, don't walk alone."
Inside Qimengxuan, there were people wearing fragrant clothes and rows of incense and candles burning during the day. As soon as Jiang Hexue entered the door, he sneezed because of the strong scent of powder that hit his nose.
"Welcome, my dear guests." The plump and obese madam came forward with a fawning smile. "Would you like to listen to music and enjoy the dance, or take a short rest?"
"Let's take a break and find... Ouch!" Jiang Hexue opened his mouth from behind Chen Qingchen, but was bumped unexpectedly, followed by the sound of cups and plates breaking.
"Are you hurt?" Shen Qingchen immediately pulled her into his arms and carefully examined her. Seeing no bloodstains, he breathed a sigh of relief and glanced coldly at the dancer who was frantically picking up the broken porcelain pieces on the ground.
"I'm sorry! My lady, I'm sorry!" The dancer lowered her head and tremblingly gathered the fragments in her arms. She even ignored the cuts on her hands. The bright red blood meandered among the white porcelain pieces like cold and slippery snakes.
"A Liu! How could you be so reckless!" the madam scolded, then smiled. "My two lords, I'm truly sorry. A Liu didn't mean it."
"Which girl are you two looking for today?"
Jiang Hexue frowned slightly, swallowed the "A Liu" that was about to come to his lips, and changed his words: "I want a room upstairs and find a few dancers."
The madam responded and immediately sent someone to take her into the room.
-
"Aren't you going to help your apprentice?" The incense in the wing room was stronger than in the main hall. Shen Qingchen extinguished the candle, opened the window, and asked.
"Ah Cheng told me that Ah Liu is calm and thoughtful." Jiang Hexue lifted the curtain to let in some air. "From what I saw just now, it seems like he has nothing to do with her."
"When I choose an apprentice, I want someone calm and composed, someone who's suitable for making incense. If someone like Ah Liu came into the shop, I'm afraid she'd only cause trouble, and I don't want to get mad at her." She frowned. "I have to choose someone myself. As for Ah Liu, considering she's Ah Cheng's friend, I'll keep her for a month or so, so she won't suffer any harm."
"If she can calm down, then it would be good to bring her to Qianxiangfang."
"It's up to you." Shen Qingchen didn't care about others and just said, "If you need money, you can always come and get it from me."
"No need." Jiang Hexue calculated with a smile. "Once the balance of this batch of perfumed ornaments is paid, I'll have a lot of cash on hand, so I can take a break."
There were three knocks on the door, and after getting permission, two dancers entered one after the other. The one walking in front had a straight posture, and her almond-shaped eyes under the veil were slightly purple.
"He Fu?" Jiang Hexue identified her, startled, and then looked back. "He Xin? Is she your sister?"
"...Are you Axue?" He Fu lowered her veil, and the younger He Xin's eyes were filled with tears when she heard her response.
When Jiang Hexue was escaping, Mr. He from He's Incense Shop took her in for two days. He Fu and He Xin were Mr. He's daughters.
While reminiscing about the past, she learned that Liangzhou had suffered a snowstorm, and the people were living in dire straits. Mr. He died of illness in the snowstorm. The two sisters went all the way south, hoping to seek refuge with their relatives and friends in Beijing. However, as soon as they arrived in the capital, they fell into a trap and were sent to Qimengxuan.
Since they were old acquaintances and both sisters knew how to make incense, Jiang Hexue did not hesitate and asked the brothel owner to redeem the two sisters.
The madam asked for three hundred taels of silver. Before Jiang Hexue could argue with her, Shen Qingchen, who was beside her, had already handed her three silver notes worth one hundred taels. While the madam was stunned, he took her away.
"You're a spendthrift again!" Jiang Hexue shook his hand off as soon as he left the house. "He Fu and He Xin were tricked into marrying Qi Mengxuan. It was an unfair method to begin with. They shouldn't be given a cent!"
"Qimengxuan's owner is someone else. There's no need to alert the enemy and bring trouble upon yourself." Shen Qingchen said. "It has nothing to do with you."
Jiang Hexue curled her lips in disapproval and didn't argue with him. She glanced around casually and happened to see a young man dragging a stiff girl out of the backyard of Qimengxuan. His movements were so rough that it seemed as if he was going to...discard the body?
And that young man with black hair and brocade clothes was actually...
"younger brother?!"
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