The Love of a Playboy
As Xu gradually revealed some details, Sui Chuke and Cheng Zhijie were both intelligent people, so she didn't need to say much more.
"Alright, I'm leaving."
"It's noon, let's eat first. It's not too late to leave in the afternoon. Mingyi misses you a lot."
"Yes! You be the judge first!"
Looking at the two brothers, Sui Zhixu suddenly felt a headache coming on. The consequences of her lack of sleep last night seemed to have finally arrived. She staggered slightly, but she didn't let them notice anything amiss.
When the three of them came out, Mei Niangzi stood in the middle of the courtyard, looking hesitantly at Sui Chuke who had come out.
She bit her lip and whispered, "My lord."
Sui Chu Ke slapped his forehead and apologized repeatedly, "I'm sorry, I neglected you."
As Xu watched the play indifferently, she suddenly stepped forward and bowed in front of her.
"Greetings, young master."
She frowned slightly and gestured for her to stand up, saying, "No need for such formalities."
Sui Zhixu wasn't someone who valued rules much. Except in specific situations where she needed to show a certain level of authority, she didn't like these troublesome rules. Sui Chuke had never bowed to her; he looked down on everyone equally.
His mother, Madam Zheng, was quite farsighted, settling him in Luoyang, the eastern capital. Not only was it geographically close to the Zheng family of Rongyang, but the second political center of the eastern capital did not have direct contact with the imperial family. Following Chu Ke's unforgiving nature, whether he was right or wrong, he firmly believed that he was right and was not suitable for staying in the turbulent Chang'an.
At first, Sui Zhixu had some doubts about her, but she quickly understood the reason and went to reason with her.
Mei Niangzi spoke haltingly but in an orderly manner. Her name was Mei Lansheng. She lived in a poor family in Yongling, Xuzhou. As soon as she grew up, her biological father sold her to a brothel. At this point, she sobbed softly, but quickly composed herself and continued.
Feeling pity for her, Chu Ke helped her up, supporting her swaying body. Mingyi, who had just entered, was at a loss, but Cheng Zhijie's hand calmed her down.
Mei Lansheng turned her head and saw Mingyi, then hid in Sui Chuke's arms.
Sui Zhixu leaned against the vermilion pillar, listening quietly as she continued.
As Sui Chuke helped her up, she gazed at him tenderly. After a couple of seconds, as if drawing strength from him, she slowly began to speak.
When Mei Lansheng's mother discovered this, she had already been sold into the building, and the ransom was exorbitant, far beyond what their poor family could afford.
The madam was aggressive. In her eyes, Mei Lansheng was not a top-tier courtesan. She was not skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, or painting, and she was not as well-trained as Mei Lansheng, whom she had bought halfway through her life. However, Mei Lansheng had some beauty, and when she cried, she could add to her charm. Many young men liked this type of woman. Since she had spent money and felt that Mei Lansheng could bring her some value, she would not let her go easily.
The madam offered feigned comfort to Mei Lansheng's mother, reminding her that at least the young lady wouldn't go hungry under her care, and that she was a kind-hearted person who disliked beating people. She suggested that after a few years in the brothel, the young lady might one day become wealthy and powerful, transforming herself into a rich man's wife.
Mei Lansheng's mother was initially fooled by her, and with Mei Lansheng's father echoing her, she genuinely believed that Mei Lansheng could live a good life. Especially when she saw her daughter standing in front of her adorned with gold and silver, and her name changed from Aunt Mei to Lansheng, she truly gave up.
She gave up, but Mei Lansheng didn't want to. There were only two outcomes in a brothel: either die there, unable to attract customers and relegated to a lower-class establishment, or become a concubine in the household of a wealthy or powerful man. She understood her own beauty; even concubines in the inner court were divided into different ranks, and a good concubine was better than a lowly one.
But she couldn't escape. The brothel had many thugs. In front of her were the teaching matrons and maids arranged by the madam, and behind her were fierce thugs. No matter what she did, she couldn't escape.
"Oh, so how did you get out?" Compared to others, Sui Zhixu's attitude was much colder. For a moment, Mei Lansheng felt that perhaps she shouldn't have looked for her.
As Sui Zhixu leaned against the pillar, he yawned idly. Mei Lansheng's expression worsened, and she leaned weakly against Sui Chuke's chest.
Mingyi grabbed Cheng Zhijie's collar, "I really didn't know she came from that kind of background. No, I didn't mean anything bad, it's just... it's just..."
"I know."
Cheng Zhijie wrapped his arms around her back. He had grown up in Chang'an since childhood. Whether he was studying at the Marquis's Mansion or Conglan, he had never come into contact with them. When he entered officialdom and met Mingyi, he naturally would not go to her.
The Sui family was harmonious, Sui He and Cong Lan were a loving couple, and there were no prostitutes involved, so Cheng Zhijie felt no contempt or disdain. Mingyi felt the same way. She had grown up in the village since she was seven, far from the prosperity of Chang'an. She had suffered herself and would not seek the superiority of a high position among such poor people. She only felt surprise, heartache, and bitter regret.
Having grown accustomed to the unruly ways of Chu Ke, he had encountered all sorts of people in Luoyang. In his view, status was less important than ability, character, and so on.
He thought that Xu Zhixu was the same as him in this respect, so why was her attitude so strange?
Sui Zhixu shrugged. "What? Why are you all looking at me? Why isn't Madam Mei talking?"
“Sui Zhixu, be nicer.”
Sui Zhixu: "I'm in a hurry. Didn't she ask me to judge this? Why did you stop halfway through?"
“I am not her idle pastime. Xuzhou is the fiefdom of Xun Wang. I happened to check the relevant information when Xun Wang came to the capital. Xun Wang indulges in pleasure and frequents brothels. He once redeemed a woman to become his concubine. Her name was Lansheng, which is only one character different from your name, the 'sheng' in 'life'. In less than three months, she became Xun Wang’s runaway concubine.”
"So, I'm very curious about the relationship between Madam Mei and her. I think I need to question the truth of your claim that you sold yourself to bury your mother." Sui Zhixu rubbed his temples; one after another, they were all such a worry.
"A-Lu, go investigate." Sui Zhixu left, and when he passed Sui Chuke, he looked him up and down. "Sui Chuke, I never thought that the only time you fell in love in your thirty years of life was because you were deceived."
"Young Master, why are you so aggressive? I was once a prostitute, and now I am being humiliated by you again." Mei Lansheng sobbed uncontrollably, carefully tugging at Sui Chuke's clothes.
Chu Ke didn't notice the tugging at his clothes; his mind was filled with the thought that he had been tricked, tricked, tricked!
"How could I possibly be fooled?!"
Sui Zhixu shrugged, "Alu will know when he gets back."
"If everything proceeds as planned, I won't stay here for dinner. You should think carefully about what's going on in your head."
Xu Zhixu was too lazy to pay attention to him; it was really too much. She had a good memory and could remember things after seeing them only once.
As for the latter two, "You two seem to be making quite a bit of progress."
Mingyi: "No! He and I have made great progress, but we haven't made any progress!"
She stepped out of the courtyard and walked down the street.
—
Where am I? It's pitch black.
How could her internal energy have disappeared?
"Hmm—"
She could neither see nor speak. She had clearly been kidnapped, and as Xu Li sat up and leaned against the backrest, she felt dizzy.
Thinking back to what had just happened, Sui Zhixu cursed himself for being stupid, that he had actually made a mistake here.
She only took pity on the little girl selling flowers and brought them back for Xiao Furong, never expecting that the flowers would contain a potent sedative.
unwise.
A creaking sound came from the doorway. Sui Zhixu's ears twitched slightly. The voice was deep and heavy, probably belonging to a man. He was tall and thin.
Such actions made Sui Zhixu think of a madman.
"Mmm—" Xi Yushao?
She heard unrestrained laughter, and then the black cloth in front of her was ripped off. The sudden light was extremely dazzling, and the intense stinging sensation made her instinctively close her eyes, and tears uncontrollably streamed down her face.
The moment the cloth in his mouth was ripped off, he exclaimed, "Xi Yushao, you've really gone mad!"
"You're finally back in my hands."
He was tall and handsome, and the figure that haunted his dreams, which had only existed in his imagination, was now finally standing before him in reality. His eyes were filled with madness and infatuation as his fingertips traced the contours of her face downwards.
A smile always lingered on his lips, his gaze lingering on her high, straight nose.
"Ah Ling, your name is very beautiful."
Her fingertips hooked onto Sui Zhixu's chin, and Sui Zhixu turned her head away with a hostile look.
"Ha, it wasn't easy to catch you." Xi Yushao picked up a strand of Sui Zhixu's hair and sniffed it lightly.
Finally, he felt her presence again.
"Along the way, I arranged for all sorts of people, but in the end, I succeeded thanks to a flower-selling child."
As she recalled the people who had tried to get her attention along the way, she chuckled softly.
"I knew I was right. You actually took advantage of a child who makes a living by selling flowers. How despicable."
Along the way, she encountered countless pitiful people: a young woman who sold herself to bury her father, a disabled person who could hardly walk, an elderly person who was being bullied... Although Xu Zhixu did not believe that there could be so many coincidences in the world, their eyes were on her from the moment she appeared.
Unexpectedly, she was ultimately defeated by a child who knew nothing.
“Isn’t Ah Ling also a case of being too clever for her own good?” Xi Yushao laughed upon hearing this, his face twisted with fervor.
"Get away from me, don't touch me!"
Xi Yushao's face instantly turned cold. "You hate my touch, A-Ling. Why are you always so harsh on me?"
"Should I treat you kindly?"
"You never listen to my explanations?" Xi Yushao seemed heartbroken, his brows furrowed.
"I remember it clearly. That night, you and Xi Yuzhen were being chased by bandits. I pulled you onto the carriage, but you killed my driver, cut the rope, and forced me to fall off the cliff. What explanation do you have for me? Do you want to hear your flowery reasons?"
"Utterly ridiculous."
As Sui Zhixu regained her memories of her past life, she also remembered the eighteen years she spent as Sui Zhixu.
Do you want me to repeat what you said?
"If she doesn't die, we die." Sui Zhixu looked up and met his gaze. "Xi Yushao, have you been acting for so long that you've forgotten what you said? Do you expect me to praise you for having a bad memory?"
Instead of getting angry at these words, Xi Yushao became quite interested. "So what? I didn't harm you, I only harmed the former Sui Zhixu. Why are you so angry? If she hadn't died, you wouldn't have come back to life. A-Ling, you should be thanking me."
madman.
While Xu closed his eyes to rest, he secretly freed himself from the ropes binding his wrists and ankles.
Xi Yushao saw through her intentions. "Don't struggle. Do you think I would be unprepared? You are a woman of both literary and martial talents, Madam Lu."
"This is a muscle-relaxing powder specifically for you. Ah Ling, rest well for a while. Everything will be over once you recover."
"If you like Fan Lingzhang, I can let you watch him die. Your uncle will definitely grant your wish, after all, you pose no threat to him."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
