Chapter 14. Don't portray her as if she were someone from the young master's private quarters...
Chapter Fourteen
Lin Rong was stunned for a moment when she heard such an humiliating request for the first time.
Her eyes were fixed on the hand extended in front of her.
Pei Zan had very fair skin, as white as jade. His fingers were long, like lotus stems emerging from clear ripples.
The man's fingers are slightly curled, his joints are cold and hard, and they bulge slightly under the thin skin, exuding a powerful sense of strength.
Pei Zan's palm was damp, stained with the green tea that Lin Rong had just splashed on it, as if he had just scooped a handful of water from a spring pond.
Admittedly, Pei Zan's hands were beautiful, but the thought that these hands had once held knives and swords, and even killed people and been soaked in blood, made Lin Rong feel a chill run down her spine. She even felt that the quiet and serene sandalwood fragrance seemed to be mixed with a slight smell of blood.
Lin Rong didn't want to be looked down upon by Pei Zan, but she couldn't disobey her master's orders.
She knew that Pei Zan was an autocratic master. Although he usually spoke in a gentle and mild manner, it did not mean that he was kind-hearted or had a good temper.
If you anger Pei Zan, you'll probably be in deep trouble.
Thinking of this, Lin Rong could only kneel down obediently, calmly straighten her robes, then gently hold Pei Zan's hand and lick it.
The girl's cherry lips were burning, and her tongue felt soft.
The clove's small tongue was crimson in color, with a beautiful, glistening sheen.
She carefully licked Pei Zan's palm, gently tracing the delicate lines of his hand, and swallowed all the dripping tea.
Lin Rong had thought this would be hard to bear, but it was actually better than she had imagined.
Pei Zan's hands were very clean and had a faint tea fragrance.
When she swallowed a finger joint, she even felt an urge to gently bite his finger bone.
But Lin Rong dared not disrespect her master, and she suppressed that unbridled malice in her heart.
Perhaps Lin Rong was just too clumsy; it took her a long time to even finish sucking up the tea.
Pei Zan felt that the girl in front of him, with her eyes lowered, looked more like a well-behaved kitten.
His fingers plunged deep into her wet, slippery mouth, the fleshy walls enveloping him, their high temperature stirring another, indescribable desire within him.
Pei Zan closed his eyes slightly, then withdrew his hand, pulling out a bit of sticky thread.
He then grabbed Lin Rong's chin.
Pei Zan forced her to look up again, calmly scrutinizing the shimmering tears in the girl's eyes.
Lin Rong stared blankly at him, her almond-shaped eyes glistening with a hint of unconscious tenderness, especially the corners of her long, narrow eyes, which were damp with a blush from kissing her hand, as if she had been crying.
For some reason, Pei Zan's breathing became slightly heavy.
He remained silent for a long time, his thin lips slightly pursed.
Pei Zan looked at her indifferently, like a god or Buddha devoid of emotion or desire, his face revealing neither joy nor anger.
A moment later, he placed his rough, calloused thumb back on Lin Rong's lips, and then pressed it against the girl's delicate lips...
He wiped away the warm saliva that had gotten on his fingers, bit by bit, and returned it to Lin Rong.
"You may leave." Pei Zan released Lin Rong, not keeping her by his side to serve him.
Lin Rong had been thoroughly tormented by Pei Zan tonight, and she didn't want to stay any longer. As soon as her master finished speaking, Lin Rong carefully left.
That night, Lin Rong tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She opened the box again and counted the money.
When she returned from the Xie family's villa last time, all the servants in the outer courtyard received rewards, and Lin Rong also received two taels of silver. Now she has fifteen taels and two mace.
With enough money to redeem myself, and a little more for the journey ahead, I'll be able to leave this den of dragons and tigers.
Thinking of this, Lin Rong hugged the box and fell asleep, having a good dream all night.
Upon waking the next day, Pei Zan left the manor to attend to official business as usual, leaving Lin Rong and Lü Zhu to guard the Jade Dust Courtyard during the day.
The task was so easy that Green Pearl was so idle that she sat on the steps with a bamboo basket of melon seeds and slowly cracked them open.
Lin Rong, however, was used to being busy, so she took out a broom and went to sweep the snow at the row of houses in the backyard.
Green Pearl jokingly scolded her for being a workaholic, but Lin Rong wasn't annoyed. Instead, she smiled and said, "I'm just the kind of person who can't sit still. Sister, enjoy life as much as you can."
This silly look softened Green Pearl's heart, and she fed Lin Rong the peeled melon seeds one by one.
The two maids chatted happily.
Not long after, an uninvited guest arrived outside Yuchen Courtyard.
Lin Rong and Lü Zhu exchanged a glance and went to answer the door.
The newcomer had her hair styled in a high bun, her face powdered, her earrings adorned with pearls and jade, and her face flushed. She wore a silk jacket and skirt with a floral pattern and looked to be about the same age as Green Pearl, a pretty young woman.
Lin Rong didn't recognize her, but seeing the maid following behind her, she guessed that she was a guest of the mansion, and hurriedly said respectfully, "Miss, this is the eldest young master's bedroom. I'm afraid you have come to the wrong place."
Lin Rong was naive and thought that a married woman would never come looking for Pei Zan, so she must have come to the wrong person.
Green Pearl, however, had sharp eyes and immediately recognized the person as Shen Jia, the niece of the First Madam Shen.
Green Pearl was originally a maid of the First Madam Shen, so she had naturally heard about Shen Jia.
Shen Jia is Pei Zan's cousin, eight years younger than him, and is now twenty years old.
Five years ago, Shen Jia was just coming of age, a beautiful young girl. Madam Shen intended to betroth her niece to Pei Zan and specially sent her to Yuzhou to meet him. However, Pei Zan was focused on his official duties and did not appreciate the gesture. He refused to even see Shen Jia and sent her back to Jiangzhou.
Knowing that she had misplaced her affections, Shen Jia hastily arranged a marriage in an attempt to save face, and by the end of that year, she married the youngest son of a prominent family in Jiangzhou.
Unfortunately, the young master of a wealthy family grew up in luxury, with an elder brother and sister-in-law in charge of the household, and no younger siblings to discipline. Over time, his personality became soft and irresponsible, and he didn't know how to cherish his wife after marriage.
Shen Jia's marriage was not smooth, and she divorced her husband after only three years and returned to her parents' home.
During holidays and festivals, Madam Shen would send invitations to Shen Jia to visit the Pei family, but Shen Jia was, after all, a married woman, and she was afraid of being gossiped about by the young ladies of Jiangzhou, so she never wanted to go out to visit relatives.
This year is strange; they've actually agreed to visit the Pei residence.
Green Pearl understood immediately; Shen Jia's true intentions were not what they seemed. She had come all this way to Jade Dust Courtyard precisely to see Pei Zan.
Could it be that Shen Jia is still hoping to rekindle her romance with Pei Zan? But the young master never even considered Shen Jia before.
Green Pearl was more assertive than Lin Rong. She smiled and stopped Shen Jia, "I'm sorry, Miss Shen, the young master has instructed that no matter who comes to Yuchen Courtyard, they must show their name card, otherwise they will not be allowed to enter. Besides, the young master went out on business this morning and has not returned to the manor yet, so your trip will be in vain."
Shen Jia remembered that Lü Zhu was once the head maid who served her aunt. Now that she had been transferred to Yu Chen Courtyard, she knew that she must have been given to Pei Zan as a concubine.
Thinking of this, Shen Jia felt a strange mix of emotions welling up inside her.
Originally, she was arrogant and disdainful of talking to these two maids, but now, thinking that Pei Zan might have had intimate relations with other women, she couldn't help but lower her eyes and scrutinize him carefully.
Shen Jia was familiar with the girl, Lü Zhu. She was fiery and beautiful, and many servants and stewards in the mansion tried to curry favor with her.
As for the other one... Shen Jia gave Lin Rong a serious look.
With just one glance, Shen Jia froze on the spot.
She was used to applying face powder all year round, so she naturally knew that Lin Rong didn't wear any makeup and had a plain, natural face.
Even without makeup, Lin Rong's skin was as white as jade and her lips as red as cherries. With such a beautiful face, she was not much inferior to the young ladies of the inner palace.
Shen Jia bit her lip lightly, feeling a tightness in her chest for some reason. She knew she couldn't break into Yuchen Courtyard today, so she had to find another way.
Shen Jia then handed a letter to Lin Rong and said to her, "Since my cousin isn't here, I won't bother him. Please pass this letter on to him. There's a line of poetry on the letter; read it to him and he'll understand."
When Shen Jia was young, she visited the Pei family mansion and listened to Pei Zan read aloud with Pei Zhiyuan and the others.
The poem in the letter was taught to her by Pei Zan.
At that time, Pei Zan was dressed in a blue robe and sat upright in front of the jujube wood table. His figure was slender and graceful. Even the beautiful and colorful summer flowers seemed to favor him. The branches swayed in the sunlight, and the sparse flower shadows fell to the ground, reflecting on his plain robe as if imprinting a few elegant dark silk patterns.
Shen Jia always remembered Pei Zan's stunningly handsome appearance. She had always harbored feelings for this cousin, and even after she got married, she still missed him and tossed and turned in bed at night, dreaming of him a thousand times.
Shen Jia only hoped that when Pei Zan saw this poem, he would recall those childhood memories.
Shen Jia earnestly instructed Lin Rong, but Lin Rong stared at the small characters in the hairpin and was somewhat troubled: "Miss Shen, it's not that I'm unwilling to help pass on the message... but... but I'm not very literate, so I'm afraid I can't help with this."
Good heavens, there are ten characters in one line, and she doesn't recognize any of them.
But Lin Rong didn't want to disappoint Shen Jia, so she came up with a compromise: "Although I can't read, I have a very good memory. Miss, teach me once, and I'll recite it to the young master!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Jia's eyes flashed with disdain: "As your cousin's maid, how come you can't even read?"
Lin Rong smiled awkwardly: "I was originally a maid in the outer courtyard. It was only through the young master's favor that I was able to work in the inner courtyard."
Shen Jia and her accompanying maid never expected that Lin Rong was actually a cleaning maid transferred from the outer courtyard, and they couldn't help but chuckle.
Lin Rong was good at enduring hardship and had a kind nature of turning a blind eye to insults. When she heard them laughing, she just laughed along. After all, if the guests of the mansion were offended, it would be the servants who would suffer.
But Green Pearl had a fiery temper; she was used to having the final say in the household and couldn't tolerate anything.
She snatched the letter from Lin Rong's hand and said with a smile, "Leave this kind of task to me. Speaking of which, although our Rong'er is illiterate, she is very trusted by the young master. She usually serves in the inner courtyard, and she is the one who sets the meals and serves tea! Even the young master only lets Rong'er to clean up inside and outside the bedroom! I can't even get involved, which shows how much the young master relies on her."
Green Pearl exaggerated, almost to the point of saying how much Pei Zan doted on Lin Rong.
Upon hearing this, Shen Jia's smile froze on her face, and even Lin Rong was dumbfounded.
Lin Rong chuckled awkwardly, a cold sweat breaking out on her back. She cautiously tugged at Green Pearl's clothes, giving her a meaningful look: Don't talk about her like she's someone from the young master's household; it's too easy to misunderstand!
But Green Pearl ignored her, grabbed Lin Rong's hand, and gestured to Shen Jia to let her go, "Please go back, Miss Shen. Don't worry, Rong'er will definitely deliver this letter to the young master for him to read carefully."
After speaking, Shen Jia gave Lin Rong a cold look, glared at her, and left, tossing her handkerchief behind her.
Shen Jia finally understood... that maid named Rong'er must have been taken in by Pei Zan! Just now, Lin Rong pretended to be stupid, probably just playing dumb to see her make a fool of herself!
What a vile, wanton, and cunning servant she is!
Shen Jia's eyes reddened, and she felt wronged.
Now everyone knows she harbors thoughts of reconciliation, and even a few lowly servants dare to treat her badly, which is truly hateful.
-
Lin Rong watched Shen Jia leave angrily, her footsteps pounding loudly, and couldn't help but feel uneasy.
They are, after all, the young master's cousins. They've offended the guests of the manor; I wonder if they'll be punished.
After Shen Jia walked away, Lü Zhu finally remembered about delivering the letter.
She had only dared to confront the opportunistic cousin after standing up for Lin Rong, but now, the thought of having to deliver a letter to the ruthless young master Pei made her legs go weak.
Green Pearl smiled ingratiatingly: "Rong'er, I'll teach you how to recite this poem. How about you go and deliver a letter to the young master?"
Lin Rong glanced at her and nodded helplessly.
Lin Rong knew that Lü Zhu had offended Shen Jia to protect her. She felt indebted to Lü Zhu and was naturally willing to take the punishment on Lü Zhu's behalf.
After all, Pei Zan's scolding and punishment were trivial matters to Lin Rong. In fact, Lin Rong was more than happy to incur Pei Zan's dislike.
At night, Lin Rong went to the flower hall as usual to serve Pei Zan his meal.
She clutched the letter like a hot potato, her eyes darting frequently to Pei Zan, hesitant to speak.
Pei Zan had sharp eyesight and naturally noticed the strangeness of the people around him.
He asked in a cold voice, "What is it?"
Lin Rong knelt down honestly and begged for forgiveness: "Today, Miss Shen Jia came to Yuchen Courtyard to deliver a letter. I was clumsy with words and it seems that I made Miss Shen Jia cry... Please punish me, young master."
Lin Rong had expected Pei Zan to take the opportunity to interrogate her, but to her surprise, after hearing the whole story, he only frowned and asked, "What is she doing here?"
Lin Rong presented the letter she was holding to Pei Zan's desk, saying, "I'm here to deliver a letter to the young master."
Pei Zan glanced at the letter and understood the meaning of the poem.
This is a reunion.
Unfortunately, Pei Zan's friendly attitude towards the Shen family back then was merely a facade, a pretense of insecurity when he was still in power.
They still have deep feelings for each other.
Pei Zan had no interest in dealing with these trivial matters. He picked up the letter, glanced at the poem on the cover, and without even opening the beeswax, threw it into the charcoal brazier to burn it out.
Upon seeing this, Lin Rong stared blankly, speechless.
Pei Zan watched quietly as the letter of "affection" turned into charred ashes. "From now on, unless I give the order, there is no need to put other people into the Jade Dust Courtyard."
Having witnessed her master's heartlessness firsthand, Lin Rong opened her mouth, then whispered in response, "...Yes."
A note from the author:
I'm recommending another book by Dengdeng that's available for pre-order. I might release it later. Feel free to add it to your wishlist if you're interested.
Reborn as my ex-husband's sister by Caodeng Daren
Warm daily life | Slow-burning relationship | Both virgins
In her previous life, Luo Yao lost both her parents and her family fell into poverty.
In order to preserve the family business left by her parents, she refused any financial assistance from her mother's old friends and was determined to find a husband to marry into her family, refusing to marry outside the family.
Unexpectedly, before Luo Yao's plan could come true, she was tricked by her uncles because of her beauty. When Prime Minister Xie Ci came to inspect the area, she was used as a congratulatory gift and sent to Xie Ci's bed.
Legend has it that Xie Ci of the State of Qi was a model of aristocratic young men, who was self-disciplined, followed proper etiquette, and did not associate with women.
That night, he was supposed to set a trap to catch the treacherous villain, but he was unfortunately afflicted by a love potion and fell into the mortal world, where he had physical intimacy with Luo Yao.
Afterwards, Xie Ci, disgusted by the despicable actions of the local clans, also took his anger out on Luo Yao.
Luo Yao's fleeting affair with Xie Ci became an unspeakable disgrace.
In Xie Ci's eyes, Luo Yao was nothing more than a medicine to cure his Gu poison attack.
He couldn't live without her, and she couldn't stand the light of day.
Later, Xie Ci's love potion was cured, Luo Yao fell out of favor, and was hidden away in a villa on the outskirts of the capital.
The following year, Luo Yao's illness worsened, and he ultimately did not survive that winter.
…
After her rebirth, Luo Yao feared Xie Ci's cold-heartedness and did not want to repeat the same mistakes.
She was tired and wanted to live out her life properly.
Luo Yao gladly accepted the financial assistance from her mother's old friend.
At the age of seven, she traveled to the capital and stayed at her aunt Jiang's house, becoming a beloved and pampered cousin.
But no one told her.
This old friend turned out to be her ex-husband Xie Ci's... mother.
…
"Yao Yao, wait a minute."
Luo Yao turned around and asked timidly, "Big brother? What is it?"
Remembering past events, she avoided this brother like the plague.
He said in thanks: "Come to my room after dinner, and I'll teach you arithmetic."
Luo Yao: "..."
The elder brother, having abandoned his usual cold demeanor, caught Luo Yao completely off guard.
He disliked her so much in his past life, but now that she's his sister, surely he won't repeat the same mistake?
What Luo Yao didn't know was that Xie Ci remembered everything about his past life's karma.
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