Chapter 31 Peony Soul Woman
The group disembarked from the carriage, holding umbrellas as they looked at the luxurious mansion before them. It didn't look at all like the abandoned house Leng Zhijie had described.
"Brother Leng, are you sure the abandoned house you're talking about is here?" Liu Mingyuan asked uncertainly.
Leng Zhijie seemed stunned by the luxurious mansion before him. He said uncertainly, "I also passed by here five years ago and saw that there was indeed an abandoned house here."
He glanced at the dark gate in front of him, hesitated, and continued, "Could it be that the owner of that abandoned house renovated a new residence here?"
"Probably! But, should we go in now?" Shao Yanzhe asked, covering Xuan Yao with his sleeve to protect him from the splashing rain.
Xuan Yao seemed somewhat uneasy; he could clearly feel its increasingly stiff body and its suppressed snoring.
Just as he was about to check on Xuan Yao's condition, Liu Mingyuan stepped up the stairs first.
"Since we're already here, of course we have to go in!"
As he spoke, he picked up the door knocker with his right hand and banged on it forcefully: "Is anyone home?"
He had only knocked a few times when the door was opened from the inside, and a middle-aged man with a beard peeked out.
His gaze swept over everyone, and seeing that Shao Yanzhe and his group didn't look like bad people, he asked, "May I ask what brings you here?"
Liu Mingyuan cupped his hands and said, "We are scholars on our way to the provincial capital for the imperial examinations. We were caught in a sudden downpour on the way, and when we arrived at your place, we wished to ask the host to do us a favor and let us stay for the night to take shelter from the rain."
The bearded man replied, "Please wait a moment while I go and inform my master."
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the bearded man returned and opened the door for them: "Please come in, gentlemen. The mistress of the house is waiting for you in the living room."
Shao Yanzhe and Liu Mingyuan exchanged glances, realizing that the owner of the house he mentioned was a woman, and a look of hesitation flashed in their eyes.
But glancing outside, the downpour continued and seemed unlikely to stop anytime soon, so he decided to go see the owner of the house first and ask for a place to stay.
Shao Yanzhe and his companions followed the bearded man through several covered walkways. Suddenly, they caught a whiff of a pleasant floral fragrance, and he instinctively looked outside.
Several lanterns hung in the veranda, and by their light, one could barely make out that there was a garden outside, with many blooming flowers planted in it. Upon closer inspection, one could discern that the flowers in the garden were peonies, although the color was not clearly visible.
He couldn't help but marvel at how strong the fragrance of the flowers was. Thinking of the peonies he had seen outside the mansion, he figured the owner must love peonies very much. Despite these thoughts, he didn't slow down and followed the bearded man to the living room.
Soon, the group arrived at the living room.
As soon as he entered the living room, Shao Yanzhe saw a woman sitting in the main seat wearing a red dress. The hem of the red dress was embroidered with large peonies, and the outer layer was covered with a light pink gauze. A large red peony was inserted in the side of her black hair, which was tied up. She looked elegant and noble.
He glanced around casually, then looked away, sitting in the guest seat with his eyes downcast, staring at the teacup in his hand, listening to Liu Mingyuan and the woman exchanging pleasantries.
“Madam, we were caught in a sudden downpour and would like to trouble you for the night to take shelter from the rain. A little money would be appreciated.” Liu Mingyuan stared at the stunningly beautiful woman in front of him, his throat bobbing involuntarily. His gaze inadvertently swept over her fair skin, delicate face, and slender waist.
Especially her hands, painted with red nail polish, her fair and slender fingers looked like white jade against the red background, radiating a lustrous glow in the candlelight.
He found the woman in front of him exceptionally pleasing to his eye, and he considered that since she was a widow, he would take her as a concubine, which would be better than leaving her in this desolate wilderness.
The woman chuckled and said, "Of course, no need for money. There are plenty of empty rooms in the house, enough for everyone to stay."
Liu Mingyuan stared at the woman with infatuated eyes, completely oblivious to what she was saying.
Shao Yanzhe glanced at him and frowned, but now was not the time to talk to him, so he spoke up and said, "Thank you, madam. May I ask how I should address you? My name is Shao Yanzhe."
The woman smiled slightly and said, "Just call me Madam Yin."
The group then introduced themselves and exchanged a few pleasantries with Madam Yin before she said, "Please don't stand on ceremony, everyone. Dafu, please take the guests to wash up first. I will prepare a banquet for you all later."
The bearded man who had just entered bowed and said, "Yes."
Led by Dafu, everyone moved into their rooms and washed up.
Shao Yanzhe put Xuan Yao on the bed and saw it nimbly jump off the bed and sniff around.
He didn't stop them, and took out the dried fish belonging to Xuan Yao from his luggage and put it on the table.
"I'm going out to eat later. You wait for me in the room."
Xuan Yao, who was sniffing, smelled the dried fish. In a flash, he appeared in front of the dried fish, then lowered his head and opened his mouth to eat it.
Seeing Xuan Yao eating heartily, he smiled and then walked out of the room.
He went straight to Liu Mingyuan's room and gently knocked on the door a few times.
Soon, Liu Mingyuan opened the door.
"Brother Shao, are you all packed? I'm all ready too, let's go now."
As he was speaking, he was about to leave the room when Shao Yanzhe pushed him back in.
"Hey, hey, hey! Brother Shao, what are you doing?" Liu Mingyuan looked at him in confusion, raising his hand to straighten his slightly disheveled robes.
Shao Yanzhe glanced at him in his light blue robe, which made him look like a pretty boy. He had never seen him wear this before.
"I should be asking you, what are you trying to do?" he asked in a low voice after closing the door.
Liu Mingyuan casually adjusted his cuffs, a slight smile on his face, and said, "Brother Shao, what can I do?"
Shao Yanzhe sighed, then asked directly, "Do you have any feelings for that Madam Yin?"
Liu Mingyuan's eyes darted around, and he looked elsewhere, saying, "Brother Shao, you've overstepped your bounds. You don't need to get involved in this matter. I know what I'm doing."
Shao Yanzhe turned around, opened the door, and walked out: "Fine, I was just being nosy."
Watching the people gradually walk away, Liu Mingyuan's face flashed with regret. He really shouldn't have said that. He didn't know why he was so irrational. When he saw that Shao Yanzhe was about to stop him from getting closer to Madam Yin, he felt ashamed and annoyed, and blurted out those words.
He wanted to call out to Shao Yanzhe, but then he thought that if he did, he might not be able to have further contact with Madam Yin, so he didn't speak.
He recalled Madam Yin's beautiful face and alluring eyes, and his heart burned with desire. He even thought that he wouldn't mind having a fleeting affair with Madam Yin even if her husband were still alive.
Shao Yanzhe stormed back to his room, picked up a cup of cold tea and drank it all in one gulp, instantly extinguishing his anger.
He paused in the motion of putting down his teacup; something seemed off.
In his previous life, he lived in modern times and was cursed by others countless times.
How could he have gotten angry just because of what Liu Mingyuan said?
Something's really wrong!
Shao Yanzhe leaned closer to Xuan Yao and whispered, "Xuan Yao, is there something wrong here?"
Xuan Yao picked up a small dried fish, looked at him with a "you finally noticed" expression, and ate the dried fish in one bite before finally speaking: "The resentment here is very strong. If you stay here for too long, you will easily lose yourself. It is best to leave here as soon as possible."
He hadn't expected his guess to be true. He looked around warily and whispered, "Are the things here powerful?"
Xuan Yao nodded.
Of course it's powerful. This house is that thing's ghost realm. It's the first time it's seen such a large ghost realm.
Unfortunately, it couldn't say too much, otherwise it would be terrible if that thing noticed.
Before Shao Yanzhe could ask any more questions, there was a knock on the door.
Upon opening the door, Dafu was standing outside with a friendly smile on his face: "Scholar, I'll take you to the front hall for your meal."
Shao Yanzhe nodded: "Okay."
He followed Dafu and soon learned from him that he was the housekeeper, responsible for receiving guests. However, since the place was in a remote location, few guests came, so he usually only guarded the gate.
They chatted casually along the way and soon arrived at a room that was more spacious than the previous living room.
Shao Yanzhe glanced around and noticed that the owner of the place seemed to have a great fondness for peonies. All the flowers and plants placed in the corners were blooming peonies, and their bright red flowers made the room even more luxurious.
Perhaps because he was indoors, the fragrance of the peonies seemed even stronger.
The lady who had just arrived was already seated in the main seat, and Shao Yanzhe was the first to arrive. He greeted her, "Madam Yin."
Madam Yin stood up and gave him a slight curtsy: "Scholar Shao, please sit down. The others should be here soon. Why don't you sit down and have a cup of tea first?"
Shao Yanzhe sat down two seats away from Madam Yin. To ease the awkwardness, he could only try to start a conversation: "This place is in a remote location. Why does Madam Yin live here?"
Madam Yin covered her mouth and smiled, saying, "I prefer quiet. The weather is hot now, so staying here is just right. Otherwise, what do you think is the reason, Scholar Shao?"
As she finished speaking, she raised an eyebrow and looked at Shao Yanzhe. With just that one glance, she exuded charm that could make any man or woman's heart flutter.
Shao Yanzhe pretended not to see it and nodded perfunctorily, "Madam Yin is right. The scenery here is pleasant and the temperature is just right. It is indeed very suitable."
Madam Yin glanced at the maid beside her and gave her a meaningful look.
The maid glanced at Shao Yanzhe, nodded to Madam Yin, and quietly left, but soon returned with a tray in her hand, which she gently placed between Madam Yin and Shao Yanzhe.
Madam Yin said with a smile, "Scholar Shao, I know that taking the imperial examinations is very expensive. This money is my token of appreciation. Please accept it."
As she spoke, she reached out and lifted the red cloth covering the tray, revealing neatly stacked small silver ingots underneath.
Shao Yanzhe glanced over subconsciously, his mind starting to calculate uncontrollably. One small silver ingot was worth ten taels, and there were sixty small silver ingots in the tray, which meant that the tray was worth nearly six hundred taels!
His heart immediately started pounding, but then he remembered the shady dealings of the bookstore owner and Shen Moyuan, as well as the anti-fraud videos he was bombarded with every day in his past life, and his alarm bells went off instantly.
He blurted out instinctively, "A free gift? Can we sign a free gift deed?"
Lady Yin, confident and prepared: ? ? ?
ah?
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