Chapter 22 Tooth Marks
Rain falls horizontally and wind rages, red flowers fly wildly.
The pattering autumn rain could not drown out Li Qu's desperate pleas.
By the time the rain stopped and the wind died down, and the sky cleared, it was nearly noon the next day.
Li Qu was woken up by a slap on the face: "Do you still want the shop?"
Hearing the man's satisfied and magnetic voice, Li Qu turned her back in annoyance.
"Aren't we going back today?"
Li Qu grabbed the pillow, hugged it to her chest, and buried her face in it, sobbing, "Waaah..."
"So, you don't want your travel pass anymore?"
"Yes!" Li Qu stood up, looking at Zhou Jin with a mixture of resentment and grievance.
Zhou Jin was in a good mood today: "I'll let you rest for the night. Tomorrow morning you go to Jishui Lane and come back in the afternoon. I'll pick you up and take you to a nice place."
One night is not enough.
"good."
"Waaaaah, you're bullying me!"
"Yeah, you're destined to be bullied by me."
"Then I will no longer wear strange clothes."
"Okay, I won't wear it tomorrow."
Li Qu cried in anger.
I wasn't faking it, I was genuinely so angry that I cried.
Little did she know that her display of true emotions was incredibly vivid in Zhou Jin's eyes.
He began to understand why some men would be so absurd as to be obsessed with women.
He took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears: "I've applied some medicine for you, you'll be better by tonight."
Li Qu grabbed his hand, put it in her mouth, and left two rows of teeth on the palm and back of his hand, just below his little finger.
After biting Zhou Jin, she threw off the covers to escape, but her legs went weak as she got out of bed. Her slightly bluish knees were about to fall straight to the ground when Zhou Jin reached out and helped her up.
"Can you still walk?"
Li Qu steadied herself, took the hand that was supporting her, and bit his thumb hard.
Then, with unsteady steps, he ran outside, calling out, "Granny, red fruit, green fruit!"
Zhou Jin was inside the house, and none of the servants dared to enter. Only Granny Xu dared to peek out when she heard Li Qu calling out.
Seeing Li Qu rushing out, she quickly went to help her up, saying, "Auntie, be careful."
As she spoke, she glanced furtively in Zhou Jin's direction and noticed that he was admiring his own hands.
Xu Mama, with her sharp eyes, noticed the teeth marks on the palm and immediately gasped.
However, seeing that Zhou Jin did not get angry, he did not dare to say anything, and instead calmed his aura and invited two fruits to help Li Qu wash up and get dressed.
Li Qu took a contraceptive pill as usual.
"What did you eat?" Zhou Jin took the medicine bottle, poured out a pill, and sniffed it.
“Contraceptive pills are easier to swallow than contraceptive decoctions.”
She snatched the medicine bottle from his hand: "You'll have to pay for this, sir."
Zhou Jin tucked the contraceptive pill from his fingertip into his sleeve: "Hmm."
Li Qu casually placed the medicine bottle in her dressing case, turned around and glanced at him: "Hmph!"
The meaning is inexplicable.
Zhou Jin raised an eyebrow, failing to grasp Li Qu's deep resentment towards him.
Or perhaps he didn't think Li Qu should blame him for such a thing.
Zhou Jin did not stay at Fanghua Garden for lunch, but the lunch at Fanghua Garden today was still extravagantly portioned.
Granny Xu beamed from ear to ear, boasting, "The people from Qinglan Courtyard came twice last night, trying to snatch someone from our Fanghua Garden, but this old servant managed to get rid of them both!"
Hongguo said with a beaming smile: "The other day when I went to the kitchen to get my meal, the people there were rather indifferent. But today, before I even had to go to get it, Granny Tian, who is in charge of our three households' meals, brought it over with her own people."
Li Qu ate the dishes that Xu Mama had served her at a leisurely pace, not hearing the casual conversation between Xu Mama and Hong Guo.
All she knew was that Zhou Jin was very excited and enjoyed it last night.
He was probably satisfied with his body.
But if he keeps lusting after her, even if she has the chance to go out, she won't walk more than two miles.
Can she refuse him?
The answer is no.
If she refuses, he will force himself on her; he will become even more unscrupulous and shameless.
If she is gentle, he will cherish her more.
If she takes the initiative, he will be happy and will be gentler with her.
Li Qu concluded that Zhou Jin was a stubborn and obedient person.
A head-on confrontation will only result in mutual destruction.
The only option is to go along with him and be gentle.
"Auntie! Auntie!"
Cui Guo's exaggerated voice startled Li Qu so much that she almost bit her tongue.
"A major incident has occurred at your residence!"
Li Qu swallowed the food in her mouth carefully, and looked at Cui Guo who ran in: "Continue."
"It's said that the censor Zheng, who went to his post with the Third Master, got into a fight with the Second Master!"
Li Qu confirmed: "With whom?"
"Second Master!"
Why?
"Because of Third Master."
Li Qu: "The love, hate, and grudges between men always come so unexpectedly."
Huaichun had just arrived at the door when he heard Li Qu's words of lament.
Cuiguo continued to spread gossip: "I heard that Lord Zheng was scolding Third Master again today, and Second Master saw him, so they got into an argument and then a fight broke out."
etc.
"Are you there again?"
"Yes, this lord scolds Third Master every few days. Before, he would come to the mansion to scold him, but now he stands at the gate to scold him."
Li Qu recalled what Chang San Niang had said before: "Master is in a bad mood, it seems he was scolded by someone from the capital."
Where are they now?
"He was pulled away and taken to the hospital."
"Next time you encounter this, listen carefully to see if this gentleman is dissatisfied with Third Master's desires, and why he is so angry."
Xu Mama quickly tried to shut Li Qu up with food: "Auntie, be careful what you say. How dare you speak ill of the master behind his back?"
Li Qu chewed on the shrimp meat that Granny Xu was feeding her and did not respond.
Seeing that there was no further discussion inside, Huaichun outside the door coughed and said, "This servant, Huaichun, requests an audience with my aunt."
The four people inside the house, master and servant, looked at each other. Hongguo took the lead and went out to invite Huaichun in.
Li Qu ate until she was about 80% full, then put away her chopsticks.
After exchanging pleasantries, Huaichun explained her purpose: "This is Third Master's identity card. He can use it to go shopping and keep accounts. Please keep it safe, Aunt."
Granny Xu took the jade token from Huaichun and handed it to Li Qu.
Li Qu took the jade pendant, her heart pounding.
With this jade token, I can leave the Zhou family mansion, this cage, openly and honestly!
"This is the monthly allowance that Third Master gives to his concubine, two hundred taels. I will deliver it to her on the first day of each month from now on."
With a smile, Granny Xu accepted the silver notes offered by Huaichun with both hands: "Thank you for your trouble, Miss Huaichun."
"These are the land deeds for two shops that Third Master picked out for his concubine: one for a cosmetics shop and the other for a food shop. There is also the land deed for the house where his concubine's family lived in Jishui Lane."
Xu Mama's eyes widened in disbelief; she never expected that her concubine had asked the Third Master for so many things last night!
Oh dear!
Having a shop is like having private property!
She smiled broadly, like a mother-in-law who had just received a favor: "Thank you, Third Master. I'm sure you'll be delighted."
Turning her head, she noticed that Li Qu was just holding the jade pendant and staring blankly.
She nudged Li Qu, prompting, "Auntie, hurry up and thank Third Master."
Li Qu gripped the jade token tightly and looked at Huai Chun: "Is the storeroom key also with Miss Huai Chun?"
"The storeroom key is usually kept by Huaixiang, but I brought it with me today. Would you like to go to the storeroom and pick something out, Madam?"
"I just finished eating, so I'll take a walk to digest my food."
While they were talking, Granny Xu had already prepared a generous purse: "Please wait a moment, Miss Huaichun, while your aunt changes her clothes."
After Li Qu changed her clothes and went out, Huai Chun reluctantly accepted the large purse that Xu Mama had given her.
Li Qu didn't care about the material things Zhou Jin gave him.
She understood that these were inanimate objects that she couldn't take with her.
Therefore, when she arrived at Zhou Jin's storeroom, she only picked out consumables that she and her family could use.
"You should add some decorations to your room, Auntie. The storeroom next door is full of room decorations."
"No."
"Auntie, would you like to pick out one or two pieces of jewelry? Please keep them in a separate place."
Just as Li Qu was about to refuse, Granny Xu quickly agreed: "Thank you for reminding me, Miss Huaichun. A few days ago, Miss Biao gave our aunt a new dowry, and now it's still mostly empty."
Looking at Li Qu, who seemed rather uninterested, Huaichun smiled and said, "Auntie, please take a look."
Without looking at themselves, how could they realize their lowly status and unworthy of the luxurious headwear that a noble principal wife should enjoy?
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