Chapter 24 Peeping
The long, slender rays of the setting sun flowed across the woman's shimmering skirt.
Aunt Li, acting on the old lady's orders, led a group of people to arrest Li Qu, who was so rude as to dare to quarrel with Lord Zheng, and have him beaten with a board.
She walked hurriedly, her face cold, but when she saw the figure of the man holding the woman with one arm in the setting sun, she suddenly stopped and raised her hand to signal the people following behind her to stop.
The orange sunlight added a touch of softness to the woman's smile.
She wrapped her arms around the man's neck, looked down at him, and spoke softly with a hint of coquettishness: "He scolds you, so naturally I must scold him too."
The man smiled, his lips slightly upturned, his mood unusually cheerful: "Mm."
"He's a decrepit old man, always taking advantage of his age. I'll teach him a lesson about 'do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.' Tomorrow I'll really send someone to his house to give him a piece of my mind."
“He’s afraid of his wife. If you have someone scold him like that, he’ll definitely be in big trouble when he goes back.”
"Then we should find someone to curse him, use someone else to do the dirty work, wouldn't that be even better for venting our anger?"
"Little Aqu has read Xunzi, the Book of Han, and even Sun Tzu's Art of War?"
"No, I've only heard a few words about it. Today I used them all to criticize Zheng Gong, and I'll run out of things to say after that."
Zhou Jin chuckled.
She teased, "Master... you deliberately eavesdropped on my cursing."
No, I just happened to run into them.
She teased, "I know, Your Highness... is just ashamed to admit it."
He just smiled and didn't respond.
She smiled as she faced the setting sun, enjoying the cool breeze that seemed to lift her up, and reached out her hand, trying to grasp the sunlight.
"If I protect you, my lord, and if anyone bullies me in the future, will you protect me too?"
"No one dares to bully you," he said confidently.
"Hmph, I'm just bullying my concubine."
Her coquettish words made his ears melt.
Aunt Li, who witnessed everything, had a faint smile on her lips.
She let out a sigh of dejection.
How could Aunt Li be ignorant of manners? She was just heartbroken that Third Master had been insulted and could no longer bear it.
"well!"
She, a heartless and simple-minded governess, suddenly felt a little envious of Granny Xu, who had been assigned to Fanghua Garden.
"Let's go back."
Zhou Jin escorted Li Qu to the porch of Fanghua Garden's main gate and placed her on the railing to sit down.
Thus, Zhou Jin was tall and Li Qu was short.
She looked up at him and asked with a smile, "Did you specially send me back, Master?"
Zhou Jin gently stroked Li Qu's cheek with the pad of his thumb: "Mmm."
"Since you're so understanding, I'll tell you a secret: you're shorter."
Zhou Jin leaned down and put his ear close to Li Qu's.
Li Qu raised her fragrant lips and quickly planted a kiss on his cheek.
He looked at her in astonishment; her beautiful face bore a light red, sweet-smelling kiss mark.
"This concubine... thanks you for seeing me off, sir."
Her smile was sweet and endearing, and her voice was tender and gentle.
His heart was filled with ripples, and his Adam's apple bobbed.
"Give me another kiss."
"No!" She turned to run away, but he raised his hand and held onto the pillar behind her, blocking her way.
She turned to him, looking aggrieved, and said, "There's no need for so much thanks."
Zhou Jin remained silent, lowered his head and kissed her deeply, pinning her against the pillar, leaving her nowhere to escape.
His initial reason for choosing her was quite simple.
She comes from a poor background and is easy to control; she is stunningly beautiful and has a perfect figure, fulfilling all his fantasies about women; she can please the old lady and the women of the second wife, ensuring peace within the household; most importantly, she is not obsequious and is not someone who deliberately approaches him with ill intentions.
He didn't care whether she loved him or was willing to be pampered by him; all he wanted was a woman who met the right conditions and was suitable for him, a tool for him to use as he pleased.
Although there are still some inexplicable things about her, her family is under his control, and she cannot escape his grasp.
He thought that if she could continue to be so vibrant, continue to touch his heartstrings and soften his heart, he wouldn't mind giving her more indulgence and pampering.
He was even willing to give her the slightest bit of... affection.
She made a "hmm" protesting sound.
He plundered her beauty, showing her with facts that her protests were futile.
She reached out and punched his chest.
He raised her hands above her head, pinning them down with one hand and supporting the back of her neck with the other.
Conquering cities and seizing territories, indulging in utter recklessness, and seeking the ultimate thrill.
It turns out that the tingling sensation of a deep kiss can be irresistible.
Zhou Jin only snapped out of his daze when he felt pain in his lips.
Lifting her eyelashes, I noticed that glistening tears had fallen onto her trembling, long eyelashes.
He pressed his lips against hers hard for a few moments before releasing her.
Her lips were slightly red and moist, with a faint smudge of lip rouge. She raised her long eyelashes and glared at him, her eyes filled with tears and her face full of embarrassment and annoyance.
He thought that she was more pleasing to the eye when she was still so lively.
“The lip rouge tastes delicious.” His voice was slightly hoarse.
She turned her face away, hesitated for a moment, took out a handkerchief from her bosom, asked someone to bring water, and gently wiped the rouge off his thin lips.
After wiping it clean, she withdrew her hand, examined it with satisfaction, and smiled faintly: "You're welcome."
He took the handkerchief from her hand and gently wiped her face, but she snatched it away and turned to walk down the corridor.
"Take care, and don't bother seeing me off."
While holding a water cup and pretending to be a wooden block, Granny Xu was immersed in sweet honey one second, but the next second she was shocked out of her wits by Li Qu's outrageous behavior.
She watched Li Qu enter the house, awkwardly waited for Zhou Jin to turn around, politely bowed to Zhou Jin's back before turning to chase after Li Qu.
Inside the latticed window, Li Qu leaned against the window, watching Zhou Jin's departing figure, and slowly clenched her slightly sweaty palms.
It turned out that seducing him wasn't as difficult or terrifying as she had imagined.
Once you understand someone's preferences, you can treat them effectively and cure their ailment.
Zhou Jin seemed to sense something, paused, turned around, and keenly caught a glimpse of the woman's clothing that couldn't be hidden behind the latticed window.
Even more obvious is Xu Mama's position, which is completely exposed inside the latticed window. She is telling the people outside the window: Yes, it is the concubine who is peeping!
Zhou Jin was in a great mood. As he left Fanghua Garden, he ran into Huaichun, who was bringing gifts for Li Qu with his entourage.
Huai Chun stepped aside, bowed respectfully, and waited for Zhou Jin to leave.
Zhou Jin walked past her, but stopped in front of the maid carrying a tray behind her.
He picked up the gold and jade hairpin from the tray: "You only picked these two?"
With her mind racing, Huai Chun stood up and replied, "Auntie mostly picked out leftover fabrics, and the only slightly more valuable pieces of jewelry were these two."
She paused for a moment, then added, "However, my aunt's gaze lingered for a moment on a set of jadeite jewelry."
So, she took a fancy to a set of jade jewelry, but only picked out a hairpin made from leftover material.
Zhou Jin stroked the hairpin in his hand, thinking of the figure hidden behind the latticed window, and for some reason felt a pang of heartache.
"Since she liked it, I took it out and gave it to her."
"Huh?" Huaichun opened her mouth wide in disbelief.
Shouldn't the master say, "It's inappropriate for her to wear the whole set of jade jewelry; let's pick out two more pieces of other jade jewelry for her"?
Or you could simply not respond.
And just like that, it was given to the Li family!
Huaichun stammered slightly: "Yes, it's the imperial green one."
Zhou Jin remembered that when the news spread that he was going to marry a princess, his second brother used the materials he had collected to make a set of headdresses as a dowry for him.
"Send it to the master's study first."
A gift for her only has meaning if he gives it to her in person.
Huai Chun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Just look at how Aunt Li could possibly match that set of imperial green jadeite headdress.
"Yes, ma'am."
Zhou Jin put down the hairpin in his hand and walked towards Jinxiu Hall.
Jinxiu Hall is the inner courtyard. Zheng Changxing broke into the inner courtyard, his desire to die was clear.
He originally wanted to fulfill his grand ambition, but now... finding someone to go to his doorstep and yell at him is a good idea.
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