Chapter 14
Fortunately, my father didn't ask any further questions and I just got away with it.
The night was shrouded, thin clouds covered the moon, and it was a little chilly. Han Fengci had already sat at the jade table in the warm room waiting for Feng Huanhuan. Then the two of them sneaked into the mud house in the garden of the Prime Minister's Mansion. In front of the dilapidated wooden bench and wooden table, Bai Tiao was still wearing the goose down cloak, reading a tattered book quietly by the faint candlelight. Her face was paler than yesterday, and her lips were abnormally light purple.
Feng Huanhuan looked around and found that besides being shabby, there were only some sparks left in the charcoal stove. She frowned and looked again, wondering why Handan was gone. At this time, there was a noise outside the door, as if someone was coming. She exchanged a glance with Han Fengci, retreated to a corner, and continued to watch.
The door was pushed open, and the person who came in was the second wife of the Prime Minister's Mansion. She wore a few gold hairpins and jewelry on her head, and dressed in a pink silk dress, showing the seductiveness of a prostitute in her steps. She looked charming and oval, but the rippling smile lines hid her untidy eyebrows and eyes. Compared with Wan Ningwu's dignity, the second wife seemed vulgar and vulgar.
It turned out that the legendary second wife looked like this. She couldn't help but complain to Han Fengci: "Is this prime minister blind?"
Aunt Wan looked better without makeup than her face which was covered with thick makeup. The second wife walked along with her head held high, her chest puffed out, and her hips twisted. When she saw Bai Tiao, her smile disappeared instantly. She spoke to Bai Tiao in a very bad tone: "Bai Tiao, mother is doing this for your own good. Even if you starve to death here, you must marry into the palace."
Seeing that Bai Tiao remained silent, she continued, "There are so many people vying to get into this palace. Your father has been paving the way for you, and his hair has turned a lot white since you came of age. Why are you so unfilial?"
"You are the legitimate daughter. Isn't it your duty to seek a way out for the Prime Minister's Mansion and consolidate your father's position in the court?"
Bai Tiao's face was still cold. She raised her eyes and smiled softly, "Auntie, you are so considerate of the Prime Minister's Mansion. Why don't you make some sacrifices? With your looks, you are qualified to marry the prince as a concubine. If you use your pillow talk more often, won't the Prime Minister's Mansion be in its heyday by then? The Prime Minister's Mansion will definitely be grateful for your sacrifice."
"You!! Little bitch, you're not going to accept my toast so you can drink the wine for punishment, right?" The Second Madam had a ferocious face, took a step forward and slapped him in the face with her hand.
"Snap——" The sound was crisp and deafening.
"You are just like your mother. Why are you pretending to be so noble?"
"Pa——" another slap came.
Bai Tiao turned away, indifferent, as if she had long been accustomed to this style. Her body was as soft as a willow, but her back was still straight. She slowly raised her head, and a faint blush flowed from the corner of her mouth. Her face, frozen like ice, was tense, and her eyes were full of frost.
She chuckled and said, "You also feel inferior to my mother, right? Otherwise, why would you be so angry and humiliated?"
The second lady's hand, which was about to fall, suddenly stopped in mid-air. If she struck back, it would mean that she acknowledged Bai Tiao's words. If she didn't, she would feel so aggrieved that she would choke. Her chest rose and fell with anger, but Bai Tiao still sat there straight, looking at her coldly. For a moment, her face overlapped with Wan Ningwu's. After a few breaths, she smiled and said three good words in a row, "You are really Wan Ningwu's daughter, really."
The second wife took her hands back and crossed them over her chest, still smiling, and looked at Bai Tiao as if she was stalking prey. After a while, she actually looked very proud, her eyes almost reaching her temples, "Why are you pretending to be noble? Do you need me to remind you of the dirty things you have done? Who was the man in black at Guanyin Mountain Hot Spring a few years ago? You are so young, and you know how to have affairs with others. Your mother, who has become a nun, is watching you on the mountain."
She adjusted her cuffs and said, "I may be from a poor family, but I can't do anything shameful under my mother's nose. Don't you think so, Miss Bai?"
Bai Tiao's eyelashes trembled, but she still didn't answer. With that aloof demeanor, no one would believe her if she said she wasn't Wan Ningwu's daughter. The Second Madam had no choice but to leave cursing. Before leaving, she stopped and turned back, "Bai Tiao, accept your fate. Your mistake is that you were born in the Prime Minister's Mansion, and you can't make your own decisions in your life."
When she said this, it was as if she was talking to herself, and she acted like a fellow sufferer, with a bit of sincerity hidden on her plain face.
After the second wife left, Bai Tiao was still sitting there. The shadow of the flame danced on her face, looming. Her eyes gradually lost their coldness and were covered with a layer of cold mist. After a long time... she smiled, and tears fell from the corners of her eyes. She whispered a person's name softly in the corner of her mouth, it was Feng Wubai.
"Wu Bai, I can't seem to wait for you any longer."
The surroundings were so quiet. Following the fading moon and passing by the tattered and damaged ruins, Feng Huanhuan held back her tears and ran out of the house.
A few waning moons cast desolate shadows all over the ground. She squatted in the snow and cried heart-wrenchingly, as if she wanted to vent something. Han Fengci squatted down, his eyes full of pity. After a long time, she raised her eyes and asked, "Am I in a terrible state? I don't know anything about what Sister Bai has experienced over the years. Even if she and my brother are not destined to be together, she has a real affection for me."
She hated herself for not noticing Sister Bai's change earlier. "Han Fengci, I want to save Sister Bai."
She said with certainty: "I want to save her. Although Sister Bai is weak, she has a very hard temper. Now in that dilapidated house, I am afraid she will be depressed." Suddenly, the charcoal stove without sparks and the lifeless face appeared in her mind. She lowered her head and choked with sobs, "If I stay there any longer, I am afraid I will freeze to death."
Han Fengci nodded and coaxed, "I cast a spell when I left, so she won't freeze to death."
These words undoubtedly put her worries to rest. She looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes, "Han Fengci, thank you."
He raised his hand to wipe her tears, his heart aching. He was still like that, he couldn't bear to see her shed a tear, even if it wasn't for him.
The snow was chilly, the door of the Prime Minister's Mansion, Lianying Garden, was bolted shut, and the candlelight was bright. From behind the pale pink curtain came the sound of abuse. The porcelain cups on the topaz table and stool had long since turned into pieces. The servant Ah Shui lowered her eyes and squatted, picking up the pieces carefully with her hands.
Le Yingniang's anger was almost all over her face. She had nowhere to vent the blockage in her heart, and her whole body felt like ants crawling all over, itching extremely. Now she was disgusted by Ah Shui's gloomy look, which not only failed to express her blockage, but also seemed to be an eyesore. So, she stepped forward and stomped Ah Shui's hand that was picking up the fragments to the ground. As if that was not enough, she crushed it deeply a few more times.
"ah--"
A terrifying scream pierced her ears, and Le Yingniang's eyes were filled with excitement. She watched Ah Shui's chest-tearing pain, and she felt more and more happy. She stepped harder and harder until she heard a sound like a bone cracking, and then she withdrew her foot.
She sat on the stool and let out a long sigh. At this moment, her heart was like a stream flowing through her, comfortable and carefree. She looked down at Ah Shui, who was already trembling in pain on the ground, with her head lowered in pain, covering her bloody and convulsed hands, and sneered: "Ah Shui, if someone asks you tomorrow how you got hurt, what will you say?"
Ah Shui was like a piece of wood, her movements were slow for a moment, she raised her head blankly, "Reply... Reply Madam, it was... it was my carelessness."
"It was all your carelessness. You were so impulsive that you made my room dirty. Why don't you get out and clean it up!"
After Le Yingniang finished speaking, Ah Shui reluctantly stood up. The tearing sensation of her flesh was inch by inch, twisting and pricking. She staggered back, passing through the corridors, where bright winter plum blossoms bloomed in the snow. She had long been numb from the pain, until she returned to the maid's dormitory, where she fell down in the small dark space, and in the dim light of the waning moon, she slowly rolled up her sleeves, and felt a sharp pain. Long green and red marks ran through the entire arm, and at first glance, there was no good place. Her eyes had long been like a dry river, unable to produce a single crystal.
She climbed onto the kang and pulled out a gray linen bag filled with broken jars, some of which were empty. She skillfully collected a bottle of medicine for wounds and wiped the wound on her hand with a cold face, but her heart was already choking with sorrow.
At this time, faint sounds of lovemaking came from Lianying Garden in the north. Without raising her eyes, she knew that the master had returned.
Under the cold moon, bursts of soft moans could be heard from inside the window of Lianying Garden.
"Master, please come quickly, come to Yingniang's place, okay?"
Bai Tianting had just entered the room, and before he could sit down, he saw the candlelight in the bedroom was dim. Hearing the sound, he squinted his eyes through the layers of curtains and looked at Le Yingniang lying on her side on the bed. She was wearing only a pink silk wide-sleeved dress, which was transparent, and her plump body was faintly visible. Her black hair half covered her chest, and her oval face was like a lotus emerging from the water, extremely charming. He immediately put on a smile on his serious face, took a step forward, quickly took the jade body into his arms, and turned over. His big palm wandered over the tender jade on her body, pinched it hard, and said in a hoarse voice: "Yingniang is so soft and smooth at her age now
"It's not... the Master's rain and dew." Her eyes were filled with strong desire. She swept her gaze across his eyebrows, his lips, and then down, and called out softly, "Master..."
This cry touched Bai Tianting's heart. He could not stand her coquettish look the most. With a wave of his hand, layers of curtains fell down, and the sky and the earth shook.
Before she knew it, a cup of tea had passed, and Le Yingniang was curled up on Bai Tianting's shoulder, trying to read his expression. The three vertical lines on her forehead still showed the traces of lust, and the shaggy beard on her strong chin was floating slightly, and she was breathing out bursts of mist, looking very satisfied.
Seeing her looking at him, he glared at her and asked hoarsely, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
She kept circling his chest with her index finger, and her shy look was pitiful. "Yingniang is exhausted, but the master seems to be full of energy. This makes Yingniang worried."
These words really pleased Bai Tianting. He knew what Yingniang meant, so he hugged Le Yingniang tighter and said in a hoarse voice again: "Then Yingniang must serve you well."
Seeing that Bai Tianting was in a good mood, she felt relieved. While she was still excited, she whispered softly, "Master, the eldest lady still refuses to respond."
Sure enough, Bai Tianting frowned and looked much more serious. "Then keep her under house arrest for a few more days. A woman has suffered enough, so she will agree to it."
Le Yingniang tilted her head, frowned, and showed an unspeakable worry. Bai Tianting glanced at her and said, "Yingniang loves Bai Tao so much, but she doesn't know what's good for her and is always against you. Now that this is an important matter, Yingniang should not speak for her."
This was exactly what she had been waiting for, and her face beneath the quilt was beaming with joy.
The next day, before daybreak, Bai Tianting got up early to attend the court. Le Yingniang stood on tiptoe to straighten Bai Tianting's clothes, and watched him walk away. She couldn't help but glance sideways, and saw Ah Shui hanging his head, looking like he was dying, and she was furious. She was about to go up and curse him, but the servant came forward to announce: "Second Madam, the daughter of the Shangshu Mansion is here to visit."
"The daughter of the Shangshu Mansion?" Le Yingniang was surprised and asked again: "But what about Feng Huanhuan?"
The servant bowed and said, "Madam, it's Miss Feng."
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