Difficulty traveling
Chapter 14: The Road is Difficult
On the carriage leaving the mansion, Peng Zuoyuan stood beside him and said, "Ah Huan, come back soon."
Yi Huan looked at him with pale lips, "We've come to that point now. If you don't kill me, do you think it's fun to just keep me like this?"
"Ah Huan is not a hunter. Compared to the prey, the game during the hunt is more interesting."
"You want to conquer me?"
"Hmm." Peng Zuoyan looked her up and down as if controlling her, and said decisively, "From the outside in, you can only be mine."
Yi Huan shook his head calmly, "I am mine."
Peng Zuoyan didn't argue with her, but his eyes showed his absolute and unstoppable control over her.
The curtain was lowered, and the master and two servants went east.
There were few people on the side street, and a figure wearing a coarse dark green cloak suddenly ran out.
"Excuse me! That's General Peng in the car!"
Qiu Sanniang recognized the driver, Chang Er, and guessed that the people in the car must be from the mansion. She mustered up her courage before she dared to stop the car.
Chang Er reined in his horse in time and said sideways, "Auntie, she is the woman Xianliutang presented to the master some time ago."
"My name is Qiu Sanniang, nice to meet you, aunt."
When the hooded cloak fell off, a delicate, pretty but slightly haggard face was revealed. Due to her pregnancy, her body was a little swollen.
"How many months has your belly been like this?"
Qiu Sanniang loosened her grip a little and said politely, "My aunt, it's been four months."
Yi Huan couldn't bear to see the pregnant woman at the moment, so he turned his gaze back to the thin curtain of auspicious cloud brocade and spoke through the gap of three fingers.
"You stopped the wrong person. I am your concubine and cannot be your master."
"No, no." Qiu Sanniang waved her hands hastily. "I don't want a title. My old master treated me harshly. I want to ask you to give me some money and let you do whatever you want with the child."
Meng Chenghe took the severance pay given by Peng Zuoyuan, and used the fact that she was pregnant as a gimmick to force her to receive customers. Qiu Sanniang was in the sex trade, but being coaxed and being forced were two different experiences.
Yi Huan was unmoved. "This is Peng Zuo's child. Aren't you afraid that I will kill you directly?"
"If Auntie doesn't like this child, Sanniang is willing to have an abortion for just money."
"Why don't you go find him? Maybe you can even gain status through your son?"
When she mentioned using the child as an excuse to threaten Peng Zuoyang, Qiu Sanniang shrank back in fear. From her experience, if she dared, she would likely not only not get the money, but also lose her life. And this Concubine Huan, with her elegant gold and jade hairpins and royal blue brocade, could clearly be seen to have a sense of sadness.
But with a figure like General Peng by your side, as long as you handle things well and have plenty of money, what could be wrong?
Qiu Sanniang could tell that Peng Zuoyang disliked her, and she felt relieved when she saw that it was not him in the carriage.
"Auntie, I don't harbor the illusion that a mother's status depends on her son. If I really couldn't survive, I wouldn't dare to stop you."
Seeing that she didn't respond, Qiu Sanniang suddenly knelt down and begged, "Auntie, please have pity on me. I will take the money and stay away from you and the general. I promise not to bother you and will also bring blessings to your children in the future."
A hand stretched out from behind the carriage curtain, carrying a hairpin and a purse. Yi Huan ordered, "Chang Er, give it to her."
"Thank you, Auntie. I will always remember your kindness."
Qiu Sanniang took two steps on her knees regardless of her pregnant belly, holding the headgear tightly in both hands.
"The child is your own. It's up to you whether to punish him or keep him. You can buy yourself a new pair of shoes with that bracelet."
Qiu Sanniang subconsciously retracted her feet. The shoe surface exposed by the skirt was no longer the original apricot yellow color, and it was dirty and had threads pulled out.
The embarrassment on her face disappeared in an instant. Qiu Sanniang took a deep breath. Nothing was more difficult than staying with Meng Chenghe. Now that she had begged for the silver, she didn't want to stay in this broken Gongzhou for a moment.
However, as her wrist rested on her slightly protruding belly, her eyes flashed with thought. A single woman is safer than a married man when traveling.
Yi Huan withdrew his gaze gloomily. Qiu Sanniang was an abandoned child, living in poverty, but what about her? How could she live like a human being? The current deadlock was also a dilemma. To solve it, we had to break it.
Peng Zuoyuan was halfway through performing a set of sword techniques when he thought of her last expression. His heart began to beat faster and faster, and he led his men on horseback and rushed out.
In the carriage that continued to move, Yi Huan held a silver hairpin under his hand, and a hint of madness flashed across his face as he turned his wrist.
"Chang Er, be careful ahead!"
While Chang Er was looking around without paying attention, Yi Huan strangled his neck with one hand and stabbed his right shoulder with the other end of the hairpin quickly and accurately.
Chang Er endured the pain and tried to break free, shouting, "Yi Huan, what do you want to do?"
Pushing him out of the carriage with both hands, Yi Huan didn't even glance at him. He imitated Chang Er's way of driving the carriage, struggling to control the frightened horse and galloped towards the outer city.
Yi Huan broke the bit of the chestnut horse, and the horse ran away without any burden. Yi Huan found the embankment of the upper reaches of the Minjiang River. As if he had a premonition that Peng Zuoyuan would come, he waited facing the surging and turbulent river surface.
Before a cup of tea had passed, the sound of horse hooves could be heard behind him.
Peng Zuoyuan dismounted his horse and strode forward, suppressing his anger and saying, "Ah Huan, come here."
"You are not in love with me, why are you still pestering me?"
The man in the long robe with strange patterns had sweat on the tip of his nose, and he pursed his lips unkindly, with a look as if he wanted to tear her apart.
"Oh, I get it." Yi Huan stood firmly and spoke truthfully, "It's your strange desire for control that's causing all this trouble. You treat me like a rat, like prey. Do you think you can enjoy the pleasure of completely controlling me like a slave?"
"Ah Huan, don't you hate me? If you die, won't I be freer and more relaxed?"
Apart from jumping, nothing else could move her. Yi Huan took a half step back and said, "Peng Zuoyuan, the Minjiang River stretches for hundreds of miles. I will definitely die there."
"If you dare to jump, I will bury you with the Liu family today!"
Yi Huan smiled faintly, fell back, and said with his eyes closed: "I feel guilty towards Aunt Jun. I will make amends in secret."
Peng Zuoyang cursed softly and rushed forward. Chang Yi was even quicker, grabbing him by the waist and admonishing him, "Master, the Minjiang River is always turbulent due to the summer rains, and the river's conditions are unpredictable. I am willing to go down the river to look for someone."
"Get the hell out!"
Kicking Chang Yi away, Peng Zuoyao took off his clothes and ordered, "You and Chang Er come with me down the river, and the rest of you follow the current to search for the person."
"yes."
The river water was muddy, and Peng Zuoyang could only see her blurry shawl. He plunged into the water and followed the current.
Beside the field full of golden corn, Peng Zuoyan carried the unconscious Yi Huan away from the water.
After finding the nearest low hill, Peng Zuoyan put Yi Huan down, patted her face and called out, "Wake up, Yi Huan, wake up."
When his index finger touched her neck, Peng Zuoyang breathed a sigh of relief, she was not dead.
He pinched his lips to breathe back and forth, and stopped when she choked out of the water. They couldn't find her for a while, so Peng Zuoyan picked up some dry branches and grass nearby to make a fire.
In the warm cave, Peng Zuoyan tilted his head to look at Yi Huan, who was lying on the ground with only a dried mixed-color skirt covering her. Her warm jade-like skin was exposed, and the light color could not hide her exquisite temptation, but he could not feel any desire at this moment.
Yi Huan is just his concubine. In this situation, the concubine does not respect the master and the master cannot bear the concubine. So how can we talk about the hierarchy between the husband and the concubine?
Peng Zuoyan was sure that this was not love, and his soft heart made him treat Yi Huan with gentleness again and again. Within his bottom line, he would allow Yi Huan to throw a tantrum appropriately.
Having been taken by him, she dared to give herself to someone else. At that moment, she felt more the rage of having her property taken away than the jealousy of a lover. She wanted to commit suicide, and he jumped down after her. Peng Zuoyan was confident that he would be safe, but on the other hand, if Yi Huan died, wouldn't his life be very boring?
He didn't want to keep thinking about someone and be dominated by someone else. The direction of the story should be controlled by him.
At midnight the next day, Yi Huan woke up in the empty and silent bed, with familiar bed curtains and familiar incense. Not only was she not dead, but she was imprisoned by Peng Zuoyan again.
After closing his eyes, Yi Huan felt his breathing become heavy, his head ached, his lips were cracked, and his entire body was wrinkled and painful from the blisters.
Two tears fell in front of Yi Huan's ears, but when she opened her eyes again, they were unusually dark and bright, and she burst out with a crazy courage to fight. Didn't Peng Zuoyang claim to be the one who seized the throne? She would just wait with him to see how the building would collapse. When she met him again one day, she would be able to calm the resentment in her heart.
Peng Zuoyan came when she was taking medicine after dinner. His meal and her medicine were placed on the round table, and the two different flavors blended together unusually.
Wiping his lips with a cloth, Peng Zuoyuan looked at the quiet Yi Huan and said cheerfully, "You look good."
I stopped arguing with him and learned a little from my experience.
Yi Huan frowned at the bitter taste of the medicine and complained, "You want me to suffer to death, so you deliberately asked them to prescribe bitter medicine?"
"Ah Huan is so wronged. Good medicine tastes bitter. These few ounces of ephedra are much more expensive than this bowl of rice for me."
"I blame you for being frugal. Aren't you a frontier general? Aren't you not corrupt?"
Peng Zuoyan's smile faded slightly when the topic came up, but he didn't care. "Ah Huan, words can cause trouble. If there are outsiders around, you must be careful not to speak without restraint."
But he is not a fish in clear water.
Peng Zuogong had neither the loyalty to devote himself to his country nor the integrity to uphold his original intention. He held power so that he could have a say and avoid being passive. He looked down upon and refused to touch the two funds allocated by the court, which was also a cautious move.
Yi Huan snorted, drank the remaining half bowl of medicine and left.
Peng Zuoyuan waved his hand to stop Cuiyin from following him, and said as he watched her leave: "Give Aunt Huan some yogurt to sweeten her mouth."
Cui Yin carefully raised her eyes to glance at the tall and handsome man, and replied in a soft voice, "Yes."
At the small banquet in the general's mansion, Peng Zuoyuan sat in the main seat, and on his right was Yi Huan who was eating.
Admiring the swaying singing and dancing of the women they brought with them one after another, Peng Zuoyan tilted his head and said teasingly, "Ah Huan, I think they don't have your slender waist and round hips."
Yi Huan rolled his eyes at him, moved to the right, and cursed, "Disgusting."
"Everyone, my concubine Huan wants to go on stage and compete for beauty. You must be quiet for a while."
One of them waved away the women on the stage, raised his glass and said cheerfully, "The people around the general must be exceptional dancers. We are so lucky to see them."
"What are you doing? I'd rather die than go and see someone embarrass themselves."
Peng Zuoyan chuckled, patted her waist teasingly, and watched her expression change again and again with a frown.
Yi Huan was held high by him, and everyone was waiting. Suddenly, all the generals in the room looked over. She gouged his eyes and reluctantly stood up.
Before she came here, Yi Huan worked in a dance studio. She twirled her long sleeves steadily, her body moving in unison with the rhythm of the harp. Her dance had no rules, yet her sleeves fluttered like a butterfly, and her slender waist glowed in the light.
Thinking of those difficult times, Yi Huan's eyes dimmed. When she was working to survive, there was always hope no matter how difficult it was. But now, even if she died accidentally and came here to save her life, life in this world is not going well.
Yi Huan once fantasized about a gorgeous and beautiful death, one that was elegant and meaningful, making others sigh and admire her fragile and vibrant but abruptly ended life. But she was just one of hundreds of millions of people, and one of the victims of several accidents.
Nothing special.
Peng Zuoyan grabbed her by the waist and pulled her over, asking with a hint of suspicion, "Ah Huan dances well, where did you learn it?"
"Learn secretly."
"I will find you a female teacher, my own, so you don't have to learn in secret."
Yi Huan struggled and refused his touch, "I don't want to learn."
Peng Zuoyan was dissatisfied with her refusal. He pinched her chin and said close to her, "Ah Huan, this is a favor I give you."
Yi Huan pushed and took a step back, "No need."
At that time, I secretly learned something out of yearning, a desire from the bottom of my heart that I could not obtain. It was the light between heaven and earth. Now, what is within my reach is not as good as the light I had as a young boy.
He was about to say something threatening, but Yi Huan retorted, "Have you learned how to be your plaything better? Shame on you."
"How does Ah Huan know what I'm thinking? Could it be that..." Peng Zuoyao put one hand under the edge of her clothes, touched her with his fingers, and said in a suggestive voice: "Ah Huan also wants to make love with me?"
Her nails dug into his fidgeting fingers, and she shook them off, cursing, "□□!"
Peng Zuoyan obediently stopped touching her and simply sat sideways, squinting his eyes and looking at her with a smile.
When the moonlight was full, Peng Zuoyan used a bath bean scented with green wood to wash away the smell of alcohol, and the scent of the opposite sex filled the air.
Peng Zuoyan held her waist with both hands and moved closer while talking.
"At the banquet today, Ah Huan's waist was as soft as a willow branch, and many eyes were looking at you. But I was thinking about Ah Huan's tender and passionate look when the hem of that pine green smoke silk gown was lifted."
"That's easy. Once you get tired of me, they can ask for it back. No need to just watch."
Whether it is performing on the spot or teasing everywhere, it is all about what a toy can do. Peng Zuoyan's humiliation of people is comparable to his appearance.
But the idea of equality, which is deeply rooted in our bones and is dismissed as crazy talk, cannot be discussed.
Peng Zuoyan chuckled, "Ah Huan, you are joking again."
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