Chapter 31 "So, he kissed your cheek..."
The man's head was turned to the side by the blow, and his lips were cut and bleeding, but he still held onto her arm tightly, preventing her from escaping.
“Ling Niang…”
She shouted sternly, "Wake up!"
“Ling Niang… since you like Ling Niang so much,” she raised her hand and slapped her again, “how do you treat her? If you like her, you should be like a dog and obey her. But you try every means to tame her.”
"You deserved that slap."
The man lay sprawled on the ground, his pale face covered with two red handprints, and he was no longer in his right mind.
He smiled without warning, then slowly closed his eyes, beads of blood rolling down his eyelashes and tracing paths down his gaunt cheeks.
Leng Cuizhu did not let Yin Yuan die.
Or rather, Yin Yuan didn't really want to die. After uttering a long and tragic last speech, he inexplicably crawled out, his fingers still gripping the ground just before he fainted.
Indeed, who would actually go to their death?
He simply enjoyed his vulnerability as he lay dying, the freedom to care about nothing, and her stunned and devastated expression.
People always try to provoke others by self-harm.
People always do many foolish things for love.
She didn't know how she and Yin Yuan returned to the Yin residence. She only remembered that many servants rushed up and took away the master, who was covered in blood, while she sat alone in the blood-stained carriage.
Left, right, above, and below, all were covered in dripping blood. She stayed in this square blood box until sunset.
With such a big incident, Yi Yinwan naturally summoned her to the main hall.
"She was perfectly fine when she left the manor, how come she's half-dead and riddled with holes when she came back?" Yi Yinwan clicked her tongue repeatedly. "Leng Cuizhu, Leng Cuizhu, who do you think you are? Do you even know what you're doing? What benefit do you expect from the master's death? Have you ever thought about that? Aren't you afraid I'll kidnap you and sell you to some country bumpkin as a wife?"
"Madam...I..."
"Alright, stop explaining. I don't want to hear you stammering and crying like this. It's annoying to watch."
“He has already told me that you did not do this.”
“But only you know the truth. I’ve always known he’s biased towards you,” Yi Yinwan rolled her eyes. “If you know you’re stupid, then do fewer stupid things in the future.”
"OK……"
Leng Cuizhu twisted the silk handkerchief in her hand, remaining silent.
"The master is seriously ill; you will need to take care of him these next few days."
"ah?"
"If you don't go, do you expect me to go? Can't you tell the difference between the king and the queen anymore...?"
Seeing that Madam Yin was in a bad mood, she didn't say anything more and could only give a vague reply.
Serving Yin Yuan was easier than she had imagined. Most of the work was done by servants arranged by Madam Yin, and she only needed to stay by Yin Yuan's side.
But Leng Cuizhu sometimes felt that it would be better to let her do the dirty and tiring work.
“Ling Niang…”
“Ling Niang…”
“Ling Niang…”
She had originally intended to go inside, but upon hearing the urgent murmurs from within, she abruptly turned back.
"Why aren't you going in, madam?" The maidservant, who had just come to deliver clothes, asked when she saw the maid's embarrassed expression.
She bit her lip, embarrassed, and said, "I...it's too stuffy in there."
"Is this the master's clothing? Should we take it to be washed?"
"No, it's newly made. Madam asked me to bring it over."
"Oh, I see..." she said, a little disappointed. If she were to take it to be washed, she could find an excuse to slip away.
She was on the verge of a breakdown, spending all her time indoors staring blankly at Yin Yuan.
"Please trouble you to take these clothes inside, madam, and see if they fit the master. I'll be able to report back to him."
"OK……"
She took the clothes inside.
As soon as she lifted the gauze curtain and entered the warm chamber, the intense gaze made her steps stiffen, and she almost inclined to the bedside step by step.
Yin Yuan lay on the bed, his face completely pale.
But he still managed to squeeze out hoarse, incoherent words: "Who was I talking to just now..."
She didn't answer, but picked up a piece of clothing, smoothed it out, and laid it on the man to see if it fit.
The man was covered with thick blankets and had bandages wrapped around his body; even so, his clothes were a few centimeters too big.
Madam Yin must have made the clothes according to last year's size.
She used to tailor clothes for Yin Yuan every year, so she took a rough measurement and found that the clothes she sent over were Yin Yuan's original size.
He has lost a lot of weight this year.
She didn't care about these things. After all, as the head of the family, Yin Yuan couldn't possibly be without clothes that fit him. Having a few more or a few less wouldn't make a difference.
After casually trying on a few pieces of clothing, she packed up the tray and left.
Unexpectedly, due to a moment of carelessness and negligence, her clothes were pulled.
“Ling Niang…”
With her back to the man, she refused to turn around: "What does my lord want?"
"It's time to change the medication."
She looked down at the lotus pattern on the shoes.
The bite marks on her arm hadn't faded yet. To be honest, she was a little afraid of Yin Yuan. She always felt that Yin Yuan had changed ever since he found that white hair on her bed.
He's become... effeminate, unworthy of being a gentleman.
When she used to have all her heart and soul devoted to him, he never cared about her as much as he does now, insisting on being inseparable from her.
What a weirdo.
"Oh, I'll come and help you change it in a bit."
"...Are you going to spend some more time with him before coming? Is he waiting for you outside?"
"When you came in just now, your lip rouge was lighter than it was this morning."
He lay on the bed, glancing at her sideways, and asked angrily, "Do you really think I'm Tuoba Hong, that I can indulge you indefinitely?"
Too lazy to argue with Yin Yuan, she lifted the gauze curtain and left the warm pavilion. She ironed the clothes and put them in the wardrobe. She then asked her maid to tell Madam Yin that the clothes fit her well.
After finishing these tasks, she returned to the warm pavilion.
It hadn't been long since then. The man was sitting on the bed. When he saw her come in, his dark eyes lit up again. He stared at her for a long time without moving, and then he was filled with shame and indignation, his face turning pale.
"Why is your lipstick so bright again? What are you hiding?"
"My lord, you have misjudged."
"You didn't see it wrong at all; you're just feeling guilty."
"I haven't applied any lip rouge today."
"……Um."
Yin Yuan lowered his eyes, his thin lips slightly pursed.
After applying the medicine to Yin Yuan, she carried the medicine box out the door.
It was still a bit chilly in early spring, especially since she had just come out of the warm, cozy room and felt even colder, so she couldn't help but pull her collar tighter.
A servant boy passed by and suddenly grabbed her wrist.
He coaxed her, "My wife..."
It was as if you could hear the voice before you saw the person; Leng Cuizhu knew who it was just by hearing the voice.
She withdrew her hand: "What are you doing at the Yin residence again?"
That day in the thatched hut, when Yin Yuan crawled out, the dodder had already turned back into a rooster. It was so frightened by Yin Yuan's half-human, half-ghost appearance that it fainted in the blink of an eye.
Leng Cuizhu was unwilling to recall how she had brought a living dead person and a living dead chicken back to the Yin residence.
"I'm here to help you. Taking care of zombies must be hard work, right?" he asked, bending down. "Even though your zombie husband fired me, hehehe... sorry, but I'm still here."
Leng Cuizhu: "...Could you please stop making those weird noises? It's embarrassing."
Every time the dodder spoke, it made her realize one thing again: this child was really no good; whenever she showed him off, he would make strange noises that would scare people away.
Leng Cuizhu was still happy that he came to see her.
It was lunchtime, so she and Dodder found a quiet pavilion to eat together.
"Has Eun seen you these past few days?"
She picked through the peas in the rice, placing them one by one into the dodder's bowl: "They've been here."
“Hey, that’s strange… I’ve never run into him even once.” Dodder scratched his cheek and buried his head in his rice. “Host, I do all the housework at home. That bird doesn’t care about anything. All it does is fly around all day! I don’t know what it’s doing. Maybe it thinks it’s a flight attendant.”
Leng Cuizhu smiled but remained silent.
He certainly wouldn't run into Ewan; she and Ewan would only meet late at night.
"You'll have to work hard, Xiao Du. When you go back later, take some pastries from the Yin family with you. Anyway, no one is in charge of the kitchen."
"By the way, these next few days... keep an eye on the attic. If Leng Zhen comes back... don't disturb him, just remember what he does." She pondered for a moment, "And put some pastries on the windowsill in the attic as well."
Perhaps Leng Zhen will secretly return. This child will definitely not want to see her, and she, too, doesn't know what to say when she sees him. She can only silently pray that he will be safe and sound.
Dodder: "Host, don't worry. Your son may not be living a comfortable life, but at least he's not dead. If he really were dead, I would be the first person to know."
"Alas, if one day the host loses both her son and her husband, let me be your husband and son!"
"...Have you eaten yet? If you're full, hurry up and go." Although she said this, she kept reminding people, "Remember to lock the door when you're home alone at night. Also, don't forget to water the flowers. In a few days, when the sun comes out, take the blankets out to air them, otherwise they'll get bugs."
She reached out to straighten his robes: "Oh dear, remember to hang up your clothes after you're done wearing them. Don't just stuff them all into the closet. Look at what you're wearing today, it's all wrinkled. Don't you think it looks bad on you?"
Dodder puffed out its chest: "Of course I don't think so. As long as I have a face, I'll maintain my position. Host, you also always wear those drab old-fashioned clothes."
Leng Cuizhu was puzzled: "Because I'm just old."
"Women in their thirties are not old at all, and men in their sixties are still praised for their charm."
“No, I’m not good at praising anyway,” Leng Cuizhu shook her head.
If an older man acts out and does something incomprehensible, she will only think he is old and pretentious, unlike others who would see it as genuine and cute.
Therefore, she really didn't want to be alone with Yin Yuan.
At night, Yin Yuan said he wanted to wash himself. Several maids had already brought water basins and towels into the room, but they were chased out again.
When he was healthy, he could do these things on his own, but now that he is in such a physical condition, he certainly can't.
Yin Yuan insisted on finding Leng Cuizhu.
When the little maid knocked on Leng Cuizhu's door, she had just unbuttoned You En's cloak.
“…Oh, yes, Miss Linglan, I’ll be right there.” She replied to the outside. She withdrew her hand and whispered to the man in front of her, “You should go to sleep first; it looks like it’ll be a long time before you’re back.”
"Want to take off all your clothes?"
She rubbed her eyelids: "No, not tonight. You should get some rest."
“But I came here to see you, Madam, so that I may serve you.”
A strand of hair from the man's forehead brushed against her cheek, tickling her.
She shook her head, sighed, and laughed: "It's a pity, Madam is going to serve someone else."
Eun lowered his head and kissed the contours of her brow, whispering in her ear, "Then, I'll stay with you?"
Leng Cuizhu did not refuse You En's request.
He was so obedient, how could she bear to refuse him?
The mansion was dimly lit by candlelight at night, so she let a crow perch on her shoulder, hiding it in her long, flowing hair.
The young maidservant didn't notice anything amiss and chatted with her occasionally along the way.
"Madam and Master are cousins, and they've lived in the same house since they were little," the maid yawned repeatedly. "However, from what Madam said, she doesn't seem to be very familiar with Master. After all, even if you live under the same roof, you're not necessarily close. It depends on how you feel about each other."
"But, the lady also said, 'Don't let the good stuff go to outsiders. It's an arranged marriage, and even if we don't like each other, it's fine as long as we have money to spend.'"
Leng Cuizhu nodded: "That's right."
"It sounds like the lady has a very clear understanding of life."
The maid secretly rolled her eyes, then smiled and echoed her.
When they arrived at Jiangyue Residence, where Yin Yuan lived, they happened to see several maids hurrying out.
"What's wrong?"
The maid was extremely frightened: "Sister Linglan, the water has been spilled..."
"Oh, go and cook a few more pots to prepare."
Leng Cuizhu thought to herself that Miss Linglan was truly understanding; she didn't scold the maids for knocking over the water basin. It seemed that there were still normal people in this huge mansion.
Linglan stopped at the door and let her go in alone.
She nodded, and thus secretly carried the crow on her shoulder into the house.
She told the crow to wait for her by the window, and then went into the warm chamber.
Several servants were kneeling and wiping the hot water that had spilled on the floor. When they saw her coming, they were all stunned for a moment. Then, as if by telepathy, they continued wiping and slipped out of the gauze curtain to wipe the warm room.
Yin Yuan remained seated on the bed as usual, his expression unchanged.
"It's already past 1 AM."
Leng Cuizhu had no idea what he meant by that out-of-the-way remark. Was he perhaps showing off his power, having dozens of servants running around attending to him late at night?
Or does he still want to demonstrate his dedication to the country and its people, even while ill, he's still thinking about getting up early to start his shift?
She picked up the wet towel from the ground and hung it on a rack to dry.
After a while, the maids brought in water and several clean towels.
The maids left in a hurry.
Yin Yuan: "Aren't you asleep yet?"
Leng Cuizhu stood in front of the shelf, dripping rose-scented dew into the basin of water: "Hmm."
"Was it good?"
She looked up.
The man stared at her and asked again, "Was it good?"
"You didn't wear lip rouge, but do you know... your skin is very thin, and it's easy for red marks to appear?"
Did Eun leave a lip print when she kissed him earlier?
Her hand, which was dripping perfume, froze, and she quickly used her other, half-frozen hand to touch her cheek.
The man closed his eyelids.
"So, he kissed your cheek..."
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