Chapter 51 "Even Gu worms need to eat."...
"...You're a man, how could you possibly get pregnant?"
Si Qing picked her up from the ground and held her in his arms.
"But I was pregnant with your child and gave birth to it."
Every word he said shattered Leng Cuizhu's understanding.
The man took her hand and guided her to touch it.
She touched a furry ball that was still moving.
"Squeak!"
The chipmunk climbed onto her wrist very naturally and brushed her trembling hand with its tail.
"Xiaozhu is our child."
“After that night, you didn’t want to see me anymore. I was so lonely, so I adopted it and have been raising it ever since.”
"I never imagined that one day it would meet you. Look, it looks just like you."
She possessed a calmness born from prolonged stimulation: "...Stop it, okay?"
For the next few days, she listened to Si Qing's words and stayed by his side.
The two were almost always together. Apart from the time spent in bed, he would do other things with her, just like any other couple. But those peaceful and beautiful times were few and far between; their desires were often like a raging flood.
Leng Cuizhu always felt that she had forgotten something.
But having lived a carefree life with Si Qing, she couldn't remember anything at all.
All she had to think about each day was which position to use.
"Would you like to give it a try?"
The man, holding a pipe, sat on the edge of the bed, puffing away, and glanced back at her.
He was smoking hookah, which didn't smell of smoke but had a pleasant fragrance.
She had seen a few of the older women in the brothel smoke this kind of cigarette before, and they even asked her if she wanted to try it. After Yin Yuan redeemed her, she only saw it on the street. Yin Yuan was strict with himself and others. He not only forbade his servants from smoking, drinking, or gambling, but he also forbade her from having any bad habits, let alone smoking.
"Okay, I want to try it."
She sat up in bed with a smile and leaned on the man's shoulder.
"Then I'll order for you."
The man asked her to get his pipe, then bent down to add tobacco and coconut shells to it before lighting it for her.
The two of them snuggled together by the bed.
"Sister, have I led you astray?"
The man asked a question.
She exhaled a puff of smoke and sighed, "It's just smoking; I do it willingly."
The man lowered his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips. A small mole on his cheek was shrouded in smoke, appearing and disappearing intermittently.
"...Willingly?"
"Um……"
She nodded blankly, her body inexplicably warming up.
She had only been smoking for a short while when she felt hot all over, and even the hand holding the pipe turned red and trembled uncontrollably.
“Si Qing…”
"Um?"
"I don't feel well... I feel terrible, please help me..."
She suddenly wrapped her arms around the man's neck and rubbed against his chest.
The man gently patted her back, one pat at a time, slowly sliding down her shoulder blades.
With each pat, she trembled, until finally the man's hand had nowhere left to slide inside.
"Was this done willingly?"
She finally realized: "What did you give me?"
"Even worms need to eat."
The man lifted her hand and pointed to the bulging veins on her arm: "Look, it's almost as thick as your index finger."
That particular vein was completely different from the others; it was swollen beyond recognition and kept writhing, as if it wanted to burst through the skin and flesh. Her arms were already thin, which made her frantic struggle even more shocking.
It looked like a baby snake had been stuffed inside.
She was terrified and quickly flung her arm away. But the man's touch caused her to gush with tears. Not only the tears from her eyes stained the man's body, but also a lot more that she couldn't stop, all of which gathered in the man's palm and overflowed.
"As expected, you'll feel more comfortable only after I've fed the Gu worms. Look, I haven't even started yet, and you've already leaked so much fluid; the whole bed is wet."
"What virtuous wife and loving mother... You're still just as promiscuous as you were a decade ago, you haven't changed at all. You've just gotten used to pretending to be compliant, haven't you?"
He drugged her again, at the moment when she trusted him the most.
So suddenly and unexpectedly, the precious warmth was destroyed.
She forced out a hoarse whisper from her throat: "I hate you..."
He gripped the bed sheet tightly with one hand, until it became wrinkled.
"Hate me, it's better than not caring at all." The man smiled wickedly and gently bit her earlobe. "Sister, I hate you too."
He said he hated her, but he spent the whole day with her.
He only managed to coax Leng Cuizhu to sleep when she reached her physical limit.
She was so tired that she didn't wake up until the afternoon of the next day. When she woke up, her head was fuzzy, her whole body was weak, and she couldn't muster any energy.
"Would you like anything to eat? I'll have them make it for you."
The man sat on the edge of the bed, playing with strands of hair on her shoulder.
She glanced at Si Qing indifferently: "No."
"I want to get dressed."
"Are you cold?"
He quickly covered her with a blanket and touched her forehead.
"I want to get dressed." She threw off the blanket.
Being stared at naked like that made her very uncomfortable, especially since the person in front of her was Si Qing. She no longer felt that his eyes were clear and pure; they were clearly like those of a wolf or a tiger.
"Okay, then I'll help you?"
"Get out."
Annoyed by her questions, she kicked him, hitting him squarely in the man's lean waist.
Si Qing looked up and sighed.
"Okay... Sister, I'm going out."
Her own clothes were taken to be washed, so Si Qing ordered someone to bring her new clothes.
Those few pieces of silk robes, as thin as cicada wings, were clearly very valuable.
The poor always wear thick, heavy clothes, while the rich wear thin, light clothes in any season. In summer, they only wear gauze, and in winter, a coat embroidered with silver fox fur is enough.
She knew these clothes would eventually be torn and stained, and feeling sorry for them, she asked the maid, "Can we pack them up?"
"……ah?"
“I’ll take it back and wear it. Just give me a few of your usual clothes, and I’ll put in a good word with the Marquis. He won’t blame you.”
The maid hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
I'll come back in a bit.
Leng Cuizhu was sitting in front of the mirror doing her makeup when she saw the maid return. She smiled and said, "Just leave it there, don't bother."
"By the way, I see a lot of people coming and going outside, what are they doing?"
"It seems... we have a guest." The maid said awkwardly, "I heard it's an official, and he has a very loud voice."
Just as the maid had said, a loud laugh came from outside after she finished speaking.
Hahahahahahahaha—
"Brother Si, I, Chen Xun, have come to see you! How have you been lately, Brother Si?"
Leng Cuizhu changed her clothes and quietly sneaked into the room.
She had only intended to eavesdrop from behind the vase, but Chen Xun, for some reason, called her out.
"Hey, what's that young lady hiding behind that vase? Isn't she cold standing in the wind? I was shivering from the wind when I came up the mountain."
Si Qing glanced back and twirled the prayer beads in her hand.
"Sir, she's shy around strangers. Your voice is too loud and you're disturbing her."
"Little Candle, would you like to come and listen?"
Of course!
Moreover, she now has nowhere left to retreat.
The servant moved a chair for her beside the couch, and she sat obediently without saying a word.
She didn't understand much of the political affairs Chen Xun and Si Qing were discussing, and she didn't want to understand.
Ever since Yin Yuan said that Lord Chen liked to embezzle public funds, her impression of Lord Chen had changed. She had genuinely thought that Lord Chen was a good official, after all, he looked quite kind. It seems that one cannot judge a book by its cover.
When she got tired of sitting, she leaned back in her chair, rested her hands on the soft pillows on the couch, and looked at the bracelet on her wrist and the ring on her hand.
The gold and turquoise ring was a gift from Si Qing. He said that her fingers were slender and long, and only she could bring out the ring's beauty when she wore it.
He had given her many pieces of jewelry like this over the past few days, all of which she had taken off and put away in a box when she was lucid, intending to take them all with her when she left. Wearing this ring was just to pretend that she really liked the jewelry he had given her; in reality, she didn't like it that much, and wearing too much jewelry was cumbersome.
Moreover, her feelings for Si Qing are now very complicated. She hates him, but she enjoys the extreme pleasure he brings, an experience she has never had before.
At times, she felt utterly disgusted by everything he brought her, wishing she could immerse her entire body in water and wash every inch of skin he touched until it peeled and bled.
The same applies to what he gives.
Sometimes I think he's generous and kind, and other times I feel incredibly resentful of his casual gifts.
The man suddenly grabbed her hands and pulled them onto his lap, patting them gently.
Si Qing spoke up: "Lord Chen said you know him?"
“…Huh?” Leng Cuizhu came back to her senses, looked at the two men in front of her with different expressions, and didn’t know how to answer.
What exactly is Chen Xun up to...? Did he drink two ounces of alcohol before coming here? Who exactly wanted him to be the middleman in this scheme?
"My dear wife, have you forgotten? I am the adopted brother of your sworn sister's cousin! I have eaten at your house before."
“Ah…right,” she said with a frown and a smile, “sorry, I forgot.”
"How have you been here? How's your relationship with the Marquis?"
"Okay, that's good."
"Since you're old friends, why don't you sit here and have a good chat? I'm going out to feed the peacocks anyway."
Si Qing smoothed her hair and, with a smile, led her servants out the door.
Once the door was closed, Chen Xun's expression changed again, becoming serious: "Wife, how is it? Has the land sale been settled?"
"Sell land?" She bit her lip. "Oh no, I forgot about that..."
"Forgot?" Chen Xun rubbed his eyelids. "Oh, forgot... So, what have you been doing here these past few days, my wife?"
"Never mind that for now. You've been away from home for too long, and Lord Yin has already found out. He's sent people all over the county to look for you. It will probably be a few more days before they find you... Don't worry, if anything happens, I'll send you a message by carrier pigeon."
Just as she thought, Yin Yuan would definitely send people to find her whereabouts if she disappeared without a trace.
When she returned from her last disappearance, Yin Yuan kept her confined in the Yin residence for a long time. I wonder what kind of torture she will endure this time.
She can't worry about those things right now; she can still tell which fire to save first, the distant one or the nearby one.
“Oh, right,” Chen Xun took a few small bottles out of his pocket and put them on the table. “These are what Sister Lu asked me to bring you. She told you to take them every day and not to stop. She said this is some kind of… motion sickness medicine.”
She unscrewed the bottle and took a sniff; a strong, fishy smell filled her nostrils.
It is a contraceptive.
"...What else did she say?"
She also said that she spent a lot of money buying these bottles and jars, but she didn't need to pay them back; she just needed to remember her kindness.
Leng Cuizhu lowered her eyes.
Of course she would remember Lu Miaolian's kindness. If Lu Miaolian hadn't given her contraceptive medicine, she really wouldn't know what to do.
She had calculated that her period should have started two days ago, but there had been no sign of it yet.
Si Qing seemed to have no concept of accidental pregnancy; she was always very anxious about it and didn't take any measures to deal with it.
She was terrified of getting pregnant, and every night when she went to bed, she would count the days on her fingers.
I never want to give birth to another child like Leng Zhen's.
If she were truly pregnant, she would have no chance of giving birth; she would have to find an opportunity for abortion.
In the past, in brothels, madams would use wire to hook people or force them to drink large amounts of safflower soup. Even though she is in better shape now, she has no other easy way.
This has always been the case for women throughout history.
She put all the medicine bottles into a box and took them every day when Si Qing went out to feed the wild cats.
At night, Si Qing said that the mountain was full of wild cats and asked if she wanted to go with her to catch the wild cats so that the doctor could neuter the male cats.
“…How cruel,” she mumbled sleepily as she shared a bed with him. “I don’t want to go.”
"No. If a male cat isn't neutered, it will go into heat and get a female cat pregnant. The female cat has no choice but to give birth to litters, and most of the kittens don't live long."
Si Qing sighed deeply: "Even domesticated female cats are at risk of being raped, so the situation for stray cats is only worse."
"real?"
She still had some doubts, after all, Si Qing always said nice things but did nothing but inhumane things.
At least that's true for her.
Si Qing nodded and smiled: "Really, I'm not lying to you."
"Okay, then I misunderstood you. Go and come back soon."
If that's the case, Leng Cuizhu is even more puzzled.
He was worried that the female cat would get pregnant from the male cat's advances. He was so kind, why didn't he think about her situation?
Because of him, she lived in constant fear every day.
While Si Qing was out catching cats during the day, she strolled around the courtyard and saw the servant frying meat in a wok, with Little Crispy Date lying next to him, dozing off.
"What kind of meat is this?"
She saw a large, bloody mass in the basin, with bones chopped up and mixed with blood.
In the oil fryer, large chunks of meat, skin and bone still attached, were submerged in hot oil, with a ring of burnt blood floating around the edge, sizzling and bubbling.
The servant looked up and said, "Your Highness, it's pork. Little Crispy Dates love to eat this."
Leng Cuizhu wasn't unfamiliar with pork; she could tell from the smell that it wasn't pork.
But she couldn't smell what kind of meat it was.
"Hey, where's Xiao Shi? Did he go cat-catching with the Marquis?"
"Xiao Shi has gone back to his hometown to take care of his seriously ill mother. I reckon he won't be back for a while." The servant poked around in the oil with tongs. "My name is Xiao Yu. The Marquis has asked me to temporarily take over Xiao Shi's duties. If you need anything in the future, Madam, just come and find me!"
He placed the fried meat from the pot in front of the tiger, who opened its mouth and swallowed it whole. Then, it moved its lips and spat out a piece of oil-soaked rag.
“Oh… alright,” she said thoughtfully, “then please let me know when the Marquis returns. I’ll go back to my room to rest now.”
"Of course!"
She went inside, rummaged through a box, found a medicine bottle, poured the pills one by one into her palm, poured herself a cup of tea, and, smelling the foul-smelling pills, frowned as she swallowed them.
What are you eating?!
Si Qing entered the inner room at some point, snatched the medicine bottle from her hand, and patted her back, but Leng Cuizhu had already swallowed the pills.
Startled, Leng Cuizhu bent over, coughing uncontrollably: "Cough, cough... Lord Marquis? When did you return..."
Si Qing poured all the pills out of the medicine bottle, held them in her palm, and sniffed them, her face full of surprise.
"Are you taking birth control pills?"
"How did you smell it?" She hadn't expected Si Qing to be so skilled in medicine, guessing it just by smelling it.
He's not a woman, and he doesn't need contraception, so how would he know these things... Could it be that he overheard my conversation with Chen Xun that day?
The man shook his head, then suddenly burst into tears, sobbing as he asked, "Why didn't you tell me? This medicine is very harmful to the body..."
"If you were afraid, why didn't you ask me?"
He buried his face in her shoulder and sobbed, "Let's not eat these things anymore, okay? Let's never eat them again."
The man's tears did not move her; instead, they disgusted her.
Moreover, she could no longer tell whether his words were sincere or feigned.
He's too good at pretending.
"What's the use of me asking you? If I ask you, will you be able to control your lower body? Or do you think you'll let me off the hook if I ask you?" She poured out all the grievances and worries she had suffered these past few days in one breath. "Si Qing, can you stop pretending to be a good person? You were so enthusiastic in bed, ignoring what happened to me, and now that you're dressed, you're acting like a gentleman?"
"Who do you think you are? My savior? You just haven't had enough of whoring before and are now using my body to vent your frustrations," she said, her anger turning to a laugh. "You really think that when I told you not to forget me, it was from the bottom of your heart?"
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A note from the author: Please don't get angry.
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