Chapter 71 "I'd also like to taste your water."...
Three days later, in the early morning, Leng Cuizhu got up early, tidied up, watered the flowers and plants in the yard, and went back to her room to find You En.
They slept together last night, and she was nervous. Eun comforted her until midnight before she fell asleep. She didn't sleep long, as she woke up at dawn, and the man was still asleep when she did.
"Eun." She lifted the bed curtain to call the person in bed, but only saw an empty bed.
"Ewan? Where are you?"
Receiving no reply, she hurriedly bent down to look for it. Lifting the blanket, she saw several pieces of clothing on the bed. Understanding what was happening, she removed the clothes one by one and finally found a crow among the pile of clothes.
She cradled the crow in her hands and asked with concern, "Why did you turn back?"
Are you feeling unwell?
The crow lay in her palm, its body stiff and cold, motionless, only its clear eyes slowly turning towards her.
Its voice was hoarse and trembling: "It's nothing. Madam, shall we go?"
It wouldn't have mattered if she hadn't said anything, but once she did, Leng Cuizhu became even more worried.
She simply couldn't reconcile its appearance with nothing happening.
"You, you shouldn't force yourself..." She held it in her arms and stroked the crow's white wings. "If you're not feeling well, you don't need to come with me today. Just stay home and rest. I can manage on my own."
She didn't understand what was wrong with Eun.
She was perfectly fine last night, and she's been fine these past few days, so how did she suddenly become so haggard?
He still wouldn't tell her anything.
Of course, it was also her fault for being negligent, ignoring him day after day, and only when she came to her senses did she realize that large patches of his raven feathers had turned white.
Feathers turning white for no apparent reason is definitely not a good sign.
"It's all my fault."
“Madam,” the raven fell silent, “don’t say that, it’s not your fault.”
"I'm fine, I just caught a chill last night and I'm a little dizzy now." The crow struggled to stand up from her palm and flapped its wings. "Madam, shall I go with you?"
The crow approached her wrist, lowered its head and nuzzled her wrist bone, reassuring her, "It's really okay."
Its feathers were soft and warm, making her skin itch slightly, and then suddenly felt hot. The burning sensation spread to her cheeks, and her eyelids reddened.
Her brow relaxed: "...Okay, then you can stand on my shoulder and take a nap."
Since Eun insisted on this, she couldn't say much.
Si Qing arranged to meet her at a lake outside the city. The place was remote and sparsely populated, and little known to most people. If Si Qing hadn't written to her to tell her, she wouldn't have known that such a place existed.
It was rather strange to have a crow on Wang Feng's shoulder, so after boarding the boat, Leng Cuizhu put the crow in her pocket, only peeking out its head.
"Such a big ship!" she exclaimed, looking around at the seemingly endless corridor of the barge.
She had seen such large boats before, but those were pleasure boats hired by brothel owners for the amusement of their customers. Those large boats would carry many people, unlike Si Qing, who could ride such a large boat all by herself.
So this is how much money a marquis makes... She couldn't understand where Si Qing got so much money from. Was it wealth accumulated by her ancestors?
If Leng Zhen's identity is made public, will Si Qing's estate be inherited by Leng Zhen? If not, will the money and real estate be divided up among the relatives?
Leng Cuizhu seemed lost in thought.
On her way here, she ran into Leng Zhen.
Ever since the incident with the county princess, Leng Zhen has been as unfriendly as ever. When she saw her, she didn't greet her, but only frowned and asked her where she was going.
After much deliberation, she decided to tell the truth.
She said she was going to see Lord Siqing to talk to him about something.
After her initial surprise, Leng Zhen suddenly burst out laughing.
"Are you going to expose me?" he asked her.
At the time, she simply replied that even if she really wanted to expose him, what could he do to her?
Leng Zhen gritted her teeth and remained silent.
The truth is, neither of them can hurt the other. She overthinks things, afraid that those around her will be harmed because of her, while Leng Zhen is the kind of person who would rather suffer a thousand losses herself than let the enemy suffer eight hundred, like a mad dog who can't have a good time herself and won't let others have a good time either.
A strange balance was maintained between the two.
If she were to use underhanded tactics to ensure that Leng Zhen inherited Si Qing's estate through both branches of the family, Leng Zhen would only become increasingly uncontrollable, rather than serving as her cash cow as she imagined. She did not yet possess the ability to control him.
Therefore, it's best not to inherit that legacy.
Xiaoyu led her to the tea room inside the boat and told her that Siqing was waiting for her at the very back of the tea room.
"The Marquis does not like to be disturbed, so I will not escort the lady inside."
"Okay, thank you, Xiaoyu." Leng Cuizhu adjusted the bundle on her shoulder.
Watching Xiaoyu's departing figure, she pondered for a moment and then said, "Eun, why don't you... wait for me outside too?"
Based on her past experience, she had a general idea of what would happen next.
She was simply tricked into taking aphrodisiacs or sleeping pills, and half-heartedly went along with him, spending several days and nights in a state of non-discrimination.
If she knowingly brings Eun into the affair, wouldn't she become a bad woman who watches men fight over her?
She's not a bad woman, at least she doesn't intend to be one.
The men around her are always disobedient and need her to discipline them.
Eun was always the one who listened to her the most.
A crow popped out of the pocket, nodded at her, and gently nuzzled the back of her hand.
How are you feeling now? Are you feeling better?
"With Madam here, things are much better."
"If you encounter any difficulties, just call my name, okay?"
"Hmm." Her gaze lingered for a moment on the raven's white wings, which were almost entirely devoid of black feathers. "Okay, I'll call you if anything comes up."
She certainly believed that Eun would protect her at all costs, but how could she bear to see him go to such lengths for her? In what capacity should she command him? As his master?
Just master and servant? Just bed partners?
Why does he always inexplicably distance himself from her, keeping her hooked but never giving her an answer, like there's a veil between them that she can't see through no matter what?
Why does he always leave her for no reason...? The way he is makes her afraid, afraid that one day she will never see him by her side again.
So let's leave their relationship at that point; she can't stand it any longer.
She pushed open the door and entered the inner hall of the tea room. Looking up, she saw the man sitting behind the screen and sighed.
She walked past the screen and got straight to the point: "How are you going to cure me of the Gu poison?"
“Sister, no rush,” Si Qing pointed to the cushions on the opposite side of the table, “Sit down first, have some tea and pastries.”
She glanced at the tea on the table, still standing, and took the bundle off her shoulder: "I brought this back, here you go."
He untied the bundle, took out the neatly folded green kasaya inside, and placed it on the table.
Si Qing was also dressed in a dark green robe today, with a thin shawl and a light blue mink coat draped over one shoulder.
Although it was summer, his clothes were still sewn with feathers of various colors, which made him look elegant and ethereal like a fairy, as beautiful as a pearl or a hibiscus, fleeting and illusory.
His gaze swept over the robe, unsurprised.
"If you don't want hot tea, shall I have them bring you a bowl of chilled yogurt?"
“No need,” she replied, “I’m afraid you’ll drug it again.”
She untied the bundle again and took out a small bottle of osmanthus dew: "I brought my own, you don't need to drink yours."
The man was momentarily captivated, then smiled and said, "Okay."
"Well, I can at least sit on the cushion at home, right?"
She straightened her skirt, placed the empty bundle in her hand on the cushion, and then sat down.
She pointed to the robe on the table: "This piece of cloth, it's yours, isn't it?"
Why did you lie to me?
She never imagined that her connection with Si Qing was so deep; the man she met in the dilapidated temple on that rainy night was none other than him.
Given Si Qing's personality, why was he so hesitant and coy that night, even taking off all his clothes...? Was he trying to seduce her? In the end, she stole his clothes instead.
She thought she had found a bargain, but it turned out to be a piece of stinky dog poop that she couldn't shake off no matter what she did.
"Lie?" Si Qing covered her mouth and chuckled. "How did I lie to you? Sister, when it comes to lying, how can I be a better liar than you?"
"I just like to create opportunities to meet you in every possible way." He picked up the cassock on the table, spread it out and looked at it again and again. "Otherwise, why do you think Chen Xun and his group would have taken a fancy to my land? Is it just fate? In terms of fate, we should be the least destined to be together, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have married someone else."
"When you and Yin Yuan were having your way with each other, did you ever think of me for even a moment, or of the time more than ten years ago when you wronged a child who was only fifteen or sixteen? I don't know if you miss me or not, but every night when I can't see you, I think about how to punish you and make you remember me forever."
His gaze fell on the tendons and bones of her wrist: "Did I succeed?"
"you……"
She pointed at him, about to unleash a torrent of abuse, when a piercing pain shot through her wrist. She abruptly bent over, clutching her wrist, her eyes wide with fury: "You bastard! Quickly, remove the poison from my wrist!"
“I’ve already said,” the man said, shaking the bell in his hand, resting his chin on his hand, gazing at her intently, “there’s no rush.”
"Today, I won't argue with you. Let's have some tea and chat. After today, we won't have another chance."
“I also specially invited a female Taoist priest to chant sutras and pray for you, so that the filth and resentment on your body can be completely removed. In this way, the remaining poison of the Gu worm can be completely eliminated.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a female Taoist priest entered from outside. She wore a crown and turban that hung down to cover her lowered eyes.
The female Taoist priest swept past the woman who was struggling on the ground, walked straight to the table, sat down, and began chanting scriptures in a low voice.
She lay on her back on the ground, her mouth dry and her temples throbbing.
Si Qing sighed and rubbed her forehead, saying, "Sister, you must listen to me. Why do you have to do this?"
"Do you really want to strip naked in front of this fairy and make love with me? I don't have such a fetish."
The female Taoist priest's chanting suddenly stopped, then resumed after a short while, though much slower than before.
Leng Cuizhu forced out a voice from between her teeth: "Okay... I'll listen to you and won't question you anymore."
The man nodded and put the bell back into his sleeve.
She lay on the ground for a long time before recovering from the burning pain. She shakily got up, holding onto the corner of the table, and sat back on the cushion. Her hair was disheveled, and her lips were bitten until they bled.
“If you don’t want my tea, then drink your own,” Si Qing said, righting the overturned teacup on the table. “I’ll have them bring us a new set of teacups.”
"Fairy Maiden, shall you go?"
"……Um."
The female Taoist priest fell silent, lowered her head, and got up to leave.
After a while, the female Taoist priest returned with a teacup, and Si Qing helped Leng Cuizhu comb her hair.
When Leng Cuizhu saw the man enter, she struggled to get out of his arms, but was instead pulled even closer, her back pressed against his chest.
The man leaned close and asked, "What are you afraid of?"
"Afraid that people will misunderstand you and think you're having an affair and are shameless?"
"I..." She swallowed hard, staring at the hand slowly sliding down her waist, her whole body tense.
He timidly raised his eyes to stare at the female Taoist priest across from him, who was chanting scriptures with her head bowed.
He won't lash out in front of others, will he?
That's a Taoist priest! To dare to blaspheme against Taoist practices... Has he gone mad?
"If you listen to me, I won't do anything out of line."
"...Let's have tea."
She could only lower her head, pretending not to care, and took the teacup from the saucer, pouring in the osmanthus dew she had brought with her.
"I'd like to try your water too."
"It's the bottle in your glass."
"good."
She gritted her teeth, poured a cup of osmanthus dew for Si Qingye, and turned to hand it to him.
Si Qing took the teacup, her eyes narrowed, and she looked up at it.
He reached out and took her hand as she held up her glass, and said, "No rush."
"What's wrong?"
Before that, I want to hear you play the pipa.
He frowned, then smiled and said, "You'll never hear that again."
That smile was bright, yet it seemed shrouded in a misty, unfathomable aura.
All that could be found was that Si Qing seemed relieved.
It's rare to feel at ease, and it's rare to no longer let my heart be troubled.
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