Chapter 89 "It seems Young Master Leng has fallen to his death."...
Yin Yuan: "...Yes."
It's bad enough to suffer from Leng Zhen's temper during the day, but at night you still have to be tricked by Yin Yuan, and when you ask him about it, he's still very self-righteous.
She gritted her teeth and swallowed her anger, and was about to leave when Yin Yuan called her back.
"So what if I lied to you?"
She frowned and glared at him, waiting to see what else this man could possibly say.
Yin Yuan stared straight ahead, and after a long while, seeing that she didn't leave, he turned and glanced at her.
“My choice was for everyone’s peace, so that you could still stand here with your dignity intact, acting so recklessly and distorting the truth to question me.”
Leng Cuizhu couldn't understand what Yin Yuan was saying at all. After all, this wasn't the first or second time he'd said something nonsensical like this. This time, she just assumed he was just making trouble for no reason. If he was making trouble, then of course she would make trouble for him too.
"Then I won't question you anymore, okay, you philanthropist?" She raised an eyebrow and dumped the vegetable basket on his head.
"..."
Yin Yuan, his head covered in green vegetables, lowered his eyes and remained silent.
The next day, she went to the Yin residence to deliver clothes to Leng Zhen, who was locked in the woodshed. She happened to run into Yi Yinwan, who was bored, sitting with Jiang Mimi drinking tea and listening to music. Neither of them paid attention to the music or the tea. Yi Yinwan would say something, and Jiang Mimi would echo it. When she saw Leng Cuizhu, she called her over.
“The weather is nice today,” Yi Yinwan asked her. “Little Candle Sister, do you know how to play dominoes? Let’s play dominoes.”
"Ah," she said, a little dazed, "I know a little, but not very well..."
Jiang Mimi reminded her, "But Madam, there are only three people, and we are still short one."
"Yeah, we're missing one." She didn't really want to play dominoes with Yi Yinwan; she was planning to go back and feed the chickens after delivering the clothes to Leng Zhen.
Moreover, she didn't have much money to play with them, and she would be heartbroken if she lost even a tael or two. Unlike Yi Yinwan and Jiang Mimi, she wasn't rich or generous; she was reluctant to spend money and was quite stingy.
"It seems like we can't fight it out."
Yi Yinwan waved her hand: "It's alright, there's another one in the woodshed, let him come over and fight with us."
“Lady Leng, it’s really alright. Are you worried about losing money? If you lose, just play the pipa for us. If your son loses, we have our own ways of dealing with him.”
"...Alright then."
She originally wanted to refuse on the grounds that Leng Zhen didn't know how to play dominoes, but as soon as Leng Zhen sat down at the table, she helped shuffle the cards and shuffled them with great skill, not at all like someone who didn't know how.
Seeing that everyone else was in high spirits, she felt embarrassed to spoil the fun and could only bite the bullet and play along.
"I've heard that a county princess recently died," Jiang Mimi said.
Leng Cuizhu's hand holding the cards froze, and she turned to meet Leng Zhen's gaze.
"Oh?" Yi Yinwan asked casually, "Which one? What's their name?"
“I’ve forgotten,” Jiang Mimi pondered for a moment, “I heard she was… the fiancée of some marquis. That marquis was also murdered not long ago. The two of them died quite close to each other. The woman was dismembered, her body parts separated, while the man was burned to a crisp, his face unrecognizable. Alas, what a tragic pair of lovers.”
"So what? That's it?" Yi Yinwan rolled her eyes. "Can you call them star-crossed lovers just because they're not married? Just because they have a romantic entanglement? If that's the case, then wouldn't some people be star-crossed lovers with several men at the same time? Like prostitutes in brothels..." She suddenly covered her mouth and sneered.
"Lady Leng, don't misunderstand. I don't think before I speak. I don't hate you. If I really hated someone, I would have slapped them long ago, or at the very least I would have pointed my finger at them and cursed them."
"I'm easily tricked, especially by those scheming people who love to sow discord. I'm no match for them at all, and I can easily be led astray if I'm not careful."
Leng Cuizhu was busy studying the cards and didn't really think about Yi Yinwan's words, so she smiled ingratiatingly and said, "It's nothing..."
Jiang Mimi closed her lips, holding the cards without playing them for a while. After a moment, she looked up and said, "Wife, what cards do you want? I'll play them for you."
"Ah..." she said, flattered. "Seven of Bamboo, thank you, Miss Mimi."
After several rounds, she didn't lose much, only once, and the rest were neither wins nor losses. Jiang Mimi, on the other hand, kept losing and soon lost all the money she had.
"Oh dear, my luck seems to be running out today. I keep losing," Jiang Mimi said, covering her mouth with a laugh. "And also, Madam's card skills are just too amazing. I'm completely outmatched by Madam. I'm ashamed of myself..."
Yi Yinwan snorted coldly and weighed the loose silver in her hand: "Jiang Mimi, do you still have money to play?"
“There’s more.” Jiang Mimi stood up. “I’ll go to my room to get it. Please wait a moment, Madam and Lady.”
Before the person had even left, Yi Yinwan urged, "Hurry up and come back."
While Jiang Mimi went back to her room to get money and the card game was a little shorter, Leng Cuizhu said shyly, "Madam, I should go back now..."
"Why go back?" Yi Yinwan asked impatiently. "Oh, to feed the chickens, right?"
"Leng Zhen, go and bring your mother's chickens over; she needs to feed them."
Leng Zhen pouted and reluctantly got up: "Oh."
"No, it's not..."
She tried to call out to Leng Zhen, but Yi Yinwan suddenly grabbed her arm and held her down tightly, preventing her from getting up.
“Lady Leng, perfect timing. Let’s have a chat while they’re all gone,” Yi Yinwan said. “Do you know what Master has been busy with lately?”
Cold Green Candle was naturally unaware.
She didn't want to give Yin Yuan too much attention at all.
Seeing that she remained silent, Yi Yinwan said bluntly, "He's investigating you."
"...Investigate me?" Does Yin Yuan still suspect her affair with Chen Xun?
"Madam, could you tell me why Master is investigating me... Did I do something wrong?"
“You did nothing wrong, but he insists on finding fault with you,” Yi Yinwan said in a low voice. “In this way, even if you did nothing wrong, you will be falsely accused of doing something wrong.”
"Of course, besides this, there's also good news."
Leng Cuizhu was stunned, waiting for Yi Yinwan to speak next.
"Yin Yuan plans to adopt Leng Zhen into my family and publicly declare that he is my legitimate son born when I was young, and that he has been raised on the estate all these years."
"Huh? What about me?" Leng Cuizhu didn't understand.
"You?" Yi Yinwan turned around and grinned, "From now on, he should call you Auntie."
"Why?" She frowned, knowing full well the vast difference in their social standing and that she shouldn't offend Yi Yinwan, but she couldn't help asking, "Why? This isn't fair..."
"You should ask him. I was just doing what he wanted." Yi Yinwan spread her hands. "Leng Zhen is no good. He's always causing trouble and making mistakes. I didn't even want that brat. The troublemaker is gone from your side. You don't have to be tormented by him anymore. Aren't you happy?"
“Leng Zhen is very annoying, but…”
She had endured ten months of pregnancy and the painstaking process of giving birth to Leng Zhen, raising him with great difficulty for over a decade, suffering countless grievances and setbacks, only to find herself benefiting someone else in the end? She couldn't accept it.
Why can't she keep the child born from her womb by her side forever? Why can Yin Yuan, this useless man, decide the fate of her child? He really thinks he's the biological father.
Even the biological father has no right to interfere.
"I'm not happy..."
"If you're unhappy, just cry, or be bold and go ask him." Yi Yinwan sighed, "Do you dare?"
She bit her lip, not daring to utter a sound.
Jiang Mimi returned with the money and was about to speak when she sensed the awkward atmosphere and quickly swallowed her words, sitting down with a smile to arrange the dominoes.
Only after Leng Zhen returned with the chicken did they resume playing cards.
Dodder hadn't seen Leng Cuizhu for several days and missed her terribly. As soon as she was full, she would run to Leng Cuizhu's legs and rub against her, chattering incessantly, which was really annoying.
The noise made Yi Yinwan throw down her cards: "Will this beast ever stop! What the hell is he yelling about?!"
She winked at the maid beside her, who immediately squatted down to catch the chicken.
The rooster was no ordinary creature either. Sensing the approaching danger, it quickly flapped its wings and scurried under the table.
"Madam, it probably just finished eating and has a lot of energy to spare. It didn't mean to disturb you."
Leng Cuizhu quickly kicked the rooster under the table as a deterrent. This trick actually worked; the rooster was subdued by her kick, and after a few cries of pain, it was too weak to make any more noise.
"Hey hey hey! I like being hit by you, but you can't actually kick me to death! I'm really going to die!"
She pretended not to hear and focused on playing cards.
A moment later, the rooster at their feet chimed in, "Hey, isn't this something else?"
"Host, I think I've discovered a shocking secret. Your son and your husband's mistress seem to be having an affair. That doesn't make sense, does it? Why are they secretly putting their legs together? Are their legs itchy?"
"Huh?" she exclaimed suddenly.
"Have you eaten too much and have nowhere to expend your energy?" Yi Yinwan asked her sternly.
“No, Madam…” She lowered her head shyly, glancing at the two people on either side of her out of the corner of her eye.
Jiang Mimi smiled and, noticing her gaze, looked up and smiled back at her.
Leng Zhen, on the other hand, was intently focused on her cards, her expression serious.
Weren't they locked in a bitter feud? How could this happen...? If it were before, she would have been happy, but now, Jiang Mimi has become Leng Zhen's concubine! How could she do something so unethical?
A voice inside her urged her to pretend to bend down and pick up the cards, to see for herself whether Jiang Mimi and Leng Zhen were really as the dodder had said. But she hesitated and ultimately dared not face it.
Just like not wanting to face Yin Yuan.
She was cowardly, having lived for a long time in a beautiful dream she had woven. Whenever the dream showed signs of shattering, she would panic as if facing a formidable enemy, so flustered that she felt ashamed. Instead of thinking about how to face it, she would carefully try to mend the cracks.
She lived through those days for so long that she still feels a lingering attachment, unable to let go. Sometimes she even inexplicably reminisces about them, as if her brain has been devoured by a venomous insect.
After all, if you keep going through excruciating pain, one day you'll taste pleasure from that extreme agony, even if you're just a ghastly skeleton lying in a pool of blood, you'll still grin contentedly.
She always dreams of herself becoming that way.
She enjoyed the dream, but in most waking moments, she knew it was a nightmare, and she never wanted to become like that.
She played cards with several people until evening when a servant came to say that Yin Yuan was returning from his shift. Yi Yinwan hurriedly ended the game, leaving the three of them behind, and slipped away.
Leng Cuizhu took the rooster out of the mansion. Before leaving, he asked Leng Zhen if she wanted to go back together. Leng Zhen made an excuse that he had to go to the market to buy medicinal herbs and told her to go first, saying he would return home later.
She was in a terrible mood and didn't want to bother with Leng Zhen, so she took the rooster and left first.
As soon as she arrived at her doorstep, she smelled the aroma of food from the kitchen. Just as she was wondering what was going on, the rooster, unable to resist the temptation, flew out of its coop and ran towards the kitchen, clucking as it went.
"What smells so good? What smells so good? Ahhhhhhh, it smells so good—"
“Hey, dodder…” she hurriedly chased after it.
When she reached the kitchen door, she paused for a moment, and a smile appeared on her worried face.
"What is this dish? It smells so good." She moved closer to the man, staring at the small dish on the table. "Eun, thank you for your hard work."
Eun shook his head with a smile. He was dressed simply and casually, yet he was very gentle and handsome. His long hair was braided into a side braid as usual and draped over one shoulder.
“I am happy to do these things for you, Madam.”
The rooster squatted to one side, shaking its head: "Hehe, isn't this just French-style baked snails? What's so special about it? This is China. Who are you trying to fool with this foreign dish, you dead foreign devil? Do you think you're a five-star chef?"
"Host, he made slugs for you to eat! He has malicious intentions and wants to poison you!"
"Huh? Slug? Is it really a slug...?" She looked at it, and the dish did indeed look a bit like a worm.
But it was Eun's good intention after all, and the dish was beautifully presented and smelled nice, so it wasn't entirely without merit.
She comforted Eun, "It's okay, I really like this dish, it smells and looks good, but... I think I'd better not eat it? I ate before I came back, I can't eat anymore."
Before Eun could reply, the rooster on the ground couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Can you say something bad? You feel so unfamiliar to me, host. If I were to feed you slugs, you would have made my nose bleed by now, right?"
Leng Cuizhu: "...Shut up."
"Oh." The rooster neither crowed nor made a fuss, nodded, and walked outside.
"Dodder seems a little sad." Eun reached out and put his arm around her waist. "Do you want to go see her?"
“No,” she answered firmly. “What’s the point of going? He’s probably just pretending to be sad. He’ll probably forget about it as soon as he runs out.”
"Sigh, if only he were half as obedient as you..."
“My wife thinks too highly of me. I’m afraid I’ll disappoint her one day,” the man sighed, “just like before.”
“I’m not good enough. I only pretend to be docile in front of the lady, but I’m afraid that the pretense will be exposed one day.”
“Then you should pretend even more,” she said, picking a stray hair from the man’s forehead with her fingertip. “You did all that just to make me feel better, didn’t you?”
“I’m happy to be with you now, so let’s stay like this, shall we? Let’s not change anything.” Her eyes were full of smiles. “Of course, you don’t have to do everything I say, or it would be my fault.”
She stroked the man's relaxed shoulder, touched the ends of his hair, her fingertips playing with the delicate white ribbon in his hair, murmuring softly, and slowly pulled it off, letting it brush against the back of her hand and fall gracefully to the ground.
The man's long hair was loose, and she rubbed the strands, burying her head in it.
"From beginning to end, it was clearly you who seduced me, I did nothing wrong..."
The man gently stroked her back and said softly, "Yes, it is my fault."
Although Eun often lamented his past decisions, the truth was that he never regretted them; he was merely feigning remorse.
Leng Cuizhu was about to go to sleep at night when she was disturbed by a knock on the door. She got up to open it.
There was a man standing at the door. She recognized him; he was Yin Yuan's ugly bodyguard.
"Big brother, what's wrong?"
"My lady," the guard gasped, "Young Master Leng was riding his horse when he accidentally fell off a cliff, and it seems... he died."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
