Chapter 36 Chapter 36 He seemed a little overwhelmed.
Xue Yuanyin was a little angry and said, "You, you are so outspoken! You are taking advantage of me!"
Zhang Jingxuan was deliberately taking revenge on her!
Didn't she just say a few dirty words?
Zhang Jingxuan glanced at her and said, "Is this what you call taking advantage? How did I touch you?"
Xue Yuanyin blushed slightly and said, "Isn't my lower back considered part of my flesh?"
Zhang Jingxuan sneered softly and said meaningfully, "What's the point of the lower back? It's just the least sensitive part of the body..."
He leaned over to her ear, lowered his eyes to look at her flushed skin, and said in a low voice: "I only touched you a few times, and it made you blush."
Xue Yuanyin was almost angry to death!
How could he have just touched her lower back? His hand had clearly hooked onto the lacing of her blouse and was pulling it down. What a jerk!
Zhang Jingxuan stood up and said nonchalantly:
"With your tricks, you still want to tease me? Why not learn from me?"
Xue Yuanyin was about to explode with rage: "You are provoking me!"
Provocation! Absolute provocation!!!
She was so angry that she jumped up and down and said, "Don't look down on me. Don't let me get the chance next time! I won't be polite to you!"
Zhang Jingxuan stopped teasing her and said, "I'm going to work in the bookshop."
After he left, Xue Yuanyin glared at him and covered her slightly hot cheeks.
-
Xue Yuanyin went to the market to ask a peddler for information, asking if he knew the way to the place on the map. A peddler actually knew about it and sighed:
"Are you talking about this Xiaocang Valley? It's very strange. Outsiders are never allowed in. Picked goods are only allowed to be left at the door, and there are government guards blocking the way! But beauties from brothels are often seen being brought in. I'm afraid it's a brothel for pleasure..."
When Xue Yuanyin heard this, he was certain that this "Xiao Cang Valley" was undoubtedly a stronghold, and that it must contain privately cast ironware.
Those beauties were used by the people stationed in Xiaocang Valley for pleasure.
It seems that she and Zhang Jingxuan have to sneak into Xiaocang Valley and work together with the emperor's reinforcements who are waiting for their news outside to destroy the stronghold. This trip is imperative.
The question is how do they sneak in...
Xue Yuanyin walked back while thinking. Passing by the market, he heard the Sanqing troupe singing again. There were several young men and women queuing next to them, and the widow from next door was among them.
Although the Sanqing Troupe paid a lot of money, actors were still the lowest class. Anyone with a job was unwilling to become an actor. Those who were willing to take the exam were all lonely and desperate people.
However, these people did not have the temperament and potential to be leading actors. The Sanqing Troupe had extremely high standards and looked down on them, so they were unable to recruit the right ones.
Xue Yuanyin accidentally heard the owner of the Sanqing Troupe, Mrs. Luo, shouting at the door:
"Our Sanqing Troupe has a certain reputation in various places. We have been invited to perform at the mansions of various high-ranking officials and wealthy families in recent days. We are very proud to be in front of nobles everywhere! In a few days, we will leave for Chunyong County to perform for the county magistrate's family and Xiaocanggu. If you can become the leading actor of our Sanqing Troupe and be noticed by nobles, you will be as high as a phoenix on the tree. Everyone who passes by should come and see it, because if you miss this opportunity, there will be no more!"
Xue Yuanyin's mind moved and she looked over. She seemed to have heard Madam Luo mention Xiaocang Valley just now?
Is the Sanqing Troupe going to Xiaocang Valley to perform?
She walked over and asked:
"The Sanqing Troupe is missing two roles? Besides the female roles, what else is missing?"
When the head of the Sanqing Troupe, Mrs. Luo, saw Xue Yuanyin, the pretty and tender girl with round, bright eyes, but dressed in ordinary clothes, she might be the daughter of a poor family. She sighed:
"We're still missing a male role. The Hua Dan and Xiao Sheng, originally a young couple, have both gone home to attend the funeral!"
Xue Yuanyin thought about it in her mind. Huadan is an innocent and lively girl or a strong-willed young woman, and Xiaosheng is a young and handsome man.
Didn’t this just happen to hit?
She asked tentatively, "I wonder what kind of Hua Dan and Xiao Sheng Madam Luo wants?"
Mrs. Luo said without hesitation: "She's good-looking."
Xue Yuanyin saw that her eyes did not linger on him, so he knew that she did not like him very much. However, when it came to good looks, there was no one in the entire Qingxi Town who was better looking than Zhang Jingxuan.
If he came to take the exam, Madam Luo would definitely be able to pick him. Then she could ask Zhang Jingxuan to take her along, and the matter would be settled.
Xue Yuanyin immediately returned and waited for Zhang Jingxuan to come back in the yard.
When the sun set, as soon as he stepped in, she quickly led him into the house, closed the door, and said, "I've found out how to sneak into Xiaocang Valley!"
Under Zhang Jingxuan's questioning gaze, Xue Yuanyin excitedly said, "Do you remember the Sanqing Troupe that came to town? They're recruiting actors!"
She told him the news she had gathered, and the more she spoke, the more she felt that this was feasible. Finally, she asked for his opinion:
"Just show off your looks to Madam Luo, and I guarantee she'll be attracted to you. Then, mention me to her and bring me along. We'll go into Xiaocang Valley with the Sanqing Troupe, and we won't arouse anyone's suspicion!"
Who knew that Zhang Jingxuan was not as happy as she was. Instead, his brows lowered, his lips slightly straightened, and he said:
"You mean, we're going to be actors?"
Xue Yuanyin's excitement was half extinguished by his attitude, and she asked doubtfully, "Is there something wrong?"
Zhang Jingxuan frowned slightly and said, "Actors and entertainers are the lowest of the low, the very lowest of the low. In the past, they were just workers, at least considered decent citizens, but what are entertainers? They're prostitutes. Now we're being made slaves. If we return to the capital and word gets out, our reputations will be ruined. How will you cope?"
Xue Yuanyin then realized that he was disgusted by the fact that being an actor was an insult to his noble status. For a moment, she couldn't understand what he was thinking. She just felt that his hypocritical young man's problem had come back. She said loudly:
"Then why don't you say I've lost my innocence when I wear a dancer's clothes?"
"It's different. You were just pretending back then."
Zhang Jingxuan said calmly, "And Madam Luo wants to be a complete actress. Do you know what kind of humiliation we would have to face from the officials if we became female or male characters? What kind of things would we be forced to do to please the nobles? If we became the leading actors, what would we have to perform? What's more, how can you guarantee that you can remain innocent until you sneak into Xiaocang Valley and face those nobles without losing your virginity?"
Xue Yuanyin was speechless by his question.
Zhang Jingxuan was unwilling to agree and said calmly, "It doesn't have to be this way."
Xue Yuanyin wanted to think about it again and advised:
"This opportunity is rare. I don't know when I'll be able to sneak into Xiaocang Valley silently again. If you think I'll lose my innocence, then we should just become husband and wife. They won't bully a married woman."
Zhang Jingxuan wanted to say something else, but Xue Yuanyin smiled at him and stopped him with a word:
"Besides, I didn't go to Sanqingban alone. Didn't you come with me? Won't you protect me?"
After a while, Zhang Jingxuan pressed his forehead and said, "I will go and take the test myself and observe it secretly. If I feel that the Sanqing class is reliable, I will agree."
It was not easy to get him to give in. Xue Yuanyin nodded immediately: "Okay."
-
After a few days, Zhang Jingxuan and Xue Yuanyin disguised themselves as a poor couple and came to take the exam with Luo Niangzi from the Sanqing class.
As expected, Madam Luo fell in love with Zhang Jingxuan's appearance at first sight. If it were not for the fact that men and women should not touch each other, she would have wanted to touch this outstanding face.
However, when faced with Zhang Jingxuan's suggestion to take Xue Yuanyin along, she hesitated for a moment. "It's not that I think this young lady isn't pretty, but she's just too pretty. She's a little different from the play we're going to perform next. I'm not sure if she can handle it."
Xue Yuanyin took the initiative to ask, "I wonder what the next play is?"
Mrs. Luo said with a complicated expression, "It's called 'The Lament of the Pear Blossoms'. It's about a female ghost and a scholar."
Xue Yuanyin: “…”
No wonder Madam Luo was both excited and hesitant. It turned out that Zhang Jingxuan was too suitable, while she was not related to him at all.
Mrs. Luo sighed, "The ghost girl is so beautiful and charming, seducing the shy top scholar to the brink of depravity. It's a tragedy of reincarnation and entanglement. This little lady is so well-behaved, can she act like this?"
Xue Yuanyin gritted her teeth secretly. Isn't it just a female ghost? She is so charming and seductive. Can't she learn from her?
Thinking that this was a rare opportunity, she made up her mind and said, "Mrs. Luo, please give me three days first. Let's give it a try. If I can play the female ghost..."
Mrs. Luo clapped her hands and smiled, "Very good! In three days, if you can play the female ghost and the scholar well, you two will be the leading actress and male role in our next production of 'The Lament of Pear Blossoms'!"
Xue Yuanyin replied "OK" and agreed to come back in three days to show the results to Madam Luo.
-
Xue Yuanyin returned to the yard and looked in the bronze mirror to study how to play the role of a charming and seductive female ghost.
Only then did she realize that the Sanqing Troupe's performance of "The Lament of Pear Blossoms" did not require the two leading actors to sing. Someone else was responsible for singing. She and Zhang Jingxuan only needed to play their roles well and did not need to speak a word throughout the entire performance.
In this way, there is no need for training in singing, as long as you can perform the story.
However, the biggest challenge for her is to play the role of a female ghost well.
The whole next day, Xue Yuanyin sat in front of the bronze mirror and groomed herself.
But no matter how she fiddled with it, even asking Zhang Jingxuan for his opinion, the final result was that her face looked a bit childish and pretty, and she didn't look like a female ghost who was just beginning to develop intelligence but had her own charm.
She couldn't help but feel a little discouraged. While having dinner with Zhang Jingxuan, she poked the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks and asked listlessly:
"Tell me, am I not cut out to be a seductive woman?"
Zhang Jingxuan looked up at her.
In fact, judging from her figure alone, she has all the conditions. She has a thin frame, but well-proportioned bones and flesh. She has everything she needs. She only needs to put on a flowing white gauze dress and let her dark hair down, and she will look elegant and beautiful.
only……
He said nonchalantly, "You just need to change one thing."
Xue Yuanyin asked, "Where?"
Zhang Jingxuan met her bewildered eyes for a moment and said, "Eye contact."
She asked puzzledly, "Eyes?"
Zhang Jingxuan explained calmly, "Your eyes are free of lust, your nature is pure and sincere, without any sinister overtones. You've rarely been involved in matters between men and women, so you lack a touch of seduction and allure. Naturally, you wouldn't be able to play a ghostly demon who uses any means necessary to lure people into their thrall."
Yes, the female ghost was not a pure ghost, but a ghost demon that had just gained intelligence. She had accepted a mission to kill the scholar, but unexpectedly she fell in love with him as soon as they met.
However, the scholar was only interested in getting his name on the imperial examination and had no interest in romance, so the female ghost decided to seduce him, hoping to make him fall in love with her.
Xue Yuanyin pondered for a moment after hearing this, then said hesitantly:
"Then...should I go look at some pornographic pictures tomorrow to broaden my horizons? The problem is, where can I find pornographic pictures for sale in this town?"
She suddenly thought of something and said:
"You were in the schoolroom when a pornographic picture fell out of the bookcase?"
"...That's not mine. My classmate threw it to me."
Zhang Jingxuan changed the subject and said, "You can take a look. But I think that no matter how many pornographic pictures you look at, you will still look so innocent."
"..." Xue Yuanyin said, "Who are you looking down on?"
"That's just the truth," Zhang Jingxuan said calmly. "The ghost seduced the scholar not with any intimate gestures. The script says that the scholar adhered to etiquette and initially didn't give her the chance to get close to him. The ghost seduced him with her eyes that made her want to say something but couldn't."
Xue Yuanyin fell silent.
This is too difficult! The movements can be learned, but how can the eye contact be learned?
How long will it take for her to practice if she just relies on it?
She said, "Are we just going to give up like this?"
Zhang Jingxuan tapped the table with his fingertips and said, "I told you this wouldn't work. If it really doesn't work, we'll have to find another way to sneak into Xiaocang Valley."
Xue Yuanyin was unwilling to admit that she was incapable, so she rejected Zhang Jingxuan's proposal and said stubbornly:
"Let me practice some more. I'll come find you in the evening and you can check the results."
Zhang Jingxuan didn't answer, but saw her walk straight into the kitchen, boil some water, and carry the water back to the house, as if she wanted to take a bath first.
He raised his eyebrows slightly.
-
Xue Yuanyin took a leisurely bath in the room. After bathing, she stood up, wiped off the water droplets, and put on her snow-white underwear.
When she had wrung her hair half dry, she threw the handkerchief aside and let her black hair, dripping with water, fall down and drape over her shoulders.
Xue Yuanyin stood in front of the bronze mirror and looked at herself.
The girl in the mirror had just stepped out of the bathtub. Her long black hair was draped over her shoulders, highlighting her slender figure. It hung loosely behind her waist, slightly wetting her snow-white inner garment.
The inner garment seemed loose, and one could vaguely see her slender waist, which could almost be held in one hand.
In fact, the temperature is already quite cold at the end of September, and you will be cold if you only wear these at night.
But fortunately, she had practiced internal energy, and the internal energy in her dantian could be transmitted to her limbs and bones, so she was not afraid of the cold.
Xue Yuanyin gently pushed open the door and walked towards the west wing in the moonlight.
Standing in front of the door of the west wing, she adjusted her expression, imagined herself as a female ghost, and then knocked on the door.
After a few seconds, Zhang Jingxuan opened the door, his eyes fell on the person who came, and paused for a few seconds.
The girl had a head of jet-black hair draped over her shoulders, her oval face hidden in the black hair, which made her chin look even more pointed. She was only wearing a snow-white inner garment, and water droplets were dripping from the ends of her hair, slightly soaking a layer of her clothes.
The moonlight fell on her from above, dimly illuminating her slender figure, which was almost exposed under her swaying inner garment.
Xue Yuanyin walked in step by step, stood in front of him, raised her eyes slightly, and smiled softly with the corners of her eyes curved.
There was still a hint of temptation in her eyes, and her rosy lips were particularly eye-catching on her bare face. Combined with her black hair and snow-white clothes, she actually had a different kind of elegance and beauty than before.
She closed the door, blocking out the moonlight, leaving only a sliver of silver light shining through the window frame, making the night even darker.
The slender white fingers rested on the back of his hand, seemingly without any strength, yet with a clear and distinct touch.
She opened her rosy lips and called him softly, "My dear..."
Zhang Jingxuan narrowed his eyes slightly, hiding the dark color in them. His jade-like face was as gentle as ever. He whispered, "Mother Qing?"
"Qing Niang" is the name of the female ghost in "The Complaint of Pear Blossom", given to her by a scholar.
"I wanted to add some sweetness to your night, so I came in without permission. I hope you won't blame me."
Xue Yuanyin recited the lines from the play script, hooked her hand around Zhang Jingxuan's, walked to the table, and said, imitating the lines from the play:
"Is it okay for me to sit beside you and watch you write?"
The girl, ignorant of human etiquette, squatted beside his legs in a somewhat strange manner, raised her beautiful face and looked at him. Her voice was soft and gentle, and she asked for his opinion with an innocent face:
"Can I sit next to you, my lord?"
Zhang Jingxuan looked at her calmly, his Adam's apple slid slightly, and his eyes darkened for a moment.
She squatted obediently in front of his legs. Female ghosts have no rules, so she was in a prone position. In order to look at him, she tilted her innocent little face up, her eyes dark and unblinking, showing her wholehearted attention.
Only her lips were rosy and red, as if painted with rouge, which made her look alluring. As she spoke, her lips opened and closed, causing his eyes to linger for a moment.
Zhang Jingxuan suddenly looked away, looking at the paper and pen on the table, letting his slightly hot stomach calm down a little.
For the first time, he realized that he seemed a little unable to bear her posture.
It really is... like doing that thing.
He actually felt excited just by imagining it.
The scholar in the play is indecisive, somewhat philistine and selfish, but he also has the kindness of a poor man.
Faced with the woman's request, he thought about it again and again and finally couldn't bear to refuse.
Zhang Jingxuan gently clenched his palms, placing them on his trouser legs in a half-fist shape, and said gently and calmly:
"Please get up and sit next to me."
Xue Yuanyin stood up and moved over, but did not sit next to him. Instead, she bent down slightly, supporting herself on the table with one hand and on his wooden chair with the other, as if playfully and selfishly encircling the scholar in the ghost girl's arms.
Her wet black hair fell down, slightly wetting her shirt and also staining his collar with some moisture.
There was a hint of darkness in her eyes. She stretched out her white hand and gently stroked the scholar's jade-like cheek.
Next, she should have been sitting next to him, laughing and joking with him, and adding to his charm.
So this paragraph is not part of the play script.
Zhang Jingxuan's eyes were cold. He suddenly raised his hand and grabbed her wrist, scolding her softly, "Xue Yuanyin, get up! You've crossed the line."
Xue Yuanyin blinked lightly. She knew she had crossed the line, but she did not back down. Instead, she looked at his cold and desireless face and said innocently:
"When did I say I wanted to imitate the plot of a play?"
Zhang Jingxuan's eyes suddenly became deep.
She wasn't there to rehearse a play; her target was him.
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