Chapter 8 Her Game with Him
It was late at night, and many houses had already turned off their lights, and the owners had long since gone to sleep. But one particular courtyard was an exception.
The room was very quiet, with only two breaths audible, yet Dai Li seemed to hear rumbling thunder. No, it wasn't spring thunder, but the screams of her heart, which was practically leaping out of her throat.
The man leaned in, and Dai Li subconsciously raised her hand to press against his chest: "It's not that I'm making up excuses, it's just that the story is a long one, and I was just thinking about how to make it short."
Qin Shaozong did not back away, but he also did not move forward. He maintained his downward gaze as he stared at the woman beneath him.
Dai Li didn't expect him to respond, so she forced out tears and began to fabricate a story, half true and half false: "I have a young son who was kidnapped by villains a few days ago. After investigation, it seems that he is currently in this mansion, so I thought of a way to sneak into the mansion to find my son. It was an accident that I met Your Excellency on the way."
Qin Shaozong wasn't surprised that she had a child.
A girl is considered of marriageable age at fifteen. To promote population growth, the government has issued laws encouraging childbirth and reducing taxes. One such law states that a girl aged fifteen to thirty who remains unmarried will be fined five times her birth tax.
The "five-fold tax" meant that five times the poll tax had to be paid.
Therefore, daughters from ordinary families generally marry young. However, due to the influence of the general environment, even if daughters from wealthy families delay their marriages, they will only marry a year or two later.
"I know Your Excellency is of immeasurable honor and am grateful for your appreciation. However, while fine clothes and delicacies are tempting, as a mother, my son is the apple of my eye. From the moment I decided to give birth to him, I thought of loving and caring for him as he grew up. How could I bear to see him wandering and suffering outside? Today, in my eagerness to find my son, I dared to use your name as a pretext. As for the ensuing uproar in the entire household, that was something I never expected. I am terrified and know that I have failed Your Excellency's kindness, so I have no face to return."
Dai Li initially pretended to have a difficult situation, which was true, but as she spoke, she couldn't help but tear up when she thought of her son who had disappeared without a trace.
"As for your statement about putting up a stubborn resistance, that is incorrect." Dai Li naturally refused to admit it: "At that time, I was extremely exhausted and half asleep. In addition, it was dark and windy at night, so when I first woke up, I did not recognize you. I thought you were the villain in my dream who had kidnapped my son and then tried to kidnap me. I hope you will forgive me."
After a pause, Dai Li flattered him, saying, "I am overjoyed that Your Excellency can overlook past grievances and still think highly of me. How could I possibly push you away? After all, Your Excellency's demeanor alone suggests you are of noble birth."
This explanation directly attributed his earlier question, "Did you come out on your own, or did I drag you out?" to her being half asleep and not hearing it; as for the subsequent struggle, she insisted that she couldn't see people clearly and therefore didn't recognize him.
In short, what happened just now is now, and now she has the foresight to recognize the truth, so those things from just now don't count.
After he finished speaking, Dai Li heard him chuckle, and she couldn't tell whether he believed her or not. She pursed her lips and decided to take drastic measures.
Dai Li's face was no longer flustered as it had been at the beginning. Her red lips curled slightly, and her hand, which was resting on the man's chest, brushed down his black robe, her fingertips tracing a gentle but ticklish arc: "This concubine is ignorant of current affairs and does not know Your Excellency's specific identity, but I have heard that even Lord Jiang follows your lead. You must be an extremely important person. I imagine that finding a young boy would be a piece of cake for you. I wonder if Your Excellency could do this small favor for me?"
Her slender, fair fingers hooked onto the man's waistband, touching the head-shaped hook on it. Just as she was about to remove it, a rough, large hand suddenly grabbed her.
He forcefully squeezed into her palm, wrapping his hand around hers and kneading her soft palm wantonly, from her pale pink fingertips to the top of her elbow, leaving no inch untouched, even touching between her fingers.
Qin Shaozong laughed and said, "What's so difficult about finding a child? I'll have someone take care of it after the sun rises tomorrow."
It felt as if a fire was burning up her arm, making Dai Li tremble. She suppressed the urge to pull her right hand away and raised her left hand to gently hook around the man's neck: "My son's name is Qin Yanzhou, he is five feet seven inches tall. Half a month ago, I was instructed by a Taoist priest to cut his hair short, so he should be easy to recognize."
A thoughtful look flashed across Qin Shaozong's eyes. "Surname Qin?"
Dai Li felt a sudden jolt in her heart.
The surname "Qin" isn't particularly special, being one of the Hundred Family Surnames. However, she knew that in certain eras, a particular surname could become dominant, thus firmly establishing its dominance over a region. For example, the Sun family of Jiangzuo, with three prominent members; the Lü family of Luoyang, with four members across three generations, and so on…
Could it be that the surname "Qin" is a common surname in a certain place today?
"Who is your husband?" he suddenly changed the subject.
Dai Li thought to herself, "Qin" is indeed a common surname. In that instant, countless thoughts appeared, but they quickly disappeared like bubbles that had been popped.
No, it's impossible to make that up.
She was completely unaware of her current location, the era, or her surroundings. The fabricated noble family was no different from a reflection in the water; it would dissipate as soon as she tried to investigate.
Dai Li looked away as if feeling guilty. "He... he's just an unknown nobody. Even if I told you, Your Excellency wouldn't recognize him. A moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold. Why don't we go to bed quickly so that I can see my son sooner tomorrow?"
She tightened her left hand around Qin Shaozong's neck, signaling him to press down.
Qin Shaozong's expression was unreadable, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. Suddenly, he chuckled and said, "What a fine saying, 'A moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold.' Then, as you say, let's spend the spring night as soon as possible."
He withdrew his long arm from her waist and instead reached between her blouse and long skirt.
Even though she had mentally prepared herself, Dai Li still couldn't help but freeze for a moment. She felt as if what touched her skin wasn't a hand, but scorching hot sandpaper, rough and undeniably hot. Just a slight touch felt like it would burn off a piece of her skin.
The raging fire clung to her waistline, snaking upwards like a snake. Dai Li's eyelashes trembled slightly, and a light red tinge appeared on her thin eyelids, like peach blossoms reflected in snow.
The dark shadow hanging above finally crashed down, completely engulfing her like a majestic mountain. The distance between them vanished entirely, and perhaps no one understood better than her how the enemy's arrow was poised to strike.
Dai Li's breathing became slightly sluggish. She seemed to smell the mixture of gunpowder smoke and sand. The scalding air passed through her eardrums, landing on her ear tips and earlobes, leaving a few noticeable red marks and tremors before slowly moving downwards.
but……
"Hmm?" Qin Shaozong propped himself up. He was very interested in the small, iron-like object he had just touched.
The candlelight flickered in the room. The woman on the couch had a loose belt and her straight-hemmed outer robe was open, revealing a similarly loose inner garment. Beneath the inner garment was a dazzlingly voluptuous figure.
Snow-covered peaks, towering cliffs, and breathtaking natural beauty.
Unlike ordinary women, she did not wear a blouse.
No, it's not that I wasn't wearing anything.
Qin Shaozong noticed a small, smoky purple corner peeking out from under her inner garment.
When he uttered that questioning sound with an upward inflection, Dai Li was taken aback. At first, she didn't understand what had gone wrong and disrupted her plans, until Qin Shaozong turned her over.
The already loosely draped straight-hemmed robe and inner garment were pulled open even further by the man, her dark hair flowing like water down the woman's white back, her graceful figure exuding natural charm.
Qin Shaozong brushed aside her smooth, long hair, revealing a rather peculiar-looking garment.
Modern women's headscarves are usually tied at the back with one or two knots to secure them to the back and waist. But this headscarf has no ties; it fits smoothly against the woman's back, like a piece of uncut fabric. However, a closer look reveals a hidden detail in the middle of this garment.
Dai Li lay on the couch, clearly feeling the movement of that large hand, from skin to skin, to being separated by her underwear, followed by a soft "smack".
Her bra was unbuttoned.
When changing clothes in the West Garden, Dai Li once thought about whether she should change completely from the inside out, but in the end she didn't.
Firstly, unlike skirts and deep-sleeved robes, underwear is discreet and no one would see it; secondly, she is not used to and does not want to wear underwear that others have worn.
However, things didn't go as planned. She never expected the other party to search her entire residence, and she never imagined she wouldn't be able to escape.
Modern underwear clasps are made of iron, and iron is used indiscriminately; scrap iron is only worth a dollar or two per pound. But in the era of cold weapons, ironware was synonymous with weaponry, an indispensable force for overthrowing regimes. Take the Han Dynasty, which saw a great leap forward in iron smelting technology, for example: ironware was still very precious. Ordinary people might have iron plows and hoes as farming tools, but they might not have iron pots.
And now, this valuable item has appeared inside a woman's underwear.
Dai Li remembered that the buttons were the same color as her underwear, and they shouldn't look like they were made of iron. She prayed he wouldn't recognize them.
"Made of iron?" Qin Shaozong pressed it with his hand.
Dai Li: "..."
"Where did you buy the handkerchief, madam?" he asked.
Dai Li crossed her arms and rolled over, slowly saying, "I bought this little garment from a merchant from the Western Regions. He said it was special and patted his chest, saying that only his place could sell it and that it wouldn't be the same style as other girls'. I found it intriguing and bought one."
As she spoke, she hooked her arm around his neck again, "Your Excellency, please don't worry about those things. Now is the time to enjoy yourself. I really hope to see my son as soon as possible tomorrow."
Qin Shaozong didn't stop her from turning over, and seemed to have instantly forgotten about the iron-embedded buckle. He lowered his head following her force, "Don't worry, as long as your son is in the manor, even if he is hidden in the master's private treasury, I can bring him back."
“I have faith in your abilities,” Dai Li said softly. The two were no longer face to face, and she could finally stop hiding the strange look on her face.
The familiar, scalding heat washed over her again, starting from her neck and moving downwards. As Dai Li silently counted the time, her hand reached down. Her fingertips touched his waist first. The man's black robe was still on, and even through the outer robe, she could still feel the firm, muscular muscles beneath, radiating burgeoning heat.
Dai Li paused for a moment, then went to untie his belt.
The belts of this era were quite similar to modern belts, with hooks and rings. Just as his belt was about to be untied, Dai Li, seeing that it was almost done, twisted her left ankle sharply.
"Your Excellency, I am not feeling well. It seems that... my period is about to start." Dai Li's hand was placed back on his chest, pushing him away.
Qin Shaozong's face darkened instantly. He looked at the woman beneath him with suspicion, only to see her biting her red lips, her face pale, and there seemed to be cold sweat on her forehead.
Facial expressions can be faked, but the body's reactions cannot lie.
With a pained expression, Dai Li asked timidly, "Will you send someone to help me find my son tomorrow?"
The woman on the couch was almost completely naked except for a crooked little garment covering her chest. She rested her head on her cascading black hair, her fair skin with a delicate pink hue and scattered red marks, like a ripe peach exuding moisture.
Qin Shaozong's temples throbbed, and the veins on his arm, which was gripping her waist, stood out as if he was trying his best to endure something. He took a deep breath and then exhaled heavily, finally straightening up and fastening his belt, which had been mostly undone. "I always keep my word."
Leaving those words behind, he turned and left the fragrant room without looking back.
Only after that tall figure had completely disappeared did Dai Li hear the sound of a heavy weight being lifted from her heart.
She succeeded!
Indeed, men in ancient times considered menstrual blood to be unclean and avoided it. This is why women were not allowed to enter temples or touch sacrificial offerings during their menstrual period.
Just as she expected, this powerful and influential man was extremely arrogant. Even if he was extremely lustful, he wouldn't bother to verify the authenticity of her menstrual blood.
She used her menstrual blood to avoid him for a few days, while simultaneously using him to search the mansion again, before finding an opportunity to leave...
A note from the author:
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In this game of strategy, Dai Li has temporarily gained the upper hand. [Let me see]
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