Chapter 3, 003: Begging for the Mistress's mercy.
Their escape route was cut off.
Li Yue'er gently pushed open the two tightly closed but not bolted from the inside wooden doors in front of her. Almost the instant she stepped inside, even without looking up, she could feel the extremely oppressive gaze of the person inside.
The mistress is watching her.
Li Yue'er was panicked. She felt like a mouse that had wandered into a raccoon's territory. Her mind went blank, and she couldn't even hear her own heart pounding.
The other person's gaze seemed to fall on her face, then down her lowered cheeks, briefly glancing over her thinly clad body before moving away with disdain.
Even without the other party speaking, and even without Li Yue'er looking up, she could feel the chilling gaze of the mistress sweeping over her.
Wherever the other person's gaze fell, Li Yue'er's face burned with embarrassment, and goosebumps rose all over her body.
But she had nowhere to retreat and was afraid that she might back down at the last minute, so Li Yue'er turned around, closed her eyes, and raised her hand to close the door.
While she acted boldly, her two slender, fair hands, pressed against the door, had bent fingers and trembled slightly.
Qu Rong glanced at him, raised an eyebrow slightly, and finally took her gaze off the book in her hand, looking at the person who had barged into her room with interest. "What is it?"
If she wasn't mistaken, the visitor appeared to be Qu Ming's nominal concubine, Li Yue'er.
It wasn't that she deliberately tried to remember; it was simply that when the three concubines stood together, Li Yue'er's clear, gentle eyes and harmless demeanor stood out even more among the crowd of people dressed in bright red and purple and flamboyant attire.
Li Yue'er slowly turned around, her head still bowed, but she took two steps forward, slightly curtsied, and said softly, "This servant has encountered difficulties and has no choice but to ask for help from you, Mistress."
Qu Rong was puzzled. She was the mistress of the house, and the other woman was a concubine. Whether it was their relationship as wife and concubine or their status as mistress and servant, Li Yue'er should have run away from her like a mouse seeing a cat. Why would she come to her room at this hour?
Besides, the three of them were brought into the mansion by the old lady's decision. Even if Li Yue'er encountered difficulties, she should have sought help from the old lady first, not from her.
Before Li Yue'er arrived, the extra oil lamps and candlesticks in the room had been extinguished. Except for one oil lamp by the bedside, which was still lit, another one was placed on the high table in the outer room for the maids to use when they came in and out to serve. Although the light was dim and yellow, it was enough to make out a person's face.
Qu Rong took a book from the antique shelf, intending to flip through it before bed to help her fall asleep, which is why she lingered by the table.
Now Li Yue'er took a few steps forward, her beautiful face emerging from the dim light in front of the door into the lamplight.
He also walked up to Qu Rong.
This is getting more and more interesting.
Qu Rong simply placed the book on the table, rested her hand on the cover, and sat down in the rosewood armchair behind her. "Tell me about it."
When you need something from someone, there's no reason for her to stand while her master sits down.
Li Yue'er lowered her eyes and knelt down, clutching the cloth on her legs with both hands, and recounted her younger sister's serious illness.
Regardless of whether the matter is true or false, Qu Rong doesn't want to get involved.
This has absolutely nothing to do with her.
Besides, Li Yue'er is nominally the old lady's person.
She didn't care whether Li Yue'er's sister was alive or dead, and she didn't care whether Li Yue'er herself was alive or dead either.
The fact that Qu Rong was in a good mood tonight and listened to her speak was already the greatest tolerance Qu Rong could show her.
The mistress remained silent in her chair for a long time, and Li Yue'er's heart sank inch by inch with the silence in the room, her breathing becoming tight.
The mistress didn't want to get involved.
Li Yue'er could sense the other party's silent attitude, and she became a little anxious.
She subconsciously looked up, just as the mistress turned her head and looked down at her with an indifferent expression. But when they met face to face, the other woman's eyes unconsciously flickered for a moment.
There's hope!
At least the mistress didn't object to the mirror polishing, nor did she find her face distasteful.
Their eyes met, and Li Yue'er quickly made a decision. Before the mistress could clearly refuse, Li Yue'er did not hesitate and immediately moved her knees forward to close the distance between them.
She had been kneeling in front of the mistress, but now she was practically crawling up to her, her knees touching the tips of her shoes. With trembling hands, she grasped the plain white cotton skirt that was hanging down over the back of the mistress's soft-soled shoes and whispered, "Please have mercy, mistress."
This is her only chance.
It was also the only straw that allowed her and her sister to survive.
Qu Rong slowly repeated, "You want my pity?"
If Qu Rong still doubted the ambiguity of these four words, then the other party's next action confirmed another layer of meaning in the words.
Li Yue'er slowly raised her head, tilting her face upwards. Her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, revealing her eyes reflecting the moist candlelight.
As she looked up, her long neck and slender collarbone were revealed.
With just a glance down, Qu Rong could see through the gaps in Li Yue'er's dress that revealed the perfect curves of her breasts and the hidden slits.
As Li Yue'er approached, her beautiful figure seemed to exude a faint warmth and a delicate fragrance.
Seeing that her mistress neither refused nor gave her a cold look, Li Yue'er pointed her fingers upwards, placed her hands on her mistress's knee, lowered her head, and softly recited the words she had been polishing all evening:
"As the weather gets colder and the master is not here, if the mistress does not mind, I am willing to warm the bedding for the mistress and stay by her side to serve her in the lonely nights."
She probed cautiously, her words were blunt, and her fingers slid upwards like flowing water, resting on the mistress's legs.
Qu Rong did not reject the other party's small gestures, and even lowered her eyes to watch quietly.
Only when those hands were about to part her legs through her clothes did Qu Rong reach out, her five fingers gripping Li Yue'er's icy wrists as she leaned down to look at her, "Once you're in my bed, you're mine."
Qu Rong's gaze fell on Li Yue'er's moist lips. She narrowed her eyes slightly and asked in a low, seductive voice, "Between me and the master, you can only choose one. Have you thought it through?"
Li Yue'er raised her face. "I've thought it through."
Following her movements, Qu Rong placed her other palm on Li Yue'er's cool, smooth face, gently stroking the corner of her eye with her thumb, examining the beautiful face beneath her hand.
Her hands clearly showed satisfaction, but what she said was...
“I promise to save your sister. Now, gather your clothes and go out. I will pretend nothing happened tonight. We are both women, and I can understand your desperate situation. I am willing to give you a chance.”
Her gentle, approachable, and compassionate tone was a stark contrast to her cold and indifferent demeanor just moments before.
Although Li Yue'er called her mistress, she knew that the other woman was about the same age as her and understood the probing in her words.
The mistress was still young, so she was a little naive when she encountered this situation for the first time, and that's when she revealed a bit of her true nature that was easy to read.
Of all her words just now, only the phrase "choose one of two" was true; the rest were all traps and tests.
If she hesitates or wavers, the other party will immediately turn cold and throw her out of the room or even kick her out of the Qu family.
Li Yue'er had never been so clear-headed and calm as she was now.
The two sat and knelt, one with eyes lowered and the other with face raised, their posture suggestive and ambiguous, seemingly about to kiss. However, beneath this facade lay a cat-and-mouse game.
Li Yue'er raised her head even higher, tilted her face slightly, lowered her long eyelashes, and lightly brushed her lips against the palm of her mistress's hand, speaking in a low and soft tone, "Please, mistress, love me."
She chose the matriarch.
Even if the mistress were willing to help her rescue her sister and let her out right now, she would still do it.
She knew how to choose between temporary relief and long-term stability.
Qu Rong glanced at Li Yue'er, whose breath brushed against her, lingering around her nostrils.
Ambitious and cunning, she is quite different from her gentle and docile appearance.
Qu Rong didn't care whether Li Yue'er's claim that her sister was seriously ill was true or false; she was only curious about Li Yue'er's motives. Perhaps it was the old lady's plan, or perhaps it was the Zheng family's idea.
But the other party was right about one thing: she wasn't opposed to mirror polishing.
Qu Rong released Li Yue'er's wrist, withdrew her hand, and straightened up, leaning her back against the chair to create distance between them. Although her posture changed, her eyes remained fixed on Li Yue'er.
They've returned to that initial cold and aloof demeanor.
This is the true nature of the matriarch.
Li Yue'er obediently knelt down, her heart pounding with anxiety, fearing that the other party might change their mind.
until--
Qu Rong said, "Whether you can stay by my side and serve me depends entirely on your performance tonight."
Li Yue'er's breath hitched, her eyes lit up, she looked up at the other person, her lips slightly pursed, waiting for instructions.
Qu Rong glanced at her, then looked away. "Go to the inner room, kneel on the footstool in front of the bed, and wait for me."
Li Yue'er got up and used her hands to support herself on the floor tiles to stand up. She was dressed too lightly today, and her knees ached from kneeling, making her walk slowly.
She walked into the room with her back to the outside, and only then did Qu Rong turn her head to look at her.
A slender back, a delicate waist, and hips that sway gently as she walks with her long legs.
When I first saw her that day, the only thing I noticed was Li Yue'er's eyes; I didn't notice that beneath her gentle appearance lay such a seductive figure.
Qu Rong looked down at her palm, where Li Yue'er's lips had brushed against her, and there seemed to be traces of moisture from her lips still lingering.
Qu Rong clenched her fingers into a fist, then relaxed them again. Her long eyelashes fell, and she sat back in the armchair with her legs crossed. As if no one was in the room, she picked up the book again and started reading.
Be neither hasty nor impatient.
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Moon: Smiling
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