Chapter 85: A Bond of Life and Death.
When the mistress doesn't say sweet words, Li Yue'er won't say it, but she will sometimes secretly complain that she is cold, not romantic, and doesn't understand romance.
But given the circumstances today, the sweet words she blurted out left Li Yue'er both amused and exasperated.
Li Yue'er lifted her arm a crack, looking at her mistress with teary eyes. With her other hand, she loosely clenched her fingers into a fist and gently punched her chest and shoulder, saying in a muffled voice, "There's no need to say such grand love words."
She dares to say it, but she doesn't dare to listen.
Li Yue'er only wanted the mistress to coax her, to say that she cared about her, and that no matter how others in the Qu family viewed her, she was the most important person in her heart.
Even simple, ordinary sweet nothings will do.
But what she said was that she wanted to marry her, to make her the mistress of the Qu family, and to hand over the Qu residence to her to manage.
Why didn't she just say she'd give her her life?
However, what moved Li Yue'er the most was the matter of getting married on the day of Lidong that the mistress had just mentioned. Although it was a lie, it warmed her heart.
Because the first night he pleaded with the mistress was the beginning of winter.
That same day, the two ended up in bed together, and that's how their feelings for each other gradually developed.
It's a shame that the mistress still remembers.
For Li Yue'er, it was enough that she could remember that day.
Li Yue'er's eyes were still filled with tears, but she smiled and gently scolded, slowly lowering her arm and instead wiping the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. "Okay, I understand."
Her reaction was too bland.
Qu Rong stared at her, puzzled and confused. "Are you unhappy?"
Li Yue'er took a deep breath, pushed the corners of her mouth up with her index fingers, and tilted her head to look at her, "Who said that? I'm very happy~"
Qu Rong, "..."
Qu Renrong, unable to bear it any longer, pinched Li Yue'er's cheek. "I'm telling the truth."
Seeing that she was persistent, Li Yue'er sighed inwardly, but put her arms around the mistress's shoulders, gently rubbed her cheek against hers, and coaxed her in the same tone as she had coaxed Li Xing'er, "Okay, okay, I believe you."
The mistress spoke sweet nothings for the first time, and although she was a bit rough around the edges, she still needs a lot of encouragement so that she'll be motivated to speak again in the future.
Qu Rong glanced at Li Yue'er's black hair, paused, and then asked softly, "You don't want to marry me?"
So this is how you treat it so perfunctorily?
Li Yue'er answered without hesitation, "Yes."
Li Yue'er released her mistress, lay back on the pillow, twirled her fingers around her mistress's long hair, and her eyes became unfocused. "Just thinking about it."
After all, they were both women. How could a woman marry another woman? The mistress of the house would be criticized.
As for her, thanks to Li Juren, Li Yue'er realized that reputation is meaningless and other people's opinions cannot change her situation. Only living a good life and having enough to eat and drink is what truly matters.
She spoke softly, and immediately gave an embarrassed laugh, blinking her eyes as she said, "I'll embroider a red veil another day, and have Teng Huang buy a pair of red candles. Then we can have our wedding ceremony, and that will be my way of marrying you."
What does "Consider it as me marrying you" mean?
Qu Rong finally understood that Li Yue'er hadn't taken her seriously from the very first word she uttered.
She glanced at Li Yue'er quietly, pursed her lips, slowly propped herself up, sat up, and turned to take out the "Art of War" from under her pillow.
Li Yue'er's eyelids began to twitch, and thinking that she was going to "bring up old grievances," she started to fold her small corners again.
Every folded corner represents the bed service she "owes" to her mistress.
Just as Li Yue'er was about to say that she didn't want to today, she saw the mistress slowly pull her contract from the military manual, hold it between two fingers, and look at her with a sidelong glance.
Li Yue'er, "?"
Li Yue'er, "!"
Li Yue'er sat up abruptly, her eyes widening like a cat seeing a fish.
She glanced at her mistress, then at the military treatise placed on her lap, and silently stared at her.
What decent family would put their indenture in such a place?
Li Yue'er's eyes were fixed on the mistress's gently waving hand, so she didn't notice that there was another piece of paper in the military strategy book.
Qu Rong, clutching the contract, pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow, waving it up and down and side to side in front of Li Yue'er, refusing to let her see it. "Can you tell the difference?"
Li Yue'er only realized after being reminded that her "slave status" seemed to have changed.
She was originally a common farmer, but became a slave after being sold into the Qu family by Li, a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations. Although she was a concubine of the Qu family, she was no different from Teng Huang Dan Sha and other maids; they were all slaves whom the Qu family could beat, scold, and sell at will.
Li Yue'er was stunned. "It's changed to farmer status."
To be released from slavery and become a farmer, a slave not only had to pay a certain amount of money, but also had to have her master guarantee that she had behaved well during her time as a slave and had not committed any bad behavior before they would change her status. It was quite troublesome.
Li Yue'er stared blankly at the mistress, and murmured softly, "No wonder it took so long to change the household registration sticker."
The Qu family's household registration was merely a matter of correcting the information on the household registration stickers and keeping records with the government; the real time-consuming part was changing her status from slave to farmer.
In other words, on the day the household registration document for the Qu family was delivered, she was no longer anyone's servant, but a law-abiding citizen, Li Yue'er herself.
They were ordinary people who, if wronged at the Qu residence, could go to the yamen (government office) and beat the drum.
Li Yue'er's eyes started to redden again, her nose felt sore and her eyes were burning.
She lowered her head, tugging at her sleeves, tears streaming down her face, falling into the blanket covering their laps.
Qu Rong, "Why are you crying again?"
Qu Rong tilted her head to look at her, "Do you believe me now?"
Li Yue'er looked up at her, still suspicious, "But can we really get married? The two of us..."
Qu Rong: "So what?"
Li Yue'er paused, looked up at her with tears in her eyes.
Qu Rong said, "Since ancient times, marriages have always been arranged by parents and matchmakers. Which of us doesn't meet that rule?"
As for worldly views, Qu Rong has been subjected to worldly scrutiny since the moment she was born. Whether it was her background or her merchant status, they were not recognized by the world, and she had long been used to it.
In these chaotic times, with everything available and everyone focused on self-preservation, who would care whether she had married a wife?
Besides, merchant families are the most chaotic; it's possible for fathers, sons, grandfathers, grandsons, and brothers to marry one woman and one man. What she's doing is simply bringing the union of women from the shadows into the open, which isn't anything new.
Especially now that she's in charge of the Qu family, no one can stop her.
She would marry Li Yue'er as long as she agreed.
If Li Yue'er doesn't agree, then she will force herself to marry her.
Qu Rong handed the contract to Li Yue'er and coaxed her, "After you marry me, although you will be a merchant, you will not be a slave. If you divorce me in the future, you can still change back to a farmer. You won't have to go through the trouble of changing your place of origin from a slave to a farmer."
Li Yue'er bit her lower lip lightly, sniffed, touched her contract, and her eyes almost curved into crescents.
If her mother knew about this, she would be overjoyed!
Qu Rong, "Then are you willing?"
Li Yue'er didn't hear clearly and looked at her blankly.
The mistress's beautiful face was right in front of her, and she spoke gently, "Will you marry me?"
Li Yue'er was naturally willing!
She nodded emphatically.
The mistress kissed her lips without hesitation.
Li Yue'er subconsciously wrapped her arms around her neck and returned the kiss. The mistress put one arm around her waist, and the two of them went from sitting to leaning back. She pressed down on the large headboard pillow of the mistress, kissing her until her whole body was hot and her clothes were half off.
Her undergarment had been undone at some point, leaving half of her shoulder exposed. The mistress lowered her head to kiss it, her hand pushing her bodice upwards, her thumb caressing the edge between her fullness and flatness.
Li Yue'er changed to straddling the mistress's waist, letting her bury her head and bite.
She was so overwhelmed by the kisses that she was completely dazed and confused. Only later, when she belatedly remembered her contract, did she raise her hand to look at it—
That's all.
That's it?!
Li Yue'er gently patted the mistress's shoulder, "Where is my contract of indenture?"
The mistress looked up at her, her lips moist, and her fingers lightly patted the copy of "The Art of War" on the bed.
Li Yue'er, "..."
He only showed her his feelings once, and then, while kissing her, he pulled the contract of intimacy away from her.
Li Yue'er bit the tip of her nose!
The mistress simply smiled, raising her thumb to wipe away the moisture from the corner of her eye. "I'll keep it for you."
Li Yue'er pushed away her mistress's shoulder, refusing to let her eat anymore. She tore off her bodice to cover herself, then knelt down on her lap, humming, "So all those words after the 'divorce' were just to coax me into agreeing?"
Without her indenture, she even had difficulty leaving Chenhe County, let alone getting a divorce.
The mistress leaned back against the cushion, raised her hand to tuck the long hair beside her face behind her ear, and pretended not to have heard her words, remaining completely silent.
Li Yue'er turned her head and bit her hand, and even though she used a bit of force, the mistress didn't make a sound.
Li Yue'er's heart ached. She hugged her mistress's arm, pressed her cheek against her palm, and whispered, "I've already agreed to marry you. Even if I have a contract of indenture, I won't divorce you."
Qu Rong looked up at her, but did not respond to her words. Instead, she gently rubbed her soft cheek with her thumb.
Li Yue'er leaned in and hugged her back, pressing her against her chest, kissing her cheeks and eyes, and whispering to her, "Qu Rong, I promised you long ago."
Qu Rong looked at her.
Li Yue'er, "Bound by life and death."
A promise among scholars, unchanging for life.
Qu Rong cupped Li Yue'er's face in his hands, turned his head, and kissed her deeply.
At this moment, she seemed to understand Aunt Tan's obsession, because she was the same with Li Yue'er. No matter how eloquently Li Yue'er spoke, she still insisted on keeping her contract.
Fortunately, Li Yue'er didn't really want it from her.
She kept it, and even the mistress withheld her indenture, which, on another level, made Li Yue'er feel more at ease.
Her contract was like a rope binding them together, tightly entwining them.
The mistress refused to let go, and she didn't want to break free.
Li Yue'er's bodice was lifted from below again. Her eyes darted around guiltily as she whispered, "I only wiped my bottom clean today, I didn't take a bath."
The mistress didn't stop moving, gave a soft "hmm", slid her palm along her waistline, and moved her other hand inward along her hip bone.
Li Yue'er's face flushed, and she lowered her head to kiss the crown of her head, "My mother, my mother should agree, um, that we can get married."
She was a little out of breath. "Where is the old lady?"
Even if the old lady isn't in charge of the Qu family anymore, she's still an elder in the family. If she were to obstruct things...
Qu Rong replied, "What does this have to do with her?"
Li Yue'er had always thought that the mistress's words were unpleasant, but tonight she particularly liked every word that came out of her mouth!
The weather is warm now, and Li Yue'er doesn't feel cold even though she's only wearing a small undergarment.
She lay on her back at the foot of the bed, her body turned to the side, hugging one of her mistress's legs. Their posture was like two pairs of scissors locked together, grinding against each other, as if they wanted to cut each other apart from between their legs.
The tingling, itchy sensation from grinding grass together is like a free-flowing spring breeze. When you're burning up, it ignites the flames and makes the fire burn even brighter.
Sweat beaded on Li Yue'er's nose and temples, and her fingertips dug into the mistress's skin, leaving faint crescent-shaped marks.
She quickened her pace with the mistress's rhythm, and then they both reached their peak.
Li Yue'er's heart was pounding, and she was too lazy to move. She hugged her mistress's legs, lowered her wet eyelashes, and tried to catch her breath.
She felt like she was dreaming; the mistress of the house was actually planning to marry her.
It wasn't until the mistress gently kissed her calves again and again that Li Yue'er blinked and accepted it.
The mistress was willing to kiss her even though she hadn't bathed today, so it's not surprising that she was married.
Li Yue'er looked up at her mistress, deliberately rubbing her face with her toes, a mischievous smile in her eyes.
The mistress, "..."
The mistress held her ankle and pushed her toes apart.
Li Yue'er sidled back, saying, "I've washed my feet."
Qu Rong: "...I know."
Because she could smell the bitter smell of medicine.
Dr. Fu prescribed foot bath medicine for Li Yue'er, and she has been using it for almost half a year. Although the smell is strange and unpleasant and it stains the bedding everywhere, Li Yue'er's health is indeed improving. At least she no longer feels cold and shivers or is in so much pain that she can't get out of bed when she has her period.
Qu Rong kissed Li Yue'er's ankle and patted her calf, gesturing for her to turn around.
After the two embraced, Qu Rong ripped off the indigo wet mat from the bedding, threw it onto the footstool, and pulled the blanket over them.
She hugged Li Yue'er, who wrapped her arms around her and showered her with kisses, talking about giving Meng Xiaoxiao a gift the next day.
Qu Rong listened quietly with her eyes lowered, until Li Yue'er kissed her lips again as she spoke, skillfully prying them open.
Li Yue'er's restless feet were now rubbing against her calves, and the leg that was resting on her legs was pushing her legs apart with its knee, slowly lifting it up and rubbing its knee against the inside of her calves.
Qu Rong looked at her and gently reminded her, "You have things to do tomorrow, so you need to get up early."
Li Yue'er knew.
But she still wanted it.
Qu Rong raised an eyebrow, thinking that Li Yue'er would be going home the day after tomorrow, and couldn't hold back any longer.
The already warm and slippery area was still wet, so Qu Rong pressed Li Yue'er down on the pillow, placed her undergarment underneath, and did it again.
Li Yue'er was a little carried away. As the tingling sensation gradually rose, her rounded nails dug into the mistress's shoulder, and she hummed, "I want to hear sweet nothings."
The mistress naturally ignored her.
Tears streamed into Li Yue'er's hair. Seeing that her mistress remained silent, she weakly threatened, "If you won't speak, then I... I'll call out!"
Qu Rong, "..."
Li Yue'er deliberately said, "I want to shout so loudly that everyone can hear it."
Qu Rong, "..."
Li Yue'er: "It's because we're getting married."
Even after getting married, you can't call someone that.
Qu Rong was shy and afraid that Li Yue'er would really make a scene, so she reluctantly leaned close to her lips and gently pursed them, saying, "Little Yue'er."
Li Yue'er looked at her with bright, watery eyes, her voice slightly raised, very charming, "Hmm?"
Qu Rong smiled, her hands teasing him even more fiercely, but she said, "You're crying like this, you don't look like a sister at all."
Li Yue'er, "?"
Li Yue'er, "!"
Li Yue'er trembled, and just as her voice was about to escape, the mistress turned her head and silenced her with her lips, her tongue entwining with Li Yue'er's, breaking her voice into a broken, incoherent sound, before swallowing it into her stomach.
With both mouths blocked, only the sound of water and whimpering could be heard.
The mistress's sister is very wicked.
————————
Moon: You just wait! From now on, you'll be called "sister"!
Mistress: (smiling)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com