medicine bottle
Behind the half-curtained blue curtain, two figures could be vaguely seen sleeping in each other's arms, or more precisely, one person tightly embracing the other.
Mei Sheng was still in a daze when she was suddenly startled by the warm touch in her hand. After she woke up, she realized that her forehead was covered in a fine sweat.
Upon smelling the familiar scent, she sighed, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, and then pondered how to withdraw her hand without waking the other person.
As she moved, Mei Sheng realized that the blankets on the bed were all on Pei Jue's side. She pouted, it was obvious that it was autumn and the night was getting colder. She had no choice but to squeeze next to him. It was better than getting cold.
"woke up."
The sudden sound startled Mei Sheng, who was deep in thought. She saw Pei Jue's eyes slightly open, his gaze devoid of any smile, staring at her intently, which made Mei Sheng feel uneasy.
"Do you still remember what happened last night?"
Pei Jue spoke casually, but a warning bell rang in Mei Sheng's heart: "Last night? It seems you ate some mooncakes and then fell asleep?" As she said this, she seized the opportunity to pull the blanket over herself.
Speaking of last night, a chill ran down her spine. Were those mooncakes laced with alcohol? And it seemed quite strong. Thinking of this, Mei Sheng added a few more words, tentatively asking, "The mooncakes they sent had alcohol in them. Did I do something last night?"
Just as Mei Sheng was waiting for Pei Jue's reply, Pei Jue suddenly got up, ignoring her being wrapped in a blanket, and moved closer until their breaths could touch.
Mei Sheng instinctively stepped back, the man's breath falling on her face, sending shivers down her spine. She didn't like this unfamiliar feeling.
In the blink of an eye, Pei Jue pressed down on Mei Sheng with one hand, preventing her from retreating any further. The atmosphere gradually became tense. Just before Pei Jue could take her breath away, Mei Sheng managed to free her hand and brace herself between the two of them.
However, the two were of vastly different strengths. The moment Mei Sheng's fingertips touched his clothes, Pei Jue gripped them tightly. In an instant, Mei Sheng was completely trapped in Pei Jue's arms, unable to struggle.
Seeing Pei Jue's sudden illness, Mei Sheng could only curse her bad luck and say, "What are you doing?"
"What else can we do lying on the same bed?" Pei Jue was clearly angry, and his strength was exceptionally great. His calm face was revealed to be filled with rage and his eyes were brimming with fury.
Mei Sheng was captivated by that glance and immediately softened her attitude, feigning weakness: "Yesterday's mooncake was mixed with wine, did you say something nonsense? Those words must not have been sincere."
Upon hearing this, Pei Jue's hand tightened slightly, and his imposing aura seemed to fade somewhat.
Mei Sheng let out a breath and reassured him, "Words spoken while drunk are the least trustworthy. Have you mistakenly believed something, sir?"
Upon hearing this, Pei Jue's eyes flickered slightly, and he stared intently at Mei Sheng. After a moment of eye contact, he pressed her for an answer: "Do you have any friends who are participating in the autumn examinations?"
It had a rather gritted-teeth feel to it.
The autumn examination? Mei Sheng was completely confused. Seeing that the person opposite her seemed genuine, as if she had said something deeply sinful.
Thinking of this, Mei Sheng could only reply, "Never. Perhaps it was a dream, or just sleep talking."
Seeing the surprise in Mei Sheng's eyes, but not her panic, Pei Jue looked away, relaxed a little, and coughed lightly: "Oh, I was just being overly concerned about you."
Before Mei Sheng could reply, a maidservant whispered from outside: "The old lady has sent word that if Master Pei wakes up, please ask him to go to Yihe Hall."
Upon hearing this, Pei Jue also stood up.
After summoning several people in, she tidied herself up for a while until she was properly dressed before leaving with the maid who had delivered the message. Before leaving, perhaps knowing she was in the wrong, she returned Mei Sheng's jade pendant to her before Mei Sheng could even mention it.
Mei Sheng lowered his eyes, shrouded in shadow, pondering how to switch the beams and pillars. Being trapped like this every day was truly frustrating.
She told the maids who had delivered the clothes to leave first, then picked out the lightest-colored clothes to wear. After tidying herself up, she intended to stay in the room for a while, waiting for Pei Jue to return and ask about the events of the previous night.
Before noon, the maids who were waiting outside came in, saying that someone in the mansion wanted to see her.
Mei Sheng lowered her head in thought. She had only met two people yesterday. Pei Jue had just been invited by the old lady, and the one inviting her now was probably that beautiful woman dressed in finery who claimed Pei Jue as her nephew.
Pei Jue's aunt.
After passing through the half-moon gate, walking along the winding path, and then going around a long passage, we finally arrived at this place.
Before even entering the door, he heard the voice of the woman from yesterday, her words coming in a soft, panting tone: "Young master, put in a little more effort."
Upon hearing this, Mei Sheng was embarrassed and didn't know what to stare at. She could only turn her head to look at the maid who had brought her, but saw that the maid's expression remained unchanged and she said softly, "Miss, please come in."
After saying that, the maid gently pushed open the door. In the left corner, Cao Rongniang leaned against the soft couch, wearing a light red outer robe, her hair disheveled and trailing on the soft footstool.
Perhaps it was because she wasn't wearing makeup today that she wasn't as stunning as she was yesterday, but upon closer inspection, her bone structure was excellent, and the fine lines brought by time hadn't diminished her beauty at all.
It is clear that the saying "time waits for no man" only applies to ordinary people with average looks; a beautiful woman remains beautiful even when she gets old.
Behind her, a handsome young man dressed in plain clothes massaged her shoulders, gently and patiently coaxing her from time to time, "Madam Cao, are you feeling better?" Only after much coaxing could Cao Rongniang occasionally respond.
This was accompanied by cries of pain from the kneading of blocked meridians.
Upon seeing this, Mei Sheng paused slightly, feeling momentarily ashamed.
Seeing Mei Sheng arrive, Cao Rongniang merely raised an eyelid slightly and instructed, "Go and bring me my dressing box; it's in that hidden compartment."
Mei Sheng stepped forward and, following Cao Rongniang's instructions, opened the cabinet near the dressing table.
Upon opening it, one's eyes are immediately drawn to a multitude of bottles and jars of varying sizes, piled high inside, along with some expensive gold and silver jewelry. The cabinet is enormous, resembling a deep pocket; Mei Sheng fumbled around for quite some time before finally pulling out a white jade-inlaid cosmetic box.
Mei Sheng asked hesitantly, "Is it this?"
But Cao Rongniang had already closed her eyes and was resting. Faced with Pei Jue's eccentric aunt, Mei Sheng didn't know whether to wake her up or go forward and place the things in front of her.
Strangely enough, whenever Mei Sheng saw her, she felt that she was a young woman in her prime. She secretly speculated that perhaps it was because this Lady Cao did not resemble the image of a young lady in the common people's minds.
"Madam Cao, your..." After a while, Mei Sheng saw Cao Rongniang open her eyes and asked.
With a slight flick of her sleeve, Cao Rongniang brushed aside the man who was massaging her shoulders and asked, "Do you know how to touch up your makeup?" She was referring to Mei Sheng.
Mei Sheng shook his head and said self-deprecatingly, "I only know a little bit, and I really dare not do your makeup."
Seeing this, Cao Rongniang did not feel anything was wrong, and casually summoned the maid who usually did her makeup and dressing. The maid was skillful and carefully drew her eyebrows.
Looking at herself in the bronze mirror, Cao Rongniang smiled with satisfaction: "You are indeed a person who knows your limits, but compared to yesterday, you seem to have become a bit bolder."
After saying that, she chuckled to herself, as if she had realized something, and glanced at her: "Since Huaiyuan stayed at your place last night, do you have anything to say?"
Mei Sheng organized her thoughts and replied softly, "I have to thank my aunt for reminding me." After saying that, she bowed her head and a look of joy flashed in her eyes.
Cao Rongniang's expression faltered slightly, and even the slightest bit of gentleness from before vanished. She said, "If you help me one more time, your aunt will find you a concubine from Huaiyuan, okay?"
Mei Sheng nodded happily, grabbed her sleeve and stepped forward. After the two got close, Cao Rongniang dismissed the servants, whispered a few words, and only let Mei Sheng leave after she agreed. She didn't even get to eat lunch.
Mei Sheng walked out the door and back along the path, lost in thought as she recalled the things her aunt Pei Jue had asked her to do.
By noon, Pei Jue still hadn't returned, presumably having eaten at the old lady's. Mei Sheng didn't wait for him. After eating, she took the opportunity of a short nap to draw the bed curtains tightly, took out a small jade bottle from her sleeve, poured the contents into a candy wrapper in her bosom, and carefully wrapped it up.
The small white jade bottle is labeled: Sleeping potion.
Before noon, Mei Sheng immediately recognized the bottles and jars as strange medicines, with many small white jade bottles containing different medicinal properties, all mixed together. She secretly took one bottle for future use.
Pei Jue returned just before nightfall, called Mei Sheng away, and went with her back to their small courtyard in the city. The servants in the courtyard were not surprised to see them return, assuming they had gone out on business.
The Mid-Autumn Festival had passed the night before, and although the full moon in the sky wasn't quite perfect, it was still exceptionally bright.
Pei Jue sat on a sandalwood chair in the courtyard. Near the chair was a corner of the wall where Mei Sheng had planted some pale yellow flowers to pass the time.
She didn't know its name, so she just scattered it casually, occasionally checking on it, sprinkling water, and sheltering it from the wind and rain. Who knew that, as autumn deepened, the little flower was growing quite well.
Under the pine tree, a gentle autumn breeze blew. Pei Jue called for someone to carry a jar of wine, then shook it at Mei Sheng and said softly, "I wanted to come back yesterday to drink wine and appreciate the moon with you, but it's a pity. Look at this wine."
Does this mean we should continue today? Mei Sheng glanced at the wine jar; it seemed ordinary, and she didn't see anything strange about it. But upon closer inspection, she realized something was amiss.
Isn't this the plum wine she once buried under the tree in the Pei residence in Yanjing?
Mei Sheng forced a stiff smile: "You didn't go all the way to Yanjing to get it, did you, Master?"
Pei Jue chuckled softly, his words lingering: "What do you think?"
This posture completely forgot her expression from this morning. Her face changed so quickly. They say women are inferior to men, and indeed, she, a petite woman, is no match for this shameless person.
Mei Sheng hesitated for a moment before smiling faintly and saying, "It shouldn't be."
Why would Pei Jue go to such lengths to find a jar of wine and bring it back for the Mid-Autumn Festival, just for a jar of wine?
Pei Jue's smile deepened slightly as he said, "So Mei'er understands me so well."
......
"who is he?"
etc.
Here we go again. Mei Sheng was silent for a moment, then sighed deeply before replying, "I don't know him. How did you learn of him, sir?"
After holding back all day, the man finally spoke, glancing at her indifferently, and said, "Last night..."
Mei Sheng seemed to sense something and explained directly, "That's my friend's... love interest." As she spoke, her hair fluttered in the wind, but Pei Jue, with his sharp eyes and strong hands, steadied the swaying hair and slowly said, "Homosexuality?"
Now it was Mei Sheng's turn to be surprised. He was not surprised at all by such reverie, which showed that this dynasty was not as conservative as she had thought.
Mei Sheng's gaze toward him became increasingly unclear, even carrying a hint of suspicion.
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