Chapter 12 I caught you cheating last night, do you remember?
His rough fingertips rubbed against Mingying's eye sockets, like needles scraping and pricking, causing her tears to flow freely.
Mr. Lin gifted her the painting because he thought highly of her and treated her as an upright person.
Now that she's returning the painting to him, does that prove he misjudged her and that she herself is just being self-degrading and contemptuous?
What would he think of her?
Disappointment, regret, and the feeling that someone as pitiful as her must have something hateful about her.
The man's relentless, threatening voice echoed in her ears: "You don't want to?"
Pei Xiaoyun saw a hint of stubbornness in her eyes.
But stubbornness is the last thing a flower that grows by clinging to him needs.
It falls into the mud, is crushed into dust, and then vanishes into nothingness.
"Young master, please..." Mingying shook her head, putting on the docile appearance he always liked, and took the initiative to serve him.
She wondered if he would allow her to keep the painting once he calmed down.
Anyway, he doesn't treat her like a human being. In front of him, she has long since lost all sense of propriety and shame.
The person beneath her had beautiful eyes that seemed to hold water, and with subtle movements, her long eyelashes fluttered lightly as she breathed heavily.
Pei Xiaoyun played with her hair, pinched her puffed-up cheeks, and breathed hot air onto her neck.
At this moment, what is more intense than conquest and possession is the raging fire.
For Lin Xian, for a broken painting, she truly endured humiliation to serve him.
He sneered, "Is this all the skill you're going to use to beg me?"
Mingying was stung by his humiliating words and struggled to back away.
Looking back now, she realizes that even when she was young at Mianyue Tower, she had many older sisters who protected her.
She had a few clothes that weren't very warm, and every day she had a bowl of cold food.
Until his appearance, although he saved her, he also left her completely naked, without shame or dignity, only to be played with and oppressed.
Why should he treat her like this? Even if she was born lowly and became his servant, she only spoke a few words to someone else.
She was afraid, afraid of his ruthlessness and cruelty.
Her face flushed, and she tried to pull away, but he held her down by the back of her neck.
"You're begging me, so keep going."
Pei Xiaoyun's anger surged, his forehead throbbed, and he grabbed her bruised waist, then threw her onto the embroidered quilt.
Mingying knelt on the couch, wetting her pillow with tears until her voice was hoarse.
As the moon set and the stars began to dangle, a faint light filtered through, blurring her vision with multiple images. She vaguely saw the curtains being lifted and heard him instructing his servants, "Go and call Lin Xian over, and take his things back."
Her heart was ashen, and her eyes were swallowed by despair.
No matter how much she begged him, it was to no avail.
In his hands, she was just a puppet. He would bring her ornaments and dress her up according to his own wishes, but he never cared about her feelings.
The looting is not over yet.
Two figures were standing outside the window at some unknown time.
First, a servant's voice rang out: "Young Master Lin, please wait a moment. Our master has not yet gotten up."
It turned out that Lin Xian had indeed been brought here.
He was puzzled when he heard that they had come to retrieve something. When he arrived, the door was tightly closed, which made him feel even more confused and helpless.
Hearing the commotion outside the door, Pei Xiaoyun helped Mingying up, who was slumped over, and whispered in her ear, "He's here. He taught you last night, do you remember how to say it?"
Mingying's pupils dilated, and a chill immediately swept over her body. She bit her lip tightly, afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would let out a low moan.
Seeing her deliberately restrained expression, Pei Xiaoyun became even more relentless in his pursuit of her, using his fingers, which were covered in her saliva, to pry open her lips and listen closely to those two words.
"I remember...I remember..."
As Mingying spoke, she cried. The immense humiliation felt like a long whip, lashing her heart again and again.
Then, she was pushed to her feet, and with trembling, weak hands, she haphazardly tidied her hair, trying her best to cover up the disheveled state of her body. She put on a coat and opened the door.
When Lin Xian saw her, her calm eyes trembled.
"What are you doing...?"
He's incredible.
If yesterday's eyes contained a tenacious vitality, then the eyes before me are dark and empty, like a still, ancient well.
How could a person become like this overnight?
Because Pei Xiaoyun was still in the room, Mingying didn't dare to look at Lin Xian for long. Besides, in her current state, how could she face anyone?
She quickly took out the painting, her dry, pale lips moved slightly, and she spoke quickly: "I appreciate Young Master Lin's kindness, but I am just an ignorant and uncouth woman from the inner quarters. This painting is like a pearl being covered in dust by my side. I... have disgraced it. I shouldn't have been so delusional, I shouldn't have been so arrogant. I am not worthy of it, and I shouldn't have taken it. Please take it back, Young Master Lin."
With each word she spoke, the pain pierced her heart, tearing her apart until she bled profusely.
Lin Xian was extremely shocked. He realized that these words were not her will. He opened his mouth to say something to her, but the door was decisively closed.
Every breath Mingying swallowed felt like it was filled with sharp knives, but even if it was a knife, she had to swallow it.
She leaned against the door, not daring to let her tears fall.
Once the painting was returned, the matter was considered closed.
She forced a smile and walked to the bed to help Pei Xiaoyun get up. She took his clothes, bowed, and knelt down to carefully fasten his waistband.
Then hang up a beautiful, flawless piece of white jade, as if nothing from last night had ever happened.
Pei Xiaoyun was very satisfied with her answer.
She won't have any ambition or temper, and even if she does, he'll wear her down as soon as she stands out.
"I really like the net you made yesterday, please hang it up for me."
Mingying responded softly, took out a tassel and carefully tied it for him. When she lowered her head, her messy hair covered her eyes.
Pei Xiaoyun smoothed her hair, her gentle words carrying a hint of warning: "Don't covet what you shouldn't think about or take. Next time, I won't have time to solve it for you."
—
After that day, Mingying had a persistent high fever and slept for three days and three nights.
When the maidservant assigned to serve her saw the marks on her body, she blushed, but more than anything, she felt a chill run down her spine.
She woke up on the evening of the fourth day, as dusk was falling.
His frail body leaned against the couch, the light of the sky dim and hazy, with only the sound of torrential rain to be heard.
The ash charcoal in the room was replaced with red charcoal, which burned bright red without a trace of smoke. Several maids came in to deliver medicine, and they all left drenched in sweat, but she felt cold in her hands and feet and weak all over.
The wounds on her ears and chest had only formed a thin scab, and every time her clothes caught on them, it caused a tearing pain.
When Yu'er came in to apply medicine to her, she was so frightened by the bloody hole in her ear that she dropped the bamboo stick covered in ointment to the ground.
"Sister Ming, how did you get so badly injured?"
Mingying's smile was pale: "I angered the master and was punished by him."
Yu'er, who had only been in the courtyard for a short time, said in disbelief, "But Master doesn't seem like a strict master, and he never punishes us. Besides, Master dotes on you so much, how could he bear to punish you?"
Mingying patted her head without saying a word.
In front of outsiders, he doted on her immensely, but only she knew how terrifying his pampering was.
Pampering and love are completely different.
Perhaps he needs to truly love someone to treat them with such tenderness.
But that person won't be her; that person will only be his wife.
The little bit of warmth she craved was something she could never get from him.
Pei Xiaoyun had not returned for several days, so she lay in bed to recover from her injuries. Gradually, she learned to find joy in hardship and started playing backgammon with Ling Shuang and the others.
She had bad luck and wasn't very good at the game; she lost all her monthly allowance in just a few rounds.
"You've lost all your monthly allowance. What are you going to do for the New Year? Aren't you going to save some money to buy things?" Ling Shuang put away her cards and looked at her increasingly empty wallet, wanting to leave her some money.
Mingying said it was fine and insisted that she bring the cards back: "Let's play two more rounds. You can take leave to go home for the New Year, but I have no family and can't leave the house. Money is like stone in my hands. I've lost all my money. When you come back, bring me lots of good food."
A few days later, the continuous rain finally stopped.
That morning, the courtyard was in a mess, as it was said that Lin Xian was leaving.
Even when Pei Xiaoyun wasn't around, Mingying dared not meet Lin Xian again. The maids in the courtyard who loved to join in the fun all went to the corridor to watch, while she hid alone in her room doing needlework, not daring to ask a single question.
Lin Xian finished drawing the mountain landscape map of the six northwestern regions that Pei Xiaoyun wanted. Before Pei Xiaoyun returned, she handed the drawing to Kong Qing, who was beside him, and prepared to set off back to Hangzhou.
As he left, he still held the camellia painting in his hand. Passing by the inconspicuous house on the west side, he suddenly stopped.
He stood outside the door that day and overheard Pei Xiaoyun pressuring her. He knew it wasn't that she didn't want the painting, but that someone was preventing her from accepting it.
After that day, he never saw her again, only hearing that she was ill.
"Young Master Lin, what's wrong? Did you forget something?"
Lin Xian's thoughts returned, she put away the scroll, and sighed softly, "It's alright, let's go."
The noise subsided, and the Lanqing Bathing Courtyard returned to tranquility, with the servants returning to their duties.
Mingying put down the spool of thread, gazing at the dust motes dancing in the light, and warm tears streamed down her face.
It's all in the past, as if she had never been to Fuguang Tower, never met Lin Xian, and never received his painting.
Those infatuations and delusions were not something she should have had.
"Master is back," came the maid's voice from outside.
Mingying didn't expect Pei Xiaoyun to return at this time.
Before she could wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, the tall man lifted the curtain and strode in.
A note from the author:
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gas!
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