Chapter 20: The Servant’s Wife 20 “Guard Dog” VS “Mistress”…
If there was no face he was particularly familiar with among the two people whispering and entangled in the narrow cabinet, Cheng Ruochen, who has always been a romantic and casual person, might still be able to admire them with interest.
"He truly has a leisurely and elegant demeanor, and he is also truly willing to take risks."
Then the cabinet door is closed considerately to provide private space for the "little lovers" who come for a tryst.
When he leaves, he might even clap his hands in a good mood, admiring their freedom from worldly concerns and their ability to be as unrestrained and independent as he is.
But Lu Huai, who was ravaged by Shen Chensheng in the dark, is now weak and pitiful, lying under the "woman", wearing only a thin inner robe.
The peach-pink color spread from the white jade-like cheeks to the small piece of chest that was torn out from the loosened collar, and the exposed skin almost became the territory of the red glow.
"Xuan...Xuan Ning? It's you..."
Lu Huai knew that he must look very inappropriate hiding in the corner, and with the women around him, his voice was trembling with shame.
"It's me."
Cheng Ruochen searched around, but was annoyed to see that the "woman" seemed to be afraid of him, a foreigner with bad intentions, and she moved closer to Lu Huai to cover her face so that he wouldn't recognize her.
The only part of the back exposed to his sight was covered with a familiar moon-white cloak, which he could confirm at a glance was Lu Huai's.
She was so close to him that she even gave him her coat, not even afraid that she would catch a cold. He thought with gritted teeth, and clenched his fists subconsciously, determined to see Lu Huai's reaction when he rejected that goblin.
Now it seems that she is deeply disappointed. Lu Huai is protecting her, even though she looks frighteningly disheveled and feels a little too embarrassed under his gaze.
But he still stood in front of the woman like a gentleman until the woman, whose face could not be seen, put on her cloak tightly again.
Cheng Ruochen felt heartbroken and turned his attention back to Lu Huai, only to find even more heartbreaking evidence. There was even a mark of the woman's lip balm on the collar of Lu Huai's clothes near his neck.
If he could have considered the previous controlled posture as the woman's attempt to seduce Lu Huai but failed and was trying to force him, this mark blatantly declared that Lu Huai was willing to be touched in this way, otherwise how could he have touched such a place on this elegant gentleman that required such close contact to touch.
He knew that Lu Huai was usually the most gentle and polite.
But such a noble young man who values etiquette and knows when to advance and retreat actually allowed others to break the rules he has always respected and do such an intimate thing. How could this not give him an almost overwhelming sense of threat?
Shen Chensheng glanced at him secretly, revealing half of her stunning profile. Except for a look that had a bit of hypocritical and particularly annoying pitifulness in her expression, unlike the cold and snowy lotus in the painting, the rest of her expression was exactly the same as the woman in Lu Huai's painting of beauty.
He would recognize her even if she turned into ashes. She was the fickle third daughter of the Duke's Mansion who was wavering between Lu Huai and Pei Yu. She was also the heroine who had recently been active in the storybooks and had generated countless income for the teahouse.
Cheng Ruochen felt his blood stagnating. How could he compare to this woman? He was willing to lower himself and do anything for Lu Huai, but Lu Huai would never let him kiss him so intimately, nor would he stay there lovingly to let him hold him, simply because he was a man he could never have any desire for.
Lu Huai even developed some feelings for Shen San. Who knows, this person might really enter the Lu Mansion he had dreamed of, and become the mistress, and become a perfect couple with Lu Huai, and then have many children and grandchildren.
He felt that his boasting in front of the ministers, as if he and Lu Huai were very familiar with each other, even to the point of wearing the same pants, was ridiculous. He thought that the prey he wanted would wait for him to capture and devour, but before he could make a few moves, it was snatched away by other greedy wolves.
She was still rejoicing that as a chained dog, she was finally accepted and put to use by Lu Huai. She even dreamed that she could replace the position of "mistress" and become Lu Huai's solid backing. However, she didn't expect that it was all wishful thinking and a pipe dream.
The real "mistress" should take it for granted that she is being cared for by her master who has to work hard on stage and has time to spare.
It really looks like a watchdog standing guard for the master and mistress... But how can he be willing to accept this?
What if he told Lu Huai that he could satisfy him? He could also be like the woman he loved, nourishing Lu Huai with tenderness, love, and even his life, sacrificing himself over and over again.
He even had some meager talent. As long as Lu Huai wanted, he could grind ink for him, write for him, and create countless paintings of beauties for him that were better than the ones at the Qionghua Banquet.
But he shook his head in his heart, thinking that if he said it directly, Lu Huai would definitely not give him a chance, but would only treat him as a friend who had gone astray, and would consciously distance himself from him from then on, leaving him no hope.
But what if he just covered her? He personally covered every part of his body that was marked by the woman, inch by inch, and then domineeringly and tenderly engraved his own mark. Would that change everything and make the clueless Lu Huai understand that it wasn't just her, he could do it too.
Cheng Ruochen stepped forward, his heart clamoring that he wanted to commit rebellion, to capture cities and occupy territories at will, but reason prevailed.
This was a kind of "awakening" that was almost fanatical. He seemed to have locked himself up again in the closed cage where he was bullied and thrown like a dog in his youth. The only difference was that before, it was the bad guys who poured basin after basin of cold water on him to wake him up, but now the person pouring water became himself.
How could he, who is so despicable and dirty, be worthy of dreaming of getting the bright moon? How could he be worthy and dare to drool greedily like a hyena in front of the bright moon?
As long as the gods don't let him wander around anymore, he can be a guard dog...
He can be good.
Finally, with a bit of awkwardness and effortlessness, she resumed her usual warm attitude towards Lu Huaishi: "Yan Jin, I saw you leave in a hurry just now, and I was a little worried. I asked the maid and found out that you were in the side hall. She refused to reveal anything else. I was afraid that something had happened, so I came to check."
"But why are you hiding here? And you are acting like this with Miss Shen..."
He controlled the scale very precisely, did not say anything too in-depth, and also explained his purpose clearly.
Lu Huai, who had just recovered from his shock, consciously distanced himself from Shen Chensheng, then lowered his eyes to look at his current disheveled appearance, walked out of the closet, and smiled apologetically at him.
"Huai is rude. He not only offended Third Miss Shen, but also polluted Xuan Ning's eyes. This is really wrong."
Lu Huai was not particularly polite. He knew that Bai Qiming must have discovered the unconscious Bai Qiming and had no ill will towards him and Shen San, so he went straight to the point and explained the current situation to Cheng Ruochen.
Knowing that the ugly thing lying on the ground was not coming for his sweetheart, Cheng Ruochen temporarily put aside the thousand ways to make him hate the Northwest. But even if the woman the other party wanted to defile and humiliate was his rival in love, he still felt that this disgusting behavior was hateful and vicious.
The Bai family is a hypocritical and dirty place. Apart from that filthy money, it is full of scum.
“Yan Jin, do you have any suspects about the evil person who used such a vicious method to murder Miss Shen San?”
"I don't usually have any grudges against anyone, but if anyone could harbor such hatred towards me, it would most likely be my fourth sister, Chen Meng."
Cheng Ruochen wanted to ask Lu Huai, and after much difficulty, he managed to draw his attention away from Shen San and towards himself. However, before he could begin, Shen Chensheng unexpectedly took over. Shen Chensheng was neither humble nor overbearing, and unlike other young ladies, she didn't refer to herself as "concubine," which might be the source of her current Wuchen reputation.
Although he was unhappy and disliked the enchantress who had seduced Lu Huai, the matter was of great importance. Just as he was about to ask her if there was any evidence to support the claim, he heard Chen Chensheng analyze the matter in detail and concisely list several pieces of evidence.
The fact that Shen Meng had just abnormally poured wine on her and led her to the side hall, and that the palace maid who had served Shen Meng before the meeting, as well as his previous grievances with her, were all strong evidence. Even Pei Yu, who made Lu Huai tremble at heart when he heard it, was brought up as a point of contradiction and conflict.
The evidence was organized so smoothly that if Cheng Ruochen was not a love rival, he would think that this woman was meticulous and intelligent, and he would admire her to some extent.
But when he turned around and saw Lu Huaiyi looking at Shen San with admiration, and Shen San responding to him affectionately, with a hook in her beautiful eyes, he wanted to completely overturn his previous slight respect for her.
Shen San, the demon, is so hateful!
If Cheng Ruochen could recognize Chen Chensheng, why couldn't Chen Chensheng recognize him?
Wasn't it that woman who used Lu Huai in her poems and paintings at the Qionghua Banquet, so bold that even he was shocked to realize that he, as a man, was also someone who could have feelings for other men and coveted Lu Huai, and was said to have been a top scholar in the same class as Lu Huai. Why did she seem to be on good terms with Lu Huai now?
At that time, Chen Chensheng had no intention of taking Lu Huai for himself. He just felt that the top scholar was a lofty figure and his gentlemanly demeanor was admirable. Only his affection for him made her heart flutter and she felt a little moved.
But now is different from the past. Since Lu Huai has agreed to marry him and let this cold snake cling to him, there is no way he will give up this big tree where he lives.
If Cheng Ruochen was not needed to escape now, Shen Chensheng was secretly thinking in his heart that he really wanted to use some means to get rid of this annoying thing.
Did he really not know that Cheng Ruochen wanted to use this opportunity to help Lu Huai and him escape to further narrow the distance between them? Shen Chensheng saw it more clearly than anyone else, and also saw through his true nature: he was just a vicious dog in the sheep's clothing of a "brother" trying to get close to Lu Huai.
Since that was the case, he insisted that Cheng Ruochen open his eyes and see clearly that tools were always just tools. Even if the master valued them and spoiled them, it was okay for him to overstep his bounds.
Lu Huai could feel the tense atmosphere between the two of them, but he was intent on solving the problem and didn't want to dig deeper. His intuition told him that this was also a troublesome matter.
Because Cheng Ruochen removed the unbearable parts and intended to share his life story which was considered to be somewhat interesting with Lu Huai, Lu Huai had previously discovered in Chongzhou that Cheng Ruochen had traveled a lot in his youth and, unlike ordinary scholars, had some knowledge of medicine and martial arts.
Lu Huai asked him to investigate Bai Xianming's acupoints to see the current situation, and if possible, he would wake him up.
The person who tied the bell must untie it. If you want the real instigator to suffer the consequences, you must let them bite each other first and reveal the truth.
"There's nothing wrong with his skull, he just lost some blood due to external trauma. Because of his own deficiency of vital energy, it's difficult for him to heal on his own, so he hasn't woken up yet." After taking his pulse, Cheng Ruochen stopped the bleeding and simply pressed another acupoint on Bai Xianming's body to stimulate him to wake up.
Seeing that the "resident" on the ground finally responded by blinking his eyelids, Lu Huai asked Chen Chensheng to go to the back first, and together with Tanhua, he looked at him oppressively until he woke up. The two gazes were like thorns in his back, which frightened Master Bai, who was already guilty and thought they were high-ranking officials who came to arrest him. As soon as he opened his eyes, he began to beg for mercy.
Lu Huai's kind words were like a series of traps, luring Bai Xianming to tell the whole story; even if he tried to escape with a stubborn mouth, Cheng Ruochen, with a smile on his face, would use his Qi to smash the jade crown he was wearing into powder, forcing him to tell the truth.
Fortunately, everyone thought that Bai Xianming's mental retardation was just a misunderstanding. Although he did not seem to have any intellectual disability, he was indeed spineless and could not plan. He would panic when pressed and questioned.
Not only did he sell out his accomplice Shen Meng, he even revealed that the person who instructed him to communicate with Shen Meng was the young marquis of Linyang Marquisate, the young master who had made public the fact that Shen San had a bad temper and was arrogant and willful.
It is really a peach blossom debt.
The author has something to say:
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Small Theater:
Tanhua: (heartbroken) I can be good, but please don’t be so explosive next time QWQ [pitifully grabs Lu Huai’s sleeve]
Small World Version Lu Huai: (Unbearable + Embarrassed)
Chen San: (curling his lips) Why not? [He pulls her away with a smug look on his face, then takes Lu Huai's hand and interlocks their fingers]
Lu Huai himself: (with a cold face, actually not really wanting to get close to him)
Ladies, I've reviewed the outline again today! Let's get ready to get more and more energetic with Jiang Jiang~
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