Chapter 52 My affair with Lord Xiao: I'm romantic, but not insane! ...
The architectural planning of the capital city of the imperial capital emphasizes strict symmetry, with the inner city, outer city, and imperial city connected by a central axis. Feng Tan's rented place is in Yongshou Ward, located at the intersection of the inner and outer cities. There are hundreds of officials in the imperial capital, but not many of them live here, since this place can be considered a semi-slum.
The alley was pitch black. Zhu Qi carried a lantern ahead, its warm yellow light illuminating the bumpy dirt road. Feng Tan pushed open the door, led Xiao Yinshi to sit down, and said, "Please sit for a moment, sir. I'll go make medicine."
Zhu Qi stood guard at the door. Upon hearing this, he glared at Feng Tan. This kid was really clever. He was afraid that the adults would take away the antidote for the forty-nine days, so he showed up like this to give it to them.
The candlelight was dim. Xiao Yinshi looked up and surveyed the small house. The furnishings were simple and rustic, with no valuable items, but it didn't exude any poverty.
Feng Tan was efficient at making medicine; she returned in less than a quarter of an hour. She placed the brewed medicine on the wooden table and said, "Please enjoy, sir."
The freshly brewed medicine was too hot to drink. Xiao Yinshi stirred it a couple of times with a spoon and said with a half-smile, "I heard that a few days ago, Lord Feng debated with a group of scholars at the Dali Temple, forcing the Dali Temple Minister to request an imperial decree to rewrite the Dahuang Criminal Code in conjunction with the Six Ministries. What a display of power."
Having dealt with Xiao Yinshi for so long, she had come to understand his temperament. He wouldn't come to the Three Treasures Hall without a reason, and he must have something to say to her tonight. Feng Tan picked up where he left off, saying, "This humble official is just carrying out orders and acting in accordance with the law. Lord Xiao is sharp-witted and should know that this humble official has been tripped up by Gao Yu and has not even been to the Ministry of Justice's duty room. Where does this prestige come from?"
The peach blossoms were glistening and radiant, and the young man's eyes were filled with the starlight and moonlight. Xiao Yinshi looked at the beauty under the lamplight, and his heart fluttered. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he said, "Lord Feng, has anyone ever said that you look somewhat like Princess Yongle?"
The topic shifted so quickly, Feng Tan chuckled and said, "Princess's beauty is beyond my comprehension."
In fact, the two of them look very similar. If it weren't for their completely different temperaments, it would be easy to mistake them for twins.
Xiao Yinshi's profile was cold and hard, his handsome face expressionless. He seemed to have mentioned it casually, then steered the conversation back to the main topic, "Feng Tan, you've made a big fuss about the princess's death, forcing the Six Ministries to jointly amend the law. What is your purpose?"
Feng Tan said, "Since you are so clever, why don't you guess for yourself?"
Xiao Yinshi's thin lips curled into a cold smile. He knew what this wolf cub was up to. "You came to the capital for Feng Youming, and now you're going to all this trouble for her too. The female calamity case violates the current laws of Dahuang regarding the injustice and unfairness of the gender system, so you must amend the law."
Feng Tan felt a chill run down his spine. He had guessed everything, but Xiao Yinshi's voice continued, tinged with a cold sarcasm, "But have you ever considered that since Feng Youming failed to change the law back then, do you think you can shake the foundation of the entire Dahuang with just a concubine's princess? You should know that as long as men are involved in legislation, there will never be any fairness."
There will never be any fairness as long as men are involved in legislation.
The gentleman once said the same thing.
A bolt of lightning suddenly streaked across the sky, illuminating the dimly lit room for a fleeting moment.
“You’re right, sir. Every law in the Dahuang Penal Code is written from a male perspective. So it reflects the privileges of men and the oppression of women, which is why it’s unjust.” Feng Tan looked at his handsome face, her clear eyes unaffected by Xiao Yinshi’s belittling. “For example, in the section on marriage law, in the first year of Chongming, a rouge merchant killed his wife and was sentenced to five years in prison. After five years, he was released and married a second wife. In another argument, he beat his new wife, who accidentally killed him. However, he was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to death in the autumn. The reason given was that a woman is too weak to kill a man; it must have been premeditated.”
Another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a thunderclap. Xiao Yinshi drank the medicine in one gulp, his hawk-like eyes fixed on Feng Tan, his voice deep and cold, "So compared to Feng Youming's reforms last time, you are even smarter. You extricated yourself from the court and let the officials of the court reform the laws. Not only that, you have an even more ingenious trick up your sleeve: you want to incite public anger."
As the rain poured down, Feng Tan's eyes narrowed. Xiao Yinshi slowly stood up and leaned closer to Feng Tan. "Recently, a mysterious customer has ordered a total of a thousand catties of Xuan paper from Guangyuanfang, Xingminfang, and Fulaifang. At the same time, someone has bought a large number of printing plates from the printing workshop. The spies from the four branches of the Northern Garrison discovered that the silver used in the transaction was horseshoe-shaped silver, which is from the same batch of silver transported back from the Linzhang sea area by large ships."
Rain poured down, washing the ground. Inside, the candlelight flickered. The tall, leaning figure drew ever closer, a taut string about to snap in the air. Xiao Yinshi's ruthless voice rang out again, "Throw countless complaints into the public, pushing this matter to its climax. When public outrage rises, regardless of the various factions' opinions, several laws must be genuinely amended. If the laws change, then the wrongful conviction will be exposed, and the case of the woman who caused the disaster will have to be retried and re-examined. Lord Feng has embezzled from his post, playing a clever game of escaping punishment."
A thunderclap boomed in the sky. It was the Mid-Autumn Festival of the seventeenth year of Chongming. The full moon had already passed, and only the rumbling thunder could be heard in the latter half of the night. Lightning struck again, illuminating everything in Feng Tan's small courtyard. It was unknown when, but three squads of Imperial Guards had been arrayed in the courtyard.
The red flying fish robes were magnificent and imposing. They held embroidered spring knives, their blades gleaming coldly. Wei Shengxian turned around indifferently, his fingers tapping the hilt of his knife, ready to strike.
Feng Tan's face turned deathly pale. She knew that her secret had been exposed and she had no way to refute it. Looking at Xiao Yin, who was standing upright with his hands behind his back, her lips trembled slightly as she asked, "Is your purpose in coming here to arrest me, sir?"
A peach blossom wreath was placed on the boy's head. The thin light covered Feng Tan's cold and fearful face, making her face and the peach blossoms appear even more beautiful. She was truly a woman of exceptional beauty, far beyond mere physical appearance. Everything about her was contained in the charm that emanated from within. She was as pure as an ascetic priest on a snow-capped mountain.
Xiao Yinshi knew that beneath this superior appearance lay a rebellious soul. Feng Tan committed murder yet harbored compassion; was he a righteous gentleman? He was ruthless in killing those who deserved to die or be beaten, like Gao Yu and Gao Zhizhen; was he a despicable villain? He used his official position to steal precious silver, all to save an old friend's life.
He acts without any rhyme or reason, following his own will. He is both righteous and wicked, and he sees the ways of the world clearly, yet he remains unruly and wild, like a lawless little wolf cub, but he also harbors fear.
For example, now that the scheme has been discovered, the boy's eyes trembled violently, but Xiao Yinshi knew that Feng Tan was gentle on the outside but tough on the inside, and had a stubborn nature that wouldn't give up until he hit a wall.
Xiao Yinshi replied calmly, "Wei Shengxian, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, notified me after discovering this matter. I am here tonight to interrogate you, not to arrest you. If you can use your eloquence to clear your name, the matter of embezzling national treasury funds to purchase Xuan paper for printing will naturally not fall on your shoulders."
The torrential rain, mixed with lightning and thunder, filled the dark night. The crashing sound drowned out the sounds of their conversation inside the room, but Feng Tan was still worried. He walked to the door, exchanged a glance with Wei Shengxian, and slammed the door shut.
The rain subsided a bit, and Feng Tan sat back down at the table. She poured herself a cup of tea, gulped it down, and her throat, which had been sore from holding it in, finally felt better. She looked at Xiao Yinshi's calm face and said after a moment of silence, "Since you detained the Embroidered Uniform Guards but didn't let them report directly to His Majesty, instead interrogating me yourself first, it means there's room for discussion."
Xiao Yinshi remained silent. Feng Tan looked into Xiao Yinshi's eyes and asked, "What does Your Excellency want from me?"
The man's gaze fell on Feng Tan, his caresses becoming aggressive. The body he had so easily violated during their nights stood before him, and as he looked at her smooth, white neck, his desire was written all over his face.
The taut string in the humid air snapped. Xiao Yinshi tossed the person onto the bed with a large hand, then followed him onto the bed. He pressed close to Feng Tan's nose, his breath cool and clear, "What I want, Lord Feng has always known."
With his hands gripping the wrists of the person beneath him, his strong body pressed down on the soft flesh, Xiao Yinshi's eyes burned with a fierce, dark fire that had raged ever since the day the boy's lips and tongue invaded him, burning until tonight, making his lungs ache. In this soaked night, Xiao Yinshi wanted to drench the person in his arms.
So when Wei Shengxian reported this matter this morning, he used his authority to suppress it, determined to resolve his increasingly swollen desire. As the saying goes, once you've tasted the marrow, you'll crave more; he had never experienced sex, so he longed for it day and night. He couldn't waste any more time on this person. Since returning from the Linzhang sea area, his remaining sexual desire had changed, mixed with vague and unclear emotions—not profound, but not negligible either.
He looked at the pale face and slightly panicked eyes of the person beneath him, a ruthless glint appearing in his eyes. Once something has been obtained, one will not be attached to it again; it is human nature.
Xiao Yinshi held Feng Tan's wrist with one hand and turned her chin with the other, then leaned down and kissed her. Not content with a light kiss on the lips, he forcefully forced her teeth open with his fingers, ruthlessly penetrating her lips.
The first two times, Feng Tan initiated the inappropriate kissing, but tonight it was Xiao Yinshi's willful act that made Feng Tan breathless. She was pinned to the pillow, her face turning red, while the tongues licking and intertwining between her lips became increasingly frenzied, almost reaching deep into her throat.
After Xiao Yinshi finally managed to leave, she was able to breathe heavily. The man's fingers untied his belt, and his thin lips touched her neck.
Feng Tan said urgently, "My lord, please hear me out!"
Xiao Yinshi breathed heavily against her neck, his hand gripping her wrist tightly, his dark eyes unwavering. "You've always been a womanizer, you're an expert in bed, why are you being coy with me?"
Feng Tan stared wide-eyed at the lines of his jaw and said, "Lord Xiao, I may be a womanizer, but I'm not insane! Are you suggesting I do business in the brothel like the male prostitutes?"
Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 19:32:04 on August 16, 2024 and 22:47:54!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: 45075635 (10 bottles); Little Sister is very thin (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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