For the next few days, Zhu Gaozhuo went to Xunfang Pavilion every day to make merry, and the time he stayed there gradually increased. Today, he unknowingly stayed for four hours, and he slept with his young mistress until late at night before suddenly waking up.
After leaving Feng Wan's room, Zhu Gaozhuo stood on the corridor for a moment, stunned.
At first, he did indeed only intend to humiliate Wei Shuwan, which is why he had Feng Wan impersonate her and submit to his desires. But it wasn't until he embraced Feng Wan and couldn't help but call out "Wan'er" that he realized he was not attached to a body, but to that fake face.
He wasn't just trying to humiliate her; he was truly addicted to it and couldn't extricate himself...
"Second Young Master?" Xiao Liu called out softly when he noticed that his expression was not quite right.
Zhu Gaozhuo gasped, seemingly lost in some kind of melancholy, and muttered to himself, "Could I have actually gone all out with her...?"
Xiao Liu assumed his master was asking him, and quickly replied, "She's just a substitute for venting anger, and besides, she's a prostitute. How could the Second Young Master possibly take a liking to her?"
Zhu Gaozhuo snapped out of his daze and glared at him: "Of course I'm referring to the real me!"
Xiao Liu stared wide-eyed in astonishment, "Second Young Master, you mean... you've taken a fancy to that young lady from the Wei family?"
"So what if he does?" Zhu Gaozhuo wiped his mouth with his thumb, looking greedy. "Can't I snatch the woman that Li Qingchen has his eye on?"
"Oh, my second young master~ Although that Lady Wei isn't from a particularly high social class, she's still a pampered young lady from the wealthiest family in Jiangzuo. She's not someone you can just sleep with for a few dozen taels of silver~"
Zhu Gaozhuo raised his hand and slapped him on the head: "Who told you that I'm just sleeping around and playing with her? I'm going to bring her into the house as a concubine!"
"Yes, I'll tell Mother tomorrow morning to send a betrothal gift to the Wei family with the proper etiquette for a concubine! I'll be welcoming her into the family next month!"
Having made up his mind in a hurry, Zhu Gaozhuo instantly regained his energy and sang out of Xunfang Pavilion with his head held high and chest out.
Behind that door, Feng Wan slowly withdrew. She had heard the conversation outside very clearly, even with her ear pressed against the door.
Counterfeit...
Yes, she can only be a fake.
She frantically tore off the mask from her face and collapsed to the ground, weeping uncontrollably.
As she cried, Feng Wan finally noticed something amiss, and her gaze fell upon an extra shadow on the ground...
She looked up in alarm, seeing a tall man who had appeared out of nowhere. He was dressed in black and masked, clearly up to no good! She scrambled to her feet, trying to escape, but the man was much faster. He instantly moved to the door, blocking her way, and stared straight at her with eyes devoid of any emotion.
Feng Wan swallowed hard. "Hero, spare my life... Do you want money, or... or sex? I... I'll do either, please don't kill me!"
"Don't worry, Miss Fengwan, I have no interest in your wealth or beauty, and I certainly don't want your life."
"What...what does that hero want to do?"
"I want you to steal something from Zhu Gaozhuo."
"What?"
"Anything is fine, as long as it's something close to the body."
After saying that, the man in black threw a whole bag of silver onto the table and stuck a dagger into the other end of the table. "Will you do it or not?"
This clearly forces her to choose between two options.
Feng Wan had no choice but to nod repeatedly, then accepted the heavy bag of silver: "I'll steal it, I'll steal it, I'll steal it tomorrow..."
The man in black turned and flew away through the open window. Feng Wan collapsed to the ground again, this time unable to even cry, completely terrified.
The following evening, Zhu Gaozhuo came to Xunfang Pavilion as usual, but did not linger in the hall. Instead, he went straight upstairs to Feng Wan's room.
Feng Wan noticed that he wasn't as enthusiastic as usual today. When he offered her a wine glass, she dodged it, revealing a sense of distance and awkwardness. Zhu Gaozhuo, far from being annoyed, found it quite amusing.
The reason why courtesans are so easily tiresome is because they don't know how to be appropriately reserved. Their coy and affected manner today is quite interesting.
Zhu Gaozhuo then used brute force to pull her into his arms, pinching Feng Wan's delicate chin: "You've learned how to play hard to get after just one day apart?"
Having said that, he leaned down, intending to kiss those two moist, cherry-like lips. Feng Wan, however, pressed her hands firmly against his chest, "Wait..."
"What is it now?" Zhu Gaozhuo's tone revealed a hint of impatience.
"It's fun to pretend a little, but if you overdo it, you'll just be clueless about romance." He tapped Feng Wan's nose and warned her in a tone that was neither too strong nor too weak.
Seeing that his patience was running out, Feng Wan curled her lips into a charming smile, and the hand that was resting on his chest gently wrapped around the hand that was pinching her chin: "I just thought your jade ring was too hard and cold, and it hurt me yesterday~"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaozhuo smiled, took off the thumb ring, placed it on the table, hooked his arm around Feng Wan's slender back and the back of her legs, and lifted her up horizontally, saying, "Tell me properly where it hurts, and I'll rub it for you~" as he walked into the tent.
Feng Wan climbed her arms around Zhu Gaozhuo's neck, her gaze sweeping over his shoulder and landing on the white jade thumb ring.
Half an hour later, Feng Wan got up to call for water and personally wiped Zhu Gaozhuo's body. While he wasn't paying attention, she picked up the jade thumb ring from the table and buried it in the pot of pansies in the corner of the window, gently brushing the soil off with her fingertip without leaving a trace.
After Zhu Gaozhuo got off the bed and dressed, he went to look for his ring but found it was gone. Feng Wan then called in the maid who had brought him water earlier, and insisted that she had stolen it. She then slapped Zhu Gaozhuo and searched her body in front of him.
Although Zhu Gaozhuo was heartbroken over his ancestral thumb ring, seeing how heavily Feng Wan had attacked, he surprisingly felt a pang of pity for the somewhat pretty young girl. Furthermore, since Feng Wan had almost torn the girl's clothes to shreds without the thumb ring falling out, Zhu Gaozhuo decided to let it go, considering it a reward.
Feng Wan saw Zhu Gaozhu off, then turned around and took out a few pieces of silver to give to the little girl to calm her nerves.
He then dug the thumb ring out of the flower mud, wiped it clean with a handkerchief, wrapped it up, and hurriedly left Xunfang Pavilion through the back door.
She knocked on the door at the address left by the man in black that day, and a servant led her into a courtyard that looked somewhat deserted. She saw two rows of men in black standing on either side of a grand chair, all of them of similar height and all masked. She was momentarily confused and couldn't recognize which one had come to her door that day.
"Who...who is this for?" She shakily pulled the handkerchief from her sleeve pocket and aimlessly stretched out her arm to hand it over.
A man in black walked towards her, lifted the handkerchief to take a look, and then returned to report to the man on the armchair. The ring and handkerchief remained in Feng Wan's hands; he did not take them.
The man on the armchair was impeccably dressed and had a commanding presence, but he wore a terrifying ghost head mask.
Looking at this strange group of people, Feng Wan was filled with extreme fear. "I...I brought the things as instructed. I...I'll be going now..."
As she spoke, she crouched down, placed the handkerchief and thumb ring on the ground, and turned to leave. At that moment, a deep voice sounded behind her:
"Put this ring on your finger, dress up as the person I want you to be, and do me another favor."
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