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Translation: marchmallow
A very familiar voice.
The other persons’s voice was a bit hoarse, so it hadn’t yet dawned on her who he was.
“You’re not Gou Qing?”
The other chuckled against her ear, the reek of wine from his breath brushing against her face.
“Looks like you’re not stupid yet.”
“Then, who are you?”
Her opponent’s coarse fingers wandered around her waist. Feng Sheng reached out her hand to block him, but the person caught her hand and pressed it against her back.
“Isn’t it too late in the night to think about this now? There’s someone listening outside. I told you just now, if you want to die, then scream.”
Feng Sheng finally recognized whose voice it was. It turned out to be Prince Wei’s.
“You’re His Highness Prince Wei?” Her whole body froze. Then, she eagerly pursued, “Why are you here? Why are you disguised as Gou Qing? Could it be that you……”
The rest of the words were stuck in her mouth.
Feng Sheng felt the whiff of alcohol suddenly rush into her nose in an instant, and her oral cavity and breath were all overwhelmed by the taste and smell of wine. She couldn’t resist at all. Before she knew it, he had already kissed her.
When she realized what was happening, she struggled with all her might, but her strength was too feeble to be a match for the other person. For the first time in her life, Feng Sheng became aware of the differences between a man and a woman, as well as the innate aggressive disposition of a man.
Her hairs stood on end, either as a warning of an encounter with the enemy, or as a subconscious reaction to the provocation. She felt like she was drowning. No matter how much she squirmed, she could only breathe to her utmost.
Feng Sheng heard the sound of her own gasp and a male voice.
“It has become a bit more interesting now.”
She snapped awake, a large amount of air assaulting her nasal cavity and lungs, so much so that a patch of faint yellow light fleeted in front of her eyes. It took another two breaths before she could see the other person clearly.
“You——”
If she had a knife in her hand right now, Feng Sheng would have slashed through him.
But then there was no time for her to react, as she was pinned against the bed.
“Angry?”
He gently stroked the soft flesh of her waist. He was obviously wearing Gou Qing’s face, but his demeanor was his usual languid loftiness.
Feng Sheng also did not speak. She silently pushed him until he grew annoyed. He used his old technique and clamped down on both her hands and pressed them under her body.
“As I said before, Bao da and Jin er suspect your identity, so there are people out there listening.”
“Listening to what?”
The expression on his eyes changed, as if she’d asked some stupid question.
“Gou Qing was outside for a long time and finally returned after all the trouble. A man and a woman alone together are like blazing fire and dry wood. What do you think will those people listen to?”
Feng Sheng’s face flushed crimson like never before.
“That Jin er has been coveting you. If you don’t want me to die and you to consequently fall into his hands, you should understand what to do.”
What should she do?
Feng Sheng mused over what he had just uttered twice: if you don’t want to die, then scream.
Scream what?
Never before had she been this embarrassed, and she felt as though her entire being was about to burst. Since the jar was already cracked, she strongly desired to just smash it to pieces and say that if she were to die, then she might as well just die.
However, she was truly reluctant to die. She hadn’t reversed her father’s verdict yet. That pedant Fan was so stupid that it was highly unlikely for him to singlehandedly tussle with those demons and monsters. Moreover, Liang Huai was Liang Huai, and reversing the verdict was another case. Although she deliberately planted seeds in his heart prior to their parting, it was still unknown whether this kind of seed would sprout, or wreck the friendship between teacher and student.
Since her father’s death, Feng Sheng had understood one truth.
If she wanted to do something, it was better to do it herself. She should expect nothing from others.
She recalled those prostitutes in her head. It wasn’t like she had never been to brothels before. She had even spent the night in one. This was why she could play the role of Yue Hong so convincingly.
Whether she was mistaken for Yue Hong or that she was acting as Yue Hong was different in the end. Before, it was just a layer of skin, but now——
“I can teach you if you can’t,” he suddenly offered.
When Feng Sheng stared at him, she felt that he looked rather peculiar, a type of ineffable peculiarity. It was as if he obviously was not supposed to have such an expression, but was compelled to act in such a manner.
It reminded her that he was passing himself off as Gou Qing. He must have had something glued to his face to disguise himself that way. At the same time, she studied his allusive eyes. His pupils were extremely dark, the center glowing with fire.
She subconsciously wanted to refuse. When the window suddenly rattled, her body abruptly stiffened.
Prince Wei naturally didn’t miss it. He immediately bent down, but Feng Sheng shoved him away. She took advantage of this and exerted all her strength until it became him on the bottom and her on top.
“Master Gou, don’t be so impatient.”
She gently lifted her fair hand and slowly placed it above his chest, meandering it back and forth. At the same time, her eyes drifted to the bed curtain, and her face clouded when she noticed that it was made out of muslin.
“You were suddenly gone for so long, and now you came back in a hurry to do that. What do you take me for?” She spoke very slowly while her thoughtful eyes gazed provocatively at Prince Wei.
Prince Wei’s face grew rigid, grasping her meaning.
Naturally, she couldn’t act in this drama all by herself, and he had to join in.
He leaned forward to sit up, wrapped his arms around her waist, and locked her firmly in his embrace, while his other hand gently caressed her face.
“Naturally, this master treats you like a darling.” This time, his voice changed.
Feng Sheng was amazed at this voice changing technique. However, she did not forget that there was some short-lived person outside, who had shifted from eavesdropping to peeking. The critical point was that they must not be exposed, so she could only feign ignorance. While her thoughts churned, she continued to act the play.
“Darling? Is this how Master treats his darling? Leaving me alone like this in this terrible place for such a long time, not even letting this one out the door?”
“This master is doing this for your own good. This place has several wolves and not enough meat. My Yue Hong looks so fresh . What should I do if someone steals you away?”
Feng Sheng couldn’t go on, as she found this kind of conversation too senseless and disgusting.
At that moment, a pair of large palms covered her waist and rubbed on it. She trembled and glared at him with wide eyes, meeting the other’s meaningful gaze, wanting to be annoyed but not daring to be annoyed. She could only smile coquettishly and reach out her hand to pull the bed curtain close.
“Master, wait. Wait, don’t be too hasty. I’ll pull the curtain up. How humiliating to be seen.”
*
“Go away, let this daddy see!” Jin er shouted under his breath, yanking the man crouched at the base of the window, spinning him away.
After the man sprung up, he still wanted to move forward to squeeze himself in.
Jin er turned around and glared at him. “Is it good?”
The man’s shameless face revealed an ambiguous and ingratiating smile. “Looks good. Indeed fragrant. This woman’s screams are really coquettish . No wonder the second boss always has her in his thoughts.”
A slap came down, almost breaking his neck. He rubbed his neck and tried to make his way up, but he couldn’t occupy the best spot, so he could only burrow a hole under Jin er and continue to look inside.
The bed curtain actually obscured what was inside, but because the curtain was so thin, against the light from within, the silhouette of the people inside was faintly discernible.
The silhouette and the sounds of ecstasy were enough for two people to conjure various thoughts in their brains.
The more Jin er watched, the more irritated he became.
The tactless minion even smacked his lips as he ogled, wearing a vulgar look across his whole face, and muttered, “Men can’t be judged by their looks. The third boss’s body doesn’t look that strong, but they’ve been at it for so long, ah……”
A slap landed on his head once again. This time, he was dragged away by the collar.
“What are you looking at? I’ll skin you if I get caught.”
The minion was aggrieved. “Wasn’t it Second Boss who told me to watch?”
Jin er glared at him. The minion had a look on his face and leaned in, saying, “Seems that this woman is really Yue Hong. The one beside that old castrated thing is a fake, and the third boss didn’t lie to you and the big boss. Second Boss, better let it go. Big Boss said it was just a woman. The gang now relies on the third boss, so it’s not a good idea to fall out with him. Although women are like clothes, it’s obvious that this piece of ‘cloth’ is well-liked. Perhaps second boss has to yield at this moment, only that second boss is unwilling. We might as well wait and see until a good opportunity comes.”
“This daddy doesn’t want to endure for one more day!”
After landing another slap on the back of his head, Jin er sped away in large strides.
The minion sighed and followed.
*
For an entire day, Feng Sheng couldn’t even dare meet Prince Wei’s meaningful eyes.
During this period, he had twice gone out and returned. She lay on her bed and pretended to be dead, not eating even when she was told to and persisting this way until the evening.
“You really won’t eat?”
Without waiting for her answer, he quickly and effortlessly used his clothes to haphazardly wrap around her, carried her off the bed, and installed her in front of the table.
Looking at this face, Feng Sheng pondered in a daze that he really wasn’t Gou Qing. Had he been Gou Qing, she estimated that they would have been in the middle of showing off their wits right this moment.
To be like this truly wasn’t a good sight, especially when there were still servants in the room setting food on the table. Feng Sheng dawdled as she clad herself in her cotton-padded clothes. Her feet were bare, but she did not dare to order him to put her shoes on for her. Moreover, wearing shoes on her own didn’t seem to be in line with ‘Yue Hong”s personality, so she kept her feet bare. Once everyone was gone, she attempted to graze her bare feet on the ground.
Truly icy.
He held her down before she could prop herself up.
He went and grabbed the thin-soled embroidered shoes and tossed them at her feet. Without paying her much heed, he settled himself back in his seat and picked up his chopsticks to start eating.
Feng Sheng didn’t expect him to act like so, feeling a little embarrassed. She lowered her head to noiselessly don on her shoes.
“Do you know what people outside will say about you if you’re like this?”
She had just straightened up her waist, with her chin near the edge of the table while still in the middle of wearing her shoes. Hearing such a sentence, she forgot to grab the other shoe.
She blinked, looking completely different from her usual self.
“What?”
When he saw her like this, his interest was piqued. He smirked and said, “You guess.”
Just looking at his strange eyes, a scene flashed in Feng Sheng’s mind like a spark of lightning.
It was a long time ago, when she and Fan Jin Chuan had just arrived at the Taizhou county yamen. In order to get along with those yamen runners, she drank together with them.
When the men drank, they inevitably told obscene jokes, and she had listened to a lot of indecent words.
Such as——
“Made that woman unable to get out of bed for two days.”
Feng Sheng’s entire face burst into a red color, her brain going blank.
When she saw Prince Wei’s suggestive expression and the embroidered shoe in his hand, only then did she realize what she herself had done.
“You, you! Stinky! Shameless!”
Prince Wei was furiously laughing.
He stopped eating, abandoned his chopsticks and her shoe, and sauntered over to hoist her back to the bed.
“What are you doing?” Feng Sheng yelled in a whisper, struggling greatly.
“Didn’t you say I was stinky and shameless?”
“You, you go away ah.”
In a position similar to yesterday’s, Feng Sheng’s hands were once again pinned underneath her body.
“If you want to die, just scream.”
These were clearly similar to yesterday’s words, but the meaning had completely changed.
“Wait wait wait, I’m hungry.” Seeing that he had finally stopped moving, she moistened her lips and whispered, “Your Highness, a great man rarely stoops to pettiness or harbors grievance for past wrongs. Don’t bother with this little woman who has eyes but doesn’t recognize gold inlaid with jade.”1
Prince Wei peered at her, his vision cruising to her fair face and florid lips. Remembering yesterday’s scene, his eyes could not help but deepen. When he perceived her hard to come by tenderness, his heart softened.
He snorted, released his hand, and stood up straight.
Feng Sheng hurriedly grabbed the bedpost to steady herself and climbed down, then conscientiously ambled to the table to sit down and partake her meal.
An awkward atmosphere hung over them all the while.
After the meal, it had gone freezing cold and there was nowhere else to go, so he could only continue to cloister in this room.
With half-closed eyes, Prince Wei reclined on the luohan bed with a cup of tea in his hand. His posture seemed relaxed and casual, but it hinted a taut readiness to go.
Feng Sheng hesitated over and over before probing, “Why is Your Highness here? Where is Gou Qing?”
Prince Wei didn’t answer.
“Your Highness has a valuable identity. Why did you come here dressed like this? Did you capture Gou Qing? So, Your Highness is dressed up like this to… what’s in this place……”
Feng Sheng couldn’t go on.
Even if Prince Wei charged in to attack with his soldiers, she wouldn’t be too surprised, but him being here like this was exactly what surprised her. He was alone, dressed as Gou Qing to prowl deep into the tiger’s den. Plotting great things under such circumstances was impossible, but it also wasn’t impossible. It was just that as a person of his status, there was really no great event worthy enough for him to endeavor to this extent.
So, it was self-evident what he was after.
What information did he sniff out that he risked his life to come here and scour for her?
Prince Wei suddenly rose to his feet and strode out.
Feng Sheng thought he would be back after a while, but he didn’t return, and she had no idea where he had gone.
She paced back and forth in the room and ate her meal, but the more she trotted, the more agitated she grew. She trudged towards the bed, flumped down on top of it, and covered her eyes.
1 有眼不识金镶玉: lit. to have eyes but don’t recognize gold inlaid with jade; fig. to fail to recognize precious things or outstanding people