After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a sound came from the doorway. Wan Niang thought it was Gu Lang returning and quickly covered her mouth, afraid that someone might hear her breathing. However, it was only the beaded curtain at the door being lifted. It was Bai Long.
Bai Long had seen the young mistress enter, but in the blink of an eye, when she came back in, there was no one there. Maybe she had gone back. She thought this and didn't take it seriously. After all, they were husband and wife; how could she, a maid, gossip behind their backs? The young master didn't like others stepping into his quarters; even his personal maid was only her. Now the courtyard was empty, so Bai Long simply left a lamp lit and went about her own business, leaving the door unlatched.
Hearing the fading footsteps, Wan Niang breathed a sigh of relief. She lay prostrate under the bed, never having felt such agony. The incense in the censer burned, filling the room with a sweet scent; she felt hot and suffocated. Wan Niang prayed incessantly for her husband to return quickly, but she waited and waited until it was pitch dark outside, yet here it remained silent.
The girl hiding under the bed had a face red enough to drip, drenched in sweat, her collar loosened, wet hair clinging to her damp, clammy white neck. She couldn't help but poke her head out for air when she suddenly heard a very faint sound. Her face pressed against the floor, coated with dust, her eyes blurry, everything she saw had a hazy halo, only her ears could discern some sound. From outside came very light footsteps, followed by three soft knocks on the door. Each knock struck her heart.
She struggled to crawl out, like a drowning person grabbing a life-saving piece of driftwood. The beaded curtain was parted; she looked up, and in the dim light, she could only see a tall, slender silhouette. He was speaking, but she couldn't hear him now; she could only crawl over, grab the hem of his robe, and beg him to lower himself. Fragrant scent wafted, all around was silent, only gasps wove a net of passion strand by strand. The girl crawling out from under the bed was like a seductive ghost. No matter how he tried to refuse, he couldn't escape her entanglement.
"Are you Brother Gu's maidservant?" The response was a vague sob. The young man cupped her face, knowing this was wrong, but he couldn't let go no matter what. She bit her lip and burrowed into his arms. The man smelled the sweet fragrance around them, a blaze of heat rushing downward. He held out for only a moment before fiercely sucking on her mouth, while his other hand quietly tore open her clothes. Seeing her dressed indecently, the man held nothing back, naturally using all the techniques he had learned. The two rolled onto the bed, the covers tumbling like red waves, extremely intense.
When Gu Lanyin returned, the two were still out of their minds.
*
Outside Pine Wind Lodge, Cheng Bi was guarding the door. On the other side of the wall, Gu Lanyin listened to the sounds from inside, then kicked open his own door with a blank expression. The cloying sweet fragrance made him nauseous, not to mention the even stronger smell of sex inside. The man's clothes were scattered all over the floor, and the woman's clothes had even fallen onto his desk. Gu Lanyin looked up at his own bed. He couldn't tell if it was disappointment or anger.
The long saber in his hand had been drawn an inch from the scabbard; the blade scraped against the sheath, a sound cold and sharp. The slender man was completely unaware of the danger behind him. Hearing the man's screams, the girl, nearly unconscious, only felt a warm fluid spreading over her body, completely unaware that it was blood. She smelled the coppery scent, too dizzy to open her eyes, and could only fall asleep contentedly.
Inside the room, the candles were relit, and the bed curtains were let down again. The bright light illuminated the man's face, twisted nearly out of shape by pain. The sword-bearer now sat before him. Seeing him naked and tightly bound, Gu Lanyin poured a basin of cold salt water over him. The wounds on his back, stung by the cold water, made tears stream from his face.
"Chen Junqing, you really aren't afraid to die." Gu Lanyin gagged him. The handsome man whimpered, begging for mercy, but it was all in vain. Thinking how in his past life he had died by the word "lust," and now in this life he had repeated the same mistake, Gu Lanyin laughed in fury. He gripped the knife and patted the man's face. "Do you want to live or die?" Chen Junqing couldn't speak, only pleading with his eyes that he wanted to live! Gu Lanyin lowered his eyes, looking at the filthy thing, frowning. He poured some strong liquor over his saber and rinsed it repeatedly. Then, he raised the knife and swung it down!
In an instant, the man's scream was choked off. His face turned deathly pale, and he curled up on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. Two shriveled testicles dropped limply to the floor, and Gu Lanyin crushed them under his foot. Such humiliation made Chen Junqing's eyes redden with rage. When the gag was pulled out, he roared, "I just slept with a maidservant—I'll compensate you with one! Why do you have to harm me like this?!"
"Maidservant?" Gu Lanyin refrained from slapping him. He just gagged him again and stomped on his wound, grinding heavily. Chen Junqing was in agony, but it still didn't satisfy Gu Lanyin's hatred.
Gu Lanyin looked at the bed, smelled the nauseating stench, and called for Cheng Bi. Cheng Bi, a shrewd man, saw that the young master didn't speak, only returned the saber to its sheath, and instantly understood. He found a cloth, wrapped the man up, carried the unconscious Chen Junqing, and went out.
The blood on the floor had congealed and turned black. Gu Lanyin propped his head on his hand; after staring too long, his head felt like it was splitting. He panted, smashed the incense burner, yet scenes from his past life kept surfacing before his eyes. He suddenly yanked open the bed curtains, looked at Wan Niang's face, and for a moment thought she was He Ping'an. He grabbed her hair, wanting to drag her off the filthy bed and splash a basin of water over her to wake her, but when he saw her eyebrows clearly, he couldn't help retreating.
Gu Lanyin gritted his teeth and cleaned up the mess alone. In the spring night, occasionally there came the girl's murmurs from behind; each time he heard them, he hated her a little more. He hated that she didn't cherish herself, that she couldn't even tell men apart, that she was disobedient, that she was stupid! Hated that she... hated that she wasn't He Ping'an. Otherwise, he would have killed her tonight!
*
The lamps in Pine Wind Lodge burned all night.
The next day. Cheng Bi returned from outside; the one guarding the gate was Shan Ming. The two exchanged glances for a moment. Cheng Bi sensibly returned to his own room first, planning to wait until the young master's anger subsided before approaching him. But Bai Long, unaware of what had happened the night before, insisted on barging in. As the two were struggling, a strange maidservant's voice came from behind.
"Excuse me, elder sister, have you seen my young master? He didn't return home all last night. I heard he came to discuss some businesses on Mingfang Street with Master Gu. Did he perhaps stay overnight here?"
Bai Long turned around and, seeing that the girl was somewhat attractive, racked her brains to think if she had seen her before. Fortunately, Cheng Bi hadn't gone far; he heard the words and quickly turned back, greeting her. "Elder sister, are you Miss Jin Shuang, Chen Junqing's maidservant? We met a few days ago. What brings you here? Are you looking for your young master?"
Jin Shuang said in surprise, "It's you! Do you know where my young master is?"
Cheng Bi rolled his eyes, as if thinking, then slapped his forehead and said to her, "Young Master Chen dragged our young master to a pleasure boat to drink last night, but our young master just got married and didn't dare spend the night out, so he came back first."
Jin Shuang sighed upon hearing this. "I knew it would be like this. Do you know which boat?"
Cheng Bi thought of the water where he had disposed of the body the night before and deliberately gave her a wrong direction. Jin Shuang, unaware, kept thanking him profusely as she left. Cheng Bi watched her go and exchanged a glance with Shan Ming.
Bai Long, having worked with them for years, became suspicious. "You're hiding something from me!"
"Dear lady, why would we hide anything from you?" Cheng Bi told Shan Ming to stop her while he went to report. But Bai Long wouldn't allow it. As the few of them were arguing, Bao Niang also showed up.
"You three are like door gods, wrestling in broad daylight." She covered her mouth with a smile, glanced inside, and said, "Has the young mistress gotten up?"
"Did the young mistress sleep here last night?" Bai Long said as if hearing a joke. "She left! I saw her with my own eyes."
"Impossible. The young mistress didn't come home all night."
Neither maid could convince the other; both clamored to enter. Shan Ming looked at them, his head throbbing with two headaches. After finally managing to stop them, the young master came out from behind at some unknown time and patted his shoulder. "Go and rest. You worked hard last night."
The young man, who hadn't slept all night, looked a bit haggard from overwork. He looked at Bao Niang and smiled. "Go change the young mistress's clothes. She was tossing and turning all night and just fell asleep a short while ago."
As for Bai Long, Gu Lanyin sent her to the kitchen to watch the cook and stew some nourishing soup. He also told her to call for a doctor. It seemed that the two had consummated the marriage last night.
Bao Niang entered the room, feeling an indescribable emotion. Looking at the young girl sleeping soundly on the inner side of the bed, she carefully undid her undergarments. When she saw the bruises and kiss marks all over her body, her face darkened. Had she used all the drug last night?! Bao Niang slumped down, thinking that she should have just bought lotus root starch powder. Now that the young mistress and the young master had consummated, she looked at her mistress's belly, pressed on it, and saw there was still something. Suppressing her embarrassment, she wiped it clean for her.
Wan Niang slept until dusk. When she woke up, her whole body was sore and aching. The doctor prescribed a tonic for her. When Bai Long brought the medicine, she learned that she and Gu Lang had consummated their marriage last night. The young girl sat on the clean bed, wrapped in the quilt, her cheeks flushed. Scattered images of last night's tangle flashed through her mind. The more she thought, the more intense it became. Seeing Bao Niang folding clothes nearby, she quietly called her over. "Go... go ask the doctor to prescribe a miscarriage-prevention decoction."
Bao Niang was stunned. "Only one night—it's probably not that certain."
Wan Niang insisted, "Gu Lang is abstinent. We've been married for months, and this is the first time. Who knows when the next time will be?"
Bao Niang pressed her forehead. Seeing her mistress's firm demand, she had to agree.
Soon after she left, Wan Niang lay back down. She couldn't remember many things from last night clearly, but the pain on her body reminded her that Gu Lang must like her. Otherwise, why would he have been so forceful? She was still immersed in chaotic memories, not noticing that the young man standing at the doorway had been watching her for a long time. His eyes were unusually calm. The old ink on his clothes was like a patch of mold, gradually solidifying in the twilight. After a long while, Wan Niang finally noticed him.
"Gu Lang, why aren't you saying anything?"
Seeing Wan Niang smile contentedly, he also smiled slightly. Gu Lanyin sat beside her, looked at the messy marks on her body, and said amiably, "Does your body still hurt?"
"It hurts so much."
"Then drink the medicine. After drinking it, it won't hurt anymore."
Just then, Bao Niang entered with the medicine. Wan Niang didn't suspect anything and drank it down in one gulp, only thinking it tasted unusually bitter.
After nightfall, Wan Niang fell into a peaceful sleep. The evening breeze brushed the willows, the moon was bright, the flowers sparse. In the desolate, empty courtyard, a maidservant knelt at the bottom of the steps. Bao Niang's knees ached. She looked up, and the young master gave her a cool smile, telling her to keep kneeling. She didn't understand the young master's meaning. Clearly, he had also given her an abortifacient—why was he blaming her?
Gu Lanyin seemed to see through her thoughts and smiled. "Are you blaming me?"
"I am dull-witted."
"You are indeed dull-witted."
Bao Niang thought it was because of the bottle of drug and repeatedly admitted her fault. But the young master, to teach her a lesson, still punished her by making her kneel all night. Her legs were terribly sore and painful; for the next three days, she couldn't walk at all. Wan Niang didn't know the truth and thought she had fallen, so she kindly gave her a bottle of ointment for injuries. Seeing the young mistress's clueless demeanor, Bao Niang found it utterly ridiculous. If the young master really liked her, why would he sleep in separate rooms? Why would he give her an abortifacient after consummating?
Bao Niang said nothing.
After resting for a while, Wan Niang regained her strength. Gu Lang no longer forced her to do schoolwork. She thought that since they had consummated, once would lead to twice, but sometimes she couldn't see him all day, and even when they met, they barely exchanged a few words. People who didn't know thought the two were having a conflict. Wan Niang couldn't figure it out and gradually felt lonely. She asked Bao Niang to bring back some fun things to cheer her up, but she didn't expect Bao Niang to bring back some... blush-inducing items.
She was already in the spring of her emotions and couldn't withstand any temptation. Bao Niang looked at her flat belly and couldn't help but start coming up with bad ideas again. If it were before she had a man, the young mistress would have slapped her for suggesting such things. But now that she had tasted a man, she actually lowered her head, thought for a long time, and agreed. Wan Niang hugged the pillow in her arms, while another self in her heart was despising her current self. She hated this feeling of anxiety and insecurity. She had clearly married and consummated, yet she was always uneasy. Without a child, what if she were divorced in the future? She couldn't go back to her former home, and she couldn't leave this home now.
"This matter must be fully arranged."
"Also... don't bring anyone too ugly."
Bao Niang rolled her eyes inwardly, thinking that in the dark, who could tell? What a fuss! She still went out daily for supplies, keeping an eye out for men. But what ordinary man would dare? After thinking it over, a bold idea came to her. Maybe she could just sell the young mistress for a few nights. After all, the young master was about to go on a long journey.