Bao Niang hesitated. "This doesn't seem like something a proper lady of the house would do."
Wan Niang shot her a glare. "I've been married so long and he hasn't touched me. Do you have any other idea?"
Bao Niang cursed her incompetence in her heart, but sighed again. Finally, as if making up her mind, she leaned in and whispered a few words.
The two looked at each other. Bao Niang thought of the young master and her heart began to race. "I was just rambling. Miss, wait until tonight is over before you decide."
Wan Niang tugged her sleeve. "We've already gone all out. Let's finish the whole thing. You… quietly buy some and put it in the food."
There was no taking it back now. Bao Niang furrowed her brows and went out. The more she thought, the weaker her legs felt.
How would the young master punish her?
After mulling it over, she bought some lotus root starch powder to trick her mistress.
*
That evening, Gu Lanyin returned from the pawnshop.
In this life, he had his eye on a good location and opened another pawnshop in Xunyang. The past few days had been busy.
He came home under the slanting sun, and Wan Niang handed him a bowl of lotus root starch.
Nothing good comes from sudden favors. Gu Lanyin's eyes held a smile. The spoon in his hand clinked against the white porcelain bowl. "What's this? Trying to bribe me?"
Wan Niang's face was bright red; she clearly couldn't hide anything.
Gu Lanyin took a sip of the lotus root starch, then walked to her small study. When he saw the blank paper, he understood. "Ah, so you were slacking off today."
His smile faded. He pulled out his bamboo ruler and said coldly, "Rules must not be broken. Hold out your hand!"
In an instant, his expression changed, startling Wan Niang. "Gu Lang, I don't want to be your student anymore," she said weakly. "We are husband and wife."
She raised her head, on the verge of tears. "I had the kitchen prepare a table of dishes and bought some wine. It's almost time to eat—please don't hit me."
She looked truly pitiful.
Gu Lanyin remained unmoved. "Without rules, nothing can be done properly."
Wan Niang wiped her tears and held out her hand, but before his ruler could fall, she threw her arms around his waist.
Gu Lanyin was helpless. His gaze fell on Bao Niang. "Did Madam Qian come today and invite our young lady to watch the opera?"
"No wonder."
Gu Lanyin dragged her inside, still intent on striking her. When Wan Niang refused to hold out her hand, he smiled. "You dare to act but not to take responsibility?"
Wan Niang steeled herself and closed her eyes. She told Bao Niang to shut the door. "I don't want the maids to laugh at me."
Gu Lanyin knew she valued face. He readily agreed and sat in the official's chair, asking her what opera she had seen today and whether she had enjoyed it.
But Wan Niang stammered and hesitated, her mind clearly elsewhere.
Seeing Gu Lang's half-smile, her heart pounded with anxiety. She finally mustered the courage to undo her sash, but Gu Lang had already closed his eyes.
He rubbed his temples and said gently, "Who taught you this?"
Wan Niang said nothing. In the early spring chill, she hugged her bare arms and stood there helplessly.
Gu Lang's reaction was nothing like what Madam Qian had described. Fear seized her.
When Gu Lang drew near, she couldn't help backing away.
She kept retreating until she hit the wall.
"Who taught you?"
"Auntie."
Gu Lanyin draped the clothes over her. The girl's shoulders trembled slightly. He thought to let her off, but then remembered how foolish Wan Niang was. He sighed.
Gu Lanyin turned around. Behind him came the sound of her fleeing.
"Did I say you could leave?"
He had gone to pick up the bamboo ruler from the table.
Wan Niang pushed desperately at the door, but Bao Niang had locked it from outside. She watched Gu Lang approach step by step, and couldn't help bursting into loud sobs.
"I won't dare anymore…"
"Only pain makes you remember."
He took her hand. One blow of the ruler fell, followed by another, until she was nearly crying herself to death. Only then did he stop.
"Don't do this again."
His voice was very soft, like a feather brushing a wound, but it still pierced her heart with pain.
Wan Niang slid to the floor. After Gu Lang left, no matter how she thought, she couldn't understand why it had turned out this way.
She wiped her tears. When Bao Niang came in, she wept again. "The stuff you bought didn't work at all!"
He had looked so clear-headed—too clear, as if he were watching a joke.
"Where's the drug?"
Bao Niang sighed inwardly and handed her the powerful aphrodisiac she had bought. "I was afraid it could cause trouble. Didn't I always follow your orders?"
Tears hung on Wan Niang's lashes. She sat blankly for a long time, then calmly rose.
She went to Pine Wind Lodge. Gu Lang wasn't there—maybe he had gone to find Madam Qian. Wan Niang exchanged a few words with Bai Long with a smile, then went into the inner chamber.
A small gilded Boshan censer stood on the table, a thread of incense smoke curling up. She opened the small porcelain bottle of medicine and poured it all into the incense burner.
Having done this, Wan Niang's face didn't flush and her heart didn't race. With unprecedented calm, she hid under the bed.
She would wait for him to return.
Let him beat her to death if he wanted.