Chapter 126:
Such questioning did not make Pei Yuqing feel embarrassed at all.
He looked around, sat down on his own, lowered his eyes to look at the melons, fruits, and tea snacks on the table, and said, “You invited me here today, what is the important matter? Why not speak directly.”
Lu Ziyan still stood by the window, with that aura of killing intent on him.
Gloomy and extremely dignified.
The two quietly confronted each other for a few breaths, both showing no change in expression.
Suddenly, Lu Ziyan moved. He walked a few steps to sit opposite Pei Yuqing, even proactively lifting his hand to pour wine for him.
“Actually, I admire you very much. Though you are not a general who charges into battle against the enemy, your abilities are no less than any regional governor at the border,” he set down the wine pot and said slowly, “If possible, I do not wish to be enemies with you, and doubtless you feel the same.”
Pei Yuqing’s eyes showed surprise, not expecting him to show goodwill toward him.
After all, in everyone’s view, Lu Ziyan’s bones were hard, just like his ever-present spear Blood Drinker, unyielding even if broken.
“You should know the inside story. There are all sorts of misunderstandings between Wanwan and me, which led to the current situation.”
Seeing him silent, Lu Ziyan’s eyes darkened, and he continued, “You are many years older than her, and your body is not well, so you actually do not match her. I do not care about that hasty marriage of yours…”
“Young Master Lu,” Pei Yuqing raised his hand to interrupt him, smiled, and said, “If you have something to say, why not speak plainly.”
“Then I will speak plainly.”
Though his words were cut off, Lu Ziyan was not angry, but looked at him and said, “No matter what you want, anything I have can be given to you. What I do not have, I will rob to give to you, as long as you return her to me.”
“This is neither a warning nor a threat. I am telling you truthfully, in this lifetime I cannot let go of her. If you are willing to let go, I will let bygones be bygones, accept your kindness. Otherwise…”
At this point, he paused, his tone softening.
“The world is vast, and there are so many beauties. As long as it is not Xie Wanning, pick whichever you like. Just say the word, and I will find whatever kind you want.”
As he spoke, Lu Ziyan clapped his palms, and the door was pushed open from outside.
More than a dozen graceful dancers filed in, their water sleeves dancing, clothes fluttering, skirts only a few layers of light gauze, rippling like water waves with their dance.
The young ladies’ warm fragrance permeated the room.
Their slender waists swayed gently, each one a woman in the prime of her beauty, with stunning features, like delicate lotuses frail against wind and frost, pure yet radiant.
On a midwinter day, even with charcoal fire burning in the room, these young ladies were still dressed too lightly.
But precisely this kind of lowly beauty could let a man’s destructive desires vent.
A wife should be cherished, the wife at home must be held in the palm and carefully protected, revered and respected.
The girl in one’s heart is even more not to be neglected in the slightest.
But toward these playthings for pleasure, you can use every humiliating method you can think of, and not only will they not be angry, they will kneel and thank you for the favor.
Some men with hidden illnesses, and the eunuchs in the imperial palace, without normal ways to vent, take pleasure in tormenting women. Lu Ziyan had heard plenty of such things.
He believed he had arranged everything meticulously, tailored to the symptoms in every aspect.
But Pei Yuqing only knew one part of his scheme, not the other. He sat straight-backed with legs crossed, his gaze slightly lowered, watching faintly.
Suddenly, his gaze froze, as if stunned.
The young lady surrounded by more than ten dancers had the light gauze covering her face slowly slip off, her lips curving into an arc, her eyes shimmering with laughter as she glanced this way.
In the not-so-bright light, this young lady was stunningly beautiful.
Pei Yuqing was dazed for a moment. In that instant, he thought he saw Xie Wanning.
Such a change was naturally all seen by Lu Ziyan, who had been paying attention to him.
Seeing him like this, Lu Ziyan’s hand tapping the table paused, and with one glance, he looked toward Chen Xi’er.
She immediately understood, knowing this was her last opportunity.
With light lotus steps, she gradually drew near, finally lightly waving her water sleeve across both men’s faces.
Utterly charming and enchanting in every way.
The instant the water sleeve swept over, Lu Ziyan frowned and instinctively wanted to dodge, but to avoid failing at the last step, he forcibly held back.
The sweet scented powder from the young lady fell on their faces, her waist softly drooping as her knees bent, “This slave Xi’er pays respects to the two lords.”
Even her voice was soft and seductive to the bone, enough to make one’s body go weak just listening.
Pei Yuqing lowered his eyelids and said nothing, letting the young lady softly kneel at his feet.
Seeing this, Lu Ziyan sneered inwardly.
Thinking that this old man relied on such a sanctimonious appearance to seduce his Wanwan, he hated so much his teeth nearly ground to bits.
He lowered his eyes and ordered, “Lift your face.”
Chen Xi’er raised her head as told, her delicate neck arching, delicately fragile as she said, “This slave wishes to follow by the lord’s side as servant or maid, begs the lord’s favor.”
She looked six parts similar to Xie Wanning, even her sweet smiling expression was extremely alike, yet so soft and lowly, to be treated as one pleased.
Pei Yuqing lifted his eyes to look at her for a while, silent for a few breaths before saying, “Where did you find her?”
“Do I even need to find them? In the entire Great Khan, however many you want like this, I can find them for you,” Lu Ziyan said, “You like younger ones, right? This one just came of age this year. Do you like her?”
“If you like her, she is yours,” he said almost sincerely, “You need not risk your life and fortune against me for one woman.”
As he spoke, he said to Chen Xi’er kneeling on the ground, “Why not toast Lord Pei a cup? From now on, he is your master.”
Chen Xi’er prided herself on having seen the world, but under the gaze of these two men, her heart still pounded.
Unlike her usual pretended shyness, her face was genuinely flushed from being looked at.
She only felt that the gaze of Lord Pei before her was profound, his aura even stronger than her father, that regional governor, appearing high in position and authority. Even a casual glance could suck away one’s soul.
Compared to being by that killing god’s side, it was indeed much better.
Her eyes filled with affection, she gently lifted her hand, picked up the wine cup from the table, offered it before him, and softly said, “Beg the lord to keep this slave.”
Such a beauty begging for pity, probably no man could resist.
But Pei Yuqing lowered his eyelids again, faintly saying, “I already have a beloved wife at home. Thank you for your kind intentions, Young Master Lu. Why not take her yourself.”
Instantly, the shyness on Chen Xi’er’s face vanished completely.
Her beauty was renowned throughout Qingzhou City. From childhood, wherever she visited, she heard nothing but words of praise.
Countless young masters had fallen under her skirt.
Her father valued her beauty and did not easily betroth her, only saying he would scheme a good marriage for her.
In the end, when she was truly offered up, she met setbacks one after another.
One by one, none of them took a fancy to her!
Lu Ziyan had already anticipated such a result and was not disappointed.
He just waved his hand, signaling Chen Xi’er to withdraw.
But she first threw herself onto Pei Yuqing’s knee, crying delicately, “Lord, save me. If you do not want me, all that awaits me is the path to death.”
Pei Yuqing gripped her shoulder and pushed her away, “Whether you live or die is none of my concern. Beg me not, but beg your master.”
Knowing this plan had failed, Lu Ziyan waved his hand, and Ming Feng covered her mouth and dragged her out.
“She is the daughter of Qingzhou Prefect Chen Wen. Her birth mother is a concubine’s daughter from Qu Cheng Marquis’s Estate, so she is Wanwan’s cousin. When in Qingzhou, her father offered her to me. I thought since you like younger ones, I would borrow flowers to offer Buddha.”
He smiled, “Since you do not want her, I can only return her by the original route.”
Returning her to the Chen Family by the original route, with such a father selling his daughter for glory, what good end could she have need not be said.
If it were only that, she might still have a life, but importantly, he had collected all the evidence of Chen Wen’s corruption and bribery, which was already laid before the imperial desk. Even Grand Secretary Chen might fall, let alone a Qingzhou Prefect.
“They all say Lord Pei is righteous and compassionate toward the poor and weak,” Lu Ziyan said, “If you cannot bear it, you can take her in. Even if you cannot perform, it can still provide some consolation.”
Even if you cannot perform…
Pei Yuqing’s calm expression instantly froze, and he lifted his eyes to look at him.
Lu Ziyan smiled, “This was personally told to me by Wanwan that day. It should not be wrong, right?”
Though he smiled, the provocation in his eyes was undisguised.
The two men confronted each other sharply, sparks flying.
After a long while, Lu Ziyan said, “I will not spread such a matter.”
Pei Yuqing curved his lips in a smile and said, “Do you think I would care?”
Lu Ziyan took it as the duck dead but mouth stiff, but in his heart, he also had some doubts about the matter.
He had invited him today originally to confirm it.
Thinking this, he took another wine cup, filled it, and raised it.
“Since I invited you today, let me toast you a cup.” With that, he smiled and drank the wine in the cup.
Pei Yuqing’s gaze flickered slightly as he lowered his eyelids to look at the wine on the table.
He made no move, and Lu Ziyan gave a cold smile, “Afraid I poisoned the wine?”
As he spoke, he picked up the wine cup and drank it himself.
Then he filled another cup for him.
He was determined to make him drink wine.
Pei Yuqing thought to himself, gripped the wine cup, and when he raised it to his lips, his breathing paused almost imperceptibly.
Immediately after, he drank it down without hesitation.
After drinking, he proactively filled both cups and smiled, “Fine wine is rare. Let me also toast you a cup, Young Master Lu.”
Such an action made Lu Ziyan’s gaze somewhat hesitant, but he saw nothing amiss.
After a few breaths of silence, he took the wine cup and drank it.
One drank three cups, the other two.
Lu Ziyan said, “Hatred of wife-snatching is irreconcilable. I am never soft on enemies. I hope Lord Pei will consider carefully whether you truly wish to be my enemy.”
With that, he stood up, “I have matters to attend to and will take my leave first. Someone here will attend to you.”
Not long after he left, another group of dancers came in.
Pei Yuqing no longer sat with his back straight as before, but appeared drunk, slumping over the table edge, propping his jaw with one hand, as if appreciating the song and dance.
In the next room, Ming Jian entered and said, “Everything looks normal. The Warm Affection Powder has not taken effect… After you left, he kept drinking and seems to have gotten drunk.”
Inside the thick curtain, Lu Ziyan’s voice was low and hoarse, “Leave him for two hours.”
The medicinal effect of Warm Affection Powder takes two hours to fully dissipate.
“Should we swap the wine?” Ming Jian said, “His body is so weak, how can it withstand such medicine? If something happens from drinking…”
“How could his body be weak? Even if I die, he will not.”
Lu Ziyan sneered coldly, “Warm Affection Powder only works on normal men. It is useless on wastes. What trouble can he get into from drinking.”
The eunuchs in the imperial palace love drinking this wine the most, and none have had issues.
He wanted to see if this man was truly a waste.
Ming Jian wanted to say more when a jade pillow flew out from the curtain, “Get out!”
Having accompanied three cups of Warm Affection Wine, Lu Ziyan’s throat was dry and hoarse, burning like fire.
Ming Jian dodged the thrown pillow to the side, feeling very unwell hearing it.
When had his family’s young lord ever used such a strategy that harmed the enemy by a thousand while damaging himself by eight hundred? Was it not really to torment himself?
“Why torment yourself? This is a brothel. Let this subordinate find two clean young ladies to help you dispel the medicinal effect…”
“Scram!”
“If the medicinal effect is not expelled, it will harm your body.” Ming Jian stubbornly said, “If you insist on Miss Xie, I will go abduct her for you!”
Silence came from inside for a few moments. After a while, the thick curtain was lifted, and Lu Ziyan walked out half-naked.
“Who did you say you would abduct?”
“…Miss Xie.”
As the words fell, a glint flashed in Lu Ziyan’s reddened eyes, then quickly extinguished, “She is in Duke Pei’s Mansion. You cannot abduct her.”
Unless he went himself.
He could slip in without alerting the Pei Mansion guards.
Once this thought arose, he almost could not suppress it.
He was drugged, so he could rightfully go find her.
Do anything to her.
Thoroughly make her his.
And she should not blame him, after all, he missed her to the point of madness. How could she blame him.
…No, no!
She held grudges the most. He could not do this.
“Get out!”
Lu Ziyan kicked Ming Jian’s shoulder, directly kicking him from the room to the stairwell, rolling all the way down to Ming Feng’s feet.
Seeing his miserable state, Ming Feng nearly laughed out loud.
“You can still laugh,” Ming Jian said, “The young lord’s heart condition is hard to cure, and now he is poisoned with love poison and insists on enduring it. You are not worried at all!”
Hearing this, Ming Feng’s smile froze on his face. Of course he was worried.
After thinking, he said, “Who knows what bewitching potion that Miss Xie gave our master. They are already married, yet she can make him guard his chastity like jade for her.”
Why!
Just a fickle woman.
After thinking, Ming Feng gritted his teeth and said, “I say, a man under love poison loses all reason. How would he care who the woman under him is.”
“You mean…” Ming Jian understood his meaning and frowned, “Actually, the best choice is still that Chen Xi’er, but she has already been arranged into that man’s room by the young lord.”
Ming Feng looked at him disdainfully, “You are truly stubborn. As long as it is not Miss Xie, whether Chen Xi’er or Wang Xi’er makes no difference. Where is there a best choice.”
As he spoke, he called the Cuiyun Pavilion brothel madam, carefully selected two young ladies who had never taken guests with his own eyes, pointed to the tightly closed side room upstairs, and said, “Go inside. If you serve well, you will have good days ahead.”
