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CFB Chapter 15

Empathy

Translator – Xiao He Lian

This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.

Chapter 15

 

The night wind blew through the cracks in the window and blew onto the flickering candle. When the wind came slowly, it would sway gently; when the wind came quickly, it couldn’t help but twitch.

Very similarly, he would run his hand through her hair and excerpt force from his palms.

Shen Zhen’s underskirts were piled on her waist.

She bit her lip and refused to speak, only looking at the carved beam with her sparkling eyes. not daring to look away. Even her breathing became cautious.

He changed his position and she suddenly felt weightless, causing her to quickly hook her arms around his neck with both hands.

Seeing her huddled in his arms, Lu Yan couldn’t help but feel a little pity in his heart. Seeing her obedience, he lowered his head and bit her red ear.

Unexpectedly, these little ears turned out to be Shen Zhen’s lifegate.

As soon as he opened his mouth and bit her ears, she shuddered. The hand hooked on her neck suddenly struggled hard, and her thin nails directly scratched his skin and three blood marks immediately appeared on his neck.

Shen Zhen never expected that she would use such force. Seeing that he was bleeding, Shen Zhen couldn’t help but be a little scared and quickly called out twice, “My Lord, My Lord.”

It’s just that at this moment, most men can’t feel the pain, but instead found her two trembling words even more annoying.

***

It was already midnight when the two of them came out of the study. Lu Yan was holding the lamp, while Shen Zhen was wearing his big cloak and walking with her head buried in her chest.

He was quite cooperative and walked very slowly, without making any sound to urge her.

After entering Lanyue Pavilion, Shen Zhen folded up the big cloak on her body and still lowered her head. After a long while, she soaked a handkerchief in water and walked to him, reaching out to wipe his blood.

Lu Yan’s skin color was already fair, and the blood from the wound had coagulated. At first glance, it was really conspicuous.

Shen Zhen was always afraid of him. Seeing that he raised his neck to cooperate without making a sound, the strength in her hands inevitably weakened.

Lu Yan lowered his eyes slightly, and what he saw was the panic in her eyes.

He took the handkerchief and patted her, “It’s alright, I’ll do it myself.” With her little strength, she might have to wipe it off until tomorrow morning.

Lu Yan wiped it casually a few times, then turned around and turned off the light.

The two of them lay down together, but Shen Zhen’s heart was in turmoil. She had been thinking about hinting to him about wanting to meet her eldest sister for the past few days, but she didn’t expect to offend him again.

For the first time, Shen Zhen moved towards his direction, “My Lord,” she said softly.

Lu Yan said “hmm”.

“Tomorrow, I’ll trim my nails, okay?” Shen Zhen said in a soft and gentle voice, with a hint of flattery

Unfortunately, Lu Yan didn’t respond.

If she remained silent, he would probably still feel that she was not sensible, but if she talked too much, he would feel impatient.

Her hands were extremely beautiful, fair and slender, even her nails were pink and when she clenched them hard, they seemed to have no bones.

Lu Yan was silent for a while, then put his hand on her earlobe again, stroking it back and forth mischievously and said hoarsely, “No need.”

This time, Shen Yan tensed her body and finally stopped bothering him.

The dark night was quiet and dark, and her flustered eyes, as bright as stars, were very much like a lover.

***

Early the next morning, Shen Zhen helped him change clothes. She raised her eyes and looked at the scratch marks on his neck. She felt a little guilty, “My Lord,isn’t it … better to cover it up.”

Lu Yan looked down at Shen Zhen and asked her, “Have you ever heard the saying, the more one tries to hide, the more one is exposed?”

Shen Zhen heard the sarcasm in his words, lowered her gaze, and remained silent.

Anyway, she thought about it, she would be covering her face with a curtain hat, which was better than anything else. Today she will disguise herself as a staff member of Jingzhao Perfacture and a painter and it has nothing to do with him.

After she finished dressing, Shen Zhen went out with Lu Yan.

The carriage went around the noisy streets, passed through several small roads, and drove slowly to the gate of Jingzhao Perfacture. A huge plaque stands proudly above, looking particularly solemn and dignified.

Magistrate Sun had already arrived before them. When he saw Lu Yan getting off the carriage with a woman, his eyes moved and he went to greet him, “Who is this?”

“The painter I invited.” Lu Yan said.

Magistrate Sun quickly turned to introduce himself, when he saw the three scratch marks on Lu Yan’s neck, “Lord Lu, what happened to your neck?”

Lu Yan said expressionlessly: “Scratches.”

Magistrate Sun’s expression couldn’t help but become a little subtle now. He asked how he got it, but not what kind of wound it was.  After all, he was a Magistrate on the same rank as him, so how could he not see that it was a scratch.

Who made it and how it was scratched was what he was curious about.

After all, this was the first time he saw Lord Lu fascinated by a woman.

Magistrate Sun couldn’t hold back his thirst for knowledge, so he asked again: “Did Miss Yun1(the top courtesan) do it?” Lord Lu’s carriage stopped at the red light district every day and he could see everything clearly.

After hearing this, Lu Yan turned his head and muttered something to Magistrate Sun. Sun Xu’s face changed drastically and he quickly waved his hand to apologize.

Shen Zhen, who was standing aside, couldn’t figure out what he said. But what Lu Yan actually said to him was: “The reason why the painter I brought here is wearing a curtain hat is because she has just turned fourteen and has not yet left the boudoir.

***

An hour later, they arrived at Song’s house in Xuan Ping lane.

When the two elders of the Song family saw that a female painter was coming today, they didn’t stop her. After announcing, they let Shen Zhen into the house.

Because Lu Yan still wanted to hear what the daughter of the Song family had to say, he made a silent gesture to the two elders of the Song family and stood under the eaves.

This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.

Shen Zhen walked in and took a look – Song Ling’er was dressed in white, sitting on the bed with her knees in her arms, her eyes vacant and lifeless, as if she would fall down with just a blow of a wind.

After she sat down, she took out a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and followed Lu Yan’s instructions and asked her softly, “Miss Song, can you tell me the person’s appearance again?”

One good thing about this soft voice is that no one will find it offensive no matter what she says.

Song Ling’er looked at her and said casually: “That man has a beard, big eyes, and a high nose. He looked fierce.”

Listening to her description, Shen Zhen really couldn’t draw accurately, so she asked again: “Miss Song, can you recall, does that person have a whiskers or a goatee?”

After hearing this, Song Ling’er’s eyes trembled and she raised her hand waved her hand at Shen Zhen’s inkstone, “As an official, do you want to investigate the case, or do you want to torture an innocent person like me?” Song Ling’er was very agitated, even her voice became a little sharp.

Shen Zhen didn’t care about the ink scattered everywhere on the ground, but instead held Song Ling’er’s hand. To become so agitated is because she must have remembered something.

Shen Zhen had just read the report on this case in Jingzhao Perfacture. She naturally knew what the daughter of the Song family had gone through, “Miss Song, of course I understand you…”

Song Ling’er interrupted her directly, looked at her with tears in her eyes and said, “How can you understand? I’m afraid a lady like you will never know what it feels like to be pressed down on your body and tortured wantonly!”

Shen Zhen leaned forward and hugged her, gently caressed Song Ling’er’s back with her small hands, and said, “I have experienced this too.”

As soon as these words came out, Song Ling’er inside the room and Lu Yan outside the room were both stunned.

Although Shen Zhen is wearing a curtain hat and veil, her hair accessories can be seen. It was clearly the bun of a girl who had yet to leave the boudoir.

Song Ling’er murmured, “How could…this is impossible.”

In order to comfort her, Shen Zhen gritted her teeth and had to move her collar and let her take a look at the red marks on it. That person liked to leave marks all over her body. Although it didn’t hurt, it looked a bit tragic.

Now Song Linger’s gaze at Shen Zhen couldn’t help but change.

Seeing that she was no longer resisting, Shen Zhen quickly added: “Since ancient times, women have been constrained by etiquette and when they experienced such evil deeds, they can only blame themselves. But if Miss Song thinks carefully about it, if the government hasn’t caught that villain, not to mention Chang’an will have more girls killed but also if they know that you’re still alive, will they let you go?”

Song Ling’er had never thought about such a thing. In the past two days, she had been afraid that those devils would come to her door.

She clenched her fists, thought for a long time and said, “But my eyes were covered, so I really didn’t see him.”

Shen Zhen really understood what she said. She recalled her first time, when she was blindfolded by that person, “Miss Song, being treated like that may be scary, but there are some things that cannot be forgotten, such as his stature. …..”

Before Shen Zhen finished asking, Lu Yan couldn’t listen anymore.

His tall figure was stretched by the sunlight. There was a sneer on the corner of his mouth and his eyes became darker and darker.

Treat her like this, treat her like that, how did he treat her?

He touched her, didn’t she also take the initiative?

She was bold enough to actually compare him with those people.

By the time Shen Zhen finished painting, half an hour had passed. When she stepped out of the threshold, she saw Lu Yan with his arms folded and staring at her with a smile that didn’t look like a smile.

At present, Shen Zhen felt that she had made a contribution, so she naturally didn’t pay close attention to his gaze.

At this moment, Sun Xu quickly ran over and said to Shen Zhen: “Did you manage to draw it?”

Shen Zhen nodded, “What Miss Song said this time is slightly different from what was written in the report. The person she saw that day should have a big face, high cheekbones, thin eyes, and a head taller than Miss Song. For some reason, when I was painting, I felt that the person was not Han, but rather Xianbei2(Xianbei , an ancient nationality in China;   匈奴serbi).” As she said that, Shen Zhen handed the painting in her hand to Sun Xu.

Sun Xu took it over and took a look. The more he looked at it, the more familiar it became, so he said to Lu Yan, “Lord Lu, isn’t Wang Zhao’s biological sister married to a Xianbei person?”

Lu Yan nodded, “Indeed.”

Sun Xu said: “Then Lord Lu, please send the young lady back. I have to go back to the Yamen again.”

***

After getting on the carriage, Shen Zhen took off her curtain hat.

She raised her hand to tidy her hair, looked at Lu Yan and said, “My Lord, is my bun messy?”

Lu Yan looked at her clear eyes and twitched the corners of his lips, he was really furious.

At this moment, the wheels happened to run over a few uneven places and the carriage swayed. Shen Zhen, who was playing with her bun, accidentally fell on top of him.

Even if she didn’t mean to do so, this gesture seemed a bit like falling into someone’s embrace.

 


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  • 1
    (the top courtesan)
  • 2
    (Xianbei , an ancient nationality in China;   匈奴serbi)

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