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 20.1
At the end of the evening, Lu Yan returned to Chengyuan as promised.
Yang Zongzheng was leading the horse towards the stables when Lu Yan suddenly turned around and said, “I’m going back to the Duke’s mansion today.”
Yang Zong was surprised. He walked forward and whispered: “Master won’t you stay overnight?”
Lu Yan glanced at the shadowy figures in the study and said in a low voice, “No.”
Dim yellow light shone in every corner of the room. Shen Zhen was sitting on a square chair, holding an ivory brush in her hand, with her bowed while writing something.
With a creaking sound, Lu Yan appeared at the door.
Shen Zhen raised her head, stood up immediately and called out: “My Lord.”
Lu Banquet walked straight to her side.
Shen Zhen hurriedly said: “After I finished writing the letter to my eldest sister, I thought that I hadn’t practiced calligraphy for a long time, so I sat down for a while.” She paused and then said: “I wasted two pieces of paper.”
Lu Yan lowered his head to read her words, and he had to say that he was a little surprised.
He didn’t expect her to be young, but her handwriting was particularly grand and elegant. The horizontal painting is as if the fish scales are flat and uneven; The vertical painting is like the reins of a horse, relaxing and tightening, with a unique aura.
He stretched out his index finger and dabbed at the calligraphy, saying, “Write the word ‘ink1(墨)‘ again for me to see.”
Shen Zhen nodded, dipped the brush in ink and started writing slowly.
Looking at it, Lu Yan found that her starting and ending strokes were very clever. She wanted to move tight first and then left, and when she reached the left end, she also turned back to the right. The whole writing was smooth and flowing, which was really good.2(idk much about calligraphy, but when my teacher taught me to write chinese characters for the first time, she said that usually characters are written from top to bottom and right to left most of the time. Correct me if I’m wrong)
Regardless of the fact that she was his outside mistress, Lu Yan was also a person who valued talents. He thought for a while and said, “I will ask someone to bring you more paper tomorrow. Don’t let such good writing skills go to waste.”
Hearing this, Shen Zhen’s pair of water-cut pupils gained a glimmer of light, and she whispered, “My Lord, overpraised.”
Lu Yan said: “Has the letter been written?”
Shen Zhen nodded and quickly spread out the letter to him, as if letting him review it, “My Lord, I only informed my eldest sister that I was safe, but did not explain my whereabouts.”
He glanced at it, said “hmm” in a low voice, and then put the letter away.
Lu Yan glanced out the window and was about to leave, but Shen Zhen took the initiative to hug his waist. Her thin white arms carried a refreshing fragrance, “My Lord, I made a bowl of lotus seeds and mutton soup, do you want to drink it?” Heaven knows, she spent a whole day making this bowl of soup.
Shen Zhen’s voice was soft and faint, and when she spoke, it was like a woman touching a man’s cheek with her delicate fingertips.
Extraordinarily seductive.
Lu Yan’s heart suddenly tightened and he subconsciously turned the jade ring on his hand.
Somehow, the words of his colleagues during the day suddenly poured into his ears – these kinds of romantic affairs never end well.
Lord Lu, what do you think?
At that moment, he thought that he was no better than Wen Yuan.
It is absurd for Wen Yuan to be confused between his wife and mistress. He is not Wen Yuan, and she will not become the mistress who hangs herself.
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
The candles in the house were dim and the winter wind was cold.
His expression was dark and unclear, darker than the viscous and wet ink on the side.
Lu Yan turned around and pinched Shen Zhen’s chin and asked her with a half-smile, “Is this considered repayment?”
Shen Zhen’s eyes were clear, like washed grapes.
She shook her head gently, “It’s just a bowl of soup, how can it be considered as repayment?”
Lu Yan stared at her hidden coquettishness and put his hand on her waist involuntarily.
He gently rubbed it twice with his thumb, then slowly moved down and patted her, “Go and bring it.”
Shen Zhen blushed instantly at his seemingly random action, bit her lower lip and said, “My Lord, wait a minute, I’ll go and heat it up.”
“Okay.” Lu Yan said.
After a while, Shen Zhen came over with a bowl of lotus seeds and mutton soup and placed it on the table.
She scooped it up gently with a spoon and said to Lu Yan, “My Lord, please give it a try.”
Lu Yan took it and took a sip.
When it entered the mouth, there was a faint taste of fragrance, but what was unpleasant was that it had a fishy smell.
Lu Yan wanted to close the lid, but looking at her shining eyes, he endured all kinds of discomfort and took two more sips.
A moment later.
He put down the porcelain spoon, and the cup made a crisp sound.
Shen Zhen knew that he always ate less at night. As soon as she stood up and prepared to tidy up, she found that someone had grabbed her waist.
At this moment, she was like an elk being targeted by tigers and leopards in the wilderness.
Still in the study, still in this posture, Shen Zhen’s calves were trembling and she didn’t dare to look back at him.
How could he not notice that she was so nervous?
Lu Yan hugged her from behind, bit her ear deliberately, and ordered: “Turn your head around.”
Shen Zhen has always relied on him when it comes to matters between men and women. Firstly, she had little room for resistance, and secondly, she discovered that the more she was afraid of something, the more likely he would do it.
Shen Zhen composed herself and did as he said.
When their eyes met, she saw that the normally cold and solemn eyes suddenly had a touch of wry amusement.
There was a hint of mockery in the corner of his mouth, something Shen Zhen had never seen before in the dark.
“Here or go back?” he asked her hoarsely.
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhen felt as if she had been granted amnesty. She immediately put her two little white hands on his shoulder and hurriedly said: “Go back.”
Look, everyone is like this. If you give them a choice between a bad and a worse choice, it will be easier for the other person to be satisfied.
Yang Zong waited outside for a long time, but he still didn’t see the Heir Apparent coming out. Just when he was wondering what to do, he saw Lu Yan walking into Lanyue Pavilion holding someone in his arms.
Yang Zong shook the reins, patted the horse’s neck, and whispered: “It seems that you still have to go back to the stable tonight.”
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