Translator – Xiao He Lian
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Chapter 53.2
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The willows in Chengyuan have sprouted new buds and the tender green willow branches were swaying in the spring breeze. The stone steps in front of Lanyue Pavilion were spotless.
When night fell, the lanterns on the eaves were lit.
After Shen Zhen finished her dinner, she got up and went to the bathroom. She took off her gold-threaded and white chrysanthemum-patterned skirt and slowly stepped into the tub. After entering the water, she took off her underclothes. Mo Yue said from the side: “Miss, I will keep the Chinese honey locust1(Chinese honey locust, is a deciduous tree that can grow to about 30 meters and it has many uses. Its fruit is a natural cleaning agent) here for you.”
Shen Zhen thanked her softly.
She scooped a ladle of water and slowly poured it down, looking at the reddish purple marks on her chest that has yet to fade, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
He hasn’t come for five days and the mark hasn’t gone away yet. One can imagine how much effort he used…
Thinking of this, the scenes that Shen Zhen never dared to think about appeared one by one in front of her eyes.
Shen Zhen blushed, sped up her movements and soon got up.
Shen Zhen put on her clothes and walked out slowly. Listening to the whispers outside, her hand on the doorknob froze.
Due to her meticulous bathing habits, Mo Yue and Tang Yue instinctively thought that she would take at least half an hour to come out.
Mo Yue said: “Do you think we will follow Miss Shen into the Duke Mansion to serve her in the future?”
Tang Yue said: “Yes, in my opinion, the Heir Apparent will not let Miss Shen live here forever.”
“It’s good to be able to serve Miss Shen all the time. It’s hard to find a master with such a good temperament.” Mo Yue sighed, “I just don’t know if the future wife of the Heir Apparent can tolerate her.”
The two of them couldn’t help but fall silent when they thought about the Heir Apparent’s attitude towards Shen Zhen.
Who can tolerate a concubine who is as beautiful as her?
The fight between the main wife and the concubine could be said as a never ending fight especially competing for the husband’s love and the right to raise their children, but the Lu family will never let the main wife suffer.
If a concubine goes too far, the eldest princess will definitely take action.
“Miss was titled as the most beautiful woman in Chang’an. It’s normal for the Heir Apparent to love her. In fact, it’s quite good if she doesn’t enter the Duke Mansion.”
Mo Yue sighed again: “Being a concubine has its own difficulties but there are also difficulties being an outside mistress. Think about it, if Miss Shen has a child in the future, he will be called a bastard child. There is no paper in the world that can envelop fire2(“Paper cannot contain fire” is a common saying , which means that facts cannot be concealed. The original meaning of this expression is that fire can burn paper, so it is impossible to wrap it. Metaphors cannot hide the truth. It also describes a situation that is unstoppable. In English , it can be expressed as truth will come to light sooner or later; sooner or later, truth will out or the facts will emerge sooner or later.). What will happen if the eldest princess finds out?”
After a while, Tang Yue looked at the lantern on the corner of the eaves and said, “Whether you believe it or not, I think the Heir Apparent will not let Miss Shen suffer.”
Mo Yue said: “How are you so sure?”
“You didn’t go to Yangzhou with me, so of course you don’t know. I’ll tell you a secret, but you can’t tell anyone.”
“There are just the two of us in this courtyard, who would I tell? Besides, do I dare to talk arbitrarily about the Heir Apparent’s affairs?”
Then Tang Yue whispered in a low voice.
Mo Yue exclaimed: “You mean, when you were fleeing from the city, the Heir Apparent sent guard Yang to the Miss’s side?”
Tang Yue nodded, “You also know the skills of Guard Yang right. He was selected by our Duke himself. If he was there, perhaps Heir Apparent would not have received those two sword wounds.” The sentiment behind the action was self-evident.
Mo Yue whispered: “Over the years, it seems like the only one beside Heir Apparent is Miss Shen.”
Tang Yue held her chin in her hands, blushed and lowered her voice involuntarily: “Do you remember that when Heir Apparent and Miss Shen had just had that incident, the Heir Apparent even came to instruct us, saying that the Miss was young and should not be teased.”
“How could I not remember? That month, my monthly payment increased!”
Tang Yue said, “Yours increased too! Tell me, how much did you get…”
Such words were enough for Shen Zhen who was on the other side of the door to change to turn from blue to white to red.
No wonder, when she first moved into Chengyuan, Mo Yue and Tang Yue didn’t talk to her very much. Even when they changed her bedding, they had their heads low…
It turned out to be what he had personally instructed them.
As the night grew darker, Shen Zhen returned to the bed. She stared at the contraceptive sachet beside her pillow in a daze.
She thought back to a few months ago…
To be honest, at that beginning, whenever she saw his face, she couldn’t help but be afraid.
A scene surfaced before her eyes.
He was wearing an official uniform and rushed into Baixiang Pavilion without rhyme or reason. First he said there was something wrong with her incense, then he searched her body without an explanation.
Within two days, he appeared in front of her again on a stormy day and caught her as she was about to escape from Chang’an.
At that time, Lu Yan, in Shen Zhen’s eyes, was like a devil’s messenger, as if wherever he went, nothing good would happen.
He grabbed onto her weakness and soon she became his mistress. He had many rules. She was not allowed to cry, was not allowed to be picky about food and was not allowed to refute him and even when it came to matters of the bed, he would stop when he wanted to stop…
Occasionally, if he was not satisfied, he would say harsh words.
But she doesn’t know since when, but he seemed to have changed into a different person and she was no longer so afraid of him.
Shen Zhen covered her face with her hands, rubbed her face, and persuaded herself to stop thinking about things she shouldn’t have. But in the blink of an eye, she saw the candied fruit he sent today again.
Five days, five bags.
He didn’t care whether she finished eating or not.
For some reason, Shen Zhen looked at the candied fruit and her eyes turned red.
Sometimes, she really hoped that he wouldn’t be so nice to her.
After turning off the lights, Shen Zhen lay down, holding the corners of the quilt in her hands, and suddenly felt that the whole room was filled with his scent.
That scent of sandalwood that she was very familiar with.
She doesn’t know if it was the darkness of the night, the pale moonlight, the burned-out candles, or the man who she hadn’t seen for five days that made her sad at the moment.
Surprisingly, she took advantage of the fact that no one was around to cry silently.
On the other side, in the Zhenguo Duke Mansion study room…
Lu Yan put his thumb on his temple and looked at the file in his hand, lost in thought. Suddenly, he frowned and covered his heart.
He threw the brush in his hand, shook his sore wrist and smiled.
Let me guess, why is she crying again today?
