Mudan rubbed her forehead and stopped at the window, motionless.
So this was what she was invited to watch? Princess Qinghua truly lacked creativity. The last time, He Mudan had stumbled upon their illicit affair, which had shocked her deeply. Afterward, Princess Qinghua mocked and ridiculed her. Seeing Liu Chang behaving this way left her utterly disheartened, leading to her despair. Was the Princess hoping she would fall ill and die this time?
Mudan pondered seriously. At this moment, should she scream and run away covering her face? Or should she tearfully accuse them with righteous indignation, clutching her chest? What would be the best course of action? This was a question.
Princess Qinghua’s face was slightly flushed, her eyes glistening. Her snow-white legs were tightly wrapped around Liu Chang’s waist. She raised her hips, firmly cupped his face with her henna-painted fingers, and challengingly looked at Mudan outside the window before kissing him deeply.
Liu Chang, with his back to Mudan, was completely unaware of her presence outside. He let out a suppressed groan, his silk robe damp with sweat, his face contorted. He suddenly grabbed Princess Qinghua’s hair bun and pulled it down, biting her plump white shoulder. Princess Qinghua let out an exaggerated scream, retaliating by biting Liu Chang’s neck. Liu Chang’s movements became even more intense.
Throughout, Princess Qinghua’s eyes were fixed on Mudan, her lips curled in a mocking smile.
How does it feel? This is the man you, He Mudan, cling to so desperately. He disdains to touch you, he allows me to humiliate you in public. He might lose his temper with me occasionally, but in the end, he’s mine. Do you see? He likes me, my status, my position, this body of mine. He likes my screams, he likes it when I bite him.
If you were sensible, you should have died long ago! Why don’t you just die? Why do you insist on holding onto this position? How can such a fool exist in this world? Princess Qinghua shot contemptuous glances at Mudan while twisting her body and making even more exaggerated sounds.
Mudan’s face reddened. She couldn’t bear to watch anymore. The real-life version was completely different from the TV version… But why was the blue-clad maid kneeling beside them so composed? This required practice.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached. Mudan turned back in shock to see three heads appear behind her simultaneously. Pan Rong’s face was full of excited curiosity, Li Xing’s face was ashen as if he wanted to kill someone, and the blue-clad maid guarding the bridge was pale, almost fainting.
Mudan’s face instantly turned crimson. She threw down her umbrella and ran back desperately. Behind her, Princess Qinghua let out a sharp, piercing scream – this time, a real one.
Mudan no longer cared about the chaos behind her. She just lifted her skirt and quickly crossed the winding bridge. At the entrance, she rushed past Jiang Changyang, grabbed Lin Mama and Yuhe’s hands, and said urgently, “Let’s go!”
Lin Mama and Yuhe, not knowing what had happened, only saw Mudan’s face unnaturally red and fine sweat on her nose. They were quite startled: “Young Madam, what happened to you?” From a distance, they had only seen Mudan standing alone outside the Crystal Pavilion, unaware of what she had heard or seen.
Jiang Changyang said in a deep voice, “Madam He, have you been frightened by something?”
Mudan looked back nervously and saw Li Xing and Pan Rong turning back, their expressions animated, clearly intending to spread the news. She knew she lacked the courage and couldn’t discuss the live erotic scene she had just witnessed in front of three strange men with a straight face. So she said, “It’s nothing. I have an urgent matter.” She pulled Lin Mama and Yuhe along, fleeing like the wind.
Jiang Changyang only saw Mudan’s eight-panel pink-purple silk dress drawing a beautiful arc in the air, the embroidered peony petals seemingly about to scatter, her slender waist looking as if it might snap. He rubbed his chin puzzledly and met Li Xing and Pan Rong: “What happened? Why does everyone look like they’ve seen a ghost?”
Li Xing’s face remained ashen as he kept silent.
Pan Rong laughed so hard he nearly fell: “It’s not that they’ve seen a ghost, but something that even ghosts would be afraid of.” People without shame are feared even by ghosts, and Princess Qinghua was indeed shameless enough to invite someone’s wife to watch… Seeing Li Xing’s truly awful expression, he laughed and put his arm around his shoulder, saying, “Don’t be angry, what’s this compared to anything? Some people would even drink urine to steal a moment of passion. This is a tradition in their family.”
He was referring to Liu Chang’s father, Liu Chengcai. In his youth, Liu Chengcai was a handsome and charming man, well-liked by women. However, he married the fierce and jealous Madam Qi and didn’t dare approach any of his maids. Unwilling to accept this, he engaged in a battle of wits with Madam Qi. He took a fancy to a young and beautiful maid, and after much planning, he pretended to have a stomachache while Madam Qi was washing her hair and summoned the maid. Before he could succeed in his endeavor, Madam Qi heard about his stomachache and rushed over.
Liu Chengcai had no choice but to continue pretending to have a stomachache. Madam Qi then followed a folk remedy, putting medicine in a child’s urine and making him drink it. He had no choice but to comply, and only then did the incident pass. Even after many years, this remained a source of amusement in Beijing’s upper-class circles.
To others, it was merely a frivolous anecdote. Li Xing twisted his mouth and said, “Please tell the Young Master and your esteemed wife to advise my stubborn cousin.”
Pan Rong finally realized, “Oh, right, she might be overthinking things. Let’s go find her first.”
Jiang Changyang vaguely guessed what had happened in the Crystal Pavilion. He remained silent, pursing his lips and following the two quietly. After a while, he suddenly said, “I have an urgent matter to attend to. I’ll leave first and won’t say goodbye to the hosts.”
Pan Rong hurriedly tried to detain him: “Don’t go, the fun part is yet to come.”
Jiang Changyang shook his head: “I have an appointment with someone. I can’t break my word.”
Pan Rong immediately forgot what he had promised Li Xing earlier: “I’ll see you out.”
Jiang Changyang stopped him with a gesture: “No need, you have important matters to attend to. I’ll come to find you in a few days when I’m free.”
As Jiang Changyang walked away, Li Xing asked Pan Rong, “Who is he? I’ve never seen him before. I noticed calluses on his hands like he often holds a sword. Has he served in the military?”
“He’s even killed people!” Pan Rong shouted exaggeratedly, then casually explained, “He’s the son of an uncle. He usually doesn’t like to mingle with people like us. Come on, let’s go. If we’re late, your cousin might overthink things again.” The two headed towards the banquet area to find Madam Bai.
Meanwhile, in the Crystal Pavilion, Liu Chang, now fully dressed, stood coldly by the bed, looking at Princess Qinghua, who lay languidly on the couch with disheveled hair and disheveled clothes exposing large patches of white skin. “What exactly happened?” he asked coldly.
Princess Qinghua had long recovered from the excitement of being caught by two men. She lazily pulled up her yellow silk bodice, admiring her legs as she crossed them. Increasingly satisfied with what she saw, she said nonchalantly, “What happened? You saw it yourself. He Mudan brought some man to catch us in the act, wanting to make a fool of us. And they got what they wanted.”
Liu Chang’s face turned ashen. He pointed at her and said, “This must be your doing! Who told you to act on your own?”
Princess Qinghua violently pushed away the gilded silver duck incense burner at the bedhead. She sat up and looked directly at Liu Chang. “So what if it was me? I just wanted to show her how much you love and cherish me, to make her die of anger!”
Seeing Liu Chang’s increasingly grim expression, she narrowed her eyes and sneered, “What’s wrong? Dare to do it but not admit it? You’ve had your fill and now you want to wash your hands of it? Anyway, Li Xing has already seen it, and it will reach the He family’s ears in no time. Tell me, what do you plan to do? If she still clings to you and you can’t get rid of her, why don’t I ask for an imperial marriage decree? If you like, you can keep her too. I’ll be the main wife, she’ll be the concubine. It won’t demean her at all.”
Liu Chang’s pupils contracted. He took a deep breath and said, “This matter isn’t as simple as you imagine.”
Princess Qinghua was dismissive. “I know all about your family’s petty affairs. What’s there to hide? As long as you’re willing, leave it to me. What can’t be done? The problem is you’re unwilling, isn’t it? Chang Lang, you’ve changed! Have you forgotten our vows? You heartless man!”
She screamed out the last sentence, startling Liu Chang. Seeing Princess Qinghua’s tear-filled eyes and hateful expression, looking fierce and terrifying, he hesitated for a moment, trying to appease her: “Don’t shout. Haven’t I told you before? This matter requires careful consideration.”
Princess Qinghua threw herself at him recklessly, using her head to forcefully hit his chest. “I don’t care! You must give me an answer today, or I’ll accuse you of seducing me!”
Liu Chang, dizzy from her blows, lost his temper. He pushed her away violently, not caring if she fell to the ground, and said viciously, “Go ahead and accuse me! Go on! I’m sure as soon as you open your mouth, my entire Liu family will be executed!” With that, he swept his sleeve and left.
Princess Qinghua sat on the ground with disheveled hair, grinding her teeth. Raising her eyes to see the trembling blue-clad maid in the corner, her face instantly contorted with rage. She shouted, “Cheap slave! Come here and help me up!”
The maid, weak and trembling, barely managed to reach her. As soon as she touched Princess Qinghua’s arm, she was struck with a vicious slap that sent her tumbling to the ground. The maid didn’t dare make a sound, just prostrating herself and shaking uncontrollably.