Upon hearing that roar, Mudan drew in a sharp breath. Whether fortune or misfortune, she couldn’t avoid it. She couldn’t let the old and frail Mama Lin shield her. And there were Yuhe, Kuaner, Shuer, and others – all servants who could easily become targets for his anger.
With this in mind, Mudan tightened her robe and walked out calmly. She first pulled Mama Lin behind her, then looked at Liu Chang in surprise and said, “Oh! My husband! What’s happened to you? Quick, have the kitchen boil two eggs for the young master to roll over his eyes and reduce the swelling!”
Seeing Kuaner and Shuer standing motionless, especially Shuer with her eyes wide open staring at her, Mudan directly instructed, “Kuaner, Shuer, go to the kitchen, run quickly! And have them make a bowl of sobering soup.”
“Stop pretending! Don’t think I don’t know your tricks! Are you happy seeing me beaten like this? Let me tell you, though I’m in this state, Li Xing didn’t fare well either. I broke his pretty nose!” Liu Chang coldly glanced at Mudan, then leaned on the wicker chair by the curtain with Lanzhi’s help. He glared at the alarmed Yuhe and ordered, “Brew me some tea!”
Yuhe glanced discreetly at Mudan, catching her worried and questioning look. The mistress and servant had long been in sync; she knew Mudan was asking if Li Xing’s nose was broken. She firmly shook her head.
Mudan sighed in relief and gestured for Yuhe to follow Liu Chang’s order. Yuhe could only sigh inwardly as she excused herself to brew tea next door, straining her ears for any commotion, fearing Liu Chang might become violent at any moment.
Seeing that all the capable maids had been sent away, leaving only herself – a withered old woman – while the robust Mama Li and Lanzhi flanked Liu Chang, Mama Lin felt helpless. She looked around and secretly grabbed a duster, just in case.
Unexpectedly, Liu Chang then instructed Mama Li and Lanzhi: “Why are you still standing here? Go prepare a hot bath for me!”
Mama Li boldly glanced at Mudan and smiled, “This servant remembers that the Young Mistress’s room has clean hot water ready.”
Mudan inwardly cursed but casually replied, “It’s no longer clean; it’s been used! If we were to clean the tub and prepare anew for the young master, it would be too late. My quarters are far from the kitchen; who knows how long it would take to bring fresh water? Mama Li, go to Concubine Bibu’s place and have her prepare hot water. The young master will go there shortly.”
Mama Li stood motionless, glancing at Liu Chang from the corner of her eye.
Liu Chang glared at Mudan and snarled at Mama Li, “If there’s hot water here, why are you still standing around? Get out!”
Mama Li and Lanzhi exchanged a look before smilingly excusing themselves: “We’ll wait outside. If the young master or Young Mistress needs anything, just call.”
Mama Lin, however, seemed not to have heard. She leaned against a side table, holding the duster, her eyes half-closed as if asleep.
Ignoring her, Liu Chang stood up and walked inside, undoing his belt as he went.
Mudan, her hands and feet going weak with nervousness, asked, “What are you doing?”
Liu Chang sneered, “Don’t you know what I’m doing? I’m here to do what needs to be done, to stop you from getting wild ideas – following me one moment, bringing people to watch my embarrassment the next, then inciting that good-for-nothing cousin of yours to seek revenge for you, making me lose face!” As he spoke, he undid his belt and threw it at Mama Lin’s feet.
The sachet on the belt hit Mama Lin’s foot hard, startling her. Realizing what was happening, her old face flushed red. She gripped the duster tightly and said in a deep voice, “Young Master, please wait!”
Liu Chang paused in undoing his robe: “Does Mama have something to say?”
Mama Lin straightened up and said, “You’re wrongly accusing the Young Mistress about today’s events! She didn’t follow you; the princess sent someone to summon her. At the time, Young Master Pan was trying to buy flowers from the Young Mistress and overheard. Somehow, he ended up following. It truly had nothing to do with our Young Mistress. We don’t know anything about what happened afterward. Young Master, please don’t listen to others slander and wrongly accuse the Young Mistress. It would be a shame if this caused a rift between husband and wife.”
Liu Chang looked at Mudan and said coolly, “Is that so?”
Mudan quickly replied, “Of course it’s true.” She had no interest in such matters. The fault wasn’t hers; she just wanted this public toilet to leave quickly.
Liu Chang tilted his head in thought: “I see. Don’t worry, Mama. I won’t do anything to her. You can go rest now.” His tone seemed to have softened somewhat.
Mudan looked at Mama Lin in horror. Mama Lin hesitated, and Liu Chang undid another tie on his robe. Helpless, Mama Lin could only give Mudan an encouraging look, indicating she’d be right outside the door and would come in if anything seemed amiss. Although her original plan was to have Mudan feign illness and have Mr. and Mrs. He force Liu Chang to apologize before discussing anything else, Liu Chang coming to Mudan’s room to bathe and spend the night was his right as a husband. As a servant, how could she dare to drive him out?
As the door closed, Mudan’s heart was suspended, neither rising nor falling, making it difficult to breathe. She could only unconsciously tighten her clothes again and again.
Seeing the door close, Liu Chang extended his arms: “Come help me undress.”
Mudan kept her head down, not moving, and gritted out, “I won’t!” Public toilet! Public toilet! Why should she? If he dared to use force, she’d cripple him! She secretly sized up Liu Chang’s build – well, it might be difficult, but she could try. Even if she couldn’t succeed, at least she could dampen his spirits. Who would dare sleep with a woman plotting against his manhood? Even if it resulted in divorce rather than separation, she’d accept it.
Liu Chang was stunned. He saw Mudan with her head bowed, her long, thick eyelashes flickering slightly in the candlelight. Her jaw was clenched tight; she was very angry. For some reason, he felt a bit excited: “You’re very angry today?”
Mudan looked up at him and said very sincerely, “Actually, I’m not angry, and I don’t mind. Don’t worry, if anyone asks me, I promise I won’t say anything.” Of course, now she didn’t need to say anything; everyone already knew.
Although Liu Chang was half-drunk, he saw that there was no sadness or disappointment in Mudan’s eyes, but rather a hidden disgust and schadenfreude. This discovery made him very angry. On second thought, he felt he must have seen wrong. How could Mudan not be upset? In the past, she would be so sad just seeing him talking a bit more with Qinghua. How could she suddenly change? Playing hard to get, that’s what it was. Women often say no when they mean yes. Why argue with her? If he wanted her, he should just take her. After all, they needed to properly produce a legitimate heir.
With this in mind, Liu Chang stopped arguing with Mudan went behind the screen, undressed, and got into the bathtub. Mudan turned her face away, her back to the screen, listening to the water sounds getting louder and louder. She cursed her bad luck, quickly walked to her dressing table, took out a small silver scissors, and hid it in her sleeve, staring blankly at the candle wick.
The candle wick sputtered, and Mudan was about to trim it when she heard Liu Chang say from behind the screen, “What did you and your cousin talk about today?”
Mudan replied coolly, “Nothing much. Just that the Huxuan dancer’s performance was very good. My cousin said he had seen better dancers than her in the Western Regions, but they weren’t as expensive.”
Liu Chang said sharply, “Don’t tell me you’re thinking of buying one to keep, as others do. Know your place! Learn from the good, not the bad. In the future, have less contact with Li Xing!”
Mudan laughed softly, “I understand very well. I’m the one being bullied and having to swallow my anger silently. Even if I bought one, I’d only be harming them. Not buying is doing a good deed.”
There was silence behind the screen. Just as Mudan was wondering if Liu Chang had drowned in the bathwater, he suddenly said in a harsh tone, “Come scrub my back! Come to think of it, in three years of marriage, you’ve never done anything for me!”
Mudan sat still and retorted, “And what have you done?”
Liu Chang sneered, “That’s what you owe me!”
Mudan almost blurted out, “Then let’s separate. You don’t owe me, I don’t owe you. Let’s stop this deadlock.” But thinking of Liu Chang’s personality, she swallowed her words and instead sighed, “Yes, it’s because my health was poor, and needed a marriage to ward off bad luck. I wish I had been born into a poor family. How could they have had so much money to waste on me? They could have just let me die from illness, saving several families from trouble. I’ve harmed my parents, harmed you, and harmed my own family.”
The air suddenly stopped flowing. Mudan could hear Liu Chang’s breathing becoming heavier. She thought contentedly, “I’ll anger you to death, you scumbag. Isn’t this what you hate people mentioning the most? I’ll make you remember your most humiliating thing. Let’s see if you’re still in the mood.”
“Bang!” With a loud noise, Liu Chang violently pushed down the four-panel silver-mounted landscape screen. With a splash, Liu Chang stood up naked from the bathtub, glaring fiercely at Mudan as if he might step out of the tub to hit her at any moment. Mudan gripped the scissors tightly and glanced at him, seeing his iron-blue face with black eyes, looking just like a giant black-faced chicken.
The giant black-faced chicken was angry, and the consequences could be severe.