The young man’s warm breath landed on her ear, and half of Mama Xia’s body went soft. Her soul flew out of her body, danced around the room a few times, then settled back down.

Without a word, she picked up the bowl and drank more than half in one gulp, then brought the bowl to the man’s lips. “My lord, drink slowly, sip by sip. Quick drinking makes you drunk easily.”

“Mama is so considerate!”

Xie Zhifei drank while holding her hand, his eyes glancing at Yan Sanhe.

His eyes seemed dyed with bamboo leaf green—dissolute yet decadent, passionate yet indifferent. Yan Sanhe’s heart wasn’t just beating fast—it suddenly stopped beating altogether.

A seductress!

After the seductress finished drinking, he raised his chin toward Pei Xiao and Yan Sanhe, his eyes still full of romance.

“Spring nights are too short. Mingting, Sanhe, do as you please. I won’t waste time with you two here. Mama Xia, let’s go back to the room and find some pleasure.”

Pei Mingting laughed heartily. “Brother, women at thirty are like wolves, at forty like tigers, at fifty they can suck up earth from where they sit. You’d better take it easy!”

“Easy? Why easy? Better to die under peonies than live—even as a ghost I’d be romantic… Hahaha…”

Light was before Third Master, shadow behind him. Light and shadow fit this person seamlessly, steadily supporting all his romance, passion, loneliness, vulnerability…

Yan Sanhe’s gaze was drifting and flickering.

She had an illusion that this seductress had extended a finger toward her, hooked it, then suddenly hooked it right into her heart.

Too late to think carefully, to savor, to ponder…

She had only one thought: cut off this seductress’s hand!

Six people had been in the room, and three left. Fang Ling’s heart was like beating drums, not knowing whether she should go or stay.

“Zhu Qing,” Yan Sanhe called quietly.

Zhu Qing took out silver from her bosom and placed it before Fang Ling: “Miss, please go.”

Fang Ling took the silver and left with three backward glances.

After she left, Yan Sanhe calmly spoke: “Third Master just said ‘as you please’—he should be telling us to wait for him.”

Hearing this, Lord Pei felt uncomfortable all over. Although there was Zhu Qing in the room, that stuffy gourd could be treated as non-existent.

That meant he and Yan Sanhe now had private time together. What should they talk about?

Waaah!

Although it had been some days since the marriage proposal, Young Lord Pei still hadn’t gotten over it!

He swallowed and asked, “So we just wait for him like this?”

Yan Sanhe: “Can people walk around freely in the Jiaofang Bureau?”

Pei Xiao: “Of course they can.”

Yan Sanhe: “Let’s go for a walk. I want to see where Jing Chen lived these past nine years.”

From wine and gold to Buddha lamps and sutras—hundreds of mountains and tens of thousands of rivers lay between. Tang Zhiwei redeemed herself at twenty-seven, not too old an age. She should have had many choices.

She could have chosen to become someone’s concubine.

With good luck, she could even find an ordinary man to marry.

At worst, she could have chosen to hide away in some scenic location.

Why did she insist on becoming a nun?

Complete despair was one possibility—but were there other possibilities?

“Then let’s go!”

Pei Xiao stood up, then his feet suddenly stopped.

Wait!

If I go out walking with her, we’ll definitely walk side by side.

A bright moon overhead, a few palace lanterns beside us, some osmanthus trees nearby… wouldn’t this become me and her under the flowers and moon?

Bodhisattva!

This trip to the Jiaofang Bureau isn’t just testing Xie Fifty’s abilities—it’s testing Young Lord Pei’s self-control!

But…

Young Lord Pei has no self-control!

…

In the room, dark fragrance floated.

Xie Zhifei felt hot and unbuttoned three buttons of his long robe, exposing the smooth lines from his Adam’s apple downward.

He thought to himself that this fine scenery no woman had ever seen was all cheaply given to this aging beauty.

Mama Xia’s whole body burned with unbearable heat. Her hand propped up her cheek as she gazed at the man beside her with tender feelings.

She became a madam at thirty. After becoming a madam, she no longer had to accompany men—only train the young ladies under her.

The man before her was outstanding beyond what she could have encountered even in her youngest, most beautiful days.

Thinking about spending the night with such a man, Mama Xia couldn’t wait and burrowed into Xie Zhifei’s arms.

“Third Master, spring nights are short—don’t just sit!”

No wonder people said aging beauties were the most impatient.

Xie Zhifei frowned. “Some things can’t be rushed. The longer you let them simmer, the more flavor they have. If you rush, you lose the taste. Shall I feed Mama a cup?”

Mama Xia thought that having such a handsome man feed her wine—forget one cup, she’d drink ten.

Her red lips parted, the wine entered her mouth, and Mama Xia stared at the man before her as if she could never see enough.

Words came sporadically.

Wine was sipped intermittently.

After a few cups, Mama Xia’s eyes were already glazed with moisture, and she collapsed against Xie Zhifei like a puddle of mud.

Xie Zhifei knew the time was right and pushed her away.

The romantic atmosphere suddenly dispersed. Mama Xia looked at him somewhat dazedly.

His dark pupils were deep and cold.

Having spent half her life among men, though already seven or eight parts drunk, Mama Xia still clearly knew this person couldn’t be neglected.

“What’s wrong, my lord?”

Xie Zhifei said nothing and poured himself a cup of wine, taking a sip.

Father, your son is about to smear filth on you. Your son is unfilial.

“Shi Shui was actually my father’s lover. Back then, my father was determined to redeem her, but someone beat him to it.”

Mama Xia would certainly know who Xie Zhifei’s father was, and was momentarily shocked.

“Because of this person, our family had quite a tumultuous period.”

He frowned and spoke unhurriedly about the past.

“Back then, my mother strongly opposed bringing a woman of the pleasure quarters into the household, fearing it would damage the Xie family’s reputation. These years of discord between them as husband and wife were all because of her.”

The aftertaste of the bamboo leaf green slowly rose. Mama Xia racked her brain trying to remember the past, but couldn’t recall that person having an affair with Xie Daozhi.

Forget it!

That woman was always good at hiding.

She giggled. “Fortunately, your mother didn’t relent, otherwise there truly would have been no peace at home.”

These words carried subtle implications—carefully tasted, there was jealousy and also schadenfreude.

Xie Zhifei glanced at Mama Xia from the corner of his eye and continued selling his misery.

“There’s already no peace at home. My father hasn’t entered my mother’s room in over ten years. Later he took another concubine, also a fallen young lady from a good family, whom he dotes on tremendously.”

He deliberately deepened his voice, making it sound faintly sorrowful.

“Once when my father was drunk, he said that Concubine Liu couldn’t even qualify to carry Shi Shui’s shoes. I was thinking, if that Shi Shui had really entered our household, my mother’s position as primary wife probably wouldn’t have been secure either.”

Hearing this, Mama Xia suddenly sneered coldly. “That’s because your father was bewitched by that fox spirit and couldn’t see her true nature at all.”