Floor heating had been started in the room. Yuan Cheng sat wearing a wide-sleeved, overlapping-collar crow-black robe. The antidote took effect quickly—his complexion had already returned to normal. Hua Yi said that after taking this medicine, one must eat something, so he simply didn’t sleep at all and ate an early meal first.
Across from him, the person he’d forcibly pulled to keep him company was somewhat moody, eating nothing, eyes alternately narrowing and glaring wide, with occasional cold laughs thrown in.
He had stolen a kiss and was quite satisfied. Her aggressive expression of settling scores after autumn seemed invisible to him—he felt no remorse in his heart. He was originally quite a wicked person; one couldn’t expect him to be a true gentleman. However, she was too clever and had seen through him so early, resulting in just a brief taste, making him sigh again.
“The one who should be sighing is me.” He still had the nerve to sigh? She snorted.
“Mo Zi, sometimes, pretending not to understand when you do understand makes life easier to live.” But he knew this matter wouldn’t end here with her.
Mo Zi indeed mocked, “Like you—clearly the antidote was being prepared, yet you put on an act of wanting me to be the antidote with your hesitant manner. Yuan Cheng, you’re what’s called a fraud.”
“Hesitant manner means I didn’t actually say anything. The blood I coughed up was real, nearly unable to hold on was also real. Mo Zi, you showed your true feelings, and I was equally unable to restrain my emotions—we’re just a pair of sincere people. Though the timing was somewhat forced.” Her mood was poor, but his mood was excellent. The fierce desire and passion of the Soul-Stirring Pills were within his expectations, but he hadn’t anticipated that Ming Nian, who noticed something wrong, would bring Mo Zi over, plunging him thoroughly into an unprecedented state of warfare between two extremes of pain and pleasure.
Regarding matters of romantic love, he thought he had become indifferent. After meeting her, his heart grew increasingly passionate, repeatedly acting against his nature for her sake. Now even his body was producing desire, which caught him completely off guard. He could deceive himself that it was the drug’s effect. However, the truth was completely exposed before his eyes by that violently leaping heart.
He once hadn’t understood where some women’s infatuated, foolish gazes came from—just catching hold of his sleeve would make them giggle stupidly. It turned out this intense heat couldn’t be traced to its root. When the heart was moved, emotions were moved. The physical desire arising from emotion was wilder than primitive instinct, yet also had a tenderness that felt foreign to himself. When he first saw her, the overwhelming tide of emotion was entirely reined in at the cliff’s edge by this sense of cherishing.
But he didn’t want to return empty-handed. He wasn’t such a benevolent person. He only knew that beyond those twelve hours after declaring his feelings to her, regarding her answer that had yet to be given, his mindset went from composed to not composed. He decided on the spot that while waiting for her to step forward, he would also give a pull. He could not accept an answer from her that she didn’t want him.
To be honest, that marriage proposal hadn’t been in his plans. Really, he was just frightened by her leisurely attitude toward a future companion, afraid he was too far from the ideal candidate she wanted to marry. So in the rush, he couldn’t help but ask.
Afterward, thinking back on it, he felt some regret. He could wait for her his whole life, but he was selfish and self-interested. His greatest tolerance could only be one step short. One step. He could grab hold of her and not let her run away—just this short, not one step more.
Kissing her was beautiful, wonderful, made him feel grounded.
Showing true feelings? Mo Zi thought, yes, she had already actively offered to be the antidote. But that was because he looked like he was about to burn up at the time, and she liked him. Of course she couldn’t not save him. But when the antidote arrived and she tried to retreat, he demanded a kiss. No matter how she thought about it, it was him taking advantage. Thinking more carefully, the flaws gradually emerged bit by bit.
What kind of person was Yuan Cheng? Even if Xiang Shiyi used a very clever method to make him ingest the Soul-Stirring Pill, even if he carelessly fell into the trap, the fact that he could run back and moreover knew Xiang Shiyi had no antidote proved he already had an emergency plan. Therefore, people become confused when they care. At that time, she had been too anxious and lost her wits.
“How did you fall into this trap?” He’d already kissed her, but if he thought this meant she’d marry no one but him, that was a huge mistake—she’d just brush her teeth a few more times.
“Madam Xu poured wine from a jar. Xu Jiu and I each had a bowl. I didn’t expect she would even drug her own husband. So I drank it. After three rounds, I felt something was wrong and initially thought it was the wine’s potency. Xu Jiu also appeared quite drunk. Madam Xu said she’d prepared a room for me to rest. I became suspicious then. However, regardless of what kind of wife Xu Jiu married, he’s a good man—I couldn’t embarrass him in front of so many people. I also didn’t think it was Soul-Stirring Pills, assuming it was an ordinary aphrodisiac. You should know Soul-Stirring Pills are extremely rare, exclusively made by Qingsang Palace, no more than fifty pills—twenty-five pairs—per year. They don’t take effect immediately but require wine to pass through once before borrowing its intensity to enter the bloodstream. Moreover, they’re divided into yin and yang pills—the woman must also take one, and only through intercourse can it be resolved. Leopard Gang has home-brewed aged wine whose potency kicks in after three rounds. I’d say that Madam Xu’s cleverness was used in the wrong place, otherwise she could have helped Xu Jiu.” Using her own husband as a cover, even though he miscalculated he didn’t feel ashamed—at least someone else was burning with desire alongside him.
“Huh? The woman must also take one to mutually resolve it?” Then hadn’t she offered herself for nothing? Fire blazed in Mo Zi’s eyes. Really, encountering this person, even immortals would be angered to death.
Yuan Cheng knew she would get worked up at him. With a flick of his sleeve, a black-gold pill appeared on the table. “This is for women to take.”
Who do you plan to feed this thing to? Knowing it was pointless to ask, Mo Zi could only grumble internally and said aloud, “How do you have it?”
Yuan Cheng raised an eyebrow, his face revealing an extremely wicked smile. “Obtained from Madam Xu’s room.”
“Madam Xu? Right, she wanted to resolve Xu Jiu’s drug. Isn’t she afraid Xu Jiu will settle accounts with her afterward?” Drugging one’s own husband—though it was to scheme against Yuan Cheng, surely Xu Jiu wouldn’t be happy about it.
“Xu Jiu was already drunk unconscious. Husband and wife sharing pleasure—what accounts need settling?” It was all within Madam Xu’s calculations.
Mo Zi suddenly sat up straight. “Yuan Cheng, don’t tell me Xu Jiu’s wife only had two pairs of pills.”
“I already said, Qingsang Palace produces no more than fifty Soul-Stirring Pills per year, and each pair is worth three thousand taels. For Madam Xu, a sheltered young lady, having two pairs is already the extreme.” Otherwise, why would he have someone retrieve them?
“One pair is for Xu Jiu and Madam Fu, one pair is for you and Xiang Shiyi. If you took Madam Fu’s pill, who will resolve Xu Jiu’s drug? You probably wouldn’t be so kind-hearted as to send him an antidote, right?” A very bad premonition.
“Though I consider him a brother, I won’t tell him directly about what Madam Xu did. However, since he’s her husband, he should block some of my displeasure on her behalf. If people don’t offend me, I don’t offend them. The antidote—I did think about sending it to him, but I’m afraid sending it would have been too late. His drug effects should have worn off by now. Same with Xiang Shiyi.” When he left, he not only took things along the way but also very kindly moved Xu Jiu to the room Madam Xu had prepared for him.
“If you want to set a trap for me, you must have the courage to bear the consequences.” He laughed coldly.
“Xu Jiu and Xiang Shiyi?” Plus Madam Xu. This household was going to be lively. Mo Zi thought—her being moved by him truly made no sense. Such a person completely unlike her. But she just liked him—what could she do?
“Isn’t it quite good? Xu Jiu has always shown mercy to Xiang Shiyi, obviously having some feelings. They’re also comrades from the same gang—affection upon affection, plus gaining a true helper. Though Xiang Shiyi is willful, she has her capable side, otherwise she wouldn’t have been put in charge of a whole hall of people. With Madam Xu’s virtuous management of the inner residence and Xiang Shiyi’s abilities consolidating Leopard Gang, wouldn’t Xu Jiu enjoy the fortune of having multiple wives?” Yuan Cheng’s appetite was excellent. Having resisted aphrodisiac effects half the night, he felt hungry. The clever girl before him wouldn’t let him eat her, so he could only eat food. For the first time he discovered that his household’s cook wasn’t as terrible as he usually thought.
“Xu Jiu is finished.” Mo Zi said this purely objectively. “Is that Madam Xu someone to be trifled with? I only have brotherly affection with Xu Jiu, yet she harbored resentment toward me because Xu Jiu proposed marriage to me—showing she has no capacity to tolerate others. Is Xiang Shiyi someone to be trifled with? Liking you, she can create such an uproar that everyone knows, without even blushing. Now, inexplicably giving herself to Xu Jiu—whether she’ll be willing to accept it is one thing; after accepting, whether her domineering nature can peacefully coexist with Madam Xu is another matter.” If one were truly virtuous and one truly capable, that would indeed be Xu Jiu’s fortune. But right now, it absolutely wasn’t.
“Xiang Shiyi will accept. Do you think she’s foolish? Where is Xu Jiu inferior to me? He has power and wealth—he’s a man many young ladies compete to marry. As for whether she and Madam Xu can peacefully coexist, that has nothing to do with us anymore. I see the two of them getting along quite well. Otherwise would Madam Xu both help her propose marriage and help her drug someone? If Xu Jiu is truly capable, even if he marries wives and concubines who walk all over him, he can still accomplish great things outside. It just depends on whether he has the courage.” If he couldn’t even handle these two women, what use did he have for Xu Jiu?
“Jianghu matters are already complex enough; if home isn’t peaceful either, if Xu Jiu can’t pass this test, I’m afraid he’ll have difficulty displaying great talent in the future.” Harmony at home brings success in all things. “But you’re right—aside from Xu Jiu being innocent, not teaching Madam Fu and Xiang Shiyi a lesson would be hard to swallow. Aphrodisiacs are one thing, but the kind that can kill—showing how determined they were to cook the raw rice into cooked rice, not worthy of sympathy.” As for Xu Jiu, consider it as heaven imposing great responsibility on this person—laboring his muscles and bones a bit, not necessarily a bad trial.
“So you don’t blame me anymore?” She was being taught by him to increasingly withstand ruthless methods. A good thing? A bad thing?
Mo Zi imitated his sleeve flick, and the Soul-Stirring Pill on the table disappeared. “I’ll help you dispose of it, lest it harm women. I don’t blame you—your bad nature was formed after birth, can’t blame heaven or earth or you. Fortunately, afterward you always confess honestly, otherwise I couldn’t tolerate it.”
Standing up, she walked toward the door that had been dismantled crooked.
Yuan Cheng watched her, not making a sound to keep her.
“However, Yuan Cheng, don’t underestimate me. Each time you play a trick on me, in the future I must repay you once. Regardless of whether we can walk together in the future, if you take one step and have to turn back to wait for me one step, it would be best if you can maintain this habit. Because I can’t guarantee at which step I’ll suddenly no longer be behind you. If you discover it early, you can make other plans early too, lest you say I delayed you.” He sat there so confident, even teasing her, yet she’d been frightened to pieces by that mouthful of blood he coughed up. If she wasn’t willful, she’d be failing the unique rights she had as a woman.
Yuan Cheng’s lips held a smile, but his eyes narrowed slightly. This verbal threat made him quite uncomfortable. He wouldn’t let go, even if using methods she despised.
However, such words—he didn’t speak them aloud, couldn’t speak them aloud.