The Noble Woman’s Guide On How to Tease One’s Husband

The Noble Woman’s Guide On How to Tease One’s Husband – Chapter 21

Translated by: Oinkoink

 

Chapter 21 – Seduction

This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized.

Not long after the royal court sent people to Lingnan, the whole matter had a sudden dramatic change. Several confidential letters of Bai Xingzhi colluded with the enemy were directly submitted to the Emperor’s table by the Imperial Censor. Once the Emperor read it, he was furious and unknowing what had been discussed after an immediate audience with the Privy Envoy, Wang Jian, the Emperor charged from the imperial study to Pingyang Palace in rage.

Looking around at the inner courtyard of the Imperial Palace, there was nowhere that could compare to Pingyang Palace in terms of splendour. Not to mention the decoration and furnishings, solely the reception halls, there were three. Not even the Queen Mother’s Hanzhang Palace had such specifications, which showed the Emperor’s doting on Bai Zhixuan. But these tokens of splendor bestowment were now like the Yama’s palace where it was gloomy and dark while the air was idling densely. The moment the Emperor walked passed, all the servants were kneeling prostrate in tremble and dared not take a deep breath, fearing of losing their heads.

[T/N: Yama (阎罗 – Yánluó) – King of Hell]

Who didn’t know the Emperor was here to condemn?

When the last door was opened in front of the Emperor, a plainly dressed Bai Zhixuan barged into his sight. She was kneeling with a straight back at his feet, with an appearance of being contrite and asking for pardon. The Emperor halted his steps and sneered at her with a mocking smile, “Looks like the beloved Imperial Concubine is very well-informed with the news. Your stance was ready before We[1] has even arrived.”

After that, his fierce eyes slightly narrowed as he coldly swept over everyone in the hall with a vaguely impending eruption of an unbridled fury. Under such a strong oppression, the air immediately became thinner and the sense of dreadness spread within everyone’s mind.

“Your Majesty, Chenqie[2] is guilty.”

Bai Zhixuan leaned over and kowtowed. Although her distinct voice broke through the tensed atmosphere, yet it was useless, just like pouring a bucket of water into the magma as it hadn’t eased up the Emperor’s expression. He even clasped his hands behind his back and stared at her condescendingly as he said, “Then beloved Imperial Concubine, do tell what is your crime?”

“Chenqie’s clan younger uncle had committed a heinous crime disregarding the life and death of the common people. Chenqie has failed the Emperor’s benevolence for being ignorant and never aware of it. Furthermore, Chenqie is ashamed to face the populace of Lingnan and is asking Your Majesty to also punish Chenqie to quell the people’s grievances.”

The words that Bai Zhixuan spoke were forceful and upright, with tears in her eyes as well as a straightened neck, as if she was truly determined to bear this heinous guilt and any of the Emperor’s punishment. The Emperor was silent for a long while before he raised his sleeve slightly and waved for the retreat of the servants.

Bai Zhixuan’s heart suddenly felt at ease.

Preemptive strike was always right. The fact of Bai Xingzhi colluded with the enemy had now been irrefutably proofed and there was no way to deny it. It would be better for her to admit it frankly while betting with her life that perhaps the Emperor would spare the crime of implication for the Bai family due to his favoritism on her. Looking at the current situation, the Emperor was likely relented and she wasn’t wrong taking this step.

While she was having this thought, the Emperor’s voice suddenly resounded in her ears like fluttering snowflakes with utmost chillness.

“Think carefully beloved Imperial Concubine, what else you haven’t told Us?”

Bai Zhixuan immediately became alert. Both hands were trembling in her sleeves, yet she replied with unyielding calmness, “Chenqie dares not conceal anything and requesting Your Majesty to indicate clearly as Chenqie will certainly not hide anything.”

As soon as the voice fell, the Emperor suddenly turned around and clutched her neck as he violently dragged her from the ground to face his ruthless expression. Her state of mind instantly became completely scattered as she reached out to push him. He stood absolutely still. Under such struggle, a thump sound was heard. A celadon crane lamp was flicked to the ground, broken into pieces.

Since retreating outside, Xing’er had been feeling restless while guarding the door. When she heard the loud noise, she rushed in regardless of the social etiquettes. Seeing the violence that the Emperor had against Bai Zhixuan, she immediately fell on her knees and cried out, “Your Majesty, Niang-niang truly didn’t know anything! Please spare Niang-niang!”

“Damn Nucai[3], even you dare to bark in front of Us!”

With one foot, the Emperor kicked her away then immediately turned his head to scowl at Bai Zhixuan. The strength on his hand was getting stronger, seemingly wanting to throttle her to death here. Bai Zhixuan’s face turned purplish as she gasped for breath. Both of her hands tightly clutched onto the Emperor’s wrist when she squeezed out several words with difficulty.

“Chenqie….. Wronged….”

“Wronged?” A grim light flashed through the Emperor’s eyes. He ruthlessly cast her to the side before taking out a piece of black iron token and hurled it before her, “You told Us you were wronged?”

Bai Zhixuan was coughing violently as if her lungs would have choked out. When she finally regained her vigor, she quiveringly picked up the token and her mind instantly exploded.

How did he get the token of Chu Jinglan’s shadow guard?

Just when she was dazed, the Emperor opened his mouth again, “When Zhen’s people arrived in Lingnan, Bai Xingzhi had already been rescued allegedly by some black masked of unknown origin. Such a thing was later found on the scene that We only knew the person who has done a good deed without leaving a name was Our younger brother….”

His voice was unhurried and insignificantly light. Even though his person was a few steps away from her, the tyrannical aura continued soaring which made Bai Zhixuan tremble inevitably.

“Your Majesty, it’s not such….”

“Oh? What is it then?”

Bai Zhixuan frantically crawled forward and hugged the Emperor’s leg as she tearfully voiced out, “Your Majesty, the Bai family never has any dealings with King Lan. This must have been devised by someone with evil intentions. You mustn’t fall into their trap!”

The Emperor clamped her chin and sneered thickly, “Then according to you, who wanted to frame your Bai family?”

“Chenqie…..Chenqie doesn’t know, but would request for Your Majesty’s clear judgement. The Bai family is now a felony with difficulty to escape, why would Chenqie quibble on this matter? Since the return of King Lan, the Bai family has already done our utmost to share Your Majesty’s burdens. Even if others didn’t know, doesn’t Your Majesty know the loyalty of the Bai family?” She paused then her trembling voice shockingly thundered, “If Your Majesty still doesn’t believe, Chenqie could only die in front of you with the flesh and blood in my tummy….”

The Emperor abruptly tilted his head to the side with slight constriction of his dark pupils.

Xing’er forcefully clambered up and unceasingly kow-tow as she cried, “Your Majesty, Niang-niang has not been feeling well and has not gotten out of bed for several days since she was diagnosed with pregnancy by the imperial physician. If it was not because Nubi heard about this news from the palace maids of the Eastern Palace and reported to Niang-niang, Niang-niang would still be ignorant about it. For the sake of the Emperor’s heir, earnestly request Your Majesty to listen to Niang-niang’s words, don’t fall into the trap of the vile.”

Her words seemingly begging for leniency but she had implicated the Empress as the culprit without leaving a trace. The Emperor was innately oversuspicious, thus he instantly looked down in silence as if pondering about something. Seeing this, Bai Zhixuan quietly gave Xing’er a meaningful glance which Xing’er understood as she complied with alarming cries.

“Niang-niang! What’s wrong with you, Niang-niang?”

In pace with her words, Bai Zhixuan gradually slanted to the side with knitted brows and pale lips while both hands were tightly covering her abdomen, without uttering a word. With eyes twitched, the Emperor stared at her for a long while before he hollered, “Summon the imperial physician.”

“No need. Chenqie is not seeing the imperial physician.” Bai Zhixuan breathed heavily, appearing utterly calm, “Chenqie is willing to prove my innocence with death.”

“Niang-niang, what piqued words are you talking about, you have been looking forward to this child for many years thus you mustn’t give up…”

Those words once again awakened the Emperor. Even though he had doted on Bai Zhixuan, she had never got pregnant in the past six years. Who would have expected the arrival of a child at this critical juncture. All kinds of emotion such as doubts, tenderness, expectation were intertwined in his heart which was lingering and complicated. But when he looked at Bai Zhixuan’s hopeless appearance, he eventually lay down his doubts.

“We’ve asked to summon the Imperial Physician, are you deaf!”

He hollered again, his tone was much firmer than before. Xing’er didn’t dare to dawdle, she immediately ran out to call for someone. Bai Zhixuan was still in a painful condition, but inwardly she sighed a breath of relief with this narrow escape.

Was this juncture regarded as over for the time being?

Her gaze fell onto the token again while the slender hands inside her sleeves immediately clenched tightly with nails embedded into her palms leaving acute marks.

Chu Jinglan, you are truly so good at acting that I was actually fooled by you…..

Chu Jinglan who was in King Lan mansion far away from the Imperial City suddenly felt his ears tickled. He instinctively turned his head to look at the person by the side who was quietly lying on the short table reading. The knees were under the thick woolen woven rug without a trace of coldness.

Lu Heng came up once before and was somewhat dumbfounded when he saw this scene. He even asked in a low voice what a teenage girl like her doing wasted away in this small attic reading when she could have fun with her family and friends under such lovely spring weather? Chu Jinglan didn’t respond, he just leafed through the reports of the Northern borders which were stacked on the table, as if he didn’t hear a word.

Inwardly Lu Heng knew the answer, but he couldn’t talk about it.

“Why is Wangye looking at me?”

Chu Jinglan snapped out of his absent-mindedness and found Ye Huaiyang looking at him with a smile. Her complexion was rosy and in good health, completely unlike the feeble appearance during the Spring Festival. He then turned his gaze away as he indifferently asked, “Didn’t you say you have matters to discuss with this King?”

“”En, I almost forget.” Ye Huaiyang put down the picture scroll she was holding and slightly twisted her body before she continued, “Wangye has always done things in silence. If it wasn’t for the incident in Lingnan, I wouldn’t have known you had already agreed to our collaboration.”

Chu Jinglan didn’t deny but merely said, “When you sent Ye Huaixin to gather the crime evidence of Bai Xingzhi and instigated Pei Yuanshu to submit a written petition, didn’t you not let this King know too?”

“Did Wangye think I wished to fight a lone battle?” Ye Huaiyang gave him a look, seemingly a look of reproach. She then leaned over with extended hand, “Since we are allies, henceforth, we would steadfast regardless of glory or desolation. How’s that?”

With the movement of her body, the thin and light picture scroll was swept to the ground from the short table when the end of the hollow wooden rod rolled all the way to Chu Jinglan’s feet where the whole picture was spread out this way between them. Chu Jinglan lowered his eyes for a quick glance when sparks instantly spattered in his eyes.

As it turned out, she actually extracted this plaything from the bookshelf just now!

Seeing his complexion turned greenish, the thought of teasing him rose within Ye Huaiyang. She simply hooked his arm to pull him down so that he could see every stroke on the paper clearly.

“The side of Wangye’s bed has been vacant till date. How do you usually release the flame after looking at such alluring works?”

The corners of Chu Jinglan’s eyes twitched. He raised his hand to scrape off Ye Huaiyang’s arm which made her lose the support and her balance abruptly. She fell down between his knees and the soft chest pressed against his lower abdomen where he immediately stiffened.

Ye Huaiyang naturally could feel it, she then unhurriedly raised her head from his chest with a lucid smile, “I originally thought as Wangye had approached such an age, must have experienced countless women, how….”

Before she could finish her words, both her shoulders were gripped and pushed with force by Chu Jinglan.

“Ye Huaiyang!”

He gritted his teeth and squeezed out these three words with sparks flashed from his eyes, seemingly would throw her out in the next moment. She looked back at him shamelessly without fear. Her eyes were bright with a hint of craftiness. She then covered her left shoulder as she bent down feebly.

“It hurts.….”

Chu Jinglan immediately released his right hand. Seeing that she was about to knock against the corner of the table, he went to support her again but avoided her wounded left shoulder this time by grabbing her slender upper arm. Who would have expected her to suddenly pull him down forcefully that his whole body instantly fell on top of hers!

Bodies overlapped and a delicate face within reach that suffused with blushes which seemed extremely ambiguous.

“As it turned out, Wangye can hold it.”

She looked at the statue-like Chu Jinglan, perking her lips with a teasing smile, beautiful like the spring river under the setting sun. Chu Jinglan gazed at her closely, his body seemingly scorched by the fire as blood rushed straight to his forehead. Just when he wanted to rebuke angrily, that lovely face pressed forward.

“But what to do as I can’t hold myself back?”

She complained gently before suddenly kissing his lips.

During this sweet lingering moment, soft footsteps suddenly came through from a distant, coming towards the attic at a constant speed. As soon as that person opened her mouth, the soft silky voice could melt a person’s bones.

“Wangye, are you up there? Qie[4] has made some dessert for you and will bring it up.”

[1] We/Our/Us– Zhèn ( 朕- Zhèn) – used by the Emperor in proclamations instead of I

[2] Chénqiè (臣妾) – I, used by concubines to address themselves in conversations with the emperor

[3] Núcái (奴才) – your humble servant, referring to oneself when addressing the royalty or one’s master.

[4] Qiè (妾) – I, a form of self-address used by wife/concubine to husband.