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 6

Translated by: Oinkoink

Chapter 6 – Night Attack

The Tianque House on Xuanwu street was known as Wangdu’s number one eatery that was making lots of profits and rarely had any vacancy.  The honest and shrewd shopkeeper was a domestic servant who had ascribed the surname Ye. He had never made any mistake since this money-making tree was placed under his management hence it was truly a reassurance to the higher authority, Ye Hong who was the person-in-charge.

Unknowing what was going on lately, the head of the family who never showed herself had unexpectedly came here twice in a month. She was neither ostentatious nor looking for his faults. The shopkeeper however was still somewhat nervous as such a venerated great Buddha was just languidly drinking tea in the private room without saying a word. As he was adding water to the teapot, Yue’ya unexpectedly took the initiative asking him to retreat where he hastily left the room and wiped off his sweat.

He then went to patrol the lobby as usual but just as he reached downstairs, a waiter came to meet him and protruded his mouth towards the two patrons who were standing in the main lobby. As he looked over, the corner of his mouth immediately twitched. Weren’t those King Lan’s people?

Why did these two gentlemen insist to come eat at Tianque House and not somewhere else with the current delicate situation. When it rains, it really pours as Ye Huaiyang was also here today. If he didn’t handle this properly, he reckoned he would have to pack his bags and leave tomorrow.

The shopkeeper was still hesitating when Yue’ya coincidentally walked down from the upper floor, the lower corner of the green skirt swung close to the carved banister and flipped up layers of ripples. The shopkeeper became more nervous that his heart was also fluctuating along with the ripples when he saw her.

“Miss Yue’ya. Why did you come down? Does the matriarch have any instructions? Do feel free to speak out and I’ll send someone to prepare immediately.”

“There’s no need. It’s suffice that you entertain those two people.”

Hearing that, the shopkeeper was stunned as his mind was now filled with misgivings yet he was sensible not to ask any question and merely replied deferentially, “Yes. I know what should be done. Do rest assured, Miss.”

Yue’ya slightly nodded her head before she turned and walked upstairs.

Lu Heng and Tang Qingfeng spent the whole afternoon here. They sat there listening to some legends of the past after finishing the snacks. The storyteller invited by Tianque House was not a mediocre person. He could vividly describe the chronicle of gods and spirits into an animated narration, where the birds and beasts had seemingly come alive in the building, flitted across the sky then landed on the table, with its wings spread wide and its tails wagged charging towards the audience.

Throughout the whole narration, only Lu Heng was absorbed in the storytelling. Tang Qingfeng had long become restless. He nudged at Lu Heng with his elbow for a few times but to no avail, thus he had to suppress his annoyance and just continue to listen. When the setting sun outside the window imperceptibly casted faint yellowish rays on the floor, Lu Heng patted the crumbs off his hands after he finished consuming the plate of pastries before calling out to the waiter for their bills.

Tang Qingfeng finally couldn’t help that he glaringly commented as soon as they were out of Tianque House when he stepped foot onto the carriage, “You’re truly here to enjoy the delicacies. The whole afternoon you didn’t even move your butt. Is it possible you are waiting for Ye family to deliver themselves to the door?”

“Didn’t they just deliver themselves to the door?” Lu Heng profoundly smiled.

Tang Qingfeng had always hated him for deliberately complicated matters but unfortunately his mind couldn’t stimulate as rapidly and he could only look helplessly each time, awaiting for him to reveal the answer.  Lu Heng however was tactful this time and didn’t beat around the bush, instead he guided him step by step towards the answer to the riddle.

“Just think about it. Since our return to Wangdu, all the people of the prominent families are dying to make a detour whenever they see us but Ye family did the opposite. There was obviously no seat available yet they managed to actually make avail a private room. Some snacks were undoubtedly sold out but we still got whatever we ordered. You should be able to understand the riddle among this without me saying it out loud.”

A verse involuntarily appeared in Tang Qingfeng’s mind – trying to hide makes it more conspicuous.

“But this doesn’t prove anything…”

“Yes, it does not prove anything.” Lu Heng interrupted him as he resumed his playful mode, “That’s why I said to come for some snacks. We will have to wait for the shadow guards’ return from Tianqi House before making any definite judgment.”

Tang Qingfeng angrily turned his back to him as he thoroughly gave up discussing serious matters with him.

Ye Huaiyang had also returned to Ye manor from Tianque House. Just for the sake of avoiding running into them, she used a different road and arrived ahead of them. 

The curtain of darkness soon befallen serving as a dark grey tulle draping over the huge mansion. Within the courtyard wall, the jade-hooked water ring sconces were lit up orderly as off-white halos were casted off. Occasional cold wind would breezed through reflecting ripples of circles which radiated the whole courtyard with glowing radiance.

Everyday at this moment, Ye Huaiyang would come to the little fenced grass-paved lair in the backyard where a round meat dumpling would rush towards her and licked her face while simultaneously climbing up her body. The chubby palms would often slide over the side of her small back and tickle her neck that made her burst out with delicate laughter.

“Lan-lan, stop fooling around. It’s time to eat. Come down…ng!”

Yue’ya heard a thump sound as if something fell onto the ground then the groaning sound of Ye Huaiyang which immediately frightened her. She thought Lan-lan might have severely injured Ye Huaiyang. With extreme anxiety, she ran over and indeed saw Ye Huaiyang crushed under its body, however she was relieved that nothing had happened as they were merely playing vigorously. She strolled over and restacked the messy bamboo shoots back into Lan-lan’s food bowl. 

“Young Miss, you can’t always allow him to play like this, what if he accidentally injured you someday?”

“It’s okay. I can still play with him before he grows up.”

Ye Huaiyang panted heavily as she supported herself up with one hand while the other grabbed some bamboo shoots for Lan-lan. He hugged and gnawed the bamboo vigorously for several times before looking up at her repeatedly which made Ye Huaiyang amused as well as annoyed at the same time. She raised her hand to rub its half-moon shaped ear which it seemingly somewhat enjoyed as both its eyes narrowed into a slit and tried to exert itself into Ye Huaiyang’s embrace.

Yue’ya couldn’t stand it anymore when she went over dragging his arm to lessen the weight it imposed on Ye Huaiyang.

“Young Miss, see. He’s not even eating properly now.”

Ye Huaiyang suppressed her smile as she carried Lan-lan to sit properly by the side and reluctantly uphold the bearing of a parent when she said, “Enough. Not allowed to fool around anymore. Obediently sit down and eat.”

Lan-lan blinked its big round eyes looking at her for a while before it finally sensed that she wasn’t joking. It then quietly carried the bamboo shoots and began gnawing wholeheartedly, looking completely like an extremely obedient child. The expression in Ye Huaiyang’s eyes immediately became incomparably gentle as she gazed at it. She wanted to personally feed it but was stopped by Yue’ya hastily.

“This servant has to speak out frankly. You are spoiling him too much. Not to mention how slothful he is but how can he find a companion later if he is so attached to you everyday.”

Ye Huaiyang burst out a laugh as her phoenix eyes curved into the crescent-shaped, “What looking for a companion, he is not even one year old.” She felt rather funny after she finished saying that before adding, “I have never seen other pandas in Wangdu. I’m afraid I will have to trudge across thousands miles to central Shu to look for a mate. By then, you will definitely feel that I am spoiling him too much.”

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Yue’ya was feeling helpless and no longer made a sound, however, she did feel a trifle of solace for Ye Huaiyang, who had always been mature and sedate whether in public or private. As her girly temperament would only be revealed whenever she was with Lan-lan, she should just let her be playful and spoilt then. She would just have to pay more attention in the future of not allowing Lan-lan to injure her. 

While she was still pondering over this, Ye Huaiyang suddenly asked her, “Yue’ya, did you hear any noise?”  

Yue’ya shook her head. Her ears were full of the sound made by the meat dumpling munching on the bamboo shoots and no others.

Ye Huaiyang turned and gazed over at the next door. She listened attentively for a moment with a completely profound expression. Just as she wanted Yue’ya to take Lan-lan away, a large hole was abruptly forced out from the courtyard wall where innumerable cracked tiles and broken gravel flew towards them. Without a thought, Ye Huaiyang threw herself onto Lan-lan and firmly shielded it under her body, where cuts and wounds were instantly visible on her arms. 

All the guards of Ye manor heard this loud noise. They soon were gathered in the backyard. Ci Yuan was the first to rush over to Ye Huaiyang’s side. When he wanted to look at her wounds, she waved him away and silently pointed over at King Lan’s mansion. He immediately understood and led a dozen guards over to the hole in the wall. He was about to pass through the hole between the two residences when he saw a body of a black-clad man obstructing the path. He squatted down to look and his mind began to discern.

It looked like this black-clad man was hit with a strike before his body slammed into the wall and was killed instantly. It was obvious that the person must have had an in-depth internal force as even the Ye manor suffered the aftermath of this strike.

While he was pondering, another black-clad man uncontrollably flew over then only the sound of rumbling could be heard. Half of the wall on this side had now totally collapsed and nothing was obstructing the line of sight. With the support of Yue’ya, Ye Huaiyang stood up with a cold and forlorn look similar to the reflection of the moonlight on the glazed tiles.

There was an assassination attempt in King Lan’s mansion.

Everyone was gathered under the Chong Xiao pavilion. If the black-clad men weren’t masked, they wouldn’t even be able to differentiate the enemy and us. There were mingling sounds of blood-curdling screams under the glint of swords, splattered blood in every direction and mottled black dots staining the green bamboos which were near the courtyard wall. This place now was  enshrouded with a corrosive substance smell that this foul stench even spread across to the Ye manor and nothing could keep the nauseating smell off. 

Tang Qingfeng was standing at the entrance of the attic door like a door god. Anyone who wished to bypass him would be knocked down the flight of stairs. The rest of the shadow guards were spread all around the courtyard locking in a fierce struggle with the black-clad men. Ci Yuan immediately led his men to join in the fight when he saw the situation. Gradually the remaining black-clad men were forced to retreat and were soon gathered into the middle of the open space. More than half of them had already been killed yet they still fought like the struggling trapped beast seemingly wouldn’t give up unless Chu Jinglan was killed.

Lu Heng was silently standing watch inside the building before he abruptly moved closer to Tang Qingfeng and said some words. Tang Qingfeng immediately left the entrance and with lightning speed, he skimmed over to the middle of the group before he held back the throat of a black-clad man and dragged him back. The shadow guards seemed to have an extreme tacit understanding as they speedily rushed forward and exterminated all those black-clad men who tried to pursue Tang Qingfeng. When the others saw they were now in a perilous situation, they immediately turned towards the outbound trying to fly out of the courtyard wall.

Poof. 

A glimmer flashed as half of the snow blade slashed upon the chest of the leader. Like an opened floodgate, blood gushed out and the man staggered several steps then thumped to the ground before he was even able to cry out in pain. The rest of the black-clad men halted their steps. They stared with incessant terror when unknowingly Ci Yuan had flashed over in front of them. Tang Qingfeng at this moment had also quietly arrived behind them where he swung his sword across and accentuated the river of blood. Several men simultaneously covered their necks in horror before dropping dead on the ground with their eyes still wide open.

All of a sudden, the place had now become frightfully silent.

Ye Huaiyang held onto her injured arm and walked across the wall in spite of Yue’ya stoppage. Just when she halted, she heard Tang Qingfeng spoke to Ci Yuan, “Thank you for lending a helping hand. Allow me to express my thanks to your master once this is settled.”

Ci Yuan looked around at the mess and the pinned down black-clad man at the back before he placed his sword in front and cupped both his hands for salutation. Just when he took a few strides to leave, something hard pressed under his foot. He subconsciously picked it up and noticed it was a piece of waist-tablet where a silver engraved elk shone under the bright moonlight. 

Why was the assassin carrying something with Ye family’s emblem?

His expression changed yet before he could react, Chu Jinglan and Lu Heng had already crossed through the piles of corpses and arrived in front of him. Tang Qingfeng immediately flared up when he saw the pattern after he smoothly seized the waist-tablet over.

“What a fine Ye family, truly an inexorable soul!”

Lu Heng frowned but he heard an icy voice from behind Ci Yuan when he was about to open his mouth.

“How was my Ye family an inexorable soul?”

Ye Huaiyang walked out from the shade with her red lips tightened looking displeased. Her cold eyes swept across everyone on the scene when finally stopped on Chu Jinglan as she precisely captured the unusual shades flitting across his eyes.

What did she miss?  

Ci Yuan slowly addressed her, Young Miss and immediately took another piece of bloodied waist-tablet offering it to her. Ye Huaiyang took a quick glance before she instantly flew into a rage. She stretched out her hand and knocked the tablet to the ground without a care of the injuries on her arm!

Chu Jinglan looked at her without any fluctuation of emotions.

Ye Huaiyang felt her heart pricked with his indifference gaze. She silently took a deep breath before raising her eyes to glance around. When she unexpectedly noticed the black-clad man who was captured alive, she immediately smiled amid her extreme fury.

“Wangye, can I participate in the interrogation as I want to ask, would I, Ye Huaiyang, be so senseless to send such a group of idiots to kill someone but instead harm myself first!”

Lu Heng and Tang Qingfeng had never met Ye Huaiyang, hence both of them were startled at this moment.

The head of Ye family…. lived next to them?