Meng Huan feels that he is seeking revenge against her.
Vengeful concubinage.
Meng Huan: TvT
If she accidentally offends him, does it mean he will mistreat her?
How pitiful.
Meng Huan staggered, trembling as she stood up, and a maid in front of her heard the words "bedroom duties" and quietly retreated.
Meng Huan walked with Lin Bozhou to the study. The maid who had left earlier brought a middle-aged woman in a hurry, waiting at the door.
"Summon Chen An and Yang Xin," Lin Bozhou instructed the servant, "They are familiar with military funds and disaster relief, and we need to discuss it together."
After speaking, he entered the study, leaving only Meng Huan. The woman approached with large steps and grabbed his hand. "Madam."
Meng Huan: "Who are you?"
"Madam, come with me," she said with a loving face, giving Meng Huan a feeling of wanting to be her friend.
What does she mean?
Meng Huan instinctively looked in Lin Bozhou's direction, but he lowered his gaze and said nothing, seemingly allowing himself to follow this maidservant.
Is he letting her go?
Don't they still have bedroom duties?
With a mind full of doubts, Meng Huan was pulled all the way to the backyard of the study. There was a large wooden tub inside, and servants were continuously adding hot water, creating a steamy atmosphere.
Meng Huan vaguely realized what was happening when the loving voice of the woman came again: "Madam, are you still a virgin?"
"..."
Oh.
So this is the cleaning procedure before bedroom duties. Meng Huan: ^v^
Noble families are really luxurious. Even their wives need help with washing.
Why doesn't the main wife ask for help with bedroom duties?
Suppressing the urge to comment, Meng Huan wanted to say, "You can all leave, I can do it myself." Suddenly, his shoulders were gently touched by two hands, measuring his waist and abdomen, and then touching his buttocks, which felt very strange.
"..."
Meng Huan looked at this affectionate woman who could be his mother.
The woman said, "Madam, you have a good figure. Please undress and get into the water. I have a few things to tell you."
After speaking, she raised her hand and clapped twice. A maid brought a wooden tray and placed a book on it, then stood in front of Meng Huan with her head lowered.
Meng Huan: "What is this?"
The woman: "Erotic paintings."
"..."
After speaking, she brought it over and flipped through it for Meng Huan to see. "Madam, with your limited experience, I'm afraid you don't know how to please the prince tonight. Oh, look at this page, it's called 'Intertwined Dragons and Tigers,' a fair-skinned man riding a white tiger, wearing a green robe..."
The picture showed two people facing each other, with one pressing down the other, their necks intertwined, their bodies entangled, and their postures twisted. Meng Huan took quite some time to understand why this picture had anything to do with "dragons and tigers."
But as someone who came from the 21st century, he had seen a lot of videos and high-resolution images. He had seen it all.
The excitement brought by a few pages of erotic paintings couldn't compare to the embarrassment Meng Huan felt at this moment.
The woman's voice was kind, "Madam, fragrance, warmth, fair skin, moisture, tightness—these are the keys to
.
Staying up late and working overtime had become the norm for him. Unconsciously, time passed by, and he remained unaware.
Gently tapping his forehead, Lin Bozhou recalled something and turned his head to look at the bed behind the screen.
From his position, he couldn't see any movement from Meng Huan.
"Has the madam fallen asleep?"
Shan Xing replied, "I'm afraid she has."
Lin Bozhou made a sound of agreement. "Then let her sleep. You should also go down; there are things to be done tomorrow."
Meng Huan remained silent.
After waiting for so long, she received a response of "let her sleep," and she couldn't tell if it was speechless or an absurd sentiment that welled up in her heart.
It was somewhat similar to preparing for an 800-meter race, being nervous all the while, finally getting to his turn, and then being told, "No need to compete."
Meng Huan's face was filled with confusion.
...Indeed, he wasn't interested in her at all? How infuriating. Meng Huan clenched her fist and struck the screen, making a loud "thud" sound.
Late at night, the empty grand hall, where even the servants were sleeping against the door, Lin Bozhou dipped his brush in ink, his wrist moving, and the characters landed on the pure white paper.
"Thud."
Upon hearing the sound, Lin Bozhou raised his head and saw Meng Huan standing behind the screen, looking at him with a complex expression, her head tilted.
Lin Bozhou stopped writing and asked, "Hmm?"
"..."
Since he had been discovered, Meng Huan walked over with small steps and stood beside him, saying, "My lord, it's almost dawn. You should go to sleep."
Lin Bozhou was writing confidential documents, and upon seeing Meng Huan comfortably sitting next to him, he squinted his eyes. For a moment, he considered whether he should ask her to leave.
But the first thing Meng Huan did was pick up a pastry from Lin Bozhou's desk and asked, "Can I eat this?"
"You can."
Meng Huan took a bite of the pastry and said, "Red bean filling? Never mind, I'll manage."
She devoured it like a glutton, then picked up another piece and handed it to Lin Bozhou, saying, "Would my lord like some?"
"No."
"Oh." Meng Huan stuffed it into her own mouth.
...
Lin Bozhou lowered his eyes, tightly gripping the pen, feeling the silence in the air.
Meng Huan, with a mouthful of pastry, unintentionally looked down and saw the beautifully written characters on the desk, with silver hooks and iron paintings. Her gaze fixated on them.
—This was a letter Lin Bozhou wrote to the Governor of Zhejiang and Jiangsu, requesting the allocation of food to the Huanghuai region. Currently, there was intense political infighting within the court. Even if orders were issued from above, those below would find ways to procrastinate if they didn't have his consent.
Of course, many people would also obstruct his orders. Therefore, it was better for as few people as possible to see the confidential letter approving the allocation of food before it was officially announced.
Meng Huan stared at it for an unusually long time.
She should have finished reading all the military matters mentioned in the letter.
Gradually, Lin Bozhou's eyes revealed deep emotions.
With a mouthful of pastry, Meng Huan finally spoke, her tone full of amazement, "These characters are beautifully written."
"Hmm?"
Meng Huan's eyes sparkled. "Did you write them, my
lord?"
He was truly amazing! It was no wonder he was taught by the Crown Prince's tutor.
The people who supported Lin Bozhou's father came from the Ministry of Personnel. These tutors were among the best scholars handpicked by the Hanlin Academy, former top scholars in the imperial examinations.
After the Crown Prince's position was abolished, these tutors were marginalized by the new Crown Prince and Emperor. They had no choice but to follow Lin Bozhou to the border state of Guzhou. They had raised him with great dedication and devoted their entire lives to his education, hoping that Lin Bozhou would achieve great things.
Therefore, Lin Bozhou's calligraphy skills were exceptionally profound. In his twenties, he could imitate the articles written by the Grand Academician of the Imperial Academy.
Seeing the characters on the white paper, Meng Huan touched them and sincerely said, "My husband, you are truly remarkable."
"..."
Lin Bozhou closed his eyes and fell silent.
Silence persisted.
He opened his eyes and wanted to say, "Take the pastries and go back to rest." But he saw Meng Huan lower her head and lightly pull out a piece of paper from the desk.
"?"
Lin Bozhou's expression changed slightly, and a cold gleam appeared in his eyes. He began to fiddle with the string of beads hanging from his wrist. If someone who knew him well were present, they would know that, according to his usual temperament, he was considering whether or not to kill someone.
...The characters are beautifully written.
Meng Huan completely failed to sense the danger. She held the paper up to the light, reading it over and over, softly pronouncing the words written on it, "Livelihood..."
As she continued to read, she furrowed her brows and widened her almond-shaped eyes, trying to recognize this traditional character.
She tried again.
"..." Alright, she really didn't recognize it.
Throughout the entire page, Meng Huan only recognized seven or eight characters, while the rest were all traditional characters written in cursive script.
She put the paper down and looked up, meeting Lin Bozhou's gloomy gaze.
...He's smiling in a strange way. A chill ran down Meng Huan's spine.
Lin Bozhou raised an eyebrow and said, "Read the letter out loud."
Read the letter? Meng Huan didn't understand. "Why?"
"Read." Lin Bozhou spoke with just a single word.
Although she didn't understand, Meng Huan picked up the letter again, cleared her throat, and scanned the words on the paper.
As she waited, Lin Bozhou didn't hear any sound.
"Hmm?"
A shadow fell beside him. Meng Huan's fair fingertips pressed against the paper, and with great care, she pointed to the first character, tilting her head like a curious kitten. "My lord, how do you pronounce this character?"
Lin Bozhou: "..."
It was just a simple character, "kao" (犒).
If she couldn't even recognize this character, she wouldn't be able to read the entire letter.
Meng Huan also felt puzzled. "Can I skip this one? I don't know so many unfamiliar characters..."
Lin Bozhou sighed. "Then don't read it."
After browsing for a while, Meng Huan felt a bit tired. She sat down next to him and leaned on the table, dozing off.
The envelope was sealed with wax after Lin Bozhou finished writing.
Lin Bozhou stood up, and the sleeping young man curled up like a small cat, softly purring.
His thin wrists peeked out from his sleeves, obviously showing signs of a meager diet, just like the average food provided to the officials' families. His physical development seemed ordinary as well, and his body appeared light and agile.
Lin Bozhou reached out his hand, intending to pull him up.
However, when he tugged on the young man's wrist with almost no force, the young man fell into his embrace naturally.
Meng Huan lay with his forehead resting on Lin Bozhou's chest. He found a soft spot and rubbed against it gently, continuing to breathe softly in his sleep.
Lin Bozhou calmly said, "Get up."
No response.
Lin Bozhou gently pinched his jaw.
Meng Huan finally woke up, still somewhat groggy, but his eyes remained closed.
"Do you want to sleep? My lord."
"I want to sleep."
Upon receiving this response, Meng Huan lightly tugged on his sleeve and returned to the inner chamber as if he were sleepwalking.
Then he fell into the soft bed, sinking into the covers.
"Um..." He even made an uncomfortable moan in his dream.
Lin Bozhou lowered his gaze, seeing that Meng Huan had occupied half of the bed, leaving him with nowhere to settle. He didn't know what to say for a moment.
He grabbed Meng Huan's leg and pushed it to the side of the bed.
Then, something fell out from under Meng Huan, a colorful stack of pages from a picture book.
Lin Bozhou picked it up and first understood the poem.
"In a small pot, there is a hidden world, where an iron bull plows the land, cultivating golden lotuses."*
Then he understood the picture.
"......"
There were obvious signs of the erotic illustrations being flipped through. Lin Bozhou ran his finger over the pages, noticing a fresh ink mark on one of them.
It seemed that Meng Huan had drawn something on it and then erased it.
Was this his mark? Lin Bozhou pondered.
Does he particularly like this particular pose?
He carefully examined the scroll. It depicted a disheveled man embracing another man, one person standing while the other's feet were not touching the ground. The standing person was holding the other around the waist, with their legs entwined in the area where they joined.
Even though Lin Bozhou had no experience, he could tell that this was not ordinary entertainment found in one's bed.
...So, does he like this page?
At the time, Lin Bozhou had only meant to slightly reprimand him for his behavior in the bedchamber. He hadn't expected this young man to come clean, bringing along a book of erotic illustrations and choosing a position like this.
Was he really serious about it?
When Lin Bozhou had brought him back to the mansion earlier, he had only intended to keep him in the backyard as a casual companion. He hadn't anticipated this person to repeatedly appear in front of him, constantly occupying his thoughts.
The arrogant young master who had cursed at him before.
And now, the obedient and gentle young man.
Which one is the real you?
Lin Bozhou shifted his gaze away from Meng Huan, skimmed through the erotic picture book one more time, and then lowered his eyes before closing it.
In the early morning of the Regent Prince's mansion, the sunlight shone brightly, and the air felt somewhat hot and dry.
The maidservants were busy coming and going, placing ice blocks to cool the temperature, performing their actions with utmost care, afraid of waking the lazy lord and lady on the bed.
Oh, there's a copy
.