Lin Shi dared not provoke Old Madam since the day of the audit and merely brought words of the Chang family's mother and daughter to her. Seeing Old Madam insisted to break the engagement off after she probed with a few words, she relinquished too. As Old Madam is magnanimous, she does not want to break the engagement on the day the mourning period ends but rather to settle it half a month later and even intended to let the Chang family open their mouth first which is also regarded as retaining the last bit of sentiments between the two families.
After several passable gifts were prepared, the whole family arrived at the entrance by carriages where both Duke Jingguo and his wife personally greeted them with extreme attentiveness.
Yu Xiang and Chang Ya Fu have always been narrow-minded, so seeing the other party, she curled her lips up in contempt and snorted as greetings but when she saw Chang Qi, she wielded her horse whip and revealed a murderous gaze.
Duke Jingguo has already requested the Emperor to confer Chang Qi as his heir but the imperial decree has yet to be granted, so he is still untitled as of now. Although Chang Ya Fu is the daughter of a Duke, she is not in the eighth-grade nobility rank nor does she have the Xiangjun[1] title, hence, amongst the noble ladies present, Yu Xiang has the highest status and with her domineering reputation widely known, no one dares to step forward and provoke her at this moment.
Yu Xiang felt only too glad to be so relaxed. Seeing that the sunlight was just right today, she took a bag of fish food and went to the back garden to feed the fishes while several solidly-built pozi who wouldn't easily let anyone approached guarded around her. Chang Ya Fu ordered people to constantly keep an eye on her and saw that she did not move for a long time, she excused herself saying she was feeling unwell and left first.
In the front courtyard, Duke Jingguo was making amends by offering Yu Pin Yan some wine and dishes while amidst his blabbering he mentioned about his high status and words that were full of guilt and regret as he repeatedly urged him to drink.
Yu Pin Yan who never gets drunk even after consuming a thousand cups merely drank with a cold face. He did not offer him any response which made Duke Jingguo feel rather awkward that his eyes darkened and even after he had uttered all the good words that he had prepared, the other party was not intrigued at all.
Right at this moment, the personal maidservant of Madam Jingguo ran in and spoke in a hurry, "It's not good Marquis. Third Miss Yu somehow fell into the water while feeding the fish by the pond. Though she has been saved, she is still unconscious. Our family Madam requested you to hurry over and take a look."
Throwing the wine cup away with a thud, Yu Pin Yan flung his sleeves and walked away. When he reached the backyard's wing-room, he saw Madam Jingguo standing at the door with a panic-stricken expression. Thinking that Grandmother, Lin Shi and others were in the room, he pushed the door and entered without much thought.
There was no trace of Grandmother and others in the room but a gush of sweet lotus fragrance drifted in the air which did not smell like the usual purified scent. A wheelchair, however, was placed by the side of the bed while a small mass was faintly visible behind the layers of veil.
The anxious mind of Yu Pin Yan calmed down instantly as he walked unhurriedly over to draw the veil up.
Then merely saw Chang Ya Fu wrapped in a quilt as she looked bashfully at him with untold coyness harbored between her eyebrows. Calling out softly, "Yi Feng", she sat halfway up and slowly pushed away the deep-red mandarin ducks embroidered quilt.
Maintaining the action of drawing the veil up, Yu Pin Yan raised an eyebrow and stared at her without a trace of ripple in his pitch-dark eyes.
Dressed only in a bright-red dudou[2] and a light sheer bloomers, the whole body of Chang Ya Fu was covered in pale pink due to bashfulness. Coupled with her lithe graceful posture and fair skin, she looked like a soul-stirring seductress at first glance. With her arms wrapping around herself, she waited and waited but only saw Yu Pin Yan glanced fixedly at her with no action. So, she could only take the initiative to move closer then embraced his strong slender waist and spoke in a coaxing tone, "Yi Feng, I was wrong and willing to give whatever you want. Can you just forgive me this time? I've missed you day and night. My heart is in pain yet also feels remorseful with an unspeakable grief. Yi Feng, please don't abandon me, otherwise I will die."
There's no doubt this is a beauty trap that the Chang family's mother and daughter thought up in this half a month. What sneaky tricks have the All Commander Yu Pin Yan not seen before? Intoxicating him will not work while drugging will be equivalent to seeking death, so there might still be some hope with blatant seduction.
He is a hot-blooded young man with neither concubine nor chambermaid around him and barely visits any houses of ill-repute. After restraining for twenty-one-two years, who can resist this kind of temptation after unexpectedly catching sight of such a perfect nude female who he has a long-standing engagement with and a girl whom he adored when he was young?
There is no reason why Yu Pin Yan can't devour her as long as he is still a man and once he takes the bite, he will have to acknowledge this marriage contract even if he does not want to accept it.
However, there are always disparities between illusion and reality. Seeing not a slightest movement from Yu Pin Yan after enduring the shame of hugging him for a long while, Chang Ya Fu could only look up but saw his narrow eyes that were full of ridicule and contempt while the corners of his mouth riled up with disdain as if he was admiring a clown.
This extreme surge of humiliation that she felt transformed into resentment that Chang Ya Fu simply untied the straps on her neck and tore off the last piece of cover-up before boldly reaching her hand down to probe the man's crotch. She did not believe Yu Pin Yan could still hold back after she had gone this far.
Yu Pin Yan finally moved but instead of embracing and rolling on the bed with Chang Ya Fu, he grabbed her wrist and sneered in a low voice, "Chang Ya Fu, you've truly opened this Marquis' point of view. Not mentioning stripping your clothes to entice but even if you spread your legs voluntarily to beg for pleasure, this Marquis still does not want you."
Dumbfounded, Chang Ya Fu did not know how to react momentarily.
Outside the door, Madam Jingguo led Old Madam, Yu Xiang as well as others and hurriedly rushed in, simply to let the Yu family see with their own eyes the sins they had committed so that the marriage of these two children could be settled in an honorable manner.
Hearing footsteps, Yu Pin Yan reached out to shove and pushed Chang Ya Fu away but who knew, as if suddenly out of her mind, she jumped on him clasping her arms tightly over his neck and wounding her legs around his waist that he simply was unable to tear her off.
When the door crashed open, the inner room's screen was ripped off due to premeditation and everyone's line of vision immediately focused on the two entangled figures. Madam Jingguo and her eldest Di[1] daughter pretended to cry out in surprise then turned around to firmly close and lock the door preventing everyone inside the room from leaving with the stance of settling the accounts after autumn[2].
Old Madam was so angry that she could not utter a word out while the hand holding the walking stick shook. Lin Shi and Yu Miao Qi hastily stepped forward to support her, lest she pass out from this blow but the lowering eyelids of Yu Miao Qi obscured the gloating look in her eyes.
This Chang Ya Fu is also ruthless. In order to trap Yu Pin Yan, she is actually willing to use herself as the bait. Now that he has already seen everything that should and should not be seen, for the sake of both families' reputation, Yu Pin Yan will have to shoulder this blame no matter how unwilling he is.
As all the maidservants and pozi had been dismissed by Madam Jingguo, Yu Xiang looked at Yu Miao Qi with an extremely gloomy expression and ordered, "Push me over there." Yu Miao Qi was stunned and immediately released the hold of Old Madam to push her over, wanting to see what she actually wished to do.
Yu Pin Yan is still trying to tear Chang Ya Fu off but it's futile as Chang Ya Fu's chest is bare, wouldn't she be completely seen by others if she was to be pulled away? So, in order to save the last bit of her prestige, she is determined not to come down. Their struggles utterly messed up Yu Pin Yan's neat clothes which unexpectedly looked like they were having an affair.
Being pushed to the front of the bed, Yu Xiang raised her horse whip and successively flogged Chang Ya Fu's butt five to six lashes without any intention of giving up. The muffled sound of leather hitting the flesh of the butt echoed in the air one after another, causing people's toothaches just listening to it. Unable to endure any longer, Chang Ya Fu cried out in extreme pain that she released both her hands and legs then climbed onto the bed to avoid the floggings.
Yu Xiang picked up the thin quilt that had fallen on the ground and threw it on her body with two raging flames burning in her bright eyes. Pulling her elder brother behind her, she glared at him fiercely.
Yu Pin Yan, however, smiled faintly at her and methodically straightened his clothes.
Madam Jingguo and her eldest Di daughter rushed to the bed to check on Chang Ya Fu's injuries. Seeing her wrapping herself up with the brocade quilt unwaveringly and refusing to show her face, they could only turn to look at Old Madam who had already calmed down and asked, "Old Madam, what do you think should be done after seeing this? Shouldn't there be an explanation since our Fu'er has been taken advantage by Yan'er?"
How could Old Madam not see that this was a trap set by the Chang family's mother and daughter but Yan'er had indeed ruin her reputation. Moreover, the eldest Di daughter of the Chang family is also a formidable witness presently since she is married to Lord Jiang, the Left Chief Officer of the Imperial Censor and if Chang Ya Fu is not accepted into their family, not knowing what kind of trouble the Chang family will stir up.
Pondering about it, Old Madam had no choice but to knock her tooth off and swallow the blood[3] as she nodded her head and said, "Then arrange their marriage as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, not only the Chang family's mother and daughters smiled, even Lin Shi's mother and daughter also revealed the look of joy. Chang Ya Fu is obviously at odds with Old Madam and Yu Xiang hence she can precisely assist them once she marries into the Yu manor. Moreover, Yu Pin Yan is at the hot-blooded age and will eventually feel a little special with his first woman. As such, they will stand a good chance to win him over.
Yet Yu Pin Yan, who was the core of everyone's plot was still relaxed as he bent over and stared at his younger sister's gloomy face.
Yu Xiang pushed away the handsome face that was getting closer and closer before voicing out with a smirk, "This marriage cannot be done!"
"A marriage conforms to the command of the parents and the words of a matchmaker. With all the elders present here now while the betrothal gifts and marriage agreement are all in place, how can it not be done?" Madam Jingguo spoke with mockery, "Xiang'er, it's time you learn the rules too. There's no room for you to interfere in such matters as an unmarried girl."
Yu Xiang thrashed the mattress with her horse whip and spoke in a sombre voice, "How can you still have the audacity to tell me to learn the rules? What kind of unmarried girl would privately lure a man to her room and calmly strip naked for others to see? Is this the rule of your Chang family? This has truly broadened everyone's horizon!"
Madam Chang was rendered speechless with anger while her eldest Di daughter, Chang Ya Ting did not know how to refute her. Today's incident was indeed their ruse, sacrificing Chang Ya Fu's reputation at the expense of trapping Yu Pin Yan, otherwise who else will Chang Ya Fu marry in this lifetime? Who dares to accept the woman that the King of Hell does not want?
Now that her reputation has been ruined, it is indeed ridiculous to mention about the rules again.
Yu Xiang directly pulled the quilt away before she commented coldly, "Chang Ya Fu's conduct has always been uncalled for and she has also been involved with Yu Pin Hong. Now she can even actually do such a thing like stripping her clothes voluntarily to seduce. This behavior is truly so slutty that I suspect her body has long been unclean, so this marriage cannot be concluded. What do you take of my elder brother? The turtle bastard[4] who specializes in picking up worn shoes[5] and be cuckold?"
The Chang family's mother and daughter were so angry that smoke rose from the top of their heads and Chang Ya Fu recoiled into a small hurdle at the corner of the bed, seemingly unable to face anyone while Yu Pin Yan laughed softly.
Yu Xiang turned her head and gave him a fierce glare.
The dark and gloomy eyes of Old Madam revealed a hint of radiance as she nodded in agreement, "Xiang'er is right. My Yu family is unable to tolerate any unclear and impure woman entering our home."
Madam Jingguo became anxious and retorted sharply, "How is our Fu'er unclean? It's obvious that your family Yu Pin Yan who has the lustful intent and abuses his power to bully others yet still refuses to admit after having taken the advantage! Are you doubting Fu'er's reputation? Why don't you get a Momo* to examine her body? If Fu'er is unblemished and her reputation is now ruined by Yu Pin Yan's hand then your Yu family will have to be responsible!"
[T/N: Normally this Momo is the venerated elderly woman from the imperial palace and not the household Momo]
[1] 嫡 (dí) - Legitimate.
[2] 秋后算账 (Qiūhòusuànzhàng) - Metaphor of waiting for the opportunity to retaliate afterwards.
[3] 打落牙齿和血吞 (Dǎ luò yáchǐ hé xuè tūn) - metaphor of after being wronged but still need to swallow the humiliation.
[4] 乌龟王八 - (Wūguī wángbā) - wangba literary means turtle. This term is a famous northern Chinese blaspheme that derogate men whose livelihoods depend on women who prostitute themselves/scoundrels.
[5] 破鞋 (Pòxié) - loose woman / promiscuous