When Lai Er heard that, he assumed the young man was giving in and grinned wickedly — but to his surprise, the actor slipped a slender hand from his sleeve and softly rested it against his neck.
“What’s wrong, darling… ugh!”
Before he could finish speaking, a tight grip clamped around his neck like an iron ring, rendering him immobile. Terrified, he tried to strike the actor, but the actor was quicker.
“Why struggle? Didn’t you say you would give me your life?”
The actor sneered, stretched out his other hand, and quickly twisted Lai Er’s neck. With a click, Lai Er let out a dull whine and then closed his eyes.
As soon as he let go, Lai Er collapsed on the chair with his head on the table, as if he were dead asleep.
The actor took out a white handkerchief from his bosom, wiped his hands, and threw it on Lai Er’s face: “You raped many young men in the past. It is not unjust that you are dying here today.”
Then he touched Lai Er’s waist, took out a bunch of keys, and hurried away.
————
When Yuan Ye finished the last bottle of wine, the sky was already somewhat dark.
Although Gu Fangfei didn’t drink much, she already looked a little tired.
According to the rules, after setting off fireworks and seeing off the guests, one would go to the ancestral temple to worship the ancestors.
Yuan Sen stood up with his big belly and bowed: “Everyone, eat, drink, and have fun first. I’ll go back to my room to change clothes and come back in a while!”
Everyone nodded and smiled.
Yuan Ye came up and said, “Dad, you’ve drunk too much. Let’s get a few more people to take you back to your room.”
“No need, no need, I’m still sober!”
At this time, Old Madam Yuan, who had been very quiet, also spoke up: “Since you’ve drunk, don’t try to show off. What if you embarrass Xiao Ye?”
Although this was a complaint, it was also out of concern. Yuan Sen had not heard his mother’s instructions for many years, so he naturally did not dare to disobey, he ordered two servants to help him back to his room.
Seeing Yuan Sen walking crookedly, Yuan Ye looked at him twice more, and then he was pulled away by the guest again.
When drunk, the road seemed particularly long. Yuan Sen was drunk and his eyes were blurry, and he just followed the servants who were supporting him. He passed the corridor, entered the backyard, passed the pavilion, and arrived in front of the room.
A servant said, “Oh, I forgot to ask Housekeeper Lai to open the door. How about you hold the Master first, and I’ll go find him?”
Another servant stared at the door and said, “Hey, this door seems to be open?”
The two of them tried to push it, and it really opened.
Yuan Sen sneered, “It was such a hectic day, and he still forgot to lock the door. That Lai Er is truly an idiot!”
“Master, don’t be angry.” The servant was eager to please upon hearing this, wanting to pull down Lai Er and take his place. “Housekeeper Lai is always negligent. Whether he stays or leaves is up to you, isn’t it? Come, come, come, Aiyo, slow down… I’ll help you sit down.”
There was no light in the room, and the two of them had no time to light it up, so they could only use the faint light to help Yuan Sen to the bed.
Yuan Sen sat down and sighed comfortably, and the two of them began to look for a light in the room. But when they pressed the switch, it didn’t light up.
“Huh? Is it broken?”
After fiddling with it for a while, he had no choice but to search through boxes and cabinets to find a candle.
Yuan Sen sat there, the stench of alcohol rising in his throat. He felt nauseous, and his bad temper flared. Seeing those two incompetents fail at even the simplest tasks only made him more irritable.
“Useless things! You are lazy and gluttonous on weekdays, and now you can’t even find something! Isn’t it right there on the candlestick?”
They turned around to see, and sure enough, a brand new red candle was standing on the candlestick on the table, with matches ready on the side, and they hurriedly lit the candle.
The room was suddenly lit up, the flames flickered, and it seemed very warm.
At this moment, Yuan Sen smelled a faint scent of agarwood, and the stuffiness in his chest was relieved a little.
“Who lit the incense? Bring it over to me to calm my breath.”
The two servants looked at each other, both confused: “Master, no one lit the incense?”
They both moved their noses, and then they became aware of a faint smell. This smell was very quiet, and it penetrated into their noses little by little, not as strong as ordinary incense.
The two of them followed the scent for a while and discovered the candlestick on the table. They sniffed it and exclaimed, “Master, it’s this candle. It smells good!”
“Nonsense! How can a candle smell good!”
The servant brought the candle to the bed and put it on the bedside cabinet: “It’s true, Master, smell it. Is it this smell?”
Yuan Sen squinted his eyes and leaned to one side. The scent of the candle came out with the smoke. It was really fragrant.
This is really interesting. The mansion actually bought such a high-quality candle.
“It really is that smell…”
The servant, inexperienced and wide-eyed, remarked, “You know what? It really smells quite nice!”
“Aiya…” Yuan Sen moved his neck, “I really drank too much, I feel a little weak… my body is numb…”
“Then lie down, Master. There’s still some more time until the ancestor worshipping ceremony, you don’t have to go to the fireworks later.”
He was about to ask the servants to get some clothes when he heard two dull noises of people falling to the ground. The two servants fell face first onto the ground, unconscious.
If one person falls, it might be an accident, but if two people fall together, it seems strange.
Yuan Sen sobered up a little and kicked the two men: “Hey? Hey? Wake up?”
“Hey? You wake up too? What’s wrong?”
But the two of them seemed to be unconscious and motionless.
An ominous premonition came to his mind!
“What’s going on? Someone come… Someone…”
He stood up, about to shout something, but suddenly felt lightheaded and disoriented. Everything in front of him turned white, his head spun, and a wave of discomfort washed over him.
He quickly grabbed the carved wooden bedpost and managed to avoid falling. But he felt as if he was in the clouds, empty and aimless, as if he was caught in a storm, and the whole world was turned upside down.
It was over. Maybe it was because of his age, so after drinking and exposure to the wind, his body was no longer as strong.
He felt like he was going to have a stroke and was so panicked that he wanted to call for help.
Just as he took a step, his legs went weak and he fell to the ground, as if he had taken numbing powder.
He panted heavily, using his last bit of consciousness to stay awake, then crawling and rolling towards the door with both knees, trying hard to head out of the door.
He was about to reach the threshold.
Suddenly, a hand stretched out and pressed on the door, closing it tightly.
Yuan Sen watched as the escape route was blocked, but his shock came primarily from the unexpected presence of another person in the room.
He looked up, trembling, and saw a figure standing in the light. One hand held a handkerchief to cover their mouth and nose, while the other rested on the doorframe, gazing down at Yuan Sen.
“You… you…” Yuan Sen saw his face clearly, and his fingertips were trembling.
That person turned around and blew out the candle, then put down the handkerchief.
The moment the light went out, Yuan Sen closed his eyes unwillingly, fearfully, terrified, and helplessly.
