Chapter 8: Gecko Cinnabar
Tang Wu stood on tiptoes, brought her lips to his ear, and whispered a plea, “This concubine truly cannot stand… I wonder if Your Highness could send me back?”
Prince Ying outwardly remained still, but Tang Wu could feel his entire body stiffen.
Tang Wu pressed her advantage, and in the next second, she leaned against him as if she had no bones. With the sudden weight, Prince Ying had no choice but to support her body with his arm like a crutch.
Tang Wu looked at his properly positioned hand and felt incredibly anxious.
She couldn’t believe there was a man so insensitive that he would rather be a crutch than hold her waist, which she was so eagerly offering.
At this moment, Prince Ying’s position was directly facing away from everyone. Side Consort Chu at the back hadn’t even had a clear look at what was happening before she saw Prince Ying actively supporting that little vixen.
Side Consort Chu took a deep breath. She truly couldn’t bear to watch such a scene.
To make Prince Ying turn around, she motioned for Xu’er to release Lian Shiyin’s mouth.
Freed from her constraints, Lian Shiyin immediately scurried forward and said loudly, “Your Highness! There is a reason for my actions! A few days ago, Sister Wu gave me a package of medicine and told me to put it in Your Highness’s tea. But that medicine is a forbidden substance, and I truly didn’t want to, so I had no choice but to sneak to Anshen Hall in the middle of the night to ask the Side Consort for help. If Your Highness doesn’t believe me, just go to her room and see for yourself. The forbidden medicine is hidden under her pillow!”
Lian Shiyin’s expression was heartbroken, showing not a trace of guilt.
Upon hearing this, Side Consort Chu feigned anger, “Is one attempt not enough? Must you try to frame Sister Wu twice?”
“I would never dare to deceive Your Highness and the Side Consort. If that medicine is not under Tang Wu’s pillow, I will accept any punishment.” After saying that, she kowtowed to the ground several times.
When she looked up again, her forehead was scraped and bleeding.
A smile formed on Side Consort Chu’s lips. This was exactly what she had been waiting for.
As long as Lian Shiyin dared to say it, she was sure there was something fishy under Tang Wu’s pillow.
With a sufficient excuse, Side Consort Chu said, with a look of difficulty, “Your Highness, this…”
Prince Ying turned his head, his dark eyes meeting her gaze, and he said with a low rebuke, “Does the Side Consort remember what she just said?”
With this reminder from Prince Ying, her previous accusation against Lian Shiyin felt like a cold knife in the wind, lashing her face.
Side Consort Chu bit her lip and after a long while, said, “This concubine understands what to do.”
His Highness’s attitude was so obvious. Any more words would only annoy him.
It seemed that he had no intention of investigating whether that medicine was under the vixen’s pillow.
Afterward, Prince Ying summoned Steward Cao, gave him a few instructions, and then, with Tang Wu still shuffling her feet, left the east antechamber.
Tang Wu played her part perfectly.
All the way, she didn’t seem to use her legs at all. When Prince Ying walked a little faster, she would start to pant.
Finally, Prince Ying helped her onto a bed and then sat down beside her.
He watched her with an air of composure, as if asking, “Have you had enough?”
Tang Wu met his gaze, and only when she saw a smile appear in his eyes did she slowly sit up straight.
She was being clever, but she also knew her limits. Prince Ying had clearly seen through her little trick, and if she kept it up, she would just be acting coy.
She quickly got up, poured a cup of tea, and brought it to Prince Ying, saying softly, “Thank you, Your Highness.”
Prince Ying took the cup and swirled it. “What, your legs are working fine now that you’re in this room?”
Tang Wu’s face flushed. Although his tone was still low, she could hear his teasing.
Tang Wu knelt by his feet, looked up at him, and said, “This concubine has sinned. I should not have talked nonsense in front of Your Highness.” Instead of continuing to lie, it was better to be honest.
Prince Ying asked, “What is your sin?”
“My legs were actually fine just now, but to lure Your Highness here, I had to lie in front of you on purpose…”
Upon hearing this, Prince Ying reached out and pinched Tang Wu’s chin, tilting it up slightly.
He had a gut feeling that she wasn’t simple.
If she had been diagnosed with the secret fragrance today, it would have been reasonable, but the diagnosis of ginger flower was something he hadn’t anticipated.
Furthermore, he had seen the Count of Cheng’an near the Prince of Ying’s manor more than once recently.
He could easily find out the details with a little inquiry.
The Count of Cheng’an’s reputation and the places he frequented were too easy to investigate.
“What is your relationship with the Count of Cheng’an?”
As soon as the three words “Count of Cheng’an” were uttered, Tang Wu’s face instantly turned pale. She had never expected to hear his name after entering the Prince of Ying’s manor.
Prince Ying saw her pale face and guessed a few things.
Tang Wu’s heart pounded, and she could barely breathe.
She knew that lying was useless because, with Prince Ying’s abilities, there was nothing he couldn’t find out if he wanted to.
But if she told the truth, she couldn’t predict the outcome.
What was the difference between a woman having the soles of her feet seen by a man and being stripped naked?
Besides, once the name Count of Cheng’an was mentioned, would anyone believe what she said?
Before Tang Wu could even speak, tears had already welled up in her eyes.
“Count Cheng’an did come to the courtyard once. The head madam didn’t dare to defy him, so she could only ask this concubine to serve him. In all my years in the courtyard, I never received any guests. Before going in, the head madam only told me to go in and sing a song. But I didn’t expect that man… was not there to listen to music… This concubine already has many stains on her reputation, but there is one thing I never planned to tell anyone. But I truly do not dare to deceive Your Highness, nor do I wish to deceive Your Highness.”
She took a big gasp of air and continued, “On that day, the older sisters in the courtyard removed my shoes and socks and passed my two feet, through a screen, into the Count Cheng’an’s hands. They were… played with for a long time by him… I cried out for him to stop several times, but no one cared about me. Later, I couldn’t bear it anymore, and I kicked over the tea…” With that, Tang Wu sat on the floor, no longer able to kneel.
She covered her face with her hands, thinking that her future fortune or misfortune was no longer hers to decide.
She felt Prince Ying stand up, watching her from a high position.
Presumably, his gentle, jade-like face must now be filled with disgust.
She even regretted having confessed everything about herself like this.
Not until she smelled the faint scent of ink from his sleeve did she dare to think that he was going to help up a sinner like her.
Prince Ying raised his hand and used his slightly rough thumb to gently wipe the corner of her eye, then said, “If you don’t want to see him, this Prince will never let you see him again.”
“Then will Your Highness think that this concubine’s body is already unclean?” Tang Wu pressed on.
Prince Ying shook his head, saying he wouldn’t.
Tang Wu’s breathing became increasingly difficult. She had been in that courtyard for too long and had been domesticated for so long that she could no longer bear others being kind to her.
It was hard for her to believe in this “kindness,” because she knew that a man’s pity and charity could be easily given to a pitiful woman, but unfortunately, it would never last.
Then, she stood up, took off her outer robe, and rolled up her sleeve, revealing a dazzling red cinnabar mole on the inside of her arm. “Your Highness, this is my ‘gecko cinnabar.'[mfn]The virgin’s mark, this practice involved a dried gecko, fed on cinnabar, and its powder was applied to a woman’s arm, supposedly creating a mark that would disappear after sexual intercourse. [/mfn]” The implication of such an action was completely clear to Prince Ying.
Against skin as fair as snow, a vibrant red mole stood out, like a red plum blossom in a field of pristine white, dazzling and eye-catching.
Tang Wu looked at him timidly. She was probably unaware of how alluring her clear, doe-like eyes were.
Even Prince Ying, a man who had always been indifferent to matters of love, couldn’t help but be taken aback.
It was the first time he had ever realized that a pair of eyes could not only hold affection and tears, but also a hook, silently drawing in his pity and his lust.
Prince Ying gave a slight laugh. He had never encountered such a woman, even in his past life with a vast harem.
His hand covered the arm she had offered, gently stroking it.
A hint of darkness entered his eyes. “Plotting against me? Hmm?”
She was a courtesan, and he had pretty much hit the nail on the head. If you asked her to manage a household, she might not do a good job, but if you asked her to use her charms, she would succeed time and again.
Even the most reserved body cannot restrain a bold soul.
From the moment he helped her up, Tang Wu had no intention of letting him leave. She was a charming concubine.
She couldn’t perform the demureness of a well-bred young lady, nor did she care to learn.
Slowly, she slid her palm into his sleeve. Her slender, soft fingertips rubbed back and forth on the joint between his forearm and upper arm.
Tang Wu’s cheeks were flushed. She bit her lip and used her other hand to untie his sash.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was Side Consort Chu’s voice.
“Is Your Highness inside? This concubine has something important to report.”
Prince Ying paused, his gaze, now a mix of light and shadow, turned toward the door.
Unfortunately, Tang Wu didn’t know when to stop. Taking advantage of the moment, she completely untied his sash and cooed “Your Highness…” in a seductive voice.
This whispered word and the cautious knocking outside the door overlapped instantly.
Prince Ying turned his head to look at her, feeling his self-control nearing its limit. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and his breathing became low and uneven.
She was like a clear, beautiful spring in a desolate desert, and he was a dying man, parched to his very core.
He wanted to take a sip, desperately.
