Chapter 140: Chance Encounter Aboard the Ship

Lu Ying did not want to argue with him.

She quietly rested her head on his lap, inhaling his familiar scent and feeling the warmth of his body. After consciously clearing her mind, she actually drifted off to sleep.

In less than a quarter of an hour, she woke up. Seeing Lu Ying crawling out from beneath the tiger pelts, her flushed cheeks marked with faint red lines from the pressure and her just-woken eyes still dazed, the nobleman stared at her for a moment before issuing a command: "Come up and put makeup on her."

"Yes."

The person who climbed up, however, was a man in his thirties with delicate, feminine features.

Once he boarded the carriage, he opened a bundle, took out an item, and moved over to Lu Ying, applying it carefully to her neck.

As he applied it, he explained, "This powder blends seamlessly with the skin and can make the Adam's apple appear prominent. The young lady is exceptionally handsome; we only need to refine the details."

Lu Ying listened in utter bewilderment. She blinked her dark, gem-like eyes for a long moment before reacting. "What is this for?"

The nobleman glanced at her without answering.

Instead, the delicate man respectfully replied, "When a lady disguises herself as a man, it can be quite convincing, but it cannot fool a true connoisseur. I excel at this craft, and I can ensure that no one will ever recognize the lady's true identity."

The crucial question was: why on earth did she need to make herself completely unrecognizable?

Lu Ying blinked and turned to look at the nobleman.

Seeing her large eyes transition from sleepy and hazy to gradually clearing up, the nobleman curved his lips into a smile.

He reached out and gently stroked her cheek, his deep, magnetic voice laced with amusement, "If you still want to sleep, rest a while longer... I will wake you when we arrive."

The warmth of his fingertips brushing against her cool skin made Lu Ying instinctively stiffen.

Yet, this sudden gesture woke her up completely.

Lowering her gaze, Lu Ying had no idea how to handle such gentleness from the nobleman, so she simply kept her head bowed and remained silent.

Before long, the delicate man said, "Done." With that, he bowed to both the nobleman and Lu Ying, then slowly retreated.

Shortly after, the carriage, which had been traveling for a while, came to a halt.

They had reached the pier.

Lu Ying looked up and, catching sight of the Exquisite Fragrance Pavilion's vessel before her, started in surprise and looked over at the nobleman.

At this moment, the nobleman was wearing a bamboo hat that cast a shadow over his handsome face. He glanced at her, stepped out of the carriage, walked across the wooden plank, and boarded the ship. Meanwhile, the ten men in cyan robes who had followed them had all changed into civilian attire.

These cyan-robed men all possessed formidable backgrounds in Luoyang and had served by the nobleman's side for years. Even if they were not accustomed to a life of absolute luxury, the air of decisive ruthlessness born from battle was deeply ingrained in them. Walking about in ordinary clothes, they instantly gave the impression of wealthy and influential men of extraordinary origins. Dispersing like this, any one of them looked fully qualified to be a guest of the Exquisite Fragrance Pavilion.

In effect, besides the delicate man, Lu Ying was the only youth accompanying the nobleman in plain sight.

She stood there in a daze. By now, the man in the bamboo hat had already strode onto the large ship. His powerful, confident stride compelled many of the beauties on board—accustomed as they were to powerful dignitaries—to turn their heads and look repeatedly.

After walking a dozen paces, the nobleman crossed his arms and lazily glanced back at Lu Ying, waiting for her to catch up.

Lu Ying hurried over. Reaching his side, she whispered, "My lord, you didn't bring any maidservants."

A soft voice murmured in her ear: "You are one."

Lu Ying's face stiffened, but having long since learned how to deal with him, she put on a bitter expression and murmured, "I haven't rested enough; I might make mistakes..."

The nobleman glanced at her and gave a slight nod toward the pier.

Immediately, a maidservant of seventeen or eighteen hurried over. She rushed up to the nobleman, curtsied, and nervously whispered, "My lord..."

The nobleman fixed her with a glare that struck her dumb with terror, then turned and walked toward the stern of the ship.

At that moment, the fleet began to set sail.

As the churned-up white foam rose in rows, Lu Ying raised her head and nodded to a few youths on the pier who were looking at her, signaling them to convey her message to Lu Yun and Luo Zi. Then, she turned around and quietly followed behind the nobleman.

Lu Ying had truly been exhausted lately, so as soon as she entered the cabin, she collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep, sleeping straight until nightfall.

The moment she opened her eyes, she heard the drifting sounds of drums and music, accompanied by the fragrance of rouge and the laughter of beauties.

The large ship had already entered the riverway. Seeing the glittering river outside and the brightly lit boats stretching before and behind, Lu Ying got up.

After freshening up, she walked out of the cabin.

The second floor of the large ship was lined with luxuriously decorated private rooms. At this moment, all these rooms were brilliantly illuminated with festive lanterns, and through the translucent gauze windows, the graceful silhouettes of dancing beauties could be seen.

Which room was the nobleman in?

Too lazy to search for him, Lu Ying leaned languidly against the ship's railing, quietly admiring the beautiful night scenery.

The ships of the Exquisite Fragrance Pavilion were notoriously difficult to board, and almost all the guests were immersed in the private rooms, indulging in fine wine and holding beauties in their arms to enjoy worldly pleasures to the utmost. Very few people stood outside admiring the scenery like Lu Ying.

Consequently, she remained there in quiet solitude.

After who knows how long, a string of footsteps approached from behind, followed by a crisp voice, "Young master, are you by yourself?"

The voice was slightly hoarse, as if she had just been crying.

Lu Ying turned her head.

Walking toward her was an exquisitely dressed noblewoman. Although her attire leaned slightly toward the gaudy in order not to lose ground on this ship, her aristocratic demeanor was immediately recognizable at a glance.

The noblewoman walked up to Lu Ying's side and, mimicking her posture, leaned against the railing to look out at the night view.

Yet, as she gazed into the distance, her eyes grew red again.

Seeing that she was about to burst into tears, Lu Ying frowned. She had never been a particularly soft-hearted person, and an urge to walk away stirred within her.

At that moment, the noblewoman spoke in a low voice, "I boarded this ship following my husband... He became infatuated with a courtesan on this boat, ran away on our wedding night, and stays on this vessel year after year without ever returning home."

Turning her head, she looked at Lu Ying with reddened eyes and asked softly, "And what about you, young master? You don't look like the sort of person who would frequent such a vessel. Why did you come here?"

Lu Ying looked at the woman. She said she was married, yet she still wore her hair in the style of an unmarried maiden. Was all this suffering truly worth it for a husband who didn't even deign to share a bridal chamber with her?

After staring at her for a moment, Lu Ying replied, "I came following my master."

Upon hearing this, the noblewoman froze. She asked perplexedly, "I thought you were a young master from a prominent family as well." Before she could finish, her gaze drifted past Lu Ying, faltering as her face paled.

Lu Ying followed her line of sight.

Emerging from one of the cabins was a young woman.

This woman possessed a delicate, fragile appearance with a refined beauty somewhat similar to Lu Ying's, except that her eyes slanted slightly upward, giving her an air of vulnerability tinged with seductiveness.

She looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old. Compared to the noblewoman beside Lu Ying, she fell short in both appearance and bearing by a wide margin.

As the two women looked at her, the newcomer looked back at them as well. Spotting the noblewoman, the woman's eyes lit up.

She sashayed toward them with a swaying gait.

Walking right up to them, she first glanced at the elegant Lu Ying before turning to the noblewoman with a tight-lipped smile, speaking in a soft, tinkling voice, "Lady Yuan, since you're married to Young Master Yang, why are you still wearing your hair in a maiden's style?"

Her tone was gentle, but the provocative and triumphant look she cast at Lady Yuan, combined with the flirtatious glance she threw at Lu Ying, clearly signaled to Lu Ying that this Lady Yuan was a married woman.

Lady Yuan said with a stiff face, "What business is that of yours?"

The woman covered her mouth with a delicate giggle, "I'm just afraid you might be cuckolding our dear husband!"

The crude remark caused Lady Yuan's face to turn ashen; she was clearly furious. Yet, being someone slow of speech, she could not utter a single word in retort when wronged. Trembling with anger for a moment, Lady Yuan whipped her head around and strode away.

However, even though Lady Yuan left, the woman had no intention of letting her go. Seeing the woman follow after her, Lu Ying frowned.

Vaguely, she heard the woman trailing closely behind Lady Yuan, continuing in that soft, sweet voice: "Lady Yuan, you and Young Master Yang grew up together. Though my family fell from grace and I was reduced to a lowly status, Young Master Yang treats me well. For my sake, he treats this ship like his home. Even though you married him, he doesn't even deign to touch you. Heh heh, Lady Yuan, who has won in the end—you or me?"

Under the glow of the lanterns, Lady Yuan's profile was deathly pale, yet she remained utterly speechless.

The woman stayed glued to her side, continuing relentlessly in her gentle tones: "Come to think of it, back then when you finally saw reason and talked about calling off the engagement to fulfill our wishes, Young Master Yang agreed as well. But I refused! I wanted him to marry you precisely so you would live as a widow in all but name, precisely so I would never enter Young Master Yang's household, leaving you yearning for a man you could see but never touch... Lady Yuan, my dear Sister Yuan, do you think your little sister treats you well?"

Lady Yuan trembled with rage.

Seeing Lady Yuan's reaction, the woman's cheeks flushed red, and her eyes seemed to brim with liquid desire—she looked precisely like someone who derived extreme, ecstatic pleasure purely from provoking another person.

She went on softly, "Sister Yuan surely doesn't know why Young Master Yang didn't spend the wedding night with you... Heh heh, that was because I told him back then that I was carrying his child and was gravely ill; if he didn't come, he might never see the two of us again."

Deliberately tormenting Lady Yuan until she shook uncontrollably, the woman continued with sweet malice, "And what about this time, Sister Yuan? Do you know why I had Young Master Yang bring you onto this ship?" The woman giggled musically. "That's because the child I'm carrying actually isn't Young Master Yang's!"

At those words, Lady Yuan whipped around, her face livid as she glared at the woman.

Seeing her trembling all over with fury, the woman laughed even more brightly and wantonly. "Sister Yuan, are you dying to tell Young Master Yang? Heh heh, I advise you not to bother; he won't listen to you at all. Just like back then—even though you were the one who risked yourself to save him, as long as I told him I did it, he would always be grateful to me and feel guilty toward me. Sister Yuan, do you know where your greatest failure lies? It's that you're just too proper, too dignified, too obsessed with status, and you love him far too much..."

Triumphantly reaching this point, the woman stared at Lady Yuan and purred with eager anticipation, "Sister Yuan, since you're this angry, why don't you slap me across the face, or give me a hard push? Oh my, if you don't do that, how can I manage to miscarry this bastard seed?" This woman was evidently so accustomed to bullying Lady Yuan that she spoke without any reservations whatsoever. Yet no one could have anticipated that Lu Ying's hearing would be so acute, allowing her to catch every single word of their lowered conversation amidst the din of flutes and music. (To be continued)