The setting sun sank below the horizon.
Lights came on in the small courtyard of Shuanggui Alley.
The wooden bed in the main room had been removed and replaced with a shelf bed made of mahogany. It was placed against the inner corner of the wall, and a light cyan mosquito net was hung over it. There was also a dressing table with a standing bronze mirror added by the window.
The west wing room had also changed. All the old furniture had been thrown out and replaced with brand new desks, a large bed, and chairs.
After busying around and tidying up the room, Ye Jingtang sat down in front of the desk facing the window. Looking at the moon outside the window, he still hadn't recovered from the "Excited Thug's Fist" in the afternoon.
After learning a set of boxing techniques, he had basically figured out Third Lady's measurements. He didn't know if he was learning boxing or "learning a foreign language".
But boxing skills were like this. Physical contact was inevitable. It wasn't very appropriate to say that Third Lady did it on purpose. After thinking it over, he could only say that Third Lady didn't treat him as an outsider.
The courtyard was very quiet. Niaoniao was very interested in the new bed. It rolled back and forth on it, and even grabbed the soft blanket by itself, making a small nest next to the pillow. It lay in it with its claws facing the sky, enjoying the feeling.
After sitting alone for a long time, finally, sounds came from the alley:
"Master's wife, why are you walking so slowly?"
"Oh. I'm thinking about something. Your Brother Jingtang is back..."
...
Ye Jingtang withdrew his thoughts and looked up. Xiao Yunli, wearing a bamboo hat, ran in first. After taking a look around the main room, she quickly ran in, her eyes full of surprise:
"Brother Jingtang, why did you buy such a big bed for us too? And the dressing table..."
Luo Ning entered the door one step behind. When she saw him by the window, her face turned cold, and she directly turned around and walked into the kitchen.
Ye Jingtang came to the courtyard and looked at Yunli, who was curiously examining the shelf bed:
"Do you like it?"
"Very much. I feel like it can easily fit three people."
After looking at it with satisfaction for a while, Yunli then looked at the painting scroll hanging in front of the shelf bed:
"Was this painting given as a bonus with the bed? So insincere..."
"Don't touch it! This is a calligraphy and painting bestowed by the court."
"Ah?!"
Yunli took a closer look and nodded thoughtfully:
"I misjudged it just now. The fine brushwork is indeed not ordinary..."
?
Ye Jingtang thought that Xiao Yunli was also a flatterer. He came to the kitchen and looked at Miss Luo, who didn't seem happy, and asked:
"Is there something wrong?"
Luo Ning definitely had something on her mind, and it was a big matter!
Today, she secretly went to Wendu Bridge and found Madam Wang to ask how often she should regulate Ye Jingtang's body.
Madam Wang's answer was quite straightforward - Regulate it when there's time, and let him hold it in if he can't stand it.
What did that mean?
She had been left in a limp state twice yesterday. Did that mean she would be like that once a day?
Was this still a life worth living?
Luo Ning gently bit her lower lip and didn't dare to tell the little thief this "bad news". She just looked at the pile of black ashes behind the stove.
Ye Jingtang followed her gaze. At first, he didn't pay much attention, but upon closer inspection, he felt something was wrong - this black ash, why did it look like burnt paper...
Burnt paper...
?!
Thunderbolt——
A bolt of lightning flashed through Ye Jingtang's mind, and he was instantly devastated. He slowly walked to the back of the stove and squatted down. He raised his hand and looked at Miss Luo with an innocent expression:
"You didn't burn the book, did you?"
Luo Ning wasn't that heartless. After Ye Jingtang left at noon, she was reading the book alone in the room.
As a result, in the book, after the little thief molested the chivalrous woman, when the chivalrous woman woke up, she actually didn't deal with the little thief!
This was completely unreasonable.
Luo Ning felt something was wrong. She quickly scanned the rest of the book using the quantum reading method and found that it was full of indecent erotic pictures! She didn't even dare to look at them carefully. Immediately, she wanted to throw the book away.
But the little thief had said it was very serious and that it was not good to damage the book. So she could only casually find an idle book and burn it, and hide "The Tears of the Chivalrous Woman".
Seeing Ye Jingtang's eyes full of heartache, Luo Ning snorted softly:
"So what if I burned it? You shouldn't have read that kind of book that can't be shown in public."
Ye Jingtang used a wooden stick to rummage through the ashes. He couldn't even find a small piece of paper. He opened his mouth, looking very helpless.
"?"
Luo Ning was stunned when she saw this scene and thought to herself: Even if I really burned it, it was just an erotic album. Do you have to look more devastated than when the "Minglong Diagram" was burned?
"Ye Jingtang?"
"Sigh... I'm okay. The book is dead and can't be brought back to life. If it's burned, then it's burned. I don't blame you, Miss Luo."
"..."
Luo Ning didn't know what to say. After a moment of hesitation, she turned around and opened the cupboard, took out the book wrapped in black cloth, and directly threw it to Ye Jingtang. Her eyes were slightly cold:
"Since this book is so important to you, go to sleep holding it."
With that, she walked out of the room without looking back.
?!
Ye Jingtang realized something was wrong and tried to persuade her:
"That's not what I meant. This book is a rare copy from the previous dynasty..."
"What book?!"
Hearing the commotion, Zhe Yunli walked out from the main room. However, Luo Ning, who was afraid that her daughter would be corrupted, directly grabbed her arm and pulled her into the room. The door slammed shut with a "bang——".
Ye Jingtang's words also stopped abruptly. Looking at the silhouette on the window paper, he slightly spread his hands and returned to the room...
——
Inside the imperial palace.
The moon had risen on the branches. The palace gates had already been closed, and Chen'an Hall had also quieted down.
From the window, one could see the Empress Dowager, who was as beautiful as a national treasure, standing in front of the painting table with a paintbrush in her hand, carefully sketching the painting scroll.
Hongyu was wearing a man's black robe, with a saber hanging from her waist. There was a small parrot raised in the palace perched on her shoulder. She stood in front of the screen as a model, looking very innocent.
Although the parrot and the snow eagle looked completely different, for the freehand Empress Dowager, there wasn't much difference.
Dongfang Liren, like a respected elder, observed behind the Empress Dowager for a while. Finding it boring and not daring to say so, she came to the window, stood with her hands behind her back, and looked towards the waterside pavilion in the distance.
Outside the window, the starry river and the silver moon were reflected in Minglongtan. There were no lights in the waterside pavilion.
From the window, one could vaguely see a woman in a red dress sitting alone in the waterside pavilion. She exuded an arrogant aura as if she ruled the world, making people feel that looking directly at her from afar was an offense.
When Dongfang Liren saw her sister practicing martial arts, there was a trace of envy in her eyes, just like when she watched Ye Jingtang practicing martial arts.
Her sister was completely different from her. Her sister was mediocre in playing the qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but her talent in martial arts was incredibly good. Because the martial arts atmosphere in the Great Wei was very strong, since childhood, her father and mother had doted on her sister a bit more.
She believed that her own talent was not bad either, and she was definitely a bit jealous. But compared with a genius like her sister, it was like comparing the Empress Dowager's painting talent with hers. Even though she had been practicing martial arts hard since childhood, she was still getting further and further away from her sister.
She had thought that in her life, she would only be second to her sister. But she never expected that Ye Jingtang would appear in the capital. In just over a month, he had, with an otherworldly demeanor, suppressed her again. Moreover, he didn't understand the ways of the world at all and openly mocked her...
As for who was more powerful between her sister and Ye Jingtang, she wasn't sure in her heart. Currently, she thought her sister was more powerful. After all, her sister, as a woman, had taken the throne that had always been occupied by men since ancient times.
Since ancient times, there had been countless monarchs who had destroyed their countries due to their immorality, but there were very few monarchs who had been forced to abdicate.
Because monarchs of all dynasties, in order to protect themselves, would select a talented young person, castrate him since childhood, raise him by their side, and teach him the "Minglong Diagram" they had collected.
There was also such a person in the Great Wei. Because the "Minglong Diagram" was lost when the Great Yan was destroyed, this person was a young eunuch in the previous dynasty's imperial palace. He had practiced four pieces of the "Minglong Diagram". At the age of only twelve, he single-handedly held the imperial city and covered the escape of Emperor Gong of Yan.
After her grandfather captured the young eunuch, instead of killing him, he moved him with emotions and reasoned with him. On the condition of treating the Yan royal family well, he made the young eunuch swear allegiance to the Great Wei.
The young eunuch agreed and thus became the "Grand Eunuch Cao, the Guardian God" of the Great Wei's imperial city. After her grandfather passed away, he protected her father, and after her father passed away, he protected the eldest prince.
Grand Eunuch Cao was the stabilizing force by the Great Wei monarch's side. If her sister wanted to usurp the throne, Grand Eunuch Cao naturally became an insurmountable obstacle. Even though the eldest prince had been eager for quick success and had been resisted by the court officials, and her sister had the support of the powerful families related by marriage, as long as Grand Eunuch Cao didn't fall, the eldest prince could still move freely. If he couldn't defend the imperial palace, he could flee to the territories of the various princes.
At that time, she was going to be married off as a consort to the enemy state of Beiliang. She was already desperate and was ready to flee and hide her identity. But one morning when she woke up, she became a prince of equal rank to the emperor in the Great Wei. Since then, she no longer had to worry about being controlled by others.
These things all happened on that night ten years ago. Outsiders only knew that the court officials had impeached the eldest prince, causing him to abdicate voluntarily, but they didn't know what had really happened in the imperial city that night and how many people had died. Even she didn't know how her sister had managed to do it.
But she knew that her sister was more powerful than she had imagined. Her sister seemed flirtatious on the outside, but inside she was like a towering mountain that stood upright. No matter how strong the storm was, she wouldn't frown...
Just as Dongfang Liren was secretly admiring her sister, she suddenly noticed that her sister in the waterside pavilion furrowed her delicate eyebrows, supported her forehead with her hand, and showed a delicate and weak look like a noble concubine getting drunk.
??
Dongfang Liren was slightly taken aback. Then she directly rushed out of the window, lightly tapped the blue waves with her toes, and came to the waterside pavilion in the middle of the lake. She supported the empress of the Great Wei Dynasty, who had her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes closed:
"Sister?"
The empress of the Great Wei Dynasty slightly raised her hand, then gently hooked her long shoulder-length hair with her fingertips to cover the unremarkable white strand of hair among the black hair. She said casually:
"I got a cramp. It's okay. You can go and continue with your business."
"..."
Dongfang Liren blinked her eyes, carefully examined her sister's complexion, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong, she nodded slightly...
——
The long night was silent.
The lights in Shuanggui Alley had already been extinguished.
In the main room, the cyan curtain had been lowered. Zhe Yunli was wearing a small bellyband with Niaoniao's pattern on it. A thin quilt was covering her belly, and she was sleeping in a big character shape on the inner side, sound asleep.
Luo Ning was lying on her side on the outer side of the bed. A thin quilt was draped over her waist, revealing her snow-white shoulders. She was rubbing a green jade pendant in her hand, wanting to fall asleep, but the miscellaneous thoughts in her heart were disturbing her and making it difficult for her to sleep peacefully.
Excessive yang energy. If it's not regulated, it's easy to get impatient and restless...
When masters fight each other to the death, a single thought can mean the difference between life and death...
Miss Ning should be more open-minded. This kind of thing is very normal between husband and wife. It's also for the sake of her husband. Don't have a psychological burden...
Sigh...
Luo Ning listened carefully. There was no sound coming from the west wing room not far away. Presumably, he had already fallen asleep.
He doesn't even care about his own body. What am I stupidly worrying about...
But the little thief fights all day long. The Zhou family and Xu Bailin both hate him to the core. With a single carelessness...
People in the martial arts world can't act on impulse. From a rational perspective, I've already helped regulate his body once. If I give up halfway and cause the little thief to have an accident, wouldn't it be like losing both the wife and the army...
I'm still counting on the little thief to deal with that old bald donkey Shen Chen in the future...
Luo Ning was in a state of confusion for a long time. In the end, reason prevailed. She secretly gritted her teeth and silently sat up...
——
In the west wing room, the curtain of the shelf bed had been lowered, and a robe was draped outside the bed.
Ye Jingtang was lying on the pillow, covered with a moon-white thin quilt. He was holding a book in his arms and sleeping soundly with his eyes closed.
Whoosh~
I don't know what time it was in the night when a gust of night wind silently blew into the room, causing ripples on the curtain like water waves.
Ye Jingtang woke up accordingly. He slightly opened his eyes and looked around. There was no light in the room at all. He could only hear the sound coming from outside the curtain:
Rustle~~~
The sound of taking off a skirt.
?!
Ye Jingtang was really surprised and also a bit flattered.
Soon, the curtain opened a little, and then the thin quilt was lifted. Something soft, fragrant, and tender rolled in silently, turning her back to him.
Ye Jingtang closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
After waiting for a while, the person beside him looked back, and then was about to get up and leave.
Ye Jingtang quickly woke up and whispered in her ear:
"Miss Luo, can't you sleep at night?"
The familiar, clear and cold voice of a noble and beautiful woman sounded beside his ear:
"Little thief, don't flatter yourself. Madam Wang said that I need to regulate your body today, otherwise you might be unstable in your state of mind and have an accident during a fight with someone. Do you think I want to come here?"
Ye Jingtang was very touched. After thinking for a while, he asked:
"What about tomorrow?"
?
Luo Ning hesitated for a moment and said coldly: "I'll ask again tomorrow."
Ye Jingtang smiled and didn't say much. He reached out his hand and touched her. He found that it was smooth all over, and his hand felt full of tenderness. Just as he touched the soft part, his wrist was grabbed.
"Hmm?"
Luo Ning whispered: "I'm here just to regulate your body, not to be affectionate with you. You're being so slow. I... I'm in a hurry to go back and sleep."
?
Ye Jingtang felt a bit innocent and thought to himself: I can't be fast about this either...
Rustle~~
There was movement beside him. She turned around and pressed her warm body against his. Judging from the movement, she seemed to want to start directly!
?
Ye Jingtang couldn't see Luo Ning's face, but he knew that she must be in a small, helpless, and forced-to-suffer look - biting her lower lip lightly and looking full of helplessness.
Ye Jingtang naturally wouldn't stop her. He eagerly waited.
Slowly~~
Ye Jingtang wanted to raise his hand, but was pressed down by Miss Luo. He could only say softly:
"This won't work like this."
"It will work~..."
Miss Luo stubbornly whispered a word.
Ye Jingtang put his hands behind his head and didn't move around. He just asked:
"It's not very good to keep knocking Yunli out like this..."
"I'm not knocking her out. It's a technique to help her sleep. When she was a child, she wasn't obedient when sleeping, and her master often did this to her."
"How about we buy a new house?"
"This is your home. You make the decision... Keep this courtyard..."
"Okay."
It was silent inside the shelf bed, and only the curtain showed slight ripples.
After a long period of silence, Ye Jingtang's voice sounded again:
"Miss Luo, didn't you read the book today?"
"How could I