spoiled brat

Chapter 67, Section 66: Xiu Ning (Part Six)

His small eyes darted around. He thought that educated women all liked romantic and talented men. He was already sixty years old and had read a few books himself. "I'll give you a couplet. If you can match it, I'll reward you with something, how about that?"

Disgusting as it may be, she couldn't give up the things, so Zhao Zhao nodded.

"A brave man carries a three-foot sword at his waist." Xu Feng shook his belly and legs, intentionally drawing Zhao Zhao's gaze to his manhood.

But Zhao Zhao only saw layers upon layers of fat on his belly, fatter than the fattest pig she had ever seen in her life, and that if she cut him, oil would surely ooze out... The words that came out of her mouth were: "A man should have five cartloads of books in his belly?"

Xu Feng chuckled and started showing off: "How about changing this boy into a girl?"

His eyes were lewd, and he was not planning anything good. Before Zhaozhao could answer, he continued, "Two mounds of snow on your chest, daughter."

Zhao Zhao felt so nauseous that her vision blurred. She was glad that she had thrown away the two broken hairpins, otherwise she might have impulsively stabbed the old man to death, causing her whole family to be buried with him.

Seeing her cold gaze, Xu Feng wasn't displeased at all; instead, he became even more enthusiastic. He stood up, his fat body jiggling as he walked over: "Actually, I don't like listening to the pipa, and I especially dislike thorny tunes, but when I saw your proud and stubborn little face, my bones melted..."

He circled around Zhao Zhao, his old-fashioned aura enveloping her.

Zhao Zhao stared at the shadow on the ground and realized that when a person gets fat enough, their shadow will sway like water.

"Show me your feet," Xu Feng commanded.

Zhao Zhao was still wearing those tiny shoes, which squeezed her already underdeveloped feet into two tiny melon seeds. As soon as she showed a little bit of her toes, Xu Feng's eyes lit up: "Good stuff!"

He actually knelt down, kneeling in front of Zhao Zhao, and picked up her feet, admiring them through her shoes, clicking his tongue and saying, "You're young, light-boned, and quite pretty, and you can even play the pipa..."

Was he going to keep her in the mansion as a concubine? Zhao Zhao felt a chill in her heart for a moment, but Xu Feng's next words were even more disgusting: "I'd rather not enjoy her myself... My teacher in the capital recently lost one of his concubines, and you'll fill the vacancy. He prefers young women, but he finds new shoes too tight. I'm here today to help you grow up a bit, so that when you go to the capital, you won't be clumsy and unable to serve my teacher properly."

As he spoke, his hand moved up Zhao Zhao's leg. The greasy touch seeped into her heart from her skin. Zhao Zhao gripped the side of the chair tightly with both hands, her nails almost digging into the wood and bleeding. She had to endure it, she had to endure it.

"What is that?" Xu Feng's hand reached for his underpants, then abruptly withdrew from the floor beneath his skirt. He stared at the few drops of crimson blood on his fingertips, instantly erupting in fury: "You Ming sent you here and didn't even bother to keep track of the date?!"

Her aggrieved expression made it seem as if Zhao Zhao had failed his kindness. Zhao Zhao quickly bowed and apologized, saying timidly, "Master... my day wasn't supposed to be today, but I was so excited to see you just now, so..."

Xu Fengcai didn't believe her. He raised his hand and slapped Zhao Zhao across the face. The greasy drooling from before was gone. He cursed, "You unlucky thing!"

He was in the middle of his flamboyant act when this happened. Just as I was about to kick him, I saw Zhao Zhao's face and held back, yelling towards the door, "Someone come here!"

The plump maid and the thin maid entered and bowed respectfully, saying, "Master."

Xu Feng wiped the blood off his hands on the thin maid's chest, then glanced at Zhao Zhao: "When the foot-binding woman arrives tomorrow, remember to keep a close eye on her and don't let her get out of bed."

Foot binding? Zhao Zhao's heart sank. She had to escape, she had to escape quickly.

Later, she will be trimmed into something to please men.

-

Not her.

She's young, has a similar voice, and can play the pipa. But it's definitely not her.

Xiu Ning looked at the little girl in front of him, extended his hand, and gestured for her to hold it.

The little girl glanced timidly at Xiu Ning, then lightly touched her fingertips with hers: "Princess..."

Xiu Ning lowered his eyes, picked up his pen and wrote: The person who helped me play chess was not you.

The young girl, exposed, knelt down from the stool and trembled, saying, "Lord Xu ordered me to impersonate him; I had no choice."

Xiu Ning told her to get up and then wrote: I know.

"Please don't throw me back to the Xu residence..." The little girl didn't get up, but crawled to Xiu Ning's feet with a tearful face. "That's not a place for a human being."

Having said that, she disregarded everything and took off her outer garment, revealing her scarred shoulders and back. Her voice trembled as she said, "I am not a servant of the Xu family, but a commoner who was forcibly bought into this household. Six years ago, Xu Feng was still working in Wenzhou, a mere sixth-rank official. He seized my family's land, unjustly murdered my parents, and abducted me into his household as a slave, where he wantonly tormented and bullied me..."

That sounds too natural.

Xiu Ning raised his hand, indicating that he didn't need to continue, and wrote: Stay in the Prince's Mansion, and someone will arrange a job for you.

Just as the young girl was about to kneel down to express her gratitude to the princess and offer to serve her at all times, someone outside the door suddenly reported: "Princess, the prince and the young master are at odds! They've resorted to family discipline. You must go and try to persuade them!"

Xiu Ning frowned slightly and slowly got up to leave. The little girl crawled a few steps on her knees, blocking her way, and said nervously, "This humble servant wishes to serve the princess."

Xiu Ning looked at her indifferently, shook her head, and turned to leave.

Everyone knows that the prince and the heir apparent are at odds.

Fengling Courtyard is filled with pine trees, one of which is quite old. It is said to have grown since the Jin Dynasty and is now towering into the sky.

A python-patterned armchair was placed under the pine tree. Zhan Ruoshui sat there, her thin face shrouded in the shadows of the trees, full of gloom.

In his youth, his fair and refined appearance caused him to be distrusted when he first took command of troops; everyone thought he was just an ordinary, weak scholar. Later, he gained prestige through his military achievements and began to deliberately grow a beard to make himself look like a true general.

"Look at yourself!" Zhan Ruoshui looked at Xiu Yi kneeling in front of her and said with disappointment, "Wearing gold and jade, all that gaudy stuff, what kind of appearance is this!"

Xiu Yi had already been whipped, and he was left only with a white shirt, which was pitifully soaked with blood.

Despite his disheveled appearance, he still exuded arrogance: "I'm just an ordinary person. I like pretty and flamboyant things. If I see something, I want to get it and wear it. What's wrong with that?"

A gust of wind came and blew the two red jade beads on the end of his hair ribbon, making his face appear even whiter.

Zhan Ruoshui slapped the armrest and said in a deep voice to the two guards behind Xiu Yi, "Give him ten more lashes."

Hearing this, He Bi, who was kneeling to the side, said anxiously, "Your Highness, the Empress said that there are always children to be abducted! There's no need to rush!"

The two guards holding the whips froze, looking at Zhan Ruoshui, unsure whether they should strike.

(End of this chapter)