5

The swaying carriage made its way to the Zhu Manor.

Covering the cold ground was a white frost.

"I'm leaving." He sighed despondently. "From here on out, I will descend into the darkness, never to see the light of day."

The corner of Linlang's mouth twitched.

What sorrowful play is this two-faced bastard enacting?

Does he think she'll fall for him like those ignorant girls?

Two can play at this game.

"Weiyang."

"What?"

He raised his eyes, and the fluttering eyelashes made him look more pitiful.

"I said, you will be called 'Weiyang' from now on."

"'The luscius spring is eager to stir, as the water ripples, the night is not halfway past'1. Spring is born, then the nights grow long; a cycle that never ceases, never perishes. What do you think of this name?"

As she fiddled with the palace lantern, its bright red tassels resembled a fallen flower, and the dusky illumination impressed a soft quality in her eyes.

"All right, everything is up to you."Please read this at onemachineshow.blogspot.com

He smiled at her.

Suddenly, he leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Remember, I will only be Weiyang to you alone." When he said this, he rested his head on her shoulder and gradually closed his eyes.

Linlang stroked his face and chuckled lightly.

We'll see who outsmarts who in this game.

Soon, the city lord woke up. He didn't seem to be aware of his previous actions. Touching the faint faint mark on his face, he frowned as he asked uncertainly, "Did I fall asleep?"

"You don't remember falling asleep?" she asked back.

He laughed. "This is an old ailment. It may have been due to exhaustion. The last time this happened, A Fu said I slept for an entire day."

"I see." A faint light flashed in Linlang's eyes.

This sub-personality was more dangerous than she thought.

Things were getting interesting.

When it was time to exit the carriage, Linlang had planned on jumping out when the man suddenly picked her up.

She caught a glimpse of the butler from her peripheral vision.

The beautiful man's eyes had a certain luster under the lights, giving the impression that he was no mere earthling.

He bowed his head and followed Zhu Wuyang.

Then, he carefully glanced forward.

To his surprise, the person he wanted to see was looking back at him. Her smiling expression curved her eyes into beautiful crescents.

The butler lowered his head in embarrassment, afraid to take another look.

Linlang smiled meaningfully.

It's no wonder she's been feeling watched as of late.

There was a time she accidentally dozed off in the pavilion. In her sleepy state, she felt herself being covered with a quilt, but by the time she woke up, it was gone.

Linlang had begun to think she was being haunted.

The next day, Zhu Wuyang left early to investigate the assassination.

Before his departure, he rubbed her face and said that he won't be back and that she should sleep earlier.

A bored Linlang was sitting in front of the bronze mirror with her chin resting on her hands.

Sigh, she's missing her little butler a bit.

Should she have a tryst with the beautiful man tonight?

Knock knock knock——

Two drawn knocks and one short tap.

The door opened, and a man with black hair draping down to his waist stared at her blankly.

Linlang was a little upset.

How can this shocking beauty that didn't use makeup be more gorgeous than an actual woman?

"It's so late, is there something wrong, Furen?"

"I bring you wine. Would you care for a drink?" Linlang curbed her emotions. She lifted her hood, and the moonlight shone on her face. Her eyes were bright, and her eyes smiling. For no apparent reason, the cold night felt somewhat warm.

Those lips were as freshly colored and exquisite as when she first saw him.

She wove a snare and wanted him to jump inside.

However, he didn't have the same mind.

"Apologies, I do not drink wine delivered by women."

Especially not the poisonous wine like this antiaris2.

With a "bang", the door was slammed shut.

He was not in the least bit hesitant.

Tsk, so indifferent.

"Hurry up and open the door."

"Only a dog would open the door."

Linlang smiled.Please read this at onemachineshow.blogspot.com

A dog, huh. Do you think this sister won't make you look good?

"Achoo—"

A heavy sneeze sounded from outside the door.

The butler lowered his beautiful face.

Do not be tenderhearted.

That will lead to muddleness.

So what if it was love at first sight, he had no need for such a cheap and somewhat baffling sentiment.

"Ahem—"

The person outside seemed to be uncomfortable and coughed.

He narrowed his eyebrows slightly.

Does she expect him to feel distressed for her?

Pa——

The wooden window was opened.

Linlang looked sideways at the man by the window with a dead fish expression. His entire body seemed to be covered with the words, 'refusal', 'disdain', 'no strangers allowed', 'do you owe me money'. Such haughtiness was inviolable.

This little fairy's mouth said 'no', but his hands and feet were honest.

"I don't want to climb through the window."

Linlang hugged her shoulders and humphed. Climbing through a window was detrimental to her Queenly status.

To enter, it must be done through the front door.

This person is still acting arrogant?

Blood suddenly flooded the butler's brain. He sneered, saying, "Whether you climb or fall, I will not open for you!"

Do you think you can do whatever you wish just because of his affection

Sorry, he does not enjoy being led by the nose!

"Oh, then pay no mind. If I freeze to death, just find some casual spot to bury me in. I will not trouble the respectable butler."

Linlang was very angry. She was even more ruthless and unreasonable than him.

Butler: "..."

He felt like a snake whose seven-inch point had been grasped by the hunter.

He couldn't break free.

All that was left was for him to die.

"I can only blame myself for my wishful thinking. I thought the other person liked me, but it turned out to be my delusion..."

Her voice gradually sounded desolate.

Before the words had fallen silent, a lanky figure immediately jumped through the window.

Linlang stared at the person.

The other party stuck out a sleeve and spoke gruffly, "Hold it."

The fresh scent of the man after bathing penetrated her nose. It was like a field of mint, indistinct and cool.

"Why?"

"Just lending it!" The butler's attitude was unyielding.

Linlang grabbed the corner of his clothes.

The butler kicked the door open, and Linlang followed him inside.

She raised her eyebrows. Not afraid of death, she jokingly said, "I wonder who said that only a dog would open the door."

The expresionless butler stared at her.

"Woof, woof, woof."

"..."

Did this man forget to take his medicine?

His room was very clean. The bed was neat and tidy, and the ruyi patterned blue vase was not excessively fancy. It matched the calm temperament of this man.

Maybe he's a bit mysophobic?

The butler placed her down, then turned around to take out a cyan lotus bowl from the cabinet. A bright charcoal fire was burning under the stove, and in the blink of an eye, there was the gurgling sound of boiling.

With an elegant posture, he poured the wine brought by Linlang into the pot, then heated the wine in an orderly manner.

"So, then."

He offered her a white jade cup, in which the wine was still warm.

Linlang raised her head. The butler's faint but meaningful glance had the scorching temperature of a stalking beast.

"I believe you're well aware of what it means to have me warm a cup of wine for you in the middle of the night."

Linlang unfastened the straps of the cloak. The black hair that had been partly hidden from view, as well as her porcelain-white neck, was now clearly visible.

Such a scene seemed to have only appeared in his dreams.

So was that low chuckle.

There was a numbness that went down to the bones.

"I, would like to talk about an affair."

Linlang accepted the wine cup by wrapping her hand around his own.

She could hear the man's accelerated heartbeat.

"The question is, do you dare?"

That sweet smile carried a deadly poison.

Betray your master, betray your conviction.

This was tantamount to having a noose around his neck at all times.

Should this ever comes to light, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

He was silent for a moment. Raising his other hand, he reached out to grab hers, then resolutely yanked it forward.Please read this at onemachineshow.blogspot.com

In this way, the jade was brought to his lips and drained in one gulp.

At first glance, he lost his heart.

At second glance, he lost his body.

He has always been a cautious and calm person, so how could he have fallen to such a point?

The world calls it love, this honey lapped from the tip of a blade.

If it is, his mouth which brims with blood can only be courting death.

The butler hated himself for being so taken in by a woman.

It was not like he had never laid eyes on a woman's legs before. What was there to like so much?!

Was she not just a little prettier, have a smile that was a little sweeter, and eyes that were just a little more captivating? Her voice was slightly nicer to listen to, and her appealing personality was just a bit more...

What was so great about her!

The butler had lost all control.

"Ah...Lao Gong, the wine is cooling down..."

"Then warm it up again."

Until the warmth seeps into all the limbs, and the insides are tattered3.

It's just that, this burning throat had never tasted any strong spirits.

You, me, neither one of us has drunk, yet so intoxicated have we become that no medicine could offer a cure.

As the sky on the horizon was brightening, the butler personally bent down to dress her shoes.

Linlang had a pair of drowsing eyes and was yawning from time to time.

"Raise your feet and put on your shoes."

"Oh."

She stretched out her leg in a daze and stepped on the man's face.

Seemingly puzzled about the strange touch, she rubbed in a few more times.

Yi, what is this and why is it soft?

"..."

Hey, this is too much.

He was this age and this was the first time someone trampled on his face.

Don't think that just because you're his first woman means you can be so unbridled.

The butler was speechless for a while.

Fine, given how cute that sleepy face was, there was nothing wrong with being a little arrogant.

The man finally resigned himself and grabbed her restless little feet. After patting the soles a few times, he tucked them into her embroidered shoes.

The butler thought for a while, took off his black cloak, draped it on her body, then sent the concealed Linlang back to her bedroom.

The maid outside was still asleep with her face in a crooked angle.

From start to finish, she didn't know that their city lord's gentle wife had a rendezvous with a beauty last night.

"Lao Gong, don't go." Linlang raised his hand and used it as a pillow. She didn't open her eyes. Having mastered the act of coquetry, she was like a languid Persian cat earnestly asking for her master's company.

The butler's face was suspiciously flushed.

In fact, he later realized that "Lao Gong" was a homonym for a word the common folk used to refer to palace eunuchs4. It turns out that this little villain meant to tease him from the start.

But somehow, last night as the wine was being warmed, whenever he heard her call him this way, it brought out a sweet flavor for no apparent reason.

The butler tacitly approved of his name.

Might as well let her be happy.

"Behave."

He bowed his head and kissed her on the forehead.

After besotting for a long time, he finally left and went to find Zhu Wuyang.

The city lord's return will depend on how many clues he can uncover. At the very least, he would be gone with his men for three to four days to give her unsettled mood some time to recover.

For some things, once you're in it, there will be no way out.

He thought he would be able to spend the rest of his life peacefully, that after a few years, his master might arrange a maid for him, and with a wife and children, he would live a life as ordinary as plain water.

He never expected to be ambushed halfway, and the heart he had guarded for twenty-three years would be taken away.

What bad luck, he thought as he lightly brushed over a flowering branch. The enchanting shadow fell into his eyes .

But he laughed despite himself.

Forget it, it was natural for him to choose to forgive her.

Who told him to fall in love at first sight, and to a villain.