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After seeing Wang Yingxue's figure disappear into the distance, Lady Li Niang, hidden in the bushes, finally let out a heavy sigh. Good heavens! Thankfully, my best friend left in such a hurry and didn't notice me, otherwise, it would have been utterly mortifying!
However, Lady Li Niang's heart had barely calmed for two seconds before it began to pound violently again. This was because she distinctly saw the man wearing the jade fox mask walk directly to a spot not far from her. But unlike Wang Yingxue, he didn't pass directly by the bush where she was hiding; instead, he stood right in front of it. What's happening? Did this person notice me? Lady Li Niang was even more panicked now! If Wang Yingxue had discovered her just now, at most it would have been a bit awkward between them, not a huge deal. However, it was different now! Wang Yingxue had left, and she didn't know this jade fox gentleman. If he harbored malicious intent to silence her, then she... At this moment, Lady Li Niang was already filled with regret. Why did I have to follow Wang Yingxue here when I was perfectly fine? Now look, I might even lose my life here.
However, just as Lady Li Niang closed her eyes in prayer, she suddenly heard a soft clink in front of her, as if something had dropped to the ground. But at this moment, she didn't dare to open her eyes to look! After waiting for a few more seconds, the person still hadn't pulled her out. Feeling a slight doubt in her heart, Lady Li Niang slowly opened her eyes. And only then did she realize that the jade fox gentleman had already disappeared! What a phantom, coming and going without a trace! This man's footsteps were so light that there wasn't a single sound?! Lady Li Niang sighed with emotion. After waiting a while longer to confirm that the surroundings were indeed safe, she slowly stood up and tidied her dress, which had gotten some dried branches and leaves on it from hiding in the bushes.
However, just as she straightened up, ready to leave, her gaze suddenly fixed! This was because she discovered something on the ground where the jade fox gentleman had stood? A woman's curiosity completely erupted at this moment. She furrowed her delicate brows, then actually walked over, picked up the item, and examined it carefully, discovering that it was actually a valuable jade pendant. What's going on? Left by that jade fox gentleman? Then why did he leave this jade pendant? Did he accidentally drop it? Or did he realize her presence, and this jade pendant was intentionally left to buy her off so she wouldn't talk? Lady Li Niang frowned, feeling that this whole affair was truly strange!
No! If I keep this to myself, it'll drive me mad; I must find an opportunity to ask my good friend Wang Yingxue what's going on with her and that jade fox gentleman?! And what is this gentleman's true identity anyway? After all, Lady Li Niang had always known Wang Yingxue's discerning eye. A man who could make her abandon her husband at home and even risk affecting her daughters' reputations to secretly meet with him could absolutely not be an ordinary person!
"Mother! Where did you go?" Lady Li Niang returned to the entrance of the main hall of the temple with a dazed expression, only to see her Third Daughter Kang Ning and the old servant already waiting at the entrance. At this moment, the two of them were looking around anxiously, and upon seeing Lady Li Niang's figure, they immediately rushed forward to greet her.
"Kang Ning?" Lady Li Niang raised her eyelids. Seeing her daughter, she immediately opened her mouth, seemingly with a belly full of words she wanted to confide. After all, for women, exploring secrets was a hobby, but keeping secrets was simply too difficult for them! However, upon thinking that this matter concerned her good friend Wang Yingxue's reputation and her two daughters' reputations, Lady Li Niang directly swallowed back the words she wanted to blurt out.
"Mistress! We haven't seen you for half a day, the old servant was so worried!" At this moment, the old servant beside Lady Li Niang also spoke anxiously.
"Why are only you two left here?" Lady Li Niang blinked, looked around, and then asked with some surprise.
"Everyone came out after burning incense and paying respects to Buddha, and then we found you weren't here!" Kang Ning pouted and said, "The Marquis and the ladies from the residence left first!"
"Oh! Is that so!" Lady Li Niang subconsciously nodded, but then suddenly looked at her daughter and asked, "Then where is your Aunt Wang? Is she here?"
"Aunt Wang is certainly here!" Kang Ning also frowned upon seeing her mother's appearance, somewhat confused as to why her mother would ask such a question. After all, Wang Yingxue came to offer incense with the Marquis and them. If someone was missing, why would the Marquis and the others leave first? They would certainly stay and wait!
"When they saw you were gone, everyone was very anxious! Madam Dou from the Marquis's Residence originally wanted to wait for you, but the Marquis told them you must have just been strolling nearby and would return shortly, and only then did they leave with relief!" The old servant suddenly interjected at this moment.
Lady Li Niang nodded, thinking to herself, At least Wang Yingxue still has some conscience! She didn't leave without even asking about my situation. But Wang Yingxue was there when everyone finished burning incense? Could everything I saw before have been an illusion? A daytime ghostly prank? Lady Li Niang's heart grew more and more doubtful, but her hand touched the jade pendant she had just picked up. Right! This jade pendant is the best evidence! It proves that none of this was an illusion! It must be that Wang Yingxue rushed back just before the end of the prayer ceremony, then entered the main hall and knelt back in her place, so that no one else noticed she had been gone for a full two ke (half an hour). It seems this woman is quite experienced in this matter! She can rush back at the last minute to hide her tracks! If that's the case, I'm afraid she has already been having an affair with that jade fox gentleman!
"Alright, alright! Let's go back!" Lady Li Niang shook her hand dismissively at this thought, then led Kang Ning and the old servant onto their ox cart.
Late at night, in the inn room, candlelight flickered. The Li family daughters joyfully packed their belongings. After all, early tomorrow morning, they would leave this inn and move into the courtyard Second Sister Fu Hui had bought this afternoon. And this courtyard was right next to the Marquis of Jining's Residence, separated by just one wall! This area was naturally as expensive as an inch of land could be, but fortunately, the courtyard's area wasn't too large, so the ten thousand taels of silver notes the Marquis gave were just enough to acquire it! Fortunately, the Li family only consisted of the mother and five daughters, plus the adopted daughter Qiong Nu and an old servant, with no other household members, so it wouldn't feel crowded!
However, Lady Li Niang had a look of utter bewilderment, staring at the flickering candlelight without a word. Gradually, her daughters' voices seemed to fade further and further away, and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Then, they slowly closed. After the day's exhaustion and subsequent mental stimulation, Lady Li Niang finally succumbed to drowsiness and drifted into slumber.
"My Lady, you made me wait so long!" A gentleman's voice appeared in Lady Li Niang's ear. She suddenly opened her eyes and found herself in her old residence! At this moment, a tall figure stood by the window, his back to her!
"Who are you?" Lady Li Niang was startled and propped herself up. Only then did she realize that she had been lying on the bed! The thought that this stranger was waiting in her own boudoir for her to wake up made Lady Li Niang's face flush crimson. She subconsciously tugged at her clothes, and finding them intact, she let out a heavy sigh of relief.
"How is it that after only a few hours, My Lady has forgotten me?" However, the man smiled faintly, speaking in a voice that seemed somewhat familiar yet magnetic, and slowly turned around. And when she saw his full face, Lady Li Niang was completely stunned! Because on his face was a jade fox mask that she was very familiar with! Isn't this precisely the jade fox gentleman she saw earlier today, secretly meeting her good friend Wang Yingxue in the bamboo grove behind the Buddhist temple?
"How did my Lord come to my boudoir?" Lady Li Niang was stunned, then directly asked. At the same time, she also felt some anger. Could it be that this jade fox gentleman saw her speaking with Wang Yingxue from a distance and then set his sights on her? What a philandering and greedy man! Does he want to take both her and her good friend into his arms? He has quite the beautiful dream!
"I came to retrieve my belongings!" And the corner of this jade fox gentleman's mouth curled into a slight smile, then he actually strode towards the bed where she was. "Presumably, My Lady picked up that jade pendant, didn't you?"
"Wait!" Lady Li Niang was startled, then realized, and quickly said, "That jade pendant is indeed with me! My Lord, please stop! I, this humble woman, will fetch it for you right away!" However, although Lady Li Niang spoke thus, her face suddenly changed when her hand touched her waist. This was because she surprisingly found that the clothes she was wearing had somehow turned into the red wedding attire she wore on her wedding day... and were no longer the dress she had been wearing before! As for the jade pendant, she naturally searched all over her body but couldn't find it! Seeing the other party getting closer and closer, Lady Li Niang instantly became anxious, fragrant sweat beginning to trickle. She had indeed picked up that jade pendant, but now it was lost. What was she to do? How could she explain it to him?
And just as Lady Li Niang was flustered, the jade fox gentleman had already walked in front of her, then without a word, directly bent down and embraced her soft body. "Since My Lady has lost that jade pendant, then My Lady shall compensate me in another way!" The jade fox gentleman chuckled, then pressed his mouth to Lady Li Niang's ear and whispered softly.
"No! My Lord, whatever the value of that pendant, I will compensate you!" Lady Li Niang was naturally not so casual. Although her heart was pounding erratically at this moment, she still spoke to stop him. But obviously, her words had no effect! Because the other party had already eagerly lunged at her!
"Ah?" Lady Li Niang subconsciously let out a cry of surprise, but her red lips were roughly blocked by the other party's large mouth! Immediately, her brain plunged into chaos, and she could no longer resist the other party's assault... A full two ke (half an hour) later, the "clouds dispersed and rain ceased" in the room!
"My Lord is indeed very capable!" And at this moment, Lady Li Niang gently lay on the jade fox gentleman's chest, closing her eyes and murmuring softly. The recent turmoil had long since completely captivated her body and mind. At this moment, this woman's eyes truly held only the jade fox gentleman!
"But please, My Lord, do not tell Yingxue about this!" Of course, after rationality gradually returned, a feeling of guilt for stealing her best friend's lover gained the upper hand in Lady Li Niang's heart! However, asking her to voluntarily withdraw from this relationship and give up this jade fox gentleman was something she also couldn't bear to do! So, secretly dating and meeting him behind Wang Yingxue's back was the best solution Lady Li Niang could think of at the moment! She could have this gentleman and not hurt her best friend's feelings!
"My Lord, why aren't you speaking?" However, the jade fox gentleman did not respond to Lady Li Niang's words. She looked up with some doubt and found that he was holding her fragrant shoulder, his eyes closed, already having fallen asleep. What does this jade fox gentleman actually look like? At this moment, Lady Li Niang couldn't help but feel curious. After all, she was already his, so she couldn't possibly not even know her Lord's true appearance. Thinking of this, Lady Li Niang blinked, playfully extended her fair hand, and slowly removed the mask from his face. And the next second, she froze as if struck by lightning! Because beneath the jade fox mask was precisely Wei Tingyu's face, a face she absolutely could not mistake!
The jade fox gentleman is actually the Marquis of Jining, Wei Tingyu? Lady Li Niang was completely dumbfounded; she never dreamed it would be such a situation! Logically speaking, Lady Li Niang admitted Wei Tingyu's immense charm! It seemed not impossible that Wang Yingxue couldn't resist such charm and finally succumbed! But the problem was, the relationship between Wang Yingxue and Wei Tingyu wasn't that simple! And she was so actively marrying Dou Ming into the Marquis's Residence... This...
Bang! However, just as Lady Li Niang was utterly bewildered, her mind a mess, unable to comprehend the current situation, her room door was suddenly forcefully pushed open from outside!
"Ah!" Lady Li Niang screamed in fright, then quickly wrapped her body in the bedsheet! Looking towards the door, she saw that it was actually Wang Yingxue, glaring at her with an angry expression!
"You, Li Niang!" And Wang Yingxue stared at her for a few seconds, then, with the fierce look of a jealous woman, she pounced on her: "Have our decades of sisterhood really come to this?"
"Yingxue, listen to me..." This matter was indeed Lady Li Niang's fault; she naturally didn't dare to argue with Wang Yingxue and could only meekly try to explain and beg for forgiveness. However, it was clear that the other party didn't want to hear a single word from her, so before she could finish speaking, the two sides began to wrestle...
"Mother! Mother! Mother!" And suddenly, a hurried voice abruptly appeared in Lady Li Niang's mind, pulling her out of the scene of being caught in bed with Wang Yingxue and into a dark, chaotic void. Immediately afterward, as her eyelids slowly opened a crack, a ray of light activated her consciousness.
"Where is this?" A bewildered Lady Li Niang blinked, then saw her five daughters currently gathered in front of her, all looking at her with worried expressions. And where were her original boudoir surroundings? It was still clearly this inn where they had stayed for two days!
"This is the inn..." Eldest Daughter Shou Hua said, gently patting Lady Li Niang's chest, "Mother, you were tired and just fell asleep, having a nightmare, right?"
"Nightmare?" Lady Li Niang blinked, her previously tense expression instantly relaxing completely. Right! It was a nightmare! This nightmare was truly terrifying! She actually dreamed that she and Wang Yingxue were fighting over that jade fox gentleman? Lady Li Niang couldn't help but inwardly scold herself a few times at this thought! It seems she's truly been a widow for too long, needing a man's comfort! Especially the latter half of this dream was indeed quite terrifying, but the first half, especially when "clouds surged" with the jade fox gentleman in her boudoir, that feeling... it was exactly like the real thing! So, rather than calling it a nightmare, it was more like a spring dream!
Lady Li Niang couldn't help but mock herself at this thought, and at the same time, a sense of envy for her best friend Wang Yingxue rose once again in her heart! She, a married woman, dares to boldly pursue her love, what does she, a widow, have to fear? Once her five daughters were all married off, she too could find a suitable gentleman to accompany her! After all, how lonely would she be without any daughters by her side then! This was also a woman's normal physiological and psychological need!
However, at this moment, Lady Li Niang recalled the scene from her dream: the jade fox gentleman beneath the mask was actually the Marquis of Jining, Wei Tingyu? Did she herself have some thoughts about the Marquis? Lady Li Niang frowned, and then she began to mutter to herself again...