The night wind blew through the barely opened window, caressing the candle light. When the wind was soft to it, it flickered gently. When the wind conquered it fiercely, it twitched in response. The gust of air passed through Shen Zhen’s hair. It licked the palm of her hand. And lost itself into the skirt that was piled around her hips.
Sprawled out on the table, Shen Zhen was biting her lip, refusing to let the smallest of sounds filter through her mouth. She only stared at the beams on the ceiling, not daring to have her watery eyes wander elsewhere, afraid of the spectacle that was unfolding in the room. She was even careful not to breathe the wrong way.
At a certain moment, Lu Yan single-mindedly decided to change positions, picking Shen Zhen up. Feeling as if she were losing her point of equilibrium, her arms shot out and encircled Lu Yan’s neck. He felt something akin to regret and pity seeing her curled up in his arms. However, her obedience that could easily be mistaken for willingness only aroused him further. He could not refrain from bowing his head and finding her small, red ear with his tongue, biting it in pleasure.
Who would have known this tiniest of ears was connected to Shen Zhen’s lower back and hips. As soon as Lu Yan’s mouth made contact with her flesh, her hips buckled in response to the current that had traveled down her spine. Her fingernails embedded themselves into the skin of his neck. And in a movement provoked by an indescribable feeling, Shen Zhen dragged her hand across Lu Yan’s neck, lacerating his skin, drawing blood. Shen Zhen had not expected she would use such great strength. Seeing as he was bleeding, she felt fear. Quickly she called out to him.
“Your Lordship … Your Lordship …”
No man would have been able to feel pain in such a state of heightened excitement and pleasure. In fact, her delicate cries for him only fed his desire to satisfy his hunger, making him pick up pace mercilessly.
***
It was already midnight when the two of them decided to leave the study. Lu Yan held a lamp while Shen Zhen was burrowed in his cape. She could only walk three steps before she had to stop. Surprisingly, Lu Yan was most accommodating, very slowly walking by her side, not making any attempts to urge her.
Once they reached Lanyue Pavilion, Shen Zhen folded his cloak, but did not dare lift her head. Rather, she found some water and a piece of fabric that she dipped into it before walking to Lu Yan and offering to wipe the blood stains for him. His skin was as white as snow and the blood had coagulated. Those scratches were more than conspicuous. One could not miss them.
Shen Zhen was terrified at what she considered to be his mood swings. But seeing as he raised his head to cooperate, she could not help but sigh in relief, lightening her strength and diligently wiping at his wound. The panic in her eyes had not gone unnoticed, however. Taking the veil from her hands, Lu Yan patted the top of her head gently.
“Let it be. I will do it myself.”
Were she to continue cleaning him that softly, they would still be at it in the morning. Lu Yan rubbed his wound clean without any pity and blew the candles out.
As they lied side by side, Shen Zhen was still in a state of sorry confusion. She had wanted to exchange her obedient compliance of that evening for a permission to see her eldest sister. But since she had offended Lu Yan again, she could kiss that wish goodbye. For the first time since they had started sleeping in the same bed, Shen Zhen moved in his direction.
“Your Lordship”, she whispered into his ear.
Lu Yan simply grunted in acknowledgment.
“Tomorrow, I shall cut my nails.”
Shen Zhen’s voice was tentative and soft. It conveyed all her desire to please him perfectly. However, Lu Yan had been the one who had enjoyed her body to the fullest. Had she been silent, Lu Yan would probably have accused her of disrespect and stupidity. However, hearing her speak her intentions, he could not but feel irritated by his own unwillingness.
Shen Zhen’s hands were magnificent, white and slender as they were. Even her fingernails, small, pink, elongated, were extremely beautiful.
He was silent for a long time. But in the twinkling of an eye, his hand reached out for Shen Zhen’s earlobe, mercilessly caressing it back and forth. In a voice thick with desire, he simply dismissed her suggestion.
“No need.”
This time, however, as Shen Zhen’s body tensed up, she did not scratch Lu Yan. The night was quiet and dark. Shen Zhen’s confused eyes were as bright as stars. One could almost have mistaken them for those of a woman in love.
***
The next morning, Shen Zhen served Lu Yan as he changed into his official robes. The scratches she had left on his skin were glaring and she could not help but feel guilty.
“Your Lordship, you … You might wish to cover these …”
Lu Yan looked down at Shen Zhen.
“What is it with your obsession with covering up?”
She bore his sarcasm with fortitude, lowering her darkening eyes and biting her tongue. She had figured the problem of her appearance out for herself. She would be covering herself with a veil, which was better than nothing. She would be playing the part of painter at the payroll of the Supreme Court. It wasn’t like it had anything to do with Lu Yan.
Once they had dressed, Shen Zhen left with Lu Yan, stepping out of Chengyuan for the first time since she had arrived there. Their carriage drove through noisy streets and lanes, passing through several paths, until it finally reached the Supreme Court, its huge plaque hanging above their heads in great solemnity.
Official Sun had arrived before them. Seeing a young woman getting out of the carriage, he shot Lu Yan a curious glance.
“And this would be—”
“The painter I invited”, Lu Yan completed for him.
Official Sun quickly went to retrieve the case. Then as he turned around once more, his eyes caught sight of the three scratch marks on Lu Yan’s neck.
“Lord Lu, what happened to your neck?!”
Lu Yan remained expressionless.
“Scratch”, he simply stated, more than willing to drop the subject before it had been taken up.
Official Sun expression became a subtle mixture of mockery and solemnity. What he had wanted to know was how Lu Yan’s neck had ended up like that. He was not stupid. He had passed the same exams as Lu Yan to end up where he was. He knew a scratch when he saw one. What he wanted to know was who had done it. And how. Or rather, in what situation! After all, it was the first time he had seen the stern Lord Lu show his true colors. A short line instantly came to Official Sun’s mind.
It is hard to dispel a beauty’s grace.
(T/N: From the “Hong Mian Tan”, freely translated as “Sigh of the Bombax Blossom”, written by Mou Borong during the Qing Dynasty)
He could not resist to indulge his curiosity.
“Did Miss Yun from Pingkang Lane do it?”
After all Lord Lu’s carriage was seen parked in Pingkang Lane daily. After hearing Official Sun’s clumsy words, Lu Yan motioned to him to lean in so he could him something in confidence. An instant later, Official Sun’s face fell at once and he quickly waved his hand in apology. Shen Zhen, standing on one side, had no idea what Lu Yan had told Official Sun. She would have never guessed it had been:
“The painter I bought with me is wearing a veil because she barely turned fourteen. She is not out of the boudoir yet.”
***
An hour later, they finally arrived at the Song residence in Xuangping Lane. As soon as the parents of the Song girl saw a female painter had come, they did not try to block the way. After having taken her measure, they let Shen Zhen into the house.
Since she wished the Song girl to speak openly, Shen Zhen asked the worried parents to remain standing outside. She passed through the door and was startled by what awaited her. Song Ling’er, dressed all white, was seated on a bed, her knees folded beneath her. Her dark eyes were empty, hollow, lifeless and her whole person gave the impression she could have been blown away by the wind. Song Ling’er’s fragility was tragic, there was no other word for it.
After Shen Zhen sat down, she busied herself with brush, paper, ink stone and stick. She followed Lu Yan’s instruction to the letter, addressing the Song girl in the softest of voices.
“Miss Song, could you describe your attacker’s appearance, please?”
Shen Zhen’s voice was such that it would never elicit any disgust in anyone. Song Ling’er stared at Shen Zhen indifferently.
“The man had a beard, narrow eyes, a high-bridged nose. He looked ferocious”, she recited in a dead voice.
Shen Zhen could not do paint based on such a meager description. She tried once more:
“Miss Song, do you remember whether the man had a large or narrow beard?”
Hearing the question, Song Ling’er’s eyes that had been inexpressive until then widened in anger. Her hand swept Shen Zhen’s ink stone to the ground.
“Are you officials here to investigate or to torture an innocent person?!”
Song Ling’er had gone from apathy to a heightened state of excitement. He calm voice transformed into a chaotic, high-pitched scream. Shen Zhen paid no heed to the ink that had splattered the ground. Instead, in an impulse, she grabbed onto Song Ling’er’s hand. To be so excited, the poor girl must have remembered something dreadful.
Shen Zhen had been given to read the case file back at the Supreme Court. She knew in detail what the Song girl had suffered.
“Miss Song, I understand your—”
Song Ling’er did not let her continue, looking at her with anger, tears spilling in helplessness.
“How could you ever understand?! A high-born miss like you, how could she have ever gone through what I have suffered?! How could she ever know what it is like to be oppressed, trampled underfoot, wantonly tortured by whoever wished to?!”
Shen Zhen leaned over, dragging Song Ling’er into her arms and caressing her back comfortingly.
“I have experienced it too …” was all that Shen Zhen said.
As soon as these words were uttered, both Song Ling’er inside and Lu Yan who had been listening to their exchange from outside the house were left stunned. Although Shen Zhen was covered in a veil, her hair ornaments were nonetheless faintly visible through the fabric. She wore the hairdo of a girl who had not yet left the boudoir.
Song Ling’er murmured, as if trying to convince herself:
“How could it be … It is impossible.”
In order to help her put down her defenses, Shen Zhen gritted her teeth in humiliation and pulled her collar down. Lu Yan loved to leave marks all over her body, as if to remind her she was his possession. None of them might have hurt, but they did make Shen Zhen look miserable. Song Ling’er’s opinion of Shen Zhen changed at once. Seeing as she was hesitating, Shen Zhen quickly continued:
“Women have always been oppressed by etiquette. Even when they are victims, even if they suffer at the hands of others, they are told to blame none but themselves. But, Miss Song, think this through. If the criminals are never to be caught, how many more girls will suffer as you have? And how many girls have died until now? Which is more, what would happened if the criminals found out you have not died? Would they let you and your family live in peace?”
Song Ling’er had never thought as far. In the past two days, she had however indeed been afraid those monsters would appear at her door. Clenching her fists, she took a moment to consider her choices until she finally bit through:
“My eyes were covered. I did not see much.”
Shen Zhen knew what that felt like too. She too had had her eyes covered by a man’s palm during her first time.
“Miss Song, even if you are afraid to remember, being treated the way you were, there are certain things you could not have forgotten, such as the size of the man’s body …”
Before Shen Zhen had even finished her questioning, Lu Yan had walked away, unable to listen any longer. His tall figure cast a long shadow onto the ground. His eyes became deeper and deeper as a sneer grazed his lips.
Being treated the way you were …
Treatment. How had Lu Yan treated Shen Zhen?! He had indeed touched her. But had she not taken the initiative?! How dared she have the audacity to compare him to such men?! To rapists!
By the time Shen Zhen had finished painting, half an hour had passed. When she stepped out of the door, she was welcomed by a seemingly smiling Lu Yan with arms crossed across his chest. She felt she had done her part, thus she did not pay a special attention to the look in his eyes.
At that instant, Sun Xu ran towards Shen Zhen demanding to know whether she had painted that damned portrait. She simply nodded.
“Miss Song’s testimony differs slightly from the previous version. The person she got a glimpse of had a big face, high cheekbones, narrow eyes, was one head taller than Miss Song herself and thinner as well. Painting that portrait, I realized the man could not be Han, but rather Xianbei.”
At those words, Shen Zhen handed the portrait over to Sun Xu. He took a look at it. The more he saw, the more familiar the face seemed familiar to him.
“Lord Lu, did Wang Zhao’s sister not marry a Xianbei man?”
“She did”, Lu Yan darkly answered.
Sun Xu simply ordered:
“Mr. Lu, please send Lord Lu back. I, for my part, shall be returning to the Supreme Court.”
***
After climbing into the carriage, Shen Zhen removed her veil. Her fingers slid to her temples, carefully putting in order any rebellious tendrils of hair. Shooting Lu Yan a glance between her long eyelashes, she softly asked:
“Your Lordship, is my hair in disorder?”
Lu Yan looked into her clear eyes, and the corners of his lips shook involuntarily. It was truly impossible to remain angry at such a woman.
As that instant, a wheel just passed over a hole on the road, violently shaking the carriage. Shen Zhen, who had fiddling with her bun, did not have the time to find a point of equilibrium and ended up carelessly falling against his chest. It might not have been her intention, but she had effectively thrown herself at Lu Yan.
