The memories he had pushed back into the darkest recesses of his mind overcame him with a vengeance.
“Bai Daonian, are you not reputed to be a doctor who makes miracles happen?! A miracle doctor, indeed! How dare you imply our Young Master cannot be cured?!”
“Does anyone dare think I would not save the Lord if I were able to?”
“This poison is called ‘Yao’. Once it enters one’s body, it cannot be removed. In three years, it dries up all the blood in one’s body and condemns one to death.”
His last moments flashed before Lu Yan’s eyes, triggering such a splitting headache he almost fell off the couch. Fu Man noticed how all blood had drained from his face, her own heart starting to pound in fear.
“What is the matter?!”
She did not need for this Master Wei to fall ill in her presence when she was so close to obtaining her freedom.
“Nothing”, Lu Yan bit through his teeth, trying to shake the headache away.
When he had had that dream, he had thought it absurd. The idea that dreams could predict the future had been too ridiculous in his eyes. Only boudoir misses with too much time on their hands would spend their days studying the arts of divination. Them, and the Imperial Household.
However, now, he had no choice but to believe that, indeed, whatever he had seen in his dream was the reflection of a past life that was repeating itself. And every action, every decision that he made would impact the outcome of the life he was living now.
Lu Yan steadied himself.
“Have you ever heard of the ‘Yao’ poison?”
Fu Man’s pretty features contorted in panic. She opened her mouth, yet no sound escaped. But after a while, she did manage to speak in a restrained way.
“Where did Master Wei hear of the ‘Yao’ poison?”
Lu Yan’s lips curled sardonically. He was convinced by now about the dream being an echo of his past life, but he had to gather some more evidence. If only to live up to the title of official of the Supreme Court.
“Would there be an antidote to the poison?”
Fu Man slowly shook her head in helplessness.
“‘Yao’ is a rare type of poison. I have only ever heard it mentioned. My brother would know more about its mechanism of action.”
Lu Yan lowered his eyes to observe the jadeite ring on his finger. Did she truly not know? Or was she pretending to be ignorant to force him to save Bao Daonian? However he thought this matter over, Bai Daonian had to be saved. There was no questioning that.
“Where and when did you last see your brother?”
Fu Man bit her lower lip, refraining from crying.
“Last month, they permitted us to meet at a racecourse in the eastern suburbs and the month before, we were taken to a teahouse.”
In other words, she had no idea where Bai Daonian was.
Once Fu Man had revealed everything she knew, Lu Yan and her sat in silence through the night. He, immersed in his thoughts. She, immersed in his presence.
Lu Yan shot a glance out the window, noting the first rays of dawn. Standing up slowly, he cocked an eyebrow at Fu Man.
“Do you know what you will be saying to that servant?”
Fu Man nodded lazily, having regained her characteristic languor.
“Yes.”
Lu Yan got a hold of his clothes, crumpling them deliberately and unbuttoning the neckline to his inner garments. It is in this state of artificial dishevelment that she walked out into the day.
The news Lu Yan had spent the night with Fu Man reached Zhao Chong’s ears. He could not be happier. Now, he could truly regard Lu Yan as his own and give him a more active role to play in the grand scheme of things. Lu Yan had originally thought that once he earned Zhao Chong’s trust, the Governor would be taking him to meet the Governor-General, not directly ask him to sell salt illegally.
Salt and iron were the two products that couldbring one the greatest return on investment. However, they had been nationalized under the rule of the present Emperor. Selling them privately was a crime. A crime the government did not look upon kindly. In fact, one had to steal salt from a national quarry. Then, bribe some officials. Finally, put in place a network of smaller merchants to distribute the goods. Whoever was so brazen truly deserved the capital sentence.
Only then did Lu Yan understand why Zhao Chong had been so eager to win him over. The Wei family possessed carts, manpower as well as cloth and wine businesses that could be used as covers. He was impressed. Zhao Chong truly knew how to take advantage of the resources at hand.
After coming out of the Governor’s Mansion, Lu Yan returned to his wine shop. As he let himself all on a seat, he picked up a cup of wine, took a sip and motioned to Yang Zong.
“How did the investigation go?”
“This subordinate has used all the means at his disposition to uncover Master Bai’s whereabouts. There should be news in about two days.”
Lu Yan nodded in satisfaction.
“Once you have found him, send someone to keep an eye on the situation. We must ensure that he remains unharmed when we decide to strike”, he slowly ordered.
Yang Zong bowed his head in obedience. After a while, seeing as his master had drunk all the wine, the guard produced an account book and expounded on the observations they had made concerning the salt traffic. He noted that Lu Yan seemed to be in a sort of trance, unable to hear anything he was telling him.
“Young Master”, Yang Zong whispered.
Lu Yan seemed to come to him, forcefully massaging his eyes. He was a little confused, wondering whether he had overworked himself for once in his life. Suddenly, the image of a beautiful face flashed before his eyes, fluttered as if disturbed by a breeze before disappearing in thin air. He recovered at once, admitting in turn that he had not been paying attention.
Yang Zong sighed.
“The Young Master has not slept for the last two days. He should be more lenient towards his own body, go back to the residence and have some rest.”
Lu Yan did not need a servant to tell him that he should rest. He knew as much. After thinking it through for a moment, he did decide to return to Luyuan.
The carriage moved forward with the sound of clattering wheels. Lu Yan pulled the curtain to the window aside, glancing out. A night breeze blew by, making him shiver and finally realize that a cold sweat had formed on his forehead.
For the last two days, a thought from his dream had been haunting him, reverberating through his mind in a never-ending echo—‘He had believed that as long as he knew she loved someone else, he would be able to rid himself of her presence in the deepest part of him.’
He was left wondering whether this life would prove to be nothing but a repetition of the previous. And if that were the case, who was it that she had married in her previous life?!
Lu Yan stared into the night sky, counting the stars of Yangzhou as horses drawing his carriage galloped into the darkness. A wry smile stretched his lips. In the end, he still wondered, did he not?
He had refrained from thinking about it. He had attempted to restrain his wandering mind. However, he could not deceive himself any further.
Sun Xu might have been right. After all, these types of love affairs are the most difficult to end.
Since Shen Zhen had broken her leg, she had been spared from any form of work. Her only duty was to spend her days seated on a couch, embroidering serenely.
Tangyue, of course, had not been informed about the intentions behind Lu Yan’s visiting Fu Man. She was griped with the fear that the fact the Young Master had spent the night away meant Miss Shen was falling out of favor. How could she not worry for the childish, tender Shen Zhen? But her mistress’s absolute lack of interest was what alarmed the loyal servant the most. Any normal woman would have waited by the door in anguish, expecting to catch a glimpse of her lover. But of course, Tangyue’s eyes went to rest on Shen Zhen’s legs, sighing in distress. Assuming Shen Zhen had wanted to do something about Lu Yan’s desertion, she was powerless in her present state.
Lanterns had been lighted throughout Chunxi Hall, casting their joyful light and accompanying Shen Zhen in her needlework. She could not wait for her leg to heal. That man had promised he would take her to see Hong’er as soon as she recovered. Though Lu Yan was most instable, he kept his promises. Therefore, Shen Zhen had no reason to doubt that he would live up to his word. She had not seen any member of her family for such a long time …
Overwhelmed as she was by her musings, she did not hear Lu Yan pushing the door aside and entering the room. Feeling herself observed, Shen Zhen lifted her head and met a pair of dark eyes. She quickly took support on the table by her side and stood up.
“Your Lordship.”
Lu Yan waved his hand in a benevolent movement. He did not need any ceremony from a lame woman. Taking two steps forward, he let himself fall on the bed.
He had unbuttoned his neckline and crumpled his clothes. He positioned himself in such a manner to ensure Shen Zhen would get a good look at his disheveled appearance. When he had come back from the city, he had purposefully gone to Dongliyuan to sit for an hour as to have his clothes absorb some of Fu Man’s characteristic smell. The role of the dissolute husband who had just partaken in a day of love with his concubine suited him well in his present state of mind. His eyelids were heavy with a hint of carnal repletion in the midst of them. Lu Yan was obviously trying to make her believe he and the one at Dongliyuan had had intercourse.
He softly patted the bed, calling out to Shen Zhen in a husky voice.
“Come here.”
Shen Zhen immediately obeyed, limping over. She knew cosmetics well, including perfume. Therefore, how could she not smell Fu Man’s particular fragrance off Lu Yan?! However, Shen Zhen could only pretend not to have noticed. She was quite aware of her identity. Who was she to attempt to control Lu Yan’s actions and whereabouts? If she were to dare utter a protest, he would accuse her of arrogance.
His blurry eyes never left hers. Shen Zhen would have been hard-pressed to guess what he thought at that instant. Yet, her instinct informed her there was danger in that unwavering stare.
Lu Yan grabbed onto a candle, approaching it to her face so he could examine her attentively. For some reason, this obedient appearance of hers made him feel ridiculous.
Would such a meek person simply throw him away so she could marry someone else? What kind of man could make a woman as docile as her commit such an act of willfulness?
Thinking like that, Lu Yan put the candle aside, grabbed onto the back of Shen Zhen’s head and crashed his lips against her. The kiss was heavy and demanding, making it impossible for Shen Zhen to breathe. In the blink of an eye, she was adeptly pulled under Lu Yan and pressed into the bed. His fingers came to cover her eyes, plunging her into darkness.
Lu Yan’s tongue twisted lightly and his teeth bit her lower lip in a seductive mimic of the act of love. Shen Zhen had experienced an aggressive Lu Yan. But he had known restraint. This time was different. It was as if he wanted to forcefully wring something out of her. He just had to tell her, she would have willingly given it, if only to avoid his assault.
She had learned that the most efficient way to calm an overly ardent Lu Yan was to give in to his desires. That was the first survival skill Shen Zhen had learned. Therefore, she did nothing but, trying to respond to his ministrations, to rope him into his own games of pleasure. Had it been in the past, Lu Yan would have naturally gotten out of control, titillated by her compliant appearance that could easily be mistaken for consent. But at that instant, he felt like his body had been eviscerated, the wound reaching his soul.
He looked down at that submissive appearance of hers. She did not even try to remove his hand from her eyes. This is exactly why he had done it …
He was covered in the scent of another woman and yet, she had let him embrace her without any resistance.
His interest for love and sex had been tepid at best for most of his life. He had never cared to delve deep into the female mind either. However, there was one thing he had learned, surrounded by his mother, grandmother, aunts, female cousins and sisters-in-law. There was not one woman in this world who was not dangerously jealous.
And yet, here was this woman, acting as if she had no care in the world. He understood. She did not feel anything for him. Lu Yan almost burst out laughing, laughing mockingly, laughing cruelly, laughing at his own stupidity.
It had never crossed his mind that such a day would come. A day when he would desperately be testing the affections of a woman. Thus, this is what had happened in his past life, hm? She had not felt even the slightest fondness, let alone love, for him. And as soon as the opportunity to marry had appeared, she had turned her back on him.
Lu Yan slowly removed his hand from her eyes. As Shen Zhen opened her eyes, she saw that unyielding, arrogant expression of his. It was the first time his face was so expressionless when he prepared to take her to bed.
“Your Lordship?”
Shen Zhen’s whisper was cautious.
Lu Yan’s eyes darkened, unfathomable and secretive. Had he not heard the name ‘Bai Daonian’ he would have found a way to convince himself the dream that had turned his life upside down was nothing but a ludicrous illusion created by his mind.
However, he refused to deceive himself any further.
Facing her, he bit the words out in a dull voice.
“Am I not good to you?”
Shen Zhen’s features fell, astonished and frightened.
“Why is Your Lordship asking?”
Lu Yan refused to grant her the relief of an answer.
“Do you feel wronged for having followed me as a mistress?”
The one hand that had slid to her waist tightened around it involuntarily. This hand of his seemed to be warning Shen Zhen. He dared her to admit she felt like she had been mistreated.
