Chapter 7 Give Before You Desire
The beauty's lips were as delicate and soft as she was. Wei Pingxi was caught off guard and took advantage of her. Her smile was not serious but very beautiful, so beautiful that it captivated Yu Zhi's eyes.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she hastily lowered her eyes, her cheek obediently pressed against the other person's snowy neck.
When she realized that her face was burning, she was so embarrassed that she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it.
It was just a light and soft kiss, like a willow catkin, yet she was so shy—that's quite remarkable.
Wei Pingxi suppressed a laugh, and with his gentle fingers, he lifted Yu Zhi's chin, applying slight pressure. Yu Zhi was forced to raise her head, her delicate face flushed with an alluring blush.
Logically speaking, the daughter of a poor scholar, after so many years of hardship, the death of her father, and her dependence on her blind widow mother, her unfortunate fate has not diminished her natural beauty. Perhaps fate has not been kind to this beautiful woman.
Yu Zhi couldn't figure out what she was thinking. She was sitting on the fourth young lady's lap, with most of her body being embraced by her.
The fourth young lady's casual gaze was like a fire, burning her soul and making her uneasy.
At that time, she was just like a long-eared rabbit being chased by a hunter in the hunting grounds, afraid of being caught up, and worried that the cunning hunter would hide and disappear, and suddenly jump out to give her a fatal blow.
"Kiss me?"
Wei Pingxi's tone was melodious and his voice was very pleasant to hear, soft and gentle, carrying the ambiguous intimacy between lovers.
Like snowflakes falling silently, covering a vast expanse of white.
The snowflakes not only fall on the ground, but also on the burning heart of Yuzhi.
When snow falls on the tip of my heart, it melts, leaving behind faint, cool watermarks.
The cool sensation came just in time, finally rescuing her from her infatuation with the beauty.
Yu Zhi felt as if she were in a dream, her legs were weak, and if her waist hadn't been held by someone, she would have collapsed into the Fourth Miss's arms.
Her willow-leaf eyes were clearly alluring.
Seeing her like this, Wei Pingxi's hand on her waist gradually tightened. He felt a pang of pity and was worried about hurting her, so he subconsciously eased his grip and gently rubbed her twice.
The feel is exceptionally good.
Yu Zhi, both shy and timid, licked her slightly dry lips with the tip of her tongue: "I...I am clean."
That's an interesting point.
Wei Pingxi snapped out of his daze and leaned closer to whisper in her ear, "If you're clean, you can kiss me?"
"I...I didn't mean to."
She awkwardly tried to close her legs, but the fourth young lady seized the opportunity and mischievously nudged her with her knee, instantly frightening the beauty into immobility.
The atmosphere was thick with danger.
Yu Zhi came here with a request, and she understood the principle of giving before receiving, but she was already being embraced by the Fourth Miss.
My mother always said that a woman's waist should not be touched by outsiders, and besides...
With a flushed face, she thought recklessly: Whether Miss Guan is willing or not, we've already kissed.
A loud kiss is a sign of affection, as is a light, fleeting kiss – both are expressions of deep sincerity.
She pleaded, "Let me go."
Since the agreement could not be reached, Wei Pingxi was not one to force others, and readily let go.
Yu Zhi easily escaped, then hesitated for a moment before her legs went weak and she moved back to her seat, burying her head in straightening her slightly wrinkled floral dress.
This is her favorite dress.
Miss Wei watched her every move with amusement, slowly sipping her tea, suppressing the burning sensation in her throat caused by the fire.
"I'll go with you."
Yu Zhi forced herself to say, "But I can't just follow you for nothing."
"Of course." The Fourth Miss was always generous with people or things she liked. Rui Feng's eyes smiled. "What do you want?"
"I want my mother and me to be well, I want my mother to regain her sight, and I want a deadline for her to regain her freedom."
Yu Zhi, with her long, bright eyes, said in one breath: "As the saying goes, 'Marry a virtuous wife and take a beautiful concubine.' In ten years, I will be old and faded, and the Fourth Miss may not still like me. I hope you will allow me to be free to reunite with my mother and family and make a living on my own."
"ten years?"
"right!"
The former is easy to explain, but as for the latter...
Wei Pingxi said calmly, "Ten years is too rigid a time limit. I've only ever had people I'm tired of and don't want anymore. They've never voluntarily run away from my grasp. Whether I let you go or not is up to me, and when I let you go is also up to me."
“I promise to heal your mother’s eyes. If you agree to be my person, then no one but me will be able to bully you and your mother.”
"You make me happy, entertain me, and keep me company. When I get tired of you, I'll give you money and we'll part ways amicably."
"If I never get tired of you, you have to stay with me for the rest of my life. What do you say?"
The word "disgusting" stung Yu Zhi's heart, and a wave of humiliation at being a concubine washed over her. Her face turned pale, while the Fourth Miss's eyes remained open and honest.
This is a deal where everyone gets what they need.
Yuzhi was extremely sad.
It was as if, in the blink of an eye, the kind benefactor who had invited her to dine at the same table in her past life was gone forever.
Her benefactor patted her head as he left...
She gritted her teeth, her heart stubbornly urging her not to agree, but her mouth opened, uttering a strained response.
"My mother's lifelong wish is for me to marry a good man. Could you... could you help me keep this from her and not let her know that I am someone else's concubine?"
"good……"
The fourth young lady smiled brightly: "Why are you crying again?"
She toyed with the beauty's soft fingertips, and Yu Zhi trembled, holding back tears as she said, "You must keep your word, or else..."
"Otherwise what?"
Yu Zhi choked back tears, which splattered onto her clothes: "Otherwise, I'll haunt you even as a ghost."
Wei Pingxi smiled, her eyes crinkling: "I swear on my identity as the fourth young lady of the Wei family that I will never lie to you. If I am not telling the truth in a single word, may I be reborn as a pig or a dog, or be reborn as an animal."
She spoke with unwavering resolve. As she left the villa and walked back to the clinic, Yu Zhi burst into tears.
From this day forward, she is the fourth young lady's pretty vase, a toy, an object to be played with.
She can no longer openly repay the kindness of her benefactor from her past life.
Emerald paused at the door for a moment, then turned and went back to the villa.
"Miss, Miss Yu has left. She left in tears."
Wei Pingxi leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest. Upon hearing this, he opened his eyes and, thinking of the beauty's tendency to cry, instructed, "In the future, make sure to keep plenty of ointment to reduce swelling."
Jade and agate's thoughts immediately wandered off to who-knows-where.
One moment I'm thinking that the Fourth Miss has been celibate for many years and is finally ready to break her vows; the next moment I'm thinking, what should I reduce the swelling from?
hiss!
Their young lady needs to be careful.
Wei Pingxi was a shrewd man; he easily saw through their thoughts with a glance and chuckled, "Why aren't you going yet?"
"yes!"
"etc."
Jade and agate turn their heads and look back.
"Prepare another betrothal gift; proper etiquette is essential."
"Yes, Fourth Miss!"
...
A traditional Chinese medicine clinic.
Yu Zhi has been back from the other courtyard for five days. During those five days, she has been subtly probing her mother's attitude towards Miss Wei, and the more she probes, the colder her heart becomes.
How should she tell her mother about getting married?
As a concubine, I have to keep it a secret; I can't keep it a secret even after I move into the Fourth Miss's backyard.
You can hide it for a while, but you can't hide it forever.
The fourth young lady promised to help her cover up the fact that her mother would not know that she was a concubine.
This matter was not difficult for the fourth young lady.
Yu Zhi had a plan in mind. Someone like Miss Wei would never lack women. Even if he took her as a concubine, he would only play with her for two or three years before losing interest.
In two or three years, if they are lucky, their mother's eyesight may be restored. At that time, the two of them will leave Lingnan Prefecture and go far away.
In this way, her mother wouldn't discover that she had been given away as a concubine.
Yu Zhi sighed.
The spring breeze is bothersome.
"Zhizhi?"
"Mother?"
Yu Zhi stood up and went to greet her.
Yu's mother stepped out of the clinic, holding a green bamboo cane. Her head was wrapped in gauze, and her injuries had not yet fully healed.
The fourth young lady's consultation fee was high enough for them to stay here for several months.
Yu's mother held her daughter's hand, her brow furrowed with worry: "Zhizhi, is there something on your mind that you want to tell your mother? Why have you been so gloomy these past few days?"
Yu Zhi, ashamed to face her mother, lowered her eyes and stared at the tips of her boots: "Mother, I..."
"What's wrong?" the woman asked anxiously.
“I…” Yu Zhi burst into tears, hugging her only remaining relative in the world: “Daughter, daughter has someone she loves.”
The words "my beloved" struck the woman's heart like a heavy hammer, and in an instant, the name her daughter had been talking about for days flashed through her mind.