Wei Pingxi regretfully put away the 'Beauty Emerging from Bath' painting, his gaze slowly drifting to Yu Zhi's slender, beautiful legs. Suddenly, he felt that the painting he had finished yesterday was no longer beautiful.
She cherished it as a treasure just a moment ago, but upon seeing something more beautiful, she immediately discarded it.
The scroll was tossed aside beside Yu Zhi's legs.
This small incident reveals a larger truth: this person's temperament is indeed as capricious and unpredictable as the legends suggest.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Now, tell me, what brings you to my villa so willingly?"
"I beg you to find a good doctor for my mother to cure her eye disease."
Yu Zhi had received her kindness in her previous life. The twelve delicacies not only saved her and her mother from starvation, but were also the best food they had ever eaten in their two lifetimes.
Having received kindness from Wei Pingxi, and knowing that behind her wicked nature lay a gentle heart capable of saving lives, she boldly spoke up.
"Find a good doctor?"
Wei Pingxi laughed: "Good doctors are hard to find. I'm searching for a doctor for your mother, what will you give me in return?"
"I will dedicate myself to the cause until my dying breath!"
"Tsk, such a beautiful woman, don't keep talking about death."
The fourth young lady picked up her teacup and splashed it onto the 'Beauty Emerging from Bath' painting scattered on the ground. The beauty was soaked by the water, and the vibrant colors were blurred as the lively paint mixed together.
"I used to really like this painting, but after seeing you, the beauty in the painting seems to have lost its charm."
She leaned down and lifted Yu Zhi's pointed chin with two fingers: "You have to compensate me."
Yu Zhi was delicate and timid. Now, having failed to find a doctor and instead being 'extorted,' she was quite frightened: "I...I can't afford to pay..."
"Why can't you afford to pay?"
The fourth young lady smiled, her eyes crinkling, her voice seductive: "Give yourself to me as compensation, become my concubine, and I will not only not pursue the matter of the painting, but I will also find a good doctor to treat your mother's eye disease. How about it?"
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Author's Note:
Let's get started! Happy New Year, everyone!
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Chapter 2 is strangely fun.
Miss Wei, with her amiable demeanor and stunningly beautiful face that could captivate mortals, spoke words that were utterly wicked.
Her fingers were slender and white, and her fingertips were warm. Yu Zhi had never felt the warmth of jade before, so she guessed that the fourth young lady's fingers must be even warmer than the best quality warm jade.
The person before her was a great benefactor who had saved her and her mother from starvation in a past life by giving them a meal, and in this life, the person before her was a benefactor who could save her and her mother from suffering.
However, after the words "selling herself" swirled in her mind for a moment, Yu Zhi, emboldened by some unknown source, pushed away the beautiful and noble fourth young lady. Her chest heaved, and her face turned pale with fright, but she also blushed suddenly when Wei Pingxi looked at her with a puzzled gaze.
She thought: How can a woman be a concubine to another woman?
The rumors were indeed true; Miss Wei was indeed fond of women.
"Unwilling?"
Miss Wei resumed her usual gentle and calm tone. She was outrageously beautiful and had an absurdly strange personality. One moment she would be smiling innocently, and the next she would be drawing her sword.
She wouldn't stoop so low as to harm a weak woman like Yu Zhi, but she wasn't as warm towards her as before.
His eyes turned cold, as cold as ice, slowly emanating a chill.
"Then get lost."
She took out a handkerchief with annoyance and wiped her fair fingers.
Yu Zhi felt a lump in her throat and a hurt feeling in her heart at her actions—was she wiping her fingers because she had just touched her with those fingers and was disgusted by her dirtiness?
He stood there dumbfounded, like a fool. Wei Pingxi gritted his teeth, thinking to himself: Isn't he afraid that he'll go crazy and eat her up?
"Aren't you leaving yet?"
Yu Zhiqian had experienced firsthand how capricious and domineering Yu Zhiqian had been driven away repeatedly simply because things hadn't gone her way, leaving her speechless.
The maid who had led her to the other courtyard earlier stood outside with her head bowed.
A servant brought water for the fourth young lady to wash her hands. Yu Zhi saw her lazily lift her eyelids amidst her busy schedule, and hurriedly lower her head, which elicited a laugh.
"If you don't want to leave, stay and be my woman. I will never treat you badly."
Wei Pingxi patiently persuaded him.
Yu Zhi, with only the courage of a sesame seed, blushed all over the back of her neck after being smiled at, and hurriedly left the house.
She had just stepped out when Wei Pingxi's face darkened, and the copper basin crashed to the ground with a loud bang. The sudden noise startled Yu Zhi, who fled as if her life depended on it.
Thankfully, a servant woman led the way; otherwise, it's uncertain whether we would have been able to escape this enormous 'maze'.
"return!"
The shout was imbued with powerful internal energy. The Fourth Miss laughed in anger and raised her hand to brush away the water droplets that clung to her clothes.
The maids around her were busy tidying her up; some knelt down to wipe her boots, others used handkerchiefs to wipe her face. The maids were a diverse group, some plump and some slender.
Surrounded by beauties, the fourth young lady was ethereal and otherworldly, aloof and detached.
After she had finished tidying up, Yuzhi, who had left, was respectfully 'invited' back by the servants.
The twenty-three-year-old young woman, who at most sold flowers on the street and had not seen much of the world, returned and caught a glimpse of the fourth young lady's beautiful, calm face. She was so frightened that her legs trembled and her face turned pale.
Wei Pingxi had never seen such a cowardly person before, and he was so angry that he lost his temper.
She was genuinely worried that she might accidentally scare this rare 'good-looking' man to death if she got angry.
The anger of not getting what you want is strangely dispelled.
Her expression softened, and she spoke gently, displaying the soothing grace of a fairy comforting a mortal: "What's the rush? Why are you in such a hurry to leave? You've come all this way, do you think I'd let you come for nothing?"
When she spoke again, her every move was exactly the same approachable as in her previous life, which truly confused Yu Zhi.
Joy is one thing, anger is another.
The fourth young lady's ability to switch between joy and anger was so skillful that it truly frightened her.
"Someone come here."
A maid dressed in red and green carried a wooden tray across the threshold, and neatly stacked silver coins were presented to Yuzhi.
"It's a gift for you, take as much as you can."
Yu Zhi was dazzled by the silver, but she pursed her lips and remained motionless.
The fourth young lady, unusually, did something good again, but some people didn't appreciate it. She got angry and said, "It's free, take it or not?"
"I don't want your money."
"What's wrong with it!"
Wei Pingxi stepped forward, grabbed two silver ingots, and stuffed them into her hand: "You have to take them whether you want them or not. I'm giving you silver, not expecting you to be grateful, but if you spoil my fun, you'll be in big trouble!"
Yu Zhi's eyes instantly reddened as she had silver stuffed into her hands after Yu Zhi pried open her palms: "How can you be so unreasonable? I don't want your silver, and I won't be your concubine..."
Wei Pingxi had noticed her beautiful voice from the very first sentence. Now, the beautiful woman was accusing her of being unreasonable with a trembling, tearful voice. Her willow-leaf eyes were no different from rabbit eyes, resembling bright red gemstones.
Seeing her like this, Wei Pingxi was truly reluctant to let her go.
I'll take her in and not do anything else; it'll be good to listen to her crying all day long.
Her mind raced, and Yu Zhi grabbed the silver, intending to throw it back at her. The Fourth Miss snapped out of her daze and laughed angrily: "If you dare throw it back at me, you'll be staying here tonight."
After saying that, he glared at Yu Zhi without any politeness, making Yu Zhi tremble and stop throwing the silver.
It's kind of fun.
Wei Pingxi's lips curled up slightly.
"Alright, you can go now. If you don't leave now, I won't want you to leave."
It was still the same seductive, gentle words.
Yu Zhi wasn't fooled. She wanted to glare back, but she didn't have the guts.
Wei Pingxi suppressed a laugh as he helped her put the two silver ingots into the cloth bag at her waist. Like an adult instructing a child, he rambled on, "Keep it safe. Don't flaunt your wealth, or someone will rob you."
"..."
As if to satisfy her craving, she quickly ran her fingertips across Yu Zhi's slender waist, startling Yu Zhi so much that her eyes widened, and she clutched her cloth bag and ran outside.
The maid who had led the way hurriedly followed.
Wei Pingxi lost her amusement as a delicate and easily bullied beauty slipped through her fingers. The maidservant, watching her closely, made tea and poured water for her.
The Xuan paper was spread out, and Miss Wei Si's delicate white fingers held the jade pen without raising her head: "Go and invite 'Yan Ji' over."
She pondered for a moment and then smiled, "Today, I want to have my legs painted."
The maidservant blushed and accepted the order, then withdrew.
Yanji is not just one person's name, but the name of a group of people.
The fourth young lady redeemed people from brothels in various places, specifically for her to paint.
She took a liking to a pair of babies who were born plump and well-behaved, and redeemed them, placing them in the Juanxin Villa. She also paid a lot of money to place a woman with a slender and graceful waist here.
Miss Wei herself was beautiful and graceful, and she was never short of beauties around her. Even the maids who served her tea and water in the villa were by no means the 'common and vulgar women' that outsiders would describe.
She has a wide range of interests, and often after delving into a certain field to a certain extent, her interest fades.
The only thing that hasn't faded over the years is painting.
The fourth young lady wanted her legs painted, so the girl with the most beautiful legs among the women of the villa was invited in.
The studio was filled with calming incense. Maids led people in and served the young lady as she painted.
'Yan Ji' stood barefoot on the wool carpet, her eyes almost glued to the Fourth Miss. Wei Pingxi smiled at her with amusement: "Staring blankly?"
"Fourth Miss..."
The brothel always used subtle, seductive tones to entice its guests.
Wei Pingxi immediately stopped smiling and frowned slightly.