'Yan Ji' wisely dared not tease her any further, but allowed the fourth young lady to paint to her heart's content with her legs spread wide.
With so many women kept in the backyard, the Fourth Miss, being abstinent, didn't touch a single one. At most, she would paint their legs when the mood struck her, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
With so many women, which one wouldn't want to sleep with Miss Fourth?
Only by truly becoming the fourth young lady's woman can one begin to enjoy immense wealth and status.
In the Wei family of Lingnan Prefecture, even the dogs kept in their courtyard were treated with respect by the local officials, let alone the legitimate daughter.
Everyone says that Miss Wei is not favored and has a strange personality. It's true that she has a strange personality, but as for being unfavored... who else who is not favored can spend money like water and do whatever they want?
Yanji stared at the Fourth Miss with fascination, thinking a thousand times in her heart: The Fourth Miss is so beautiful, those eyebrows and those eyes are deadly attractive.
She can be aloof and ethereal, yet gentle and tender at times. Her smile is enigmatic, and her mood can change faster than turning the pages of a book. When she turns wicked, she unleashes her charm without restraint. Her phoenix eyes have captivated countless people with their occasional gentle glint.
Delicate and lingering emotions flowed from her lips. 'Yan Ji' missed her so much that her throat was parched, her face flushed, and her eyes were misty with tears.
Unfortunately, Wei Pingxi ignored him, his mind preoccupied with the girl who had timidly left.
Yuzhi.
She stopped writing.
"Fourth Miss?"
The woman standing in front of the desk had a look in her eyes that others couldn't understand, and her beautiful lips curved into a soft, graceful smile.
Tea was poured onto the three-inch-long jade pen handle. In the April weather, a faint warmth rose from the water. The pen, washed by the tea, was smooth and bright, revealing the flawlessness of the jade.
"Fourth Miss..."
"Yan Ji" called out again in a high-pitched voice, just like a cat in heat.
Wei Pingxi, oblivious to the romantic atmosphere, laughed.
As she passed the restless cat, Yu Bi effortlessly slipped the pen inside. Though she smiled, her tone turned cold, like ice that wouldn't melt in the winter sun.
"Keep it in your mouth, don't let it leak anymore."
Yan Ji was so ashamed that she wanted to disappear, and she was so frightened by Yan Ji's cold attitude that she dared not move.
Wei Pingxi didn't even look at anyone before waving her sleeves and walking out of the studio, her demeanor proud and elegant, her figure graceful and alluring.
"Someone come here!"
"Fourth Miss".
"I am here to invite Yao Chenzi to Lingnan Prefecture. Give him whatever he wants. That is all. I want to see him within half a month."
"Yes, Fourth Miss!"
Miss Wei is very good at winning people's hearts, and many heroes in the martial arts world are willing to serve her.
The renowned physician Chenzi also owes the Fourth Miss a tremendous favor.
The Great Yan region is vast, and Yao Chenzi's whereabouts are unpredictable. He roams the world, has many rules for saving people, and is not easily summoned.
Eccentric people's friends are often eccentric people themselves.
Wei Pingxi handed the jade token to his trusted confidant, blinked his eyelashes, and smiled sweetly: "Don't want to owe me? Then just wait and see."
...
Now, Yu Zhi left the gate of Juanxin Villa, her cloth bag containing the silver that the man had forcibly stuffed into her hand.
Instead of finding a renowned doctor for her mother, she had offended someone she shouldn't have. Her eyes were red, and her thoughts were in turmoil.
She had seen her great benefactor from her past life, yet she hadn't been able to repay his kindness. But her benefactor was determined to make her his concubine, which was absolutely unacceptable.
She wiped away her tears, letting out two sobs to force them back.
The road ahead was long, and her legs felt heavy and weak as she took her first steps.
One moment he wondered why such a celestial being as Miss Wei would be fond of women, and the next he lamented how many women had rushed to mourn her tragic death in his previous life.
Three or four people committed suicide for love, and nearly half of them fainted from crying.
Even she shed many tears for the fourth young lady.
After all, without the kindness of the Fourth Miss who provided that meal, she and her mother might have died before the Fourth Miss.
All told, in her previous life she only lived half a year longer than the Fourth Miss.
After her mother passed away, she was left all alone and could not hold on. She tried to avoid the thugs in Liushui Alley several times, but was still harassed by them. When she was driven to the brink of despair, she could only preserve her innocence by taking her own life.
Yu Zhi thought of the tears she shed for the Fourth Miss in her past life, and then thought of the Fourth Miss she had met today, and a strange feeling rose in her heart.
She didn't have time to think about anything else and headed back to Liushui Lane.
Liushui Lane is a remote and inconspicuous poor dwelling in Lingnan Prefecture. Most of the residents are from all walks of life, a mixed bag.
As soon as Yuzhi entered Liushui Lane, she was stopped by a woman with a mean-looking face.
"Oh! Miss Yu, you're finally back!"
Chapter 3 Kind People
The woman, who had a naturally mean face, was secretly called a shrew by the people in the alley.
The old woman's husband's surname was Diao, and she herself was also cunning. Every time Yu Zhi saw her, she couldn't help but feel a jolt in her heart.
The woman greeted her warmly, looking Yu Zhi up and down as if she were seeing something rare, making no attempt to hide the suspicion and inquiry in her eyes.
Yuzhi went to see the "important person" today, and she specially wore her best dress, which was washed until it was faded, and it could be vaguely recognized that it was a faded embroidered dress.
The ribbons intertwined, accentuating her slender waist; if a man were to place his hand there, he might just pinch her to death if he applied too much force.
Looking again at Miss Yu, her eyes were tinged with a light blush, and her rosy cheeks were even more alluring than if she had applied rouge. She was as delicate as a willow swaying in the breeze, a real vixen.
The shrew spat inwardly, filled with overwhelming jealousy—if she were as beautiful as her, she would have already become a phoenix on a branch!
That vixen got off too easily!
Thinking this to herself, she couldn't stop smiling: "Miss Yu, what vibrant colors you've been wearing! What have you been doing here?"
Her tiny eyes glanced at the cloth bag that Yu Zhi was holding at her waist. It seemed that the bag contained something important, and she became suspicious.
Yu Zhi was unwilling to say much to her. She had just cried earlier and was now feeling distressed about not being able to find a famous doctor for her mother. She cautiously replied with a few words and asked the old woman why she had stopped her there.
"Hey, what could possibly be wrong?"
The old woman waved her dusty handkerchief, leaned forward, and said furtively, "It's not that Miss Yu is getting old, and she can't really find a good husband. What do you think of my Zhuzi?"
Your pillar?
Yu Zhi pictured a burly man in her mind, whose smile could scare a child to tears.
Having been neighbors for many years, she vaguely remembered from her past life that Diao Tiezhu would be imprisoned for theft in less than half a month.
She wanted to give Aunt Diao a heads-up.
She had barely opened her mouth, before a sound even escaped, when the shrewish old woman, unable to tolerate her slow and hesitant nature, assumed the young lady was unwilling and immediately became sullen and sarcastic:
"You're still not willing! My son Zhuzi is going to be the top martial arts scholar in the future. He doesn't mind that you're an old maid at twenty-three. How can you be so ungrateful?"
She launched into a tirade of sarcastic remarks, but Yu Zhi lowered her eyes and said that she was biting the hand that feeds her, so she simply pretended to be mute and stopped caring about Diao Tiezhu's life or death.
The old woman got more and more carried away with her words; she had long harbored resentment towards this Miss Yu!
At first, they absolutely refused to let Zhu Zi marry this woman.
She was a perfectly normal girl, but she looked just like a vixen. She walked with a swaying waist, and although she didn't have much flesh on her buttocks, she managed to exude a charm that made men stare.
She's still unmarried. If she were married and gained even more allure, what family could afford to support such a beauty? What man could control such a femme fatale?
It wouldn't be surprising if someone were completely captivated by her in bed.
Halfway through her mocking remarks, the old woman slowly remembered her son's promise, which he had made by patting his chest—that once this woman was married into the family, he would be able to subdue her and have her bear three sons and a daughter for the Diao family.
Diao Tiezhu was twenty-five years old. Two years ago, he barely managed to become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination). However, due to his dishonest behavior, he offended powerful figures and was stripped of his academic title and ordered not to participate in the martial arts examination for three years.
The old woman was eager to have a grandchild, and the vixen couldn't meet her standards at all. But if she could have a few clever and beautiful babies born through the vixen's womb, that would be a wonderful thing.
Thinking of this, he turned to Yu Zhi with a friendly expression and tried to take her hand with a smile, but she nimbly dodged it.
Her expression darkened: "You child, what's wrong with my Zhuzi?"
Yu Zhi was blocked in her way, and she frowned as she looked at her.
She is twenty-three years old. Over the years, what kind of family backgrounds have come to propose marriage to her without minding her poverty?
It's not easy to maintain her innocence; she has rejected more than just a dozen men.
Those with some wealth and reputation in Lingnan Prefecture cherish their reputation, so dealing with them is easy; all you need to do is find their weaknesses.
But Yu Zhi was too lazy to argue with the shameless old woman, and said clearly, "I don't plan to get married in this life. Even if I do get married, I won't have children. I want to spend my whole life with my mother."
She spoke softly and gently, which startled the old woman. Taking advantage of her momentary daze, Yu Zhi quickly headed home.
I hadn't walked far when I heard the shrewish old woman's noisy cursing behind me.
They would simply call her seductive and immoral, saying that although she looked unmarried, she might have already slept with someone else, and that her flamboyant appearance today might mean she was working as a prostitute for someone else.
You can't expect ivory to come out of a dog's mouth.
Yu Zhi's eyes reddened with anger. Knowing she couldn't argue with such a shrew, she took a deep breath, clutched her chest, and quickened her pace.
The old woman was incredibly powerful; her curses could be heard even through several walls.
The blind woman, who was anxiously waiting for her daughter to return in the courtyard, strained her ears to listen to a few words. She realized that the shrew was cursing her daughter, Zhizhi, and she trembled with anger.
The door opened, and Yu Zhi locked it. Before she could even wipe the sweat from her forehead, she exclaimed, "Mother?!"
"I need to find her! I need to find her!"
The blind woman couldn't stand the shrewish old woman's slander of her precious daughter and was determined to start a verbal battle with her.
"Mother!"
Yu Zhi held onto her arm tightly.
She inherited her mother's gentle and mild nature.
She wasn't very good at swearing, and her mother, who had lived for decades, had never learned to swear. If she went to that shrew, she might get a thorough dressing-down and end up with nothing but trouble.