Ma femme escalade le mur

Chapitre 123

After pondering these matters for a moment, Duan Chen raised her hand and gently patted his back. Zhan Yun was both pleased that Duan Chen wasn't angry with him and amused by her clumsy attempt at comforting him, a smile curving his lips. Recalling the annoying situation from before, Zhan Yun pulled her back a little, supporting her waist, and carefully examined her. He then ran his finger over her pale lips, gently caressing them, his focused gaze tinged with a deep, thoughtful expression.

Duan Chen lowered her eyes, obediently letting him caress her, as if trying to wipe away all the previous troubles. Zhan Yun looked at the man's trembling eyelashes and the barely suppressed displeasure between his brows, and understood a little. His fingers then gently cupped her delicate chin, lingering on her soft lips. His tongue teased her opening her lips, followed by a long, tender, and affectionate kiss.

A faint bitter taste spread in their mouths. Zhan Yun pulled the other person closer with one hand, while the other hand slid down the slender neck to the softness that was wrapped around her. The tips of his index and middle fingers gently picked at the tiny knot that protruded under her arm.

Duan Chen's mind was a blur from the kiss until a sudden release at his chest, followed by a hot hand gently kneading through the layers of fabric, brought him back to reality. A soft whimper escaped his throat, and he tried to push away the hand on the other's shoulder, but it was no use. A strange, tingling sensation rose in his lower abdomen, and the soft spot in the other's hand subtly hardened, immediately inviting even more blatant teasing…

Duan Chen whimpered twice, and his hands, which had been pushing her away, softened. His fingers pinched the piece of snow-white satin, and his slightly white fingertips had a pitiful look on them.

Zhan Yun originally only wanted to get closer to the beauty to soothe his previous anxiety and restlessness, and did not intend to do anything in this place. Who knew that the more he touched her, the more aroused he became, and for a moment he lost control. Their lips and tongues became more and more passionate, and his hands, which had been gently caressing her, began to tease her more and more. His lower body gradually became tense and painful.

Finally, the sounds of voices coming from the courtyard brought Zhan Yun back to his senses. He pulled her into his arms, his breath coming in short gasps as he repeatedly comforted her, his throat so tight his voice trembled slightly: "Chen'er, don't be afraid, I won't do it anymore..."

Her phoenix eyes were misty and moist, and even her gaze was soft and delicate. Duan Chen felt his whole body lose strength, and a wave of languor and lethargy surge from his lower abdomen spread throughout his body. He was held in her arms and couldn't say a word for a long time.

Zhan Yun endured the sweat pouring down his back and beading his forehead, yet he couldn't bear to push the other away. His teeth ached from clenching them, and he forcefully suppressed the passion surging in his lower abdomen. His arms and chest were already as stiff as rocks.

After Duan Chen came to his senses, he also felt a little uncomfortable being hugged by him. He pushed his shoulder away a little, covered his chest with one hand, and glared at him with slightly red eyes.

Zhan Yun took a deep breath, smiled wryly, and softly apologized. Duan Chen, however, turned his face away and ignored him, getting up slightly to go behind the screen to straighten his clothes. These kinds of things are not easy to handle to begin with; it's alright in winter, but in summer, they need to be wrapped securely, and you have to be careful not to let the edges of the strips of cloth show. Now that he had picked them open from the outside, he had to untie his clothes and rewrap them.

Zhan Yun propped himself up against the headboard, his eyes half-closed as he steadied his breathing. These past few days, sharing a bed with someone had been incredibly difficult. He'd never dared to kiss her deeply, and avoided holding her to sleep, afraid of doing something out of control. But tonight, provoked by Li Linge, he almost did something he'd regret.

Although the two were already in love, Zhan Yun did not want to have any actions with Duan Chen other than kissing before marriage. In addition, Duan Chen was too naive in matters of the heart, and Zhan Yun was reluctant to use tricks or lust to arouse her. He always wanted to wait until her feelings for him deepened and their relationship naturally progressed before doing such a thing, so that it would be a true union.

A soft whisper came from outside the door, his tone hesitant, clearly afraid of disturbing the two. Zhan Yun quickly said "Wait a moment," and, supporting his still weak body, walked to the screen. His low voice still carried a trace of the previous passion, hoarse yet with a hint of allure: "Chen'er, are you done?"

Duan Chen naturally heard Zhao Ting's question outside the door, and immediately felt his face burning even hotter. His fingertips, which were reaching for his shoulder blade, trembled, and the strip of cloth in his hand slipped off. For a moment, he lost his usual calm demeanor, clutching his half-undone clothes and cursing under his breath.

Hearing the slightly coquettish complaint, Zhan Yun found it amusing. He cleared his throat twice and asked in a soft voice, "Do you need any help?" Before Duan Chen could speak, he had already taken a step inside.

Duan Chen hurriedly turned away, causing more of the cloth strip from his chest to droop. One end, plain white, slowly trailed to the ground, landing just a step away from Zhan Yun. Zhan Yun's gaze followed the cloth strip upwards. Even though he hadn't harbored any romantic thoughts when he entered, the sight before him caused his breath to become slightly disturbed.

Her hair was tied up high, leaving her slender neck and one shoulder completely exposed. Her snow-white skin still had a hint of pink from the previous passion, and her beautiful, jade-like arms tightly protected the soft, apricot-colored breasts... Duan Chen glared at him from the side, biting his lower lip and scolding softly, "Get out!"

Zhan Yun calmly took a deep breath, a faint smile playing on his lips. His lowered eyelids quickly concealed the darkness in his eyes as he bent down and grabbed one end of the strip of cloth. He took two steps forward, one hand supporting the beauty's waist, the other gently wrapping the cloth around her waist.

Duan Chen initially wanted to refuse, but then he noticed a strange expression on the man's face. Although his eyes were lowered, the slightly domineering tenderness in his eyes was exactly the same as during their previous intimate moments. Even if he was completely clueless about romance, Duan Chen knew that the man had already fallen in love. Considering that there were people waiting outside the door, Duan Chen pursed his lips and didn't argue with him anymore.

Zhan Yun smiled faintly, but never looked up, his gaze lingering on the pale blue outer garment, even though the soft, fragrant body was already half-embraced in his arms. Warm hands slipped inside the open garment, gently caressing the smooth back, then emerging from under the other side. He repeated this several times, trying to breathe softly, ignoring the burning heat in his heart. With the final wrapping, his other hand adjusted the edges of the fabric, and with a deft twist of his index and middle fingers, he tied a knot that wasn't too prominent.

Duan Chen pursed her lips and reached for the sash under her arm, but Zhan Yun reached out and pulled it aside, gently yet firmly fastening her inner garment, then her outer robe, and finally adjusting the front and back of her collar. Duan Chen looked up at him and saw Zhan Yun's gaze swirling with emotion, yet a gentle smile played on his lips, as if trying to soothe her. His slender fingers stroked her cheek, and he pulled Duan Chen towards the outer room.

As soon as the door was opened, Zhao Ting was seen standing in the courtyard with a furrowed brow, with Chu Hui beside him, clearly indicating that there was some news again.

Seeing the two men's displeased expressions, Zhan Yun's heart sank: "What's wrong? Wasn't Yi Ran's poison cured?" Although he wasn't fully awake when they left last night, he was clearly fine...

Zhao Ting shook his head and said, "It's not Yiran, it's Boss Zhu from Zui Zhu Yan. He went missing last night. The Zhu family searched all night but couldn't find him. They reported the case to the government office a quarter of an hour ago."

Author's Note: There will be an update at 9 AM on Friday!

108

Chapter Twelve: Harming Others and Harming Oneself...

Upon hearing this, Duan Chen's heart sank, and he quickly stepped forward to ask, "Where is the maid who was with them?"

Chu Hui only let go of each other's hands the moment the two stepped out of the room. She was confused for a moment and her words were a little hesitant: "That maid..." She looked up and saw Duan Chen looking at her anxiously. In the midst of the confusion, she regained some of her clarity: "That maid and Boss Zhu's husband are waiting at the government office. Brother Fang and the others have been looking for her everywhere."

Zhan Yun was also very worried after hearing this, but as he released Duan Chen's hand, he noticed something unusual and couldn't help but look down. Duan Chen had been keeping watch by the bed all night without sleeping, and had been bothered by this person earlier, so he had forgotten about the ring for a moment. Only when Zhan Yun looked down did he remember what had happened last night, and he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

Seeing the change in the expressions of the two men, Zhao Ting followed Zhan Yun's gaze and was also slightly taken aback. Just as he was about to ask, he saw Duan Chen looking around the courtyard, his tightly furrowed brows revealing a hint of anger, his face showing both anxiety and sadness, and he guessed how it had gone missing.

Zhan Yun, however, remained calm, took Duan Chen's arm, and reassured him with a light laugh, "It's alright, they're not that valuable. We can buy another pair another day and exchange them together."

Duan Chen took a deep breath, steadied himself, and looked into his eyes, saying, "I'll go back to the government office first. The escape of that Mei Liu troupe leader is probably related to Boss Zhu's unexplained disappearance. You still need to rest, go back to your room and lie down for a while. I'll definitely be back by noon."

Zhan Yun smiled slightly, still holding her sleeve: "It's alright. I slept quite a long time last night, I'll be fine after eating something." Then she turned to look at Zhao Ting: "But you two didn't sleep a wink last night, let's not try to persuade each other, let's go together."

Zhao Ting knew this man possessed profound inner strength. Last night, he had only momentarily lost his mind and fallen into a demonic state, causing him to vomit blood. Although he was a bit weak now, he was not seriously injured. As long as he ate some warm and nourishing medicine and rested slowly, he would recover. Therefore, Zhao Ting did not try to persuade him further: "Then let's go."

Duan Chen pursed her lips and glanced again at the window where Li Lingke had left the ring last night. Then she let Zhan Yun pull her along and followed Zhao Ting and Chu Hui out of the courtyard.

The four returned to the government office and found Li Qinglan, Tao Hanzhi, Jiang Cheng, and the two men from the Zhu family in the side hall. Even Zhou Yufei was sitting upright. However, his face was as pale as paper, and his usually arrogant eyes revealed a deep sorrow, which also gave him a solemn and dignified air. Coupled with his royal blue official robes, he seemed like a completely different person.

Upon seeing Duan Chen and the others enter, Zhou Yufei hurriedly stood up, his cheek muscles twitching a few times, clearly from aggravating his back injury due to the sudden movement. After regaining his balance, Zhou Yufei quickly walked up to them, first looking Duan Chen up and down, his brown eyes meeting their gaze with some difficulty. When he spoke, both his voice and tone startled them: "Are you alright? It was my fault last night; I didn't protect you well."

After saying that, she looked at Zhan Yun, her eyes glistening with tears: "Xingzhi, I'm sorry. If anything happens to Duan Chen because of me, I'll give my life for it..."

Everyone present was stunned. Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun frowned. Zhan Yun put his hand on the man's shoulder and gently interrupted him before he could finish speaking: "What happened last night was not your fault. We've been brothers for over ten years. Saying this makes you sound like a stranger."

Zhao Ting also pushed the man into the house, a smile playing on his lips. "It's enough for you to act like a gentleman normally, don't try this on me, it's sickening..."

The two men half-helped, half-dragged him to a chair and sat him down. A servant came in from outside, carrying freshly brewed medicine, and brought it to Zhou Yufei. Zhan Yun bowed to Li and Tao, then sat down in the chair opposite Zhou Yufei. He took out a folding fan from his sleeve and gently waved it, saying, "I'm still quite weak, so I'll have to trouble you brothers to take care of feeding me the medicine yourself."

Although he didn't say it directly, everyone understood that Zhan Yun didn't mean "brother," but rather "Little Prince." Zhao Ting brought over the medicine bowl with a forced smile, raising an eyebrow at Zhou Yufei: "It's nothing."

Unlike his usual sorrowful demeanor and argument with the two, Zhou Yufei's smile appeared somewhat weak: "There's no need for the feeding. I can still carry this bowl of medicine." Because the injury was on the left side, his right arm was still able to move freely. As he spoke, Zhou Yufei took the bowl and drank it all in one gulp without even blinking.

The young boy who brought the medicine was speechless; the medicine had just been taken off the stove! It was hot outside, and the short walk from the kitchen to the side hall should have allowed the medicine to cool for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea before drinking it. Seeing Zhou Yufei's expressionless face, the boy shivered inexplicably, bowed, and obediently withdrew.

Meanwhile, Duan Chen had begun questioning Bi'er and Boss Zhu's husband. According to Bi'er, not long after Duan Chen and Zhan Yun left last night, Zhu Qiaolian said she wanted to find a latrine. Since the two were frequent visitors to the teahouse, they knew there was a place in the back courtyard, so Bi'er accompanied them there.

Who knew that Zhu Qiaolian would go inside for a long time without coming out? Bi'er called out a few times and went in to check, but there wasn't a soul in sight. The little maid was immediately terrified and ran out in a panic, just in time to find the teahouse in complete chaos. After the commotion on the street subsided and the officials from the government office left, she hurried home, wondering if Zhu Qiaolian had already returned to the manor. Naturally, the entire manor mobilized to search for her. They even went back to the teahouse, only to be told by the owner that apart from the teahouse staff, there wasn't a single person in the back courtyard, and even the original opera troupe had been taken back to the government office for questioning.