The Perilous Palace Dream - Chapter 126
Chapter 126
It was not until the lamps were lit that the Grand Tutor returned.
It turned out that Sui Qingchen had truly become obsessed. That day in Fanmo Tower, seeing Master Zhenlin leave alongside the Princess, he had ordered his servant boy to follow their carriage.
In the end, the servant followed them all the way to the side villa. This side villa was a lodging place for nobles from the capital; besides the main villa where the Emperor stayed, there were side villas reserved for high-ranking capital officials. In order to avoid causing a stir locally, Nie Qinglin had not stayed in the main villa, settling instead in one of the adjacent side villas. In any case, they shared the same courtyard, and the food, clothing, and daily amenities were by no means inferior. However, because these side villas usually sat vacant, minor officials in charge of them would often secretly sublet them to wealthy merchants from outside regions for temporary lodging.
Therefore, when Sui Qingchen heard that they were staying at the side villa, he was slightly surprised. Later, when he sent people to inquire, the workers inside gave vague answers, saying they were likely a family of wealthy merchants from elsewhere. This further confirmed the suspicion in Young Master Sui’s mind.
After being flatly rejected by his beloved in the bamboo forest, the youth’s pride was deeply wounded, and he was determined to win it back. On the spot, he composed a letter and ordered his servant boy to deliver it to the side villa, addressing it simply to Master Zhenlin.
The servants at the side villa did not know who “Master Zhenlin” was. Fearing a delay, they reported it to the Grand Tutor, who was currently in the villa.
When the Grand Tutor heard the name “Zhenlin,” he raised his thick eyebrows and ordered the letter to be presented to him.
The letter was written with impassioned fervor, stating: “I adore rare flowers, which ought to be nurtured in rich soil, pruned and tended so that the rare flower never fades. You are lame and impaired in gait, by no means a suitable match for a rare flower. I hear you possess refined talents; three days hence, please come to Fanmo Tower to prove your literary prowess. Should I be fortunate enough to prevail, I hope you will step away from the rare flower, so as not to betray the fine reputation of loving flowers…”
Having read it, the Grand Tutor slightly parted his thin lips, revealing gleaming, sharp teeth. To think that in civil matters he could govern the state and bring prosperity to the realm, while in military matters he could sweep away rebellious bandits—yet today, a fair-skinned, frail scholar from Jiangnan had dared to come knocking at his door, repeatedly demanding that he abandon his rare flower.
Is “rare flower” something a brat like you is worthy to call her? Even if you want to act as rich soil and heavy fertilizer, you had better see if you have the lifespan for it!
Looking at the signature of Sui Qingchen at the end of the letter, the Grand Tutor immediately recalled the pair of lustful eyes that had stared unblinkingly at his Guo’er back at Fanmo Tower, and he let out another cold, murderously silent laugh. Lord Sui was loyal and upright, but it would be best for him to discipline this unfilial descendant on his behalf.
Tearing the letter into pieces with a wave of his hand, he saw no need to wait three days. Just as night fell, he took Lu Yuda and a few trusted guards and rode straight toward the Sui Manor. With a fire burning in his chest, the Grand Tutor walked in great haste, making his movements surprisingly smoother than his usual practice. Arriving on horseback near the Sui Manor, they dismounted one after another and walked over to the outer wall. With a command from the Grand Tutor, Lu Yuda and a guard leaped over the wall. After searching through most of the Sui Manor, they finally slipped into Young Master Sui’s bedroom, knocked out the two serving maids, gagged Young Master Sui with a rag, wrapped him tightly in a thin quilt, slung him over their shoulders, leaped back over the wall, and threw him onto a horse’s back.
Once they entered a dense forest, they picked a tall tree and hoisted Young Master Sui up, hanging him from the branch.
Only then did Young Master Sui see the slightly lame Grand Tutor before his eyes. Shocked and enraged in his heart, he truly had not expected this man to act so outrageously—behaving like a bandit, without a shred of a scholar’s temperament. This only strengthened his resolve to rescue the rare flower, and he said indignantly, “Breaking into another’s residence in the middle of the night—how is this any different from forest bandits? I originally thought that although you were disabled, your literary talent was extraordinary and you were a notable figure. I never imagined your actions would be so vile! If you have the skill, let me down, and don’t call upon your house slaves and accomplices—let us duel to see who is stronger!”
The Grand Tutor sneered coldly.
“Bringing you out here was merely to avoid being disturbed by the people in your manor. Fine, I will make you accept your defeat completely.”
After Young Master Sui was lowered to the ground, he straightened his clothes and calmed his mind. Although he resided at the academy, the Marquis Manor had also hired martial arts masters to teach him fitness. Seeing that the Grand Tutor was disabled, Sui Qingchen did not take the cripple to heart. Reaching out, he took a long sword handed over by a guard, elegantly drew a flourish with the blade, shouted a warning to be careful, and thrust it forward with a swish.
Young Master Sui had indeed put genuine effort into his swordsmanship; in a flash of cold light, the tip of his sword reached before the Grand Tutor’s eyes. Unluckily for him, his opponent was a god of war. The Grand Tutor did not even dodge; with a swift strike of his own, his blade launched forward, arriving second but striking first. Left with no choice, Sui Qingchen parried with his sword, but with a flick of his wrist, the Grand Tutor thrust forward again. In just a few moves, he sliced open Sui Qingchen’s belt. When Young Master Sui was snatched, he had been in bed wearing only thin night robes; with his belt sliced, his smooth silk trousers slid all the way down, exposing him entirely.
Feeling a sudden chill across his lower half, Young Master Sui stood frozen in the thick darkness of the night.
This Master Zhenlin had once again given him a brand-new understanding of “shamelessness.”
No, it had to be a mistake; no gentleman could be so utterly devoid of dignity… Could it be that because Zhenlin was lame and struggled to keep his balance, he had accidentally grazed him?
However, in the next instant, a chilling sword beam filled with malicious intent shattered the last shred of Young Master Sui’s illusions about human nature, pointing ruthlessly toward the organ between his legs.
“With a tiny thing like this, no bigger than a sparrow’s nest, you actually have the nerve to contend for another man’s wife?”
“You… you…”
How had Young Master Sui ever been so humiliated? Shaking violently with rage, he dared not move a single inch. The cold blade pressed so close that if he made one rash move, he would end up two ounces lighter.
To the side, Lu Yuda and the group of “house slaves” did not join in the fight, merely standing around smirking and jeering maliciously, with some even blowing sharp whistles.
Truly, what kind of master raised what kind of rogue servants!
The Grand Tutor, however, did not smile.
He merely turned his wrist slowly, shaving off a good deal of Young Master Sui’s “lordly fine hairs,” which drifted like goose feathers between his legs.
Then, he said slowly, “Now does Young Master Sui know why a cripple like me can uniquely possess the rare flower? Any blind thief who dares try to pick my flower has ended up stripped clean of flesh and bone beneath my blade!”
Cold sweat immediately broke out on Sui Qingchen’s forehead. The wrists of the man before him holding the sword were steady and filled with immense strength; he felt that in the next instant, the blade would cut into his skin, staining the dark night forest with blood… No!
He had not even taken a wife yet; if he were truly turned into a eunuch, how could he have the face to go on living in this world?
After sneering and savoring the terror in the handsome youth’s eyes, the Grand Tutor sheathed his sword, waved his hand at Lu Yuda and the others, and said, “Watch your strength when you beat him; just leave an heir for the Sui family…”
Having given his instructions, he turned without looking back and, leaning on his sword, slowly walked out of the dense forest. Mounting his horse, he listened as dull thuds of punches, kicks, and the youth’s painful wails drifted out from the forest, feeling thoroughly refreshed.
He was nothing but a book-obsessed fool who thought he could undermine another man’s household by going to Fanmo Tower to write essays! That very night, he had beaten him until he fled in terror, giving this arrogant brat a proper thrashing on behalf of his father!
Now, the Grand Tutor had also discovered the wonderful perk of traveling incognito—he did not have to bear the burden of Lord Dingguo, nor did he need the open-minded tolerance of a Great Wei minister who considers the bigger picture. No one could accuse him of abusing his power to bully others; whenever he encountered an unpleasant, wet-behind-the-ears brat like this, he could simply beat him up as he pleased—how utterly satisfying!
Before long, Lu Yuda and his men dragged out the bruised and battered Young Master Sui, threw him over a horse’s back, and secretly delivered him back to his bed in the Marquis Manor via the same route.
As for how the young master would explain to his household the next day why he woke up covered in injuries, that was his own headache.
But with his private area shaved as smooth as a newborn baby’s, that young master would surely find it too embarrassing to speak of, wouldn’t he?
—
When the Grand Tutor returned to the villa, Nanny Shan had long been waiting to one side, truthfully reporting the events that occurred in the temple’s bamboo forest earlier that day to the Grand Tutor. After finishing, she added resentfully, “A beating is still too lenient for such an ignorant and arrogant child.”
The Grand Tutor paused in his footsteps, his eyes gleaming brightly as he asked,”Did the Princess truly say that even without parents’ orders or matchmakers’ words, she would marry no one but me?”
Nanny Shan hurriedly affirmed it.
Instantly, the Grand Tutor felt as though a giant palm were supporting his injured leg, making his steps light and airy. Had he known earlier, perhaps he would have spared the brat that beating in the dense forest.
Come to think of it, since the Princess had experienced a mature, steady, and heroic man like himself, how could she possibly look at an unweaned brat? Thus, the Grand Tutor tossed his riding crop to a nearby guard and walked into the inner chamber with light, brisk steps to see the Princess.
Nie Qinglin had just finished bathing and was preparing to rest while waiting for the Grand Tutor’s return. Having just changed into her nightgown, she saw the Grand Tutor enter from outside with a smiling face, completely devoid of anger. Puzzled, she asked cautiously,”I heard the Grand Tutor received a letter from a servant boy of the Sui Manor? That young master of the Sui family was ill-mannered; you need not take it to heart, Grand Tutor…”
After washing his hands with soap fluid in a small jade basin brought by a maid, the Grand Tutor took the Princess’s hand, sat down on the bed with her, and said without blushing or batting an eye, “How could I stoop to the level of such an ignorant brat? I merely went out for a horseback ride to get some fresh air just now. You need not worry, Princess.”
Nie Qinglin breathed a slight sigh of relief, unwilling to let complications arise with the prominent Jiangnan families on her account. However, she said with a touch of anger, “You pay no heed to the divine physician’s words, Grand Tutor. Why do you insist on riding horses as you please? What if your wound reopens? Are you in no hurry to heal, intending to remain a cripple like this?”
Such a delicate and charming display of anger truly set one’s heart itching. If he were able to act right now, wouldn’t he have pinned her to the bed and properly dealt with her? Unfortunately, with the residual poison still unpurged, he could not be intimately close with her for the time being.
However, was there anything in this world that could stump him, Lord Wei? Thus, with a wicked smile, he leaned against the Princess’s earlobe and asked, “Has the Princess been deprived of rain and dew for so long that you’ve grown impatient? No matter—even if I cannot be intimate with you for now, there is certainly a way to have the best of both worlds…”
As he spoke, he reached out and retrieved a box from the bedside that he had brought along earlier. Opening it, she saw that it was made of the same jade material as the previous medicine tube. Except this warm jade had been crafted into… such a vexing shape.
“This item was crafted according to my own grand proportions. Like that medicine tube, it is hollow inside and filled with a mild, lubricating ointment. It is most soothing. Princess, please lie down and let me attend to you properly…”
Flustered and red-faced from the object, how could Nie Qinglin possibly agree? Yet she was no match for the Grand Tutor’s brute strength and was ultimately pinned onto the bed. The bed curtains were drawn heavily closed, and before long, soft, low croons like an oriole’s first song drifted from within, one after another, pleading again and again for him to stop. Soon, her voice lost all coherent words, leaving only a trembling, high-pitched gasp…
After playing for a full half hour, by the time the Grand Tutor stopped, the Princess was already drenched in fragrant sweat, and the silk quilt on the bed was marked with wet stains everywhere.
Yet the one suffering the most was the Grand Tutor himself. The vivid, intoxicating scene just now was truly a torture he had brought upon himself. He wished only that the poisonous Qi in his body were entirely cleared so he could cherish his beloved with real armor and real spears. But after the beauty had enjoyed her pleasure, her anger had not entirely dissipated; she turned her face away and refused to look at him. Thus, enduring the rock-hard, swollen ache between his legs, he had to comfort her with soft and gentle words.
Though Jiangnan was lovely, the time to return eventually came.
After the fifth day of the New Year, Nie Qinglin reluctantly bade farewell to her elder sister and rushed back to the capital together with the Grand Tutor.
