Chapter 18: A Desperate Gamble
Chapter 18: Chapter 18: A Desperate Gamble
Liang Jiao sneered, "Haven’t you seen enough on a daily basis, Sister?"
Liang Wan stood up and patted the corner of her clothes. Qiuxi had started preparing her outfit for the day two days ago, but before the day was even over, it was already a mess.
After taking just a couple of steps, Liang Wan glanced back at the gloating girl. "I may not have discovered anyone else’s secret affair, but I did accidentally stumble upon yours."
At these words, Liang Jiao’s expression changed instantly. Seeing that Liang Wan was about to head toward Yunyan Spring, she quickly called out to stop her. "Let’s make a deal!"
Liang Wan stopped, standing gracefully on the stone steps. She merely turned her head to look at her, her eyes as calm as a placid lake. "Where is it?"
Liang Jiao’s eyes widened in surprise. "You know what I’m planning to do?"
Only then did Liang Wan’s lips curl into a smirk. She held out her hand to her. "The wooden token."
She hadn’t forgotten that Mrs. Zhang’s plan was for Liang Jiao to lose her virginity to Lu Xiu.
"To bathe in orchid-scented waters, perfumed and pure; to don fine clothes, as brilliant as a blooming flower..."
The Orchid Bath at Yulin Garden symbolized cleansing the old and welcoming the new. Bathers were required to remove their fine clothes and jewelry, don a simple robe, and drink a cup of fragrant tea. In the elegant tea room, a handsome young attendant in clean clothes would even be present, playing the zither and reciting from the *Nine Songs*.
Since she had arrived early, she was the only one in the tea room. Liang Wan collected her wooden token but didn’t leave, lingering in place. She glanced, a little shyly, at the young attendant in charge of serving tea.
The young attendant blushed slightly under her gaze, looking a bit nervous. "Is there anything else I can do for you, madam?"
Liang Wan nodded with a smile. "This tea is excellent. Could you bring the rest of it to me?"
The young attendant lowered his head and replied, "Yes."
With that, he turned, picked up the teapot, and walked over. "This way, madam."
Liang Wan’s long hair flowed behind her, her slender figure hidden beneath wide sleeves and a flowing hem. She followed the young attendant’s every step toward her private cubicle.
As they walked, she asked the young attendant how to brew tea, and he, blushing, spoke with eloquent enthusiasm.
As they neared the door, Liang Wan didn’t dare take up any more of his time. She took the tea and dismissed him.
Only when the young attendant had disappeared at the end of the long corridor did Liang Wan’s lips curl into a smile. ’That should be enough time for Liang Jiao to drug the tea.’
Steam filled the air, and the dampness was thick with the fragrance of herbs. Liang Wan submerged herself in the steaming water. The spring water was soft and fine, feeling like satin as it flowed over her skin.
Although she had come to the Orchid Bath with ulterior motives, she was genuinely enjoying herself at this moment. ’Cleanse the old, welcome the new. That’s exactly right. I’m a completely new person now. Everything will be different!’
When she calculated that enough time had passed, Liang Wan finally stood up. Water droplets rolled off her and fell back into the bath. After drying herself, she wrapped herself in fresh clothes and went out the door.
The long corridor was silent, save for the RUSHING sound of water.
Liang Wan walked quietly, her eyes scanning the wooden tokens on each door until she saw the one belonging to Wang Tingyue. Only then did she stop.
She pressed her ear to the door to listen for any sound. Everything seemed normal.
Just as she was about to take out the wooden token from her sleeve and swap them, she caught a glimpse of Feng Qingyue heading her way. ’If we run into each other face-to-face, won’t I be caught red-handed?’
With no time to think, Liang Wan pushed open the adjacent door, slipped inside, and gently closed it behind her. The footsteps in the corridor grew closer, and her heart began to THUMP THUMP THUMP in her chest.
When the footsteps reached the door, her heart nearly leaped out of her chest. She was terrified that the person was heading for this very room. She only breathed a sigh of relief when the footsteps faded into the distance.
’Feng Qingyue is probably in no mood for the Orchid Bath right now,’ Liang Wan thought. ’She’s only here to explain the earlier farce to Princess Lanling.’
Liang Wan tilted her head and considered it carefully. ’If there’s one person in this world Feng Qingyue is afraid of, it’s Princess Lanling. But the one she fears the most is also, ironically, the one she cares about the most.’
Once the corridor was empty again, Liang Wan pulled the door open to leave.
But as the door opened, she found someone standing right in front of her.
Liang Wan’s legs felt rooted to the spot, unable to take another step.
The man’s handsome face, framed by his dark hair, had a cold, pale luster. His fox-like eyes were slightly narrowed, and his pale red lips were pressed into a thin line, making him appear all the more aloof and unfeeling.
It was Lu Xiu.
’This cubicle is his?’
Liang Wan’s palms were covered in sweat, though whether it was from the lingering dampness of her bath or the humid air, she couldn’t tell.
Lu Xiu stood silhouetted in the doorway, neither entering nor leaving. In the dim light, his expression was obscured and unreadable.
’Actually, this version of Lu Xiu is a little different from the one in my memory.’
’At least, he isn’t yet the Grandmaster whose name alone makes people pale. He’s just the Grand Commandant...’
Liang Wan cleared her throat softly.
"My Lord."
He raised an eyebrow. "How long do you plan on blocking the way?"
A shiver ran through Liang Wan, and she hurriedly stepped aside.
Perhaps it was because he wasn’t wearing his formal robes and headdress, but he didn’t seem quite so distant and cold.
Lu Xiu turned his head slightly. As he had passed her, he had clearly felt her body trembling beneath the wide-sleeved robe. "What’s wrong? Weren’t you quite bold at the banquet earlier?"
After speaking, he casually sat down to the side, leaning lazily against the rope-strung daybed. He tilted his head to study her. Without the cover of heavy makeup and fine clothes, she had a sharp, clean beauty.
Liang Wan turned her head and snuck a glance at the wide-open door. Although she intended to create the illusion of an affair with Lu Xiu, that didn’t mean the entire play had to be performed today.
Lu Xiu noticed her subtle movement and scoffed. "Letting them see would suit your purposes perfectly, wouldn’t it?"
His words were tinged with sarcasm, but on reflection, she decided it was a good method. ’Seeing is believing, after all.’ With that thought, she cast aside her reservations and boldly walked forward.
Seeing that she was truly ignoring the open door, Lu Xiu realized she seemed dead set on confirming that they were having an affair.
"You really don’t care?"
Liang Wan froze.
’Care about what? My reputation?’
’What is a reputation? Can you eat it? Can you drink it? Or can it help me get revenge?’
’Could the whispers and pointing now possibly be worse than the insults and curses from before? If you care too much about what others think, you’ll always be led by the nose by gossips.’
Liang Wan looked up at him. "They have nothing to do with me."
Lu Xiu frowned, reassessing her. First, she had spun a wild tale for the men from the Ministry of Justice, and then she had acted so solicitously in front of everyone. What woman wasn’t anxious about her reputation? Yet she seemed so indifferent.
Liang Wan added, "Right now, I only care about your opinion, My Lord. What will it take for you to agree?"
Lu Xiu shot her a look and snorted. "You think the reason you can still appear safely in Yulin Garden is because that string of nonsense actually worked?"
Liang Wan’s eyes widened. ’So, he agreed?’
She quickly bowed low. "From this day forward, I will regard you as my master, My Lord. When my great revenge is complete, I will offer up my life with both hands to repay you for saving me!"
With that, she kowtowed three times.
Lu Xiu once again saw that starlike light in her eyes. His brows relaxed, and he chuckled softly. "Do you have any idea what the consequences of doing this are?"
Liang Wan didn’t rise. She simply lifted her head to meet his gaze. "I do."
’As long as he tacitly acknowledges our affair, no one outside the Imperial Palace will dare to touch me, and the Liang Mansion won’t be able to force me into the Sikong Mansion anymore! This is how I’ll solve my current predicament.’
Lu Xiu leaned forward, his earlier leisurely posture gone. He gripped her chin fiercely, his gaze terrifyingly dark. "You have no idea what happens to those who use me."