Chapter 15: Pleasing

Chapter 15: Pleasing

The outer study was illuminated, and Chang Yuan, upon seeing A Yuan, didn’t bother to announce her presence, directly opening the door to let her in.

"Master has been missing Mistress Xie these days, please come in quickly."

Chang Yuan had seen his master’s anger, but despite his anger, he wouldn’t truly refuse to see A Yuan.

Perhaps, with Mistress Xie’s arrival, the master’s anger would subside.

A Yuan took a deep breath and walked in.

Wei Xun had already heard the noise outside. His hand, gripping the brush, suddenly tightened, and the tip paused, leaving a large blot of ink on the fine rice paper.

"What are you doing here?"

The man’s voice was sharp, his gaze icy and piercing.

A Yuan’s feet felt like lead, rooted to the spot, her throat tight, unable to speak.

The study was unnervingly quiet, only the occasional crackle of the candle wick breaking the silence.

"Speak!"

Wei Xun, impatient, threw down the brush and rose from behind the desk.

His tall figure blocked the candlelight, and A Yuan felt the pressure, instinctively stepping back.

But she didn’t realize that this step only fueled his anger further.

"What? Can’t come up with a reason to deceive me?"

Wei Xun stepped forward, reaching out to grip her chin.

Days of anger made him apply force, and A Yuan’s eyes welled up with pain, her hands clutching his sleeve, shaking her head, "Master, A Yuan hasn’t..."

"Ha! Hasn’t?"

Wei Xun sneered, his gaze filled with sarcasm as he looked at her delicate and charming appearance, his thumb moving from her chin to her eyes.

A Yuan’s eyes were strikingly beautiful, as if the person she looked at was her entire world.

It was because of these eyes that Wei Xun had grown softer towards her.

But now, knowing her charm and obedience were all an act, Wei Xun’s heart was filled with the fury of betrayal.

"If you want me to believe you, then please me."

The man whispered by her ear, his deep voice like a heavy drum beating on A Yuan’s heart.

Her lips trembled, her face as pale as paper, "P...please?"

A Yuan, having come from the Spring Smoke Pavilion, knew exactly what it meant to please.

She had served Wei Xun for three years, and the man had always been vigorous in bed, but in those three years, he had never humiliated her.

Now, Wei Xun’s words made A Yuan instantly realize that in his eyes, she would always be a lowly prostitute.

She clenched her fists, desperately trying to hold back her tears, her moist almond eyes filled with a lifeless despair.

After a long pause, she finally moved her hand.

"...Alright, I will attend to you, Master."

The green padded jacket slid off, followed by the white undergarment, the pink inner robe... until her voluptuous body was completely exposed.

The study was heated by a glowing charcoal brazier, yet A Yuan was trembling uncontrollably.

Wei Xun watched her undress with a cold gaze, his hand clenched into a fist by his side, his chest felt as if a heavy stone was pressing down, suffocating him.

But what he hated most was deceit, and A Yuan's actions had already slipped beyond his control.

He desired a submissive and delicate concubine, not a liar full of deceit.

A Yuan, completely naked and barefoot, approached him, her hands shook as she fumbled to remove his outer robe.

As the garment slipped off, revealing the man's chest, she held onto his waist, rose on her tiptoes, and pressed her lips to his.

A Yuan had spent ten years in the Spring Smoke Pavilion, observing and mastering numerous techniques to satisfy men.

She was, after all, a woman trained to cater to men's desires, and for the first time, those skills were finally being utilized.

......

"Enough!"

Wei Xun lost all restraint, picking her up and setting her down on the desk.

The unfinished rice paper lay stark against her snow-white skin, making it difficult to discern which was paler.

The flickering candlelight threw dancing shadows, and her voice shifted from fragmented to raspy before his fury finally ebbed.

A Yuan lay on the desk, her fingers clutching the inkstone.

Her expression shifted from desperate to emotionless. What did she mean to Wei Xun?

Perhaps not even as much as a stray animal on the street.

Tears fell onto the rice paper, and A Yuan's heart ached to the point of suffocation. The explanations she had prepared were buried deep within her heart.

Wei Xun no longer believed her, and any further words would only seem like excuses to him.

A Yuan let out a bitter laugh. Enough, she should have known her place long ago, shouldn’t she?

With a low groan, Wei Xun regained his composure.

The woman beneath him bore the mottled imprints of his fingers on her back, and her knees were rubbed red, yet she had endured silently, curled up on the desk, a pitiful sight.

Wei Xun's mind reeled with the realization of his actions.

He pressed his lips tightly, a wave of guilt surging in his heart.

"Master, was A Yuan's service satisfactory? If so, could you spare Nanny Zhu?"

A Yuan's legs gave way, and she fell to the ground, leaning on the table as she faced him, her usual soft and charming expression now filled with seriousness.

It was the first time she had spoken to Wei Xun like this, all her previous docility gone, and the guilt that had risen in Wei Xun suddenly vanished.

"So you did all this... just to plead for her?"

The man's voice was cold enough to freeze, but A Yuan seemed unfazed, looking up at him.

"Nanny Zhu was only following my orders and did not mean to do wrong. I don’t resent your punishing me, but please, spare Nanny Zhu."

Chun Tao’s father died when she was little, and Nanny Zhu played both mother and father, raising her and her brother.

Chun Tao was unlucky to be with me, and even her parents got fired. A Yuan could ignore her own well-being, but she could not disregard Chun Tao.

After all, in this huge marquis’s estate, she was the only one who was kind to A Yuan.

"Besides this, do you have nothing else to say to me?"

Wei Xun stepped closer to her, his gaze bore down on her face.

A Yuan's fingertips trembled, naturally knowing what the man wanted to ask.

The explanation hung on her lips but she swallowed it back.

A Yuan shook her head and said, "No."

"Haha! Good!"

Wei Xun’s anger flared as he glared at A Yuan and let out a cold laugh.

"Xie Yuan, you are very good!"

He had misread her, and now he wondered what secret A Yuan was trying to hide.

Wei Xun's eyes narrowed slightly, the ferocity in his gaze was almost palpable.

A Yuan tried her best to ignore the pain in her chest, kneeling on the ground. Her swollen knees pressed against the cold bricks, the pain shooting through her bones, but she acted as if she didn’t feel it. "Please, spare Nanny Zhu."

Wei Xun's fingertips turned white as he clenched them, staring at her knees for a long time, his dark eyes turbulent.

"Get out!"