Chapter 10: Emotions Stirred

Chapter 10: Emotions Stirred

When Xiao Moran stepped into the small flower hall, Lady Wei was savoring incense.

Old Sun, Steward Pang’s wife, quickly gestured to the young master not to disturb.

This was his mother's unshakable daily ritual—unless the family faced annihilation, even his grandmother's summons went unheeded.

Although Xiao Moran was burning with impatience, he still respected the inherent principles of filial piety and forced himself to stand quietly outside the door, suppressing his simmering anger.

In the rustling breeze, his mother sat with lowered eyes by the window on a bamboo mat. She placed incense ash into a three-legged beast-shaped censer, buried a red-hot charcoal piece, set a small silver foil flower on top, and finally placed an incense pellet upon it.

His mother's movements were very slow, very light, exuding an indescribable elegance and calm.

It was a beauty he never saw in Mei'er—a unique grace steeped in centuries of noble heritage.

Wispy trails of blue smoke rose, bamboo shadows swayed outside the window, the incense smoke spread slowly, and a faint fragrance filled the air.

Not bad, but not a precious incense either.

His mother's expression was gentle, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, as if she were smiling.

Xiao Moran couldn't help but feel dazed.

In his memory, his mother was a woman who seldom smiled, always wearing that cold, distant expression—watching his grandmother coldly, his father coldly. Even when his father passed away, she simply knelt coldly before the spirit tablet, watching him and his grandmother weep bitterly.

His grandmother always said her heart wasn't in the Xiao family, but where else could a woman's heart be if not with her husband and children?

Now it seemed his grandmother might have been somewhat right.

A common incense could bring joy to his mother, yet she didn't spare him even a shred of warmth, her own son.

Xiao Moran could no longer hold back. He took a deep breath, barely suppressing the resentment in his heart, and called out in a low voice, "Mother."

The incense ritual was nearly over, but the incense pellets and box had yet to be put away, so it wasn't over. Lady Wei's brows furrowed slightly, and the faint smile on her face vanished.

Xiao Moran got straight to the point: "Where have you hidden Mei'er?"

Lady Wei carefully gathered each item, washed her hands thoroughly before speaking: "Is this the filial conduct and upbringing you show your mother?"

Xiao Moran paused, then lifted the hem of his robe and knelt. Though his posture was lowered, his voice remained unyielding: "Mother, Mei'er is delicate and easily frightened. Please return her to me."

Lady Wei looked coldly at this unsympathetic son. "I don't understand what you're talking about. I haven't seen her, and I don't know where she is."

"Mother, stop quibbling. Why did Yuanchuan suddenly return? It was you who ordered Steward Pang to do it, wasn't it? And that day, you hinted that she was in your hands, that I could see her only after I did what was required—wasn't that the case? Today, when Mei'er came to find me, I clearly saw her. Yuanchuan went to look for her, but in an instant, she was gone. If you didn't take her, who did?"

With a barrage of aggressive questions, even Lady Wei, for all her poise, could no longer maintain her composed demeanor.

"Excuses? You say your mother is making excuses? Ha, is this how your grandmother usually instructs you? Since you saw her today, why didn't you stop her right away? Knowing Yuanchuan is unreliable, you still sent him to search. Blaming others for your own fault is a sign of incompetence."

Mei'er's fate was unknown, and he was frantic with worry, yet his mother offered not a single word of comfort, only biting remarks.

Was he even her child?

Rage and resentment exploded in an instant. Xiao Moran shot to his feet and went so far as to point at Lady Wei: "Mother, by making me marry the Lu daughter, you must see Mei'er as an eyesore and a thorn in your side. In order to—"

"Xiao Moran!" Lady Wei stared at her son in disbelief, her face turning pale, her lips beginning to tremble.

"Young master, don't listen to other people's stirring!" Old Sun, while rubbing Lady Wei's back to soothe her, explained tearfully, "Madam never sent Yuanchuan back. That kid jumped to conclusions and came back on his own. As for hiding someone, that's utter nonsense. Madam is of such noble status, why would she care about a country bumpkin?"

Seeing his mother so upset, Xiao Moran felt bad, but he still didn't soften his words.

Lady Wei gasped a few times. "Xiao Moran, let me make it clear to you. Even if you kept one, ten, or a hundred Nan Mei, I couldn't be bothered. She is not worthy; handling filth like that dirties my hands."

"Believe it or not, I haven't laid a finger on that person. You may leave now."

"Mother..." Unwilling to give in, unwilling to accept, he wanted to argue, but the words were blocked by the old loyal servant who had already knelt and kowtowed: "Young master, I beg of you. Do you really want to drive Madam to a crisis?"

He had no choice but to silently take his leave from his mother.

Lady Wei watched her son's resolute retreating back and suddenly let out a sorrowful sigh.

"Old Sun, tell me: if I had defied my mother-in-law back then and insisted on keeping the child with me to raise, would he treat me differently today?"

Under the eaves, Xiao Moran's figure paused, but he still walked away.

Frustrated and restless, he left the courtyard and spotted Yuanchuan in the distance, hiding behind a tree and skulking around. His anger flared even more: "Get your ass over here!"

Yuanchuan scrambled over. "I'll go look for the missus right now, and leave immediately. Look, Young Master, I've already packed my bags."

He showed the bundle on his back to prove he wasn't lying.

Xiao Moran didn't even look and instead asked him how he planned to find Nan Mei, which roads he had taken, at which corner she had disappeared, what shops were around that corner, whom he had asked, and what age and clothing that person had...

He went over the details repeatedly, meticulously, turning them inside out, asking several times.

Yuanchuan groaned inwardly. Soon enough, his story started falling apart and he couldn't keep his story straight.

He hadn't gone looking at all!

Xiao Moran was furious. He kicked Yuanchuan square in the chest, sending him tumbling.

Yuanchuan begged for mercy repeatedly: "Young Master, it's not that I disobeyed, but I really couldn't find her. The gate was packed with people all looking at you. I couldn't even squeeze through. How could I look?"

Still making excuses! Xiao Moran was about to order this deceitful servant beaten to death, but then thought— besides himself, only Yuanchuan knew Mei'er. If he died, there would be no one left to use.

So he suppressed his burning rage and said, "Call your parents to work in the mansion. Your sister should be of age too, right? My courtyard still needs a rough worker. She'll do."

Yuanchuan's scalp tightened. His parents worked as laborers on the farm, and his sister was only seven or eight, still unfamiliar with the mansion's rules, yet she was being prematurely promoted to work in the residence.

Under the young master's watchful eye—this was not a favor, but a warning.

Yuanchuan could only kowtow in gratitude.

After thinking a moment, he whispered, "I suspect Miss Nan left on her own; otherwise, it's inexplicable."

"Why would she leave?"

"Maybe... she felt she wasn't worthy of you, or perhaps she was angry that you deceived her. Yes, girls get angry easily—they throw tantrums over the slightest thing. She's probably hiding somewhere, waiting for you to coax her."

Xiao Moran was stunned.

Having failed to return to White Crane Town on time, Mei'er must have been worried, so she followed him all the way to the capital—the name Xiao Moran was too well-known; finding the Xiao mansion wasn't too hard.

Mei'er was angry at him—angry that he hadn't told the truth, angry that he hadn't chased after her immediately.

But he had his difficulties. He had to welcome Dong Cang!

His grandmother had practically given away half the Xiao family to Dong Cang, and just as there were signs of giving in, Dong Cang's arrival today was crucial to the family's fate. He couldn't afford any mishaps at that moment.

He could not possibly abandon Dong Cang to chase after Mei'er.

As for hiding his identity, Xiao Moran smiled bitterly—if he didn't conceal his identity, how would he know whether Mei'er's feelings were genuine or false?

He looked at the slender crescent moon in the night sky, and only after a long while did he lower his head and let out a long sigh.

-

Outside the window, the first-quarter moon set in the deep blue night sky had turned into a golden disc. Clear moonlight streamed into the room, and the tree shadows on the ground swayed like water plants, eerily as if at the bottom of a lake.

Nan Mei stared blankly at the bright moon.

For the past several days, Yuan Zhan had not appeared. She understood that he was giving her time to accept the notion of serving him.

She had no choice.

He had helped and saved her; refusing again would be too ungrateful.

Moreover, she didn't even know if she could return home safely. The extreme terror of that day had stripped her of any courage to go alone ever again.

Actually, upon reflection, if it had been anyone else, they probably wouldn't have given her a choice from the start.

Nan Mei closed her eyes, sighed in resignation, took out the love poem from under her pillow, read it one last time, steeled her heart, and was about to burn it in the candle flame.

The thin paper approached the flame, then withdrew; approached again, withdrew again. In the end, she couldn't bear to part with it.

Tears streamed down again.

"Madam?" The silhouette of Haitang appeared on the bamboo curtain.

Nan Mei quickly wiped away her tears. "It's nothing. I... I want to take a bath."

"The hot water is already prepared."

"And... is the prince free?"

Haitang smiled. "I'll go to the front and ask. He should be free. Just after dark, the prince came to check on you, but you were asleep, so he didn't enter."

Nan Mei forced a faint smile and went to the bath chamber.

The water was strewn with many rose petals, at just the right temperature. She washed slowly and meticulously, refusing to think about anything. Only like this could shame and guilt leave her alone.

When the water was completely cold, she slowly rose, dried herself, and put on expensive, brand-new clothes.

Haitang led two maids to help her wring out the water from her hair, apply makeup, and perfume. When everything was done, they all silently withdrew.

By the bamboo curtain, Yuan Zhan stood with his arms crossed, leaning sideways, tilting his head and smiling at her.

Nan Mei bit her lip, lowering her gaze to hide the complex, inexplicable emotions in her eyes. Then, feeling it was wrong, she forced out a stiff smile.

This made Yuan Zhan chuckle. He stepped forward and embraced her. "Decided?" Even as he asked, his hand slipped in to caress and rub.

He pressed tightly against her, leaving no gap, and his arousal was unmistakably communicated to her.

Nan Mei's face immediately flushed crimson. She instinctively tried to block him, but he caught her hand and pressed it to that place.

"Don't..." she panicked, hurriedly pulling back.

"This reaction—don't tell me you've never seen your husband's... member?" he teased softly as his clothes fell away.

Her hands covered herself above and below as she curled into a ball, her eyes reddening with anxiety. "The lamp! The lamp!"

Red candles were lit all around the room, bright as day, illuminating every corner.

Yuan Zhan pulled her hands away, openly relishing her expression of embarrassment that she had no choice but to endure. "Do you and Xiao Moran always do it in the dark?"

Why did he always bring him up!

She couldn't let the resentment show on her face. Unable to understand his thoughts, she simply turned her face away and refused to look at him.

Delicate kisses, missing no spot.

He used his knees to part her legs.

She saw the thing approaching, gasped, and dodged away.

Her coyness only fueled the flames of passion. He lightly lifted her and pulled her back, teasingly rocking back and forth.

Breathing grew heavier, tears seeped from the corners of her eyes, and her body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. A faint, special scent filled the air.

It was the scent of arousal.