Tigers Sniff the Rose - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Yan Shisheng sat blankly beneath the wall, tilting his head to look at the girl who was as bright and beautiful as the spring sunshine as she perched in the window frame. She looked down at him, and it was quite a while before Yan Shisheng remembered that he should get up and offer a salute.

However, his elder brother and Guard Fang had trained him so ruthlessly that he was drenched in sweat, his lower abdomen was tight, and his calves were aching and numb; he truly could not stand up for the moment.

Moreover, seeing the way Mu Wanyao’s brows and eyes curved slightly, she seemed to be in an excellent mood and showed no signs of losing her temper.

Yan Shisheng remained in his seated position and chatted with her in a casual tone: “How does my lady intend to help me? What if I prefer boundless wealth, or what if I prefer a beauty as fair as jade?”

Mu Wanyao laughed gleefully: “If you love boundless wealth, I shall have someone prepare it and place it upon the back of a horse, and you shall chase after it. If you love beauty as fair as jade, I shall have my maidservants mount their horses, and you shall chase after them. I will not hide it from you—each of my maidservants is as beautiful as a flower; when I was in…, I do not know how many people broke down my doors.”

She mentioned that place name she had abbreviated, leaving it unspoken; she glossed over it carelessly and moved on.

Yan Shisheng was lost in thought: Why did she not mention the place name? What is wrong with that location? Is she afraid of people knowing, or does she not want people to know?

Mu Wanyao: “I asked you a question; why are you in a daze?”

Yan Shisheng replied: “Then your kindness is destined to be wasted, my lady. I love neither boundless wealth nor beauty as fair as jade.”

Mu Wanyao raised an eyebrow, still smiling: “Then what do you love? Fame? Power?”

Yan Shisheng shook his head and laughed lightly: “I do not love those, either.”

Mu Wanyao stopped speaking. She stared at him with her deep, dark eyes, judging whether he was telling the truth or merely putting on a show.

The young scholar’s attitude was upright, his character pure and refined, and his eyes were clear and untainted; indeed, he seemed to harbor no deluded desires…

Yet, Mu Wanyao’s face darkened, and she let out two cold laughs.

How could a man have no desires? Whether one is a person of high authority or a lowly ant, as soon as an opportunity arises, they sacrifice everything to climb higher. Abandoning wives and children without hesitation, murder and arson becoming matters of routine.

How could Yan Shisheng possibly be different from other men? By what right was he different from other men?

The world is filled with filth; by what right could he be clean?

Him saying this was nothing more than pretense—a hypocritical display.

Mu Wanyao said coolly: “Oh, no interest, I see. Then it is truly a pity for you. Loving neither fame, wealth, nor beauty, you will amount to nothing in this life.”

After she finished speaking, she clapped the window above Yan Shisheng shut once again.

Yan Shisheng felt bewildered—

Originally, now that the weather had cleared, Chunhua wanted to suggest that the Princess set out for Nanhai to visit her uncle as soon as possible, so that the matters here could be concluded.

But now, because the Princess was waiting for Yan Shisheng to finish making the face cream, Mu Wanyao sent a letter to Nanhai, telling her uncle that she would be delayed.

Not to mention how worried Magistrate Li Zhi of Nanhai County—Mu Wanyao’s uncle—was about her, Mu Wanyao remained at the Yan household for the time being, dragging Yan Shisheng before her to wait for the ointment.

At dusk, the maidservants and guards stayed outside. Through the bamboo blinds, they saw the faint silhouettes of a man and a woman cast upon the screen.

They did not dare to look too closely. At the moment, they were with the Yan family’s youngest daughter, Yan Xiaozhou, watching the hot wine bubbling in the stove.

People of this time enjoyed warmed wine; they did not drink it raw. They heated it slowly over a low fire, and once the wine was warm enough to soothe the stomach, it was considered a delicacy of the world.

The Lingxi Boluo from before had been given to the Princess and was naturally gone. However, Lingnan was different from the Central Plains; every household in Lingnan brewed their own wine. The Yan family had other fine spirits, and the maids and guards were naturally craving a taste.

The fragrance of the wine on the stove outside drifted into the room through the window. Inside the house, candles were lit, and Mu Wanyao sat cross-legged on a silk couch, with a low table placed to her side, perfect for her to lean against.

Smelling the aroma of the wine, Mu Wanyao, who had been resting with her eyes closed, opened them and looked at Yan Shisheng, who was sitting to her side.

On the long table in front of Yan Shisheng, there were books on the left and various baskets of materials on the right—white aconite, dahurian angelica, spikenard, costus, patchouli… all in all, two or three dozen types.

These materials were provided by Mu Wanyao, and the craft of grinding the face cream and hand lotion was left to Yan Shisheng.

Yan Shisheng had been sitting there since the morning, experimenting many times, but every result was different from the one Mu Wanyao’s mother had left behind. Yan Shisheng was not discouraged and continued to retry over and over.

Mu Wanyao sat nearby, watching him toil for the entire day with great relish.

He kept his brows lowered, his expression solemn and focused, not saying a word. To Mu Wanyao, this sight was truly interesting.

Now, smelling the wine, Mu Wanyao stared at Yan Shisheng’s profile and realized he hadn’t changed his posture in a long time. She pulled out a fan and shifted into a more casual, knee-bent sitting position.

She fanned herself. Perhaps because the room felt stuffy and she hadn’t spoken for a long time, her voice sounded languid and bone-chillingly seductive when she finally spoke: “My dear.”

However, she had cast a flirtatious glance at a blind man.

Yan Shisheng did not react.

Mu Wanyao tossed the pearl-inlaid feather fan in her hand, hitting Yan Shisheng’s back, and called out again: “My dear!”

Yan Shisheng turned his face to the side, looking at her in astonishment: “…Are you calling me?”

Why had she changed her form of address again?

Mu Wanyao hummed, and when he rose to return the fan she had thrown, she used the fan to prop up her chin and said with a smile: “They are drinking wine outside; it smells so good. Would you like a cup, my dear?”

Yan Shisheng smiled and shook his head: “I fear it might interfere with my work; I do not drink.”

Mu Wanyao: “…”

She looked him up and down, wondering what kind of bizarre monster he was. Only seventeen years old, and yet he could endure not drinking? Throughout the Great Wei, the number of monsters who didn’t drink could be counted on one hand.

Mu Wanyao sneered: “You are far too cautious.”

He smiled faintly, said nothing more, and lowered his head to continue studying the cream according to the books. Mu Wanyao saw several styles laid out before him, yet he still seemed unsatisfied.

Mu Wanyao felt a bit bored.

The two of them were sitting close together, and seeing his calm, steady, and ascetic demeanor, she could not help but want to disturb him.

She stretched out her foot, poking his spine with the tip of her shoe. Mu Wanyao: “My dear!”

The lady kicked him with her foot—a touch that was neither light nor heavy, as if punishing him, yet also as if she were flirting. It made his heart feel hot and cold all at once, and a wave of electric shivers could not help but run down his spine.

Yan Shisheng turned back stiffly. Behind the candlelight, her collar was slightly open, revealing warm, milky light.

His face grew hot, and after turning his face away, he said awkwardly: “…My lady, please do not call me ‘my dear’.”

It made him break out in a cold sweat.

Mu Wanyao ignored him and chatted: “Let me ask you, that day my maidservants had their hair cut by me for slandering your third brother, and were later given thirty strokes—do you remember that?”

Yan Shisheng lowered his head and gave a faint “Mmm.”

Mu Wanyao rested her chin on her hand: “Did you go to visit them afterward and send them medicine?”

Yan Shisheng was startled, not knowing why she asked that. He shook his head: “I did not.”

Mu Wanyao: “Oh, discriminatory treatment, I see. You went to visit Guard Fang when he was injured, but not my maids. I cannot fathom the reason.”

Yan Shisheng did not speak, nor did he turn back.

Mu Wanyao swayed her fan unhurriedly. Since he did not answer, she reached out her foot to poke him again. Her silk dress trailed like embroidery, and her jeweled slippers were luxurious as they poked Yan Shisheng’s waist, one poke after another.

And she added with a smile: “My dear, why are you ignoring me again?”

Yan Shisheng was finally forced to his wit’s end.

He stood up and sat further away from her before replying: “Lady Mu, I am no saint. That day, I saw with my own eyes how they slandered my third brother, and he was nearly harmed by your sword, my lady. How could I not blame them, and how could I visit them without any resentment? I am not that kind-hearted.”

Mu Wanyao was surprised: “Are you not a soft-hearted pushover?”

Yan Shisheng looked up helplessly: “Since when have I been a soft-hearted pushover?”

His long eyes met her round, clear gaze. They stared at each other for a moment, and in the silence, they suddenly felt that the atmosphere was rather strange.

Both of them moved their gazes away as if nothing had happened.

Yan Shisheng lowered his head to continue making the cream.

Mu Wanyao touched her own chest, feeling a bit absent-minded.

After zoning out for a while, not knowing what she was thinking about, she suddenly asked Yan Shisheng: “Why isn’t your cream finished yet? It is so late; you aren’t leaving—could it be that you are using this as an excuse to linger here with me?”

Yan Shisheng: “…”

He replied in a soft, gentle voice: “I have been studying it all day, but I cannot completely replicate the cream your mother left for you. It is only seven or eight parts similar now; I fear I will need to study it for a few more days…”

Mu Wanyao interrupted: “Seven or eight parts similar is enough; there is no need to expend more effort on this. Just hand it over to my maidservant when it is finished.”

This time, it was Yan Shisheng’s turn to lift his eyes in astonishment as he looked at her.

Mu Wanyao said coolly: “My mother was never very good to me; seven or eight parts similarity is just like the seven or eight parts of affection she had for me. When she gave me this face cream and hand lotion, it was to send me off to be married. It was nothing more than wanting me to remember her kindness and obediently let her pull the strings. Now that it is all over, there is truly no need for it to be exactly the same. You may leave.”

Yan Shisheng was silent and shocked.

He blurted out: “Send you off to be married? You have been married before?”

Mu Wanyao: “…”

Her seductive eyes were covered with a layer of frost as she glared at him coldly: “Why are you so shocked? Are you discriminating against me?! Do you look down on me?!”

Yan Shisheng hurried to say: “I dare not, I dare not, I just…”

He just felt that she was still so young that he truly could not tell she was a married woman. And a married woman, running off to Lingnan…

Yan Shisheng hesitated for a long time, unable to bring himself to ask, “Where is your husband?”

Because Mu Wanyao was already slapping the wooden table, flying into a rage: “Get up! Get out of here!”

This time, she was truly angry—it was completely different from their previous minor bickering.

Yan Shisheng was caught off guard and driven out of the room. He turned back to offer an apology, but the door was slammed shut so forcefully it nearly broke his nose—

Mu Wanyao was in a foul mood.

That night, she had a dream; she dreamt she had returned to the wedding banquet of two years ago.

She had never returned to that wedding in her dreams because it was a nightmare. She had already personally shattered that nightmare; she felt no guilt in her heart and did not want to relive it. Yet, tonight, she dreamt of it.

She dreamt of vast plains and a thousand armies. The fifteen-year-old Princess Danyang was wearing a crimson gown that trailed on the ground, with pearls and jade hanging from her forehead. Her hair was like clouds and her face like a flower; she was dignified and noble as she stepped down from her carriage. Her skirt spread across the plains, dazzling and brilliant like the afterglow of a sunset.

This symbolized the incomparable, magnificent beauty of the entire Great Wei.

The red robes and cinnabar banners stood silently behind her; the flags hung hollowly, whistling in mid-air. Above the heads of Princess Danyang and her husband, a falcon soared and circled, emitting a clear, piercing cry.

Princess Danyang stood emotionless before millions of people, waiting for her husband to come and take her hand, to swear a blood oath with her, and to promise never to betray one another.

Mu Wanyao waited for a long time, but she never waited for the husband she had when she was fifteen to reach out with the cold, indifferent hand he had once extended to her. She felt no waves in her heart, looking over calmly—but this single glance left her instantly horrified.

In her dream, the new husband standing beside her had elegant brows and eyes, and a temperament like jade. This husband was no longer that other person, but… the Yan family’s second son, Yan Shisheng.

Mu Wanyao: “…”