The Wife of a Loyal Servant - Chapter 25

Ling Yu hadn’t expected her to say something like that and momentarily didn’t know how to react. She simply looked at her in silence, and after a long pause, let out a low laugh.

“What are you laughing at? Am I wrong?” Yang Suwen pouted in annoyance.

“Laughing at how ridiculously foolish you are.”

Yang Suwen muttered something she didn’t catch, but Ling Yu didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she asked the question she’d never been able to figure out: “Did you ever sell Jade Complexion Cream to Liang Fang?”

“Of course not. I made so much of it, but I only ever ‘sold’ one box—the one you had that day,” Yang Suwen replied with certainty.

She really couldn’t help it. Why wouldn’t those girls believe her?

“Then how did he end up attached to you?” Ling Yu asked.

“He came knocking on his own, claiming to be an old friend of my father’s and wanting to visit him. Who knows if it’s true? My father never mentioned anyone like that while he was alive, and in all the years since his death, no one ever came looking. For him to suddenly show up—I was honestly shocked.” Yang Suwen gave a small yawn, already growing a little tired.

“He claims he’s an old friend of your father’s?” Ling Yu was surprised. She had thought Liang Fang had only gotten his hands on the Jade Complexion Cream by chance, discovered a huge hidden business opportunity, and then gone after Yang Suwen because of it. So that wasn’t the case?

“Suwen, let me ask you, did you really make the Jade Complexion Cream entirely by yourself?” She gently nudged the drowsy Yang Suwen, unwilling to give up.

“I made it myself. Why would I lie to you? It took me a lot of effort! Fortunately, the final result met expectations, so it didn’t waste the intentions my father once had.” Yang Suwen’s head drooped sleepily, but she still forced herself to answer.

Ling Yu immediately caught the implication behind her words. “You’re saying your father also guided you in making the cream back when he was alive?”

“Yes. He gave me opinions on the initial formula, and for many of the herbs, I asked him before deciding whether to use them.” Yang Suwen’s eyelids felt heavy enough to drop shut. She pleaded softly, “Sister Yu, I’m really sleepy… can we talk tomorrow?”

“Alright, go to sleep.” Ling Yu pressed her shoulder lightly, watching as she finally closed her eyes. Within moments, her breathing had grown soft and even.

What a carefree girl.

She shook her head helplessly, unsure whether this temperament was good or bad.

Then, she couldn’t help but frown.

It seemed Liang Fang had come prepared. Could it be that he had planned to see Doctor Yang beforehand? Unexpectedly, Doctor Yang had already passed away. He went to the Yang family and discovered Yang Suwen’s Jade Complexion Cream, seeing it as a huge business opportunity.

No, no. She herself could only determine the cream’s effectiveness because she had personally tried it. What about Liang Fang? Could he really know just by looking and smelling it enough to go so far as hiring someone to kidnap and coerce her?

That really didn’t make sense!

For some reason, she remembered what Yang Suwen said before falling asleep, and a thought struck her.

So the medicinal ingredients needed for the Jade Complexion Cream were actually prepared by Doctor Yang for his daughter before his death. Could it be he had once made a salve not too different from this one? At this time, Liang Fang’s family business must have been faltering, so naturally, he sought new opportunities and thought of his ‘old friend,’ Doctor Yang.

Of course, whether he was truly Doctor Yang’s “old friend” was still doubtful, but one thing was certain: he must have known Doctor Yang; otherwise, he wouldn’t have traveled all the way from Mian’an City to come here.

“Why aren’t you going inside?” Cheng Shaotang had just returned from Scholar Ling’s place. Seeing her standing utterly still at the doorway, staring off into the distance without the slightest movement, he couldn’t help but ask in confusion.

“Alright, I’ll go in now.” Ling Yu snapped out of her thoughts and quickly pushed the door open to enter.

“Take off your clothes.” When she carefully lowered herself onto the bed, she suddenly noticed Cheng Shaotang standing right beside it. She didn’t even know when he had come over. His presence was abrupt enough to startle her.

“What are you going to do? I—I’m already injured like this. You aren’t thinking of…” Her voice carried a hint of panic, the end of her sentence trailing off as embarrassment and alarm tangled together.

“What nonsense are you talking about! I’m applying medicine for you!” Cheng Shaotang scolded her gently, exasperated.

He wasn’t some beast who would make advances when he clearly knew his wife was hurt. But seeing the wariness on Ling Yu’s face, he still felt a tightness in his chest.

Ling Yu, unaware of the flicker of hurt in his thoughts, let out a breath of relief. But her comfort didn’t last; unease quickly crept back in. Clutching the blanket tightly to her chest, she murmured, “N-no need… Tomorrow, I’ll have Mother help me.”

“There’s no need to trouble Mother-in-law over something so small,” Cheng Shaotang said, frowning. “Be good. Take off your clothes, apply the medicine, and then go to sleep.”

“The medicine smells so strong. If it keeps you awake, what will we do? Let’s just apply it tomorrow!” Ling Yu tried to put up a final resistance, but faced with his ‘if you don’t move, I’ll do it myself’ expression, she finally deflated and slowly lifted her hand to undo her undergarment’s buttons.

One button, then another, and another… When the last button of the white undergarment came undone, she suddenly felt a touch of shyness. She whispered to the man standing quietly beside her, “Go dim the lamp a little.”

When Cheng Shaotang didn’t move for a long moment, she looked up—only to crash straight into a pair of deep, dark eyes.

His gaze was both focused and fervent. Though he still wore the serious look he always did, it suddenly gave her the feeling he was about to do something wicked.

She licked her slightly dry lips, and unexpectedly, his gaze darkened even further. Even she felt a sudden flush of heat.

“Go dim the lights, they’re too bright…” She didn’t even realize her own tone had taken on a hint of coquettish willfulness.

But Cheng Shaotang noticed. Barely pushing down the restlessness inside him, he answered in a low voice, “Alright.”

Taking advantage of the moment, he turned to adjust the lamp wick. Ling Yu swiftly slipped off her undergarments and lay face down on the bed. When Cheng Shaotang turned back around, all he saw was the woman on the bed with her fair back half revealed, her pretty face already buried in the quilt.

“Hurry up, once you finish applying the medicine, I’m going to sleep.” Ling Yu’s heart was thudding wildly, yet she secretly scolded herself.

They were an old married couple of two lifetimes, and even had a son. It was just showing her back to her own husband, so what was there to be embarrassed about?

So ridiculous!

Cheng Shaotang wasn’t faring much better. As the hand applying the medicine brushed against that smooth, pale back—soft as the finest silk, his breathing couldn’t help but grow heavier.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t slept with her in quite some time. Perhaps since after that escort mission… no, it must have been even earlier, before that journey.

But when he saw those patches of redness and swelling scattered across her fair skin, every trace of tender, wandering affection vanished on the spot. His hand, lightly moving over the wounds as he applied the medicine, carried nothing but remorse and aching distress.

In the end, it was all his fault. He had failed to protect her, and that was why she had suffered so much.

Thinking again of Liang Fang, who still hadn’t been caught, anger surged in his eyes, and his expression unknowingly darkened. A quiet resolve took shape in his heart.

“Are you done?” Ling Yu felt his hand had stopped at some point, unmoving, and couldn’t help asking, her face flushed red.

The next moment, she felt a pair of arms wrap gently around her shoulders, the man’s warm, damp breath brushing her ear, making her blush deepen even further.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to finish applying the medicine?” Ling Yu scolded softly.

“Xiao Yu,” he murmured, voice low and husky, “I want to accept Lord Guo’s proposal and become a constable at the county yamen. What do you think?”

“Put me down first! How am I supposed to talk like this?” Ling Yu’s ears flushed red. Those were her most sensitive spots, and right now she could hardly take it.

Cheng Shaotang let out a low laugh, clearly realizing it too, but mischief sparked in him. He suddenly leaned in and gently took her tiny earlobe between his lips.

Ling Yu felt her whole body go weak, as if all strength had been pulled out of her. A sweet, tingling numbness spread fast from her earlobe through all her limbs, and her face flared red all the way to the roots.

“You… How could you do this? You’re so bad!” For someone who had been a ‘widow’ for years, this sensation was long-forgotten. Shame and anger welled up, tinged with an inexplicable hint of grievance.

Seeing the rarely flustered young woman looking so irresistibly cute, Cheng Shaotang’s heart prickled with a mix of affection and desire.

As if doing it on purpose, he pressed a firm kiss behind her ear again. Ling Yu actually shivered, tiny goosebumps rising all over her skin.

“If you keep this up, I really will get angry!” She turned her head, meaning to glare at him, but the moment she moved, her lips were suddenly captured by a warm, insistent kiss.

Cheng Shaotang had only wanted to tease her, but seeing such a perfect opening, he seized it, immediately pressing his mouth to her soft lips, deepening the kiss until it turned slow and lingering.

Ling Yu’s mind went completely blank. At first, her body tensed all over, but at some unknown point, she began to melt, turning soft and boneless, unable to summon even a bit of strength, her breath coming out shallow and uneven.

Cheng Shaotang knew he had to stop—after all, she was still injured. If he touched her wounds, wouldn’t it break his own heart?

He didn’t know how long it was before he finally let her go. Only then did he notice her dazed condition—and he couldn’t hold back a laugh.

Ling Yu gulped in air, recovering with difficulty. When she saw the amusement on his face, shame and anger surged. She pushed him away forcefully and shot him a fierce glare.

Or so she thought. 

To Cheng Shaotang, that so-called fierce glare was soft as silk and temptingly alluring—and it made desire stir in him all over again.

He covered his mouth and gave a small cough, afraid he might lose control again, and hurriedly shifted to serious matters.

“I’m thinking of becoming a constable at the county office. What do you think?”

Ling Yu pressed her hot cheeks. Hearing him ask that, she quickly released his hand as if nothing had happened, though she was already thinking hard.

It might only be a low-ranking constable position, but he would still be part of the government. Once their Liufang Hall opened, they’d naturally have a connection with the authorities. From the way he described it, that Lord Guo seemed to appreciate him quite a bit—maybe she could even use the opportunity to introduce the Jade Face Cream to the official wives.

Besides, although being a constable wasn’t exactly the safest job, it would completely change the disastrous path of his previous life.

With her thoughts settled, she answered without hesitation, “I think this is an excellent idea!”