Chapter 53: Rumor Mongering, Mistress Looks for Trouble
At this moment, Miss Lin, who was using fine garments to disguise herself as a village girl, was crying inside a cave.
A fine-looking man was standing in front of her with crossed arms as he snickered coldly, “Isn’t your fiancé quite the capable one, hmm? He really had the guts to do it. That land was worth at least thousands taels!”
“Don’t blame him, it’s all my fault&h.e.l.lip; Let me go and I will definitely beg His Highness to change his mind and not force you!” When had Lin Qianzi ever suffered such circ.u.mstances? She’d initially thought it would be interesting to travel with a man she’d encountered in the jianghu. However, as time went by, she was homesick and wanted to go back. But he had forbidden her from doing exactly that.
“Force? I gave up that den willingly. I didn’t want to go head to head with the Imperial army. But I have a thousand ways to make his life miserable. Do you believe me?” That man walked towards Lin, lifted her chin up and forcefully kissed her on her lips. She tastes so sweet, but what a pity she’s always defending that man.
“Don’t hurt him, he’s only trying to bring me back&h.e.l.lip;” Lin Qianzi sobbed and tried to move away, but the man didn’t listen at all. He kept his seal on her small mouth, preventing her from speaking further.
Women succ.u.mb easily to domineering men, and this man was handsome in his tyranny. Although his appearance is not as attractive as the prince’s, she felt that he treated her reasonably well. But men in the jianghu had their own ways of doing things. Although she was not yet accustomed to some of their mannerisms, she was too captivated by him to leave.
“You&h.e.l.lip; stop it!” Despite using all her might, Lin Qianzi couldn’t push him away.
“You want me to stop and have your fiancé treat you like how I do? Qian’er, is your heart made of steel? You know very well how I treated you! Give it to me, right now.” That was just how he was; he would do whatever his mind was set on without much consideration.
However, Lin Qianzi couldn’t allow him to do so. She may not have known of matters between men and women, but she knew very well that she couldn’t condone going through that which was reserved for married couples in a place like this. She began struggling fiercely to free herself, shouting, “No, Luo Yunzheng, let go of me! Don’t force me&h.e.l.lip;”
Luo YunZheng chuckled by her ear, “Qian’er, we are just a single step away from doing it. What part of your body and your bud have I not tasted?” He lifted her up by the b.u.t.t and positioned her on a boulder, ready to strip off his own clothing.
Sounds of a disturbance came in with the wind. The man tch’ed in irritation as his attention was diverted. He swept their clothes about in dissatisfaction and leapt out of the cave with the lady in his hands.
Long Heng dashed in shortly after the two left. He picked up Miss LIn’s outerwear from the floor of the cave and sneered coldly. So they’ve done it already, hmm? Very good, this jianghu man really doesn’t think much of me.
Even though he’d had moments of not wanting to marry Miss Lin, he might have married her still if the two families had put up a strong objection, but she hadn’t created any trouble. However, looking at the current situation, it appeared that she had lost her chast.i.ty and was thus undesirable.
Despite this, he still had to find her since he’d made a promise to Minister Lin. The least that could be done was prevent any damage to Minister Lin’s reputation.
Long’s sympathy for the woman had long since been blown into the wind. Instead of holding his warm, soft woman at home, he was out here suffering in the cold. It had also not been easy to apprehend the crafty bandit leader, Luo Yunzheng. Long Heng had had to make use of his hidden forces in the jianghu to track these two down.
Long Heng tracked them to their hideout in a small town by himself that night. The place was exceedingly rundown, a favorite gathering spot for criminals. The entire town was a sordid mess, with everything ready to be bought and sold. Prost.i.tutes and song girls came and went, l.u.s.tful sounds and cries coming from all corners. It was quite difficult for a well brought up n.o.ble lady like Miss Lin to stay in such a place, but perhaps she was unable to leave even though she wanted to.
He slipped past the guards in front and saw ta dim light in the rear court and a few guards around the outside.
These guards looked rather serious as they stood watch. Unlike the others, they weren’t gossiping or causing trouble in a drunken stupor. Long Heng’s suspicions grew. He stealthily avoided the eyes of the guards to climb onto the roof.
He was strong in martial arts and knew some of the jianghu’s styles. After all, there were teachers for everything in the army.
He’d also learnt this spying technique in the army. Long Heng gently removed one of the roof tiles. It was especially important to pick up all the knacks needed for this trick. If not, he’d alarm these below.
The timing was also crucial, and one needed to take each step cautiously in order to leave the people below none the wiser.
Long Heng had never thought that the little tricks he picked up on a whim would be put to this use He smiled wryly. As he removed the tiles carefully, the scene revealed was one that was only supposed to occur during his wedding night.
His fiancé, Lin Qianzi, was beneath a slender man on the bed.She was unable to move and her clothes were unkempt. Her eyes were half closed and she was also biting her lips, looking very seductive.
Although Miss Lin was born with a good appearance, her looks didn’t compare to those of Madame Bai. Her facial features were greatly lacking, for example, her nostrils were especially big looking from his perspective. Snorting derisively, he watched the scene happening in a rather cold blooded fas.h.i.+on.
She looked as though she was putting up a resistance, but it was a weak one without the slightest strength behind her motions. The man didn’t actually go through with things and let her off after taking a slight bit of advantage of her. However, he continued to speak, “n.o.ble ladies like you have such good skin, so very fine and tender.”
“Please don’t do this, I&h.e.l.lip;won’t be able to hold my head high when I return.” Lin Qianzi covered her face in shame while sobbing, looking very hurt now.
“Why are you crying for? If I were to do something, it wouldn’t be just this much. You might even be carrying a baby by now. If not for your young age, and that forcing things when you’re unwilling would harm your body, I would feel heartache even if you didn’t feel pain. Stop telling me you want to go back home before I change my mind. I could claim you now and prevent you from ever returning home.” With that, he pinched Lin Qianzi’s cheeks and made them turn rosy.
Luo Yunzheng was gradually becoming aroused and his hands started to wander. He wasn’t in a rush to take her since he could have any woman he wanted in the jianghu. She however, was quite special.
“You can’t do this, we are not a couple yet, how could you&h.e.l.lip;”
“Why can’t I? Everyone is spreading rumors that you’ve gone and eloped with some man in the jianghu . Your reputation is in tatters. Why not live up to that reputation and follow me? I won’t treat you badly.”
“What&h.e.l.lip; How&h.e.l.lip;?” Lin Qianzi was sh.e.l.lshocked, her eyes going wide.