Chapter 398: 152. Chrysanthemum Wine, Jade Feet

152. Chrysanthemum Wine, Jade Feet

The atmosphere inside the kitchen became incomparably quiet for a moment.

Ouyang Rong had originally intended it as a prank, wanting to make a joke, but he discovered that no one was making a sound anymore.

In front of the stove, the Xiao Shimei, who was wearing an apron and cooking, had her back turned to him. After enduring the prank slap, her back paused, and the kitchen knife in her hand also became motionless, though it was unclear when that had started.

It was still daytime, and with the bright sun outside, the light in the kitchen was not considered dim.

Looking from Ouyang Rong's perspective behind her, the Xiao Shimei's back was graceful, her beautiful head buried deep against her chest, and the roots of her ears seemed to have turned completely red. A blush like the evening glow appeared on the snow-white skin of her swan-like, curved neck.

Ouyang Rong originally hadn't felt there was anything to it, but the result of this silent atmosphere caused his gaze to involuntarily shift downward along the graceful curves of the young woman standing with her back to him...

Xie Lingjiang was currently caught in a state of holding her breath and focusing her mind.

She did not know if it was the aftereffect of that pat just now, but her body felt numb and stiff.

She suddenly felt that after bathing and using incense today, she was wearing too few clothes; this snow-white nightdress was too thin, so... so it wasn't entirely his fault for being unable to restrain himself?

Her head was dizzy and dazed with wild thoughts, and she buried her head even deeper into her chest.

The kitchen knife in her hand felt like it had been filled with lead. If she were to be asked to spin the kitchen knife in her palm like she had just done, she estimated it would truly fly out and randomly murder her husband by probability; she was truly limp and powerless.

The nemesis behind her remained silent, and the atmosphere inside the kitchen remained quiet.

Why wasn't he moving? What... what exactly did he want to do... Should she push him away in a moment... He mustn't go too far... Too excessive demands wouldn't do... How could they in the kitchen... The stove table was too cold... Just as Xie Lingjiang's heart was raised high, feeling both nervous and afraid, while also vaguely feeling a trace of excitement and boldness.

She suddenly heard rustling movements coming from behind her.

At this moment, Xie Lingjiang's hearing was incomparably sharp. She sensed that the Ru Shixiong behind her seemed to have stepped forward, approaching her back, and then... then it seemed to be the faint sound of clothing folds made by crouching down... Wait, why would he crouch down for no reason while behind her? Could it be that he wanted to... from below...

Xie Lingjiang, with her head lowered and buried in her chest, could not help but widen her eyes, her delicate body instantly tensing up.

Below, on that pair of red-stringed wooden clogs, her fair and tender little feet, wearing white socks, had their cardamom-like big toes subconsciously curling and pressing tightly together, performing the habitual little action of gripping the floor.

Just as the heavy kitchen knife in her hand almost slipped from her palm, Ouyang Rong's voice suddenly came from behind and below her:

"The pear fell, move your feet a little."

"Ah?"

"Ah what ah, you're really clumsy, making a fruit salad... Spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums, you're careless with everything."

Ouyang Rong shook his head, picked up a pear, stood up again, and placed the pear beside the back of Xie Lingjiang's hand, which was gripping the knife handle until it turned deathly white.

"Oh... I was not." She retorted out of conditioned reflex.

Ouyang Rong glanced at the cutting board: "Do you want me to do it?"

"It was already done, it's all because someone was in the way..."

The blush on Xie Lingjiang's neck dissipated a little. While muttering with feigned arrogance, she used her peripheral vision to gauge the Ru Shixiong's expression.

She saw that he had picked up the snow pear again and walked to the side by the water vat to rinse the pear. His expression was calm, just as if nothing had happened just now; no clues could be seen.

But clearly, just now, it was he who had first made a move to make... to make shameful, abnormal hints toward her.

Why was he suddenly so honest?

Could it be that she had overthought it?

Xie Lingjiang felt shy and self-reproachful, feeling guilty toward him. In fact, the Ru Shixiong was still quite a gentleman sometimes; it was all her overthinking... perhaps.

Ouyang Rong nodded with a straight face: "Fine, I won't bother you anymore. I'll go outside and wait for you. Call me when the food is ready..."

Xie Lingjiang interrupted: "Wait, take these to wash too. No need to go out, it doesn't actually affect anything."

"Good." His expression was natural.

Before long, the ambiguous moment in front of the stove seemed to have been brushed aside.

A certain noble lady of the Xie clan had no choice but to learn to play dumb.

Inside the kitchen, the two divided the work; one washed the fruit, the other had skilled knife work, and the topic returned to normal.

Xie Lingjiang was the first to break the silence:

"The reason the Three Talisman Mountains got their name is because they share a common talisman system. Taiqing, Yuqing, and Shangqing are of the same origin but different sects, but the cohesion of the Sanshan surpasses many sect forces on the mountains, all because of this set of talisman systems.

"In the Three Talisman Mountains, direct disciples are granted talismans after reaching adulthood and meeting the conditions; only then can they use talismans. But not all Daoists can learn the supreme arts of the Three Clarities.

"Because the number of supreme talismans that the Ancestor Hall of the Three Clarities can produce each year—red-black talismans, vermilion-purple talismans, and white-gold talismans—is extremely limited.

"Who can use them and who cannot naturally has a strict screening threshold in between.

"Disciples of the Three Clarities need to go through layers of selection and testing. In the end, only a small handful of people can enter the Ancestor Hall to become core existences, serving as the backbone of the sect and future Celestial Masters, obtaining the supreme talismans granted by the Ancestor Hall, and being able to display the supreme arts of the Three Clarities.

"Therefore, the production of talismans has always been a closely guarded secret of the Three Pure Ones and the foundation of the sect's heritage. In this way, even if the cultivation techniques of the Three Pure Ones' unique arts were accidentally leaked to the outside world, the Ancestral Hall of the Three Pure Ones, which holds the source of top-grade talisman production, could still keep a stranglehold on outsiders."

Xie Lingjiang recalled for a moment, her plain hands skillfully cutting the fruit while she spoke slowly.

"So Lu Ya's deep taboo is a normal reaction. He probably didn't immediately suspect or guard against the Ru Shixiong, but..."

She shook her head lightly:

"As the current mountain-descending walker of Maoshan and the third direct disciple of the Old Celestial Master Yuan, if I were to say he didn't have a red-black talisman at the bottom of his box, I wouldn't believe it even if you beat him to death.

"Even that gluttonous illegitimate son of the Old Celestial Master Yuan has one, let alone him."

Ouyang Rong said thoughtfully:

"I asked him sideways about the ink and paper for making supreme talismans, and he inexplicably mentioned something about strange monsters and ghosts, asking if I knew. Could it be related?"

Xie Lingjiang thought with a thoughtful expression:

"That is also normal. For ordinary talismans, Daoists can draw them at will, and production is casual, with low requirements for paper and ink materials. But for supreme talismans, since the Ancestor Hall of the Three Clarities produces a limited number even with all its efforts, it must require special spiritual materials from strange monsters and ghosts. This is not hard to guess. Hmm, it might even involve legendary mythological creatures, requiring mythological materials."

"Mythological creatures?"

"The five insects that possess mythological power. Hmm, the five insects are the shelled, the scaled, the hairy, the feathered, and the insectoid; they can encompass all living beings in the world."

"What is the difference between mythological creatures and ordinary strange monsters and ghosts?"

Xie Lingjiang's pretty face became serious:

"Those strange monsters and ghosts cannot be compared to mythological creatures; the latter are existences as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

"Ru Shixiong, mythological creatures possess pure and primitive mythological power. These mythological creatures are almost all remnants of those special living beings from the ancient era. After Great Yu controlled the floods, they luckily remained on the land of Shenzhou. This type of ancient remnant species is now one less for every one that dies.

"Moreover, these mythological creatures are closely linked to certain mythological Daoist lineages, and are even of the same origin as the mythological power of a certain Daoist lineage, with mysterious relationships."

"Why is this?"

"Because they all originate from the mythological era."

"The mythological era?"

"There is an ancient book in my Xie family's secret treasury that records that there once existed a mythological era in ancient times.

"The mythological powers existing in the world today, whether they are mythological creatures or mythological Daoist lineages, actually all come from that mythological era.

"Until Great Yu controlled the floods, ending the mythological era. Great Yu cast the Nine Tripods, taking all mythological power into the tripods, forever suppressing Shenzhou.

"From then on, the land of Shenzhou entered the Bronze Age without mythology, which was also the first dynasty of the human race, Xia."

"The Nine Tripods? Are those tripods that are the original bodies of the Tripod Swords cast when Great Yu controlled the floods?"

Xie Lingjiang hesitated: "It should be."

"Should be?"

"My Xie ancestors secretly passed down some things... The Nine Tripods of the State that sealed mythological power were passed from Xia to the Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou royal family lost its virtue, Prince Chao fled to Chu, and the Zhou Storage Chamber moved south with him. When passing the Si River, the Nine Tripods were lost.

"Later, when the Nine Tripods appeared in the world again, it was already the Warring States period. Some people suspected they were imitations from the Zhou Storage Chamber, not the true original Nine Tripods. The reason is that the Nine Tripods were artifacts that suppressed the state, indicating the return of Heaven's Mandate; the tripods suppressed the world's fortune, and whoever obtained them could be the master of the world.

"But at that time, the Son of Heaven of Zhou could no longer summon the feudal lords, and the rites and music of the Spring and Autumn period collapsed. Even if the new Nine Tripods appeared, they did not stop it by half a point, so they were fake tripods used to win back the hearts of the people. The result, of course, failed; the feudal lords and the scholar class did not buy it.

"Hmm, the reason is a bit far-fetched, but it is not unreasonable. It might be like the Empress Wei of the Wei clan in Luodu now; doesn't she also like auspicious signs? And Empress Wei of the Wei clan built the Mingtang in Luoyang, similarly imitating nine tripods, each named and placed in the Mingtang... But these are just names. The true Nine Tripods have already been lost.

"However, these Nine Tripods of questionable origin still started the tripod wars of the Warring States period after the Spring and Autumn period. Qin destroyed the six states but failed to collect all nine tripods. Then came the first Xin Dingjian made by the remnants of the six states' nobility, the elixir of immortality was born, and immediately after was the second one made by Qin... The First Emperor died without collecting the Nine Tripods or Tripod Swords, the Qin Dynasty perished in the second generation, but the era of Tripod Swords began."

Xie Lingjiang turned her head, her eyes clear and bright:

"Ru Shixiong, Xia, Shang, and Zhou had tripods, lasting only three dynasties for about 1,800 years. Perhaps, as the ancient books say, Yu made the Nine Tripods, containing mythology, which could indeed forever suppress the fortune of the Nine Provinces and stabilize royal power.

"But without the Nine Tripods, could the world not be unified? Could the people not live and work in peace?

"Zhou lost the Nine Tripods, and each dynasty fought for them. Looking at history, these tripod wars since the pre-Qin era have turned tripods that suppressed the state and pacified the people into Tripod Swords that specialize in slaughter. How many heroes and overlords fought back and forth, only to end up as nothing in the end? It fits exactly that sentence you said that day: 'Titles and fates are colorful, competing like mist.'"

"Until the Mad Emperor crazily cast swords and courted death, the Gan Dynasty was established, Emperor Wen, the Grand Ancestor, overcame obstacles, pacified the world, and established the ancestral rule that the descendants of the Li Gan royal family were not allowed to cast Tripod Swords again, nor were they allowed to seek the Nine Tripods. He also said that the people are like water and the ruler is like a boat; water can carry the boat but can also overturn it... Facts have proven that as long as the ruler has virtue, widely implements the Kingly Way, wins the hearts of the people with benevolence and righteousness, and the people's hearts are settled, they can also unify Shenzhou without the need for the Nine Tripods to add color."

Ouyang Rong nodded: "Makes sense. The Bronze Age of the Nine Tripods must pass, just like the ancient mythological era before it. The era is advancing, and no one can stop it. The Nine Tripods are just a symbol. Attempting to obtain the tripods to obtain the world is no different from carving a boat to mark the place where a sword was dropped. The true Nine Tripods should be the hearts of the people."

He paused and asked again: "Since mythological power was sealed in the Nine Tripods by Great Yu, what is going on with the later mythological creatures and mythological Daoist lineages?"

Xie Lingjiang's expression became serious:

"Ru Shixiong asks well. Mythological creatures are ancient remnant species, and the cultivation techniques of mythological Daoist lineages first arose among the pre-Qin Qi-practitioners. It happened to be during the period when the Zhou Storage Chamber moved south and the Nine Tripods were lost, accompanied by the scattering of some classic knowledge monopolized by the Storage Chamber among the people, promoting the rise of the Hundred Schools of Thought.

"These mythological powers, including cultivation techniques, my Xie ancestors guessed are very likely from that true Nine Tripod, leaking out from it. Even the casting formula for Tripod Swords is the same. It is both the source of mythology and the source of disaster."

"Do they all originate from the Nine Tripods..."

Ouyang Rong muttered to himself for a while and asked again:

"Previously in Dragon City, I observed the mount ridden by the Great Lady of Yunmeng. It was a snow-white big bird with three legs and four eyes, possessing intelligence. It seemed to be called Insect Lady... Is this a strange monster or a mythological creature?"

Xie Lingjiang frowned and thought: "It seems to be a type of strange bird recorded in the folklore of the Wu and Yue regions. The nine-hundred-mile Yunmeng Great Marsh still maintains the style of the Great Marsh from the pre-Qin period, and many strange species of monsters still inhabit it. This bird should not be a mythological creature, because mythological creatures cannot be tamed by ordinary people, even if it were Snow Candle.

"Moreover, they are perhaps even rarer than the Celestial Beings of Shenzhou... However, the Yunmeng Sword Marsh does indeed have one mythological creature, which most people on the mountain have heard of."

"What mythological creature?"

"A white ape carrying a sword."

Ouyang Rong raised his eyebrows.

Xie Lingjiang lowered her eyelashes:

"This white ape has a very deep origin with the Yue Maiden Daoist lineage, but it has no subordinate relationship with the Lady's Palace. It is more like symbiosis, only close to the Yue Maiden who possesses mythological spirituality. Every generation of Yue Maiden is found by the white ape. On specific days, the Yue Maidens will follow the white ape, travel a thousand miles, and finally return with the young Yue Maiden. It can be considered a tradition..."

The topic stopped quietly. Ouyang Rong wanted to ask more, but Xie Lingjiang turned her head and said:

"Lu Ya said that finding spiritual ink requires good fortune. If the material truly came from a mythological creature, it wouldn't be said this way. Mythological creatures mostly have uniqueness. If they were unique, they would definitely have been monopolized by the current Three Clarities. So Ru Shixiong, rest assured, it is highly probable that they are special strange monsters and ghosts, which is why good fortune and luck are needed."

"That would be best." Ouyang Rong sighed. The threshold for displaying the supreme arts of the Three Clarities is truly high.

Soon, the dish Xie Lingjiang had newly learned—Spring Orchids and Autumn Chrysanthemums—was finally finished, plated, and served.

The two left the kitchen and went to the courtyard to eat. Ouyang Rong appeared high-spirited and picked up the chrysanthemum wine to signal to Xie Lingjiang.

Xie Lingjiang suddenly touched the body of the pot with the back of her hand and gave him a reproachful white glance:

"It is not easy to drink cold in late autumn. You will have a bad stomach when you are old. Warm the wine, Ru Shixiong, wait a moment." She snatched the chrysanthemum wine, took it back to the kitchen, and reheated it.

"Good, Xiao Shimei is thoughtful." Ouyang Rong felt a little warm in his heart and nodded, muttering for no reason: "Cold pouring, it is also easy to get old cold legs when you are old."

Xie Lingjiang did not hear it. A moment later, she returned carrying two pots of warm wine. Ouyang Rong had already wolfed down the plate of "Spring Orchids and Autumn Chrysanthemums," and the plate was bare. The so-called Spring Orchids and Autumn Chrysanthemums were, of course, not really made of orchids and chrysanthemums, but used three types of autumn fruits: pomegranate, snow pear, and orange, mixed with a secret sauce.

Ouyang Rong's hungry-ghost-like appearance of sweeping away the food made Xie Lingjiang unable to hold back a laugh.

"Full?"

"It's okay."

"What does 'it's okay' mean? Do you want me to make some more?"

"'It's okay' means seventy percent full. I won't eat anymore, I have to save room."

"Why are you saving room? And eating so fast, you aren't doing anything in the afternoon."

"Drinking wine, let's sit down and have a little drink in a while." He arranged it.

"I won't drink, I definitely won't drink with you."

Ouyang Rong nodded: "I can help you draw your eyebrows and fix your makeup first."

Xie Lingjiang glanced at him: "Offering courtesies for no reason, either a traitor or a thief."

"It's my first time drawing eyebrows for a woman, forget it if you don't want to."

"Wait, let's go." A moment later, the insincere Xie Lingjiang still took Ouyang Rong to a boudoir and took out eyebrow-drawing tools.

"No, Ru Shixiong, where are you taking the eyebrow pencil?"

"I see a hot spring in the southeast corner of the courtyard. It just so happens you can go soak your feet, and I can draw your eyebrows by the way, then we can drink some wine."

"Why go soak feet for no reason?" Xie Lingjiang was suspicious.

Ouyang Rong asked back: "It wouldn't be your bathwater, would it? Or is it drinking spring water?"

"Neither, that spring eye is quite clean, usually only used for watering flowers."

"Then let's go water the flowers too."

"Water flowers?"

"Why is Xiao Shimei guarding against me like guarding against a thief?"

"Aren't you a thief." She whispered.

"Then I am a righteous thief. I will say directly what I want to do... Besides, if I really wanted to do something bad, why didn't I do it in the kitchen just now? Wasn't it full of opportunities?"

"Makes some sense, though not much."

"Forget it if you don't want to go, I'll go soak my feet and drink wine myself..."

"Don't, fine, I'll go. You wait a moment, if we are drinking, we need cups..."

"Cups aren't satisfying, no need to get them for me." Ouyang Rong took the lead and walked toward the hot spring eye in the southeast corner of the courtyard.

Xie Lingjiang saw his open and aboveboard back, didn't think much, followed to the spring side, took off her wooden clogs, took off her socks, sat on the stone bricks by the water, raised her fair and tender little feet, tested the water temperature with her big toes, and a moment later, let out a breath, starting to wash her feet in the hot spring water.

Ouyang Rong walked to her side, sat cross-legged on the ground without minding the dirt, faced her sideways, picked up an eyebrow pencil, and drew her eyebrows for her.

Xie Lingjiang held a bronze mirror in her hand, quietly looking at her plain face without makeup in the mirror, and his face focused on drawing eyebrows. Sweetness filled the bottom of her eyes.

The two started chatting.

"Why are you suddenly sunning books today?" Ouyang Rong asked casually.

"I saw Qi from Ru Shixiong last time, and my realm loosened. I want to break through in one go, so I started re-reading books I had read before. A book-flipper, a book-flipper, one must always start from flipping books."

"Makes sense. Any gains?"

"No progress. As for gains, yes. It is precisely because there was no progress in flipping old books that I realized one point."

"What?"

"The next rank is called a Sage. What is a Sage? Someone who has both talent and virtue. What does Ru Shixiong think I lack?"

"Xiao Shimei does not lack virtue. What you lack... is talent?"

"To be precise, it is literary Qi. Father also mentioned that I am suitable for studying classics, but my poetic talent is insufficient. Clearly, Ru Shixiong pointed me out in the maple forest that day, and I also saw that Qi, but it is just hard to break through. The problem very likely lies here."

"Literary Qi? No wonder I saw that basket of red leaves on your table just now, and you are still looking at it."

"Although they are old poems, reading them indeed feels more sensible. Sure enough, I lack literary Qi."

Looking at the Xiao Shimei with slightly furrowed brows, Ouyang Rong suddenly asked:

"Literary Qi, is it just writing poems?"

"Hmm, more or less."

Ouyang Rong felt moved in his heart, but Xie Lingjiang held his hand and sighed: "Literary Qi of a single school won't do. A book-flipper must read extensively and not be restricted to one school. Ru Shixiong helps me like this, but I still haven't broken through. Besides being stupid, there is also the reason that the literary Qi of a single person has limited help."

"So that's how it is..." Ouyang Rong nodded. Actually, he wanted to try if the many poems of the Hundred Schools from his previous life that he remembered well counted as different literary Qi.

A moment later, Ouyang Rong finished drawing the eyebrows. Xie Lingjiang sat on the bank of the water pool, hugging her knees and lowering her head, using the water surface by her feet as a mirror to look at herself. Her mouth seemed to taste honey, she turned her head with a sweet smile, and her tone was emotional: "Why is Ru Shixiong so patient? Where would ordinary big men have the face to do this? You, you just know how to coax me... You want to drink wine, I will pour it for you, you rest a while."

Ouyang Rong smiled without a word, glancing at this new eyebrow makeup of the smiling beauty.

Xie Lingjiang was not yet twenty, her skin was already tender enough to drip water, and her plain face was stunning. Now with a little makeup, she truly had a face like peach blossoms and a complexion like jade.

Xie Lingjiang supported her chin with one hand and poured wine with the other: "Today I arranged flowers in a vase because I have several chrysanthemum-viewing banquets scheduled with Sister Guoer, and I need to bring them. Those elegant literary gatherings must be the places with the most literary Qi in Xunyang City. I will go over and take a look."

"How about I recommend someone to you? It might help you accumulate literary Qi."

"Who?" Xie Lingjiang reacted: "Rong Zhen?"

"No." Ouyang Rong was strange: "It is Yuan Huaimin. I always feel this old boy has something. Strange, why did you guess Rong Zhen?"

"Compared to ordinary Qi-practitioners, Yin-Yang School Qi-practitioners can see a lot of Qi. I thought you were going to invite her to help look at where the literary Qi is flourishing in Xunyang City."

"Yin-Yang School's Qi-watching is so powerful? Even literary Qi can be seen?" His expression moved slightly.

"Yes, but it cannot be detailed to the individual. This kind has already exceeded the scope of Qi-practitioners and requires some rare strange monsters. Ru Shixiong, rest assured."

Ouyang Rong breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Xie Lingjiang suddenly asked: "Do you often look for her recently?"

"What are you thinking?" Ouyang Rong rewarded her with a chestnut.

Xie Lingjiang covered her forehead with a glare, immediately unconvinced, wanting to counterattack, but had her wrists twisted back.

Amidst the playfulness, Ouyang Rong laughed and said: "But since you put it that way, it does make sense. I will ask Rong Zhen another day where the literary Qi is heavy."

"Not allowed to ask her." Xie Lingjiang said anxiously: "I don't want her, an outsider, to help. Not needed."

"Not possible." Ouyang Rong shook his head, his tone unquestionable: "Your promotion is important."

Xie Lingjiang turned her pretty face away, bit her lip and whispered: "It's not jealousy, it's fear that you will be exposed. I am already catching your tail. If she knows it is you..."

Fortunately, the Xiao Shimei still didn't know about the purple bellyband... Ouyang Rong coughed:

"I will look at the situation. I can find Yuan Huaimin first. He loves to take out that little booklet every day. I always feel he is hiding something..."

The two chatted for a while longer and prepared to drink wine. Ouyang Rong looked left and right, bent down, and patiently picked up a few things.

Xie Lingjiang was puzzled: "Ru Shixiong, why are you picking up my wooden clogs and socks?"

Ouyang Rong didn't speak, threw the wooden clogs far away, and threw the snow-white socks casually, landing in the spring water.

She subconsciously blocked him, anxiously: "Don't, what will I wear if they get wet."

Ouyang Rong looked at Xie Lingjiang, who had lost her shoes and socks and couldn't fly away, suddenly reached into the water and grabbed the pair of snow-white, delicate bare feet in the hot spring.

"You... what are you doing." Her jade feet tensed and arched, like two crescent moons, her voice weak: "So itchy..."

Ouyang Rong didn't speak. His other hand hooked a pot of warm wine, placed it directly above the pair of exquisite jade feet, and slowly poured the turbid wine. The trickling stream nourished the sensitive ankles tied with red strings. The wet and slippery wine flowed down along the beautiful curves of the beauty's tense arches and dripped into the hazy spring water below, making a clinking sound.

"Xiao Shimei, in our home, we cannot waste anything at all." He suddenly said incomparably seriously.

"Ru Shixiong is pouring wine blindly, isn't that wasting?" Xie Lingjiang's voice trembled.

"I mean... this."

His palm squeezed the slightly chubby, petite golden lotus hard. Not only did it have bone structure, but it also had fleshiness; it was truly top-grade.

Xie Lingjiang's delicate body trembled as if electrocuted, straightening from her long legs to her toes, her apricot eyes widening at the abnormal Ru Shixiong: "Let go, I... I am so ashamed." She looked left and right in shame and panic.

"Cough, since Xiao Shimei is not 'hiding things,' then I won't hide things either."

Speaking of this, as if remembering something, Ouyang Rong shook the wine pot in his hand at her, his tone a little embarrassed:

"Sorry, this pot has a little dogwood added. It might be a bit spicy and hot in a moment."

"..." Xie Lingjiang.

Ouyang Rong blinked, occasionally glancing down, his expression a bit malicious.

Xie Lingjiang suddenly understood why the Ru Shixiong was so honest in the kitchen just now. It turned out he was harboring evil intentions. Perhaps when he crouched down to pick up the pear in the kitchen just now, he had already set his sights on her floor-gripping feet, which was why he acted as if nothing was wrong, coaxed her to lower her guard, and finally coaxed her to the spring side to wash her feet.

Also, saying he was saving room for seventy percent fullness was indeed true about coming to drink warm wine, but it wasn't just drinking wine; there was also... a side dish.

With a "clatter" sound.

The bronze mirror in Xie Lingjiang's hand fell to the ground. She bit her finger with her silver teeth, leaned back in great shame, her delicate body retreating, trying hard to scold:

"No... don't... this kind of thing is absolutely not allowed... how can there be such a way of drinking wine in the world... don't mess around... if you pour again, I will pour wine on you too... ah, so itchy..."

The handsome young man's mouth curved into a bad smile:

"You pour on me, let's see who dares to be shirtless more. By the way, it was this foot that kicked me, right? That kick when we first met was really ruthless. Xiao Shimei, please help me ask it, did it ever think it would fall into the devil's claws today? Today it must be punished without mercy, to let it learn a lesson."

"Are you good... Ru Shixiong, you, you dare..." Her cheeks were flushed, and no matter how she hammered with her limp pink fists, she couldn't drive away this bad person. Her beautiful face laughed until tears came out: "Hmm... itchy... hahaha... don't tickle... I beg you, don't tickle anymore... I won't dare... it won't dare... hahaha... wuwuwu hahaha..."

Xie Lingjiang, who had always been arrogant and reserved, and dignified like a great wife, completely gave in. Her tough talk failed, and she begged for mercy in the face of battle, but unfortunately, it was already beyond her control...

An afternoon passed quickly. Perhaps for the two people involved, it was very, very long. Fortunately, this boudoir courtyard was very large, and some lascivious sounds could not be spread out.

At dusk, the person who was originally seventy percent full was already completely full, returning with some ignored tooth marks on her neck, full of vitality. Only a pink beauty—who had truly turned pink—remained lying limp like mud by the spring water, her teeth bitten sour, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

The setting sun slanted onto the quiet, deserted hot spring.

On the ground by the spring water, two wine pots were overturned on the ground, not a drop of wine left inside. Vaguely, scattered chrysanthemum petals that had been chewed up fell on the ground. It was truly drunk without wasting a bit.

In the pool, the clear spring water bubbling with mist was mixed with fragrant sweat and the smell of wine, rolling mischievously, just like the two entangled figures with strange positions not long ago.

Occasionally, one or two white socks could be seen floating on the water surface, the wet fabric wrinkled, as if having suffered great devastation, and it was unknown what exactly they had endured...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 399 =====