“Our master left orders not to sell it for any amount. You must return.” The guard’s tone was steadily becoming impatient.
“Two hundred thousand. Two hundred thousand pieces of silver!”
The guard glared. With a quick flash of movement, his hands produced a black ball. “Master commanded us to give this to those who refused to leave.”
The servant paled at the sight of the small black ball, frantically retreating from it. Once he had passed a meter of distance, he shakily called back, “Five hundred thousand! Five hundred thousand pieces of silver. Is it still out of the question?”
The guard, now angered, pulled back the hand holding the black ball in a throwing motion and the servant immediately made himself scarce and vanished quicker than a hunted rabbit.
The guard looked pleased, placing the bomb back into its sack. A few moments of silence passed before he let out a burst of swear words, “What the fuck, five hundred thousand pieces of silver for a painting…… If I had known, I would have learned how to paint instead.”
Five hundred thousand pieces of silver was enough money for an ordinary family to live comfortably for ten lifetimes.
During his expressions of resentment, he failed to notice the white shadow more than ten meters away climb over the wall. Had he been looking at the exact spot, he might have still attributed it to a trick of the light or a momentary blur of vision.
Hua Shuirou’s nature was delicate and mild. Her heart clear as water and her innermost being was ultimately conservative as she scrupulously abided by the standards that all women should follow. A daughter must observe filial piety and depend on her parents. A mother must be compassionate and give affection to her children. A wife must be docile and obedient to her husband, that he may not fear her betrayal. Such was the kind of woman that was thought to be the perfect choice for a wife.
And because of it, though her heart might have developed affections for Ye Wuchen, she would strongly suppress it and even blame herself for committing the mistake. She could not afford to disappoint her father who had chosen her future husband.
Ye Wuchen intended to pressure her to come to a decision. The most immediate way, naturally, was to compel her to fall from grace. Once she falls into the hands of a man, based on her nature, she would not be able to think of other men.
His spiritual powers swept through the residence, easily locating the Hua Family members. As expected, the Hua Family had only a few decent guards. But he was also aware that knows that the seemingly ordinary servants have each been trained in using firearms,. Anyone who dared to invade the residence would be eradicated.
Hua Shuirou was sitting inside her chambers. Unable to help herself, she took out <> that she had already seen numerous times and slowly unfolded it.
From the tender and beautiful lotus flower to the dark green pond water and the image it reflected, all were depicted to perfection. Although that marvelous blooming lotus flower from that time did not reappear, this painting was still an astonishing piece of godly work, so perfect and without a single flaw.
Looking at it for so many times now, she vaguely recalled the implications of the painting, causing her heart to beat faster. The figure of a certain man appeared in her mind whenever she looked at the painting. His meaningful glances and his never fading smile occupied her thoughts at all times, for they would not go away.
The awakening of love in her heart felt vast and indistinct but also it alos brought agony and a deep, deep guilt.
Though she knew that her future husband had been decided since six years ago, she had allowed herself to fall for another man. Her feelings towards Lin Xiao had never been like the subtle feelings she had for Ye Wuchen, and now she cannot even remember Lin Xiao’s face clearly.
She should not have accepted this painting, nor given him her flute. She had made many attempts to have the maid take the painting away, to discard it or to burn it. But every time she tried to speak, she ends up taking back her words. Every time she handed the painting over to the maid, her heart suddenly felt empty, as if she would lose something extremely important if she continued. How she feared that emptiness. As a result, she would immediately take the painting back and request to be left alone.
If the painting did not exist, perhaps Hua Shuirou’s budding feelings for Ye Wuchen might have slowly faded in the midst of painstakingly trying to leave behind everything related to him. Ye Wuchen had affected her thoughts through this painting. Unless she threw it away, which was unthinkable, it remained a constant reminder of him, until she was unable to forget.
“Is it nice?”
A voice lightly floats to her ears, so familiar, like in a dream. Hua Shuirou nodded absent-mindedly, then she abruptly became alarmed. Hurriedly turning around, she almost collided with the man’s face. She stumbled back a few steps, finally seeing him clearly. For a brief moment, she did not believe her eyes, “It’s…… it’s you!”
“It’s me. Surprised?” Ye Wuchen’s face showed the same smile that invaded Hua Shuirou’s mind repeatedly.
Hua Shuirou’s head came up blank as she asked in alarm, “You…… How did you get in?”
“I wanted to see you, so here I am. Were you thinking about me? My Xiao RouRou.” Ye Wuchen said smiling, at the same time admiring her frightened expression which looked so stunning.
Ye Wuchen calling her intimately caused her face to turn a tender pink, her heart began to beat much faster. She hid the painting behind her back and tried to make sense of the situation. “W-who was thinking of you? You must quickly leave or… or else I will call for someone. My daddy is quite fierce.”
She had never before been alone in a room with a man other than her father and her chambers did not allow any men to set foot inside.
“Your daddy is currently not at home. From the tone of your voice, you seem to be worried about me, aren't you? Don’t worry, your daddy won’t rebuke me.” Ye Wuchen sat himself on one of Hua Shuirou’s couches, lightly inhaling the delightful fragrance.
“You must leave immediately, or else I will shout.” Hua Shuirou retreated a step, her frenetic state looked pitiful.
The smile on Ye Wuchen’s face disappeared. He sighed, and his voice came out somewhat desolate, “You dislike me?”
His expression caused her some alarm and subconsciously, she shook her head. “No……”
“Then why are you driving me away?”
“Because…… this is my room, others are not allowed to enter.”
“Not even your future husband?” Ye Wuchen looked at her earnestly.
Hua Shuirou’s eyes widened, unable to respond to the abrupt question.
“If you wish it, you will forever belong to me, Ye Wuchen, alone. No one may interfere.” He smiled softly, every word loud and clear, resolute and decisive, pure and unquestionable.
Her heartbeats accelerated even more, so fast she thought it might jump out of her ribcage. This was not fear, so she could not understand why her heart would not stop beating so fast. She was suddenly reminded of the engagement between Hua and Lin Family.
She exerted effort to shake her head. “No, we cannot do this. You… if you still refuse to leave, I will start screaming.”
Translated by: Fatty_Uncle
Edited by: seriouspotato and patrick_father_of_dragons
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