The Slender Waist-Chapter 344 - 241 Graceful_2

"Great General, no need for such courtesy, please take your seat," Li Sangruo smiled faintly, her face full of affection, her expression subtle and gentle, yet her eyes never left Pei Jue.

Watching him approach from afar, gradually making his way to the seat...

The room was heated by an underground system, much warmer than the outside, the courtiers had all removed their thick robes and handed them to their servants to take away, planning to put them back on when they left.

But not Pei Jue.

He sat down quietly, as if nothing was amiss...

However, Li Sangruo was close to him, and when he brushed aside his robe to sit, she still noticed something odd.

Not to mention the wrinkles on his clothes, the fresh marks on his neck, barely visible, were enough for her to guess what Pei Jue had been doing with that woman before attending the banquet.

Li Sangruo’s eyes turned green with envy, and she couldn’t help but frown.

After a moment, her face relaxed again, and she lifted her cup to gesture to Pei Jue.

"Since the General is late, how about a penalty drink?"

Pei Jue looked down at the wine in his cup, nodded, and drained it in one gulp.

Li Sangruo watched the movement of his throat as he swallowed, her eyes half-closed.

"Is your lady not with you?"

Pei Jue clasped his hands, "Your Highness is considerate. My wife is not well and not suited for travel."

Not well? Li Sangruo scrutinized him and let out a light chuckle, "I heard that today your wife displayed great authority in Longming Town, and now she is not well enough to travel?"

Her tone was neither light nor heavy, but it struck a chord like a heavy drum to the ears of the audience.

All the officials turned their gaze.

Pei Jue spoke calmly, "My wife indeed fell ill in Mingquan Town due to distress."

Li Sangruo stared at his cold handsome face, her eyes burning, her lips twisted in a smile, yet it felt as if there was a knife carving into her flesh.

The way he referred to his ’wife’ sounded so intimate, so natural...

Had he truly come to see that foreign wretch as his wife?

For the first time, Li Sangruo felt that Empress Dowager’s venerable position paled in comparison to that of the General’s wife.

Just like the food and wine before her, it looked delicious, but tasted bland and unappetizing.

"Invite her over," Li Sangruo said, smiling, her eyebrows and eyes expressing excitement, "I have been curious about the General’s wife for a long time; I can’t wait to see her."

Without giving Pei Jue a chance to refuse, she summoned Fang Fucai.

"Go and invite the Great General’s wife to Cuiyu, tell her that the Empress Dowager invites her to the banquet."

Fang Fucai bowed his head, "Yes."

Pei Jue remained silent, a hint of coldness in his gaze.

Li Sangruo turned to look at him, "Is this arrangement to your liking, Great General?"

Pei Jue, "Thank you for your favor, Your Highness."

Li Sangruo smiled, nearly grinding her teeth to pieces.

-

After Pei Jue left, Feng Yun lay on the bed for a long time before she regained a bit of strength, propped herself up, and called her maidservant to prepare a bath.

Her body felt as if it had fallen apart, soaking in the wooden tub, her fair skin covered with Pei Jue’s marks, Xiaoman blushed deeply and complained about Pei Jue again.

Daman turned away, casting his gaze downwards, refusing to look.

The commotion just now was even more intense than the last time; it was clear how much force the Great General had used. Even a robust man would have been overpowered, let alone a delicate young lady.

"Next time, my lady, try to control the General, don’t let him have his way," Xiaoman said boldly, not retreating from speaking ill of Pei Jue despite the cues from Daman.

Daman desperately signaled with his eyes, but she failed to see.

Feng Yun lay in the warm water with closed eyes, her cheeks flushed, looking like a succubus thriving on yang energy, her hair loosely draped, her beauty languid and stunning.

She didn’t listen to her maidservant’s complaints.

She was wondering, at this very moment, as the man rushed to the royal palace, what would his encounter with Li Sang be like?

This was why she had insisted on being with Pei Jue before he met Li Sangruo; she was quite looking forward to it...

"Xiaoman," she said, "later, inform Xiao Rong to pack her things. The General might take her to the council hall tomorrow."

Xiaoman responded promptly, attending to Feng Yun as she lay down, and obediently brought the ointment.

"Miss, shall I help you apply it?"

She thought the ointment was for treating those marks on her body.

Feng Yun didn’t say much, just glanced at her.

"Leave it be, you all may leave."

Xiaoman made a sound, "Miss, why the secrecy?"

They were personal maids, what was the big deal about applying some medicine?

"It’s awkward for the master to apply it alone..."

Daman tugged at her, signaling her not to dawdle. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Yet suddenly, Feng Yun looked up, "Daman, stay behind."

Xiaoman was stunned. Wasn’t the miss always instructing her? Why, all of a sudden, had she started to trust her older sister more, often keeping her behind for private conversations? Had she done something wrong?

Feng Yun was unaware of Xiaoman’s thoughts, and as she stepped out, called Daman closer.

"Is there any news from Lady Chen?"

Daman shook her head, "Today, in the council hall, she did use a look to signal me to stop you, Miss, but I pretended not to see it."

Feng Yun smiled, "What do you make of the commotion in Mingquan Town?"

Daman’s eyes flickered, "What do you mean, Miss?"

Feng Yun said, "Is this the Feng Family you went to great lengths to belong to?"

Daman’s body tightened suddenly, looking down she said, "What Daman desires isn’t this Feng Family, but the status it provides, and it was my mother’s wish too..."

Feng Yun nodded slowly, adding, "Go now, your wish will be fulfilled someday."

When she was alone in the room, Feng Yun finally let go of her restrained poise, took a copper mirror, and began to apply medicine to herself after removing her clothes.

The medicine given by Puyang Jiu was truly excellent, melting slowly upon application, cool and thin, yet also slightly oddly warm and very comfortable.

In the past, she was quite shy and had never seriously looked at herself. This life had thickened her skin, and during the application of medicine she had taken a good look at herself twice, finding it quite marvelous.

She truly had a talent in this regard. No wonder Pei Gou cursed her as a siren; not only had she ingested such dreadful stuff, but he had barely left when she recovered shortly after a hot bath. With the application of more medicine the following day, she would look as if untouched, the upside being no harm to her body and the enjoyment of its benefits, but the downside being the torment of feeling like the first time, every time, as if undergoing a great trial, only resolved after considerable struggle...

It was too hard.

After applying the medicine, Feng Yun took out the thoroughly wet piece of cloth from under the pillow, twisted and discarded it with scrap paper, fearful that Xiaoman might see it and ask all sorts of questions...

She needed to prepare a new one.

As she pondered, she thought of the box sent over by Luo Yue.

It seemed to contain a certain type of silver support.

But then again, that was for men lacking confidence, aimed to please women, whereas what she needed was quite the opposite, intended to ward him off and protect herself from harm.

After making these preparations, she called Daman and Xiaoman back into the room.

"Help me change my clothes."

Xiaoman was puzzled, "It’s already dark, Miss, are you still going out?"

Feng Yun, as if she was waiting for something, said indifferently, "Dress up, to see the General?"

But hadn’t the General gone to the royal lodge?

Daman and Xiaoman exchanged glances, somewhat confused.

When Fang Fucai’s messenger arrived, Feng Yun had just finished dressing, her eyebrows delicately traced, lips touched with rouge, donning a moon-pale gown that made her beauty even more striking.

Xiaoman was mesmerised.

"Miss..."

Then she let out a long sigh.

"How did you know the Empress Dowager would send someone to invite you?"

Feng Yun smiled and walked past the two of them without answering.

In her previous life, the first time Feng Yun and Li Sangruo met was also during a feast at the royal lodge.

Just like now, Pei Jue had not brought her, but midway through the banquet, Li Sangruo had sent Fang Fucai to invite her.

The difference was, in her former life, she was not the General’s wife, and the peace talks were not in Xinzhou but in Andu.