Chapter 31: She’s Injured – No, It’s Not Her Blood, Don’t Be Afraid…

Meng Huan had been looking forward to the palace banquet for two days, but it didn’t happen due to an urgent matter that arose in the court. The Empress ordered the entire Censorate to investigate and handle the case overnight. Wen Zhaoyin was tied up with official duties and didn’t attend the Hundred Flowers Banquet herself.

He felt gloomy, but since Pei Lan had explained the reason to him, he couldn’t act rashly and could only feel displeased in his heart.

The remaining fish maw wasn’t used either. Wen Zhaoyin spent the entire day at the Censorate for six or seven days without returning home. The two didn’t have a chance to do that thing at all.

This was actually in line with his intentions. Although he also had some desire, he was more afraid of getting pregnant. Whether the fish maw could be used successfully was still unknown. Not doing it was the safest measure.

“Wen Xi, I heard they slaughtered a sheep today. Let’s have soup tonight,” Meng Huan said as he dug out a few crooked white radishes from the courtyard. It was already late autumn, just the right time for nourishment.

Sometimes he felt that even if they didn’t do that thing, there were still many things to do. Meng Huan didn’t know the situation of other men in the female-dominant society, but he had hardly experienced any pleasure with Wen Zhaoyin.

She always only cared about her own feelings and never asked if he was comfortable or if there was any discomfort. As long as she was happy, that was it. After finishing, she didn’t care about how he felt.

Over time, he lost interest in that thing.

Sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder if his ex-girlfriends had the same feelings as him. But then he thought it was impossible. No matter what, women would always be happy. He just felt unhappy because he was too passive here.

Meng Huan was thinking randomly. After finishing the mutton soup, he planned to go to bed early. He had already started running every morning to maintain a healthy routine.

Unexpectedly, Pei Lan came to inform him that Wen Zhaoyin would be back later to rest and asked him to prepare.

She’s coming back tonight? And staying in the Qingzhu Courtyard? Does that mean she wants to… tonight?

Meng Huan hesitated between fetching the fish maw or the mutton soup pot. He quickly chose to have Wen Xi prepare some lamb intestines because the latter had a milder taste.

After Wen Xi brought the processed lamb intestines, he personally rinsed them four or five times before making them into the shape he needed. Then he quietly soaked them in ice water and put them in the corner.

He also asked someone to prepare hot water from time to time for later use, sparing no effort in his preparations.

After doing all this, he picked an interesting storybook to read. He stood by the window for a while, then sat on the couch. He waited and waited, but it was already midnight, and she still hadn’t returned.

He was reading boringly and fell asleep with his head on the low table.

At some point, there was suddenly a sound of the door opening outside, which startled him awake.

Meng Huan raised his head and looked towards the door. It seemed to be Wen Zhaoyin.

It was windy outside, and the candles in the room flickered with the wind, blowing her robe and making her appear somewhat shadowy. Even he had trouble seeing her clearly.

“You’re back?”

Wen Zhaoyin didn’t answer. Instead, she turned around to close the door, then slowly walked towards him step by step. As she got closer, Meng Huan sniffed and seemed to smell a faint scent of blood.

Could it be an assassin seeking revenge, as the legends said?

He felt a little uneasy and looked at the backlit figure approaching with apprehension. When she got close enough for him to see her face clearly, he breathed a sigh of relief.

It was Wen Zhaoyin, not someone else.

He sat up straight, put the wrinkled storybook aside, and said with some dissatisfaction, “You suddenly came in without saying a word. It’s too scary.”

Her footsteps were a bit heavy. Unlike usual, she didn’t sit across the low table but instead pushed the table aside and sat next to Meng Huan.

“I’m a bit tired, so I didn’t speak.”

As Wen Zhaoyin spoke, she adjusted her posture and rested her head on his lap, lying on her side on the couch.

Meng Huan had never seen her like this before. She didn’t have her usual gentle elegance but seemed more like a lion resting on the ground after a fight.

Although she was lying quietly now, she couldn’t be ignored. Instead, people would be compelled by her invisible aura and not dare to offend her easily.

He had never known this side of Wen Zhaoyin before.

Born into a family of generals for generations, even if she was immersed in the way of the sages and took up literature, she could still reveal her unparalleled edge like a sword drawn from its sheath.

She must have done something big after being so busy these days… Meng Huan raised his hand and gently stroked her hair, suddenly feeling that he should be more virtuous at this moment, massaging her head and shoulders for her.

“What is this…?” As soon as his hand landed on her hair, he felt it was slightly damp. He raised his hand to look under the candlelight and saw it was stained with blood!

Meng Huan was shocked and asked in a panic, “Are you injured?! Pei Lan! Pei Lan! Quickly call a doctor!”

Wen Zhaoyin had her eyes closed originally. Hearing his flustered call, she opened her eyes wearily and pulled down the hand he was holding up to look at.

Then she said in a low voice, “I’m not injured. This is someone else’s blood.”

“Then you… you killed someone…?” His voice trembled slightly as he asked.

Killed someone? How can there be no killing when confiscating properties, let alone she had confiscated three families… Wen Zhaoyin was about to speak when there was a knock on the door outside. It was Pei Lan who heard Meng Huan’s call and rushed over.

She raised her voice and said to the person outside the door, “It’s nothing. Fetch me clean clothes and prepare hot water. I’ll take a bath later.”

Pei Lan responded and left. She then turned to Meng Huan and said, “Someone was just injured, don’t be afraid.”

Just now, she wanted to tell him the truth, but thinking that although Meng Huan often said some scandalous words, he was, after all, just a weak man who was afraid of killing and such things. So she changed her words on the spot.

She kept him in the mansion to let him live a life free from worldly disputes. Why would she let him know about those dirty things?

Hearing her say this, Meng Huan obviously breathed a sigh of relief. He thought it must be something like that. Wen Zhaoyin was just a civil official. It was possible for her to get into fights, but it was unlikely for her to kill someone.

After all, no matter what era it was, there were still laws to follow.

Meng Huan was about to tell her to get up and wash her hands. Having someone else’s blood on her hands must have felt very unpleasant.

Then Pei Lan thoughtfully brought people to carry a bathtub.

She said that Wen Zhaoyin was too tired, and it would be too tiring to walk to the dedicated bathing room, so she simply had someone bring a large bathtub for a simple wash.

Seeing the wooden tub that could easily accommodate two people, Meng Huan exclaimed, “Wow, you call this a simple wash? If you wanted to take a serious bath, would you have to build a Huaqing Pool?”

After helping Wen Zhaoyin undress, he planned to sit on the side and rest. After all, he had no intention of actively helping someone scrub their back, let alone serving this woman who had been keeping him confined.

As a result, with a wave of Pei Lan’s hand, the seven or eight attendants in the room all hurriedly left, leaving him standing there dumbfounded, holding a handkerchief.

That person directed the others to leave and was about to walk out herself. Before closing the door, she even said to him, “Sorry for the trouble, young man.” How absurd!

Was he the kind of person who would help someone scrub their back?! Was he?!

Steam rose from the wooden tub. Wen Zhaoyin suddenly raised her hand and tugged on his sleeve, her eyes half-closed as she commanded, “Scrub my back.”

“Okay, coming!”

Seeing that she was truly tired, Meng Huan didn’t want to dwell on those trivial matters. Scrubbing her back was fine. He wasn’t losing out anyway.

He took the handkerchief, dipped it in the warm water in the wooden tub, and then poured it on her back…

Suddenly, Wen Zhaoyin, with her back to him, pressed the hand that had landed on her shoulder and pulled it forward, forcing him to hug her from behind with one hand across the wooden tub.

In her current state… that soft and white skin was in Meng Huan’s hand, as if it had some magical power. Even though she didn’t use much force, he just couldn’t move his hand away.

“What are you doing?”

“Come in, quickly.” Her voice was low and hoarse but not unpleasant. Instead, it made people feel restless all over when they heard it.

If Meng Huan still didn’t understand her hint, he would be truly stupid. At this moment, he also had some thoughts and did as she said without much hesitation.

Then she said again, “I don’t want to move. Sorry for the trouble.”

Oh wow, Meng Huan’s eyes lit up, and he suddenly felt very motivated.

In the half-year since coming to the female-dominant world, he had always been forced by Wen Zhaoyin, making him almost forget the feeling of taking the initiative. This time, he was actually allowed to take the lead, and he was indeed a bit excited.

“It’s no trouble at all. It’s my duty,” he said, preparing everything. Suddenly, he remembered something he hadn’t used yet. He quickly went out to get it while she was resting, feeling a little smug about his success.

With everything ready, Wen Zhaoyin opened her eyes in the cool water. The bath, along with this, had relieved some of her fatigue.

She reached for the cotton towel on the rack and wiped the water drops from her arms, glancing sideways at Meng Huan. “Somehow, I feel like something is different today.”

What’s different? Of course, it’s different there! Meng Huan felt guilty. He had wanted to throw the thing away secretly, but she woke up before he could, so he had no choice but to throw it into the water.

He knew too well her obsession with having a child. If she found out, there would definitely be consequences.

“What, what’s different?”

Wen Zhaoyin shook her head when asked, actually not sure what was different. Maybe it was just an illusion?

She casually swept her hand through the water, not expecting to grab something strange. She frowned and took it out.

“Is this… sheep intestine?”

Meng Huan felt his scalp tingle in an instant. His mind went blank, not thinking about how Wen Zhaoyin had recognized it, and instinctively tried to explain, “Ah, this water, this water is too dirty.”

“It was probably boiled in the east kitchen. I happened to make mutton soup tonight, so it probably accidentally fell into the water…”

After saying that, he wanted to slap himself twice. Wasn’t this obviously a case of ‘the guilty party filing the suit first’?

“Actually, I was just guessing.”

Wen Zhaoyin looked at the thing in her hand. Although it had been washed very clean, it still felt a bit disgusting. She frowned and threw it on the ground, then asked, “So why did you put it in the water?”

She dealt with those corrupt officials every day and had seen all kinds of people. She had interrogated countless of them. Did Meng Huan think he could lie to her? Not in a million years.

“I put it in the water. Actually, I put it in the water to… Ah, it wasn’t me who put it in the water!”

Meng Huan felt like his mouth had a mind of its own. It seemed to have its own ideas and had argued with his brain. It just couldn’t hold back and blurted out everything.

After saying that, he looked at Wen Zhaoyin and met her sharp gaze. He couldn’t even last a second before surrendering. Scary, her gaze was too scary. If someone told him right now that she was the reincarnation of a demon, he would be willing to believe it.

Seeing him suddenly fall silent and even drooping his head dejectedly, she narrowed her eyes and forcefully grabbed his chin, making him look at her.

Her gaze shifted downward as she guessed, “Perhaps, this thing was not originally in the water but had another use.”

“So, let me guess what you were trying to do. Were you trying to harm me?”

Meng Huan didn’t flinch. This guess was wrong.

“Then were you trying to harm yourself? Or were you using it to… avoid pregnancy?” Her guess sparked a realization. Looking at the thing that had just been thrown on the ground, she instantly understood its purpose.

She didn’t expect that he could come up with such a method to avoid getting pregnant. His mind was quite agile.

“You’ve really learned some tricks.”

“Not letting people have a moment’s peace.” Wen Zhaoyin applied force with her hand, and his face instantly turned white from the pinch, yet she still didn’t let go.

Meng Huan endured the pain and quickly tried to pry her iron-like claws, attempting to break free with his own strength. However, because he was in the water, he couldn’t use any force, and struggling was futile.

His face was flushed red, and his expression was slightly fierce. He glared at her and shouted, “I told you I don’t want to get pregnant! I especially don’t want to have a child! Are you deaf?”

“What gives you the right to decide if I have a child or not? Who do you think you are? If we were in modern times, I would put you in your place in a minute! Damn it, this is just a female-dominant society! What are you acting so high and mighty for?”

Wen Zhaoyin didn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘modern’, but she guessed it should be the name of a place where men had a higher status, giving him the audacity to speak such nonsense.

But the person she had sent to investigate the Meng family came back and said that Meng Huan had never left the house and had a very different personality, being a timid and cautious man.

“You’re not the real Meng Huan, are you? What’s Meng Rongyan’s purpose in sending you to me? Who’s behind her?”

Originally, she wanted to give him some face and investigate these matters privately, then quietly handle them. After all, she still wanted to be with him in the future.

But this guy was getting too arrogant. He even used these tricks to avoid having a child and played mind games with her. It was truly intolerable.

Meng Huan was startled by her question. He knew that ancient people were superstitious and often resistant to unknown things. What if Wen Zhaoyin discovered something was wrong with him and had someone deal with him?

Thinking about this, he stopped losing his temper and quickly said, “What do you mean real or fake? I am Meng Huan!”

He was very confident about this.

Wen Zhaoyin eyed him dangerously and, without a word, turned him around with his back facing her. “The real Meng Huan has a red mole between his thighs. Only the old servant who has been taking care of him knows about it. You don’t have it… do you?”

He did. He had it.

“Huh, I didn’t expect you to fabricate even such subtle details. You’re certainly not an ordinary person.”

Meng Huan felt very uncomfortable and awkward in this position. He quickly struggled, but it was still futile.

He turned his head back with reddened eyes and angrily said, “Are you crazy? I am the genuine Meng Huan! Believe it or not!”

Oh? Wen Zhaoyin carefully observed his angry expression and found no trace of pretense. She began to ponder whether he was telling the truth or just acting too well.

For a moment, calmness and agitation were displayed on their faces, showing how different they were.

Just a moment ago, they were still warmly intimate, but now they were already at odds.

Meng Huan felt uncomfortable being pressed down. After she let go, he quickly sat back on the low stool in the wooden tub to recover, his expression resentful.

He stared unblinkingly at Wen Zhaoyin, who was deep in thought, waiting for her to say something.

“Forget it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t say it. I will find out sooner or later. This matter is not urgent. You can… reflect on your actions in this room for now.” She suddenly stood up, stepped out of the wooden tub, put on her robe, and walked towards the door without another word.

At the same time, after she walked out, the sound of a lock that had not been heard for a long time came from outside the door, piercing Meng Huan’s ears.

She had locked him up again.