Chapter 19 - Returning Home (1/2)
“Eldest Brother, let me hold her for a while, okay?” Yun Shi Wei looked on enviously. Not waiting for Yun Shi Yi to agree, he extended his hand and pulled Ruan Zhu over. Embracing her delicate frame that was both fragrant and soft, his heart was filled with a happiness that couldn’t be lessened. Foolishly laughing, he mused: “I just find it odd how there is such a large disparity between a male’s body and a female’s body. Cuddling such a soft and warm body is so comfortable.”
Yun Shi Yi looked at how the beautiful woman in his embrace had been stolen away and felt a sense of loss. He immediately thought that blood-related brothers sharing a wife was the worst kind of thing to occur. If it was another secondary husband that dared to supersede him, he could still utilize the household laws, but the same could not be said with full brothers.
Yun Shi Wei hugged Ruan Zhu, but that wasn’t all as his large hands were also roaming around her body. Arriving at her chest, they immediately pinched and kneaded her fullness through her clothes. He said lecherously: “Spouse, this area is so wonderful. Touching it makes me feel as light a a feather.”
This hothead! Ruan Zhu’s face was filled with black lines.[a] Her chest that was being randomly groped by him was somewhat painful as he didn’t quite know how to control his strength. Even so, she didn’t really mind. However, they were currently in the carriage and although there weren’t any outsiders watching, it was still not that appropriate. She looked at Yun Shi Yi with cries for help apparent in her eyes.
The latter nodded and stretching out his hand, seized her back into his arms.
“We’re still in the carriage, you impatient baby with no discipline. Whose family’s concubine is like you, undisciplined and out of control? If it wasn’t that you were my brother, I would have sent you to kneel in the ancestral hall without question.”
Yun Shi Wei had been admonished and wasn’t convinced by his reasoning. He grumbled: “I thought there was no one watching?”
At this time, the carriage had already entered the street where the Yun residence was located and from the outside came Xiao Shan’s voice: “Eldest Young Master, Eldest Lady, we have arrived at the residence.”
When the carriage came to a stop, Yun Shi Yi exited by stepping on the stone stepping block outside of the carriage door. Immediately, a group of men that looked like merchants surrounded him, all of them bearing smiles and exchanging conventional greetings.
上/下马石 | Stone stepping blocks used to get on/off a carriage
“Head Yun, you are finally back. Us brothers have been trying to call upon you these past few days.”
“This is good. With Head Yun’s return, business can be conducted well.”
“That’s right. Us little ones do not dare to make the decisions.”
“Is there a matter?” Yun Shi Yi faintly glanced at them. Raising his arms, he lifted Ruan Zhu down from the carriage door and softly said to her: “Go back to rest in the residence. I still have some matters to handle, so I’ll accompany you when I return tonight.”
Ruan Zhu looked at those men before turning back to him with a smile in her eyes: “Then you pay attention to your health.”
At last, Yun Shi Wei had obtained a period where he could be alone with his wife. So happy as if he was crazy, he waved his hand toward his brother: “Eldest Brother, rest assured. If something happens, Younger Brother will handle it on your behalf. Just hand over Wife for me to take care, so feel free to relax even a hundred hearts.”
As Yun Shi Yi left with that group of people, sporadic sounds of their conversation entered Ruan Zhu’s ears: “Head, the batch of wood that we had imported from the south has met with an incident in Feng Zhou……” Ruan Zhu’s footsteps halted, but those people had already gone far and the sounds of their conversation gradually reduced to silence.
Yun Shi Wei went to order the servants to unload the goods that they had brought from Yun manor. One by one, the chests were transported inside the residence. In a while when everything was unloaded, the servants would then drive the carriage through a side door to the courtyard where miscellaneous goods were loaded.
She watched for a spell but found it dull. Lifting her skirt, she entered through the main entrance and went to the Yaoguang Courtyard that she shared with Yun Shi Yi. Nuan Chun and Nuan Qing had long received news of their arrival and ran over to welcome their master. Entering the main room, they attended to their Mistress.
Ruan Zhu was used to bathing regularly thus ordered them to prepare bath water. But when she walked into the bathroom, she saw the two of them standing by the tub with a towel wrapped around their waists while their upper half was naked, exposing their bright and clean skin. She was struck dumb for a moment–This was them waiting to serve her during her bath, right? It had to be.
A female’s personal servants even had to wait upon them during a bath. Was it possible they had taken some advantages with her body? But that shouldn’t be the case. From the way her two hubbies’ have behaved, her first time should have been on the day she got married.
Ruan Zhu had only draped a thin robe around her and was wearing nothing inside. She felt really embarrassed. Grasping tightly to her lapel to prevent any springtime scenes from being revealed, she used the most tranquil tone she could muster: “You can both leave, I want to bathe alone.”
Nuan Chun and Nuan Qing had been with their small Master for multiple years now and the feelings between them were not ordinary. They didn’t understand why their Miss started treating them so coldly after getting married. Feeling distressed, the two of them fell to their knees to kowtow.
Ruan Zhu was shocked: “What is this? I am not punishing the two of you–the thought of using a plank or having you face the wall never crossed my mind. Why kneel when everything is perfectly fine? Is it that the two of you find kowtowing to be fascinating?”
She would not eat this pair. Even though she liked pretty boys, she had her own principles when doing things. It wasn’t as if she had crossed over into A Step into the Past and become Xiao Shao Long, who wasn’t choosy when meeting someone of the opposite sex.[b]
Nuan Chun was choked with emotion: “This little one knows his status is low, but serving Miss all of these years is as sweet as syrup[c]. But nowadays, Miss has Masters and has no need for us little ones. But is it possible……” His heart felt painful and tears flowed downwards.
“Is it possible what?”
Nuan Chun was crying so hard he couldn’t answer. Kneeling by his side was Nuan Qing, whose eyes were also moist. Kowtowing, he replied: “Begging Miss to not ignore us little ones and to not send us away. This little one will spare no effort to carefully attend to Miss and absolutely will not dare to be disloyal.”
Ruan Zhu felt as if she was going mad. She merely didn’t want men to service her while she was bathing. How had it become this complicated? She wasn’t Yun Shi Yi, who could silence all disrespectful servants with one glance. She was a civilized person from the twenty-first century that carefully paid attention to equality for all. The collision of these two ways of thinking from these different space-times really could kill someone. She sighed. If her dad was Li Gang, then all would be well. Even if someone was killed, the whole country wouldn’t care.[d]
Her face stiff, she said: “If I tell you to withdraw, you should do it. What is with all of this?” In her mind she was thinking, how about when scolding, she should be like Yun Shi Wei and add another phrase ‘absolutely disgraceful thing’?
“This little one will obey.” Nuan Chun cried out suddenly, knocking his head on the floor twice. Picking up his clothes, he walked behind the screen and carelessly dressed before pushing the door open and rushing out.
But Nuan Qing remained kneeling on the ground without moving, a desire to speak once again present in the eyes he directed towards his master.
“Do you still have a matter?” Ruan Zhu understandingly asked. Actually, asking this was to give him some face and the meaning was that if it wasn’t important, he could take a hike.
“Ever since Miss went to the Yun family’s manor for the parental visit, this little one has not taken a bath. These few days, the weather has been exceptionally hot so an unpleasant smell is on this little one’s body. This little one’s status is originally low so washing or not washing is not an important matter but this little one is afraid Miss will blame……”
“Stop. What do you really want to say?” Ruan Zhu was unable to make heads or tails of it. If he wanted to wash, then he should go wash. Don’t tell her he wanted to bathe with her like a pair of mandarin ducks? Preposterous.
“Begging Miss to bestow the key.”
Key? Ruan Zhu felt that she didn’t understand the situation even more. She had taken his key?
“It is the chastity belt’s key.” Nuan Qing flushed red and replied in a low voice.
Ruan Zhu finally understood everything. In this era, if a male had a master, the majority of them would have their private place locked up in a chastity belt. This was to prevent them from having an affair and the key was usually kept by either their master or their father.
Chastity belts are forged with fine metal sheets, and if one looks closely, one can see gold ornaments embedded on the belt. Exactly in the middle of the bottom portion, there is a cap, under which is a hole left open for excreting liquids. The entire belt was meant to be tightly strapped around the body, with a strap between the legs. Suspended from a hoop on the waist was a lock that required a specific key to open. However, this type of belt was used by the aristocracy.
The poor common people usually used leather, sheepskin, or rabbit hide, which are all cheaply priced.
Ordinarily, the belt could only be taken off when bathing and must be immediately worn again once finished. Only when males had married could their new wife then personally remove the belt for good. But, there were some wives that even demanded their husbands to put on the belts after sexual intercourse to guard against them potentially cheating or relieving themselves. If a man was unlucky, it could be said that his chastity belt would accompany him for a lifetime.
“Aren’t you in charge of all my things? I also don’t remember where the keys are. You can just go look for it in the chests!” Although some memories and information from the original owner existed in her mind, it wasn’t comprehensive. From where was she supposed to find his key?
“Understood.”
Having agreed, Nuan Qing went behind the screen and properly put on his clothes before coming back out. As he was intending to leave in search of his key, he was once again halted by Ruan Zhu: “Wait. Also look for Nuan Chun’s key and give it to him. After you two have finished washing, you don’t need to return it. The two of you can just look after them yourselves. Wouldn’t it be more convenient the next time you want to bathe?” From this point on, they would have to comfort themselves by masturbating or by frantically using an inflatable doll. Either way, none of that had to do with her.
Ruan Zhu had used the softest voice she could, but had still terribly injured this loyal and devoted servant. His eyes at once overflowed, tears dripping one by one: “This little one understands. May Master be at ease.”