Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 597 Sharing a Room with Yu Shuang (6500 words)
The weather was actually quite nice today; the sky was clear during the day and the stars twinkled at night.

The hazy moonlight spilled over the house, as if draping the courtyard in a light veil. Some moonlight filtered through the window paper into the house, and amidst the swirling steam, a graceful, milky-white figure could be seen in the bathtub.

Song Yan's body stiffened slightly.

Because of the steam, it was difficult to see the other person's appearance clearly. All that could be seen was that the person was leaning against the bathtub, with their cloud-like hair hanging down along the edge of the tub, almost touching the ground.

Crash, crash...

Occasionally, her slender hand would lift up, her fingertips gently wiping her delicate skin, creating a soft, clear sound of water.

Gudong.

Song Yan secretly swallowed.

Although she had not yet seen the other person's face, it was just this hazy figure and these gentle, soothing yet uniquely charming movements that made Song Yan inexplicably feel that the other person must be a beauty of unparalleled grace.

It is said that a beautiful woman emerging from a bath is a rare sight in the world, and in fact, a beautiful woman entering a bath is just as beautiful.

What is this?
Song Yan had already anticipated that Hong Qidong would arrange for maids to serve him; almost all wealthy families had such a rule. But wouldn't this arrangement be a bit too stimulating?
Whether it was because the "Hundred Flowers Mirror" had improved recently, or because the golden kidney had not been released for a long time, in a hazy state, Song Yan felt that the woman in the bathtub seemed to be becoming more and more beautiful, and even the heartbeat in his chest couldn't help but speed up a little.

Wow.

The sound of water came again, this time from the woman in the bathtub. She had already raised one of her long, shapely legs, her delicate hands gently kneading her calf, as if to relieve her long-term fatigue.

It's hazy, I can't see clearly, but the more hazy it is, the more my heart flutters.

Song Yan couldn't help but feel a little doubtful. This woman was definitely not an ordinary maid. Could she be Hong Qidong's concubine? There was such a custom in this world. Some wealthy families would have concubines accompany their distinguished guests, or even sleep with them, in order to show respect for the honored guests.

It was truly unexpected that the Prince of Yan would one day enjoy such feudal dregs... Slowly exhaling, Song Yan slowly retreated. Although there were rumors that he had a penchant for married women, especially widows, it felt strange that he would inexplicably enjoy pleasure with other men's wives and concubines. He didn't lack women, so there was no need for him to do such a thing.

"Oh, is that Miss Chunxiang?" Just then, the woman in the bathtub suddenly spoke with some suspicion: "Why are you leaving again? Is there no more hot water?"

Song Yan couldn't help but tremble slightly, and then felt a buzzing in his mind.

This unique clip sound.

Could the woman bathing in the tub be Yu Shuang?

Did he accidentally stumble into the room that Hong Qidong had arranged for Yu Shuang?

Moreover, judging from Yu Shuang's words, perhaps Yu Shuang had already sensed his presence as soon as he arrived at the door, but simply regarded him as a maidservant.

Even though Song Yan had experienced many ups and downs in her life, she had never encountered such a scene before. For a moment, she really didn't know how to deal with it. Perhaps she should turn around and leave, pretending that nothing had happened? That wouldn't work. Once the real Chunxiang came, Yu Shuang would ask and she would definitely be exposed. If Yu Shuang knew that a stranger had suddenly broken in while she was bathing, it might leave her with a lifelong trauma.

Well, since it has already happened, there's no point in continuing to cover it up.

Thinking this, Song Yan coughed lightly: "Ahem, it's me!"

The sound of water suddenly stopped.

Inside the bathtub, her beautiful body suddenly stiffened, as if she had been frozen in place. After a few breaths, Yu Shuang silently reached out her jade hand, grabbed the towel draped beside the bathtub, covered her chest, and then slowly sank her entire body down.

Her cloud-like hair slid slowly down the edge of the bathtub, spreading out like duckweed on the water.

Her charming little face was flushed red at this moment, whether from embarrassment or from being scalded by the warm water in the bathtub, it was hard to tell.

"Song Yan, how could it be you?" After an unknown amount of time, Yu Shuang finally spoke again. She tried her best to appear calm, but her slightly trembling voice still betrayed her.

"Sorry." Song Yan scratched her head. "Hong Qidong said he would arrange a room here for me, but I didn't expect you to be here too. Maybe I came to the wrong place. I'll go out now."

"Wait a moment."

Just as Song Yan was about to leave, Yu Shuang spoke again.

Yu Shuang didn't know why she had tried to persuade him to stay; she was even a little confused about her own feelings.

In her eyes, Song Yan was somewhat complicated.

She grew up in Yunhai Mountain, where all her senior brothers and masters lived.

There was only one girl on the entire mountain, so naturally she was very pampered. No one wanted Yunhai Mountain's precious darling to be bullied or kidnapped. Therefore, the senior brothers often instilled some terrible ideas in Yushuang, such as that the men down the mountain were all tigers and would definitely devour a little girl like her. Whenever they talked about this, little Yushuang would turn pale with fear.

Although Yu Shuang's strength continued to increase, and after she single-handedly killed a giant tiger at the age of thirteen, her fear of tigers gradually dissipated, she still had an instinctive aversion to the other men down the mountain. Even the three Luo brothers, Yu Shuang was quite indifferent to them at first, but as she spent more time with the Luo family and learned that the three brothers were not the kind of people with evil intentions, she gradually became familiar with them.

However, Song Yan is quite different.

Yu Shuang wasn't quite sure what was going on. When she first saw Song Yan, she didn't feel any particular liking for him, but it wasn't the innate aversion she felt towards other men. As she spent more time with him, she vaguely sensed that there was something unseen and intangible about Song Yan that drew her closer, to explore, and to peel back the layers of pretense to uncover the secrets hidden within.

This time, although Song Yan's methods were a bit extreme, the two troublemakers, Chen Yuntian and Chen Mingzhe, were ultimately resolved.

In my heart, I probably did develop a little bit of goodwill.

Yu Shuang didn't quite know what it felt like to like someone.

Somewhat curious.

Luo Yuheng, Luo Tianxuan, and Luo Tianyi are all people she knows very well. Whenever the three of them mention Song Yan in front of her, she can see the big happy smiles on their faces.

Those eyes made her a little envious, and she couldn't help but feel a desire to experience that feeling.

Since I've developed feelings for Song Yan, why not give it a try? If one day I can smile like Yuheng and the others, then I'll probably really like Song Yan. If not, then I've made a mistake, and I can just leave then.

Yu Shuang was also a straightforward and decisive person, unlike ordinary women who were hesitant and timid.

However, having never experienced anything like this before, Yu Shuang was at a loss for what to do. Yu Heng, Tian Xuan, and Tian Yi were all going to consummate their marriages with Song Yan. Could it be that she could just sleep in the same bed with Song Yan and that would be enough?

Although Yu Shuang was not stupid, the Yunhai Mountain was full of men, and no one had ever taught her about matters between men and women... Even if they wanted to teach her, those men who had been single for decades probably didn't know much about it themselves.

Even after leaving the mountain, he mostly stayed by Luo Tianxuan's side and rarely talked about private matters between men and women.

In other words, Yu Shuang may not be a complete novice when it comes to matters of love and sex, but she's not much better off.

As for the Hehuan Sect, Yu Shuang had only heard some of it from Master Yunhai. She knew that the Hehuan Sect was a place that harbored filth and corruption, but she didn't know exactly how it did.

"Ok?"

Song Yan hummed in agreement.

Yu Shuang, who was lost in her own world, finally came back to her senses and felt her cheeks burning. She pursed her lips and said, "Well, although Magistrate Hong's mansion is not small, it doesn't have many rooms. In the backyard, besides the bedrooms of himself, his wife, and his two concubines, there are only two guest rooms."

"The other guest room is occupied by Qingluan."

"If you go out now, I'm afraid you'll have nowhere to go."

Since we don't know what to do, let's just leave Song Yan here for now.

“Well, there are always inns in the county town,” Song Yan replied softly.

"The rooms in the inns, and even the rooms in some wealthy families, have all been taken out to house tens of thousands of soldiers." Yu Shuang's voice was somewhat helpless: "Huangqiao County is, after all, just a small county with a population of less than 30,000. Even some ordinary people in the county who have empty rooms in their homes have been conscripted by Magistrate Hong."

"It's not an easy task to settle 10,000 soldiers in a small county town."

Song Yan's expression froze slightly.

In summer, soldiers could simply find an open space, set up a tent, and get through the winter. But now it's winter, and people might die.

“It’s freezing outside right now, and you’re only an eighth-rank cultivator. You don’t have the strength to ignore the outside temperature. Going out in the cold all night like this will probably make you sick.” Yu Shuang’s voice seemed to carry a hint of struggle. She didn’t understand what was wrong with her and felt like she was racking her brains for an excuse. She pursed her lips and finally mustered all her courage: “Why don’t you sleep in this room tonight? It’s better than freezing outside.”

Song Yan let out a surprised "Eh?" and looked up at Yu Shuang with some astonishment. Then, remembering that Yu Shuang was still soaking in the bath, he quickly looked away: "Isn't this inappropriate? It will damage Miss Yu Shuang's reputation."

Yu Shuang was surprised to hear such a reply and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "I've already said so, and you're still being so fussy. Are you even a man? At worst, we can just sleep fully clothed. We, the people of the martial world, don't need to care about these things."

"Besides, you're still the man I've chosen in name, so there's nothing wrong with sleeping together, right?" Yu Shuang rambled on, not knowing whether she was explaining to Song Yan or to herself: "You may not know, but my master has some mental issues. He's determined to marry me off. Even if you hugged me this afternoon, he might not believe it, and he might even sneak back at night."

“If we reveal any flaws, I might be captured by that old man again.”

Reputation?

You held me in your arms all this time, and you never seemed to consider my reputation.

Hmph, hypocrite.

Song Yan was taken aback, then chuckled. That Master Yunhai didn't seem like the kind of unreliable person. He shouldn't be doing something like peeking through a door crack in the middle of the night, right?
However, since things had already come to this point, if he continued to hesitate, he would truly be looked down upon. He leisurely walked to the bedside and sat down. The bed was quite spacious, enough to comfortably sleep two people, or even two more.

The sound of rushing water continued. Yu Shuang quickly cleaned herself up, then glanced at Song Yan and saw that he had turned his back to her. She then stepped out of the bathtub, dried herself off, and changed into a new dress.

Then he took out two brand-new cotton quilts from the cupboard and spread them out into two quilt tubes.

Then I crawled into the one inside, my plump body turning into a worm, pupa-like as I crawled inside.

Yunhai Mountain is very poor.

From childhood, Yu Shuang's bed was never covered with cotton mattresses, but with a thick layer of straw, and she was covered with a thin quilt. In addition, Yunhai Mountain was very high and cold, so Yu Shuang developed the habit of spreading the quilt into a tube shape when she was very young, so that she would be warmer and more comfortable to sleep in. Even when she lived in the Luo family, she maintained this habit.

As for sleeping in the same bed with Song Yan, Yu Shuang had never even considered such a thing.

joke.

That's the bed.

It was a place that no one could violate or touch, not even the man she had her eye on.

Looking at Yu Shuang, who was facing away from him and had curled up, Song Yan was somewhat taken aback. Even though he thought he was good at judging people, he was still puzzled by Yu Shuang's actions. It was as if Yu Shuang wanted him to stay just to take a nap... the simple kind.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Upon opening the door, they saw a girl dressed as a maid standing outside, about fifteen or sixteen years old. This must be Chunxiang, whom Yushuang had mentioned earlier. She was carrying a bucket of hot water, and a few beads of sweat still clung to her nose.

Chunxiang had no doubts about Song Yan's presence in the room, clearly having received some prior instructions. However, upon seeing the King of Hell, a figure widely known throughout Pingyang Prefecture, she couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive, and her originally rosy cheeks turned pale.

The prince is a good man who protects the people and the region. Since the prince arrived in Pingyang, Pingyang Prefecture has never suffered from the burning, killing, and looting of Japanese pirates and Jurchens.

The people of Pingyang Prefecture are all grateful for the Prince's kindness.

But the reputation of the Jingguan Madman was indeed somewhat frightening, especially for a little girl like her. Just seeing Song Yan made her feel as if she could see the murderous aura emanating from him.

Song Yan didn't bother arguing with a little maid. He took the bucket of water, waved his hand, and let the maid leave.

After spending several days at sea, Song Yan felt sticky and uncomfortable all over, and really wanted to take a good bath. However, when she looked at the bathtub and remembered the beads of sweat on the little maid's nose, she was too embarrassed to call Chunxiang back. She pursed her lips and casually added the hot water in her hand.

She took off her clothes, crawled into the tub, and let the swaying water gradually wash away the mud and grime on her body. In a daze, she felt as if the fatigue of the past few days had vanished in an instant. The comfortable feeling made Song Yan unable to help but let out a groan.

After Song Yan finished washing up and changed into a new set of clothes prepared by Hong Qidong, she casually waved her hand, and the room was plunged into darkness.

He groped his way to the bedside, crawled into the covers, and found Yu Shuang lying motionless inside, seemingly asleep.

This was the first time Song Yan had encountered such a strange scene. She smiled silently, then closed her eyes to prepare for sleep.

Just then, Yu Shuang's distinctive, slightly shrill voice came from the side: "Hello?"

"Hmm?" Song Yan hummed in response, her eyes closed.

A brief silence followed.

"We were pretending, weren't we?"

"of course."

Song Yan answered readily, then subconsciously touched his waist. There were already several demons in the house; if another one came, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to handle it.

"How long are we going to keep up this pretense?"

"Pretend until you feel you no longer need me as a shield, then we'll find an excuse to have a big fight and tell everyone we're breaking up."

"Oh."

Silence fell again in the bedroom.

Yu Shuang wasn't very sleepy.

Yu Songyan stared wide-eyed out of sight.

After an unknown amount of time, Yu Shuang seemed to want to say something more, but she could already hear Song Yan's slightly heavy snoring.

It is said that men snore when they are very tired.

It seems he's really exhausted.

It's a bit noisy, but it inexplicably makes me feel at ease.

Yu Shuang's lips curled up slightly, and she slowly closed her eyes, her small hands gently gripping the blanket, which was quite warm.

……

As night fell, the slight warmth that had lingered during the day quickly turned cold.

A slight chill filled the air, making the bright moonlight in the sky appear even colder.

The residence of Magistrate Hong Qidong in Huangqiao County.

A figure stood quietly on a rooftop, brows furrowed.

It was a man, a white-haired man with a youthful face, with a whisk draped over his arm. The night wind swirled the whisk, and from a distance, he truly gave off an air of otherworldly elegance.

The old man exhaled a breath of cold air, his dignified brows furrowed with helplessness.
"This girl is really trying to fool this old man."

"Hey, the girl has grown up and has her own ideas now. She even dares to call this old man crazy."

"However, this girl is probably already caught up in it without even realizing it."

His tone was somewhat forlorn.

He mumbled softly, and if someone familiar with him saw him, they would be quite surprised. This was no grandmaster or Yunhai Zhenren at all; he was simply an old man who missed his daughter.

Then he looked gloomy again.

Yunhai Mountain is full of rough men, unlike the wealthy families down the mountain who have matrons to teach their young ladies about matters of the heart. Yu Shuang is completely clueless in this regard, and if things continue like this, she'll probably be the one who gets hurt in the end. We still need to think of a way. If all else fails, we can go to some wealthy families and steal... borrow some picture books about bedroom matters. With Yu Shuang's intelligence, she'll probably understand after just a few glances.

Then Master Yunhai suddenly began to mutter through gritted teeth:

"Yu Shuang is completely clueless. Could it be that His Highness the Prince of Yan is also clueless? They're already lying together, and he's really just lying there sleeping?"

"Isn't everyone saying that His Highness the Prince of Yan is a lecherous fiend who doesn't spare any married women or widows? How come he's so well-behaved now? How can you sleep like this?"

"Could it be that you look down on my Yu Shuang?"

He spoke with considerable dissatisfaction in a low voice.

Master Yunhai was indeed determined to marry Yushuang off. After all, he and Yushuang's fellow disciples on Yunhai Mountain could stay with her for the first half of her life, but not forever. Ultimately, Yushuang needed to find someone she could entrust her life to.

Perhaps the Prince of Yan would be a good match for him.

He might have a hidden illness and therefore not be considered a real man.

Well then, since she's the one Yu Shuang has taken a liking to, she'll just send over a copy of the medicine that Yun Hai Shan has treasured, a medicine that supposedly can restore a eunuch's virility. That will be Yun Hai Shan's dowry.

As for practicing the Yunhai Mountain Kung Fu, one must sever emotions and desires.
Shit.

There is indeed such a rule in the Yunhai Mountain's inherited cultivation methods, but Master Yunhai is the one who least follows it.

Cultivating the Tao means following one's nature; what kind of Tao is it if one severs emotions and desires?

Therefore, he became a grandmaster!
……

It's still Huangqiao County.

In a restaurant, Hong Qidong, who had left earlier, along with a dozen or so local gentry and wealthy men, were all gathered.

When we entertained the Prince of Yan before, although there was a table full of delicious food, with the Jingguan Madman in front of us, no one dared to be presumptuous. They all acted like demure young ladies, only daring to pick up a little bit of food with their chopsticks, for fear that their actions would be too rude and that they might inadvertently displease the prince.

Therefore, even after eating for half an afternoon, my stomach was still empty.

Nowadays, with good wine and food served, and everyone being familiar and hungry, people don't care about formalities. They devour the food like a whirlwind, leaving only empty plates on the table.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Hong Qidong cleared his throat, stood up, and glanced at everyone present: "Gentlemen, I have invited you all here tonight because I, the magistrate, intend to join forces with you gentlemen to pull off a big heist!"

……

Pingyang City.

Prince Yan's Mansion.

It's quiet.

Only the occasional whispers could be heard from the backyard.

In the bedroom, Luo Yuheng was holding a baby girl in his arms and breastfeeding her. His once delicate face had become somewhat haggard after just a few days.

The swelling on her face gradually subsided, but the area around her eyes was bluish-gray, indicating that she hadn't slept well for several days. This was unavoidable; the baby had only been born a few days prior, a time when she needed constant care, needing to be fed almost every one or two hours, so Luo Yuheng probably didn't have much time to rest.

In fact, raising children was not a difficult task for the ladies of wealthy families. They would hire wet nurses and several or even dozens of maids and servants to help take care of the children, ensuring that the children would not be mistreated in the slightest.

Ke Luoyuheng was a little different from others; she still felt that the child she had personally breastfed and raised would be closer to her in the future.

Fortunately, Luo Yuheng has two personalities within him; otherwise, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand it.

At this moment, it was Luo Yuheng No. 2 who was controlling this body. Looking at the little baby in his arms, Luo Yuheng No. 2 had a gentle smile on his face.

In just a few days, the two little ones' faces have become much rounder and are no longer as wrinkled as before.

My daughter looks more like me, with a pair of big, dark eyes.

The son resembles Song Yan more; he will definitely grow up to be an exceptionally handsome young man.

Luo Tianyi sat beside him, holding her younger brother in her arms. This dignified ninth-rank martial artist was stiff at this moment, afraid that if she didn't hold him properly, she would drop or hurt the child, which would be a great sin. However, looking at the rosy little face, Luo Tianyi couldn't help but quietly reach out a hand and gently poke the tender cheek.

A small pit appeared on her face.

As soon as you remove your finger, the small dent immediately returns to its original state.

Poke it, move it away, poke it, move it away...

It's like finding a fun toy, and they're having a blast playing with it.

It wasn't until Luo Yuheng's voice suddenly came from behind that Luo Tianyi hurriedly stopped what she was doing, feeling a bit guilty.

"You mean, both Yu Shuang and Qing Luan have taken a liking to your brother-in-law?"

(End of this chapter)