Chapter 98

“He has seen me before? Then why do I not know about it?” Ruan Zhu searched and searched her brain but did not remember someone called Mister Wang.

“You are this dumb and your memory is also bad beyond reason. It would be a wonder if you knew about it. And there is only me that is utterly out of luck to be taken in as your concubine. If it was any other person, how pathetic would they have it, hmm?” Zong Zhi shook his head, pity apparent in his eyes: “I have told him that he must treat such a big matter as marriage cautiously and carefully as taking a wife is by no means the same as practicing a skill. But he is just a stubborn one. Wife, how could there be such a stupid man?”

Ruan Zhu angrily stared at her wisecracking husband, thinking about how she should punish him.

Zong Zhi pressed a kiss against his daughter’s rosy face: “Xiao Ya, you must not learn from your dummy Ma. Learn from Papa; see how Papa is so clever?”

Ruan Zhu stood up from the stone platform and walked in front of him, pulling Bo Ya from his arms: “Xiao Ya, be good. Ma will take you to have a nap. Don’t pay any attention to your perverted Papa.” Hugging her daughter, she headed towards Yi Zhu Cottage.

“Wife, you wish to flee as you cannot win with words?”

“When did that happen?” Ruan Zhu exclaimed as she walked: “The lagging flowers intentionally pursue the flowing water, yet the flowing water has no intention of becoming attached to the falling flowers. My heart faces the moon but how could the moon illuminate a moat? There are that many senseless men in the world. Lord, Zhu’er, is powerless. Don’t come over tonight; I’ll go accompany Nuan Chun.”

“Ai, Wife, sure enough, you memory is truly terrible. My three days are not over yet, hmm?”

What came in response was the sound of footsteps gradually growing further away.

Zong Zhi mumbled to himself: “Wife created yet another good poem. I must recite it and show it to Emperor-Father tomorrow during morning court.” Thinking about how his wife could increase her reputation again, his eyes overflowed with pride.

After Ruan Zhu coaxed Bo Ya to sleep, she stepped out of Yi Zhu Cottage. Taking Nuan Chun with her out of Guan Ju Villa, she spent the entire afternoon at her high-tech demonstration field.

With regards to agriculture, she was also adept in this field and had spent an enormous sum to invite agricultural experts from all over the country. Using her own knowledge to guide them, they had already achieved pretty good results from after experimenting once last year and again this year.

One of this era’s fields could produce approximately one dan or perhaps even two dan of foodstuffs–this was precisely one to two hundred catties.

With the rice seeds that she had modified, it was possible to harvest three dan of foodstuffs from one field that had been planted last autumn. However, this still wasn’t enough. A single field in modern China could produce sixteen hundred catties of food but she would be satisfied with only half of that output.

The experts that she had invited were all farmers that had been planting for the greater majority of their lives. They had never heard that combining different types of seeds in one field where there was no arrangement of where pairs were planted could increase the yield. But after obtaining a pretty good result from last year’s experiment, they strove to work even harder with the desire of increasing the output further by this coming autumn.

“Our country’s fields have an output of approximately one to two dan and on average, three paddies can support one person. If a household has ten mouths, then that would require thirty fields. But for the majority of the poor commoners, where would that much arable land come from? If all of the civilians were able to plant exceptionally good rice types, then the yield will suddenly become several times that. Think about it, what should be done in this case?”

“Ten paddies. A household with ten mouths only requires ten paddies of rice.”

“This child can certainly be taught.” Ruan Zhu pat Wang Jing Yan’s shoulders and gave an encouraging smile: “Do this properly. After you have done so, I will gift you fifty fields for you to go home and take a wife with.”

“I will not go home and take a wife.” Wang Jing Yan indifferently replied thus as he looked at that dainty hand atop his shoulders, a mysterious look flashing by in his eyes.

“All right, ah. Then which maiden have you come to respect and admire? Tell me, I can act as your matchmaker.”

Wang Jing Yan did not respond while his clear eyes flickered.

Ruan Zhu left his side. Looking at the lush and green rice paddies that stretched before her with the start unable to be seen, a sense of accomplishment filled her entire heart.

Close to night, she led Nuan Chun as they rode a carriage away from the high-tech experimental field and towards Guan Ju Villa.

Ruan Zhu sank into the soft cushion, reclining against Nuan Chun’s shoulder. Her two eyes were slightly closed as she sank into deep thought.

The first time she had met Wang Jing Yan, she had felt that there was something familiar about the man.

But Wang Jing Yan’s appearance was truly average. Not mentioning how his skin was yellow like wax, there was even a beard on his face that covered most of his cheeks so that even his lips weren’t clearly visible. This sort of appearance, don’t talk about someone like her whose memory was no good, perhaps even his own biological parents may not recognize him.

Nuan Chun tenderly gazed at his young master, showing an incomparably sincerity in the feelings between a man and a woman. He believed she had already fallen asleep so pulled a cloak over her, then thinking for a moment, lowered his head to press a kiss against her cheek.

Ruan Zhu opened her eyes, revealing a hint of humor.

Nuan Chun hadn’t thought she was pretending to sleep and the base of his ears flushed a deep red while he mumbled indistinctly, unable to form words.

Ruan Zhu flippd her hands over to wrap them around his neck while she pushed her lips forward……When the two mouths touched, he immediately became dumb. It was the act that he had longed for countless times in the past but when the opportunity finally arose, he suddenly was at a complete loss. There was nowhere to place his hands and he spread them open, not knowing what was best to do.

“Nuan Chun, hold me tight.” She lowly murmured, afraid the coachman outside would hear.

“Ye…….Yes…….Eldest Miss…….”

Nuan Chun tightened his hold on the warm and delicate body. Feeling the tip of her tongue tracing the shape of his mouth, he couldn’t resist opening his lips to suck on that tongue and its sweet frgrance.

While Ruan Zhu responded to him, one of her hands continued to roam around his body……Oh? His chest was quite broad and his pecs were firm–not bad. Since the year before last when she had urged him to strengthen his body, his figure has only become more muscular. Hehe……she liked strong men.

Her hand stretched inside his trousers. Feeling thin, gold chains, she couldn’t help but to frown: “Nuan Chun, didn’t I tell you to stop wearing chastity belts? Why did you not listen?”

Nuan Chun whispered with a red face: “It must be undone on my wedding night and only my wife can remove it. Now is not allowed.”

Ruan Zhu gave a tyrannical/overbearing order: “Remove it tonight and then go bathe. Wait for me on the bed.” Once the words left her mouth, her face immediately flushed. What the hell was this–it was like she was a lewd woman whose desires remained unsatisfied.

Nuan Chun let his head droop all the way down. The eyes that she couldn’t see were filled with a pleasant surprise.

Ruan Zhu was destined to eat her words because right when they reached Guan Ju Villa, Zong Zhi pulled her entirely into his arms and strode towards Yi Zhu Cottage with large steps.

Nuan Chun looked at the picture of the two people and desolately headed towards his own residence.

“Hey! Big Brother Lu, you can’t be this unreasonable! There’s already been an agreement and I want to accompany Nuan Chun tonight.”

“Wife, you are the one being unreasonable for it was clearly scheduled that today was my day to accompany you.”

Ruan Zhu knew that this topic would not be resolved and changed the subject: “Where’s Min Zhi? Why don’t I see him?”

“He will be a little late. A Tuyuhun[a] emissary has arrived and he is currently preparing to receive him. Emperor-Father’s grand fiftieth birthday celebration is in this year’s tenth lunar month and many kingdoms have sent envoys with gifts. I am afraid that only Min Zhi can handle the work.”

Presently, it was already the eighth lunar month so there was still over a month between now and the emperor’s grand celebration. A hundred or so foreign diplomats arrived one after the other and the process of receiving them was extremely complicated and tedious. As a young official of the Hong Lu Temple, Min Zhi was forced to become busy.

“Wife, what should we send for Emperor-Father’s birthday celebration?”

The emperor was as rich as the four seas and did not lack in anything. When sending a gift, it would of course be best if it had meaning.

Ruan Zhu rested her chin in her hand as she deeply pondered the question. Lifting her eyes, she suggested: “In every dynasty throughout history, the common people having enough to eat has always been a big issue as trouble will arise if they are left to go hungry. The rebels at the southern border gathered together to revolt precisely because of the influence of the large drought. If there was enough food, then that sort of situation wouldn’t happen at all. Big Brother Lu, what do you think of gifting Emperor-Father rice seeds that can produce four dan of rice per one paddy?”

Zong Zhi had long known of his wife’s new hobby. He hadn’t been that confident in the idea in the beginning as no one had ever attempted something like this before in history. Rice seeds were objects that the Heavens had bestowed and one should follow the proper way to plant it as no matter how one threw the seeds into the ground, they would still sprout after a long time and be considered food. How could an artificially created rice seed be able to increase the yield?

But she had done it. Last autumn, she had been able to obtain over three dan worth from one paddy and achieving four dan per field this year may not be the ravings of a lunatic.

“Wife, I believe in your skill as you have surprised me so many times before.”

After the evening meal, Zong Zhi played with the three children for a while and then coaxed them to sleep. When he returned to Yi Zhu Cottage, Xing Yun passed a message saying niangniang was currently bathing and had even instructed Nuan Chun to enter.

Entering the white marble bathroom, Zong Zhi saw his wife sitting inside the pool with her eyes closed in rest while swirls of steam floated around her. The exquisite female was reflected on top of the warm water, showing off her dainty features.

He shed his clothes and strode inside the pool, and with a lift of his arm, pulled his wife against his chest.

“Eh? Big Brother Lu, how is it you? I had told Xing Yun to call for Nuan Chun to attend to me.”

“Wife, we have already discussed how bad your memory is but how is it that your brain has also become increasingly dim? Xing Yun is my slave so of course he must listen to my orders. Tonight is my turn to accompany you. How could he possibly dare to look for Nuan Chun without permission and cause me trouble?”

Ruan Zhu’s eyes were frosty: “Then I no longer want Xing Yun to wait on me in the future. Have a trader send in some more people into the residence.”

“No need, it was only this one time. If Xing Yun dares to not obey you one more time, I will break his legs.” Buying some more men to enter the residence–what a joke. If, by chance, emotions that were like the ones between her, Nuan Chun, and Nuan Qing were to arise, wouldn’t he be shooting himself in the foot?

“Wife, do not be angered. I will make you happy.”

He had her stand so that she was right before him, practically straddling his head. Lifting his head to admire her secret place, he extended his index finger to peel back the flower petals……Even after giving birth to three children, this place was still extremely tight.

She knew what he wanted to do next and lowered her own head to look at him with lively eyes as she was actually really looking forward to it.

His mouth moved forward and kissed that sparkling, small bead while the tip of his tongue lightly teased it……

“Enn……” Teased until her entire body felt soft, her legs unconsciously tightened around that head underneath her.

After teasing her for a while, his tongue left the bead and found the small entrance, swallowing down all of the liquid dripping out of it. It was like he was unsatisfied as his tongue probed even deeper inside while at the same time, a finger had taken over the small bead and continuously fiddled it back and forth.

“Ahhh……!” Ruan Zhu could no longer endure it. Grabbing onto his hair with all ten fingers, her entire body trembled with the force of her climax while she suddenly screamed out in pleasure before her body quickly went limp.

Zong Zhi caught her. Having her hold onto the white marble altar in support, he then hugged her from behind and then guided his stiff member inside her……

………………

When Ruan Zhu was carried by her husband back into the bedroom, she laid paralyzed on the bed while her face glowed as she thought of what had just happened in the bathroom.

Zong Zhi laid down next to her and pulled her against his chest: “”Wife, if you are adamant on accepting Nuan Chun, I do not have any complaints. However, why not wait a few years, hmm? If you feel dissatisfied, you can first give him the status of an escort[b].”

“Why must I wait a few years?”

Zong Zhi remained silent for a while before responding: “There is someone called Wang Jing Yan working on your high tech demonstration field, correct?”

“That’s right, but how did you know?” It was only after she had finished speaking that she realized the question was dumb. He had such a large organization at his fingertips so what could there possible be that he didn’t know?

“I, your man, would and have not sent my men into your lands–I have great respect for you. The reason why I know of Wang Jing Yan is because of another matter.” As soon as Zong Zhi saw his wife’s expression, he knew immediately what she was thinking of: “Wife, do you not think Wang Jing Yan is very strange?”

“What’s so strange about him? He was born and raised by his parents; he’s got two eyes and a nose and a mouth underneath all that. He pretty much looks the same as us so he shouldn’t be a ghoul. You should relax, ya?”

“My foolish wife, he is Prime Minister Wang’s son.”

“Wha–?” Ruan Zhu was stunned silly. How could it be possible for the son of the prime minster to be a farmer? She remembered that he was a swordsman and had put his high skill on display at the stone bridge by fending off several bailiffs of Shun Tian Hall. “Big Brother Lu, didn’t you say he was an imperial bodyguard of the second class?”

“Because of you, ah. Wife, you have ruined the good future of the other. He became a peasant farmer for you.”

Fuck! She had always said that Wang Jing Yan looked familiar!

The yellow wax-like face could be false but it was impossible for that face to grow out a full beard because when she had saw him on the stone bridge, he looked to barely be over twenty. The beard might be glued on, but why had he even thought of going to her high tech experimental field as a peasant farmer, ah!

“I couldn’t tell that he’s a noble son from an official background. He’s rather skilled and also very diligent, very clear and logical when planting and also helps me with managing the field’s bits and bobs.”

“That fellow grew up in the mountains with his martial arts master and knows how to farm. Him being able to bear hardships is not surprising.”

[a] 吐谷浑, a past nomadic tribe in China. (Wikipedia)

[b] The word used here is 小侍 which apparently is the female equivalent of 通房 (bedwarmer).