“Brother Xi, I hear a new restaurant has opened in the county seat. It just so happens I have some business there today. Why not come along with me?”
Hearing the woman’s insistent invitation, Nanxi was about to refuse, but before his lips could part, Zhang Yiwei’s jade finger pressed against them.
“Don’t talk about studies or martial arts. You’ve been working far too hard lately. It wouldn’t hurt to relax a little. If you keep this up, your sister will have to sleep in Listening Bamboo Pavilion every night just to keep an eye on you.”
With that, the woman with those peach-blossom eyes wrapped both hands tightly around the boy’s slender ones and began gently stroking them.
Seeing her like this, Nanxi had no choice—even if he had a hundred objections.
The last thing he wanted was for this hypocritical “gentlewoman” to grope him every night as they slept these past few months.
“Fine. But only this once.”
“Brother Xi, it’s a promise then. Anyone who breaks it has to swallow a thousand needles.”
Zhang Yiwei’s tone carried a hint of coquettish charm.
Her peach-blossom eyes were filled with possessive desire—a sight that only gave Nanxi a bigger headache.
He knew full well that once he agreed this time, the woman would find other excuses for a second.
Yet Nanxi did not dare resist.
He could not risk his own poor judgment leaving him without food or shelter.
It truly fit that old saying: “It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to return from luxury to frugality.”
After growing accustomed to two years of the Zhang family’s pampered life—clothes brought to him, meals served without lifting a finger—he seemed truly unable to go back to the poor boy who once fished daily in the cold river just for a taste of meat.
This was hardly a good thing, yet the boy no longer seemed willing to change it.
Nanxi was being tamed by the woman before him. Zhang Yiwei seemed intent on training him into a pet that could survive only by her side.
Tragically, the one about to become that pet lacked the courage to alter his fate.
And so, Nanxi was helped into the carriage reserved for the Zhang family head, drawn by two horses.
He sat in Zhang Yiwei’s lap, enduring her harassment and violations. From time to time, he let out soft, delicate sounds—the woman took these as signs of pleasure and submission.
As for the boy himself, he saw them as involuntary reactions.
His body did not feel pleasure from the harassment—at least, that was what he told himself.
In truth, his body had long grown accustomed to her hands, even instinctively yielding to her movements.
Nanxi simply refused to acknowledge it.
Whenever it happened, he would squeeze his tear-glistening eyes shut, fingers clenched tightly, enduring so as not to make those shameful sounds.
To the woman, that endurance was the finest wine and delicacy in the world.
Paired with the boy’s nation-toppling beauty and the flush on his face, it was the greatest aphrodisiac.
She was no longer satisfied with mere touching. She buried her face in the curve where his neck met his shoulder, nibbling at that exquisite neck while fiercely inhaling the faint, clear fragrance of his body.
She wished she could pin the picturesque boy beneath her right then and there and ravage him thoroughly.
But reason told her no—not yet.
Doing so would ruin his reputation, and she could not bear for the one she loved to suffer even the slightest grievance.
And so, under the woman’s torment, the boy traveled the road filled with desire and pain, unsure when it would ever end.
“Little Xi, take a good nap. Sister will be back soon.”
Zhang Yiwei left faint red marks on the boy’s lips—her lip rouge, carefully applied earlier.
This was the first time she had kissed his mouth.
Thus, she left the disheveled, flushed boy alone in the carriage.
Nanxi’s mind had long turned to mush from the prolonged abuse.
She herself went to speak with the oblivious county magistrate.
By the time she returned, the sky had shifted from morning to dusk.
Ever since a quack doctor had caused the death of his son, the magistrate’s health had declined day by day. Seeing his days were numbered, Zhang Yiwei hurried to curry favor, displaying her filial piety. She was even willing to call him father-in-law—an enormous face-saving gesture.
With little time left and a “daughter-in-law” showing such concern, the magistrate wept bitterly, wishing he could immediately hand his position to the filial Zhang Yiwei before him.
And that was precisely her plan.
She had avoided pursuing an official career in Zhou earlier because the timing was wrong.
But over these two years, Zhou’s borders had suffered repeated incursions from the northern grassland barbarians.
The Zhou emperor had been forced to rely heavily on Xia ministers skilled in warfare.
With the changing situation, Zhang Yiwei decided to leverage her scholar status and the betrothal to build ties with the magistrate—and eventually take his place.
The Zhang ancestors had served in court long ago, with deep connections to the current prime minister.
A mere county magistrate was easy prey.
Zhang Yiwei simply wanted the added benefit of a good reputation.
Poor magistrate—he never knew his son had been killed by this “filial daughter-in-law.” In the end, he could only die a fool.
Having settled the matter, Zhang Yiwei returned to the carriage.
Seeing Nanxi sleeping soundly, she could not resist adding a few more red lip prints to his lovely face.
The activity woke Nanxi.
He felt her molestation but said nothing, only keeping his eyes tightly shut like a lifeless, unfeeling corpse.
Zhang Yiwei naturally sensed he had awakened.
She did not continue her mischief, merely sucking hard on his cheek to vent her frustration—leaving a lasting mark that would not fade for days.
“There. Sister won’t tease Little Xi anymore.”
Zhang Yiwei smiled gently at the boy, then ordered the driver to head to the new restaurant.
Upon arrival, Zhang Yiwei stepped down and looked up in mild surprise.
The establishment was enormous—taller than nearly any other building in the county. Though called a restaurant, it was more like a grand pavilion, named Eight Treasures Pavilion.
She was curious to see whether this place truly deserved such a grand name.
After a moment’s thought, she opened the carriage door and invited Nanxi out.
Naturally, the boy offered her no pleasant expression.
After all, the woman had just thoroughly tormented him for hours.