Chapter 101

However, it wasn’t good for women to be too clever, so Ji Man left this criticism unspoken. There would be no benefit to saying these words to Noble Consort Nie. It would only make the noble consort feel that she was helping outsiders instead of her own family.

And so, she obediently agreed, “Sangyu will do my best.”

Noble Consort Nie nodded in satisfaction. She looked at her up and down, pulled her closer, and secretly said, “A while ago, I received a fertility prescription from an imperial physican, that’s how I was able to become pregnant so quickly. You haven’t given birth to a child after so long and it’s hard for you to receive Marquis Moyu’s favor. Later, I’ll have someone make the medicine in accordance to that prescription and send a bowl of medicine over to you tonight.”

Ji Man was stumped for words. She raised her head, looked at Noble Consort Nie, and said, “Aunty... this matter...”

“Don’t be shy,” Noble Consort Nie said, “You’re the secondary wife now, and a concubine already has a child before you. I heard that woman from Wen family is very anxious over this matter, why aren’t you showing the slightest sign of worry over this?

Ji Man pursed her lips and stayed silent.

Did she have to give this scumbag a child in this ancient world? Six years had already passed without a child. If people wanted to criticize her behind her back, they would have already thoroughly done so. Ji Man didn’t think this was an advisable course of action, so she didn’t take this matter seriously. Why should she care?

However, Noble Consort Nie had Pengshu bring over a bowl of medicine that night. Moreover, she didn’t leave after delivering the medicine and stood by her with a smile to watch her drink it down.

Ji Man’s expression fell and she tried to think of an excuse, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. There was a long period of silence. Ning Yuxuan would be returning soon.

She needed to care less. This was only a play. Why should she care so much? Ji Man took a deep breath, silently chanted a hundred times that this was Nie Sangyu’s body, and drank the bowl of medicine until she could turn the bowl over.

Taking back the bowl, Pengshu left in satisfaction.

—

When Marquis Moyu came into a room, he saw the sour expression on Nie Sangyu’s face and couldn’t resist asking, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. This servant was just thinking of an unfortunate encounter during childhood when this servant got bit by a dog and my egg* felt slightly pained from recalling that memory,” Ji Man said.

“... Where does it hurt?” Ning Yuxuan thought he misheard her.

“Hehe, this servant said, my cheeks hurt.” Then, Ji Man stood up and said, “My lord, you must be tired. Let this servant help you change into your sleeping clothes.”

* (T/N: The first time Ji Man answers, she says, 蛋疼, which literally means “egg hurt”, but also has the slang meaning of pain in the balls. When she answers the second time, she adds, 脸before 蛋疼, which changes the meaning to checks hurt. In Chinese, the word cheeks are made by combing face (脸) and egg (蛋).)

In the past, she had always dilly-dallied for a long time before going to bed. Surprisingly, she took the initiative today. It wasn’t as if Ning Yuxuan liked woman that practices abstinence. If Nie Sangyu were willing to take the initiative, he naturally wouldn’t find anything bad about this.

Naturally, this place wouldn’t have the highest quality of charcoal. Before going to bed, Ji Man opened the windows slightly in order to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. However, the temperature significantly decreased as a result.

Ning Yuxuan shot her a glance and tugged her closer to him, “Your previous temperament showed that you’ve been pampered and spoiled since childhood. I didn’t expect that you would be able to adapt to a commoner’s life so well.”

With a gentle and beautiful smile, Ji Man put her icy hand into his clothes. It was so cold that Ning Yuxuan’s eyebrows twitched.

“My lord, do you feel that this servant has become gentle and virtuous? Excelling in housework and social life?”

Marquis Moyu really didn’t want to praise her, but he had to admit that her words were true.

He hummed, that counted as a response of sorts. Ning Yuxuan buried his head in her warm, sweet-smelling, and soft neck and couldn’t help feeling a sudden urge.

Ning Yuxuan thought; Nie Sangyu had played hard to get for long enough. Tonight was about time. After all, she was his woman. She couldn’t refuse him forever, right?

His hand entered from the bottom of her clothing to probe her reaction. Nie Sangyu’s skin was very good. It was as smooth as jade. What was even more unusual was that she wasn’t wearing a dudou

tonight.

Ji Man closed her eyes and silently chanted Nie Sangyu. This man was the person that Nie Sangyu liked. She didn’t like him. But, thinking of how she should respect the original owner of this body’s wishes, Ji Man decided to sacrifice herself in the end.

As a modern person, she wouldn’t let this affect her.

Nie Sangyu didn’t respond to her call, but the person over her body was breathing faster and faster. His burning body felt like a hand warmer that slowly melted away her reservations.

She had to admit that Ning Yuxuan deserved to be called a man that had experienced many women. He didn’t let her feel the slightest discomfort. Other than a small amount of pain initially, she could positively rate him with five out five stars.

Overwhelmed by the sensations, Ji Man bit her lips and quietly moaned. The man on top of her seemed to be showing a rarely seen lost-of-control. He kissed her eyebrows, nose, and lips. Like a lion, he bit her throat, but he didn’t use too much force.

Honestly, Ji Man felt that doing this with Ning Yuxuan felt pretty good. If she treated this experience as doing it with a prostitute, then she wouldn’t feel the slightest bit of emotional burden from this experience.

—

The next morning, Ji Man couldn’t get up to cook breakfast for the emperor’s family. Fortunately, Li Province’s governor had delivered steam buns made with roughage unique to this region along with meat congee. When the emperor inquired after Sangyu, Noble Consort Nie’s smile widened as she had made up an excuse for her.

—

By the time that Ji Man got out of bed, Marquis Moyu had already disappeared. Her body felt slightly sticky, but it would be rather bothersome to take a bath here in the middle of the winter. With a furrowed brow, Ji Man went to the kitchen, brought hot water back to her room, wiped her body, and changed into a set of cotton-padded clothes. Then, she leaned against the window while lost in thought.

—

“Yuxuan, you seem to be in a very good mood?” The third prince had turned his head slightly to look at Ning Yuxuan several times. They had followed the emperor out of the residence to look at Li Province’s water project.

Marquis Moyu curved his lips. His face had softened considerably. “The weather is pretty good today.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Ning Mingjie was by their sides. When he heard these words, he raised his head and looked sky that was densely covered by black clouds. “It looks like it’s going to rain later.”

Ning Yuxuan lightly coughed before looking at Ning Mingjie and saying, “I heard that Li Province’s governer’s daughter went to your courtyard last night.”

Ning Ming’s eyebrows didn’t even twitch. “Sir Ning, don’t repeat false rumors. You’ll end up tarnishing someone’s reputation.”

Translator Ramblings: I cracked up when I got to the part where Ji Man is rating his skill. I have this image of Ji Man taking out her phone to fill out a survey and clicking 5 stars. Hmm, would she pick yes or no to the question, “would you recommend to a friend?”