Chapter 36: Garlic White Meat (Part 11)
Hearing that voice, Jing Qian didn’t need to look to know who had arrived.
"You’re my real mother…"
Indeed, standing outside the door was Lady Jing, dressed like a cook, clutching an iron spatula in her hand. She had accidentally hit her own son’s forehead while knocking with the spatula and was secretly sticking out her tongue in regret, quietly hiding the spatula behind her back.
"Mother…" Jing Qian rubbed his throbbing, aching forehead and looked weakly at his mother, who seemed to be stifling a laugh. "Did you need something from me?"
"I’m not here for you," Lady Jing replied with a dignified and kindly smile. "I’m looking for the chicken. The maid said you brought it here. I’m not waiting for you to jump into the pot—why would I be looking for you?"
"…"
Sitting inside the room, Leng Yue suddenly recalled a remark Lady Jing had muttered to herself on the day she and Jing Yi got married: "Many people like the taste of the fourth son, but I wonder who would like the flavor of the third son."
Even back then, Leng Yue had a vague feeling that Jing Yi was like a snack Lady Jing had picked up on a whim while strolling through a night market, while Jing Qian was more like a freebie the vendor threw in when she bought Jing Yi.
In any case, neither of them seemed like they were her own flesh and blood.
"Mother…" Jing Qian took a step back, sidestepping as if genuinely afraid Lady Jing might grab him and toss him into a pot. "Weren’t you just in the kitchen asking about the fourth son? He’s right here."
By the time Jing Yi realized he should hide, it was already too late.
"Oh…" Lady Jing seemed surprised to see two people in the room. She paused for a moment, her gaze shifting between Leng Yue’s somewhat stiff smile and the back of Jing Yi’s disheveled head. Finally, her eyes settled on Jing Yi’s waist, wrapped in the delicate pink dress, and she let out a more formal exclamation, "Oh! That outfit fits you quite well!"
Leng Yue was so stunned she forgot to smile.
The way Lady Jing said it made it sound as if the dress had been specially made for Jing Yi?!
Leng Yue stared at Jing Yi as if she’d seen a ghost.
Jing Yi seemed even more stunned than she was. He turned around and stood up, looking at Lady Jing’s delighted expression. "Mother… Have you seen this dress before?"
Lady Jing hurried forward, placing the spatula she was holding side by side with Leng Yue’s longsword on the table. She tugged at Jing Yi’s arm, examining him from front to back several times before turning to Leng Yue with a pleased expression. "I specially had this made for him. Look, isn’t it lovely!"
Leng Yue was stunned once again.
Lady Jing was known as the most difficult-to-please princess among her contemporaries in the court. This wasn’t something Leng Yue had made up—it was said by Lady Jing’s own cousin, the current Emperor.
It was said that back when the current Emperor was still the Crown Prince, he heard that Master Jing intended to submit a memorial to the late Emperor requesting an arranged marriage. The Crown Prince immediately sought out Master Jing for a long discussion, the main point of which was to explain how his cousin’s head might have been squeezed by a door. After a whole night of talking until his mouth was dry, Master Jing listened with great interest and, the very next morning, sent the marriage proposal memorial to the palace.
Leng Yue knew that Lady Jing had some unusual hobbies, but making a dress for her son to wear…
Judging by Jing Yi’s expression, it seemed he was also learning about this for the first time.
Leng Yue instinctively glanced toward the door, only to find that Jing Qian had already slipped away without a trace.
Left with no other choice, Leng Yue could only tell the truth. "It… it looks lovely."After all, both the clothes and the person were flawlessly beautiful.
Receiving such praise from his own wife, Jing Yi felt the urge to cry. "Mother, when did you make this outfit for me..."
As if not hearing what her handsome son had said, Madam Jing continued gazing delightedly at the clothes while chattering to her daughter-in-law, "Xiao Yue, you remember, don't you? Three years ago when he lost at dice gambling and got half beaten to death..."
Leng Yue didn't understand why Madam Jing suddenly brought this up. Caught off guard, her heart clenched painfully, making it hard to breathe.
Just as Leng Yue was about to interrupt Madam Jing, she met Jing Yi's meaningful glance.
Jing Yi looked deeply at her with a silly smile, slightly shaking his head.
Right. If Madam Jing found out Jing Yi had lied to her now, according to the Jing family rules, who knew how long he'd have to kneel in the ancestral hall today.
In the end, Leng Yue only managed to reply, "I remember."
Madam Jing seemed to have finally looked her fill of Jing Yi. Turning back, she pulled Leng Yue to sit down together and continued, "You wouldn't know this, but when the doctor was stopping his bleeding, he kept clutching a half-finished beauty portrait, whimpering and insisting he wanted to be a woman. So I had this outfit made for him - cost quite a bit of silver too. But after this rascal woke up, he never mentioned wanting to be a woman again."
"Then..." In her daze, Leng Yue inexplicably made the most direct inference based on the existing clues, "Did Third Brother say he wants to be a woman again?"
"Aiyo!" Madam Jing's beautiful eyes suddenly lit up. She grabbed Leng Yue's hand, looking exactly like someone who'd spent a fortune on a treasure only to see it suddenly glow brightly, startling Leng Yue so much she trembled. "I knew it! Fourth Son had to find such a clever wife, otherwise we'd end up with a whole basket of steamed buns!"
Steamed buns...
Leng Yue choked up, her face flushing slightly. It was Jing Yi who first caught the important implication in his mother's words.
"Mother... Third Brother said he wants to be a woman?!"
Still holding Leng Yue's hand, Madam Jing spoke affectionately to the blushing Leng Yue, "Once when Third Son was drunk, he came back and vomited desperately under the table, crying and howling that he absolutely had to be a woman. Since he and Jing Yi are about the same size, I had someone put this dress on him. The moment he put it on, he immediately calmed down and never mentioned wanting to be a woman again." After vividly describing the scene, Madam Jing happily asked Leng Yue, "Isn't Mother clever?"
Leng Yue didn't know what else she could say.
"Clever..."
"Ai!" Madam Jing seemed to only now remember her own son was still standing in the room. Turning her head, she glared with her beautiful eyes, "You're already married! Why are you thinking about becoming a woman again!"
"No... Mother, it's just that, well, Third Brother seems to have run away!"
"Ah?" Madam Jing seemed to finally remember why she had come in the first place. She sprang up and hurried out, muttering as she went, "This rascal, and I was waiting for the chicken to go in the pot... Xiao Yue, you sit tight now. Your tasks can wait, no hurry!"Watching Old Lady Jing march off with imposing vigor, Jing Yi let out a long sigh of relief as if he had just escaped death. Before he could even take another breath, Leng Yue suddenly bent down and scooped him up horizontally in her arms.
"...Xiao Yue!"
Calm and composed, Leng Yue carried the nearly terrified Jing Yi into the inner room where she had changed clothes earlier, tossed him onto the bed, and pinned him down with her knees and elbows. Looking down at him, she uttered four icy words, "You dared to lie to me."
Lying on his third brother's bed with his frosty-faced wife pressing down on him, Jing Yi felt like crying but had no tears. "I wouldn't dare..."
"Why did you paint me?"
"Missing you..."
"Were you thinking of me when you held that scroll?"
Leng Yue was so close that Jing Yi's vision was filled with only her face.
Just like during his coma, his vision was blurry, with only her face clear.
"Yes."
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Jing Yi was stunned by Leng Yue's shout.
He clearly knew Leng Yue was angry—angry that he had lied to her—but he couldn't figure out what exactly he had lied about...
Leng Yue, being so close to Jing Yi, could clearly feel his breath hitch instantly. "You were thinking of me while also wanting to be a woman? Who are you trying to fool?"
Jing Yi froze for a moment, and when he realized what Leng Yue was angry about, the corners of his eyes suddenly curved into a deep smile. Seizing the moment when Leng Yue was baffled by his grin, he lifted his head and stole a kiss.
"...Behave yourself!"
Jing Yi very misbehavedly licked his lips, which still carried the lingering warmth of Leng Yue's body. "Allow me to explain, Constable Leng."
"Speak!"
Jing Yi blinked, his clear fox-like eyes gazing seriously at Leng Yue, whose face was flushed from his kiss. "At first glance, wanting a woman and wanting to be a woman may seem unlikely to happen simultaneously. However, the suspect in this case is somewhat special and cannot be judged by conventional reasoning."
Jing Yi's voice was earnest and calm, as if he were determined to overturn a case about to be finalized and sentenced, his resolve so firm that Leng Yue couldn't help but listen.
"Speak... How is the suspect special?"
Jing Yi smiled bitterly, his voice softening with a touch of tenderness. "The suspect feels he hasn't been a very good man."
Leng Yue was taken aback, her eyebrows raising skeptically. "Nonsense. The suspect is hailed as the Number One Young Master of the Capital. Every woman on the street has dreamed of marrying him a hundred times over. How much better does he want to be as a man?"
Savoring the strong hint of jealousy in Leng Yue's words, Jing Yi chuckled and shook his head. "But that praise didn't come from the one he loves, so he doesn't care for it."
Leng Yue rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Ridiculous..."
"Therefore," Jing Yi said with a faint smile, speaking slowly, "the reason the suspect, while on the brink of death, held the portrait of his beloved yet wished to be a woman, was that in the next life, if he were a woman and his beloved were a man, perhaps his beloved would like him a little more."
Leng Yue was momentarily stunned, her grip loosening unconsciously as Jing Yi wrapped his arms around her waist.
Holding Leng Yue gently, Jing Yi whispered like in a dream, unable to conceal his anticipation, "Would you? Even just a little counts."
"No, not even a little."Leng Yue's reply was crisp and resolute, leaving no room for maneuver, like a verdict personally inscribed by the Emperor.
Jing Yi's arm around her waist stiffened, and his entire body froze for a moment. He had just barely managed to force a smile, intending to nonchalantly say "Alright," when Leng Yue suddenly sank down, pressing her petal-like lips tightly against his to silence that single word.
Leng Yue tore the obviously expensive dress Jing Yi was wearing to shreds, kissing him wildly as if this were a now-or-never opportunity.
Jing Yi lay sprawled out, maintaining an expression that seemed to say, "Take your time, please."
Even when Leng Yue calmed down, too embarrassed to know how to handle the situation, and buried her face—red as a monkey's bottom—in the crook of his neck, Jing Yi still made no move to touch her clothes.
She was speaking to him, and her words weren't finished yet. He didn't want to interrupt her.
Leng Yue remained motionless in the crook of his neck for a long while before slowly moving one hand to Jing Yi's back, feeling for the one flaw on his jade-like body. Her voice trembled slightly as she whispered, "My ability to love someone is only this much. Whether you can feel it or not, this is all I'm capable of. No matter if you're male or female, human or beast, I can only love to this extent. I truly have nothing more to give..."
Jing Yi turned his head and gently kissed Leng Yue's still-damp hair. Just as he finished and was about to speak, a soft but vigorous round of applause suddenly came from the doorway.
Right...
When she had carried Jing Yi in with both hands earlier, she hadn't had a free hand to close the door, so she hadn't.
Besides, at that time, she hadn't anticipated any need to close the door...
Startled, Leng Yue quickly sat up and turned around.
There stood Jing's mother at the doorway, a spatula she had hastily grabbed from the table tucked under her arm, tears streaming down her face as she clapped.
"Bravo! Encore!"
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