Chapter 63: Chopped Chili Fish Head (Part 14)
Jing Yi watched as the capital's most poised and dignified Top Courtesan abandoned all restraint at his mere words. He inwardly sighed "Amitabha," yet a deeper smile touched his lips. "If I recall correctly, before entering Sparrow Nest Brothel, Hua Mei was married, correct?"
Hua Mei froze momentarily, then gently lifted her gaze to meet Jing Yi's spring-like warmth.
The Jing Yi seated across from her now was entirely different from the one she'd encountered on the streets or in the brothel. That Jing Yi had also worn a constant smile, his every gesture radiating gentleness—beautiful indeed, but ultimately the image of a wealthy family's pampered young master. Now, Jing Yi had lost his ink-black hair, replaced his exquisitely tailored robes with simple gray monastic garments, and sat with an ease that wasn't laziness. His refined features carried a hint of weariness, serene and picturesque.
How could a painting harbor malice?
Thus, Hua Mei nodded lightly and admitted frankly, "Yes. Hua Mei is of lowly status and dares not speak of marriage as an honor... I was merely fortunate to have received Consort Hui's favor and had the privilege of serving by his side for a time."
A frivolous smile curled at Jing Yi's lips as he picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup. Bringing it to his nose, he inhaled the aroma with keen interest while asking playfully, "And how exactly did you serve him?"
For a moment, Hua Mei couldn't tell whether his evident enthusiasm was for the tea in his hand or her manner of service. After a brief pause, she replied cautiously, "Hua Mei is dull-witted. What does the young master mean?"
Jing Yi seemed to muster great resolve before bringing the cup to his lips for a small sip. The moment the tea touched his tongue, his face soured as if he'd tasted rotten fish, his brows furrowing tightly.
"Ugh..." Jing Yi set down the cup with a pained expression, pressing his lips together to endure the bitterness before finally relaxing his brow slightly. "I've heard that the reason Consort Hui took a concubine during the mourning period was because the woman bore some resemblance to the late Consort Hui... That woman was you, wasn't it?"
Hua Mei bowed her head humbly and replied softly, "Hua Mei is ashamed to admit it, but yes."
As if tired of maintaining his posture, Jing Yi propped his cheek on his hand, leaning forward slightly while studying the person across the table with a faint frown. "Since he took you in out of longing for his deceased mother, how did you serve him? Did you treat him like a son?"
"You jest, young master..." Hua Mei lifted her head, offering an obedient yet strained smile. "Consort Hui is of noble status. How would a lowly commoner like me dare?"
"Then you served him as a husband?"
Hua Mei hesitated briefly before lowering her head in shyness. "As a concubine, naturally..."
"Then when you served him, which part of you did he most enjoy kissing?"
Hua Mei looked up in shock, a stray lock of hair brushing her sharp jawline, accentuating the faint panic in her eyes.
Jing Yi continued watching her with cheek propped on hand, his fox-like eyes blinking with innocent curiosity that held no trace of gentlemanly consideration. Seeing Hua Mei remain silent, he blinked even more innocently. "Didn't you say you'd speak without reservation? What's this? You served him as a husband, yet you don't even know this?"Hua Mei pursed her crimson lips, forcing a slightly stiff smile as she replied softly, "Of course I know, but I wonder why the young master suddenly asks about such matters in this sacred Buddhist temple... What Prince Hui likes most is Hua Mei's collarbone."
Before her words faded, Jing Yi shook his head. "Not which part of you he likes most, but where he most enjoys kissing you."
"Col... collarbone."
As Hua Mei finished speaking, she reached for the teacup Jing Yi had poured for her earlier. Her hand had just touched the warm porcelain when Jing Yi pressed on with lingering curiosity, "Which side collarbone?"
Her jade-like hand trembled, causing the cup to shake and produce soft knocking sounds against the thick wooden table. Fortunately, the tea wasn't filled to the brim, so not a drop spilled.
"Left... right side, the right side a bit more..."
Jing Yi narrowed his fox-like eyes, propping his chin in both hands with a brilliantly clear smile. "The front half or the back half of the right side?"
Hua Mei's hands twisted tightly together, the forced smile at her lips now frozen into a mere curve as she had no choice but to answer, "The back half..."
Only then did Jing Yi nod with some satisfaction. Just as Hua Mei breathed half a sigh of relief internally and lifted the warm teacup before it reached her lips, Jing Yi spoke again with gentle amiability.
"What do you usually do when he kisses the back half of your right collarbone?"
Hua Mei's hand jerked, splashing tea all over her robe.
The warm tea wasn't unpleasant against her chest, and the amount was small, only dampening the outer layer. Hua Mei hurriedly produced a handkerchief to wipe it, her flustered movements carrying a certain charm.
"Hua Mei has been discourteous, please forgive this offense, young master..."
"Don't be nervous. There are no outsiders here, no need for formality. Just speak freely." Jing Yi continued smiling, chin propped in his hands. "When I was young, I often accompanied the Crown Prince in fights with Prince Hui. I remember he's extremely ticklish - you didn't need to use fists when fighting him, just casually tickling him could make him laugh until tears came. You must have put considerable thought into serving him, right?"
"Yes..." Hua Mei's expression softened slightly, a blush rising on her slender cheeks as she gently covered her mouth with her fair hand and smiled. "Prince Hui is extremely ticklish indeed, making service quite challenging. One can only touch harmless areas - it truly tested Hua Mei's skills to the limit..."
Jing Yi listened with a smile, shifting his chin to his left palm while happily tapping the table edge with his right hand. "So you left Prince Hui to serve those easier to handle at the Sparrow Nest Brothel?"
Hua Mei's hand froze by her lips, the blush vanishing like smoke.
"Not because of that?" Jing Yi raised an eyebrow playfully. "Then why?"
Hua Mei's brightly painted lips trembled slightly as she slowly lowered the hand covering her mouth. After twisting her hands together for a moment, she whispered, "It's all because Hua Mei was foolish and served poorly, displeasing Prince Hui..."
Jing Yi smiled gently, taking the cup Hua Mei had accidentally emptied and refilling it for her. "My fault for being so idle as to bring up these sad memories. Please rest here with some tea - I need to deliver something to the front and will return shortly."
"Thank you, young master."Jing Yi leisurely rose to his feet, casually picked up a small incense burner from beneath the window, and strode out of the room with unruffled composure. He walked through the outer chamber into the courtyard before a sudden hand shot out to seize his ear, dragging him behind the house to the base of the rear courtyard wall.
The touch and force of that hand were all too familiar. Gritting his teeth to suppress a nearly-escaped yelp of pain, Jing Yi immediately placed the incense burner atop his bald head and squatted in the corner the moment the hand released him, all traces of his earlier cloud-like serenity and picturesque elegance gone without a trace.
With the incense burner balanced on his head, Jing Yi lifted his handsome yet miserable face, gazing with pitiful grievance at his wife whose expression was as dark as iron. "Didn't we agree you wouldn't hit me no matter what questions I asked..."
Leng Yue clenched her back teeth, her beautiful eyes wide open as she exerted immense self-control to keep her voice low. "You can ask whatever questions you want, but did you actually get any substantial answers? Are you trying to fool me with that nonsense about her being too stupid to properly serve the Wise Prince?"
"No, that was just her random excuse..." Jing Yi also lowered his voice. "She's the Top Courtesan of Sparrow Nest Brothel - essentially the woman most skilled at serving others in the capital. How could she possibly fail to properly serve some young lad?"
Jing Yi's voice wasn't particularly deep to begin with, and when deliberately softened like this, it sounded even more gentle and refined. Spoken in such a tone, his words sounded like praise for Hua Mei. Yet there he was with an incense burner perched on his bald head, three incense sticks inserted within it, smoke curling upward - a sight that left Leng Yue momentarily torn between hitting him and laughing at him.
"Then tell me..." Leng Yue pressed her lips together, suppressing the untimely smile at the corners of her mouth, and said coldly, "Of the three matters I asked you to inquire about, which ones did you actually uncover?"
"All of them."
While Jing Yi truly excelled at fabricating stories, he would never make up anything regarding matters related to Prince An's manor. Since she had clearly told him these questions came from Prince An himself, he would never treat them lightly.
"Then stand up and speak..." Leng Yue said, glancing again at the smoke-wreathed head supporting the incense burner. "Don't put down the incense burner. Keep it on your head while you talk."
Thus Jing Yi obediently stood up with the incense burner still balanced on his head, standing straight against the courtyard wall and looking directly at his sword-holding wife before him. With complete seriousness, he asked, "Will there be a reward if I answer correctly?"
Leng Yue slightly raised her eyebrows and nodded, asking with unprecedented patience, "What reward do you want?"
Jing Yi looked at his seemingly-medicine-mistaken wife with astonishment. After a moment's hesitation, he tentatively suggested, "Kiss me."
Leng Yue nodded readily, then patiently added, "Where should I kiss?"
"Anywhere."
Still without hesitation, Leng Yue nodded. "Fine, I've noted it. Now speak."
Jing Yi felt something wasn't quite right somewhere, but seeing Leng Yue's expression showed no indication of empty promises meant to deceive him, he didn't overthink it. Satisfied, he spoke with the incense burner still atop his head. "You asked me to find out why she originally left Wise Prince Manor, how she left Wise Prince Manor, and what her current relationship with the Wise Prince is... Actually, once you know the answer to the last question, the first two cease to be questions at all."
This final question wasn't one Prince An had instructed her to ask, but Leng Yue believed that if Prince An had witnessed Xiao Zhao Ye gripping Hua Mei's neck at Sparrow Nest Brothel, he would have certainly added this inquiry as well.
"What is Hua Mei's relationship with the Wise Prince?"Jing Yi lowered his voice to a near whisper. "Prince Hui is Hua Mei's master."
Leng Yue froze, thinking she might have misheard due to his soft tone, and couldn't help asking, "Master... what kind of master?"
"Just like how the prince is master to both of us."
Master...
Leng Yue suddenly recalled how Hua Mei hadn't even struggled when Xiao Zhao Ye choked her until she could barely breathe. At the time, she thought it was because old feelings remained, but now it seemed fear outweighed reluctance.
Stunned, Leng Yue stared at Jing Yi's proud face beneath the incense burner. "She didn't say anything just now. How would you know?"
"She did speak, just not directly." Jing Yi said, squinting with a smile that inexplicably unsettled Leng Yue. "Let me ask you - what's my favorite place to kiss you?"
Leng Yue's carefully composed face flushed crimson. She tightened her arms crossed over her chest and glared at him fiercely. Before she could speak, Jing Yi continued with a knowing smile, "When I asked that, you immediately had an answer in mind. But Hua Mei hesitated for a long time before casually mentioning her collarbone to me. The more I pressed, the more guilty she looked. What do you think she was feeling guilty about?"
Clutching her unconsciously warming chest, her face still red, Leng Yue shot him an annoyed look. "Do you think everyone has skin as thick as a turtle's shell like you, saying whatever comes to mind? If Prince Hui liked kissing her in... unspeakable places, could she possibly have the nerve to tell you the truth?"
Jing Yi nodded obediently. "I realized that later too. That's why I told her Prince Hui has been ticklish since childhood and can't stand being touched anywhere. Actually, it's the Crown Prince who's been ticklish since childhood. When the Crown Prince misbehaved during lessons and my father couldn't discipline him due to royal etiquette, he'd tickle him instead. The Crown Prince would laugh miserably, and Prince Hui never missed a chance to mock him..."
Listening, Leng Yue's expression softened slightly, finally catching the underlying meaning in Jing Yi's words. "Are you saying... after Xiao Zhao Ye took Hua Mei as his concubine, he never touched her at all? So when you lied about Xiao Zhao Ye being ticklish, she believed you and went along with it?"
"Your insight does you credit, my lady."
Leng Yue loosened her arms crossed over her chest, her delicate brows slightly furrowed. "Even if that's the case, there could be numerous possible reasons why Xiao Zhao Ye didn't touch her."
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