The Vicious Empress's Scum Wife (GL) - Chapter 012

The afternoon sun was truly splendid. Lin Yanran leaned back in the reclining chair, contemplating the Cooling Pill for a while, before an overwhelming drowsiness swept over her.

She casually grabbed a dry cloth and draped it over her face.

Suddenly, she heard a creaking sound. She pulled the cloth down a bit and peered out, half-asleep.

She saw the wooden door of the washroom half-open, and a red-toed, jade-like foot gently emerged. It stepped onto the green floor tiles, with the natural wooden doorframe as a backdrop, shod in ash-gray wooden clogs, revealing delicate, rounded, pink toes, as beautiful as if painted by an immortal brush.

She instinctively pulled off the entire cloth, her gaze moving upward. Her mind instantly felt as if a layer of fog had lifted, revealing a ethereal and beautiful fairyland—

*Cut from ice gauze, lightly folded in layers, lightly brushed with rouge.*

*A new, exquisite makeup, overflowing with beauty and fragrance, shaming even the palace maids of Ruizhu Palace.*

She suddenly recalled this ci poem by Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji. Her body uncontrollably sat upright from the reclining chair, her eyes meeting those shimmering, ink-dark pupils.

Qin Mingyue quietly gazed at her.

Lin Yanran abruptly stood up from the reclining chair: “Don’t move.”

Qin Mingyue’s eyes remained fixed, watching her walk closer, the distance between them less than a foot.

Lin Yanran made no other movements, her voice very soft: “Are you tired? Shall I take you back to your room first, then make you a bowl of glutinous rice balls in fermented rice wine soup?”

Qin Mingyue nodded lightly.

Lin Yanran immediately bent down and picked her up.

It was still the princess carry pose. She could see Qin Mingyue with just a lowered gaze.

Lin Yanran couldn’t describe the feeling. She only felt light-footed, as if she had truly arrived in a fairyland.

At this moment, Qin Mingyue was intoxicatingly fragrant, beautiful as a celestial maiden descended from the heavens. Lin Yanran couldn’t help but lighten her steps.

She held her, walking all the way to the room, unable to tear her gaze away.

Gently placing her on the chair, she then noticed her still-dripping wet hair and said, “The sun is still good. Why don’t we go out and let your hair dry?”

Qin Mingyue shook her head: “No need.” After bathing, she felt utterly exhausted.

Lin Yanran said nothing. She found another dry cloth, came behind her, and helped her wipe the water from her hair.

Qin Mingyue leaned quietly on the chair, offering no resistance.

This time, she had bathed for a very long time. After finishing, she felt as if all her strength had left her, not an ounce remaining.

At this moment, allowing this commoner to serve her was not unacceptable.

Lin Yanran remained silent, quietly wiping the wet hair, strand by strand.

The entire room was filled with a rich, delicate fragrance. Wrapped in this scent, her body and mind softened.

At this moment, no words were needed.

After the hair stopped dripping, she took another dry cloth and gently wrapped it around her beautiful hair, securing it and letting it hang behind her head.

Qin Mingyue was served so comfortably that she almost drifted off to sleep. Suddenly, she felt her earlobe being pinched and instantly woke up with a start.

Just as she was about to struggle, her shoulder was pressed down.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll help you dry your ears, to prevent discomfort from water getting in.”

Only then did she realize Lin Yanran was using a dry cloth wrapped around her finger, gently dabbing at the moisture inside her ear.

This was an intimate gesture that only her nannies or personal maids would perform when she was in the imperial palace.

But now, this commoner!

*How audacious!*

An indescribable sense of shame arose from the bottom of her heart, making her both angry and mortified.

But to stop it now would seem too deliberate and would also expose her vulnerable inner self. It was better to accept it calmly, treating her merely as a servant!

But she soon regretted it!

She was a top-tier Kunze; every inch of her body was exquisitely sensitive. Even a gentle breath from someone could make her skin shiver.

Moreover, at this moment, Lin Yanran was pinching her earlobe, gently wiping it, and even audaciously exploring and rubbing the tender flesh inside her ear with her fingertip.

Every inch was touched by her.

Each touch caused her to clench her teeth tightly. Only by doing so could she suppress the trembling sensation of shame to the point of death.

*Damn commoner! You should have been killed already, and now your crime is compounded!*

She bit her lips, desperately suppressing the indignation within her.

Lin Yanran was serious in her studies and serious in her work. She cleaned her ears thoroughly. Those delicate, pearly-white earlobes, moistened by the water vapor, were as red as a vibrant, fleshy petal of rouge.

She couldn’t help but glance at them again.

Qin Mingyue had endured to the extreme.

Her upbringing was refined and elegant; from a young age, she was taught not to show emotions. At this moment, facing the audacity of her enemy, her chest was filled with fury, yet her voice was unusually calm.

“Can it be over now?”

Only the slightly trembling tail of her voice, and her fingers, clenched red, revealed her anger.

Lin Yanran was completely oblivious.

She exhaled contentedly, looking at Qin Mingyue as if looking at her most prized creation.

“Alright, you rest. I’ll go cook something to eat.”

After she left, Qin Mingyue’s expression changed several times before finally settling down.

She propped herself up on the table and retrieved the long-unused bronze mirror.

What good things could the original owner’s house have? It was merely an ordinary bronze mirror that, no matter how much you polished it, remained unclear.

She slowly held it in front of her.

Her brows were like distant mountains veiled in mist, her eyes like autumn waters rippling horizontally, her skin like congealed jade, her lips like painted vermilion. A lotus in its first bloom, a face like a hibiscus—truly a fairy descended from the nine heavens.

She reached back and touched the back of her head, where Lin Yanran had wrapped her hair in a dry cloth.

The dry cloth was ugly. She frowned.

She reached out, wanting to pull it off, revealing her waterfall-like hair.

But with her hair wrapped, her nape no longer dripped, and the sticky, damp feeling disappeared.

It had to be said, Lin Yanran was very good at serving people.

She withdrew her hand again.

A moment later, Lin Yanran entered, carrying a bowl.

It was evident it was somewhat hot; after setting it down, she blew on her fingers.

It was a bowl of glutinous rice balls in fermented rice wine soup with maltose, and a white porcelain spoon rested on the rim of the bowl.

Qin Mingyue remembered that Lin Yanran’s house had never had porcelain spoons. This spoon must be newly bought.

Things like maltose and fermented rice wine were also scarce. In a dilapidated place like Fenghuang Town, acquiring these items was not easy and surely came at a high price.

To curry favor with her, Lin Yanran had truly spent a fortune.

A peculiar, ineffable feeling arose in her heart, as if she had finally won a round—insignificant, yet it brought an inexplicable, small comfort.

Lin Yanran asked, “Shall I stir it to cool it down for you?”

Qin Mingyue was indifferent, nodding slightly.

Lin Yanran reached out, grasped the spoon, and stirred it, clink after clink. The spoon and porcelain bowl gently touched, making a pleasant, crisp sound.

The surface of the soup rippled.

“It’s ready,” she said, letting go of the white porcelain spoon’s handle and deliberately turning the bowl towards Qin Mingyue.

Qin Mingyue’s expression was unreadable. She gently pinched the spoon handle.

Lin Yanran didn’t leave. She propped herself up with one arm and watched her.

Qin Mingyue disliked being stared at. In the palace, she would have ordered this person’s head to be chopped off. Yet, at this moment, her mindset was somewhat unusual. She let Lin Yanran watch her, calmly gripping the spoon, gently scooping up a glutinous rice ball, blowing on it, bringing it to her lips, and taking a small bite.

She ate beautifully.

Lin Yanran watched for a long time, then asked, “Is it delicious?”

Qin Mingyue still felt that strange comfort, and for once, she answered: “It’s acceptable.”

Lin Yanran continued to watch. Until she finished eating.

Three glutinous rice balls and some soup remained at the bottom of the bowl.

She asked, “Why didn’t you finish it? Can’t eat anymore?” She had only put in nine glutinous rice balls, and to her surprise, three were left. This portion was too small.

Qin Mingyue’s tone was faint: “A mere taste is sufficient.”

Lin Yanran said, “Oh,” understanding that these noble people had specific eating habits—stopping after a small taste.

She smiled and said, “Then may I eat it?”

Qin Mingyue was taken aback by the question. Before she could answer, Lin Yanran had already taken the bowl, picked up the spoon, and shoveled the contents into her mouth.

In just a few gulps, the glutinous rice balls were gone. Then she tilted her head back and, with a slurp, drank every last drop of soup.

Qin Mingyue suddenly pinched her fingertips.

She was inexplicably angry, yet she couldn’t explain the source of her anger to this crude commoner, which only fueled her frustration.

Lin Yanran put down the bowl, still smiling: “Every grain of rice in the bowl is hard-earned. I ate it to avoid waste.”

She certainly didn’t want to admit that she was craving it. This stuff was terribly expensive; she hadn’t even brought herself to cook a bowl for herself.

Qin Mingyue’s face was cold: “You go out. I want to rest.”

Lin Yanran acknowledged her, saying, “You can read for a bit. Wait until your hair is dry before you sleep, or you might catch a cold.”

After she left, she began to panic.

She was out of money. Raising an empress was very expensive.

Just one bowl of glutinous rice balls in fermented rice wine soup had cost her five hundred large coins from her remaining two taels and one qian, leaving her with only one tael and six qian.

Then, thinking about the high-interest loan from the gambling house, she panicked even more. She returned to her room and began to intensely study the Cooling Pill.

This single pill was worth a hundred taels. She couldn’t bear to crush it or dissolve it in water. She wanted to challenge her limits, vowing to identify the last ingredient, the medicinal primer of this pill, in its intact state.

Unbeknownst to her, the setting sun descended, and night fell.

A full moon rose above the treetops, then slowly ascended to the zenith.

The spring night still carried a watery chill. Silver moonlight spilled down, filling the courtyard, making the ground appear silvery-white like snow. The black dog lay at the foot of the steps, its two front paws side by side pressing its chin, its dark eyes longingly staring at the main door.

Its owner had forgotten to feed it again tonight.

But its owner was getting better and better to it, so it diligently guarded the main door.

Suddenly, its ears perked up, its shoulders and neck tensed, ready to pounce.

A thud came from Lin Yanran’s room.

She had become so engrossed in studying the Cooling Pill that she had observed it from dusk until late into the night. Her face was now excitedly flushed, overflowing with joy. Unexpectedly, as she moved, she fell off the bed.

She had a cramp!

“Hiss—”

She took a sharp gasp of cold air. Ignoring the needle-like numbness, she hastily scrambled up, limping out.

The excitement on her face was impossible to suppress.

“I identified it! Haha, I identified it!”

“I found the last ingredient!”

She walked out joyfully because the Cooling Pill was only a temporary solution. She still needed one more ingredient to upgrade it into a true inhibitor!

So, she would have to find Qin Mingyue and get clues from the personal pill she carried.

“Mingyue—”

She was so happy that she forgot Qin Mingyue’s hatred for her and called out her name directly.

*It’s the owner.* The black dog lay back down.

Lin Yanran lifted the door curtain and froze.

The room was very quiet. No, there was a faint, muffled breathing, accompanied by weak calls.

She rushed over.

Qin Mingyue lay on the bed, her hair disheveled, her cheeks flushed, her lips somewhat dry. She was murmuring weakly in her sleep.

“Mother… Mother…”

She ceaselessly called out for her mother, her brows tightly furrowed, her expression deeply pained.

Lin Yanran reached out and touched her forehead, her face instantly changing.

Her forehead was frighteningly hot.

“Mingyue—”

Qin Mingyue didn’t react at all. Only then did Lin Yanran notice a string of crystal-clear tears sliding from the corner of her eye.

And the skin on her neck, where it was turned to one side, was already soaked.

She was weeping in her dream.

High fever! Coma! And accompanied by terrifying nightmares!