Thirty-Six Stratagems for Divorcing a Wife (GL) - Chapter 16

The man who had just left after meeting with Lady Li looked back at her full of reluctance and longing, which made Lu Jianshou feel terribly guilty.

I wouldn’t, and I couldn’t possibly do anything to your Lady Li!

While Lu Jianshou was still debating whether to spend this “pure” night playing chess, the qin, or painting, Lady Li had already climbed onto her lap with a very different agenda.
“Just now, the young prince called you brother-in-law. Could it be that you are the Lu family’s young master who made such a great fuss marrying the Princess today? If you already have such a beauty at home, why come to a brothel? Is it that the Princess is not gentle enough? Lady Li does not know what kind of women you like, but I will do my utmost to please you…”

Her words were blatantly suggestive, and as she spoke she began to undo her belt.

Lu Jianshou, shocked and flustered, quickly grabbed her hand!

Lady Li felt the firm grip and, with her free hand, struck lightly against her chest, her face blushing shyly.
“My lord consort, you’re hurting me!”

Lu Jianshou was utterly thrown off balance, quickly releasing her.
“Wait—what exactly are we doing here?”

“You tease…” Lady Li’s voice turned coy. “My lord consort is handsome and refined. How could you pretend not to know? Lady Li is too bashful to say it aloud.”
With that, she attempted to leave in a graceful flurry of silk, employing her charms. But to her surprise, Lu Jianshou did not follow the script and pull her back. For a moment, even the courtesan was embarrassed.

But she was a famed courtesan, after all!

Lady Li sat back down, loosened her own sash again, and guided Lu Jianshou’s hand onto the curves she was most proud of.
“My lord consort, do whatever you please. Tonight, Lady Li belongs to you. Command me as you wish.”

“I…” Lu Jianshou felt the soft, yielding flesh beneath her palm. Having a flat chest herself, she had never imagined a woman’s body could feel so supple. Her heart raced; before she knew it, she was a little entranced. Obediently following Lady Li’s lead, she gave a tentative squeeze. The courtesan moaned sweetly in her arms, which suddenly seemed… fun.

In that instant, she cast aside thoughts of chess, qin, or painting and devoted herself wholeheartedly to playing along with Lady Li.

Just as she was clumsily enjoying herself, and Lady Li was delighted to realize this was a complete novice—a rare treasure—two figures who had been eavesdropping at the door were suddenly kicked inside, collapsing on the floor.

And of course, only one person could have done such a thing—our imperious Princess herself!

Nian Yan Shi stepped over the two fallen men and stormed up to drag Lu Jianshou off the chair.

Lu Jianshou hadn’t even withdrawn her hand when Lady Li’s already-loosened robes were yanked completely away. She wore no undergarments beneath, and in an instant, her body was laid bare before everyone. She shrieked, covering herself hastily, but her hands were far from enough.

“Woooow—” Everyone present, except for Nian Yan Shi, exclaimed in unison.

Even Nian Ye and Xiao Sheng, inwardly, gave Lu Jianshou a thumbs-up: Good job!

“You’re still looking?!” Nian Yan Shi felt her eyes had been sullied. Worse still, Lu Jianshou stood there dazed, staring dumbly at Lady Li’s exposed form. That only made the Princess even more furious—she wanted to gouge those eyes out.
“I never imagined you were such a lecher!”

Dragged away, Lu Jianshou accidentally collided with the doorway and caught sight of a glare full of venom. It was the man from earlier, the one who had been with Lady Li—glaring at her with bitter resentment.

Well, of course. Lady Li was his beloved, and what she had just done was too much…

The Princess stormed ahead, her long hair whipping up in the cold night wind, strands lashing against Lu Jianshou’s face.

When they reached the Prince of Yao’s residence, the servants could all tell the Princess was in a foul mood. They knelt quickly, but she said nothing and dragged Lu Jianshou straight to her chamber. Shutting the door, she pressed her against it, her beautiful eyes blazing.
“Can’t you let me have one moment of peace?!”

It felt strangely like a menopausal mother scolding her rebellious teenage child…

But of course, Lu Jianshou lived up to her “scoundrel” reputation and didn’t disappoint. The Princess, though angry, still had harbored the faint hope she might be jealous. But a servant quickly reported: she had gone to a brothel again.
Really? A young woman going to brothels to solicit? Was that even proper?
“If you’re lonely, I could satisfy you myself! Was it necessary to go to a place like that?”

Lu Jianshou, still reeling, froze at the sheer boldness of her words. The Princess’s whole demeanor screamed, I mean it seriously. She frowned slightly.

So shameless! Even Lady Li, a courtesan, would blush to say such a thing.

The Princess, misreading her silence as disdain, felt humiliated.
“What’s that expression? Am I worse than some cheap harlot?”

She was unmatched in beauty—so how was it that, in Lu Jianshou’s eyes, she seemed worthless?

The words stung. Lu Jianshou’s brows knitted even tighter.
“You’re a noblewoman, yet you speak so carelessly. Lady Li’s fall into dust and smoke—do you think that was her choice? To slander her like this, I don’t know your reasons, but I think you go too far.”

Deep down, Lu Jianshou still hoped Nian Yan Shi might show some grace and virtue.

But this woman—always shameless. Was she like this before others too?

She suddenly recalled the Princess’s earlier intimacy with Qiu Yingluo, casually entwining arms while speaking with her. Maybe she wasn’t just affectionate toward her alone. That thought stung.

“In your eyes, I’m always rude and improper. But what about you? Pawing at Lady Li—was that noble?” the Princess snapped, letting her jealousy spill.

Lu Jianshou flushed with embarrassment but still argued back.
“She was the one who made the first move! If you hadn’t been making eyes with Qiu Yingluo in front of me, would I have been tricked into going to that brothel?”

All the resentment she had bottled up finally came pouring out.

The Princess, though scolded unfairly, felt secretly delighted.
“So you didn’t go there willingly?”

“Nian Yan Shi! Is that what you think of me? That I’d choose to go there?!” Lu Jianshou grew angrier. “I told you—it’s because you neglected me for that so-called master of yours, leaving me in the cold!”

“What has my master ever done to you, that you speak so ill of her?” The Princess was baffled at her hostility.

“Your master is no good! A woman her age, looking at you with such indecent eyes—preying on her own disciple! And you, so trusting and open-hearted, won’t see the danger until it’s too late!”

At that, the Princess realized—Lu Jianshou herself didn’t know it, but she was jealous.

Discovering this, her anger softened.
“So, you were upset because she always looks at me like that?”

Lu Jianshou tacitly admitted it, though she tried to disguise it.
“I only worry for you. That ‘eternal youth’ technique of hers reeks of trickery. And you—so kind and unsuspecting—you wouldn’t notice until you were devoured.”

“Imagine, you calling me kind!” The Princess chuckled, hooking a finger around Lu Jianshou’s. “But if it makes you unhappy for others to look at me, then I’ll simply make sure no one does.”

Lu Jianshou was struck dumb by her dazzling smile, like bathing in spring sunlight. Breathless, she thought back to the earlier brothel scene, and suddenly her fingers itched. Clearing her throat, her face tinged red, she glanced nervously at the Princess’s slightly gaping neckline.
“It’s late. Let’s rest.”

Though they had always shared a bed, that night Lu Jianshou found no peace.

Damn that Nian Ye! If not for being dragged to a brothel, she wouldn’t have learned such things. Now how was she supposed to sleep?

She tried to hypnotize herself—
That’s man and woman’s business. We’re both women. Sharing a bed won’t mean anything.
It’s fine. Absolutely fine.

But still, she couldn’t resist glancing at her.

Watching her sleep.

The Princess lay with brows like painted strokes, skin white as jade, lips lush and rosy, slightly parted, chin lifted as if in attention though her eyes were closed in serenity.

She was the kind of beauty who astonished at first glance, captivated at the second, and entrapped forever at the third.

That such a woman existed—so radiant, so devoted, so endlessly gentle and yielding toward her—was almost unbelievable.

A wild thought struck Lu Jianshou: if only she were truly a man.

Even if just for one day, she would hold Nian Yan Shi without hesitation.

But such a day would never come.

In the stillness of the deep night, Lu Jianshou let out a sigh—so faint it could not be heard.