Chapter 56: The Beauty in My Arms, Fragrance Fills My Clothes

  January 20, 1895, just a few days before the Chinese New Year, Ye Zhikui returned to Tianjin and reported to Wang Wenshao on the training of the new army. He also proposed that the Tianjin Machinery Bureau develop hydrogen balloons, then strolled out of the Governor's Mansion.

  Ye Zhi Kui walked, thinking to himself that since there was nothing important today, he might as well go visit Sheng Xuanhuai. After all, in just two months' time, he would be marrying his daughter. If he didn't make an effort to visit more often, it would be hard to justify. Moreover, the Sheng family had even gone so far as to relocate Sheng Huiyi from Beijing to Tianjin for the sake of convenience for Ye Zhi Kui's wedding, which was quite considerate of them towards this son-in-law-to-be.

  Ye Zhi Kui rode his horse swiftly, like a whirlwind, and with four bodyguards rushed towards the Sheng Fu mansion. Halfway there, he thought it wouldn't be right to arrive empty-handed, so when he saw a tea shop nearby, he had his bodyguards buy several catties of top-grade Longjing tea to bring as gifts.

  Before long, Ye Zhui and his entourage arrived at the entrance of the Sheng Mansion. The mansion was extremely grand, and although the servants at the gate did not recognize Ye Zhui, they saw that he was wearing the uniform of a first-class military officer of the imperial court. They hastily came forward to inquire about him, and upon hearing that he was the brother-in-law, they quickly reported inside. However, Ye Zhui waited for half a day before a maidservant came out to lead him in, while his entourage was entertained by other servants.

  Ye Zhi Kui followed the maid, passing through three layers of doors and courtyards, catching glimpses of the wealthy family's elegant buildings, serene ponds, before finally arriving at the reception hall of the Shi Manor. Upon entering, he didn't see Shi Xiang Huan, but instead saw a woman sitting at the head of the room, with skin as white as snow, delicate features, and a slender figure. Her face was heart-shaped, her eyes bright, and her eyebrows slightly furrowed. Ye Zhi Kui felt that she looked somewhat familiar, but since Shi Xiang Huan had many wives, concubines, and daughters, although he had some vague guesses, he didn't dare to confirm whether his suspicions were correct.

  The woman opened her eyes, revealing a pair of bright, piercing pupils, and smiled, showing off her pearly white teeth. "I wonder what brings General Ye to visit our humble abode?" she said.

  Ye Zhi's mouth twitched, isn't this nonsense? Come visit your father-in-law! Shrugging his shoulders, he directly retorted: "Where is Lord Sheng? And who are you, little girl?"

  That woman, namely Sheng Hui-yi, frowned slightly and raised an eyebrow. Today she happened to be at home reading books and practicing calligraphy. Before long, a servant came to report that Ye Zhi-kui had come to visit. Because Ye Zhi-kui was making a sudden attack, Sheng Xuan-huai was not in the mansion at all, and Zhuang's wife didn't know which temple she went to burn incense in. So the Sheng Mansion only had Sheng Hui-yi left. Originally, she wanted to let the servant tell Ye Zhi-kui to come back another time, but then she remembered being humiliated by Ye Zhi-kui last time and harbored a "revenge" mentality. Therefore, she personally came out to meet Ye Zhi-kui.

  Sheng Huiyi heard Ye Zhi Kui's counter-question, and her heart was filled with another wave of anger. Is this really the person she would marry in the future? Unacceptable, she must teach him a lesson. What is the greatest pursuit goal for ancient women? That is to have the skill to tame their husbands.

  Sheng Huiyi said with a hint of anger: "General Ye is indeed a nobleman who forgets things easily, having just visited you not long ago and yet forgetting about this humble woman today."

  Ye Zhi's expression was unsurprising, and he smiled as he said: "So you're the Miss Sheng who's been pretending to be a ghost to deceive me. But it seems like you'll be marrying me soon, yet you still dare to speak to me like this?"

  "Who's pretending to be a ghost? I was just joking with you, General Ye. You're a man of great stature, how could you possibly be on the same level as me, a mere woman? And as for marrying me, isn't that still in the future? Even if we were married, shouldn't husband and wife treat each other with respect? What's all this talk about who fears whom?"

  "General Ye sneered and smiled foolishly: 'I'm a rough man, I don't know how to be polite, all I know is that if my own woman doesn't listen, then she must be beaten until she listens.'"

  Sheng Huiyi saw Ye Zhikui's embarrassed appearance, hated that her teeth itched, but couldn't do anything about him. Suddenly, she saw the gift placed beside Ye Zhikui, and her eyes lit up with a smile, forming a crescent shape. She said happily: "General Ye, you're really special in giving gifts. This tea is obviously from our family's store, and there's even the Sheng family logo on it. Are you trying to give us two gifts? You've really put your heart into it."

  Ye Zhi Kui's face was slightly flushed, he had come in a hurry, and didn't have time to carefully choose a gift. Seeing Sheng Hui Yi still covering her mouth and laughing uncontrollably, although she looked lovely and charming, Ye Zhi Kui felt a bit annoyed. But then he thought about it, seeing that they were alone in the house, he started to feel sly. He realized that he was more and more fond of being a fool, because he could just act straightforwardly.

  So he walked forward without hesitation, and as he approached, he snapped his fingers loudly. Xing Huiyi saw Ye Zhikui's fierce expression and couldn't help but stop laughing, feeling a bit afraid, saying: "What do you want to do?"

  Ye Zhui's rough voice and rough breathing replied, "I just said that, if the girls don't listen, they need to be beaten!" After finishing speaking, Ye Zhui took a step forward and picked up Sheng Huiwei, then sat down on her chair with a thud. He laid Sheng Huiwei horizontally across his thighs, raised his palm, and slapped her buttocks twice, saying "See if you're still smiling or not" while beating her.

  Sheng Huiyi, who had never experienced such a situation before, was already completely out of sorts from the moment Ye Zhi Kui picked her up. It wasn't until she heard two slapping sounds and felt a burning pain that she came to her senses, her face suddenly turning bright red as if water could drip from it, her body going limp, and she couldn't even speak.

  She didn't beg for mercy or admit her mistake, so Ye Zhikui couldn't help but slap her twice more. The first two slaps were to punish her, but this time Ye Zhikui himself didn't know what he was thinking, only that Sheng Huiyi's buttocks had excellent elasticity and softness, both of which were embodied in one piece, the hand feeling really good.

  Sheng Hui's body was as soft as boneless, and she let out a gentle hum, then used all her strength to struggle up from Ye Zhi Kui's body. Her eyes were filled with a hint of tears, her face was slightly shy and annoyed, and she glared at Ye Zhi Kui with a fierce gaze, softly scolding: "Rascal, you're just a coarse man!"

  Ye Zhi Kui rolled her eyes and said, "Can't you come up with some fresh insults? What you're saying doesn't even sound like scolding, it sounds more like flirting."

  Sheng Huiyi lightly bit her lower lip with her teeth, taking advantage of Ye Zhiwei's inattention, suddenly stepped forward and viciously trampled on his toes, then coldly snorted and turned to leave.

  Ye Zhi Kui was suddenly attacked and didn't have time to prevent it, so he let out a painful "ah" cry. In fact, the contents inside were mostly intact.

  Sheng Hui returned to the back room, her heart still racing wildly. She touched her small face and found it burning hot. When she touched the spot where Ye Zhi Kui had hit her, a strange feeling arose in her mind. She also thought about how she had stepped on Ye Zhi Kui's foot when she left, and couldn't help but smile lightly.

  Then I thought of Ye's painful cry, and couldn't help but worry if I had kicked him too hard. But then again, why should I care about this rascal? In an instant, all sorts of thoughts were tangled together in my mind. In the end, I still ended up worrying, so I called over Little Green and instructed: "Little Green, go take a look if General Ye is still there. If he is, bring him a bottle of pain-relieving medicine."

  Xiao Lü had just seen Sheng Huiyi go to see Ye Zhong and come back, when she started acting strangely from the moment she entered the door. One moment she was smiling foolishly, the next she was muttering to herself, then her expression would change to one of happiness, only to turn angry again. Xiao Lü couldn't help but tease her, saying: "Miss, you're lovesick! You didn't want to marry General Ye, so why are you suddenly concerned about him?"

  Sheng Hui's face, which had just returned to normal, turned red again as she playfully scolded Xiao Lü: "You're asking for a beating! Little girl, hurry up and go."

  Xiao Lü chuckled and replied: "This servant obeys, I'll go take a look at your General Ye's injuries."

  After Xiaolu left, Sheng Huiyi began to regret asking her to deliver the medicine. She thought to herself that this might be too obvious. Alas! The thoughts of a daughter's family are indeed complex and delicate. Just as Sheng Huiyi was entangled in her thoughts, Ye Zhenkui was still sitting in the living room, recalling the feeling of Wen Yu in his arms earlier. It seemed that there was still a faint fragrance of perfume on his clothes.

  "General Ye, this bottle of medicine is what our young mistress asked me to give you." Ye Zhui's reverie was interrupted by Xiao Lü's words, and he suddenly came back to himself, realizing he was still in the Sheng manor.

  She saw her holding a bottle of medicine and handing it to herself. She couldn't help but smile as she took it over, saying: "Thank you for your family's concern, Miss. When you get back, have her apply some ointment on herself too."

  Xiao Lü was somewhat perplexed, but still nodded responsibly and continued: "My young mistress asks you to return to your manor first, as neither the master nor the madam are at home. Please come visit again another day!"

  Yezhi Kui heard this and stood up, saying: "In that case, I'll take my leave."

  Xiao Lü escorted Ye Zhi out of the Sheng mansion before turning back to inform Miss Sheng San.

  "Is he gone?" Sheng Huiyi pretended to return to her usual dignified and virtuous demeanor, asking aloud.

  Xiao Lü nodded and smiled as she replied, "General Ye has already taken his leave. However, before he left, he asked me to pass on a message to you, miss. He wants you to apply some medicine to yourself too. Are you injured somewhere?"

  Miss Sheng San heard this and thought of her own still burning shame, couldn't help but secretly scold: "Ye Zhi Kui, you are a rascal!"