Chapter 437 – A Stolen Good?
The jade pendant will be mine regardless of the result? Sanniang was surprised. No one could ever take advantage of her and in return she wouldn’t take advantage of others. However, now that Mo Ruo was offering her such a good deal that she was actually afraid to accept.
Mo Ruo seemed to have felt her hesitation. “Why? Are you worried that the jade pendant is poisoned?”
“Of course not.” Sanniang laughed as she leaned forward and said, flaunting a smile on her red and juicy lips, “Rumour said that the royal court has lost a batch of jewelry recently. And now you’re offering me this jade pendant generously? Is this… a stolen good?”
A stolen good?
Mo Ruo was greatly entertained by her words. He removed the cup that was placed upside down and revealed the tranquil jade before he poked it with his finger. “Look at this closely. Does this look like a stolen good?”
Sanniang paused for a short while, then reached her long finger out and picked up the jade pendant. She touched it with her finger tip and examined it. Then… she slid it into her bosom, where it glided smoothly into her clothes. The next moment, she arched her body and said in an extremely alluring voice, “It doesn’t matter whether this is a stolen good or not. Since it’s from Master, then it’s mine. It’s not too late… If Master regrets your words and wants it back now.”
You’ve already put it into your bosom, how am I supposed to get it back? Mo Ruo did not bother to look at her as he said, “I will not retrieve something that I’ve given to a woman.”
“Then… Do you still want to drink the wine?”
“Of course, I want to drink.” As he spoke, he took a bowl of wine and gulped it down. The top-quality Nu’erhong 1 was definitely pleasant to the palate. He licked his lips as he craved for more. With his eyes gently closed, he shook his head in appreciation. “To be able to taste such a good wine in this inn, it must be my acc.u.mulated luck from my previous lives.” Then, he drank another bowl of wine.
With her elbow pressing against the table to support her upper body, Sanniang had her upper body slightly leaned forward as she looked at Mo Ruo with her eyes full of tenderness. “If the Master likes it, you can stay here. You can drink the superior Nu’erhong everyday.” She seemed to be a thirsty woman.
Mo Ruo did not reply her, but drank five bowls of wine continuously to satisfy his craving. It only took him a gulp to finish a bowl!
After a while, he felt uncomfortable being stared by Sanniang and pushed a bowl of wine towards her. “The wine doesn’t taste as fragrant when one drinks it alone.”
Sanniang’s expression became more tender. “Fine. Tonight, I’ll drink with Master till you’re satisfied.” She raised her bare arm and took the bowl, draining it in one go before continuing with several more!
The two alcoholics drank the Nu’erhong bowl by bowl until they finished the whole urn. Yet, they did not seem to be drunk at all; It was as if they had only drunk an urn of water.
Sanniang stood up swaying her slim waist and walked behind Mo Ruo. She rested her hands on his shoulders, then slowly slid them downwards to his chest.
Seeing that Mo Ruo was not resisting her advances, Sanniang wantonly slipped her hand into the opening of his robes. When she bent her fingers and was ready to pull the item out, a strong hand closed around her wrist. Mo Ruo unceremoniously wrenched Sanniang’s hand out of his robes and flung it aside!
Sanniang quivered with both her hands clenched into fists. Mo Ruo threw a side glance at her. He wasn’t angry at all, commenting lightly, “If Sanniang wants my silver, you can ask for it openly. I’ll definitely give it to you.”
“I don’t understand what Master is saying.” Her face was the picture of innocence!
Mo Ruo took out the item in his robes and tossed it onto the table. It made a loud bang! However, it was not a silver tael, but a rock.
“I’m only a poor man. A completely poor man. The only thing that’s worth some money is the jade you just took. Regarding this rock… I picked it up by the riverside today I kept it in my pocket because I thought it looked nice. If Sanniang likes it, you can take it.” The corner of Sanniang’s lips twitched.
She rubbed her wrist that was reddened from Mo Ruo’s grip. She wasn’t ashamed in the slightest, but gave a coy smile and sashayed to sit beside Mo Ruo. “Master, don’t misunderstand my intentions. I, Du Sanniang, am not a person who likes to dirty my hands with gold.”
“That will be for the best.” Mo Ruo smiled condescendingly as he gulped down the last bowl of wine and he turned the empty bowl upside down.
“Didn’t you say that there would definitely be enough wine for me? There’s no more now.”
Sanniang stood up, “Don’t worry. I’ll get more wine for Master,” Then she swayed out of the room.
Just as she left the room, she heard a sobbing female voice. “Sister Zhan Mo, what happened to you? Don’t scare me.” A lady was lying on the floor with pale face and the young girl beside her was crying in anxiety.
“Hey, what is happening?” Sanniang walked over as she asked.
The young girl said, “Our sister has suddenly fainted.”
Sanniang took a good look at her. She couldn’t have died, could she? It’d be terrible if she died in her guesthouse.
Mo Ruo heard the commotion and hurried out from the room too. He squinted as he examined Zhan Mo who was out cold on the floor. He took a deep breath, squatted beside her and told the young maid coldly, “Excuse me.” Then, he picked up Zhan Mo in his arms.
“Which room?”
The young maid was stunned and did not move an inch.
Mo Ruo repeated his question. “Which room?”
“Oh, that… that room.” The maid pointed.
Mo Ruo carried Zhan Mo to her room and put her down on her bed. Very soon, the troupe leader and the other members heard about the incident and came over. They created a commotion, disturbing Jing Rong. He asked his guards, “What happened?”
A guard answered. “A woman fainted just now. Young Master Mo carried her to her room, seemingly trying to help her.”
“Who?”
“One of the ladies among the people we met by the riverside today.”
Uh huh? Jing Rong’s curiousity was raised. After some contemplation, he went and joined in the crowd.
When they reached the room, they saw Mo Ruo taking the lady’s pulse seriously. His face was flushed and the room was filled with the smell of wine; it was obvious he had drunk quite a lot of wine. Jing Rong shook his head. This guy will only stop drinking on the day the sun rises from the west.
Inside the room, the troupe leader was pacing back and forth, muttering, “What can I do if anything happens to her?”
Someone said, “Leader, don’t worry. Sister Zhan Mo will be fine.”
“It’ll be terrible if anything happens to her. We promised to perform at a birthday ceremony at the Zhang Residence and they specifically requested for Zhan Mo to perform. If anything happens to her, where should I find the silver to compensate them with?” He slapped the back of his hand with his palm hard for a few times. ‘I’ll have to pay a lot as compensation.’
The young girl who was crying aside said, “Leader, the most important thing now is Sister Zhan Mo’s health. For the past few years, Sister Zhan Mo has done so many performances without getting any rest. If not for that, she would not have fainted out of fatigue.”
“What? This is my fault? You ungrateful souls. I provide you food and clothings, and now you’re blaming me instead? If not for me, all of you would have starved to death. Didn’t Zhan Mo worked so hard just so that you all can have decent meals?”
“…”
“Zhan Mo is the lead singer of the opera. If anything happens to her, you will have nothing to eat. I’ll even have to compensate to Old Master Zhang with a few hundreds taels.”
The leader was mentally calculating that if anything went wrong with Zhan Mo, the deal to perform for the rich businessman of Anfu, Old Master Zhang, would be off. Worse, he would have to return double amount of the money he had already received.
…