The guest courtyard, that became available to them that afternoon, was not large. It was comparable with the basic courtyard home that the pair shared in the Ascending Mountain Inst.i.tute. Just that the side rooms were meant for close servants or young children and there was no small kitchen. The contents of the room were far more luxurious than their own home, even though they were generally simple in terms of ornamentation. The curtains were made of brocade, the sheets upon the beds were silk with heavier blankets placed on top that had been embroidered with simple, but elegant patterns. The chest and vanity tables were not ornate, but made of high quality wood and finished superbly.They"d been guided by servants to separate bedrooms within the building, to which Leon was too shy to amend and Jin Li was too lazy. They reunited in the common room located inbetween the two bedrooms, where Jin Li requested a servant to bring a kettle of hot water. This servant and several others had been a.s.signed to serve them during their stay, but they also found that these unusual masters did not want their close attentions; meaning their usual aid during grooming, nightly duties nor even the simple matter of pouring tea. Some of these duties actually fell upon the smaller youth"s shoulders, which confused them for even though he was a commoner, his manner was not actually like a servant, born in house or otherwise! Not even a favoured servant would dare bicker so openly with their Master nor would a favoured servant be given their own bedroom in the main living area, but rather still be shown a side room. Plus... there was something ambiguous about their relationship...
They couldn"t evaluate it overly for they were shooed out of the courtyard with the exception of just two, who were told just to remain in the servants rooms in the front of the courtyard until they were needed, as "cultivation required an environment that was unhindered by external factors." What did mortals understand that while this sentence was actually true, they were simply considered nuisances by a certain Martial Artist who didn"t want his small alchemist worried that their interactions would be heard by servants guarding their bedroom doors waiting to attend them at immediate notice.
That done and tea consumed, Jin Li tugged his small alchemist"s wrist, the heat in his eyes no longer hidden. Leon blushed and made some excuses about cleaning up before coming to his room tonight then fled to his own room. There, Leon washed his face and took care of a little personal business before slipping into his night robes. Feeling a little more settled, he didn"t delay any longer less his impatient gong decide to come seeking him, however he had barely made a move towards the door when he heard a feminine scream, the source of which was down the hall of this courtyard!
Rushing into his lover"s bedroom, he came upon an unexpected scene; a girl of about sixteen years crumpled upon the floor with the silk sheet of Jin Li"s bed wrapped about her otherwise naked form. Tears streamed down the girl"s face, while Jin Li stood a few paces away, looking down at her with sparks of angry lightning in his black eyes. Leon could only stand and stare, his mind a blanket of nothing due to shock. Less than half a minute later and the two servants that had been allowed to stay in the guest courtyard arrived and stood behind Leon, surprise also evident upon their faces.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Jin Li"s crisp tone was heavy with anger as he pointed at the girl who had crawled into his bed. It was not as if he hadn"t experienced this sort of thing before; his Uncle had tried once to gift him with a tong fang (bed servant) and there had been a couple of servant girls with their heads more in the clouds wishing to experience the dreams of a Phoenix, however that sort of thing had been nipped in the bud in an extremely swift and once b.l.o.o.d.y manner. None had bothered to attempt to actually climb into his bed since he was fourteen, too fearful of his and the Madam"s (his mother"s) reactions. Definitely wasn"t expecting that sort of thing to occur in the guest courtyard of someone else"s palace!
"Honoured sir," one of the servants stammered, "this..."
"Our Master certainly would never approve of this sort of thing!" The other servant was much more certain of this matter than the former and looked coldly at the girl, who shuddered beneath his icy stare.
It should be mentioned, that Mond had a.s.signed them male servants. For one, although he, himself, had a couple of female servants, they were older women that had been with him for years, not tong fang. He"d once had a tong fang, but once his engagement was set to a young girl of another military family, he felt that it would be an insult to her if he accidentally brought a shu child into the world before she had even been carried through the gates. Thus, his tong fang had been a.s.signed elsewhere.
Mond also understood his brother"s nature; Sun did not like women attending him. Even his old wet nurse was retired when he was a.s.signed his own courtyard and he chased away the girls their mother had given him as potential tong fang. His innocent, bright natured mother didn"t know it, but those same girls had once been amongst those who had mocked and ridiculed his little brother for his poor performance as a Martial Artist and Cultivator. Although they were cautious with their words, they still relished a Master"s misfortune, who would want them?!
So it had not occurred to Mond to a.s.sign Leon and Jin Li women to serve them in the guest courtyard. And even if he had, they would not be given to them to attend to their s.e.xual needs!
The girl reached for Jin Li"s robe. "M-Master..." her fingers stretched to him, the gamble she had made while thinking she had excellent odds in her favour becoming shockingly unrealised.
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She was pretty, she had many of the servant boys dancing in the palm of her hands, though she kept them all at arms length, hoping for more. Then this guest of the family had caught her eye. He was incomparably handsome with a cold yet n.o.ble temperament. Even the Matriarch seemed to approve of him, so while his background wasn"t clear, if he was a n.o.ble as a.s.sumed, she had a chance of becoming his Concubine, while if he was not, it would still not be so bad to become his wife!
She had definitely not expected any virile youth to be able to resist her unleashed charms! Panicked, for she only now thought about the consequences of her actions if she failed to capture this man, she could only beg him to accept her. "This lowly one is pure and has now been seen by you.. this slave dares not dream any longer unattainable dreams, just wishes to serve you wholly!"
Her head suddenly and sharply swung to one side as the sound of a slap echoed through the room. Jin Li sneered at the girl, but his heart felt incomparably full. He tugged his incensed alchemist to his side and unfurled the youth"s reddened hand. "Does it hurt?" He asked Leon who trembled with both anger and the shock of what he had just done. He"d hit a girl! Perhaps it was a good job his mother wasn"t in this world, wouldn"t she berate him for doing so? But he had been so angry that this girl not only crawled into his man"s bed, but propositioned Jin Li so openly in front of him and now that Jin Li mentioned it, he realised that his hand did sting a bit from smacking that woman"s thick face.
"En," Leon lowered his head before his man, not daring to look at the feverish eyes staring intently at him. He tried to tug his hand free as he suddenly recalled that they had an audience, but Jin Li would not let go.
"Tch," Jin Li glanced over his shoulder at his messy bed. "This Lord"s bed has been defiled and now stinks of perfume. We will retire to your bedroom." Leon blush deepened. Turning to the two Male servants, Jin Li added; "I trust that this Lord does not need to tell you to clean up here."
All three servants felt as if their three views had been turned upside down, but while the girl paled white, her longing expression morphing into disgust and the nervous man, froze completely out of his depth, the other man nodded as if he hadn"t been unmoved at all. "Yes, honourable guest. This humble servant will indeed, clean up here. I hope both sirs have an otherwise pleasant night." Not only would he clean up, but would a.s.sure that talk of what occurred here was minimal.
Jin Li gave no more attention to the girl upon the floor nor the two male servants as he too wished to explore what would make his night more pleasant and dragged Leon away to the other room by his wrist.
The following day, the girl servant was dismissed by the angered Matriarch and thrown out of the palace gates. Details of what had happened were originally kept under wraps, but no matter, there was still a tiny leak voicing a little of the girl"s deed and intent. Thus other servants and young women of the palace began to gossip in corners, their disdain about this former servant clear. How dare she think she can rise through another"s household and shed her status as a servant. What a s.l.u.t! One young woman with sultry eyes, who was glad to finally get rid of that eyesore voiced; "What did she expect? That man is clearly refined and would not fall for such a cheap thing. The place by his side is only worthy of one who is incomparable to others, with talent, poise and grace. One who is raised n.o.ble and has a strong family background."
"Such as yourself?"
The young woman just smiled.