The Feast

Translated by Gumihou

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"I do believe that Zilan and Jing"er won"t see it that way." Duan Tingxuan couldn"t help but laughed. He gave Su Nuan Nuan another look and said. "Since you like it that much, keep it. Wear it for me one day, don"t just admire other people"s beauty, you too are at the best age of your life. A wonderful flower whose looks is more than a match for this pin."

"I guess the rain will be red[1] tonight, ba? Looks like even a dog like you can grow elephant tusk[2]." Su Nuan Nuan sneered as she tucked the pin back into its box. Since that Duan Tingxuan already said that she could have it, she did not hesitate to take it. Let"s consider it the price of today"s meal as well as all those things he had stolen.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she uttered these words, light flashed outside the window. It was followed by loud grumbling sounds from the sky and the unmistakable "shalala" of rain. Xiang Yun called from outside. "Missy, it"s raining."

"Yi? Quickly, go check and see if it"s red." Su Nuan Nuan was in a good enough mood to joke as she eyed the little marquis.

It was the summer rain, and therefore quite a heavy downpour. Duan Tingxuan had just eaten too much and was now finding it difficult to move. He said lazily. "Since it"s raining, I shall stay here and sleep at Mei Yue Lou."

"If you want to sleep go to the side room. I"ll tell you know, there are no good beddings to spare so it"s up to my Lord to make do." Su Nuan Nuan said carelessly as she leaned over to pick up Zhao Chai, and began to stroke his smooth and shiny back.

"Surely you"re not that pitiful? I"ve already sent over so many cloth and things, and you still haven"t made more beddings?" Duan Tingxuan was astonished. Su Nuan Nuan merely shook her head in mock regret. "None. Stay if you like, leave if you don"t like it here. In fact, I"m sure that Madam Yun and Madam Lan will be more than happy to welcome you."

Duan Tingxuan looked at Su Nuan Nuan with a frown, love and hate wrestled within him and a sudden, demonic smile wreathed his face. "Madam has just reminded me of something, it"s true that they are my wives, however, you are my wife too, ah. It"s perfectly natural for husband and wife to share a bed, in fact it"s practically heavens law. I will sleep in your room tonight, and nowhere else."

"You dare."

Su Nuan Nuan"s brows, which had been smooth from stroking the cat, creased up immediately. Duan Tingxuan smirked as he stroked his chin, and said arrogantly. "Why would I not dare? You think you can fight me off with your few weeks worth of kungfu?"

It was true that Su Nuan Nuan was no match for Duan Tingxuan in a physical fight, however, this first madam still has a special killing move, ah. She laughed once and said with a sneer. "Well, I guess this means you don"t want cream snacks anymore? Let me tell you, my cream snacks are nothing like those dry abominations you call milk pastries. Ever heard of cream cakes? They are soft and springy to the touch and melts in your mouth, leaving nothing but a beautifully sweet fragrance…"

"Fine, that"s enough. I"ll be sleeping in the side room." The little marquis gave a tight harrumph and left in defeat.

When Duan Tingxuan was out of sight, Su Nuan Nuan finally released a sigh of relief. She lifted Zhao Chai to eye level and muttered. "Who knows how many times I can use this strategy? That man s.l.u.t still keep insisting on making me go back to that hateful inner court. What do you think I should do to make him forget about this idea once and for all?"

From somewhere behind her, she overheard Xiang Yun t.i.ttered. "Sister Hong Lian said that if Missy moves back, the master would stop pestering about it once and for all."

"Pei pei pei!" Su Nuan Nuan spat several times, gritted her teeth and snarled. "Really, I"ve never expected that Hong Lian, with her large eyes and innocent face, to curse me so openly. Just wait, I"ll sew up your crow beak of a mouth one day." She stomped angrily to her room and threw herself in font of her dressing table and snapped. "Enough, remove my make-up, time to sleep."

Outside, the rain slowly receded, though the crash of thunder remained constant. Su Nuan Nuan sank into a deep sleep with Zhao Chai in her arms.

After an indeterminate amount of time, she slept too sweetly to know, a loud crash shook her awake. Su Nuan Nuan was shaken from her sweet dreams, even Zhao Chai leapt awake, his body curved into an arched as he mewed fiercely in the dark.

"What a loud thunder." Su Nuan Nuan patted her chest. Suddenly, it occurred to her that ancient houses didn"t have things like earthing or other similar lightning prevention safety things. What would happen if lighting struck one of the houses?

The moment the thought flitted through her mind, a slash of light split the sky, followed by a powerful crack of thunder. It was like an explosion had shook the grounds of Mei Yue Lou and Su Nuan Nuan could only gape through the window as a large fireball erupted in front of her.

In a flash, the paper screens of the window was devoured by orange flames. The curtains vanished in a foomph, then, the hungry fire began to reach for her dressing table.

"Could… could this be considered… punishment by lightning?" Su Nuan Nuan looked bemusedly at the roaring flames before her. Her brain had shut down from sheer disbelief and shock. As someone from the 21st century, she never had to fear thunder or lightning. However, she was now a spirit inhabiting a body without permission, was she an evil spirit? Should she fear retribution from the heavens?

"This isn"t right, ah. It"s not like I deliberately did all this on my own. How could a transmigrated woman be considered an evil spirit? I"m human after all, could it be that the G.o.d of Transmigration and the G.o.d of Thunder were disputing? Or am I suppose to die earlier and the novel is now correcting itself?" Su Nuan Nuan held Zhou Chai to herself, she was so stuck in her own mind that she never noticed her cat squirming and howling for attention.

"Missy…!"

The shouts of Hong Lian and Xiang Yun finally startled Su Nuan Nuan from her thoughts. She blinked hard and only now realized that the fire had encircled the room and was licking at the bottom of her bed.

"Ah!"

The threat of being burnt to death finally roused her, she threw of her bed covers and saw Hong Lian and Xiang Yun trying to make their way in. She screamed, "Go away! Run away now! Otherwise you"ll be burnt to death too, leave now and don"t turn back."

"If Missy dies, how do we maids live?"

Hong Lian and Xiang Yun screamed back, tears running down their face. Su Nuan Nuan felt her own face and her fingers came off wet and she thought, I"m so sorry, I should never have accused you of being traitors. I don"t need loyalty like this, ah. Stupid, stupid, what if we all die together? You"ve only been with me for a few weeks, how am I pay for your death?

As their lives hung at a balance, a loud yell came from outside. Duan Tingxuan appeared behind Hong Lian and Xiang Yun. Without a word, he grabbed them by the back of their clothes and threw them out of the house, one after another.

Su Nuan Nuan breathed out slowly and smiled bitterly in the dark. Well, it"s not a bad thing to be a bit cold and calculative. Especially under these kind of circ.u.mstances, at the very least Hong Lian and Xiang Yun did not have to die. You silly things, your own Missy have died long ago, I too am supposed to be dead. Dear G.o.d of Death, I don"t mind leaving this world, but could you please change my manner of death? Death by fire seems really painful, you know?

As these thoughts ran through her head, something suddenly through the door. Before Su Nuan Nuan could suck in a startled death, the thing rushed to her bedside and a very familiar voice howled. "You stupid woman, why are you still in bed? Do you really want to die by fire?"

Who else, but Duan Tingxuan?

[2] It"s a place on the saying "A dog won"t sprout ivory tusk", basically it means a common person would not show good quality. Su Nuan Nuan used "Even a dog would sprout ivory tusk", meaning she looks down on Duan Tingxuan as a person, who sometimes gives good performance.

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Translated by Gumihou at kitchennovel dot com

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