“Wife, I want to eat meat” 《娘子，我要吃肉》Chapter 6

Xia Ling Mei was very good at escaping.

Having done it many times, when she was at the Xia residence her secret guard protected in everything as she went off to uphold virtue and condemn evil thinking she was infallible, then afterwards, when things went beyond her expectations she would wait for the secret guard to find her with a bitter smile, dealing with the aftermath for her.

She grew up in a large and influential family, the thing she learnt the most about was how to use family connections to get benefits. The huge network of relationships, unleashing the power to use the entire organisation, allowing her to not care about the outcome of such events. In some ways, she was brought up pampered and spoiled, unaware of hardships. When she first entered the Jianghu those years ago, it was the first time she saw the street bullies abuse the weak, using their fists as a symbol of power beating the heads and bodies of those impoverished, that was when she then understood many things could not be solved using words. As it turns out, it wasn’t just when people abused their power, that they would use their physical strength, sometimes people would because they were bored, or, simply because they were fed and warm that they wanted to find something to do nothing more than to pass their dull days, therefore, those who rely on their family name could bully others, beating up common people in a public place, almost to death.

At that time Xia Ling Mei was angry, a pure, and as a woman she went to interrogate them, what she got was indecent obscenities, furthermore they dirtily tried to dishonour her hand, she who burst into a violent rage, beat the servants of evil in the middle of the street, she saved the weak, she also caught the attention of the master of those evil dogs, who nearly tarnished the innocence of the Xia family’s daughter. The secret guard rescued her, dealing with the troubles which followed.

After that time, she understood the family’s secret guard was her armour, she could protect herself, and be able to help the weak in trouble. Her inevitable anger could only simply make matters more and more messy, she did not try to escape the Xia family’s secret guard again. After she left the Wang residence, the first time she returned to the Xia family to celebrate New Year, Xia Ling Mei unexpected discovered her secret guards had increased, the Wang family’s secret guard had also joined the ranks to protect her.

Xia family’s secret guard made her feel safe, but Wang family’s secret guard made her feel insulted. Like that very same year, that man who had similarly bitterly humiliated her, she hated the whole Wang family. Because she loved too much, so her hate was to be expected.

She instigated a brawl between Xia family’s and Wang family’s secret guards, provoked the bloodthirst instincts of these killers, on more than one occasion she placed herself in a dangerous situation, luring the Wang family’s secret guard to shed the last drop of blood for her.

Travelling in the Jianghu, a weak woman carrying a lot of money, naturally would attract a lot of beasts, Wang family’s secret guard became the food under the claws of those beasts. She silently declared her hatred towards the entire Wang family, forcing Wang Yun Feng to retreat.

Until, she saw him.

Xia Ling Mei was like a common unconstrained and arrogant lioness who had been caught by her former master, she was really frightened. When she first saw him, she only had time to raise all the hair on her body, bearing her teeth in a threatening manner, completely forgetting to show her sharpest claws.

“You say he lives just there?” Xia Ling Mei asked Ying Shi incredulously.

“Yes, moreover he only just moved in yesterday.” Ying Shi shrugged her shoulders, she followed Wang Yun Feng out of the entrance of Gu residence, she had thought he would enter Chenzhou’s county magistrate’s official residence, it was known the imperial censors were the emperor’s lackey, unlikely to be lightly demoted, unless he held a secret imperial decree from the emperor to investigate certain officials then would he appear in such a small place like Chenzhou. Who would have known, Wang Yun Feng panting with rage would turn a corner, directly next door to Gu residence.

Xia Ling Mei was extremely angry, sending a secret guard to follow her, every year during New Year celebrations following her like a shadow, and without a word he bought the residence next door.

Any way you look at it, it was provocation, the furious Xia Ling Mei was itching to split open the main door of the residence with a whip, as if she could split its owner into pieces like this.

“He doesn’t let me be well, why should I let him be well.” Xia Ling Mei snorted and wrinkled her nose, muttering a few words to Ying Shi, not long after, the head of the Xia family secret guard noiselessly appeared by their side.

“She’s left?” Wang Yun Feng raised his eyebrow, “continue following, don’t lose them.”

Juan Shu feeling rather wronged said: “Master, the mistress is running away from home again.”

Wang Yun Feng corrected him: “That’s the Gu family home, not your mistress’ family.”

Juan Shu emphasised: “But she’s left.”

Wang Yun Feng glared at him: “She shouldn’t be staying there anyway.”

Juan Shu quickly said: “Mistress leaving, we have to be homeless again. I…we clearly just got to Chenzhou, having just settled down. Master, this residence was very expensive, the money used to buy it is enough for me to eat for twenty years.”

Wang Yun Feng almost rolled his eyes: “The money spent is your master’s, it’s not yours, why are you so anxious.”

Juan Shu sighed: “Because you master aren’t anxious, that’s why I am anxious for you.”

There is a common saying: xx isn’t anxious, the enuch is anxious to death.

Wang Yun Feng was now deep in thought.

“Master,” Bai Yan head hung upside on the window, suddenly looking a wild ghost who had hung itself coming to demand your life: “I’m giving you an unfortunate news.”

Wang Yun Feng flipped over the <Seventy Two Ways to beseech a beauty> in his hand, speaking unperturbed: “The most unfortunate thing up to now has been to allow Juan Shu become my attendant.”

“Mistress personally used strong paste to seal our main entrance shut.”

“Yes, sealed,” Wang Yun Feng paused, asking: “what has she sealed?”

“The main entrance.”

Wang Yun Feng raised his eyebrow: “She did it herself?”

Bai Yan nodded, moving quickly to follow Wang Yun Feng to see the `strong paste` on the main entrance. This was a large residence with three entrances, it couldn’t be considered an official residence, it could only be a villa, therefore there wasn’t too strict a rules as the official residence in the imperial city, Wang Yun Feng only entered and left from this main entrance.

Right now, this six person wide main entrance had been sealed by the narrow-minded, grievance must be paid back Xia Ling Mei. Even the door frame and the small cracks in the door were blocked by lumps of rice flour paste, not a breeze came through.

Juan Shu touched the paste which had dried completely really quickly already: “Master, you can never use the main entrance again.”

Bai Yan said: “This door cannot be used, we must split it open from the inside.”

Juan Shu asked: “Even if we split the door open we still can’t take the door frame off, what should we do?”

Bai Yan thought about it deeply: “Then, then we can only demolish this wall, rebuild a new wall.” He rather bitterly said to his master, “Master, I warned you before, the woman from Xia family cannot be trifled with. You only saw her face once, your main entrance was sealed, next time the one who will be sealed…”

Juan Shun and Bai Yan both said together: “I reckon its your mouth.”

Wang Yun Feng was worried. Equally he was worried about Xia Ling Mei, she continuously found several tarverns, and she was told they were full. The last tavern still had one room left, however someone had already reserved it, Xia Ling Mei was slightly familiar with that person, they had met once before, she practically recognised them immediately: “Ah, pervert.”

Zhuang Sheng repeatedly waved his heand: “Lady, firstly I’m not a pervert, secondly I’m also not a thief. I simply cannot take that false reputation of being a flower thief on myself. If you are firmly set on slandering me in this way, then I can only call you this -----“ His line of sight fell on the long whip at Xia Ling Mei’s waist, “Lioness.”

The consequences of offending a lioness, is to experience the feel of a whip.

The night before last Zhuang Sheng happily celebrated that his opponent’s martial arts wasn’t that great, at least that whip didn’t land on his body at all, instead it barely passed by him, that whip had formidable power, whipping at him he leapt and frisked about inside the tavern, like a monkey, or rather a ruffian monkey.

His face became green.

Even more strange was, no matter where he ran, just before his foot touched the ground a concealed weapon would suddenly slide across the floor, he couldn’t step on the hidden weapon. He could only leap before he touched the ground, afterwards there would be another extremely tiny concealed weapon advancing towards his head, if his neck stretched out a hair width more, his scalp would have split open.

“You go so far as to throw concealed weapons.”

Xia Ling Mei sneered: “I don’t need to bother about weapons when facing a flower thief.”

Zhuang Sheng twitched his mouth: “You lioness how many lackeys do you have secretly protecting you.”

Xia Ling Mei laughed sarcastically, borrowing the assistance of the secret guards, while Zhuang Sheng avoided the concealed weapons, she took the opportunity to whip the opponent’s butt.

Zhuang Sheng `wailed----` with a miserable shriek, covering his butt jumping three feet high: “You!”

“Me what?”

“Ao, ao, you this…”

“I this what?”

“Ao, ao, ao…ao, let go of me.”

The head of the secret guards lifted and trussed up the flower thief, with the face of a zombie he asked his young lady: “How should I deal with him?”

Xia Ling Mei looked at Zhuang Sheng who had completely passed out, shrugging her shoulders: “This sort of dirty person, you guys drag him down and rough him up a bit, warn him to not do such lowly thing of taking advantage of woman.” She finished speaking, indicating to Ying Shi to pick up the key to go to the last best room.

Waiting until the two people already turned to go up the stairs and could no longer be seen, Xiu Yu then rushed in, facing the secret guard she jabbered on for a while, no one could see in these two people, one black, one white, one dark, one bright, the sinister twinkling in their eyes.

Xia Ling Mei who had been tormented for half the night went to bed, she slept exceptionally well, not worried at all about the suffering Lord Gu could be in after she left the Gu residence.

The Gu residence without Xia Ling Mei, should be demolished by the angry Wang Yun Feng? Perhaps, the place where she next sees Lord Gu, would be in the imperial prison! If someone asks the reason for the destruction of the Gu family, it was only because Lord Gu, on a moonless and windy night had lost Lord Wang’s…therefore, the petty Lord Wang used his public office to avenge private wrongs, exploiting his position as imperial censor against the recently promoted Lord Gu.

Truly scourge without cause!

Poor Lord Gu.

Clinging onto this `perfect` illusion, Xia Ling Mei slept extremely soundly.

The next day, when the sun had risen as high as three bamboo poles, Xia Ling Mei’s entire body was unable to get up. Last night tossed aside two men, her body and mind were both considerably tired. After she heard the endless sounds of laughter and noise outside, she yawned as she asked: “What is happening, so noisy?”

Just then Ying Shi came in carrying water for her to wash, Xiu Yu rolled up her sleeves, wringing the cloth dry she lightly wiped at Xia Ling Mei’s face: “Nothing much, just a group of people looking at nothing.”

“They’re not finished after looking at it so early in the morning?”

“Yes. Supposedly someone is being paraded through the streets.”

“A major criminal for adultery or treason to the imperial family?”

“No.”

“A commoner who stole and robbed?”

“Also no.”

Xia Ling Mei washed her face, rinsed her mouth, picking out her own clothes she shook it out, putting it on with the hands of the maids next to her: “Then who is it, unless it’s a major robber of the Jianghu who committed murder and arson?”

Xiu Yu laughed, after arranging her lady’s clothes she then pushed open letting air in. This tavern had six stories, the highest floor was where the best rooms were, wide field of vision, extremely beauty scenery, from the window you can overlook more than half of Chenzhou.

Xia Ling Mei was somewhat doubtful, holding a cup of tea to moisten her throat she looked out of the window, she could only vaguely see a person suspended fromthe memorial arch in the distance.

“It’s the flower thief.” Xiu Yu explained.

“I wonder where there would be a flower thief who fell into someone’s plan, fed a knock-out drug, removed of all his clothing, publically exposed and suspended on the memorial arch. Lady, tell me isn’t that person to be blamed for his own troubles?”

Eh, Xia Ling Mei blinked.

Compared to Lord Gu, actually the flower thief was the number one most tragic person in the kingdom. Perhaps, compared to government officials, flower thief is the most dangerous occupation?

Such pitiful, Mr thief.

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T/N: Hello!!! I've realised I haven't commented on my translations recently (not that it makes a difference) but I thought this would be a good opportunity to ask how everyone is finding this story and translation ^_^