MCSCPM -Chapter 10 A Taste of Pleasure

In the Luocheng Courtyard, Yin Qingyue finished all the sesame cakes Mei’er had brought. Mei’er stared at her in shock, her eyes full of disbelief. Miss had always hated sesame cakes, yet now she had eaten so many! After quite a while, when she saw Yin Qingyue drinking water, Mei’er’s eyes were already brimming with tears.

“Why are you crying for no reason? From now on, keep sesame cakes stocked in the room. If there are red dates and almonds, even better.” Her body was weak now, her strength unable to gather. Under such circumstances, she couldn’t use mind-reading.

“Miss, this servant can bring more sesame cakes, but red dates and almonds are distributed by Nanny Zhao and Nanny Liu. You’ve already offended both of them—I’m afraid…”

“I know. Then we’ll just eat sesame cakes for now,” Yin Qingyue said indifferently. She had to nourish herself. Those two vicious nannies definitely wouldn’t give her red dates or almonds, so she would have to use some tricks. Though she could infer people’s thoughts by observing facial expressions, some thoughts were hidden deep within, or even buried in the subconscious. In those cases, mere observation was useless—only mind-reading could help.

“Miss, what are you thinking about? I’ve brought water for washing. Wash up and then sleep for a bit!”

Yin Qingyue suddenly smiled. “No makeup for me?” She deliberately emphasized the word makeup.

“Miss, this is for your own good! There used to be a hundred women in the Luocheng Courtyard. Now there are only ninety. Ten women were dragged away not long ago to the altar and blood-sacrificed. Some were daughters of wealthy men near the capital, some were countryside girls—different backgrounds, but they all shared one thing: extraordinary beauty.”

Mei’er paused, then continued with a choking voice, “When you were still in the Yin residence, I put ugly makeup on you every day. You were kind-hearted and couldn’t compete with the other young ladies. If they had known how beautiful you truly were, you wouldn’t have lived until now.”

Yin Qingyue sighed inwardly. Mei’er’s original mistress was already gone. Besides, wearing ugly makeup saved trouble—why wouldn’t she do it?

“Miss, even if you’re destined to be blood-sacrificed, I’ll still fight to make you the last one!” Mei’er’s heart was in turmoil. Of course she didn’t want Miss to die, but once inside Luocheng Courtyard, even though Miss’s temperament had changed a lot, she still couldn’t escape this place.

“Mei’er, when the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road. Don’t worry too much. What you need to do now is bring me sesame cakes every day. My body is weak; I must strengthen it.”

Mei’er’s eyes lit up, tears of joy falling. “Miss, you’ve completely changed! This is wonderful! I’m truly happy from the bottom of my heart.”

“Mm. I’ll wash up a bit and sleep. When I wake up, it should be evening. Bring the dinner directly in, and put the rouge and such on the dressing table. I’ll do it myself.” With that, she went to the washbasin and cleaned the grime from her face.

After washing, she glanced at the mirror and froze. A delicate oval face, arched brows dusted with powder, slender willow-leaf eyebrows, skin like congealed jade—no longer rosy, but pale.

What shocked her wasn’t how stunning the face was, but that it was exactly her face from modern times!

Damn it—she had transmigrated into a woman who looked exactly like her. In an instant, her father’s friend Li Qing’s words flashed through her mind again: You shouldn’t be here. Back then she thought he was talking nonsense. Who knew it would come true?

“Miss, you haven’t looked at yourself properly in years. It’s good to look now. The rouge is all here—you must apply it heavily. This one is for the eyebrows; you must draw them thick and black, like those of a big, burly man!”

Yin Qingyue glanced at Mei’er, then laughed. “Got it. I’ll follow your instructions to the letter.” She sat before the mirror, picked up the rouge, and smeared it on casually.

The beauty in the mirror gradually vanished. Before long, an ugly woman appeared.

“Miss, you made yourself uglier than I ever could! You even dotted a black mole by your mouth—so ugly! Now I’m even more at ease.”

Yin Qingyue stood up, a smile curling at her lips. “Alright, I’m going to sleep.” She turned to the bed and lay down without undressing.

“Miss, don’t smile. When you smile, your eyes sparkle like stars in the sky, as if they can speak and steal people’s souls!”

Already lying on the bed, Yin Qingyue laughed again. “Such a sweet mouth you have. How about this—if I smile in the future, I’ll laugh heartily instead. Is that better?”

“Miss, just smile less. I’ll take my leave and won’t disturb your rest.” Mei’er bowed and withdrew.

The room fell utterly silent. Yin Qingyue looked at the bundle placed on the inside of the bed—inside was a set of clothes. She needed to sell them as soon as possible, buy some ginseng and angelica. As for the remaining silver, it would only be enough for food and daily use.

She had to leave Luocheng Courtyard once. Once her strength recovered a bit, she would go out immediately. With her plan settled, she fell asleep.

She slept until nightfall. In her dream, Yin Qingyue saw again a woman wearing a bright red dudou. She couldn’t see her face clearly, but could feel her despair.

Brother Xiao, you love me the most. I’m waiting for you to come take me away.
Their eyes met, full of tenderness. The woman smiled sweetly, nestling into the man’s arms, utterly content.

In the blink of an eye, the woman’s face turned desolate. Facing the tall man, she suddenly realized it had all been her one-sided wish—she had been sewing a wedding dress for someone else. He had never loved her!

At that moment, Yin Qingyue felt a weight on her body, followed by filthy words in her ears: “Even if you’re ugly, I’ll take you! Watching over so many women every day and not being able to touch them—today I’ll start with you. No one cares about you anyway! Besides, you got my brother killed!”

Yin Qingyue frowned and snapped her eyes open. A strange man was pressing on her, his face flushed with lust.

“Get off!” Her eyes flashed coldly.

“Oh, come on. You’re so weak—how could you be my match? Just submit to me. The women in Luocheng Courtyard are going to die sooner or later. To die without ever tasting the pleasure between man and woman—what a waste. Tonight, I’ll let you have a taste!” As he finished speaking, he reached to tear at her clothes.

Yin Qingyue’s gaze hardened. While he was blinded by lust, she kicked hard at his vital spot. She had eaten sesame cakes and slept—her strength had recovered a little.

The man howled in pain. She seized the chance to slip off the bed, rushed to the dressing table, and grabbed an ordinary wooden hairpin, gripping it tightly.

“Today, I’ll kill you! You were already filthy—seducing my brother and escaping Luocheng Courtyard. Because of you! My brother was secretly executed today by Nanny Zhao!” The man’s face twisted as he lunged at her.

As he drew near, Yin Qingyue swung the hairpin, slashing across his face with all her strength. Soon, a red gash appeared on his face.

Just then, the door burst open. With a clatter, porcelain bowls shattered on the floor. Mei’er cried out, “This is Miss’s room! How dare you attempt to violate her!”

“Haha, I’m all in today! You two will serve me together! Even your maid is prettier than you!” The man grew even more ferocious. A dagger appeared in his hand, and he attacked Mei’er first—she was the prettier one.

Mei’er knew no martial arts and was no match for him at all. And Yin Qingyue had already expended some strength.

“Stop. I belong to Prince Jing,” Yin Qingyue said softly. Those simple words stunned the man.