Caiyu thought that she had been having auditory hallucinations for the past two days.
What did Song Yinghuai say?
He told her to take off her clothes and go in to take a bath?
"Your Highness," Caiyu asked uncertainly, "is it this servant who goes in to take a bath?"
Song Yinghuai's eyes swept up and down her, "What? You were missing for five days, then you were in a coma for one day, plus yesterday... Didn't you smell the odor on your body?"
Odor?!!
Caiyu looked alarmed as she lifted her arm to sniff at herself. Then, she pleaded with a dejected face, "Your Highness, then, can you go out? This servant is daring enough to take a bath first..."
Song Yinghuai sneered with disdain, "Which part of your body is there that I haven't seen before? What do I need to go out for? Am I staying here not to your liking?"
Without any reason, he had gone from being entangled to being chased away. Song Yinghuai felt a sense of disillusionment, like a guest in a curtain becoming a down-and-out scholar. He was extremely unhappy.
That was in the past!
Now, she didn't dare to flirt with Song Yinghuai at all. Otherwise, if she was not careful, her wrists would be twitching constantly.
Caiyu's face burned red, but she urgently needed to take a bath. She simply used her smelly body to rub and push Song Yinghuai:
"Your Highness, this servant begs you to go out first..."
Wasn't Song Yinghuai a person with a cleanliness fetish?
She stank. It was sure to make him go away.
If not, if he did not go out, she was afraid that she would be pushed into the bathtub by him again.
Song Yinghuai was pushed by her until the bottom of his abdomen caught fire. He reached out to grab her waist and tightened her against himself. His eyes gradually darkened:
"Would I not know what you are thinking? Last night, I was smoked by all the odors. Now, you only think of using this move. It's too late."
Caiyu's mind was struck by thunder. She stood still on the spot.
Although Song Yinghuai said so, he still let go of her hand and walked out.
He was afraid that if he did not go out, he would really push this girl into the water and do such and such.
Last night, he was tempted by her and lost control. He had already violated the ban in the pure land of Buddhism. If he did it again today, he did not know how to beg Buddha for forgiveness.
When Caiyu saw him leave, she quickly took off her clothes. Her perfect toes touched the hot water, creating ripples.
The feeling of her body being stiffened by the ice bed yesterday was instantly dispelled by the heat. Caiyu could not help but laugh happily as she sat in.
The unique scent of the medicinal herbs filled the bathroom. The hot water flowed on her body. The warm ripples flowed on her skin, just like her peaceful and tranquil heart at this moment.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The room was filled with the scent of the medicinal herbs.
She had to say that this was the first time in the past four years that she had completely relaxed.
At the same time, not far from the medicine cottage, Song Yinghuai and the Great Master Guangzhi were sitting opposite each other in the pavilion on the mountain. One person was holding a chess piece and playing chess.
The Great Master Guangzhi dropped a white chess piece on the board. His grey beard swayed slightly as his lips curled up:
"Your Highness has not come to play chess with this old monk for a long time. Every time there is a problem that cannot be solved, Your Highness will use chess to relieve the boredom in your heart. What is it this time?"
Song Yinghuai held a black chess piece as he stared at the complex situation. A gust of wind blew over, causing the snow on the tree branches to fall on the ground. He absent-mindedly dropped the chess piece in his hand:
"Master, in the past, I thought that even if I did not have a woman in my life, I could still bear it for the sake of the people in the world. However, now I have changed my mind. The rivers and mountains and the beauties, is there a way to have both?"
"Your Highness has developed mortal desires and is entering the mortal world." The Great Master Guangzhi did not seem surprised at all. He dropped a chess piece, "Then it depends on how Your Highness can break the situation."
The Great Master Guangzhi's chess piece seemed to be calm at first glance. However, Song Yinghuai saw that the opponent's chess path was unpredictable and there were traps everywhere.
He pursed his lips tightly. The black chess piece in his hand could not be dropped for a long time.
The Great Master Guangzhi saw his hesitation. He smiled and said:
"Kumārajīva translated the verse and said, 'All conditioned things are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow, like dew or lightning. Thus, they should be seen.' Everything in the world is formed by the combination of fate. The gathering of fates means life. The scattering of fates means death. They are like dreams, bubbles, dewdrops, and lightning. They are short and illusory."
Song Yinghuai's eyebrows rose as he finally dropped a chess piece. It seemed to be random, but it had the meaning of a willow tree and a flower:
"Master means that we should not be overly attached to the pursuit. Everything should be left to fate?"
"Amitābha!" The Great Master Guangzhi said mysteriously as he followed with a chess piece. He blocked the light that was about to be seen, "This old monk feels that although everything in the world is a bubble, who among the floating beings is not living their lives in a bubble? It only depends on how long this bubble-like fate will last."
The Great Master Guangzhi's words made Song Yinghuai's heart tremble. He tightened the black chess piece in his hand.
At this moment, he was wearing a black fox cloak. He was like a tree planted in the black mountains and white waters. His body was filled with the color of glass. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle's and they were cold. He was domineering and strong, noble and majestic.
The black chess piece in his hand was almost crushed.
The snow fell silently. The wind blew without a trace.
The wind blew and the snow danced. The snow slid across his carved eyebrows.
The black chess piece fell on the chessboard, breaking the entire trapped city.
The Great Master Guangzhi watched Song Yinghuai's departing figure. His ears were still echoing with his domineering words:
"Since the gathering of fates means life, then I will let this fate gather forever. How about that?"
When Song Yinghuai pushed open the door of the medicine cottage, he found that Caiyu was actually sleeping on the edge of the bathtub.
She had probably just recovered from a serious illness. She had just woken up not long ago. She was ordered by him to serve for a while and then she ran around to boil water. She was soon exhausted.
She was so tired that she fell asleep after just taking a bath.
Song Yinghuai's eyes darkened as he looked at the woman soaking in the water.
Her wet hair was scattered on her shoulders. It reached all the way to her slender willow waist and fell into the water. The scent of her hair mixed with the virgin's body scent spread out. The room was filled with a fragrant odor.
She clearly already had everything that she should have. However, because of his inability... she was still a virgin.
Song Yinghuai's throat rolled a few times.
He knew that if he broke the precept, he would be fulfilling the wishes of the master behind her. Perhaps she would be free because of this.
However, he could not let go and fulfill her freedom.
Song Yinghuai bent down as he fished her out of the water. He wrapped her in a thick bath towel and kicked open the secret room next door.
The girl in his arms groaned in her dream. She seemed to be startled by the sound of the door opening. Her half-wet black hair rubbed against Song Yinghuai's arms, making his chest wet.
Then, the quickly cooling cloth rubbed against her face, waking her up.
Caiyu lifted her eyes blankly. Her eyes met Song Yinghuai's drooping eyes.
"Your Highness..." Caiyu mumbled as she tried to stretch out her lotus-like arms from the thick bath towel, "Is it dark? This servant took too long to take a bath..."
She was not fully awake at this moment. She forgot for a moment that she should not be seducing him anymore. She habitually spoke in a soft voice as she wanted to wrap around Song Yinghuai's neck.
It was the twelfth month of winter. Song Yinghuai wanted to stop her bare arms from stretching out. However, when she moved, he could not say anything.
He let her snake-like arms wrap around himself as he quickly reached the bed. He stuffed her into the blanket together with the bath towel and then he crawled in as well.
He thought that it was rare for him to have a quiet New Year's Eve. He allowed himself to indulge once!
As for Buddha and such, the Great Master Guangzhi often said, "Wine and meat pass through the intestines. Buddha remains in the heart." Then he would be "Beauty leaps through the fingertips. Buddha remains in the heart"!
There was an ambiguous atmosphere in the room. It fermented uncontrollably and spread out in thin threads.
Caiyu was suffocated in the blanket and made a whining sound.
Song Yinghuai's clear and desire-filled voice came out, "Didn't you say that you were going to rush to serve your master on New Year's Eve?"
Caiyu:...
She was wrong!
She did not dare to spout nonsense in front of Song Yinghuai anymore!
...
Her skin was smoother and warmer than the best silk.
There was a passionate fire burning in the room of the secret room.
The blanket hid the secret between the two of them. Their breaths merged. It was sweet and shy.
It was unknown how long it had passed before Song Yinghuai lifted the blanket and took out the skirt that he had prepared from the side. He pushed it to Caiyu, who had stuck her head out from the blanket:
"Put it on. It's time to return to the mansion."
Caiyu's face, which was filled with spring, gradually became disappointed...