Chapter 275: The Plan Behind The Lovely Bath
It was impossible for the Zhou patriarch to constantly remain by Li Chengfeng’s side so after he made some arrangements, Chengfeng found himself invited into a room by an extremely beautiful lady along with several maids.
Chengfeng was stunned by her beauty, especially how pitiful and delicate she looked, stimulating the desire to protect and not hurt her.
He looked at them and asked, “What are you all here for?”
The beautiful girl curtsied and after a pause, replied demurely, “I am here to help bathe the masters from Spiritual Mountain Sect.”
The three other maidens behind her bowed slightly. “We are here to assist in the bath and help you change.”
Chengfeng was not a man who would become paralysed and speechless in the mere presence of a beautiful woman. Although his clan was in decline, Madam Xie gave him a stellar education so he was well educated as well as well taken care of. It did not matter how poor they were, herself, her husband and Chengfeng all had one servant and one handmaiden each. Even if Chengfeng mixed in the streets all day, he still had a certain status: he was a man with people waiting on him!
Although Chengfeng was a reincarnated immortal with a modern mind, after nineteen years, he was long assimilated into this current era so he acted the same as everyone in this time.
Chengfeng smiled. “Doesn’t the Zhou clan have two Masters already? Zhou Guangfa and Zhou Guangcai- how can I be a Master?”
The pretty girl smiled while looking down, “You’re a cultivation master, also a Master.” Then, she plucked up her courage to look him in the eye once, only to see his face spattered with blood, which startled her. Her delicate hands clenched slightly as she looked down immediately and panicked, “Master, let me help you bathe. The feast is starting soon, if you show up like this, I’m afraid it would ruin your reputation.”
Chengfeng’s heart shuddered the moment she looked up: what a delicate flower.
Chengfeng stretched his arms without a word. The maids understood, stepping forward demurely to help take off his blood-spattered long cultivation robes.
The girl stepped forward gracefully, coming up to him in small steps and reaching out to take off his bag and weapons tied to his body.
Chengfeng grabbed her hand and said in a low voice, “Let me!”
She jumped from the abrupt touch, looking up instinctively. She was stunned by what she saw.
Although Chengfeng’s face was spattered with blood, she saw his large eyes and the powerful gaze within, his thick, strong brows, nose tall and straight, lips curved slightly upwards in a light smile. His gaze was slightly suggestive, immediately quickening her heartbeat as she quickly looked down.
Naturally, Chengfeng would not hand over his magical items and weapons. After taking them off, he held them in his hand, still outstretched, so they could take his clothes off.
It was a cold winter night but fires were lit in four corners of the room. A screen separated them from the cold winds outside, heat radiating into the night. Although Chengfeng was now naked, he did not feel cold.
As a young master who had been waited on since young, he did not feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. When the last item of clothing was stripped off, he walked inside naked, still holding the bag with his magical items as well as the bone spear.
The three maidens were red. They had always waited on elderly masters but Chengfeng was a strong, young, tall, muscular man and this was their first time seeing one!
All these young maidens of the romantic age- and every single one of them spent their time daydreaming of meeting a strong, handsome man!
And now… their dreams have come true!
They waited for Chengfeng to step into the bathtub. After they washed the blood off his face, the fear in their hearts slowly faded away. He was different from the Li Chengfeng holding Ju Wusheng’s bloody head outside- although they only heard about him since they had been in the deeper part of the estate. They only met him afterwards when they were sent to wait on him.
They did not understand the power-hungry politics or how terrifying this young man was- they did not even know what the future held for the Zhou clan.
All they knew was that the entire Zhou estate did not contain a single man as handsome as Li Chengfeng, or a man as tall and strong as him, for that matter.
They used a scrub to lightly wash his back, yet every face was reddened, nose twitching, as if they had already fallen in love.
Not just them- even the beautiful girl would space out occasionally. She helped wipe Chengfeng down with a silk cloth, even getting some water on herself, revealing her figure underneath her clothes.
But Chengfeng kept his eyes half-closed within the steaming room, no one knew what he was looking at.
This steamy atmosphere lasted for fifteen minutes. Chengfeng had not even moved a finger but every girl felt herself turn weak, her face red, pressing their thighs together awkwardly.
The beautiful girl was still going strong. After he stood up, she helped to wipe him dry carefully.
He watched her, looking down, then asked suddenly, “What is your name?”
Her gaze changed suddenly as she looked up blushing and whispered, “I’m called… Bao Lian.”
Chengfeng asked, “Which characters?”
Bao Lian replied, “Bao, as in precious; Lian, as in curtain.”
Chengfeng held his arms out, accepting brand-new clothes from Bao Lian as he recited, “Light rain falls like sorrow, while silver tassels hang by the precious curtains. It’s a good name!”
[TL Note: it’s a poem by Qin Guan of the Song dynasty, sorry I could barely translate it]
Bao Lian’s eyes lit up as she gazed deeply into his eyes with a light smile. This smile gave Chengfeng the same feeling as sipping on gorgeous wine, he did not need wine to get drunk!
Bao Lian replied, “You’re poetic, Master.”
Chengfeng said, “Do I look that old?”
Bao Lian blushed, hesitated, then whispered, “Little Prince…”
His lips curled into a smile, “Am I that… little?”
She blushed even harder and whispered softly, “You’re poetic… Sir. You know where my name came from the moment you heard it.”
He asked again, “What is your surname?”
Bao Lian’s hands stopped and her eyes changed. As she helped him into his clothes, she whispered, “I… have long forgotten my surname. I was sold to the Zhou clan when I was very young, my whole life has been within this yard. When I was older, Master thought I was pretty and married me off last month. I… do not have a surname. If I did, it would be Zhou.
Chengfeng was surprised to hear this. After she helped him into cotton robes, he tied the bag to his waist and then stretched his arms so she could help him tie his belt.
After a while, he was done. He had turned from a blood-spattered, murderous savage into a clean, educated young man. Bao Lian stared at him in astonishment.
He gazed deeply into her eyes, then walked out.
After he walked out, his light smile disappeared instantly: Master Zhou had really gone all-out for this, how dare he send a newly-married lady to serve him! What was the Zhou clan trying to do? Or was this purely to please him?
What was the hidden plan?
Not long after Chengfeng left, Zhou Guangcai pushed the door gently and entered the room. Once the solemn-looking middle-aged man stepped in, he shattered every young woman’s daydreams. They stood straight nervously, not daring to make a sound.
Zhou Guangcai’s eyes fixed on Bao Lian. He asked in a deep voice, “How many times did he look at you?”
Bao Lian thought for a moment. “Probably six or seven times. “
He asked further, “Do you think he likes you?”
Her ears turned red as she whispered, “I think he likes me a little.”
Zhou Guangcai lifted her head up from the chin and scoffed, “Look at this pretty face and figure. Even I am tempted, do you think a young man isn’t?”
Smirking, he whispered close to Bao Lian’s ear. In the beginning, she looked normal but when he was finished, she was left pale and trembling!