Chapter 185: Chapter 46 Taking Down Lu Qingyun
Sun Dasheng walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.
He gestured for her to come closer.
"Come here."
What is going on? How can this man have so much self-control?
Still, she obediently did as she was told and sat down beside him.
"Kneel," he commanded, the single word cold and emotionless.
Lu Qingyun felt a surge of indignation, fighting the impulse to bolt out the door. She had finally mustered the courage to offer him her body, but he hadn’t just rejected the gesture—he was humiliating her, forcing her into this demeaning position. However, it was too late to back out now. She had already invested too much, and there was no turning back.
She could only obey, kneeling before him.
But he wasn’t finished with her yet.
"Turn around," he said coldly. "Ass facing me."
Lu Qingyun bit her lip and turned her body. A moment later, a whip cracked down on her buttocks. The sound was loud, but it didn’t hurt much; it was more of an itchy, ticklish sensation.
She twisted her head to look and saw him holding a black leather whip, striking the sides of her rear.
Staring directly into her wounded eyes, Sun Dasheng asked coldly, "Do you know why I’m hitting you?"
She shook her head, her eyes already brimming with tears. She had no idea why he was degrading her like this.
"I’m hitting you because you’re Zi Yan’s best friend. Who tries to seduce their best friend’s man while she’s away?"
His words silenced her, leaving her with no way to retort.
"Am I wrong?" Sun Dasheng pressed.
She defiantly refused to answer.
He struck her again, a few more times. The blows were slightly harder now, and she couldn’t help but cry out.
"Were you wrong or not?" he demanded again.
"I was wrong! I was wrong, please stop hitting me," Lu Qingyun sobbed.
Sun Dasheng set the whip aside. He walked over, lifted her into his arms, and gently wiped the tears from her eyes. His gentle actions stilled her tears. She looked up at him, dazed.
"Do you think I enjoy hitting people?" Sun Dasheng suddenly smiled, his tone becoming much softer.
Her expression was one of pure grievance, her eyes screaming, ’You just hit me, and now you say you don’t enjoy it?’
Sun Dasheng gently caressed her beautiful cheek. "I don’t want you to lose your way. A beautiful woman like you shouldn’t take one wrong step after another."
Is that so? He hit me for my own good?
Lu Qingyun’s eyes were filled with confusion. At the same time, she began to realize that perhaps she really had done something wrong. After thinking it through, she buried her head in his chest like a giant ostrich.
"Should I leave then?" she murmured from his embrace.
"That won’t be necessary," Sun Dasheng said. "Let me ask you, did you do this because you like me?"
"Mhm," she whispered. She couldn’t very well admit it was for other reasons.
"Then that’s all that matters. There’s nothing wrong with liking someone. You just have to tell Jiang Ziyan openly instead of doing things behind her back. Wouldn’t that be better?"
Huh?
She felt her brain short-circuit.
What kind of logic is that? Seducing him behind my best friend’s back is wrong... but telling her first makes it right? Does that rule even exist?
"Of course it does. Back when Zi Yan got together with me, didn’t she first get approval from her Sister Yiren?" Sun Dasheng said, stroking her head.
She stayed as quiet as a kitten, but her mind was in turmoil.
Before she could process it any further, the man pulled her into his embrace and began.
Huh? Wait! I haven’t figured things out yet! How can you just start?
Unfortunately, there was little time left for her to think. Thanks to the restorative soup he’d had, and the fact that he’d been forcibly restraining himself for a while, his eventual outburst was all the more ferocious.
Lu Qingyun found herself utterly wrecked. Literally.
Lying on the bed with a blank mind, she felt completely drained. Her back and waist ached, and her entire body throbbed with a dull pain.
Afterward, Sun Dasheng called Xiang Yiren over. Seeing the messy state of the bed, she giggled and covered her mouth. "It was little Qingyun’s first time. Couldn’t you have been more gentle?"
Sun Dasheng rolled his eyes at her. "This is all your fault. Why did you give me that tonic? Who knows what your real intentions were." Without waiting for her reply, he headed for the bathroom to shower. "You made this mess, you clean it up. Oh, and there are painkillers in the drawer. Put some on her."
BANG. The bathroom door slammed shut.
Xiang Yiren spat toward the closed door.
Who do you think I do all this for? It’s all for you, you great lord and master! You get to enjoy all the perks while I suffer the consequences and take the blame.
Still, she obediently went to clean up the aftermath for him.
"Hang in there, Qingyun. I’m going to apply some medicine for you."
Lu Qingyun finally came back to her senses. Seeing her good sister so patiently treating her, she was deeply moved. What a wonderful sister. No wonder Zi Yan respects her so much.
"Sister Yiren, thank you," she said, her own voice now tinged with a newfound respect.
"Hee hee... We’re all sisters from now on. No need to be so formal with me," Xiang Yiren said with a beaming smile.
Excellent. Another powerful general has been added to our faction. Humph! Let’s see how the other women can possibly compete with me now.
So much for the good-sister act; in the end, it was all about self-interest.
「The next day.」
Jiang Ziyan returned to the country. Xiang Yiren brought Lu Qingyun to confess and ask for forgiveness. Although Jiang Ziyan was upset at first, she eventually forgave her. The deciding factor, of course, was Xiang Yiren speaking up on Lu Qingyun’s behalf, which gave Jiang Ziyan a perfect opportunity to back down gracefully.
「The beauty salon.」
In the manager’s office at the very back, the three sisters gathered around a tea table. A platter of expensive sandalwood incense smoldered upon it, filling the air with fragrance.
"Alright, now that everything’s out in the open," Xiang Yiren declared, "we three sisters will stand together and present a united front. No more internal strife, okay?"