Chapter 534 - 0318 The Bad Woman Who Sows Discord (2-in-1)_2

She bent down to sniff Zhu Pingniang and decisively said, "You drank wine, wait, this scent... is it Little Sister Liu’s Jade Dew Wine?"

Miss Lu’s expression was peculiar.

"You and Young Master were together... did both of you drink Jade Dew?"

She suddenly felt doubtful about her assumptions. Could it be that Zhu Pingniang... really has feelings for Xu Chang’an?

"Just a bit of wine, it’s not that serious." Zhu Pingniang’s gaze floated uncertainly. Listening to Miss Lu, she realized she’d indeed done quite a few things.

"Not serious?" Miss Lu moved closer to Zhu Pingniang, suspiciously eyeing the slight dampness at Zhu’s temples, eyes wide open. "It’s not rainwater, but carries an alluring fragrance... My goodness, Miss Zhu, what were you and Young Master doing in the pavilion? Aren’t you from the Immortal Sect? How are you sweating??"

Could Immortal Sect members sweat?

"We didn’t do anything, this moisture..." Zhu Pingniang explained, "I just drew a Spirit Sword moments ago, and it got stained with moisture."

Miss Lu: "..."

Miss Lu was silent for a moment, then looking at the rouge on Zhu Pingniang’s lips, she gently wiped the corner of Zhu Pingniang’s mouth with her fingertip, then placed it into her mouth.

If Qinling saw this, he would be jealous enough to lose sleep.

After all, Zhu Pingniang was always guarded against Qinling, whereas Miss Lu could break through her defenses easily.

"Sugar frosting taste." Miss Lu cleaned her finger and asked, "You don’t like sweet snacks, did Young Master Xu give it to you?"

"Hmm." Zhu Pingniang came to her senses, chiding her daughter, "Silly girl, what are you doing?"

"Never mind what I’m doing." Miss Lu said, looking at Zhu Pingniang’s lips, "In any case, sister, you ate wine, candied fruit, and so the lipstick on your lips is newly applied?"

"Yes, I just touched up my makeup, why?" Zhu Pingniang replied.

"Oh." Miss Lu covered her face. "Generally, people don’t notice when you touch up lipstick, but can the girls here really not notice?"

What has Zhu Pingniang done now?

She drew the curtains and pushed the young man over, let her hair down while alone with him, broke into sweat, and upon leaving the pavilion... she even reapplied her lipstick?

How could it not lead to misunderstandings?

But Zhu Pingniang knew what she was hinting at, and with an uncomfortable expression, she said helplessly: "Ni Zi, I truly haven’t done anything, just talked with him for a little while."

"I believe you, but do you really know what you’re doing?" Miss Lu pointed to Flower Moon Building behind her. "The girls over there all saw it; guess... what they’ll think."

"I’m not guessing. They wouldn’t dare not believe me, would they?" Zhu Pingniang huffed coldly.

"Who wouldn’t believe you." Miss Lu pouted. "Though you’ve done so many things leading to misunderstandings, the girls will definitely trust you and Young Master wouldn’t do anything... Well, mainly they trust Young Master."

"If they believe, isn’t that enough?"

"But just because they believe you’re innocent doesn’t mean they won’t chatter about it; after all... the topic is quite interesting." Miss Lu said.

Zhu Pingniang: "..."

Indeed.

Even if they know they are innocent, they’ll still laugh.

"Forget it, so long as there are no misunderstandings. If they want to discuss, let them." Zhu Pingniang waved her hand, expressing her complete lack of concern.

"?" Miss Lu paused, then frowned, grabbing Zhu Pingniang’s hand, "In my eyes, you’re not that kind of bad woman."

"?" Zhu Pingniang also paused, even forgetting to pull her hand away, replied with a question, "Who’s the bad woman?"

"Disrupting Young Master Xu and Miss Yun’s marriage, isn’t that a bad woman?"

Miss Lu’s gaze was sharp, voice serious. "Miss Zhu, if you like Young Master, then boldly pursue him, using such tactics to undermine his relationship with his wife, I dislike that, and neither would the younger sisters."

Even if unintentionally, she felt this was inappropriate.

"???" Zhu Pingniang had a slew of question marks.

"Don’t understand?" Miss Lu earnestly said. "Miss Yun is now in Flower Moon Building, if this word reaches her ears, how would she think? Even though Miss Yun is usually reserved, she’s still a woman."

She considered what Zhu Pingniang did to be unprincipled.

After all, without regard to Zhu Pingniang’s intentions, Xu Chang’an certainly treats Zhu Pingniang with respect... in such a scenario, entangling a young couple in a trust crisis isn’t what a good woman should do.

"It’s already like this, yet you plan to dine at Young Master’s courtyard tonight... not very appropriate, right?" Miss Lu grasped Zhu Pingniang’s hand, "My dear Miss Zhu, if you have fondness for a man, you should be grand, not resort to petty tactics."

"..." Zhu Pingniang gazed at Miss Lu’s serious expression, staring blankly at her.

A bewildered Zhu Pingniang somehow appeared cute.

"Sister, stop pretending to be silly." Miss Lu said.

"Won’t there be misunderstanding..." Zhu Pingniang hesitantly said. "I do occasionally tease Chang’an but..."

She didn’t know what to say.

Because Miss Lu’s words made a lot of sense.

Thinking it over, if it were any woman besides Yun Qian, even herself...

Which woman wouldn’t be jealous if her husband were involved in such things at a brothel?

Could it be...

This is why Qinling advised her via letter to maintain distance from Xu Chang’an, avoid suspicion?

Turns out Qinling’s words held wisdom.

Proven, when the same issue is raised by Qinling and Miss Lu, the latter’s advice seems more effective right now.

"Ni Zi, I did not..." Zhu Pingniang tried to say something.

"I know." Miss Lu retorted, gently hugging Zhu Pingniang, softly speaking: "Of course, I know you wouldn’t employ any means... However, you must listen to my words too, we daughters mustn’t act whimsically in matters, this is also your teaching to us."

If you like, go for it.

If you don’t, keep your distance.

If ambivalent, avoid fostering ambiguity.

"Miss Zhu, what are your thoughts?" Miss Lu asked.

"I’m not very sure either?" Zhu Pingniang blinked, then pinched Miss Lu’s face softly. "Don’t bother me, you almost got me tangled up... that Ms. Yun certainly won’t mind such things."

Zhu Pingniang realized.

Because Xu Chang’an doesn’t mind, which means Yun Qian surely wouldn’t be jealous over such rumors.

How meticulous Xu Chang’an’s thoughts are?

If these rumors had any chance of causing Yun Qian to misunderstand, he’d definitely quash them all, not letting her throw a tantrum.

So that’s why Zhu Pingniang said she almost got tangled by Miss Lu.

Yun Qian wouldn’t be jealous, wouldn’t even care, so how could there be talk of disrupting their relationship?

"You figured it out." Miss Lu wasn’t surprised, she reluctantly let go of Zhu Pingniang’s slender waist, saying, "It’s odd, though, Young Master isn’t stopping you, meaning he’s not worried about his wife being jealous, but... is there really a woman in the world who wouldn’t be jealous in such a situation? Miss Zhu, you’re so attractive..."

Unless Yun Qian doesn’t fancy Xu Chang’an at all; otherwise, why wouldn’t she be jealous?

But Xu Chang’an’s attitude is clear, thus it’s perplexing.

"Prepare a nice outfit for me." Zhu Pingniang looked into the distance: "Tonight, sister will meet Ms. Yun and see what kind of character she truly possesses that lets her get ahead, worming in early enough to claim the body of the Immortal Reincarnation?"

"Uh-huh, what did you say last? I didn’t catch it clearly." Miss Lu asked, puzzled.

"Nothing important." Zhu Pingniang waved her hand, "In any case, Ni Zi, your crude words often hold truth, until I understand Ms. Yun’s temperament, I’ll be cautious around Chang’an from now on."

"..." Miss Lu sighed.

Meaning if Yun Qian truly isn’t jealous, she’ll remain unchanged, right?

"I really don’t know why you choose to portray yourself as a bad woman." Miss Lu grumbled.

"What do you know? You don’t understand how entertaining it is to tease Chang’an." Zhu Pingniang laughed, "I’m just Refining Heart right now. Remember when I first met him and started teasing him... watching his reactions made me feel like my Dao Heart trembled, almost breaking through some bottleneck..."

Zhu Pingniang spoke, shaking her head regretfully: "But then the feeling faded."

Thus, her habit of teasing Xu Chang’an remained.

"Dao Heart tremble? What’s that, I just see you getting emotionally moved." Miss Lu covered her face.

"Emotionally moved?" A glint appeared in Zhu Pingniang’s eyes as she casually asked.

"Ni Zi, tell me, what is the feeling like when you’re emotionally moved by someone?"