"Young General possesses impressive skills, your knack for lock-picking is truly superb. I am full of admiration, full of admiration!"
Ling Mohan retorted with equal confidence, "My dear wife, you flatter me. My humble tricks are certainly not for me to display before you."
"Young General, you needn't be so modest. I cannot match your refinement in lock-picking," Feng Jin sneered. From now on, the locks on the doors would be filled with lead, to see how Ling Mohan would pry them open.
Ling Mohan was unfazed and directly threw back the covers, lying down on the bed. This bed was truly comfortable. He had to admit, Feng Jin certainly knew how to enjoy life.
Compared to Feng Jin's bed, the one in his own room could hardly be called a bed; it was merely a wooden plank. Lying on it, he tossed and turned, yet not a hint of sleepiness would come. Instead, he felt a pervasive ache all over his body.
This was why he resorted to such drastic measures, acting as a gentleman thief. Fortunately, his lock-picking skills had not gone to waste, and he had entered so easily.
He had not anticipated, however, that he would be kicked by Feng Jin. Truly, he was quite unlucky!
"Get up, this is my bed. Go back to your room if you want to sleep." Seeing this, Feng Jin directly grabbed the man's hand, intending to pull him up and throw him out. But the man turned the tables, firmly gripping her wrist.
Ling Mohan applied a little force, pulling Feng Jin onto the bed. Before Feng Jin could react, his tall, sturdy body pressed down on her.
Their noses were almost touching, their breaths intermingling.
The proximity made Feng Jin feel uncomfortable. She pushed against his chest, "Hurry up and get off me."
"My dear wife, your bold words of today still echo in my ears. It's the first time I've realized you have such high opinions."
Ling Mohan deliberately taunted. He had gone to Jing Wang's manor with great joy to bring Feng Jin back home, only to overhear her grand pronouncements. It had truly shocked him.
"I am merely speaking the truth, and it's all for Lin Yuwei's good. Besides, don't all men grow tired of the old and fancy the new? They always welcome new smiles and mourn old tears. We women should be independent and in firm control of our finances, able to forge our own path even without a husband."
As an independent woman of the new era, Feng Jin's thinking was always progressive. Women needed to be self-reliant, not dependent on men for survival, only then could they live a life uniquely their own.
"Then you shouldn't instigate Lin Yuwei and sow discord in her marriage."
"This isn't sowing discord, it's giving Lin Yuwei advice, urging her to have her own thoughts and live for herself. How is that sowing discord? It's like casting pearls before swine, talking to you."
Feng Jin felt agitated and forcefully pushed the man away. She looked down at Ling Mohan, her voice cold, "If you men are allowed to fancy the new and discard the old, are we women not allowed to plan for our own future? Must we wait until we are cast aside as disgraced wives before we start planning?"
With that, Feng Jin snatched the quilt and pulled it over herself, turning her back to him.
Ling Mohan stood by the bedside, deep in thought for a long while. Then, he tiptoed onto the bed beside Feng Jin. He reached out, pulling the small woman into his embrace, and said in a low voice, "You don't need to plan for yourself. I will never grow tired of you. In this life, you are my only wife. There will never be a second person between us."
Feng Jin, buried in the quilt, heard his voice. A smile involuntarily curved her lips. Finally, the man had said something pleasant to her ears.
...
The next morning, Feng Jin opened her eyes to find Ling Mohan surprisingly lying beside her.
At the usual time, Ling Mohan would have long since disappeared. Why was today so strange, with him still sleeping soundly?
Feng Jin turned her head to gaze at the man's face. Heaven was truly unfair, bestowing upon him such a handsome appearance and then equipping him with both literary and martial prowess, as if gathering all good things upon him.
After staring at his face for a long time, Feng Jin, inexplicably, reached out and gently caressed his features. Just as Feng Jin was lost in her trance, she heard the man stir.
"I didn't expect my dear wife to be so covetous of my looks, secretly touching me while I slept."
Ling Mohan's lips curved into a smile, his tone teasing. Today, he had merely been lazy and not woken up early, yet he had stumbled upon such a fortunate event.
He had always detested this attention-grabbing appearance, and even more so, people discussing his looks. Yet today, this very thing he disliked was captivating Feng Jin.
Ling Mohan's heart leaped with joy. It seemed his appearance was not entirely useless.
"My dear wife, if you find your husband's appearance pleasing, you can look openly. Why be secretive? I permit you to gaze your fill."
After saying these words, Ling Mohan actually leaned his face a little closer to Feng Jin.
At this moment, Feng Jin was filled with regret. Why had she so carelessly reached out to touch him?
"My husband's appearance is naturally supreme, truly breathtaking. Especially his skin, it is as fair as snow, his complexion like cream. Your beauty is such that even the most renowned courtesans in brothels would not possess a tenth of it..."
Feng Jin then lamented, "It's a pity you are a man. If you were a woman, you would surely become famous in the capital and rival the top courtesans."
Ling Mohan's handsome lips twitched. His face turned ashen. He should never have expected Feng Jin to utter anything pleasant.
These words were more excessive than those of the patrons in brothels. Even as a man, he felt ashamed hearing them, yet Feng Jin spoke them with a composed expression.
"As a young lady, where did you learn such nonsensical talk?"
"Anyone can learn these words after hearing them once. Aren't these the same things those patrons in brothels say when they flirt with girls? Tell me, do I sound like them?"
She had learned this from television, and she wondered if it was similar to reality.
Ling Mohan's expression deepened. His well-defined hands clenched into fists, veins bulging on the backs of his pale hands.
She learned these words from brothel patrons? Had Feng Jin been to a brothel?
This thought flashed through his mind, and Ling Mohan's face immediately darkened to an extreme. He grabbed Feng Jin's wrist and asked his burning question, "Have you been to a brothel?"
Feng Jin immediately understood the source of Ling Mohan's anger. Not afraid of trouble, she continued, "Of course, I have. With my looks, I would be the top... courtesan..."
As she reached the end of her sentence, Feng Jin's confidence faltered. The expression on Ling Mohan's face was truly terrifying.