Chapter 24.1 - Stimulation (1/2)

Translator: Superbulat

Tang Huan strode home light-footedly.

Knowing that Dong Minghua would come to find her, she didn’t take a nap this time. After fixing herself in the mirror, she lifted a stool and sat down under the lush persimmon tree in the backyard, leaning against the trunk and closing her eyes. Beside her was a sewing basket containing a handkerchief that Jinzhi had sewed halfway. The two mandarin ducks on the handkerchief had been completely embroidered, and only the lotus leaves on top of their heads were left unfinished. Since no one would continue to sew it, Tang Huan simply cut it in half through the middle with a pair of scissors, splitting a fine silk handkerchief into two halves and separating the two loving mandarin ducks. 1

When Dong Minghua saw this later, would he be heartbroken?

This was the trap she had set for Dong Minghua.

She wanted to let that woman, Jiang Yuzhu, draw water from a sieve 2 and obediently marry the old man as his remarried wife, so that she would never experience the joy of lovemaking that a young man could provide for the rest of her life. She also wanted to ruin the reputation of Dong Minghua, the useless and cowardly cheater. It wasn’t to avenge Father Song. Tang Huan knew that she was not that kind. After all, he was Jinzhi’s father, not hers. If he was her real father, she would make them suffer so much that they wished to die instead. She did this just because she didn’t like them. She also intended to use Dong Minghua to agitate Song Mo.

According to Jinzhi’s memory, Dong Minghua often sneaked into the Song house to play with her when they were kids. If he can’t get in through the main entrance, he’ll climb in through the back door. Now that Song Mo was busy working in the wheat field, and there was almost no one on the road during the hottest time of the day, Dong Minghua would definitely repeat the same actions.

To avoid repeating the mistake of the first dream, Tang Huan locked all the doors and gates of the house, so that even if Song Mo unexpectedly returned home, she could hear him and respond in time.

Dong Minghua did indeed arrive.

He went to the back door of Song house, made sure that no one could see him, and skillfully climbed up the wall.

He thought about a lot of things when he did this.

It seemed that he had never climbed the wall since Jinzhi had her first period at the age of twelve. When they were younger, he used all kinds of excuses to find her. Although she felt that it was inappropriate, she was happy in her heart and reluctantly agreed. Of course, he just came over to talk to her, play with her, and tell her the interesting things that happened in school. He never did anything that crossed the line. Later, she stated that she had already grown up and that they shouldn’t meet up in secret anymore. He couldn’t win against her, so he had to give up, and he had read a lot of books at that time, no longer the naughty child he used to be.

Childhood sweethearts…

The memories were sweet and bitter. Dong Minghua jumped off the wall and took a few steps forward before noticing a familiar figure sitting under the tree.

With a white skirt and white shirt, the side profile of the person under the tree shade appeared pale, not as rosy as before.

Jinzhi must have been devastated by Father-In-Law’s death…

With his heart aching for Jinzhi, Dong Minghua approached her quietly.

Her eyes were shut. Was she sleeping, or was she thinking about something?

Dong Minghua got closer, but she still hadn’t awoken. He had not seen her look so calm in a long while, so he was reluctant to wake her up. He slowly squatted down. His gaze shifted from her delicate face to her small hands on her knees, and then he noticed the sewing basket near her feet and the mandarin duck embroidered handkerchief cut in half…

As if his heart had been pricked, Dong Minghua closed his eyes in pain. He had bought the handkerchief and asked her to sew a pair of mandarin ducks for him. Just what on earth did he do wrong for her to be so cold-hearted!

“Jinzhi…” He half-kneeled in front of her, took her hand, and whispered.

Tang Huan drew her brows together and slowly opened her eyes.

“Jinzhi…” Dong Minghua begged as he looked at her. “Don’t be angry, Jinzhi. I sneaked in your house because I-I missed you so much. My beloved Jinzhi, what did I do wrong? Could you please tell me? We have been together for so many years, but you are so heartless to break off our engagement?”

Tang Huan stared blankly at him, and as she continued to stare, tears rolled down her face. She abruptly retracted her hands, stood up, and yelled angrily, “Go away! You’re still looking for me for what?” She covered her mouth with her hand and ran into her room.

Dong Minghua hurriedly chased after her and put a foot in before Tang Huan slammed the door shut, crying. Men were naturally stronger than women, so he was able to force his way in, close the door, and hug Tang Huan from behind to stop her from leaving. “What exactly did I do to make you angry, please tell me! If I truly did something wrong, I’ll apologize and change. Please don’t ignore me, okay?”

Tang Huan scratched the back of his hand as hard as she could. “Let me go!”

Dong Minghua gasped in pain, and resentment surged in his heart. He turned the woman in his arms to face him and barked, “Even if you want me to die, let me know the reason!”

Tang Huan was startled, and then sneered at him, “Dong Minghua, things have already come to this point, so why are you still pretending to be infatuated with me? Do you think I’m a fool? I really hate myself for misjudging you!”

Dong Minghua had never seen Jinzhi behave in this manner before. His stomach sank. “I-”

Tang Huan shook him off and pointed at the back door to drive him away. “Go away! Go find your beloved biaomei ! You’ve already done tha-that kind of thing with her, so why did you come looking for me? Aren’t you planning on marrying her as your wife and taking me in as your concubine? Dong Minghua, let me tell you, I’d rather marry a beggar, I’d rather stay unmarried for life than to be your concubine! You are not worthy!”

“When did I ever say that!”

Dong Minghua angrily swore to the heavens, “If I, Dong Minghua, ever had the idea of taking Song Jinzhi in as my concubine, I would be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!”

Tang Huan was taken aback. She stared blankly at him. “It…it was Yuzhu who told me herself that you and she had already…done the things a husband and a wife would do… I couldn’t believe you would do such a thing, but s-she handed me a handkerchief that was dyed red, and said that was, that was…” She bit her lower lip, unable to continue.

Jiang Yuzhu, that bitch!

Dong Minghua really regretted it! He even went soft-hearted for her nonsense and tears at noon, but who would have guessed she’d frame him like this!

He stepped forward and knelt in front of Tang Huan. “Jinzhi, don’t you know what kind of person I am? You have always been the only one in my heart. How could you believe Jiang Yuzhu’s words? She wanted to marry me, but I didn’t like her. She couldn’t do anything about me, so she deliberately came to you and talked nonsense to drive a wedge between us! Jinzhi, there is nothing between me and her. Please trust me!”

Tang Huan looked at the man in surprise.

Her master had said that men liked to lie and deceive women. Sometimes their made-up lies sounded even truer than the truth. She had only been down the mountain for a short time and had not seen many men. She thought that it was normal for Qiao Liu to lie, but even Dong Minghua, an indecisive wimp, was good at lying…

So, were honest men like Song Mo the abnormal ones?

Tang Huan turned around and hmph-ed softly. “How do I know if what you said is true? You had been so nice to her before, and you had brought her with you even when we met up!”

Dong Minghua may not understand other women, but he knew Jinzhi very well. Hearing her say this, he knew that she already believed him.

Suppressing the joy in his heart, he stood up, grabbed Tang Huan’s shoulder, and said earnestly, “Everything I just said is true. By the way, Jinzhi, you might not know this yet, but my uncle had already arranged for her marriage. Tomorrow he would bring her back home to meet with the man. If nothing unexpected happens, she will be marrying a rich landowner who is in his fifties as his remarried wife. Think about it, if I really cared about her, wouldn’t I stop this? Jinzhi, I only care about you. If you are angry, I will be sad. If you are happy, I will also be happy. Other women are nothing in my eyes. My dear Jinzhi, let’s stop quarrelling. Regarding the matter of breaking off the marriage, can you talk Uncle out of it?”

Tang Huan lowered her head and remained silent.

Dong Minghua pleaded softly, “Jinzhi…”

Tang Huan pushed him and turned her head away as she said, “I-I’ll believe you for the time being, but I will have to wait for your cousin to leave and her marriage to be official before I truly believe you, and only then will I properly explain to my uncle. Don’t come looking for me again until then!”

“Jinzhi, you-”

“Leave! If someone sees you, how am I supposed to live?” Tang Huan pushed him out angrily.

Dong Minghua had no other choice. “All right, all right, I’ll leave! But Jinzhi, don’t be sad anymore. Just you wait, I’ll definitely prove it to you!”

Tang Huan glared at him and slammed the door shut with a bang.

But Dong Minghua lost his soul from her coquettish glance.

He hadn’t seen Jinzhi in a few days. It seemed that she…became prettier…

After he climbed over the wall and walked back, Dong Minghua’s excited heart gradually calmed down. When he thought of his biaomei, who was still waiting for his reply at home, he felt stuffy in his chest. Fortunately, Jinzhi still cared about him and was willing to listen to his explanation, otherwise, he would not even know how he had lost Jinzhi!

~

鸳鸯(Mandarin ducks) are the ultimate symbol of love and marriage in South East Asia, especially in China, Japan, and South Korea. (Source https://goodlucksymbols.com/mandarin-ducks/ ) 竹篮打水一场空 (Draw water using a bamboo basket): Work hard to no avail; achieve nothing.