The Feast

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"What\'s that supposed to mean? Whatever, I guess I don\'t really have a talent for martial arts…" the first madam saw through her husband\'s placating words for what they were and was completely disheartened. Presently, Duan Tingxuan said in a low voice, "You remember your father\'s case?"

"Oh?"

Su Nuan Nuan blinked, not really understanding why Duan Tingxuan had changed the subject, she hadn\'t said anything that could be considered threatening to him, right?

"Your father was most likely framed." Duan Tingxuan paused dramatically in the middle of his pacing. His face serious as he looked up the sky, and sighed deeply. If possible, he really did not want to bring up this matter with Su Nuan Nuan, a lot of the things regarding her father\'s matter was guesswork, however the idea that he could miss out delicious food if the wife threw a tantrum over not being able to master kungfu was too great. He must do his best to divert her attention.

"So, someone really did framed him!"

Su Nuan Nuan\'s voice was high pitched as she cried out. She was actually really excited about this matter. Of all the memories she had from the original body, the case stood out the most. Su Meng Nuan herself had been sure that her father was falsely accused, feeling that Duan Tingxuan had not done his best to protect her father. Her feelings came from the depth of her regard for her father, and not from any actual evidence. Because of this, Su Nuan Nuan had mostly dumped the knowledge to the back of her mind, dismissing it as unimportant to the day to day fight for survival. Now that she had time on her hands, she spent some time pondering over the matter out of boredom.

Now that Duan Tingxuan had personally brought up the matter, she suddenly burst out in excitement. Ever since she had taken over Su Meng Nuan\'s body, she had a nagging feeling that she owed this woman some sense of grat.i.tude. Vicious shrew though she was, the woman had truly loved her father. She figured that she should at least ensure the safety of Duke Ping\'s safety so that the woman could find some peace even in the depths of h.e.l.l. Perhaps she could even turn over a new leaf and devote herself to self cultivation and be reborn as a good woman in the next life.

"So, what\'s going on? Did you find out something?" Duan Tingxuan\'s change of subject yielded unexpected result, Su Nuan Nuan had completely forgotten about the bitterness of not being able to learn kungfu and came several steps closer to Duan Tingxuan, impatient curiosity on her face.

For some reason, Duan Tingxuan felt that his wife\'s impatient face was really… cute? Have those dark eyes of hers always been so bright? Even the best black diamonds could not match the allure of those beautiful eyes .

The l.u.s.ty and romantic little marquis stared at his wife of five years in front of him, a sudden surge of feeling bloomed within his heart. As though under a spell, he approached his wife, and gently kissed Su Nuan Nuan\'s forehead.

"Ah!"

Su Nuan Nuan leaped back in fright. She s.n.a.t.c.hed a handkerchief out and rubbed her forehead furiously. She snarled, "Just what is that?"

"What\'s a kiss between husband and wife?" Duan Tingxuan spread out his hands innocently. "Nuan Nuan, have you forgotten that I am your husband?"

"Pei! Ever since the day you sent me to Mei Yue Lou, you\'re no longer my husband." Su Nuan Nuan spat at the floor. She glared at the over s.e.xed wolf in front of her, "I tell you now, don\'t try to use my parent\'s case to make forget everything that had happened. I\'ll never give in so don\'t even dream about me getting back with you again. Duan Tingxuan, you\'ve never loved me, have you? Don\'t think I\'ve forgotten how soon after our marriage that you gotten another woman into our life. The only reason why you want me now is because I no longer want you, and your male pride just can\'t take it. Want me to throw myself at your feet? Pei! Pei! Pei! You can forget about it, if you think that I\'m not grateful enough for your condescension, just divorce me. Some wrongs can never be righted, some sins can never be forgiven."

As she spoke, Su Nuan Nuan\'s voice lose its initial emotional fire, hardening into stone cold seriousness. It was then that Duan Tingxuan finally understood: He had completely lost this woman\'s heart, or, if he were to believe his transmigration of spirit theory, he never had held this woman\'s heart in his hands. He could see the clear dislike and rejection on his wife\'s face, it was clear that nothing about her behaviour was false.

Another man might have stormed off at this point, or forced himself on this woman, perhaps they might even divorce her. However, little marquis was no such weak character. He was a sharp and wily fox who earned the respect and hate of the men at imperial court. The distinguished and handsome idol in the hearts of countless women. At the age of 20 women of all ages practically throw themselves at him. He had collected the best of the bunch and installed the most luscious of the crop in his own inner court. In fact, two of his best flowers could be consider national treasures. If he was someone who could be put off by such crude talk, how could he be admired by so many women? How could the distinguished men of the court respect him?

He breathed in deeply and sighed, once he had collected himself, he said sincerely, "Nuan Nuan, you\'re not wrong. I have hurt you quite badly, however, I don\'t regret my decisions in the past. If you were to look back now with your new understanding, perhaps you would also realise that it was your past beastly and violent behaviour that landed you in Mei Yue Lou. I truly felt that if you had starved to death at that time, it would be proper retribution."

Su Nuan Nuan squawked, and looked away. She could not deny Duan Tingxuan\'s words. Su Meng Nuan really had threatened the lives of the people in the inner court, and at least two or three accidental deaths could be linked to her. Though Duan Tingxuan was a heartless sc.u.m, she could not claim her host body to be any good person. Under these circ.u.mstances, she had to admit that Su Meng Nuan really had gotten her just desserts.

Having no proper retort to make, she remained silent. Duan Tingxuan laughed and said, "Nuan Nuan, you\'ve really changed. You\'re so much cuter now and I feel much closer to you than before. However, I can tell from your words that you really do not wish me to press you as a husband. I, Duan Tingxuan, may be a l.u.s.ty, fickle man, however, I am also a man of dignity and grace. Nuan Nuan, let us be friends for now, if I ever develop feelings for you as a woman, I shall warmly woo you to the best of my abilities. I will gladly call you my wife in every sense of the word the day you willingly give yourself to me. I look forward to the day we meet each other with dignity and pride."

"Pei! Stop your day dreams now, spilled water can never be retrieved. Don\'t you know that?" Su Nuan Nuan naturally did not bother with Duan Tingxuan\'s absurd words: Want her to \'give herself willingly\' over to a man s.l.u.t? Hahaha, that\'s the joke of the century there. A modern woman like her would never accept s.l.u.tty man with three wives and four concubines into her life. Moreover, even if she happened to ever develop feelings for Duan Tingxuan, she would never be his wife. What kind of pride and dignity was she suppose to have while sharing a man with those other women? I say, pei! Shove your day dreams where the sun don\'t shine.

Duan Tingxuan\'s face grew a solemn as he said seriously, "Nuan Nuan, please don\'t speak like that. If one day I give my whole heart over to you, I will throw myself at your feet to fulfil every little whim of yours. I don\'t believe you could remain stone hearted, a heart is made of flesh, after all. When that time comes, you will be able to feel the heat of my love…"

[Gumihou:… *gags*]

"Nothing would come of it." Su Nuan Nuan coolly broke Duan Tingxuan\'s little speech. "Little Marquis Duan, just give it up. Forget that I was ever your wife. I have changed too much, I am above such based flattery. I will never let a man s.l.u.t like you, who have copulated with countless women, to touch me. Never in this life time, and not in the next ten life times. I will never give in, so you had better give up."

[Gumihou cheers Su Nuan Nuan]

Who knows whether Duan Tingxuan really give up at this point or not, however, he ceased to press his suit. He stared dazedly at Su Nuan Nuan as he searched his mind for a proper retort. His lips opened, then closed, without letting out a single word.

"You say my father had been falsely accused, so who\'s the real culprit behind it?"

When Duan Tingxuan continued to remain speechless, Su Nuan Nuan pulled the subject back to this. She was also secretly relief: She had been pestered too long by Duan Tingxuan to take up her role as his wife, to the point that she really didn\'t know how to communicate with him. She had no intention of testing his much vaunted feelings for her, except as a last resort. As long as she remained within the walls of this mansion, she was the official wife of the heir; the cost of this t.i.tle was too much for her to pay. Thankfully, the matter had been brought up and they had both made their positions clear. Su Nuan Nuan was glad that Duan Tingxuan pride as the heir was enough to keep himself from forcing her, looks like she had escaped a rather sticky situation quite well.

"The man who framed your father covered their tracks well, there was not much evidence to be had. However, I have been secretly investigating the matter for a long time and though it was nothing much, I have my suspicions."

"What kind of suspicion? Can you really not speak about it? What\'s all this suspense for? Are you deliberately withholding information to force me into something?"

Su Nuan Nuan bombarded him crossly. Duan Tingxuan gave a bitter smile and said, "Am I such a despicable person in your mind? Do you really think that I would need to use such tricks to bed a woman? I can tell you what you wish to know, but you must keep calm and not cause trouble. If we let on that we know something, you might never get the enemy in this lifetime."

"Yes, yes, yes, I promise not to stir up trouble. I\'ll just listen quietly and keep all the hate in my heart. At most, I\'ll just make a voodoo doll and stab it now and then to relieve my feelings. Nothing will leave my lips, do you want me to swear?" Su Nuan Nuan was putting up her hand up when Duan Tingxuan lunged forward to cover her mouth with his hands and whispered urgently. "My great lady madam, didn\'t you just say you won\'t say anything? Why are you talking so loud? Don\'t you know that someone could take control of your life with just your name and birth date?"

Su Nuan Nuan blinked, then blinked again. She squinted her eyes at Duan Tingxuan\'s hand, a clear hint for him to take it away from her mouth. After sometime, the hand was removed, and she snorted coldly, "Since you\'re under emotional stress, I shall overlook this for the moment. The next time you try to s.n.a.t.c.h my tofu I will bite you. Though I might have teeth like a wild dog, I have no problem tearing off a chunk of your flesh."

"Isn\'t that a bit too wild? Wanting to tear a chunk of my flesh away?" Duan Tingxuan actually trembled a little, when his wife narrowed her eyes, he quickly said, "Do you know King Xiangyang?"

"He was the one who framed my father?" Su Nuan Nuan really had no impression of this King Xiangyang. She had to search deep into her memories to find some general details about this man. However, Duan Tingxuan did not question her. Instead, he nodded and said, "All of my investigation pointed towards his direction."

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Translated by Gumihou from kitchennovel dot com.

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