Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter Seventy: Schemes

"I...I understand." The girl looked at her anxiously, her hand starting to move again, and new colors began to appear on the canvas.

Ji Meiqing looked at it for a while longer before leaving. The canvas was once again vibrant with color.

The first girl finished her drawing, and her mother came over to urge her to finish. Ji Meiqing looked at the long line behind her and asked everyone else to leave, leaving the rest to draw.

With her supervising, the girls dared not slack off. After each piece was completed, they would hand it to her for a look, and only after Ji Meiqing confirmed that it was acceptable would they begin the next one.

It was getting late, and she rubbed her head, trying to clear her head.

"Does the young master need to rest?" A comforting scent wafted around him, and Ji Meiqing felt even more drowsy.

With her eyelids drooping, Ji Meiqing looked up at the gentle question, then closed her eyes completely and fell asleep.

Hearing the noise, the mother who was waiting outside immediately came in, and the girls stood quietly to one side, waiting for her instructions.

She was sleeping soundly, and her mother came over and took a closer look.

"You little brat, you think you can mess with me? Strip her naked and throw her on the bed. You can all lie down anywhere right now."

She instructed her men to move the unconscious Ji Meiqing to another room. There was only one bed in the room, and his clothes were undressed. The girls exclaimed in surprise, "His skin is so white, even softer than ours. It's a pity he's a man. If he were a girl, he would probably be a delicate and refined young lady."

"Who says it can't be a girl? Aren't men and women only similar in a few ways?"

"That's true. You'll know the truth once you take off her clothes. Someone with such fair skin and a beautiful face still looks quite effeminate even in this outfit."

They were discussing animatedly, occasionally letting out a soft laugh. Their belts had been removed, leaving their clothes unfastened.

Their clothes had been stripped down to the last layer. A thin, see-through undergarment, still tied with a bag, was fastened to their body. A sharp-eyed person spotted the white strip of cloth inside the garment and tugged at their companion's clothes in surprise.

"what is this?"

"Linen?" They unbuttoned their clothes, revealing white linen binding their chests, creating a clear cleavage that looked sexy and alluring.

The group exchanged bewildered glances; they hadn't expected their casual remark to actually be true. She really was a girl…

"Get out of the way." A very cold voice came from behind.

They all turned around and saw another man who didn't seem to have come in through the main entrance.

"Young...Young Master...where did you come in from?"

Surrounded by people, Ji Meiqing lay on the bed with her eyes closed. Apart from a linen bodice, she had nothing else to cover her body.

Lu Yu's face darkened, and he strode over to wrap Ji Meiqing up on the bed and hold her in his arms.

"You all better pray that she's alright, or you'll all be sent to jail to reflect on your actions."

Ji Meiqing was taken away just like that, and they watched Lu Yu disappear into the darkness through the window.

He had no idea how Ji Meiqing was doing. Hearing her even breathing, Lu Yu finally felt a little relieved.

Seeing her peaceful sleeping face, Lu Yu took her back directly.

She seemed to have been drugged and was fast asleep. Looking at the casually tied belt around her waist, Lu Yu felt a strange tightness in his chest. Thankfully, nothing too serious had happened, and thankfully he had arrived in time. Otherwise, he didn't know what might have happened.

However, the thought that they were going to do something reckless to Ji Meiqing filled him with inexplicable anger.

When she woke up, she looked at the familiar scenery around her. Ji Meiqing was stunned. There was a sound at the door. She looked over and saw Lu Yu walk in with a gloomy face, putting down a cup of tea.

"Brother Lu..." she called out, eager to understand how she had gotten here.

Lu Yu didn't intend to explain to her and simply walked out. Ji Meiqing rubbed her head; she barely remembered what happened last night, her mind was a blur.

She got out of bed and drank some tea, which made her head feel a little better. When she went outside, she saw Lu Yu busy at work. She hurried over to help, but he avoided her.

“Brother Lu…you…” She looked at him hesitantly; she rarely saw Lu Yu like this.

Ji Meiqing followed behind him, having finally figured out some of what had happened last night. "Brother Lu...you're the one who brought me back last night?"

"Hmm," he said calmly.

She was a little confused again, "I...didn't I cause any trouble, did I...?"

He suddenly stopped and faced Ji Meiqing directly. "You've got some nerve, dressing up as a woman and going to a brothel all by yourself."

When he said these words, his face was completely expressionless. Ji Meiqing chuckled dryly, but seeing that the atmosphere had not eased and was instead becoming more and more tense, she immediately straightened her expression.

"I was wrong, I won't do it again next time." She obediently raised her hand and swore.

Lu Yu asked again, "Do you want there to be a next time?"

"It's necessary for business." She looked at him with a coquettish expression, blinking her eyes pleadingly. Lu Yu was so flustered by her that he didn't know what to say, so he simply turned away.

Ji Meiqing shamelessly chased after him, "Brother Lu?"

He turned away again, avoiding her.

Ji Meiqing chased after him for a while, and while the two were playing and joking around, Li suddenly came over.

She had to stop and deal with the matter.

"what happened?"

Li frowned, her face slightly troubled, as if something was bothering her. Ji Meiqing couldn't help but ask her another question.

“The Qiu family refuses to separate from me. They brought people over early this morning, saying that if we want to separate, we must leave with nothing.”

She had finished explaining the whole story. Both of them frowned. The matter wasn't too urgent, but the problem was that they refused to separate.

"That Qiu is too greedy. Since that's the case, let's go to the village chief and get some justice." She looked ahead indignantly, grabbed Li's hand, and headed over.

Fortunately, Lu Yu suddenly spoke up, "I'll go with you."

"Huh?" Ji Meiqing was a little surprised, but seeing him walk over, she agreed. The three of them went to the village chief's side together.

Since the old village chief passed away, a new village chief has quickly taken over. He seems to be the nephew of some adult.

Ji Meiqing led them there and immediately explained their purpose. The new village chief rubbed his hands together, looking slightly troubled: "Even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes. In the end, the Li family's matter is just that the Qiu family is greedy and insatiable. You don't need to pay any attention to them."

"The division of the family property is a matter of a word, and it depends on whether the village chief is willing to make the decision," Ji Meiqing said, then looked at him intently. "If you don't want to leave this position so soon, I advise you to think it over carefully."