Her Imperfection for Wifehood - Chapter 27

Chapter 27

The guest room was ready, but An Jing didn’t let Wei Yinxia go there immediately. Instead, she asked Wanyun to prepare hot water for a bath.

She took a set of dark indigo pajamas from the wardrobe for Wei Yinxia: “These are new, washed but never worn. The guest room doesn’t have a bathroom, so you can wash up in my room. Take off your skirt first. We have spare medicine at home; I’ll apply it for you before you sleep.”

Wei Yinxia did not take the clothes. She looked at An Jing and quietly asked: “Can I wear… something you have worn?”

An Jing smiled, put the new pajamas back, and took out another set of wine-red ones: “This set is thinner. I’m afraid you’ll be cold.”

“I’m not afraid of the cold.” Wei Yinxia took the clothes and held them in her arms.

After Wei Yinxia finished bathing, An Jing took the medicinal ointment and accompanied her to the guest room. While Wei Yinxia was bathing, An Jing had already come over to check the bedding, fearing that some detail was not perfect.

She moved a stool to the side of the bed, placed the medicine on the stool, and beckoned to Wei Yinxia, who was standing at the foot of the bed: “Come here and sit down. Roll up your sleeves.”

Wei Yinxia obeyed. She had dared to ask for pajamas, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask to sleep in An Jing’s bed.

She held her cuffs up alternately. An Jing gently applied the medicine with her fingers, her movements extremely tender, even gently blowing on the skin. Wei Yinxia felt no pain at all.

After applying medicine to the several wounds on both arms, An Jing gently stroked a faint knife mark: “Yinyin, look at me and tell me, do you have any other injuries on your body?”

Wei Yinxia’s heart was pounding rapidly, and her face was burning hot. Looking into An Jing’s eyes accelerated her heart to the point of being speechless; she couldn’t open her mouth.

She turned around, unbuttoned a few buttons, and revealed her right shoulder blade. There were two scars there, darker in color than the ones on her arms and more painful than the arm injuries.

The first thing the exposed skin felt was An Jing’s kiss.

“Yinyin, let me hurt for you.”

“A-Jing…”

“Alright, don’t move. I’m going to start applying the medicine now.”

In the middle of the night, there was thunder and lightning, and heavy rain poured down. Wanyun and the others checked, as was customary, that the windows were securely closed one by one.

Their movements were slight, but they made it difficult for Wei Yinxia, in an unfamiliar environment, to sleep soundly.

Wanyun dressed herself, carrying an oil lamp, and stood guard outside An Jing’s door. She would wait until the rain stopped before going back to sleep.

The thunder arrived before the rain that night. At the first clap of thunder, the lightly-sleeping An Jing bolted upright in bed, startled and covered in sweat.

She reached out and turned on the light. The sound of the rain grew louder, and the sound of the thunder grew further away.

About an hour later, the thunder finally ceased.

She got out of bed, splashed cold water on her face, and, after calming down, turned off the light and walked outside.

“Eldest Miss?” Wanyun was still there.

“Shh.” An Jing placed a finger on her lips. “Go to sleep. You don’t need to keep watch.”

“Alright. Good night, Eldest Miss.”

“Good night.”

After Wanyun went downstairs, An Jing felt her way to Wei Yinxia’s door. She turned the doorknob and it opened. Just as she thought, Yinyin hadn’t locked the door.

Tiptoeing in, she whispered, “Yinyin?” The bedside lamp turned on, and Wei Yinxia answered, “A-Jing.”

Locking the door, An Jing didn’t ask what Wei Yinxia thought. She lifted the blanket and slipped into the bed: “It’s raining, with loud thunder. It’s scary.”

Wei Yinxia couldn’t help but laugh, facing her: “A-Jing has seen all sorts of storms. How can you be afraid of thunder?”

“Doesn’t everyone have a weakness?” An Jing scooted closer. “Yinyin, sleep with me.”

An Jing’s coaxing made Wei Yinxia powerless to resist. She snuggled into her arms, wrapped her arms around her waist, and offered a kiss: “Alright, I’ll sleep with you. Good night, my great hero.”

The poor, restless An was left with a heart throbbing from the kiss.

“Yinyin, I can’t sleep.”

“Yinyin, are you asleep?”

“Yinyin, I want to kiss you.”

“Yinyin…”

The shameless coaxing worked.

Wei Yinxia reached out and covered An Jing’s mouth: “If you don’t go to sleep properly, I’ll send you back to your own room.”

An Jing pouted and kissed her palm, even sticking out her tongue, which startled Wei Yinxia into immediately pulling her hand away: “A-Jing, how can you be so improper!”

“With my beloved in my arms, how can you expect me to be proper?”

“You…”

Wei Yinxia’s words were blocked by An Jing’s kiss. For two people who shared feelings, expressing their affection was only natural.

An Jing kissed Wei Yinxia’s lips gently, her right hand passing under her neck, stroking her slender back, and her left hand gripping Wei Yinxia’s right hand, their fingers tightly intertwined. Intimacy, when feelings run deep, is self-taught.

An Jing, in the throes of love, couldn’t kiss her beloved enough, wishing she could melt Wei Yinxia into her very bones.

The warm kisses moved, landing on Wei Yinxia’s swan neck.

A soft, almost imperceptible moan reached An Jing’s ears. Swallowing, she kissed Yinyin’s chin, neck, and earlobe, inch by inch, bit by bit…

Her left hand slid down Yinyin’s forearm to her waist, and moved up, further up…

“A-Jing.” Yinyin’s voice was a little hoarse, and her right hand also covered An Jing’s left hand.

An Jing suddenly panicked, stopping both her mouth and hand.

She abruptly pulled her hand away, quickly apologizing, “I’m sorry,” and then tightly embraced Wei Yinxia: “I lost my mind, overwhelmed by desire. Yinyin, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you…”

Wei Yinxia gently patted An Jing’s back from top to bottom: “I am happy too, A-Jing. You don’t need to blame yourself.”

To her, if she could willingly and naturally give her purity to An Jing when she had the choice, she would have no regrets or resentment. As long as An Jing wanted to continue, she would never stop her.

“Yinyin, what I want to do is promise you a future. Until that future is secured, I cannot allow myself to desecrate someone as wonderful as you.”

“Good, I’ll wait for you. I’ll wait for you to give me a future.”

“Mhm. Then, tomorrow morning, can I have your tomato cream and egg noodles?”

“Yes, you can. Whenever A-Jing wants to eat it, I will gladly make it for you.”

The next day, An Jing instructed An Xi to keep a close eye on the factory’s situation and report to her at any time. She then went shopping to buy new clothes for Wei Yinxia, had Wanyun pack a large suitcase of luggage, and then Lu Cheng drove the two of them to Tang Yunqing’s private residence.

Tang Yunqing’s private residence was a Western-style manor.

She spent most of her time living with her husband and daughter in a villa within the concession area, only coming to the manor for a vacation or to host a socialite gathering when she was in the mood.

An Jing had stayed there twice before.

“Boss Jing, you accepted a sworn sister for me without even discussing it with me. I really have to thank you!” Tang Yunqing feigned anger.

“Miss Tang…”

Wei Yinxia was about to speak to explain, but An Jing embraced her: “This sister is kind and generous, smart and capable, wise and beautiful, with extraordinary talent… you got a bargain!”

Tang Yunqing broke into a smile: “Oh, how much ink did you drink to accept a sister?”

“Don’t undermine me! Can’t you save me some face?!” An Jing let go of Wei Yinxia, then squatted down and beckoned to Xiaoyu: “My precious little princess, don’t you recognize your Godmother?”

Xiaoyu tilted her head, shyly looking at Wei Yinxia, and softly asked: “Who is the pretty aunt next to Godmother?”

An Jing squatted down and made the introduction: “This pretty aunt is Godmother and Mommy’s sister—that is, Xiaoyu’s little aunt. Xiaoyu can call her Auntie Yinyin.”

“Auntie Yinyin.” Xiaoyu called out sweetly.

“Xiaoyu is so well-behaved. Come here, let Godmother give you a hug.” An Jing picked up Xiaoyu and kissed her. “Godmother and Auntie Yinyin have come to stay and play with Xiaoyu and Mommy for a few days to celebrate Mommy’s birthday. Are you happy?”

“Happy!”

Last night, while Wei Yinxia was bathing, An Jing called Tang Yunqing to briefly explain how she had “accepted” a sworn sister for her at the banquet.

Since it was done, Tang Yunqing had no choice but to accept it. She even had Qingyan pack clothes and daily necessities for her and Xiaoyu overnight.

After having breakfast at home today, she had the chauffeur drive them over.

The rooms were already clean, but she still had Qingyan deep clean them again. After half a day of cleaning and running around with Xiaoyu, Qingyan only managed to clean two master bedrooms and one guest room.

An Jing and Wei Yinxia’s belongings were all packed in one suitcase, so they were temporarily placed in the cleaned guest room.

“Yinyin, Yunqing and I have some business matters to discuss. Would you and Qingyan take Xiaoyu to the garden downstairs to play for a while? If you’re not good at entertaining children, you can just sit in the nearby pavilion, and I’ll have Qingyan brew you a pot of hot tea.”

“Mhm, you go ahead and work. Xiaoyu is very sweet. She’s your goddaughter, and I want her to like me too.”

“She likes you already, or else she wouldn’t have called you a pretty aunt as soon as she saw you.”

Subsequently, Qingyan played hide-and-seek with Xiaoyu in the garden, and Wei Yinxia helped Xiaoyu look for her. Meanwhile, Tang Yunqing and An Jing had afternoon tea on the second-floor balcony.

Tang Yunqing was a carefree person who only focused on enjoyment in life. Both her husband’s family and her own family spoiled her. She was accustomed to such a leisurely life and rarely actively inquired about business matters on either side.

When she occasionally attended a banquet, it was to save face and to socialize with the wives and daughters of other bosses, so as to gain some insight into the men’s weaknesses.

“The Zhengqing Department Store you asked me to investigate is glamorous on the surface, but its situation is precarious in reality. Wei Zhengqing’s current financial condition simply cannot support an entire department store building. I heard that his ballroom and restaurant are secretly looking for buyers.”

“Is anyone in the Business Association willing to take over?”

“No clear intentions yet. However…”

“However what?”

“Someone let slip that Yinghua wants to acquire Zhengqing Department Store.”

An Jing fell silent.

If the news was true, was Wei Zhengqing demanding that Kahn prepare 100,000 silver dollars as a betrothal gift just to buy time to protect Zhengqing Department Store?

Or would he use this as a bargaining chip, ultimately exchanging Wei Yinxia to make Kahn abandon the acquisition of Zhengqing Department Store?

“What are you calculating?” Tang Yunqing asked, looking at An Jing meaningfully. “Do you have ideas? You’ve already invested in Qin Zhe’s Affordable Department Store; do you want to expand into other businesses? Is An Xi’s return making you feel a sense of crisis?”

An Jing shook her head: “Qin Zhe and I are splitting up.”

Tang Yunqing was surprised: “How come? It’s only been half a year.” She then added angrily, “Did he do something outrageous?”

“He’s a genuine scholar. What outrageous thing could he do to me?”

“True. Who would dare cause trouble for our Boss Jing, who can knock down a tiger with one punch?”

“Yunqing, I need money.” Asking Tang Yunqing for a loan was a decision An Jing had carefully considered from last night until they were on their way here today.

“Tell me.”

“The Yinghua Textile Mill poses a great threat to the An Corporation. The company’s existing funds have all been used to replace new machinery. Qin Zhe and I can no longer cooperate due to personal grievances. He now holds a great deal of resentment toward me and is unwilling to accept my shares in the Affordable Department Store, meaning he won’t convert them to cash for me. I can only find another buyer. He must have spread some unfavorable rumors about me, as the shares, originally worth 100,000, have been pushed down to 60,000.”

Qin Zhe held the “handle” (secret) of her and Wei Yinxia’s relationship. He was also present at the Yinghua banquet. He was certain that she and Wei Yinxia had a “private affair” and was using it to retaliate against her, yet she couldn’t reasonably fight back.

Although Qin Zhe was holding his fire and hadn’t made a big fuss about her and Wei Yinxia’s situation, the loss of 40,000 out of 100,000 was a bitter pill to swallow. So, she planned to ask Tang Yunqing for help to solve her immediate need for cash, and she would let the Affordable Department Store matter linger for now.

“The interests involved in department stores are too wide-ranging; it’s not convenient for me to get involved. I can lend you the money. A ballroom or a restaurant?”

Tang Yunqing thought An Jing wanted to pull money out and take the opportunity to acquire some assets from Wei Zhengqing, just to anger the old man and also to build her own private assets. “A well-managed ballroom can become the best place to make money quickly. Let’s go with the ballroom. I should be able to gather the money to buy one of his ballrooms. If it’s not enough, my father and husband can also provide financial support. Given how well we know each other, I’ll waive the promissory note and interest for you.”

“Do you have 100,000 silver dollars?” An Jing wanted ready cash.

Wei Zhengqing was Yinyin’s father, and he had the right to marry off his daughter to anyone at any time.

The fastest way to get Yinyin out of the Wei family was to “marry” her into the An family honorably. She hadn’t wanted to burden An Xi, but the dramatic performance between Wei Zhengqing and Kahn had successfully provoked her.

She couldn’t stand by and watch Yinyin be insulted repeatedly, openly priced and “sold” to another man like a commodity.

The prerequisite was that she needed enough money, and she couldn’t compromise the An family’s assets or the company’s interests.

As for the specific use of the money…

“That half-dead ballroom of his is small-scale. I conservatively estimate it could be bought for around 60,000. Boss Jing, you want 100,000. That’s quite ambitious.” Tang Yunqing neither confirmed nor denied having the money. After pondering for a moment, she continued: “Let me calculate things. I’ll give you an answer in a few days.”

An Jing had never asked her for anything, and this first request was for 100,000.

Tang Yunqing only had about 50,000 available for her sole discretion. The company shares couldn’t be touched unless absolutely necessary. If she borrowed from her family, such a large sum of money would need a convincing reason and destination.

Clearly, An Jing wouldn’t tell her.

Buying the ballroom was only her own speculation and analysis.

At this moment, Tang Yunqing did not know about the “100,000 silver dollars” transaction concerning Wei Yinxia between Wei Zhengqing and Kahn at the banquet yesterday.

An Jing had only told her over the phone that she found a connection with Wei Yinxia after spending time with her, felt she had done wrong by breaking the engagement, and accepted her as a sister to compensate. Seeing her being verbally insulted at the banquet, she wanted to take her out to relax.

“Yunqing, Yinyin is a good girl, and we get along well. When I can’t look after her, please help me watch over her as much as you can.”

Tang Yunqing narrowed her eyes: “No problem. Thanks to you, the entire Business Association knows that the Wei family’s second daughter is my sworn sister. I’d like to see who is foolish enough to try and bully someone who is now connected to me.”

Qingyan was a seventeen-year-old maid. Playing hide-and-seek with Xiaoyu, she hid inside a huge, woven vine basket, where a faint blue figure could be seen.

Wei Yinxia slowly followed Xiaoyu. She wasn’t very good at getting along with children or comforting them.

She just knew that A-Jing and Miss Tang had business to discuss, and it wasn’t appropriate for her to be there, so she proactively offered to stay in the garden and play with Xiaoyu for a while.

Xiaoyu spotted Qingyan’s blue clothing through the gaps in the vines, her face lit up with joy, and she ran happily: “Found you, found you!”

Just as she was about to reach the vines, her foot slipped, and she stumbled forward.

Thankfully, Wei Yinxia was following closely and quickly grabbed Xiaoyu’s collar, but losing her balance, she twisted her body to shield Xiaoyu in front of her, and she fell backward against the vines.

To maintain the aesthetics of the garden scenery, the edges of the vine basket were set and shaped with broken bamboo and bamboo strips.

Because she had been moving around frequently and felt warm, Wei Yinxia had already taken off her shawl. At that moment, a loud “rip” was heard. Her clothes on her back were torn by the broken bamboo, and several sharp bamboo points pierced her flesh.

Xiaoyu, leaning against Wei Yinxia’s body, was startled and cried loudly.

Qingyan saw the bloodstains on the vines, quickly picked up Xiaoyu, and shouted up to the balcony: “Madam! Boss Jing! Miss Yinxia is hurt!”

Hearing the noise, An Jing, who was pouring tea, shook her hand. The spout of the teapot shifted, and scalding hot water spilled onto the tabletop, splashing a few drops that burned Tang Yunqing’s hand, but An Jing didn’t notice.

She put down the teapot, glanced at the location downstairs, and swiftly ran down the stairs.

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