The Fragrance of Lust Cannot Be Contained - Chapter 3

Chapter 5

Cold sweat seeped down my back.

Thank goodness. Otherwise, Yue Sha’s sword would have claimed one more lonely ghost-me.

After we got out, Fu Jiao shook off my hand.

Then he wiped his arm in disgust.

“It’s not like I came looking for you on purpose.”

I nodded frantically. “Thank you.”

As it turned out, Fu Jiao had come to ask me to teach him how to weave a brocade pouch.

With every stitch, a fine sheen of sweat formed on Fu Jiao’s forehead.

The mandarin ducks he embroidered turned into little ducklings.

I took it from him to show him how. Fu Jiao leaned in close, the scent of medicinal herbs on him rich and warm.

My head spun with happiness. “Who are you making it for?”

This was a Double Elegance Mandarin Duck Pouch, and tonight was Qixi among the common folk.

My heart thudded wildly, but Fu Jiao only gave a cold snort.

“Don’t flatter yourself. Just teach me properly.”

Yet for some reason, the hand holding the embroidery needle had gone sweaty.

Fu Jiao had always had a sharp tongue, but his heart was pure.

In the sect, I was the only girl he was close to. He had barely exchanged more than a few words with any other woman.

This pouch had to be for me.

That night, I dressed myself up and went to the sect’s Qixi Banquet in high spirits.

I heard that Yue Sha would be staying the night as well.

His room was right next to Fu Jiao’s.

At the banquet table, Fu Jiao’s expression was sour. He sat down beside me and drank in silence.

“Disturbing people’s sleep.”

I nodded in agreement and bit into a flower pastry-only to crack my tooth on a pebble inside. It hurt so badly that tears fell from my eyes.

“Ow, it hurts.”

Fu Jiao scolded me for being delicate, then lifted the tea meant for rinsing my mouth above his head, leaving me no choice but to reach for it.

He was always used to teasing me.

As I argued with Fu Jiao in a hoarse voice, Yue Sha, standing amid the crowd, suddenly raised his head and stared straight at me.

His eyes were bloodshot, and the wine in his hand spilled with a tremor.

I immediately fell silent.

I no longer dared to eat anything, nor did I dare make a sound.

The room felt stiflingly hot. Yue Sha had already risen and was making his way through the crowd toward me.

I used going out for air as an excuse and fled the table at a run.

“That brocade pouch at your waist is so pretty. Which young master gave it to you?”

A brocade pouch?

Drawn by the voice, I looked toward a few junior sisters who were chatting.

One of them was this year’s outstanding disciple. I had heard Fu Jiao mention her before.

He was always praising how clever she was, saying she was a thousand times better than me.

I crept closer and pricked up my ears to listen.

Her face was glowing with happiness as she shyly showed everyone an ugly little pouch.

On it were two little ducklings, simple and endearing.

This was the pouch I had taught Fu Jiao to embroider. Yet now it was in her hands.

A sour ache spread through my chest.

When the junior sister saw me, she smiled brightly and hung it at her waist, making it especially conspicuous.

“Senior Sister, do you think this pouch is pretty? His embroidery is so clumsy, but it’s so cute-and it really stands out!

“Today is Qixi. Don’t tell me you don’t have one?”

My chest tightened. I forced out a smile and held back my tears with everything I had.

“I do, I do. I’ll go look for it.”

I fled in utter embarrassment.

They laughed softly behind me. There was no malice in it, yet it stabbed into my back all the same.