Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 259 One Night of Passion?

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When they were "completely naked" under each other's smooth, delicate skin, Liu Ye barely opened his eyes. However, he was still drowsy from the alcohol and the dim lighting made it difficult for him to see the other person's face clearly. But with base secured and a home run in sight, he didn't have time to savor the moment and went straight to the point.

The sudden, rough action elicited a slightly painful groan from the woman. Liu Ye's heavy breathing and the woman's soft, low moans echoed in the room. Outside the window, all was silent; the moon, seemingly unwilling to witness this blush-inducing scene, quietly hid behind thick clouds.

When Duan Mengrou opened her eyes, the sun was already high in the sky. Since taking over the money shop, she had never gotten up this late. After stretching comfortably, she suddenly remembered that she should go to the money shop. She immediately jolted awake, threw off the covers, and tried to get up, but her hand accidentally touched a slippery spot, like a person's back.

Looking over, she saw a man lying beside her, naked, with his back to her. This terrified Duan Mengrou, who let out a bloodcurdling scream.

The scream woke the man. He lazily turned around and saw Duan Mengrou staring at him with a terrified look. He immediately woke up, covered himself with the blanket, and slowly sat up.

"I'm actually lying in the same bed as the master!" Duan Mengrou thought to herself, her mind a complete mess.

"I actually slept with this girl?" Liu Ye thought with immense regret.

"You..." After a moment of silence, the two spoke at the same time.

Liu Ye awkwardly gestured, "You go first."

Duan Mengrou glanced down at her clothes. Thankfully, although she had taken off her outer garment, her moon-white inner robe was still on, covering her completely. She felt no discomfort and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Carefully choosing her words, she began, “…Master, we were both drunk last night, and I don’t know how I ended up in your bed…Please rest assured, Master, I am not one to be rude, nor will I put you in a difficult position in front of Consort Ru. I would never dare to harbor any delusional thoughts…”

In the Ming Dynasty, with its strict feudal ethics, physical intimacy between unmarried men and women was outrageous; even holding hands was considered a grave transgression. The fact that the two were sleeping in the same bed, even without any physical intimacy, would ruin Duan Mengrou's reputation and integrity if word got out. In the normal course of events, Liu Ye would have taken Duan Mengrou as a concubine, a happy ending for everyone. Even if she wasn't his principal wife, a concubine would have been acceptable—before meeting Liu Ye, Duan Mengrou's fate would have been even darker; she would have either been forced into a life of unrecognized submission to Gao Hongtu or used as a bargaining chip to be given to some powerful official as a second wife. However, Duan Mengrou refused to use this to coerce or beg her husband, hence her words—she wanted to humble herself and give him a way out.

Although Liu Ye was drunk last night, he was certain that he had forced himself on a woman and had sex with her. There was no mistake about that. There's a big difference between a dream and reality, and he wasn't a novice who hadn't experienced such things before, so he naturally wouldn't confuse the two. He was originally worried about how to deal with the other party, but the "victim" tried to brush it off so easily, which greatly surprised him.