Chapter 76: Twin Sisters
That night, Li Qing’an returned to his residence, exhausted. Entering the courtyard, he saw the light on in the east wing room, and the silhouettes of three women appeared behind the window paper. He was stunned—what was going on? Hadn’t he sent those twin sisters away already?
“General!” someone called out behind him.
Turning around, he saw He Yanming running over. Li Qing’an’s expression darkened as he asked, “Didn’t I tell you to send those sisters away? Why are they back?”
He Yanming scratched his head and said, “I tried to send them away, but on the way, they kept crying, saying they didn’t know where to go. I felt sorry for them, so I brought them back.”
Li Qing’an felt a headache coming on. Now there were three girls following him. He Yanming stepped forward and said in a suggestive whisper, “General, my point is, since Yang Zhao has already given them to you, you should take them. If you really don’t want them, then give them to me!”
“Get lost!”
Li Qing’an kicked him irritably. “What do you think they are? Things that can be given away casually?”
“Okay! Okay! I’ll leave then. Anyway, they’re quite pitiful. I don’t want to send them away again.”
With that, He Yanming dashed off.
Li Qing’an stayed in the courtyard for a while. He had originally wanted to get rid of those sisters to avoid any connection with Yang Zhao, but now…
“Xiao Lian!” he called.
“Brother Li, you’re back,” Xia Xiao Lian hurriedly opened the door.
“Oh! I’m a bit tired. Get me some hot water to wash my feet.”
Seeing the twin sisters standing timidly at the door, Li Qing’an smiled and said, “Come to my room!”
He went back into his room, lit the lamp, and sat down exhausted, feeling his temples throbbing.
“Servants A Feng and A Huang pay their respects to their master!” The sisters bowed to him pitifully.
“A Feng and A Huang?” Li Qing’an smiled. Those were names he had casually given them last night at Yang Zhao’s residence, and they had taken them seriously.
He waved his hand and asked, “I heard from He Yanming that you have nowhere to go. Don’t you know where your home is?”
The sisters lowered their heads. After a long silence, the older sister whispered, “We’ve grown up in Master An’s residence since we can remember. The butler said that when we were two years old, our parents sold us. We don’t know their names or where they live.”
The younger sister added, “Even if we did, we wouldn’t want to go back to them.”
“What are your plans then?”
The two sisters knelt down and pleaded with sorrowful voices, “Lord Li, we don’t even have slave status. If the authorities find us, we’ll surely be turned into official slaves. Since Lord Yang has given us to you, we now belong to you. Please keep us; we’re willing to serve you for life.”
Li Qing’an looked at these beautiful twin sisters before him. To say he wasn’t tempted would be deceiving himself. He smiled slightly and said, “Very well! You two can stay, but ‘A Feng’ and ‘A Huang’ aren’t very pleasant to hear. Come up with your own names!”
Hearing that they could stay, the sisters were overjoyed. The elder sister quickly said, “Lord…”
“Wait! Don’t call me ‘Lord.’ I don’t like that title.”
Li Qing’an thought for a moment. Calling them ‘Seventh Brother’ didn’t seem right either, so he smiled and said, “Just like Xiao Lian, call me ‘Elder Brother Li’!”
“Yes! Elder Brother Li, we had names when we were young—Rushi Ruhua—but later we changed them to Fenghua Xueyue.”
“Hehe! Then call me Rushi Ruhua. By the way, which one of you is the elder sister and which is the younger? How can I tell them apart?”
“One of us has a red mole on her left ear, and the other doesn’t.”
Li Qing’an shook his head and laughed, “That won’t do. I can’t keep checking your ears every time!”
At that moment, Xia Xiao Lian beside them said with a smile, “Elder Brother Li, I’ve noticed several differences between them.”
“Oh? Go on, tell me.”
“First, their voices are different. Elder Sister Rushi has a clear voice, while Sister Ruhua’s is a bit softer. Second, their personalities differ—Elder Sister is gentle, while Sister Ruhua is lively. Third, we can create a difference artificially, like wearing different hairstyles.”
Li Qing’an laughed. “I like the third idea. Tomorrow, you two can wear different hairstyles. Is that okay?”
“Yes!” The two sisters bowed together. “We’ll change our hairstyles tomorrow.”
Li Qing’an stretched and smiled. “Very well! Xiao Lian, go get me a bucket of hot water. I want to soak my feet properly.”
“Okay, I’ll go right away.” Xiao Lian turned and left.
“Xiao Lian, let me help you!” Sister Ruhua also followed her out.
Now, only Elder Sister Rushi and Li Qing’an were left in the room. Rushi glanced at Li Qing’an’s manly, charming face, bit her lip gently, and said in a low voice, “Elder Brother Li, let Rushi serve you tonight!”
Li Qing’an didn’t understand at first. “Serve you how?”
Rushi’s face turned red instantly. She stammered and said in a soft voice, “I mean… staying with you in bed.”
“Stay with me in bed!” Li Qing’an smiled with narrowed eyes. Of course that was good; it would be even better if the two sisters stayed together. But…
He pointed at his shoulder and said with a laugh, “Help me massage my shoulder first! I shot arrows all night, and my shoulder is really sore.”
“Okay,” Ru Shi giggled and quickly went behind him, kneeling down to gently massage his shoulder.
“Big brother, is it sore here?”
“Mm! Quite sore. A little lower… Yes! Right here… Okay, use a bit more pressure…”
“Ru Shi, it seems like you’ve been trained?”
“We’ve practiced singing and dancing since we were young. There were special aunts who taught us how to serve men.”
Li Qing’an smiled, a somewhat suggestive smile.
“How do you serve men? Show me.”
Ru Shi’s delicate body pressed against his back as her tender hands gently stroked his neck, slowly slipping under his clothes. Her bright red nails traced circles gently on his chest, while she blew soft words in his ear, saying in a sweet voice, “Big Brother Li, is it comfortable?”
“That’s not enough just like that!”
Li Qing’an laughed, caught her hand, and gently pulled her closer. Ru Shi’s heart pounded with nervousness as she shyly lowered her head. Although she had been trained on how to please men, in front of Li Qing’an, she felt like she knew nothing anymore.
Li Qing’an lifted her chin. Before him was a gentle and docile beauty—her face like peach blossoms, her eyes like autumn waters, her bright red lips round and smooth as jade, just like a delicate pink lotus.
Li Qing’an gently pulled her closer and gave her a wink. Ru Shi shyly nodded.
…
Footsteps came from the outside room. Xiao Lian said with a laugh, “Sister Ru Hua, slow down! The water might splash on me.”
The door opened, and Ru Hua and Xiao Lian came in carrying water. Seeing Ru Shi massaging Li Qing’an’s legs while he rested comfortably on them, smiling as he spoke to her, Ru Shi’s cheeks turned red with shyness. The two were momentarily stunned. Suddenly, Xiao Lian smiled and said, “Big Brother Li, wasn’t rule number sixteen something about not allowing that?”
…