Guanghan Palace, silence reigned.
Beside a secluded open-air bath.
After about half an incense stick's time.
The pavilion finally quieted down.
Only intermittent sobbing of a woman could be heard from within the blanket on the Beauty Couch.
"Sob... bastard... shameless... this filthy thing is not mine. I refuse to touch it... sob shameless scholar..."
Dugu Chanyi wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, ashamed and aggrieved, avoiding the gaze of the young Confucian scholar.
Zhao Rong stood beside the Beauty Couch with his arms folded, looking at the bulging blanket.
He nodded in appreciation, saying:
"Well done... your actions are quite swift. If only you had been obedient earlier, I wouldn't have had to press you."
What Zhao Rong meant by "press" was, of course, not physical pressure.
Yes, he had merely stepped forward to compel her to tidy up and clean the overturned Beauty Couch and various small items in the pavilion.
