Tears ran dry.
He rose, satiated, but she remained in her initial posture, like an exquisite puppet. Only a tear suspended at the corner of her eye betrayed the humiliation and agony in her heart.
Xue Haoting leaned over again, his fingertip tracing the still-red mark on Ling Zhenli’s neck—a brand he had just imprinted on her snow-white skin, an excellent mark of ownership.
Ling Zhenli thought he was going to torment her again and instinctively reached up to hide the mark. Xue Haoting, however, mistook her move for an attempt to flee. He restrained her, bit her earlobe, and continued to insult her: “This body of yours, which has been trained by other men, is much more sensible than a proper wife.”
He repeatedly brought up Ling Zhenli’s painful past, never realizing that he was consumed by jealousy that someone else had already possessed this woman.
This tactic was highly effective, and Ling Zhenli trembled with anger upon hearing it.
Xue Haoting felt comfortable seeing her reaction and his hand started to wander inappropriately. Ling Zhenli was exasperated and reached out to block Xue Haoting’s mischievous hand below, only to be pressed against the pillow by him.
“What are you pretending to be, a virtuous martyr?” Xue Haoting was displeased. His fingertip stroked the fake cinnabar mark on her arm, which he had noticed from the start. “That’s quite interesting. Was that the Drunken Immortal Pavilion’s idea, or yours?”
Ling Zhenli looked at him defiantly: “Mine.”
She expected Xue Haoting to mock her, but instead, he smiled happily and said: “I like it very much.”
What a pervert.
“You’ve subjected me to all sorts of humiliation simply because I bear a three-part resemblance to another woman. If you’ve come here to vent because you can’t get that woman, that is hardly an honorable thing to do.”
Ling Zhenli was so furious that she forgot her identity and impulsively challenged Xue Haoting.
Xue Haoting used coercive means against Ling Zhenli because he wanted to vent his anger about his sister eloping; their similar appearances were just an excuse.
“I’m humiliating you not because of my sister, however…” Xue Haoting’s eyes turned cold. He reached out and lifted her chin: “Honorable thing? You stupid courtesan must be crazy. Do you think this kind of profession is honorable?”
Ling Zhenli’s gaze remained stubborn, refusing to lower her head.
After a long standoff, Xue Haoting grew tired of it. He violently flung her away, got up, and began putting on his clothes.
Ling Zhenli was pushed away and fell weakly onto the bed, her hair disheveled. Assuming he was about to leave, she stared at Xue Haoting resentfully:
“Pay up.”
…
Xue Haoting was speechless. He took a gold bar out of his silk pouch and tossed it onto the bed. It seemed that this amount of money meant nothing to him.
“There you go.”
Having seen various treasures given to her by Xiao Chongheng, Ling Zhenli was quite accustomed to gold bars, so she rolled her eyes.
Seeing her lack of pretense, Xue Haoting was reminded of his spirited sister—they were quite similar in this respect. He chuckled, “What, not enough?”
Ling Zhenli raised her head and retorted angrily, “How dare your concubine say that.”
The next second, she suddenly remembered her identity and who she was facing. She quickly lowered her head to apologize, worried that Xue Haoting might tell the Madam, causing her to lose both the money and the Madam’s favor.
The very next moment, Xue Haoting threw the entire silk pouch onto the bed.
“Stop taking guests. I’ll support you.”
The silk pouch fell onto the bed, revealing the faintly visible silver notes and gold bars inside. Ling Zhenli’s eyes widened in surprise. Hearing Xue Haoting’s words, she was even more bewildered and slowly raised her head.
Ling Zhenli looked up, putting away her temper, and stared at Xue Haoting with innocent eyes, confused.
Having just gone through the intimate act, Ling Zhenli exuded a soft, languid fragrance, which was somewhat endearing.
She was extremely beautiful, possessing a beauty no less than his sister, Xue Yingyue, and shared a half-resemblance to her. In that instant, Xue Haoting wanted to take her away, hide her, and enjoy her all by himself.
The words reached his lips, but in the end, all he said was:
“You should rest.”
Leaving this sentence behind, Xue Haoting hurriedly left, not daring to let Ling Zhenli see his flushed face.
By the time he returned to the Prime Minister’s residence, it was late at night. Xue Haoting thought his parents would have already gone to sleep and was planning to sneak in through the back door. However, Prime Minister Xue Wenmian was waiting for him in his room.
“Where have you been?”
His voice was cold, as if he were about to cane him.
“Greetings, Father.” Xue Haoting quietly performed a bow, ignored the question, and tried to walk past.
“What? Are you going to follow your sister’s example and refuse to acknowledge me as your father?”
Xue Wenmian’s words were extremely unpleasant. Xue Haoting suppressed his temper, trying his best not to be disrespectful to his father.
“I presume Sister will return on her own in due time. She has always been obedient since childhood. Why must Father be so petty with her?” Xue Haoting disliked his father speaking ill of his sister.
“If it weren’t for you, her brother, covering for her, your sister wouldn’t have had the courage to elope with someone.”
Xue Wenmian grew angrier and angrier. He stood up, walked over to Xue Haoting, and fiercely slapped a letter across Xue Haoting’s face.
“You wicked son! Look at the mess you’ve made!”
Despite his extreme anger, Xue Haoting picked up the letter that had fallen to the ground and opened it to read.
The handwriting was his sister Xue Yingyue’s.
In years past, having received the instruction of my parents, your daughter dared not forget the honor and disgrace of our family. However, the position of Crown Princess, though esteemed, is ultimately not my wish. I am foolish. I would rather bear an empty reputation than betray myself.
Father often speaks of “family importance” and forces your daughter to comply. Yet, I am tormented by nightmares every night, fearing I will follow in the footsteps of those before me. Now, I have met a good man. Though he lacks an illustrious family background, he is willing to protect me with his life. After careful consideration, I cannot bear to part with him.
I know this action disgraces our family and has enraged my elders. I dare not ask for forgiveness. I only wish that Father and Mother take care of your health and consider me as an unbegotten daughter. Moreover, my intelligent elder brother in the family will surely bring glory to our family. I shall live under an assumed name, and should anything happen, I will never implicate our family again. Therefore, please do not send people to look for me.
If your daughter were to be forced into the palace, she would inevitably be trapped and die within the red walls someday, thereby failing to repay the kindness of my parents for raising me over the years.
My pen is wet with tears as I write this. I beg you to take care.
Your unfilial daughter Xue Run
…
Xue Haoting stared at the letter, his heart unable to find peace for a long time.
Xue Wenmian was trembling with anger, clenching his fists: “Hmph, ‘trapped and die within the red walls someday.’ Is she saying that if I catch her and force her to marry the Crown Prince, she will commit suicide right in front of me?!”
Xue Yingyue had been designated as the future Empress since childhood, but she had poor health and was often ill. Because of this, the Xue family was afraid the Imperial family would find out, dislike her, and call off the engagement. To ensure she successfully married into the Royal family, they restricted her, forbidding her from going out and showing her face. Her every move had to be under the constant supervision of her family, and she had to study the four arts—zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting—at all times.
Finally, when the wedding was imminent, the Prime Minister’s wife took her to a temple in the suburbs to pray for a happy marriage. On the way back, they encountered bandits. The bandits kidnapped Xue Yingyue. In the nick of time, a passing jianghu hero rescued her. Xue Yingyue, having been confined within the four walls of her home since childhood, urgently wanted to see the outside world. She requested the hero to take her away, and the two secretly pledged their lives to each other.
With his daughter having run away, Xue Wenmian didn’t dare let the news leak, only secretly sending people to search for her, fearing it would delay the marriage with the Imperial family.
That night, when the hero brought Xue Yingyue back to the residence in secret to retrieve her belongings, Xue Yingyue bid farewell to Xue Haoting. She was determined to leave, resolved never to see them again in this life or the next.
Although his sister had been trapped within the family walls since she was young, she was a very opinionated person. The decisions she made were all consequences she had considered beforehand.
Since this was the case, Xue Haoting was willing to help Xue Yingyue. He believed he loved his sister and was therefore willing to support her.
“Father, there’s no need to be angry,” Xue Haoting’s eyes were indifferent. He refolded the letter. “Your son knows what to do.”
“You know what to do? Don’t think I don’t know your sister came home to see you. If you hadn’t relaxed the guards, your sister would never have been able to escape again.”
Suddenly, the image of Ling Zhenli’s eyes and eyebrows flashed through Xue Haoting’s mind.
Ling Zhenli’s charming and innocent yet alluring eyes and eyebrows were too similar to his naive sister, but with a slight hint of mischievous cunning that his sister lacked.
“Your son naturally has a solution,” Xue Haoting cupped his hands in a bow, as if having made a certain resolution.
Ling Zhenli was applying cinnabar at her dressing table. A cat was playing with the silk pouch Xue Haoting had left behind yesterday.
A pale face was reflected in the bronze mirror. Only the rouge just applied to her lips was jarringly red, like unwiped blood… She hadn’t rested well last night, and as a result, she couldn’t even apply her makeup well.
She heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs outside, unhurried and steady.
Before long, the door was pushed open, and an attendant entered.
“Miss, Mama is asking for you.”
Ling Zhenli couldn’t help but feel confused. Last night, her body ached terribly, and she had given the Madam a gold bar, agreeing that she would rest today. What could be so urgent that the Madam needed her?
Suppressing her confusion, she quickly finished dressing and followed the attendant.
Just as she was about to push the door open, a voice sounded from inside the room. In an instant, Ling Zhenli froze in place, unable to move.
This voice belonged to the scoundrel who had forced her and disregarded her feelings last night. Why was he back? Was he truly going to book her exclusively?
Since he was here, there was no hiding. Ling Zhenli pushed the door open and went in.
Sure enough, she saw that despicable man, and next to him was another man, much older—his father? Were they planning a father-son pleasure party?
When the bamboo curtain was pulled aside by a gold shoe, Ling Zhenli subconsciously flinched.
She looked up and met a face full of pity. In a daze, Ling Zhenli’s mouth twitched. What kind of person was this? If he was so compassionate, why didn’t he meditate in a temple instead of running off to a brothel?
“Are you Tang’er?”
The man extended a trembling hand but suddenly withdrew it just as he was about to touch Ling Zhenli’s shoulder.
“It really is you…”
Seeing his strange behavior, Ling Zhenli wanted to laugh, but managed to restrain herself. She didn’t know what the middle-aged man in front of her wanted; he seemed to recognize her.
The Madam’s cold sweat nearly washed channels through the foundation on her face: “Prime Minister, are you sure the person you are looking for is her?”
Prime Minister.?
If she hadn’t miscalculated, the man from last night was the Prime Minister’s son, and this old man in front of her was his father.
A stack of yellow hemp paper was placed on the table in front of the Madam. The contract on the top sheet was stamped with the vermillion seal of the Ministry of Punishments.
Xue Haoting stood to the side, quietly watching his father perform. He also wanted to laugh, but it was a cold, disdainful one.
It was too fake. He couldn’t watch it anymore. He stepped forward and pulled Xue Wenmian aside, then disdainfully covered his nose with a silk handkerchief, pretending not to know Ling Zhenli: “Father, this place is not suitable for a long stay. Let’s take Miss Ling back first.”
Ling Zhenli stared blankly at Xue Haoting, completely lost as to what scene this was.
Xue Haoting ignored her stunned expression and only mocked her: “My father has redeemed you. Why aren’t you thanking him quickly?”
Ling Zhenli turned to look at the Prime Minister, her mind still trying to catch up.
Why would he redeem her?
The Madam noticed Ling Zhenli’s confusion and quickly smoothed things over: “You don’t know, but your father and the Prime Minister have some old ties. He came this time specifically to take you away. Hurry up and thank the Prime Minister.”
Hearing that it was related to her father, Ling Zhenli woodenly performed a bow, “Thank you, Prime Minister.”
Xue Wenmian suppressed the disgust in his heart and feigned emotion, tears welling up: “Let’s not talk here. Let’s go back to the residence.”
Xue Haoting grabbed Ling Zhenli’s arm and pulled her towards the exit without ceremony: “Hurry up and leave. This kind of place isn’t right for you.”
Being dragged down the stairs by Xue Haoting, Ling Zhenli realized she hadn’t gotten her belongings yet and pulled her hand away from him.
“What are you doing?” Xue Haoting said impatiently.
“My things are still in the room.”
“You can have as much of that junk as you want when you return to the Prime Minister’s residence.”
“Junk? You don’t know how much those things are worth.”
“Your previous patron was certainly generous to you. It doesn’t matter. The Prime Minister’s residence has a pile of imperial-gifted jewelry for you. Hurry up and leave, let’s go home.”
“No!”
While the two were bickering and taunting each other, Prime Minister Xue Wenmian caught up to them. He frowned in displeasure, not knowing what they were fighting about.
“Tang’er, the carriage is waiting downstairs. Why have you stopped?”