Dark clouds obscured the moon, and the first snow arrived silently.
The windows were wide open, and the cold wind made Jiang Mei’s eyes sting.
She closed her eyes, trying to shut out her senses, but a wave of heat brushed against the side of her neck. Then, a man’s chilling voice rang out: “Don’t act like a mute. Cry out!”
Desire was fierce, and the man’s voice was low and hoarse, overlapping with a voice in Jiang Mei’s memory.
Jiang Mei was terrified. “You’re not Zhang Mingyuan,” she asked with a trembling voice. “Who are you?”
Zhang Mingyuan was the son of the Prefectural Governor. As an only child, he had been spoiled to the point of lawlessness. Not long ago, he had taken a fancy to Jiang Mei’s beauty, so he had her husband thrown into prison to be tortured at will. Her mother-in-law and sister-in-law had pleaded bitterly; thinking of her husband’s life-saving grace and their past together, Jiang Mei could only deliver herself to his door.
Jiang Mei was unwilling to see Zhang Mingyuan’s disgusting face, so she demanded the lights be extinguished as soon as she entered the room. Therefore, she hadn’t noticed anything was wrong.
Until this man spoke…
She had come here to save someone; she could not allow herself to be humiliated for nothing!
Jiang Mei began to struggle, but the other party was extremely strong. He quickly grabbed her wrists and pinned her down firmly.
“Heh…”
The man let out a cold laugh, his breath fanning against her ear. Jiang Mei’s soul trembled along with it as a long-forgotten name surfaced in her mind.
Pei Jingchuan.
Before getting married, Jiang Mei had been a courtesan for three years. During those three years, she had only ever taken one client: Pei Jingchuan.
Pei Jingchuan was extremely generous. To earn his rewards, Jiang Mei had not only diligently studied the Arts of the Bedchamber but also learned many sweet words.
Three years later, Jiang Mei redeemed herself and got married.
She originally thought she and Pei Jingchuan would never meet again. To her surprise, when they did meet again, she had offered herself up and ended up in his bed.
But why would Pei Jingchuan be in Zhang Mingyuan’s room? Was this an accident, or was everything Pei Jingchuan’s deliberate doing?
Jiang Mei’s mind was in a mess. When Pei Jingchuan finally stopped, she wanted to say something, but he beat her to it, spitting out a single word: “Get out!”
His voice was cold, as if tempered with ice shards.
Though fearful, Jiang Mei still asked, “When can my husband come home?”
Pei Jingchuan did not answer. A knock came from the door, and an old maidservant urged from outside, “It’s late, Mrs. Zhou. You should head home now. It wouldn’t be good if someone saw you.”
The window was open, and as the cold wind rushed in, the sweat on Jiang Mei’s body instantly turned freezing, feeling like needle pricks.
The Zhang family was a den of tigers and wolves; no one would help her.
Not daring to make a scene, Jiang Mei bent down to pick up her clothes. As soon as she moved, her legs nearly gave way, almost forcing her to her knees.
Humiliation and grievance welled up in her heart together. Jiang Mei bit her lip hard to keep from crying out.
It was already dawn by the time she returned home. Her mother-in-law, Mrs. Li, who hadn’t slept all night, came to meet her. “How was it? Did Young Master Zhang agree to release him?”
Having walked through the snow the whole way back, Jiang Mei felt lightheaded and heavy-footed. She couldn’t answer.
She hadn’t even seen Zhang Mingyuan last night; instead, she had provoked a much bigger trouble.
“I’m a bit tired. I want to rest for a while.”
Jiang Mei fled back to her room and wrapped herself in the quilt.
Her body was already exhausted, but her nerves were too tense to relax. Besides the events of last night, the three years she spent with Pei Jingchuan also swirled in her mind.
To be fair, Pei Jingchuan had been an excellent client.
He had no strange kinks. Except for the first night, which was a bit rough, he was considerate of Jiang Mei’s feelings at other times. He would give her tips from time to time, and if he was in a good mood, he would even bring her pastries and jewelry.
At that time, Jiang Mei also had unrealistic fantasies. If Pei Jingchuan were to redeem her, she would be willing to be his servant or slave.
But she had overestimated herself.
On the day of the Hundred Flowers Feast at the Princess’s Manor, she had gone to perform. From the shadows, she heard someone ask Pei Jingchuan, “I heard you got a girl who looks like a goddess recently, and you treasure her dearly. Why didn’t you bring her out for a look?”
She clutched her pipa, her face flushing involuntarily. She hadn’t expected that in the eyes of these nobles, Pei Jingchuan held her in such high regard. She couldn’t help but anticipate how Pei Jingchuan would respond.
But in the next moment, it felt like she had fallen into an ice cellar.
“She’s just a courtesan, not someone who can be shown in public. Don’t talk about it here, lest it defiles the Princess’s grounds.”
It was only at that moment that Jiang Mei understood that Pei Jingchuan just treated her as a plaything for his amusement.
He was no different from those other johns, enjoying her body while at the same time thinking she was filthy.
If not for that, she wouldn’t have been so bold as to deceive him…
At the thought of this, Jiang Mei couldn’t help but cover her face.
She had lied to Pei Jingchuan. And now, he had come looking for her.
The memories were too long. Jiang Mei drifted off into a daze, only to be woken up not long after by Zhou Lan. “Sister-in-law, Mother had me brew some medicine for you. Drink it before you go back to sleep.”
As Zhou Lan spoke, she handed over a bowl of dark medicine.
It had a pungent smell—it was the Contraceptive Decoction that every girl in the brothels had to drink.
Jiang Mei frowned, took it, and drained it in one gulp. When she tilted her head back, Zhou Lan saw the bite marks on her neck. Her small face reddened as she asked cautiously, “How could Young Master Zhang bite so hard? Did he agree to release Brother?”
“I don’t know,” Jiang Mei said, her voice hoarse as she pulled her collar tight. “Help me boil some hot water. I want to take a bath.”
Pei Jingchuan had left many marks on Jiang Mei’s body. She scrubbed herself until she was red all over, yet she still couldn’t completely wash away his scent.
After her bath, Jiang Mei pulled herself together and began soaking beans to make tofu.
After coming to Qizhou, she had rented a shop to sell tofu, and business was fairly good.
No matter what happened, she ultimately had to earn money to keep life going.
With something to do, Jiang Mei’s heart calmed down a bit. However, Mrs. Li said to her, “It’s never a good thing for a woman to show her face in public; otherwise, it wouldn’t have caused such trouble. It just so happens that Yuan-er needs travel expenses for his imperial exams in the capital. Once he returns, let’s sell the shop.”
Jiang Mei did not respond.
Her father-in-law had died young, and Mrs. Li had raised the two children by herself. All the family’s money had been used to support her husband’s studies; they couldn’t afford travel expenses, nor could they afford the bride price.
If they sold the shop, everyone would likely be left with nothing but the cold wind to live on.
Jiang Mei worked alone until nightfall to produce the tofu, making some bean curd as well.
Just as the bean curd was out of the pot, the maidservant from the Zhang family entered. “Mrs. Zhou, it’s time to head out.”
A small sedan chair was parked outside. The maidservant’s face was piled with smiles, her attitude more respectful than before. Anyone could see that the gentleman from last night was satisfied with Jiang Mei.
Zhou Lan blurted out, “My brother hasn’t even come home yet. Why do you still want her to go?”
The smile on the maidservant’s face remained undiminished as she said airily, “The master only ordered me to pick her up. I don’t know anything else. Mrs. Zhou can ask him herself in a moment.”
Zhou Lan’s eyes reddened as she grabbed Jiang Mei’s arm. “Zhang Mingyuan is clearly bullying us! Is Sister-in-law going to keep delivering herself to be humiliated by him as long as Brother doesn’t come home?”
Jiang Mei’s body tensed, her heart sinking. Pei Jingchuan was of noble status and would certainly not stay in Qizhou for long. Zhang Mingyuan didn’t dare offend him and could only suppress his anger, but once Pei Jingchuan left, the fury of being intercepted halfway would fall upon the Zhou family.
When the time came and the Zhou family found out she had been toyed with by two men, how would she face them?
Fearing Jiang Mei wouldn’t go, the maidservant quickly persuaded her, “Madam, you’re not an untouched maiden anyway, and since it’s already happened once, wouldn’t it be a loss to put on airs now?”
“Shut up! You work for that beast—retribution will come for you sooner or later!”
Zhou Lan was furious. Just as Jiang Mei was about to say something, Mrs. Li spoke up sharply, “Lan-er, don’t be ridiculous!”
Jiang Mei suddenly looked at her mother-in-law. Mrs. Li avoided her gaze and said heavily, “Go. Don’t keep Young Master Zhang waiting.”
Zhou Lan was stunned, then she let go of Jiang Mei’s arm. After a long silence, she choked out, “Sister-in-law, I’m sorry you have to suffer this.”
Jiang Mei had been sold into the world of pleasure by her own kin. During those three years, she had seen the best and worst of human nature, and her heart had grown cold. Yet, at this moment, she was still stung.
She withdrew her gaze, looking at no one, and took the sedan chair to the Zhang residence once more.
This time, the lamps were lit in the room. She saw Pei Jingchuan’s face clearly.