“Lingyi… Wen Lingyi, is there even half a place for me in your heart?”
“It’s been a year since we married, yet as your husband, I’m not even worthy of touching your hand?”
Wen Lingyi pushed hard against the man pressing down on her.
But he was drunk, his body growing heavier.
“Qing—mmph…”
Her attempt to call for her maid was stifled as a large hand covered her mouth.
Chen Wenli’s eyes were bloodshot as he threatened viciously, “That martial-skilled maid of yours is knocked out cold outside. If you scream again, this Marquis will immediately send her to the lowest brothel!”
Wen Lingyi stopped struggling.
Just as Chen Wenli thought she had conceded and relaxed his grip, a heavy blow struck his groin, sending him tumbling from Wen Lingyi’s body to the floor in pain.
“Why treat me like this? Wen Lingyi, you are my wife!”
“Other wives fear displeasing their husbands, doing everything they can to please them, yet you…”
“Were other wives also obtained through schemes?”
Wen Lingyi sat on the bed, looking down at Chen Wenli from above.
Her words choked Chen Wenli, tightening his throat. He stared at that lotus-like face that had captivated him from the first moment he saw her.
The candlelight flickered as she sat sideways on the edge of the bed, her jade-like skin glowing softly in the light. Her gaze was calm, yet cold as ice.
Chen Wenli’s eyes were bloodshot, nearly pleading, “Lingyi, we are already husband and wife, a union blessed by His Majesty’s decree. Why can’t we just live well together? Forgive me, won’t you? That day, I was also drugged. I never intended to scheme against you. If you live well with me, I’ll dismiss all those concubines and attendants. I’ll devote myself only to you, alright?”
Fingertips tracing the jade hairpin, Wen Lingyi had no desire to argue with Chen Wenli.
If not for that scheme, she should have remained in her boudoir, joyfully awaiting the triumphant return of her young General.
Instead, she had fallen into the deep well of the Dingyuan Marquisate. No matter how she struggled, she was destined to spend the rest of her life with a man full of schemes.
Disgusting.
Wen Lingyi sneered, “I see your mother still retains her charm. If anyone close to me ends up in such a place, I’ll have to trouble your mother to accompany them.”
These words sobered Chen Wenli halfway from his drunkenness. “Wen Lingyi, have you truly gone mad? Do you know what you’re saying? You are the daughter of the Prime Minister’s Manor, the foremost Noble Lady of Jingdu!”
“You are well-educated, gentle, and kind—the model for all women of Da Zhou!”
Chen Wenli felt he must have drunk too much, hallucinating.
Who was Wen Lingyi?
She was the foremost Noble Lady of Jingdu, whose every move and smile were held up as an example.
Half of the Ciji Institutions in Jingdu were established by her. Every year, she donated large sums of silver to the border regions. Whether it was floods or snow disasters, wherever calamity struck, Wen Lingyi’s presence was felt.
Once, everyone said Prime Minister Wen was a Treacherous Official. But at some point, Prime Minister Wen became known as the father of Jingdu’s foremost Noble Lady.
His greed was reinterpreted as greed for the people’s sake.
If Prime Minister Wen weren’t greedy, where would Wen Lingyi get the money to donate to disaster victims?
His flattery before the Emperor was reframed as speaking up for the people.
If he didn’t cultivate good relations with the ruler, how could Prime Minister Wen speak for the people?
Wen Lingyi was precisely such a kind and wise extraordinary woman.
Thus, hearing her speak of sending his mother to such a place left Chen Wenli so shocked he thought she had lost her mind.
“A model for being caught in adultery?”
Wen Lingyi had long passed through the most unbearable days of her life.
The most unforgettable humiliation of this lifetime was now casually tossed from her lips in mockery.
She knew her father was the old emperor's money bag, to be used whenever needed—just find an excuse to make a move.
After all, her father had offended everyone except the old emperor.
So Wen Lingyi used all her strength to shine, brightly enough to illuminate her father and light up the Prime Minister's Manor.
She was actually very cautious, trusting no one except her close friend Chen Wanrou.
Who would have thought that she would drag her into hell.
Everything was ruined.
All the efforts she had made over the years were completely destroyed.
Chen Wenli choked up again, his heart feeling as if a gaping hole had been torn open, letting in a chilling draft. "I was wrong, everyone in the Marquisate was wrong. But Lingyi, my feelings for you are genuine. I have admired you for a long time…"
Wen Lingyi sneered, "Do you know why none of these eighteen concubines include the little cousin you hid in Qingzhou?"
Chen Wenli's heart skipped a beat, his pupils involuntarily widening.
The "sincerity" he had just professed turned into an invisible slap, striking him hard across the face.
But how could she know? She must be making it up!
"What cousin? I have no idea what nonsense you're spouting! You're insane, completely mad…"
Chen Wenli panicked.
He nearly scrambled to his feet and rushed out.
The woman's icy, merciless taunts still echoed in his ears: "Coward, weakling, waste…"
The room was filled with a nauseating smell of alcohol.
Wen Lingyi called out "Qingwu" several times, along with the names of other maids.
No one appeared.
It was clear that the Dingyuan Marquisate's dirty tricks of drugging were a consistent tradition.
Wen Lingyi draped her outer robe over her shoulders and pushed the door open to check. A wall of flesh had somehow appeared at the doorway.
On the ground lay Dingyuan Marquis Chen Wenli, his condition unknown…
Wen Lingyi nearly cried out in shock.
But as she raised the lantern to see the "wall of flesh" clearly, she clamped a hand over her mouth, unsure whether she was dreaming or if she had truly gone mad, as Chen Wenli had said.
"I thought… you didn't want me anymore." The young man's voice trembled, his words broken. "I… I wanted to ask you if you knew the young mistress of the Prime Minister's Manor, if you knew why she didn't wait for me? But…"
"Stop talking!"
Wen Lingyi looked at the young man before her, who had grown stronger and darker, and tried her best to steady her trembling voice. "You are now the rightful Shao Jiangjun of the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion, no longer the Shadow Guard by the side of the Prime Minister's Manor's young lady."
"You earned this with your life."
The young man had protected her since she was seven years old.
He was the person who treated her best in the world, aside from her father.
In the past, he never dared to reveal his feelings, until the Zhen Guo Gong recognized him as his long-lost… illegitimate son.
At the time, Wen Lingyi was unaware, only sensing that the young man no longer seemed content to remain a Shadow Guard.
Later, the entire Zhenguo Duke's Mansion perished in battle, and the young man became the sole surviving heir, taken back to the Duke's Mansion by the Duchess.
Originally, he was to be welcomed openly and honorably, but the young man was haunted by his status as an illegitimate son and resolved to prove himself through military achievements.
Back then, he rode a tall horse, his silver armor gleaming brilliantly.
His smile was brighter than the blazing sun: "Young mistress, wait for me to earn military honors and return to marry you."
But now, he looked like an abandoned stray dog, shedding tears of grievance. "I don't care about being some general or some heir. I earned military honors only to marry the young mistress!"
"You don't want me, you don't want me anymore…"
He was so aggrieved.
It was a side of him Wen Lingyi had never seen before.
Even when his life hung by a thread, he had smiled. But now, tears fell from his amber eyes in large, unstoppable drops.
Wen Lingyi was at a loss by his tears: "I'm not abandoning you! I… I'm married, I've wed someone else. With the Imperial Edict decreeing the marriage, I'm bound to this scoundrel for life!"
"Then I'll use my military achievements—"
"No! You've gnawed through the barbarians' tough bone in just two years. The Old Emperor will only grow more wary of you. If you were to marry into the Prime Minister's Manor on top of that, neither of us would come to a good end."
No matter how Wen Lingyi racked her brains, she couldn't see a way out of this predicament.
She wasn't afraid to die, but she couldn't drag down her father, who had raised her alone and cherished her to the core.
Wei Zheng's eyes grew even redder, sniffling as he said, "Then I'll… I'll continue being the young mistress's Shadow Guard."
"No, I want to be a concubine!"
"Even if it means being the young mistress's concubine, I'm willing."