Whether it was bandits or Shen Shouyu, Jiang Yin dared not show herself easily.
She huddled in the corner of the carriage, listening as the driver, speaking in a thick northern accent, asked, “What are you gentlemen doing? I’m just a poor man delivering goods for others—there’s nothing of value here.”
The person who had shouted earlier spoke again: “This has nothing to do with you. Tell the person inside the carriage to come out!”
The driver’s voice grew more anxious. He lifted the carriage curtain and pleaded, “Ah, gentlemen, the carriage is full of my employer’s goods. There’s no one inside!”
“…”
Jiang Yin crouched in the corner behind a pile of cloth, curling herself up tightly to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.
As soon as the driver finished speaking, the curtain fell back into place, plunging the carriage into darkness once more.
But the other party refused to relent. “Get out of the way… search!”
“Oh, gentlemen!”
The driver, ever dutiful, fell to his knees with a thud. “It took me days to get this job… my wife and daughter depend on this money to survive! I beg you…”
“Shut up!”
Before he could finish, the man’s voice cut him off.
Immediately after, a flurry of footsteps approached, ready to lift the curtain and inspect the carriage.
Jiang Yin’s heart leaped into her throat. Her expression hardened, and she braced herself to resist—
Just then, another voice pierced through the night, accompanied by the sound of hoofbeats approaching from a distance: “Wait—stop!”
“…”
Jiang Yin silently covered her mouth, listening as the surrounding footsteps scattered. Her tense heart eased slightly.
But before she could feel relieved, a soft call nearly made her faint.
“…A Yin.”
“What A Yin?!”
Before Jiang Yin could react, the kind-hearted driver spoke up again to help her, his tone both helpless and urgent. “Sir, there really is only cloth in this carriage, no A Yin. Please, have mercy and check carefully!”
“…Is that so?”
Shen Shouyu’s voice was as gentle as ever, but Jiang Yin could almost picture the cold indifference in his eyes as he spoke.
“Of course it’s true! I’m just trying to make a living with this small business! Please, sir, show some mercy and let me go… I really don’t know any A Yin!”
“…”
Shen Shouyu listened quietly, remaining silent for a long while.
Outside, the wind grew stronger, and the flickering firelight cast dancing shadows on the carriage curtain, twisting and clawing like specters.
After a long pause, he spoke again, but this time his words were not directed at the driver—they were for Jiang Yin.
“…A Yin, did you hear that? Such a pitiful man. Do you have the heart to drag him to his death with you?”
“…”
…Death?
As if aware of her fear, Shen Shouyu’s voice lightened slightly. “If you come out now and return with me, both of you will live. Otherwise, you die, and he dies too.”
The driver, clearly taken aback by Shen Shouyu’s audacity, stammered, “S-sir, this…”
“…”
…What choice was there at a time like this?
Closing her eyes, Jiang Yin sighed in resignation and stood up to leave the carriage.
As she lifted the curtain, the outside was illuminated by bright flames, the air thick with the heavy scent of smoke and dust. A gust of wind blew, choking her breath.
Looking around, the surrounding forest stretched endlessly, dark and desolate, whispering with the wind in the night like ghostly shadows swaying in the darkness.
Surrounded by over a dozen men in black, Shen Shouyu appeared entirely unaffected by the gray, dusty winds. Standing there, he remained the epitome of a refined young master, gentle and polished as jade.
As if hearing the commotion nearby, his gaze turned vacant, yet a faint smile touched his lips. He extended his palm forward and said, “It’s late. Time to return.”
“…”
Turning to glance at the coachman, who was still kneeling on the ground, Jiang Yin thought for a moment before taking out another hundred taels of silver and handing it to him.
The man seemed about to refuse, but Jiang Yin paid no heed. She set the money down and walked away without another word.
She stepped forward slowly, taking Shen Shouyu’s hand without uttering a sound.
His hand was warm and dry, carrying a faint, pleasant fragrance. In contrast, her own hand was as cold as a block of ice, clammy with sweat from nervousness and grimy from the journey.
Yet Shen Shouyu said nothing. With one hand, he unfastened his fox-fur cloak, groped gently to drape it over her shoulders, and guided her slowly back to another luxurious carriage.
To outsiders, it truly resembled a husband traveling a great distance to bring his wife home—a tender, affectionate scene.
But such tenderness froze the moment the carriage curtain fell.
Inside the warm and spacious carriage, Shen Shouyu settled comfortably into his seat before pointing calmly at the floor beneath his feet. “Kneel,” he said.
“…”
Having long anticipated this, Jiang Yin offered no protest and knelt without hesitation.
“What are you wearing… Take it off.”
“…”
Though the carriage was warmed by a heater and far from cold, they were still outside. Even if what she wore could hardly be called clothing, Jiang Yin could not bring herself to comply. Gritting her teeth, she clenched her hands and refused. “For today’s matter, A Yin admits her fault. I beg the young master to show mercy and spare me some dignity.”
“…Dignity?”
Shen Shouyu’s expression remained unchanged as he repeated the word, then chuckled softly. “I have already shown great mercy by not having you stripped and dragged behind the carriage, A Yin.”
“…”
This response was something Jiang Yin had never expected.
She stared at him in disbelief, her voice trembling slightly. “How can the young master, a living, breathing person, say such things?”
“Then what words does A Yin think I should say? What kind of person should I be?”
The smile on Shen Shouyu’s face did not waver, but his tone grew cold, creating a jarring contrast. “…Magnanimous? Charitable? Should I silently endure even when someone betrays me?”
“…”
Clearly, he saw nothing wrong with his words.
Jiang Yin was left speechless. After a long pause, she gave up arguing. “…It was my mistake. I admit it.”
“Since you admit your fault, say no more. Take it off.”
“…”
If before, Jiang Yin had not understood why Shen Shouyu, a blind man, was so insistent on her removing her clothes, now she seemed to grasp it.
What he wanted was her unconditional submission—for her to bow her head and obey him, enduring humiliation without the slightest resistance.
This act had nothing to do with desire. Ultimately, it was a test of her obedience, aimed at her alone.
He wanted to completely transform her into a puppet, dependent solely on him and subject to his every whim.
Recalling his words after the incident with Qing Yao—”If A Yin had trusted me wholeheartedly, today’s farce would never have happened, and Qing Yao would not have ended up in such a state”—Jiang Yin felt a chill seep into her heart.
She looked at the young man sitting upright before her, gazing down at her from his elevated position, and for the first time truly realized that she had provoked a monster.
Shen Shouyu was not a bodhisattva rescuing her from peril; he was a malevolent ghost patiently luring her into a trap.
…Take the incident at Caixing Pavilion, for example.
He clearly knew of the discord between Jiang Yin and Shen Fengzhi, yet he deliberately forced them into a direct confrontation, seizing the opportunity to place her in an unjust position so he could rightfully punish her.
Back then, she had foolishly felt guilty, believing she had caused him to be humiliated by Shen Fengzhi. Even after kneeling all night, she could not bring herself to blame him.
Now, looking back, she realized how insidious that move had been.
Unfortunately, it was too late for regret. She was already deeply entangled, unable to extricate herself.
…
The self-made garments were stripped away, leaving only a thin undergarment. Though she was in a carriage as warm as spring, Jiang Yin felt as if she had fallen into an icy abyss, trembling uncontrollably.
And Shen Shouyu still did not spare her.
He raised his hand, his slender, pale fingers pointing to the space beneath his knee. His tone was calm, devoid of any hint of lewdness.
“Come here. Kneel here.”