Li Qu instinctively thought of that blood-stained face in the pavilion in the backyard of the prefectural government office.
But since she had already come this far, Li Qu did not want to give up. Bracing herself, she spoke: “The reason this humble woman previously agreed to marry Chang San was because I was confident that I could keep him under my thumb.”
“I thought that by complying with Third Master’s wishes, your anger would subside, and I would have a chance to leave the Zhou residence and reunite with the one I love.”
“I have been reckless with my words and have displeased Third Master. Whether it be beatings or punishment, I am willing to accept them.”
“I only beg Third Master to show mercy!”
The servants of the Zhou residence had once discussed how Zhou Jin was aloof and noble. A man like that, once his anger was vented, would likely not continue to force someone’s hand, nor would he be interested in a woman whose heart belonged to another.
Li Qu kowtowed heavily to Zhou Jin three times, then remained prostrate on the floor, waiting tensely for him to speak.
She only hoped her understanding of Zhou Jin was correct.
After a long while, a voice came from above: “Get up.”
He didn’t sound angry.
But then again, when he had killed someone in the pavilion, he hadn’t seemed to be flying into a rage either.
Li Qu rose tremulously. “Thank you, Third Master. You are indeed like the bright moon—pure and flawless. This humble woman is ashamed.”
Flattery was the safest bet of all.
Stealing a glance upward, she met a pair of eyes as black as ink.
Li Qu quickly lowered her gaze, feeling a sudden, inexplicable palpitation. Out of fear of a murderer, she unconsciously shuffled back two steps.
“Come closer.”
“Does Third Master have further instructions?” Li Qu kept her eyes down and did not move.
Zhou Jin surveyed her nonchalantly. “Since you entered, there seems to be a different scent in this room.”
Li Qu had the terrifying illusion that if she asked “What scent?”, the man before her would answer, “The smell of fresh blood.”
She dryly lifted her two sleeves and sniffed them.
She had washed herself before coming; she smelled only of soap nuts.
“This humble woman has been impolite. Perhaps the scent of my incense displeases you. Why don’t I—” Before Li Qu could finish her attempt to escape, Zhou Jin interrupted her.
“However, one thing you said was very correct.”
Li Qu stole a glance at Zhou Jin, waiting for his instruction.
“Comply with my wishes, and my anger will subside.”
“Then… then how does Third Master wish for this humble woman to make amends?”
Zhou Jin patted his own thigh. “Will you sit here yourself, or do I have to pick you up and put you here?”
Li Qu snapped her head up. Her expression shifted from cautious to shocked, then to disbelief, and finally to an indignant rage—a sequence so vivid that Zhou Jin couldn’t help but want to cheer for it.
Could one person truly experience so many emotions in an instant?
Li Qu would not sit there, and she certainly didn’t want Zhou Jin to stand up and carry her. Almost instinctively, she turned around and started to walk away.
However, Nanny Xu, who was observant of everything, grabbed her arm and pushed her toward Zhou Jin.
Stumbling, Li Qu landed squarely on Zhou Jin’s lap.
Before she could spring up as if her backside were on fire, a large hand pressed her down toward the writing desk.
She instinctively braced herself with her hands, knocking the brush rack, porcelain bowl, and other items off the desk.
The clattering sounds echoed through the night, accompanied by Zhou Jin’s voice saying, “Lying face down is better.”
Before Zhou Jin had even made his move, Nanny Xu had already led the others out and thoughtfully closed the door.
Panicked screams erupted from the room, followed by pleas for mercy, and then the sound of cursing.
Nanny Xu and Huaiqiu, who was standing outside the door, exchanged a look.
Ra? Pe?
Were they saying their master had committed the crime of rape?
The two of them silently looked away.
Sorry, but given Concubine Li’s background, being taken by force by their master would still be considered her climbing above her station if word got out.
Unable to sympathize with Li Qu, the two of them pulled cotton balls they had prepared long ago from their sleeves and stuffed them into their ears.
That night, Jinxiu Hall called for water four times, and later the bath water was changed once more.
The next day, Li Qu, still half-dazed, was woken by Auntie Li, who taught the rules at the Zhou residence.
“Concubine, it is already the hour of Mao. Time to rise.”
The moment she opened her eyes, a maid supported her from behind, helping her sit up.
It was only when she tasted bitterness on her lips that Li Qu realized she was still alive.
She flung her hand out, knocking over the medicine bowl, and looked at the familiar Auntie Li.
Auntie Li’s expression was solemn, stern and unsmiling, harsh and rigid.
At a wave of her hand, a maid brought in another bowl of medicine: “The concubine is a clever woman. She should know what this is.”
Things had already reached the worst possible state, and Li Qu’s true nature was nearly impossible to suppress.
In her previous life, she had been born under the red flag, and had desperately wanted to break free from this world’s constraints. Having struggled through sixteen years of life, her bones were filled with pride, stubbornness, and defiance.
She sneered at Auntie Li: “I want to see my second sister. Once I see my second sister, I will naturally drink it.”
News of Li Qu receiving Third Master’s favor last night had already spread.
She looked wretched now—bruised shadows under her eyes, cracked lips, a deep purple mark on her exposed wrist, and her neck and collar mottled with red.
Of course, Third Master hadn’t fared much better either—otherwise Auntie Li would not have appeared here.
Administering medicine was not Auntie Li’s main duty; she was here to teach Li that a concubine must be gentle and respectful, and serve her master with tenderness and grace.
Not scratch her master’s body all over with claw marks, and leave a large slap print on his face.
And above all, she should never have insulted her master!
Auntie Li threatened: “If you don’t learn the rules properly, Concubine, you won’t be seeing anyone from your family.”
Li Qu’s instruction in the rules had been personally approved by Auntie Li when she entered the residence.
Now Li Qu had knowingly violated them, making Auntie Li lose face.
She knew that unless Li Qu was willing, what happened last night would surely happen again.
“If the concubine wishes to see her family sooner, please get up and receive instruction, and put the rules you’ve learned into proper practice.”
Seeing that Auntie Li paid no attention to whether Li Qu drank the medicine, Nanny Xu waved her hand forward, ordering people to hold Li Qu down and force the medicine into her.
Seeing them approach, Li Qu erupted: “Who dares!” Before she could even steady herself, she tumbled off the bed in a sorry state, falling face-down at Auntie Li’s feet like a dog eating its own filth.
At the same time, the lower half of her body was exposed.
Aside from the ambiguous red marks on her back, the cruelest were the pinch marks at her waist.
Everyone glanced once, then all averted their eyes.
Thinking of Third Master’s usual impeccably dressed appearance, somehow it now connected with the image of a beast.
Taking advantage of everyone’s stunned moment, Li Qu stood up. She could clearly feel the weakness in her limbs and the discomfort in her body.
“Have my second sister personally brew my contraceptive soup. I won’t drink the medicine from this household.”
Who knew whether someone might take the opportunity to give her a sterilizing drug.
Whether or not to have children was one thing; whether she could have children was another.
Besides, deep down, she did want to raise children of her own at the right time in the future.
“You can force it down me—either way I can barely walk a few steps right now—but you’ll bear the consequences!”
Her sharp gaze swept across the faces of everyone present.
Auntie Li paid no heed to Li Qu’s threats.
Nanny Xu considered for a moment and said, “As it happens, someone is being sent to the Madam’s family today to sign the concubinage papers. Passing a message to Second Miss would be no trouble at all.”
Li Qu frowned.
Sign concubinage papers?
She could not sign!
“Please pass a message to my mother—ask her, now that she has recovered, when she plans to come visit my eldest sister.”
She had to get out of here!
Nanny Xu agreed, left Cuiguo and Hongguo to attend to Li Qu, and set off with her entourage and gifts to Jishui Lane, where the Li family was lodging, to handle the matter.
Poor Li Qu—Auntie Li had clipped her nails down to stubs and drilled her in the ways of a concubine for an entire day, and to top it off, left her two books on women’s virtue and obedience.
Li Rong personally gathered and brewed the medicine.
The medicine was delivered to Li Qu’s lips in the morning, but it was not until evening that Li Rong saw her again.
By then, Li Qu was sitting on the couch, her calves and arms numb from Auntie Li’s rod, the feeling slow to return.
So when Li Rong entered, Li Qu did not rise to greet her; she simply sat on the couch in a daze.
And Li Rong, upon entering, did not immediately notice Li Qu’s condition. She looked around the room with wonder and envy, eyes shining as she fingered the ornaments on the treasure shelf and sampled the fresh tea the maids had served.
Only at last did she sit down beside Li Qu, her face full of emotion.
“Third Sister, it really is just your good fortune.”
Both Prince Yan’s estate and this Zhou household were places of boundless wealth!
Nanny Xu urged from the side: “Madam, speak quickly if you have something to say. When Second Miss came this morning, the Madam instructed that she must return home before sunset.”
Li Qu dismissed the attendants and looked at Li Rong, asking only one question: “Did the Zhou household come to sign the papers?”
Li Rong knew what was weighing on Li Qu’s heart. Smiling, she extended her hand, bent her index and middle fingers together, and rubbed them gently with her thumb: “With this, everything can be arranged.”
“And as I always say—if you all sell me off, I’ll go commit a crime that condemns nine generations of our clan to execution, and we can all die together!”
Li Rong teased her with a grin: “Honestly, I’m speechless. You risked offending the Heir of Prince Yan to flee Yan territory, and the moment you set foot outside it, the Zhou household—masters of the Sixteen Rivers of the Two Jiangs—set their sights on you.
I say you’re simply fated to be a concubine. Stop struggling!”
“If you hadn’t been greedy for that bite of dragon-whisker pastry when we entered the city and exposed that I was a woman, would I have ended up trapped in the Zhou household!” The thought alone filled Li Qu with fury.
Li Rong absolutely refused to admit it was her fault: “Well, whose fault is it that you’re such a miser and bought so few pastries!”
“I didn’t buy too few—Mother is with child now, her appetite has grown, and she ate so much on the road that we couldn’t keep up.
Didn’t I say we’d resupply once we entered the city!
Was it really worth selling me out for one bite of dragon-whisker pastry!”
Seeing the tears streaming down Li Qu’s face, Li Rong’s heart lurched. She grabbed Li Qu’s arm and pushed up her sleeve—the crimson Chastity Sand on her wrist was gone, replaced by a ring of bruises, blue and purple.
Her face changed, and she stared at Li Qu in shock: “You—!”
Li Qu could not see the expression on Li Rong’s face. Now that she was with family, all her pent-up grievances came flooding out, and her tears flowed beyond her control.
That scoundrel Zhou Jin—two-faced and beast-hearted—he didn’t regard her as human at all!
“Boo-hoo-hoo…”
Only then did Li Rong realize the magnitude of the disaster she had caused. Her voice cracked: “You fool! How could you not protect yourself!”
Catching herself crying out, she lowered her voice and leaned in close to Li Qu, three parts reproachful and five parts guilt-ridden, exasperated:
“You managed to wrap the Heir of Prince Yan around your little finger—how did you fall at the hands of Third Master of the Zhou household!”