Li Qu instinctively thought of the blood-covered face she had seen in the pavilion in the rear courtyard of the prefectural government office.
But she had already brought the matter this far, and Li Qu did not want to give up. Gritting her teeth, she said, “I agreed to marry Chang San because I was confident I could keep him under control.”
“I thought that if I went along with Third Master’s wishes, he would calm down, and I would have a chance to leave Zhou Residence and reunite with the person I love.”
“I spoke without thinking and displeased Third Master. Whether you wish to beat me or punish me, I am willing to accept it.”
“I only ask that Third Master show mercy!”
The servants of Zhou Residence had once discussed how Zhou Jin was proud and pure. A man like that surely would not make things difficult for a woman whose heart belonged to someone else once he had vented his anger.
Li Qu knocked her head heavily against the floor three times, then lay prostrate on the ground, nervously waiting for Zhou Jin to speak.
She could only hope that her understanding of Zhou Jin was not mistaken.
After a long while, a voice came from above her. “Get up.”
He did not sound angry.
But when he had killed that person in the pavilion, he had not seemed enraged either.
Li Qu rose trembling. “Thank you, Third Master. You truly are like the bright moon—holy and immaculate. I am ashamed.”
Flattery could get one anywhere.
She secretly raised her eyes, only to meet a pair of eyes as black as ink.
Li Qu hurriedly lowered her gaze. For some reason, her heart began to pound. Out of instinctive fear of a murderer, she unconsciously retreated two steps.
“Come here.”
“Does Third Master have another order?” Li Qu lowered her eyes and did not move.
Zhou Jin regarded her indifferently. “Ever since you entered, this room seems to have had a different sort of scent.”
Li Qu had the frightening feeling that if she asked, What scent? the man before her would answer, The stench of fresh blood.
She awkwardly lifted her sleeves and sniffed them.
She had washed before coming, and the only scent on her was that of soapberry.
“I was discourteous. Perhaps you dislike the scent of the incense on me. Why don’t I—” Li Qu had not finished speaking when Zhou Jin interrupted her.
“However, there was one thing you said that was quite right.”
Li Qu sneaked a glance at Zhou Jin, waiting for his instructions.
“If you go along with Master’s wishes, Master will calm down.”
“Then… how does Third Master want me to make amends?”
Zhou Jin patted his thigh. “Sit on your own, or do you want Master to pick you up and put you there?”
Li Qu’s head snapped up. Her expression shifted from caution to shock, then to disbelief, and finally to mortification and fury. It was such a marvelous progression that Zhou Jin could not help wanting to applaud.
So a person could truly display so many emotions in an instant?
Li Qu would not sit there, and she certainly did not want Zhou Jin to get up and carry her. Almost instinctively, she turned and took a step toward the door.
But Nanny Xu, whose eyes and ears missed nothing, seized her by the arm and shoved her toward Zhou Jin.
Staggering, Li Qu landed squarely on Zhou Jin’s thigh.
Before she could spring up as though her backside were on fire, a large hand pressed her whole body toward the writing desk.
She instinctively braced herself with her hands, but shoved the pen rack, porcelain bowl, and other objects on the desk onto the floor.
Amid the clattering and crashing, Zhou Jin’s voice rang out through the night.
“On your stomach is fine too.”
Nanny Xu had led everyone out before Zhou Jin even made a move, considerately closing the door behind them.
Li Qu’s panicked shriek came from inside, followed by pleas for mercy, and then curses.
Nanny Xu exchanged a glance with Huaiqiu, who stood outside the door.
Rape? Criminal?
Did that mean their Master had committed the crime of violating a woman?
The two silently looked away.
Sorry, but given Concubine Li’s background, if their Master forced himself on her, it would still be considered Concubine Li’s good fortune if word got out.
Unable to empathize with Li Qu, the two of them simultaneously pulled out the cotton they had prepared in advance and stuffed it into their ears.
That night, Embroidered Splendor Hall called for water four times. Later, in the bathing room, they changed the water once more.
The next morning, Li Qu was roused from her daze by Auntie Li, who taught the rules of Zhou Residence.
“Concubine, it is already the Hour of the Rabbit. It is time to rise.”
The moment she opened her eyes, a maid supported her back from behind and helped her sit up.
Only when she tasted bitterness at her lips did Li Qu realize with a start that she was still alive.
She raised her hand and knocked the medicine bowl away, then looked at the familiar Auntie Li.
Auntie Li’s expression was solemn. She neither smiled nor joked, and everything about her was stern and severe.
With a wave of her hand, a maid brought over another bowl of medicine. “Concubine, you are an intelligent woman. You should know what this is.”
The situation had developed in the worst possible direction, and Li Qu could barely keep her true nature suppressed.
In her previous life, she had been born under the red flag and had fought desperately to break free of the restraints of this world. After struggling to live for sixteen years, pride, stubbornness, and defiance had been carved into her very bones.
She sneered at Auntie Li. “I want to see my Second Sister. Once I see my Second Sister, I will naturally drink it.”
The news that Li Qu had spent the night with Third Master had already spread.
She looked terrible. There were dark circles beneath her eyes, the corner of her lips was split, and a deep purple mark showed on her exposed wrist. Her neck and collar were even more mottled with red marks.
Of course, Third Master had not gotten off lightly either. Otherwise, Auntie Li would not have appeared here.
Administering medicine was not Auntie Li’s primary responsibility. She had come to teach Li Qu that a concubine had to be gentle and respectful, and that she had to serve her master with tact and tenderness.
She was not supposed to scratch her master until his body was covered in marks or leave a huge handprint on his face.
Nor was she supposed to insult her master!
Auntie Li threatened her. “If you refuse to learn the proper rules, Concubine, you will not be allowed to see your family.”
Li Qu’s conduct had been personally approved by Auntie Li when she entered the residence.
Now that Li Qu was knowingly violating the rules, Auntie Li found herself thoroughly humiliated.
She knew that unless Li Qu was willing to comply, what had happened last night would certainly happen again.
“If Concubine wishes to see her family sooner, please get out of bed and listen to your instruction. Then put the rules you learn into practice.”
Seeing that Auntie Li was not concerned with whether Li Qu drank the medicine, Nanny Xu waved her hand and stepped forward, ordering someone to hold Li Qu down and force the medicine into her.
The moment Li Qu saw them approach, she exploded. “Who dares!”
She had not even managed to stand firmly before she fell awkwardly from the bed and landed at Auntie Li’s feet, sprawled like a dog eating dirt.
At the same time, half of her waist was exposed.
Aside from the suggestive red marks across her back, the worst were the bruises from being gripped around the waist.
Everyone took one look, then hurriedly averted their eyes.
Thinking of Third Master’s usual dignified appearance, they somehow found themselves connecting him with the word beast.
Taking advantage of everyone’s distraction, Li Qu struggled to her feet. She could clearly feel the weakness in her limbs and the discomfort throughout her body.
“Have my Second Sister prepare the contraceptive decoction for me herself. I will not drink medicine prepared by the residence.”
Who knew whether someone might take the opportunity to give her medicine that would make her infertile?
Whether she wanted children was one matter. Whether she was capable of having children was another.
Besides, deep down, she wanted to raise a child of her own when the proper opportunity arose in the future.
“You can force it down my throat if you want. I can barely walk a few steps right now anyway, but you will bear the consequences!”
Her sharp gaze swept across the faces of everyone present.
Auntie Li was not concerned by Li Qu’s threat.
Nanny Xu thought for a moment before saying, “Today, we happen to be sending someone to Concubine’s family to have the concubinage contract signed. It would do no harm to pass a message to Second Miss Li.”
Li Qu frowned.
A concubinage contract?
It could not be signed!
“Please give my mother a message and ask whether she is feeling better, and when she plans to visit my Eldest Sister.”
She had to leave!
Nanny Xu agreed. Leaving Cuiguo and Hongguo behind to attend to Li Qu, she took the servants and gifts to Jishui Lane, where the Li family was staying, to handle the matter.
Poor Li Qu had her fingernails clipped down to the quick by Auntie Li and was taught the ways of being a concubine for the entire day. At the end, Auntie Li even left her two books, Admonitions for Women and Virtues for Women.
Li Rong personally gathered and decocted the medicine.
The medicine was delivered to Li Qu’s lips in the morning, but it was not until evening that Li Rong finally saw her.
By then, Li Qu was sitting on the couch, feeling as though her calves and arms had been beaten numb by Auntie Li’s disciplinary cane, leaving them unable to recover.
Thus, when Li Rong entered, Li Qu did not go forward to greet her. She merely sat blankly on the couch.
And after entering, Li Rong did not notice Li Qu’s discomfort right away. Instead, she looked around the room with fascination and envy, her eyes shining as she touched the ornaments on the treasure shelf and sampled the new tea the maid served her.
Only afterward did she sit beside Li Qu and sigh with emotion.
“Third Sister, you really are blessed.”
Both Prince Yan’s Residence and this Zhou Residence were places of boundless wealth and luxury!
Nanny Xu urged from the side, “Concubine, say what you have to say quickly. When Second Miss came this morning, Madam instructed her to return home before sunset.”
Li Qu dismissed everyone else and asked Li Rong only one question. “Did someone from Zhou Residence come to have the contract signed?”
Li Rong knew what was troubling Li Qu. She smiled and extended her hand, curling her index and middle fingers together while gently rubbing them with her thumb.
“With this, everything can be discussed.”
“It’s the same as before. If you sell me off, I’ll go commit a crime that brings collective punishment upon nine clans. We might as well all die together!”
Li Rong teased her with a grin. “I’m truly speechless. You risked offending the Heir of Prince Yan to escape Yan territory, only to be taken with again by Zhou Residence, which rules the Eighteen Rivers of the Two Jiang, the moment you left Yan territory.
“I’d say you’re simply fated to become someone’s concubine. Stop struggling!”
“When we first entered the city, if you hadn’t been greedy for a bite of Dragon’s Beard Pastry and exposed the fact that I was a woman, why would I have ended up trapped in Zhou Residence?” Li Qu was furious whenever she thought of it.
Li Rong absolutely refused to admit that she had been the one to land Li Qu in Zhou Residence. “That’s because you were so stingy and bought too few pastries!”
“How were the ones I bought too few? Mother was pregnant, so her appetite had increased. We ate more on the road and couldn’t replenish our supply in time.
“I told you we would resupply once we entered the city!
“Did you really have to sell me out for the sake of one Dragon’s Beard Pastry?”
Seeing the tears pouring from Li Qu’s eyes, Li Rong’s heart jolted. She grabbed Li Qu’s arm and pulled up her sleeve.
The cinnabar virginity mark on her wrist was gone, replaced by a ring of blue and purple bruising.
Li Rong’s expression changed. She stared at Li Qu in shock.
“You!”
Li Qu could not make out Li Rong’s expression. Now that she had seen a member of her family, all the grievance in her heart surged forth, and her tears became impossible to control.
That scoundrel Zhou Jin was a beast in human skin. He did not treat her like a human being at all!
“Waaah…”
Only then did Li Rong realize what a disaster she had caused. Her voice cracked as she cried, “You idiot! How did you fail to protect yourself?”
Realizing she had raised her voice, she lowered it again. Drawing close to Li Qu with an exasperated expression—three parts reproach and five parts self-blame—she said:
“The Heir of Prince Yan was completely wrapped around your finger before. How did you end up falling into the hands of Third Master Zhou?”