“Are… are you a good person?”
Wen Ning huddled in the corner of the thatched hut, clutching the collar of her robes tightly as her body trembled uncontrollably.
“No, please, I beg of you, let me go…”
Her soft, melodic voice carried an instinctive plea for survival, which only served to make the man’s breathing heavier. The large hand gripping her fair neck tightened ever so slightly.
“I have killed people. I do not know if that counts as being a good person.”
The man had been poisoned. He could feel the insidious nature of the toxin; only a woman could serve as the antidote.
The corners of his eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was a raspy, panting growl, as if he had reached the absolute limit of his endurance.
Wen Ning had intended to clarify his character before deciding whether to save him. Losing her virtue to a decent man would be better than being defiled by a villain; if he were the former, her heart might find some small comfort.
But hearing his words, she felt a chill run down her spine.
Could it be that today she would not only lose her purity but her life as well?
“If you are unwilling… then I have no choice but to rely on my blade…”
The man seemed unable to bear it any longer. As he spoke, his scorching, hurried breath fanned against her ear.
Wen Ning was terrified, thinking the man intended to take her life.
To her shock, the man pulled a short dagger from his ankle sheath and aimed it directly at his own lower body.
They were pressed so close that Wen Ning sensed his movement. In a panic, she grabbed his wrist and carefully took the knife from him.
Her heart, which had been utterly resistant moments ago, seemed to waver.
Hidden in the darkness, the corners of the man’s lips curled into a barely perceptible smirk.
As the dignified Marquis of An Yuan, he truly did not wish to force a woman, yet he had no desire to die this way. He could only resort to the tactic of “retreating to advance.”
Otherwise, how could her slender, delicate hands possibly have stopped him?
Wen Ning had just checked the man’s pulse. If she did not intervene now, even if he castrated himself, he would not escape the fate of dying when the poison took hold.
She lamented her terrible luck. Who would have thought that a trip up the mountain to gather herbs would lead to this?
It was her misfortune that she knew a bit of medicine, and even more so that this man was pressuring her with a blade.
She closed her eyes, and tears of despair rolled down her cheeks.
“Please… please don’t kill me…”
Wen Ning turned her face away, her voice still strained, but the meaning behind her words was clear.
The man understood immediately, interpreting Wen Ning’s words profoundly: the “red line” of her resistance ended at her life; as for the rest of her territory… she would let him roam at will.
As if he had heard a bugle call to charge into battle, his thin lips pressed down onto hers without hesitation.
The crystalline softness, as if coated in honey, made him gasp.
Thunder rumbled, making the window frames quiver. In the dim light, two figures could be seen entwined, inseparable.
It was a long time before the heavy rain finally ceased. The draft blowing through the hut, carrying the scent of damp earth, mingled with the lingering air of passion, filling every corner of the room.
This was Fuyan Mountain, located in the western suburbs of the capital.
The southern slope was relatively gentle, with a winding stone path leading to Xuanfu Temple at the summit.
There, incense burned all day long, morning bells startled the forest birds, and evening drums heralded the sunset.
But past the mountain ridge, the northern slope fell away into a precipice that looked as if it had been cleaved by a giant axe. The terrain was steep, and the shaded lands hid treasures, teeming with various fungi and rare medicinal herbs.
The thatched hut halfway up the mountain was barely ten feet square. Its floor was covered in dried straw, serving as a resting place for herb gatherers.
Most gatherers returned home with their baskets before sunset, so no lamps were ever kept there. Once night fell, it was pitch black both inside and out.
Wen Ning felt as though a fire had burned within the hut all night long, and she was like a small boat set ablaze, drifting helplessly in a river of wild winds and surging waves…
She realized too late that this man was no “good person.” He had ignored her bitter pleas; every “last time” was followed by another…
Wen Ning snapped her eyes open, her breathing ragged and her cheeks flushed.
She had been dreaming again.
For over a month, she had dreamt of what happened that night almost every single evening. Every detail was vividly reconstructed in her dreams.
Each morning she woke up feeling ashamed and indignant.
What left her even more at a loss was that when she checked her own pulse yesterday, she discovered she was pregnant!
She was carrying that man’s child!
She could only blame herself for staying too late on the mountain that day due to the slippery slopes.
She could only blame herself for entering that hut in the dark to rest, only to be seized by the waist and pinned down by that man.
She had sacrificed her purity, fleeing hurriedly before dawn wrapped in his cloak, without even catching a clear glimpse of his face.
In the aftermath, she had been exhausted and dazed. By the time she remembered she should drink a contraceptive decoction, the optimal window had long since passed.
Wen Ning’s first instinct was to terminate the pregnancy, but she had just been sold into the Anyuan Marquis Manor as a servant yesterday.
Because there were no empty beds in the servants’ quarters, the head maid had made her sleep in the woodshed for the night.
Currently, she likely couldn’t even get her hands on a bowl of abortifacient medicine.
Having not eaten for two days, she could only hunch her back and convulsively retch up a few mouthfuls of bile, leaving a bitter, metallic taste at the root of her tongue.
Bang!
The door to the woodshed was kicked open. Granny Li from the kitchen stood there, brandishing a fire poker covered in charcoal soot.
“You little wench! Do you still think you’re some rich young miss? Look at what time it is! Do you intend to sleep until the sun is high in the sky?
Look at your status now! You’re here at the Marquis Manor to be a servant, not a mistress!”
Wen Ning’s father had been a fifth-rank imperial merchant, and her mother was a mistress who had never entered the main household.
Though she hadn’t lived a life of extreme luxury since childhood, she had been protected by her parents and had never truly suffered.
That was until a few years ago when her mother died of illness. Her father was heartbroken and followed her to the grave less than half a month later.
The First Madam of the household loathed her and ordered her to be driven away to a mountain estate to fend for herself.
She had no choice but to gather herbs on the mountain every day to earn a bit of money to survive. Sometimes she would also assist a lame doctor at the foot of the mountain with pulse readings and consultations. She never expected to lose her virginity in that hut halfway up the mountain a month ago.
She thought that was unlucky enough, but a few days ago, the First Madam had betrothed her to the son of the Liu Family Escort Agency to ward off his illness with a marriage.
The groom was bedridden, and Wen Ning had performed the wedding kowtows with a rooster tied with red silk.
On the wedding night, Young Master Liu’s face was ashen, and his chest rose and fell weakly, as if he were not long for this world.
He opened his eyes, saw the stunningly beautiful Wen Ning in her wedding robes, and forced a sentence out of his mouth: “A celestial beauty… what a pity I… I do not have the fortune to enjoy you.”