The outer study was lit, and Chang Yuan, upon seeing A’Yuan, didn’t even bother to announce her—he simply opened the door and let her in.
“The master has been thinking of you these days, Mistress Xie. Please come in quickly.”
Chang Yuan had witnessed his master’s anger, but no matter how furious he was, how could he truly refuse to see A’Yuan?
Perhaps, with Mistress Xie’s arrival, the master’s anger would dissipate.
A’Yuan took a deep breath and stepped inside.
Wei Xun had already heard the commotion outside the door. At that moment, his hand gripping the brush suddenly tightened, the tip pausing, and a large ink stain spread across the fine rice paper.
“What are you doing here?”
The man’s voice was sharp, his gaze toward her icy to the extreme.
A’Yuan’s feet felt as if they were filled with lead, rooted to the spot. Her throat seemed blocked, unable to utter a word.
The study was eerily quiet, broken only by the occasional crackle of the candle wick.
“Speak!”
Wei Xun seemed impatient, tossing aside the brush and rising from behind the desk.
The man’s tall figure blocked the candlelight, and A’Yuan felt the oppressive pressure, instinctively taking a step back.
But she didn’t know that this single step only fueled the man’s anger further.
“What? Can’t think of a reason to lie to me?”
Wei Xun strode forward, reaching out to grip her chin.
Days of pent-up anger made him exert force, and A’Yuan’s eyes reddened with pain. She clutched his sleeve, shaking her head. “Master, A’Yuan hasn’t…”
“Hah, hasn’t!”
Wei Xun sneered coldly, his gaze deepening with mockery as he looked at her delicate, charming appearance. His thumb moved from her chin to her eyes.
A’Yuan’s eyes were exceptionally beautiful; when she looked at someone, it was as if they were her entire world.
It was because of these eyes that Wei Xun had grown increasingly soft-hearted toward her.
But now, knowing that her tenderness and obedience were all an act, Wei Xun’s heart was filled only with the fury of betrayal.
“If you want me to believe you, then please me.”
The man leaned close to her ear, his low voice striking A’Yuan’s heart like a heavy drum.
Her lips trembled, her face as pale as paper. “P…please?”
A’Yuan had grown up in the Spring Smoke Pavilion—how could she not know what “please” meant?
She had served Wei Xun for three years. In bed, the man had always been vigorous, but in those three years, he had never humiliated her.
Now, Wei Xun’s words made A’Yuan instantly realize that, in his eyes, she would forever be a lowly courtesan from a tainted background.
She clenched her fists, desperately holding back her tears. Her watery almond eyes were filled with a vacant despair.
After a long while, her hands moved.
“…Alright, this concubine will serve the master.”
The blue padded jacket slipped off, followed by the white inner garment, the pink undergarment… until her voluptuous body was left with no coverings.
The study was warmed by a charcoal brazier, but A’Yuan trembled all over.
Wei Xun watched coldly as she undressed, his hands at his sides already clenched into fists. His chest felt as if blocked by a heavy stone, suffocatingly tight.
But he hated deception most of all. A’Yuan’s actions had already slipped beyond his control.
What he wanted was a docile, gentle concubine, not a liar full of deceit.
A’Yuan, naked and barefoot, walked up to him, trembling hands removing his outer robe.
As the garment slid off, the man’s chest was exposed. She steadied herself against his waist, rose on her toes, and kissed him.
A’Yuan had spent ten years in the Spring Smoke Pavilion, witnessing and learning too many techniques to please men.
She had been trained as a plaything for men, and now, for the first time, those learned skills had a chance to be put to use.
…
“Enough!”
Wei Xun could no longer restrain himself. He lifted her up and placed her on the desk.
The unfinished rice paper contrasted with the woman’s snow-white skin, making it unclear which was paler.
The candlelight flickered, casting fragmented shadows. The woman’s voice went from broken to hoarse, and only then did the man’s anger finally subside.
A’Yuan lay sprawled on the desk, her fingertips clutching the inkstone.
Her demeanor had shifted from pleading to numbness. What did she amount to in Wei Xun’s heart?
Perhaps even less than stray cats and dogs on the roadside.
Tears fell onto the rice paper. A’Yuan’s heartache was suffocating, and the words she had intended to explain were deeply sealed within her.
Wei Xun no longer believed her. Any further words from her would only be seen as excuses.
A’Yuan gave a bitter smile. Enough. She should have recognized her place long ago, shouldn’t she?
With a muffled groan, Wei Xun regained his senses.
The woman beneath him had a back marked with fingerprints, and both knees were rubbed red. Yet she had endured without uttering a sound, curled up on the desk, pitiful beyond words.
Wei Xun’s mind exploded with realization, finally understanding what he had done.
He pursed his lips tightly, guilt surging in his heart.
“Master, did A’Yuan serve you satisfactorily? If so, could you spare Granny Zhu?”
A’Yuan’s legs weakened, and she fell to the floor. Supporting herself against the table, she trembled as she faced him, her usually soft and charming expression now filled with seriousness.
This was the first time she had spoken to Wei Xun in such a manner. All her previous meekness vanished, and Wei Xun’s rising guilt abruptly dissipated.
“So you did all this… just to plead for her?”
The man’s voice was cold enough to freeze ice, but A’Yuan seemed oblivious, lifting her head to look at him.
“Granny Zhu was only acting on my behalf; she did not intentionally make a mistake. Master punishing me, I have no complaints, but please spare Granny Zhu.”
Chun Tao’s father had died when she was young. Zhu Pozi had acted as both mother and father, raising her and her brother.
Chun Tao had unfortunate luck by following her, and even her parents lost their positions. A’Yuan could disregard herself, but she could not disregard Chun Tao.
After all, within the vast Marquis Manor, Chun Tao was the only one who treated her well.
“Besides this, do you have nothing else to say to me?”
Wei Xun approached her, his gaze condescendingly fixed on her face.
A’Yuan’s fingertips trembled; naturally, she knew what the man wanted to ask.
The words of explanation lingered at the edge of her lips but were swallowed back.
A’Yuan shook her head and said, “No.”
“Hah! Fine!”
Wei Xun’s anger surged, staring at A’Yuan as he laughed coldly.
“Xie Yuan, you are truly remarkable!”
He had also misjudged someone one day. It was just unclear what secret A’Yuan wanted to conceal.
Wei Xun’s eyes narrowed slightly, the ferocity within them palpable.
A’Yuan desperately ignored the pain in her heart, kneeling on the floor. Her swollen knees touched the blue bricks, the pain piercing and gnawing at her bones, yet she seemed oblivious. “I beg Master to spare Granny Zhu.”
Wei Xun’s fingertips clenched until they turned white. He stared at her knees for a long time, his dark eyes turbulent.
“Get out!”