Who Said I Didn’t Want to Consummate Our Marriage?
Everyone in the room had fallen to their knees, too frightened to utter a sound.
The bridal chamber, originally illuminated by flickering red candles and filled with the fragrance of orchids and musk, now held not a trace of warmth, leaving only suffocating fear.
Xia Ruochu abruptly raised her head, cold sweat beading on her skin.
The black-feathered arrow had just grazed her hair as it flew past, and its arrowhead was still deeply embedded in the carved bedpost.
If that arrow had veered even slightly, she would already be dead!
She would have been shot dead on her wedding day by the man before her, the husband who was supposed to enter the bridal chamber with her tonight.
The man was expressionless. He tossed his bow to the attendant behind him, then seized her chin with his large, hard hand. “You want to be my Princess Consort?”
Xia Ruochu’s mind went blank with a buzz.
She vaguely remembered that before she could even get a clear look at the car running the red light, she had been sent flying by the impact.
When she woke up, she had transmigrated into this body, which shared her exact name and surname.
As she gazed into those eyes, as cold and indifferent as a freezing pool, memories flooded into her mind like a tidal wave.
A disastrous start.
She had been a staunch believer in never marrying, yet in the blink of an eye, she had become a married woman.
Worse still, she had married a husband who hated her to the bone, the fearsome Prince Su, Xiao Chengyi.
As the legitimate daughter of a marquis’s household, with a marriage personally decreed by the Emperor, even if she had married into another powerful family, they would have been obliged to observe all the proper wedding rites, regardless of their unwillingness.
Yet Xiao Chengyi was so arrogant and unruly that he had abandoned his bride without even performing the wedding ceremony and gone hunting at the hunting grounds in the western suburbs. He had clearly done so deliberately to humiliate her.
Seeing that the auspicious hour had already passed, the original Xia Ruochu had been so overwhelmed by anger that she collapsed in the wedding hall and fainted.
“Who gave you permission to bully the servants?” Xiao Chengyi’s cold voice interrupted her thoughts. “Guards! Confine her to her quarters. She is not to take a single step outside the inner courtyard.”
Confine her to her quarters!
The groom had not even performed the wedding rites, so her position as Princess Consort was merely an empty title. If she were confined as well, wouldn’t she be no different from a prisoner?
Before Xia Ruochu could think, she had already lunged forward and grabbed the man’s sleeve. “Your Highness, you mustn’t punish me without cause or treat me so roughly.”
“Roughly?” A cold glint flashed through Xiao Chengyi’s eyes.
The servants throughout the courtyard looked horrified, staring at her as though she were a madwoman.
The next moment, a cold sword sheath pressed against her lower jaw.
“I’m afraid you’ve never seen me behave even more roughly.”
Their eyes met, and Xia Ruochu’s breath caught.
The man stood beneath the moonlight, dressed in a fitted black outfit with a black cloak embroidered with gold patterns draped over it. He exuded an imposing authority without even showing anger.
A faint old scar ran from his temple into his hairline, making his sharply defined features appear even more rugged.
This man was truly handsome. No wonder all the noble young ladies in the capital had developed feelings for him. Yet the arrogance and cold severity that permeated his entire being were genuinely terrifying.
Those horrifying rumors flooded into her mind.
Prince Su, Xiao Chengyi, commanded the Imperial Guards and was the Emperor’s trusted right-hand man. Every civil and military official feared him to some degree.
It was said that he had no interest in women and was violent and unpredictable. When a defeated enemy presented him with twelve stunning beauties, he ordered his men to drag them outside the city and bury them alive.
It was said that he was ruthless and merciless. When a deputy general misjudged military intelligence, Xiao Chengyi had him beaten with a staff until he was crippled, then thrown to the wolves at the border.
It was also said that he never let even the smallest grievance go unpunished. Once, a minor official offended an elderly servant of the Xiao family, and Xiao Chengyi had the official’s entire household confiscated and his whole clan exterminated…
Just now, a young maid had accidentally spilled water all over Xia Ruochu. Terrified, the maid had fallen to her knees and repeatedly kowtowed, so Xia Ruochu had reached out to help her up.
Yet this cold-faced King of Hell had witnessed the scene from a distance and, without bothering to distinguish right from wrong, had actually tried to shoot his newlywed wife dead with an arrow.
Having married such a sinister man, she feared she wouldn’t have long to live.
However, she had nowhere left to retreat.
When Xia Ruochu was ten years old, her mother, Shen Wan, had taken a knife wound while protecting the Empress Dowager. Everyone in the Marquis’s household had received imperial rewards, and her father had consequently been promoted to a higher noble rank.
The wound had left Shen Wan with a chronic ailment, so every winter, she would return to her maternal family in the south to recuperate for several months. Xia Ruochu was deeply cherished by her maternal grandfather and often accompanied her mother on these visits.
However, two years ago, when mother and daughter returned to the Marquis’s residence as usual, they discovered that a concubine surnamed Liu and her two children had appeared in the household.
It turned out that her father had disregarded his principal wife’s objections and secretly kept a mistress in another residence for many years. Both of Madam Liu’s children were older than Xia Ruochu.
Xia Lanxuan occupied Xia Ruochu’s courtyard, used her monthly allowance, and employed her maids, yet everyone praised this concubine-born daughter for her pure and kindhearted nature.
Even Xia Ruochu’s childhood sweetheart, who had treated her exceptionally well since they were young, broke their engagement. To curry favor with Xia Lanxuan, he had actually pushed Xia Ruochu into a lake, nearly drowning her.
Overwhelmed by grief and indignation, her mother fell seriously ill and never recovered. Xia Ruochu argued her case on every matter, yet everyone mocked her for being petty and jealous.
One night, a side chamber caught fire, and everyone in the Marquis’s household accused Xia Ruochu of deliberately setting the fire to harm others.
She became a wicked woman ridiculed by everyone and was punished by being sent to Qiyun Temple to tend the incense offerings, where she endured countless beatings, hunger, and cold.
Madam Liu ordered her men to keep Xia Ruochu under strict watch and suppress all news of her situation. Meanwhile, they seized her mother’s dowry and lived in luxury, feasting and drinking to their hearts’ content. They even colluded with powerful nobles to embezzle the Shen family’s merchant businesses.
It was not until Xia Ruochu’s elder brother died from poisoning in the military camp and her mother committed suicide by drowning that Old Master Shen finally learned the truth.
The Shen family was merely a declining family of imperial merchants and lacked the strength to stand against the Marquis’s household.
To ensure his granddaughter’s safety, Old Master Shen, despite his illness, sought an audience with Old Madam Xiao. Drawing upon a favor he had once done for the Xiao family, he secured the position of Princess Consort of Prince Su for Xia Ruochu.
She was finally able to leave the remote mountains, but she had been separated forever by death from the family members who loved her.
She would have no one to rely on for the rest of her life. Whether she experienced favor or disgrace, whether she rose or fell, she could only save herself.
She was the Shen family’s hope, and those people would never let her go.
If there was anyone in the capital who could make them wary…
At present, that person could only be Prince Su, Xiao Chengyi.
She didn’t want to consummate their marriage.
But she had to make him pity her and protect her.
That was somewhat difficult.
The original Xia Ruochu would rather break than bend and might not have been able to do it. But she was different.
What could be more important than staying alive?
Her slender, fair fingers grasped the sword sheath and slowly pushed it away.
When Xia Ruochu raised her eyes again, her dark pupils were brimming with tears, the teardrops trembling on the verge of falling.
“This consort… has only Your Highness’s interests at heart.”
Xiao Chengyi tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable.
Her voice was filled with endless grievance. “Your Highness chose to go hunting on the auspicious day of our wedding ceremony. His Majesty must surely harbor some resentment over this. If Your Highness were to mistreat your principal wife as well, there’s no guarantee His Majesty wouldn’t become suspicious and believe that Your Highness was using this matter as a pretext to express your dissatisfaction.”
“How dare you!” Xiao Chengyi narrowed his eyes dangerously, yet he did not lose his temper.
Evidently, her words had struck a chord.
“Your Highness does not favor this marriage, and this consort wouldn’t dare harbor any improper expectations,” Xia Ruochu said softly. “This consort knows what Your Highness wants.”
“What does this prince want?” The man seemed to have become interested.
“This consort is willing to cooperate with Your Highness in dealing with Old Madam Xiao and His Majesty.”
She rose onto her tiptoes and brought her lips close to the man’s ear.
Those dark, unfathomable eyes turned toward her. Xia Ruochu parted her cherry-red lips slightly and whispered, “We shall be husband and wife in name, but not in reality.”
Her breath against his ear was as fragrant as orchids, and her voice was sweet, soft, and delicate, enough to melt even a heart of stone.
Xiao Chengyi raised an eyebrow slightly and couldn’t help gazing intently at the person before him.
Only then did Xiao Chengyi notice that the red gauze nightgown Xia Ruochu wore was soaked through with water, faintly revealing the slender yet full curves of her figure. Her hair was loosely pinned up, exposing a patch of luminous, fair skin that resembled flawless mutton-fat jade touched by morning dew.
Xiao Chengyi had always disdained romantic pursuits, yet for some reason, he remembered a line of poetry that those young noblemen had playfully recited:
Summer moonlight veils her jade-like form in gauze, radiant as the first snow, her skin as smooth as congealed cream.
The verse praised Fourth Young Lady Xia of the Marquis of Yongning’s residence, whose refined elegance was likened to that of a fairy beneath the moonlight. Her beauty surpassed all beauties of past and present, unrivaled in the world.
Out of the corner of his eye, Xiao Chengyi suddenly noticed that all the personal guards behind him were averting their gazes, yet they could not conceal their amazement at her beauty.
A shadow fell over his handsome face.
“All of you, withdraw!” Xiao Chengyi barked. “Report for twenty strokes of the military staff each.”
Xia Ruochu was still puzzled when a cloak was suddenly thrown over her, covering her from head to toe. The force was so great that she stumbled straight into the man’s embrace.
Xiao Chengyi bent down, his voice low and husky. “Who told you I didn’t want to consummate our marriage?”
Her wet clothes were already uncomfortable against her skin. The scorching heat from his chest seeped through to her skin, making her cheeks burn and her heart race.
“Your Highness must be joking,” Xia Ruochu said in a fluster. “Your Highness is far-sighted and calculating. This consort knows that Your Highness must have your own plans for marrying me.”
A contemptuous smile curved the man’s lips, and Xia Ruochu’s heart sank.
Winning Xiao Chengyi over was certainly no simple matter.
Although her maternal grandfather’s Shen family had longstanding ties with the Xiao family, they had not dared associate themselves with Prince Su’s residence all these years, simply because Prince Su detested nothing more than people attempting to curry favor with him.
Unless she could be of use to him.
Xia Ruochu spoke rapidly. “Your Highness wishes to uncover the truth behind the counterfeit military medicine case, but someone in the imperial court is obstructing the investigation, while the merchants have banded together to protect their interests. Your Highness has been unable to find a breakthrough.”
“My maternal grandfather’s family has served as imperial merchants for three generations. From the residences of high-ranking officials and nobles to the medicine shops tucked away in ordinary streets and alleys, we have people everywhere.”
“If this consort were to devise strategies for Your Highness, I would certainly be able to lend Your Highness a helping hand.”
These were not empty words. The original Xia Ruochu had been deeply loved by her maternal grandfather, and through constant exposure to the family’s affairs, she naturally knew quite a bit about the procurement of tribute goods and the supply of military provisions.
“Why should this prince believe you?” Xiao Chengyi asked dismissively. “If I hadn’t married you, you’d still be in the remote mountains, living on coarse husks and wild vegetables.”
“That was when Father’s concubine was managing the household.” Xia Ruochu could not conceal her dejection.
The man’s voice was laced with sarcasm. “This prince has no need for an adviser who is too weak to even truss a chicken.”
“But Your Highness needs me,” she blurted out. “A Princess Consort who can serve as a cover.”
For a long while, Xiao Chengyi said nothing. His gaze merely roamed over her face.
The entire courtyard fell silent.
The servants in the courtyard remained kneeling, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Finally, that icy voice sounded. “Your confinement will be waived for the time being.”
“Your Highness, might you…” Xia Ruochu asked in a soft, gentle voice, “bestow upon this consort a personal token?”
With her current awkward status, she might be able to intimidate ordinary commoners, but it would be useless against powerful families who fawned over the influential and looked down on the weak.
With a personal token from Prince Su, even if they had not performed the wedding rites and even if there was no affection between them, no one would dare lay a finger on her. Only then would she have the confidence to stand against the Marquis’s household and protect herself.
But this would also mean that Xiao Chengyi acknowledged her as his wife.
The atmosphere grew even colder and more oppressive.
“Xia Ruochu, do you truly think this prince wouldn’t dare kill you?”
Before she could react, a large hand with clearly defined knuckles had already seized her jaw, gripping it so tightly that it hurt.
“The Xiao family remembers the kindness your maternal grandfather showed them, but I will never forget that my mother died because of you.”
“Don’t even think of using schemes to get close to me. I wouldn’t so much as touch a woman of your character.”
“On the surface, you’re the Princess Consort of Prince Su, but in reality, you’re this prince’s slave. If this prince wants you to live, you live. If this prince wants you to die, you die. You have no right to make demands.”
There was no emotion in that cold, deep voice, yet Xia Ruochu could feel a bone-chilling ruthlessness in those dark eyes.
She said nothing more and performed a curtsy. “This consort will move into a side courtyard and will not disturb Your Highness’s peace.”
The tall figure swept his sleeves and strode away, disappearing into the night. A trace of coldness flashed through Xia Ruochu’s eyes.
From beginning to end, Xiao Chengyi had only waived her confinement. He had not responded to any of her other conditions.
He felt not the slightest pity for her.
Obtaining his protection was going to be far more difficult than she had imagined.
After everyone dispersed, Bihan, her accompanying dowry maid, closed the door and burst into tears.
“Young Lady, you nearly frightened this servant to death! You were unconscious for two whole hours earlier. Are you feeling any better? If we’d known Prince Su was so terrifying, it would’ve been better not to agree to this marriage in the first place.”
As though Xia Ruochu did not already have enough troubles, the whispered conversations of the maids and older female servants outside drifted into the room.
“The Princess Consort is truly a thousand times more beautiful than the beauties in paintings, but what use is beauty? His Highness isn’t even willing to consummate the marriage.”
“I heard Fourth Young Lady Xia is only sixteen, yet she doesn’t possess the slightest bit of a young maiden’s gentleness. Beating and scolding servants, even driving them to their deaths, are common occurrences for her. His Highness is also at an age when his temper is at its strongest. How could he possibly tolerate such an unruly woman? I’m afraid she’ll have plenty of reasons to cry in the future.”
Unable to restrain herself, Bihan opened the door and scolded them. The servants outside hurriedly prepared to withdraw.
“None of you are to leave.”
From behind the folding screen, Xia Ruochu’s voice was not loud, but every word was clear.
“I know some people see their master suffering a temporary setback and begin entertaining thoughts of disrespect. I suppose they must think they’ve lived too long.”
“I’m not someone who can be easily bullied. I won’t tolerate mistreatment. Even if I fall into misfortune myself, I’ll drag a few people down with me. I certainly won’t let others live comfortably.”
She deliberately paused and elegantly took a sip of tea.
“If anyone dares gossip about matters between His Highness and me again, both those who spread the gossip and those who listen to it will be beaten to death, without exception.”
She delivered these words with a pleasant expression and a gentle manner, yet they sent chills down the servants’ spines. They dropped to their knees.
“This servant wouldn’t dare!”
“Of course, I will never mistreat anyone who serves me loyally.” Her tone changed. “Bihan, take out some silver and distribute it as rewards. Consider it a little extra for everyone.”
Joy appeared on everyone’s faces, and they became even more convinced of her authority.
“Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness!”
Xia Ruochu smiled and nodded. “Bihan, pack our belongings. We’ll move into the side courtyard tonight.”
Before transmigrating, she had been the heiress of a restaurant group. The Chinese medicinal cuisine brand she had personally founded had been selected as one of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. With around a hundred employees under her management, what kind of troublemaker had she not dealt with?
What was so bad about being a wicked woman?
The original Xia Ruochu had been unjustly branded a wicked woman and had been unable to defend herself, no matter how hard she tried.
But she was a genuinely wicked woman.
The world was a dangerous place. If she wanted to protect herself and remain safe, she could not allow just anyone to walk all over her.
As for that prince whose temper was at its strongest…
If she wanted to live well in this prince’s residence, then naturally, in all matters, she would have to coax him a little.