4
A chilling wind seeped through the cracks in the window. Du Qianqian wore only a thin inner garment, and the cold draft crept down her neck, filling her body with a chill. She trembled all over, her delicate appearance looking rather pitiful.
Du Qianqian knew all along that this wretched Rong Xuan was no refined gentleman. No sooner had he entered the room than he shed his sheep’s clothing and bared his wolf’s fangs!
She silently thought to herself: I am your second sister’s close friend. Just you wait—I’ll have her give you a good scolding!
Rong Xuan looked at the woman cowering in the corner of the bed, too afraid to move, and found it rather amusing. Yet he sensed something different about her. Her pitiful, helpless act only made him want to torment her more.
He stroked his chin and asked with deliberate leisure, “Shall I personally see you on your way?”
With that, he actually reached out his hand toward Du Qianqian’s neck, whether he truly meant to strangle her or merely to frighten her, she couldn’t tell.
Du Qianqian had no desire to drift as a restless ghost for another eight years. There was no doubt that if Rong Xuan choked her to death this time, she wouldn’t even have a grave or a headstone.
She pinched the flesh on her thigh hard, and her bright eyes instantly grew wet. Big teardrops rolled down her cheeks. Without hesitation, she threw herself into his arms, wrapped her arms around his waist, and trembled as she said, “Husband, your concubine has missed you so much.”
Ugh.
Rong Xuan seemed stunned by her actions. His body went rigid, and he was silent for a long moment. When he finally came to his senses, he shoved the woman clinging to him away. His pale face flushed with an unnatural pink. “You’re even bolder than before.”
Du Qianqian’s forehead smacked against the edge of the bed, and she cried out in pain. How infuriating! Ahhh, how she wished she could whip him to death!
But this body was far too frail—soft and delicate, with red-rimmed eyes, a willowy figure that stirred pity. “Husband, it hurts.”
Rong Xuan’s heart skipped a beat. He studied the woman before him carefully. It was the same face, yet he felt she was entirely different from the last time. The eyes that had once been clouded with greed were now remarkably clear, like spring water—so pure that one could see straight to the bottom.
Her clothes were slightly disheveled, revealing her fair, jade-like shoulders and chest to his view—an alluring sight. Rong Xuan grabbed her wrist, his movements rather rough. “What? Have you forgotten everything I said to you before? It seems you don’t care about your family’s lives at all.”
Heaven knows, Du Qianqian had no idea what he had said. She guessed it must have been the reason the original owner had been forced to flee. The first thing Rong Xuan had asked upon entering was why she wasn’t dead yet—surely he wasn’t holding a grudge over her drugging him and climbing into his bed, to the point of forcing her to hang herself?
From what she had heard, Shen Qianqian was a ruthless woman who wouldn’t willingly die. That was why she had tried to run away.
But she hadn’t expected to be caught by Mama Liu and beaten to death, giving this wandering ghost a chance to live again.
After piecing it all together, Du Qianqian’s head ached even more. She had witnessed Rong Xuan’s cruel methods after her death—he had personally dislocated a maidservant’s jaw and forced her to swallow poison that wracked her with agonizing pain, then stood there coldly watching as she suffered a death worse than torture.
If you crossed him, he might say he wouldn’t hold it against you—but behind your back, he was surely plotting how to destroy you.
Her only option now was to submit.
Rong Xuan’s grip on her wrist grew tighter and tighter. Her tearful eyes brimmed with innocence as she said, “Husband, your concubine is wholly devoted to you.”
Rong Xuan released her hand and looked down at her from his height. “If that’s the case, then sending you off myself means you die without grievance.”
How utterly ruthless! Even after she had said such nauseatingly sweet words, Rong Xuan still refused to let her off.
Du Qianqian looked up at him and said, “Husband, Qianqian doesn’t want to die yet. She wants to stay by your side and take care of you.”
Rong Xuan paused briefly when he heard her name. His face darkened as he asked, “What did you say your name was?”
Du Qianqian couldn’t believe it—he had slept with this girl and still didn’t even know her name.
“Your concubine’s name is Qianqian.”
It was the same name in both of her lives, so she wasn’t lying to him.
A complex expression flickered across Rong Xuan’s face, and he let out a cold laugh. “What a coincidence. Then you absolutely must die. I despise people named Qianqian more than anything.”
She put on an act and asked, “Why?”
Rong Xuan seemed to be in the mood to talk, and he actually answered her question. “I once knew an extremely crude and boorish woman whom I found utterly detestable. As luck would have it, her name was also Qianqian. Not only was she insufferable, but she was also rather dim-witted.”
In the end, she had married a man like Chen Queyu—power-hungry, cold-hearted, and devoid of feeling.
Pah! You’re the one who’s dim-witted!
Du Qianqian blinked and looked at him with pleading eyes. “Qianqian truly doesn’t want to die. Boohoo hoo…”
Rong Xuan found himself thinking that her eyes looked somewhat like that person’s—crafty and lively, like a little fox. He averted his gaze. “Shut up.”
In truth, he had originally come tonight to kill her. She had been audacious enough to drug him. But just now, he had changed his mind.
Given the bit of cleverness she had shown tonight, taking her back to the capital might actually prove useful.
Du Qianqian didn’t dare stop crying—what if Rong Xuan still wanted her dead? She could never guess what was going on in that man’s mind.
Rong Xuan pinched her chin and looked at her tear-streaked face, listening to her quiet sobs. “If you cry anymore, I’ll poison you.”
Du Qianqian immediately stopped, covering her mouth to muffle any sound.
Rong Xuan released her chin, though it still bore a few red marks from his grip. His deep, low voice came down from above, finally landing in her ears: “Stay put in the other courtyard. If you try to run again, I’ll personally take off both your legs. And—we depart the day after tomorrow. You’re coming back to the capital with me.”
The candlelight flickered, casting shifting shadows across her dazed expression.
If she had a choice, Du Qianqian would rather not return to the capital at all. She would have preferred to go to the frontier to find her two exiled brothers. But right now, she had no say in the matter.
She forced a smile. “Yes.”
Rong Xuan did not stay the night—it seemed he had come simply to terrorize her. He rose and strode out of her room with long, purposeful steps.
The next day, Mama Liu came to her room in high spirits, her face glowing with joy—she must have encountered something good, as her eyes were narrowed into slits of laughter. She said, “This morning, Master Rong asked me for your indenture contract. It looks like you’ll soon be off to the capital to live the good life. Take my advice—serve that gentleman well from now on, and you’ll never want for riches or honor.”
Mama Liu had received her three thousand taels of silver, and her demeanor toward Du Qianqian had become noticeably more amiable.
Having been a wandering ghost for eight years, Du Qianqian had long since made peace with things. Her life as Chen Queyu’s lawful wife hadn’t been particularly good, so being Rong Xuan’s concubine couldn’t possibly be much worse.
It had been a long time since Du Qianqian had thought about Chen Queyu. The years of drifting had worn away whatever love she once had for him. He wasn’t worth her concern—he had no heart, or at least, none for her.
Returning to the capital meant she might run into Chen Queyu again. What a cruel twist of fate.
“I understand.”
Mama Liu’s eyes roamed over her, searching for any suspicious marks. Finding none, she said, “It seems Master Rong is a gentleman who knows how to treat a woman tenderly.”
Du Qianqian knew exactly what she was implying. She rolled her eyes inwardly but kept a straight face and said, “Yes, yes—he’s very considerate.”
Mama Liu had only made a casual remark and had no intention of delving into such private matters. She had come today with business to attend to. She sat down, downed a cup of Longjing tea, and said slowly, “Your father and brother came looking for you a few days ago. I sent them away. You’re leaving for the capital tomorrow—do you truly not intend to see them?”
Du Qianqian hadn’t known that the original owner still had a father and brother. Hadn’t she been sold by a matchmaker as a poor girl? Why would her family come looking for her?
She smiled. “Let me think it over. I’ll give you my answer shortly.”
Mama Liu said nothing more. She had already received her money and couldn’t be bothered with the rest. Shen Qianqian staying here would only cause more trouble, so sending her off was a blessing. “Very well. I’ll wait for your answer.”
As soon as she left, Du Qianqian called Luyi over and questioned her carefully.
It turned out that Shen Qianqian had originally been abducted by a matchmaker. Though the Shen family wasn’t wealthy, they had enough to raise both their children. Seven years after their daughter was sold, they had finally traced her to Yangzhou through much effort.
By then, Shen Qianqian had grown into a social-climbing, shallow person. Seeing her father and brother in humble clothes, she looked down on them and had them driven away.
The father and brother refused to give up and frequently came to Mama Liu’s courtyard, begging for just one meeting, even offering to buy back her freedom.
But Shen Qianqian wouldn’t hear of it. She was determined to marry into a high family and had no intention of going back with them.
After hearing this story, Du Qianqian’s temples throbbed. She thought to herself: What a disaster. Was there something wrong with that girl’s head? To throw away a respectable life for crooked paths—she must have been thoroughly bewitched. No wonder she had resorted to drugging someone.
After a moment’s deliberation, she said to Luyi, “After lunch, go tell Mama Liu that I’d like to see my family.”
Luyi seemed surprised but nodded. “Yes, miss.”
At mealtime, an unexpected visitor arrived at her courtyard.
Rong Xuan showed up without any notice, intending to have his meal there.
Daylight was different from night. Last night, she had been bold enough to play mind games with him. But now, she didn’t have that audacity.
Having died once already, she cherished her life more.
She was still afraid of Rong Xuan.
Afraid that if she angered him, she might lose her little life again.
**