Su Yu woke to a bout of shaking. Her entire body felt as though it were drifting on the surface of water. With great effort, she lifted her heavy eyelids. The surroundings were dim, and all she could vaguely make out was a pair of boots pointed toward her. Her head throbbed dully with dizziness.
It took several breaths before Su Yu managed to gather a measure of clarity. Following the boots upward with her gaze, she saw first the hem of a brocade robe, then a folding fan swaying gently, and finally Zhao Li’s face, wearing a smile that was not quite a smile.
Su Yu’s breathing stalled for an instant. Instinctively, she tried to rise, but her limbs were so weak that she could not muster even the slightest strength. As she struggled, she could only scrape futilely against the ground. After floundering twice, she was completely spent.
“Madam Ji, stop struggling.” Zhao Li bent down and lightly brushed his fingers across her cheek. “Save your strength. Tonight, you’ll have plenty of chances to scream.”
Those fingers made Su Yu feel sick with revulsion. She wanted to pull away, but she had no strength left. The lingering effects of the drug left her unable to utter a single word.
She lay limp on the floor, thinking of the look Liu-Niang gave her at the very end. She must have been acting under Zhao Li’s orders, deliberately luring her away from the clinic.
Last time, she had been fortunate enough to escape and be rescued. But this time…
Listening to the faint sound of the river outside, Su Yu felt a profound despair settle over her. She had no idea where they were taking her.
Meanwhile, Zhao Li was in exceptionally good spirits.
That day, Ji Xuanyue had publicly snatched his prize away in front of the Zhao residence, humiliating him before everyone. Not only had he lost face, but his father had also confined him to the estate afterward.
By the time he was finally allowed out, he had learned that Ji Xuanyue had taken a wife. Worse still, it was the very little medicine maiden he had failed to get his hands on before. The news had left him stewing in resentment for quite some time.
But who would have thought that Ji Xuanyue would be so generous? He was actually willing to let his beautiful new bride show herself in public. That’s how Zhao Li happened to catch sight of her and seize the opportunity.
Zhao Li’s gaze fell on Su Yu’s frightened expression as she struggled futilely, wanting to resist but lacking the strength. He nearly couldn’t stop himself from stripping her then and there to satisfy his desires. Even so, he still feared the Ji family, and for the moment he forcibly suppressed the wicked urges surging within him.
Once the boat crossed the Wu River and left the Ji family’s sphere of influence far behind, he refused to believe the man surnamed Ji could still find them.
“Full speed ahead,” he ordered, lifting the cabin curtain and addressing the boatman. “Make sure we arrive before nightfall.”
Every evening at dusk, Xuanli would pick up Su Yu and return to the residence, pretending it was simply part of his duty to care for a fellow villager. Today, as soon as he appeared at the entrance of Ji’an Hall, the shopkeeper called out to him.
“You’ve finally come. I don’t know where Miss A-Yu lives, so let me ask you instead. Has she already gone home?”
Xuanli still had no idea what had happened, but the shopkeeper’s anxious demeanor immediately told him something was wrong.
“Miss A-Yu has not returned home. I’m here to pick her up now.”
The shopkeeper’s face instantly turned pale, and he quickly explained everything that had happened. “When she didn’t come back for a long time, I sent one of the apprentices to search the alley Liu-Niang mentioned. But everyone living there said there was no woman surnamed Liu in that alley…”
Xuanli’s eyes darkened at once. Without another word, he turned and strode out.
“Guard Li! Guard Li, where are you going? Shouldn’t we report this to the authorities?”
Xuanli did not answer. His figure quickly disappeared from the clinic entrance.
As usual, Ji Xuanyue had spent the past few days cultivating in the mountains. However, mindful of Su Yu, he had been returning earlier than before. When he stepped through the courtyard gate that evening, Su Yu was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he was met by a grim-faced Xuanli.
“Madam has been abducted,” Xuanli repeated the shopkeeper’s account from Ji’an Hall word for word. “I just went to the alley and checked every house. In an empty room, I found signs of a struggle, along with this jade hairpin.”
He held out the hairpin to Ji Xuanyue. A tiny orchid was carved at the end of the pin. It was the very hairpin Ji Xuanyue had personally arranged in Su Yu’s hair before she left home that morning.
Ji Xuanyue said nothing. He reached out and took the hairpin, his thumb gently brushing over the little orchid carved into its end. After a moment, he tucked it into his robe.
Closing his eyes, he focused on Su Yu’s aura. In his perception, it appeared like a wandering silken thread, stretching from the courtyard and extending beyond the city. The next instant, his figure flashed away.
In the rapidly deepening night, he vanished without a trace.
The Ji family’s trading firm was centered in Qingyang County and extended throughout the three neighboring counties. But farther north lay Wu County. Separated from the southern counties by a treacherous river, Wu County was naturally isolated from them, and the Ji family’s business had never reached that far.
Years earlier, while passing through Wu County, Zhao Li had purchased a residence there, specifically to keep a mistress in secret and indulge in private affairs. A few days earlier, he had already arranged to have the place cleaned and prepared. He had been waiting for tonight, when he could seize Su Yu, cross the river to the estate, and finally have his way.
The carriage stopped in front of the residence.
Zhao Li jumped down and turned back to lift out Su Yu, whose arms and legs hung limply. He handed her to an elderly maid who had been waiting beneath the corridor for a long time.
“Clean her up, change her clothes, and bring her to my room.” After a brief pause, he added, “Tie up her hands and feet before washing her, so she doesn’t run away.”
The old woman lowered her eyes obediently and answered, “Yes, Young Master.” Supporting Su Yu, she led her toward the bathhouse in the rear courtyard.
Before long, Su Yu had been bathed and groomed, dressed in a light rose-red sleeping robe, and placed on a couch in the inner room.
Incense smoke drifted through the room, filling it with an intimate atmosphere. Bound at the wrists and ankles, Su Yu could only watch helplessly as Zhao Li pushed the door open and entered.
Zhao Li had seen many beautiful women, yet the moment his gaze fell upon the figure on the couch, he was still struck speechless.
The rose-red sleeping robe was thin and nearly translucent, clinging softly to her body. The collar had come slightly loose, revealing a stretch of collarbone so fair it was dazzling. Her dark hair hung loose, still damp from her bath, with a few strands disappearing into the shadowed hollow beneath her neckline. In the candlelight, her almond-shaped eyes shimmered with moisture as she looked at him in fear. When she saw him close the door and slide the lock into place, she shrank back instinctively, struggling to retreat. But what could that accomplish? Her futile movements only pulled the neckline farther open, inadvertently exposing a smooth, jade-like shoulder.
Zhao Li swallowed.
From the moment he first saw her, she stirred an unbearable longing in him. Now, freshly bathed and dressed in the sleeping robe he had personally chosen, lying there powerless upon the bed and completely at his mercy, she made his blood surge with even greater intensity.
“Miss Su Yu… no, I should say Madam Ji…” Zhao Li walked to the bedside and bent down. Hooking a finger beneath the fabric that had slipped from her shoulder, he seemed to pull it back into place, yet his fingertips deliberately lingered against her skin.
The touch beneath his fingers felt even softer and smoother than the finest silk, making him itch to tear away that thin layer of cloth and see what lay beneath.
“When you secretly shed tears like this, you’re far more pitiful and endearing than any woman I’ve ever met.” He let out a low chuckle. Reluctantly withdrawing his hand from her shoulder, he reached up to undo the frog closures at his collar instead.
“Don’t worry. Perhaps after tonight, you won’t even want to return to Ji Xuanyue’s side.”
Su Yu shook her head weakly. Through tear-blurred eyes, she could only make out Zhao Li removing his outer robe and reaching to untie the fastenings of the garment beneath.
It’s over, she thought. Before her bath, the old woman had feared she might resist and had forced another dose of muscle-weakening medicine down her throat. Now she did not even have the strength to bite off her tongue and end her own life. Yet the thought of suicide surfaced only for a moment before she suppressed it. If she died here, how heartbroken would Grandmother be?
Judging by Zhao Li’s behavior, he likely had no intention of killing her right away. As long as she stayed alive, as long as she could endure this ordeal, there would surely come a moment when he let his guard down. Then she might still have a chance to escape. But her chastity…
A silent tear slipped into her hairline. If she truly managed to get away, she would seek a divorce from Ji Xuanyue. A man as noble and unblemished as he was should not have a wife with a tarnished reputation.
Grandmother would not despise her. She could return to Lingyin Village and live as she once had.
As she watched Zhao Li bend down to untie the ropes around her ankles, that warm, damp hand closing once more around her leg, Su Yu finally shut her eyes.
But the touch she had braced for never came. Instead, a tremendous bang erupted from outside the courtyard, as though someone had kicked the gate open.
Then a voice shouted, “Who is it—?”
The cry was cut off abruptly before the speaker could finish.
The loud bang startled Zhao Li. He whipped his head around, ready to curse whichever blind fool had dared interrupt him at such a perfect moment. But before a word could leave his mouth, the door burst inward with tremendous force, wood splinters flying everywhere.
A guard rolled into the room, blood spilling from his mouth. He stopped beside the bed, twitched twice, then lay still.
Zhao Li’s pupils contracted sharply. All the words he had been about to say stuck in his throat.
Outside, the night was black as ink.
A tall figure in black stepped over the splintered remains of the door and walked slowly inside. Moonlight streamed in behind him, stretching his shadow across the floor, long and dark, like a silent snake gliding through the night.
Fresh blood stained his robes in several places. In his right hand, he held a sword still dripping with blood, and those cold, heavy eyes were fixed unblinkingly on Zhao Li’s face.
Zhao Li jerked his hand away as though he had been burned. Scrambling backward in panic, he nearly crawled across the bed, slamming into the bedframe hard enough to make the entire canopy bed shake.
“Ji… Ji Xuanyue! How did you find this place? That’s impossible… impossible…”
His voice trembled uncontrollably. Even his lips were shaking. The smug, self-satisfied expression he had worn moments ago vanished, replaced by the deathly pallor of a man who had seen a ghost. He glanced down at his naked body, then back toward the blood-soaked figure standing in the doorway. Before he could even beg for mercy, it felt as if an invisible hand had seized him by the throat. His body was lifted straight off the bed and hurled violently into the corner of the room.
“Su Yu, close your eyes.”
Zhao Li heard only one sentence from the man before him, whose face was as fearsome as a demon’s. Before he could even process what Ji Xuanyue intended to do, a flash of cold steel cut through the air.
“Aaaah!” A bloodcurdling scream tore through the room.
Zhao Li curled into himself, both hands clamped desperately between his legs as bright red blood quickly spread across the floor beneath him.
Su Yu squeezed her eyes shut, her face white as paper. She had no idea what had happened. All she could hear were the horrifying screams echoing through the room and the steadily thickening scent of blood in the air.
“It’s over now.” A cloak settled over her shoulders, draping her completely from head to toe. It carried a faint, cool fragrance, mingled with the chill of the night wind and traces of blood not yet washed away.
She heard the person holding her speak softly. “I’m taking you home.”
The carriage left the blood-soaked courtyard and headed south. Inside, Su Yu was wrapped in a black cloak and still held in Ji Xuanyue’s arms, with only her pale face exposed.
Ji Xuanyue’s brows furrowed slightly. In the lamplight, his profile looked especially cold and somber. He said nothing. Instead, he gently drew her hand out from beneath the cloak and examined the deep bruises on her wrist where the hemp rope had bitten into her skin. The coarse rope had left several raw, reddened abrasions around her wrist.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?” Ji Xuanyue spoke at last, his voice unusually low and hoarse.
Su Yu shook her head. A weak reply escaped her lips. “No.”
Ji Xuanyue was silent for a moment. “I came too late. Because of me, my wife suffered this grievance.”
Su Yu wanted to tell him he hadn’t come too late and that she hadn’t been wronged. But after staying tense and on edge all day, her nerves suddenly relaxed. The lingering effects of the drug immediately took advantage of her weakened state, leaving her drowsy and heavy-eyed. Instinctively, she nuzzled closer to the familiar chest before her, her cheek resting against his robe.
“Go to sleep without worry. I’ll protect you.”
Hearing that promise, Su Yu could no longer resist the overwhelming exhaustion. Wrapped in the familiar cool fragrance that surrounded him, she drifted into a deep sleep.
The carriage continued for a short while before gradually stopping at the Wujiang Ferry.
Under the cover of night, a ferry boat lay moored on the river. Ji Xuanyue carried her out of the carriage and boarded the vessel. After settling Su Yu on a couch in the inner cabin, a knock came from outside the door.
“Come in,” he said.
Xuanli pushed the door open and entered. He was still his usual taciturn, stern self, though several fresh bloodstains now marked his robes, evidence that he, too, had taken action at the estate.
Lowering his head, he reported, “As instructed, everything inside and outside the residence has been staged to look as though it was the work of a demon.”
He paused before adding, “Zhao Li was left alive, but he has been frightened out of his mind. He keeps muttering that there are demons.”
Ji Xuanyue showed little reaction. He continued applying ointment to the bruises on Su Yu’s wrists. He spared Zhao Li only because death would have been far too easy a punishment for someone like him.
His gaze lingered on Su Yu’s peaceful sleeping face for a long moment before he suddenly asked, “Do you have any Concealing Breath Pills with you?”
Xuanli was briefly taken aback.
The Concealing Breath Pill was refined from several rare spiritual herbs. After consuming it, a person could suppress virtually all unusual traces about themselves, including demonic aura, spiritual power, and even the sweet fragrance naturally emitted by a Medicine Spirit bloodline.
Because he frequently traveled on errands, Xuanli still had several pills on hand. He removed a medicine pouch from his waist and handed it over. “My Lord, I do.”
Ji Xuanyue accepted it.
Xuanli watched as he placed a Concealing Breath Pill into the mouth of the sleeping mortal woman on the couch. At once, he understood Ji Xuanyue’s intentions. Since he escorted Su Yu to and from town every day, exhaustion had sometimes made her break into a sweat, and each time he caught the faint, sweet scent unique to a Medicine Spirit.
Medicine Spirits were so rare that one might appear only once in a thousand years. Their bodily fluids naturally contained the purest form of spiritual energy. They could not only repair damaged meridians and nourish the dantian, but also help demons break through cultivation bottlenecks and ascend to higher levels of power.
Su Yu had lived peacefully and unharmed until now only because, ever since Ji Xuanyue withdrew to Spirit Snake Mountain eighteen years earlier to recuperate and cultivate, he had cleansed Qingyang County and the three neighboring counties of demons secretly.
But today, Su Yu had been abducted from Qingyang County and taken across the Wujiang River, beyond the reach of the Ji family’s influence and outside the territory that had been thoroughly purged of demons.
If other demons discovered the sweet, fragrant aura of a Medicine Spirit on her body, the consequences would be unthinkable.
“As a precaution,” Ji Xuanyue said, lifting his eyes to look at Xuanli, “remain on high alert over the next few days. If you detect any unfamiliar demonic aura approaching, there’s no need to report it to me. Kill it on the spot.”
Xuanli bowed his head, accepted the order, and turned to leave. As he closed the door, he glanced inside and saw Ji Xuanyue lowering his head. His long fingers gently brushed over the strands of black hair scattered across Su Yu’s pillow. At some point, the cold, golden vertical pupils in his eyes had faded back to their usual warm amber.
Suddenly, Xuanli felt that this mortal mistress held a place in his lord’s heart far more important than Ji Xuanyue himself had yet realized.
Quietly, Xuanli closed the door and withdrew without a sound.
*
The small courtyard, washed in blood, gradually fell silent. In the darkness, a tall figure appeared beside the doorway. The newcomer lightly inhaled through his nose and followed a faint, lingering fragrance into the ruined room. Blood covered the floor, and bits of unidentifiable flesh remained in the corners. Though the scene should have been revolting, he detected within it a scent that brought a strange sense of pleasure and comfort. His gaze swept across the room before finally settling on the disheveled bed.
No blood stained the bedding. Only a few tear-stained marks remained on the pillow.
He bent down, picked up the pillow, and raised it to his nose for a gentle sniff. Instantly, the black eyes he used to disguise himself as a mortal contracted sharply, revealing a cold silver-gray beneath. “What a wonderfully fragrant Medicine Spirit.”
*
Owing to the effects of the drug, Su Yu slept until noon the following day. The moment she propped herself up and sat, Jinglan, who had heard movement outside, pushed aside the curtain and entered the room.
“Madam, you’re awake.” Jinglan hurried over and helped her get dressed.
Su Yu looked toward the bright daylight outside and blinked in a daze. “How long have I been asleep?”
“You were already asleep when you returned last night, Madam, and you’ve slept until now. Young Master said you were exhausted from your outing and specifically instructed us not to disturb you, so that you could wake naturally.”
An outing? Su Yu froze for a moment. It seemed Ji Xuanyue had concealed everything that had happened the previous night. Remembering Zhao Li’s bloodcurdling screams, she finished dressing and sat down before the bronze mirror. Then, as casually as she could manage, she probed: “Has anything unusual happened outside today?”
“There really is one major piece of news…” As Jinglan arranged her hair, her expression in the bronze mirror looked somewhat fearful. “I heard that last night, Young Master Zhao encountered a demon while seeking entertainment in Wu County. Not only was he frightened out of his wits and reduced to babbling nonsense, but he also…” She hesitated, ultimately unable to finish the sentence.
“What else happened?” Su Yu asked.
Jinglan hesitated before replying, “They say the demon bit off that part of his body. He’s been left a cripple.”
“A demon?”
“Yes. It’s terrifying just hearing about it. They’ve already brought him back, and a lot of people saw him.”
Su Yu frowned. Last night, it had clearly been Ji Xuanyue holding the sword.
As she was lost in thought, the curtain stirred, and Ji Xuanyue’s tall figure appeared in the mirror. “Jinglan, you may leave. I’ll take over.”
Jinglan quickly bowed, set down the wooden comb, and withdrew.
“Are you feeling any better, Wife? Is your head still dizzy?” Ji Xuanyue walked behind her. His long fingers threaded through her black hair, combing it gently stroke by stroke.
Su Yu had assumed he had gone out early that morning. She hadn’t expected him to stay home today and personally help arrange her hair.
Looking at his reflection in the mirror, she saw the same gentle, composed man as always. It was as if the blood-stained swordsman from the previous night had been nothing more than a dream.
“I am fine now, Husband.” As she recalled yesterday’s ordeal, a lingering sense of fear rose within her again. “If Husband hadn’t arrived in time, I…”
Her voice faltered. Partly because of the fear, and partly because she worried whether he might be bothered by what had happened. After all, her clothes the night before had been far too humiliating to look at.
“The only thing I care about is whether you’re safe and unharmed. Nothing else matters more than that.” Ji Xuanyue gently gathered her hair and secured it again with the orchid jade hairpin.
“There. Wife, see if it meets with your approval.” His gaze met hers through the mirror. His eyes held nothing but tenderness and heartache.
The sight immediately soothed the unease in Su Yu’s heart. After a moment’s hesitation, she brought up what she had just heard from Jinglan.
“Husband, what’s the truth about that demon? Has Zhao Li really gone mad?”
At the question, Ji Xuanyue’s brows drew together slightly. “I did kill several of his guards, and I did cripple him. But as for the demon, I know nothing about it.”
“Perhaps the smell of blood was too strong and attracted a nearby demon. The Demon Suppression Office is already investigating the matter, so there’s no need for you to worry.”
Demons. The Demon Suppression Bureau.
Naturally, Su Yu had heard of both. When she was little, the elders in her village loved telling frightening tales. They spoke of man-eating monsters lurking in the mountains, claimed that her mother had been a fox spirit in disguise, and warned that children who wandered outside at night would be found and devoured by demons. As she grew older and learned to read, she also learned much more from books and ancient texts. The records stated that wherever humans were, demons had always been.
Some demons fed on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Others fed on mortals’ flesh, blood, and souls. The longer they lived, the more powerful they became. Given enough cultivation, they could even assume human form and live among ordinary people, indistinguishable from their neighbors.
Because of demons that preyed on humans, the Demon Suppression Bureau came into being. It was said that its Demon Suppressors were no ordinary mortals. They could sense the spiritual energy of the world and identify demonic auras. Stationed throughout the provinces, they hunted and killed demons, serving as the only barrier between humanity and the demonic race.
“Will the Demon Suppression Bureau trace this back to you, Husband?”
Su Yu still felt uneasy. Those villains deserved their fate, but if the matter implicated Ji Xuanyue…
“Don’t worry. I heard that the demon caused complete chaos at the scene last night. Most of the bodies were badly mangled, and the causes of death can no longer be determined.”
“That’s good.”
Relief washed over her. But when she looked up again, she found Ji Xuanyue gazing at her with a strangely thoughtful expression.
“Husband, what’s wrong?”
“You don’t seem particularly afraid of the fact that I’ve killed people.”
Caught off guard, Su Yu froze for a moment. After a brief silence, she answered softly, “They were evil people. Their deaths are no great loss…”
“I’m glad you’re not afraid.” Ji Xuanyue reached out a hand to her. “Come. I’ll accompany you for a walk.”
Because of Zhao Li’s encounter with the demon, unrest spread throughout Qingyang Town. The Zhao family had enlisted the authorities to investigate why Zhao Li had traveled to Wu County in the first place.
Fortunately, Zhao Li had abducted Su Yu in extreme secrecy to avoid Ji Xuanyue’s notice. The guards who accompanied him were also silenced in Wu County, leaving no witnesses. As a result, no one could easily connect the matter to either Ji Xuanyue or Su Yu.
Still, to avoid any unforeseen trouble, Su Yu stayed in the residence for the next several days, waiting for the storm to pass.
Ji Xuanyue rarely left the estate either, spending most of his time keeping her company. At first, he had people bring all sorts of amusements to relieve her boredom: storybooks, leaf cards, and even a talking parrot whose origins were a mystery. Hanging from the corridor, it chattered noisily all day, mimicking whatever it heard.
But Su Yu showed little interest in any of them. After a few days, she grew restless. Noticing an empty patch of ground in the courtyard, she asked Jinglan to help her obtain some medicinal herb seedlings to cultivate. Within only a few days, she had transformed the vacant space into a small herbal garden. Though modest in scale, it was lush and thriving.
One day, while she was crouched beside the herb patch loosening the soil, Xuanli returned from outside carrying a medicine basket. He explained that he had gathered the herbs while passing through the foothills of Mount Lingyin. Most were common medicinal plants, useful for her practice.
“You even found Wufeng Grass!” Su Yu exclaimed in delight as she accepted the basket and picked up a dark bluish-green herb.
Wufeng Grass was notoriously difficult to find. In the past, when she gathered medicinal plants, she could search half a mountain and still find fewer than a few stalks.
Looking up, she smiled brightly at him, her eyes curving into crescents. “Thank you, Brother Xuanli.”
At the sound of that address, Xuanli stiffened. Instinctively, he glanced toward the corridor.
Ji Xuanyue sat there in a bamboo chair, casually flipping through a book. Hearing the conversation, he raised his eyes slightly and cast a bland, unreadable glance in their direction.
Having served him for centuries, Xuanli understood that look immediately. His lord found him an eyesore. The realization frightened him so much that he began to stammer.
“M-Madam, you’re welcome.”
“Xuanli.” Ji Xuanyue closed the book in his hand. “You should get back to your duties.”
“Yes, my lord.” Feeling as though he had been granted a pardon, Xuanli turned and hurried out of the courtyard without looking back.
Su Yu watched Xuanli’s retreating figure, which looked almost like a panicked escape, and felt something was off.
Turning to Ji Xuanyue, she said, “Xuanli just got back from gathering herbs. Why won’t you even let him rest? He said he picked them casually, but he must have spent a long time searching…”
“Su Yu.” Ji Xuanyue suddenly spoke her name. His voice lacked its usual gentle warmth. Instead, it seemed as though he had rolled the words over on his tongue before finally letting them out. “Do you know that when you address another man so intimately, I get jealous?”
Su Yu froze. For a moment, she wondered if she had misheard him. But Ji Xuanyue had already set down his book, risen from the bamboo chair, and walked toward her.
In truth, even Ji Xuanyue himself was surprised by the flash of displeasure he had felt. He attributed it to possessiveness.
Demons had always been protective of what belonged within their territory. They could not tolerate others coveting it. Even an extra glance or a casual word could provoke instinctive irritation.
Watching Su Yu mutter complaints on Xuanli’s behalf, as though accusing him, the master, of being insufficiently considerate toward his subordinate, Ji Xuanyue suddenly realized that rather than letting her invent a hundred grievances against him in her mind, it would be simpler to give her an explanation she could understand.
A husband’s possessiveness toward his wife was only natural, wasn’t it? Weren’t all human couples like this?
Surely a demon who had lived for a thousand years could come up with a convincing explanation.
“Jealous.” He stopped in front of her and lowered his gaze. “Do you understand what that means?”
Su Yu’s face instantly flushed scarlet. Jealous. Of course she understood.
When she lived in Lingyin Village, she saw it happen many times. If a husband so much as glanced too long at a widowed neighbor, his wife would spend half the day smashing basins and throwing a fit.
But she had never imagined those words would come from her own husband, a man usually as gentle as jade, refined, noble, and perfectly self-controlled. And he had said it so directly. So matter-of-factly.
She spun around abruptly and crouched back beside the herb garden, lowering her head and attacking the soil with her little hoe. Clods of dirt flew everywhere. She nearly dug up the newly planted herb, roots and all.
“That’s enough, Wife. Take a break.” Bending down, Ji Xuanyue caught her hand and gently lifted it out of the dirt. “Come have a meal with me first.”
After dinner, the two of them took their usual walk around the courtyard a few times. As the sky gradually darkened, they washed up and returned to their room.
Over the past several days, Su Yu had grown accustomed to this rhythm. She had also grown accustomed to the goodnight kiss they shared before sleep.
Ji Xuanyue’s kisses still lingered and ran deep, carrying a restrained intensity that still left no room for refusal. At the very least, she had finally learned how to breathe between kisses. Ji Xuanyue no longer had to deliberately stop and give her a chance to catch her breath.
Amid the soft, intimate sounds of their kisses, Su Yu once again sensed the change in him. His breathing grew heavier, and the fingers resting at her waist tightened ever so slightly. She knew what would happen next.
Soon, Ji Xuanyue would notice his body’s reaction, stop, apologize to her, and then pull back a small distance to avoid touching her further.
But suddenly, Su Yu remembered his words from earlier that day: “I’m jealous.”
Her husband cared for her, respected her, and cherished her. She felt she ought to open her heart to him, too.
“I’m sorry…”
Su Yu didn’t let him finish that apology. Instead, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his as he was beginning to pull away. “Husband, let’s consummate our marriage…”
Ji Xuanyue’s movements immediately stilled. “Is my wife no longer afraid?”
Heat flooded Su Yu’s face. “I’m not.”
“Very well.” Ji Xuanyue sat up in the darkness. “Allow me to help my wife undress.”
Her inner robe was loosened and slipped soundlessly to the edge of the bed.
Clouds veiled the moon, and the dim light filtering through the gauze curtains traced a faint silver glow along her fair shoulders.
Su Yu could not make out Ji Xuanyue’s expression. From the blurred outline in the darkness, she could only tell that he was looking at her. Instinctively, she wanted to raise a hand to cover her chest, but she forced herself to stay still. Instead, she turned her head and buried her face in the dark strands of hair scattered across the pillow, exposing a slender neck tinged pink with nervousness.
“Y-You… why haven’t you taken off your clothes yet…?”
Su Yu spoke, her voice trembling. Though he had yet to touch her, the weight of his unseen gaze made her feel as if he had already caressed every inch of her, all without a single physical touch.
“Very well.” In the darkness, Ji Xuanyue’s voice sounded exceptionally deep. A soft rustle sounded, and his garments fell to the side of the bed. He took her by the back of the knees, his skin—cool to the touch—pressing against her.
Ji Xuanyue truly could not understand it. His wife was clearly trembling, yet she still exposed her vulnerable belly to him.
A faint scent of blood lingered at the tip of his nose, seeping from where he had entered her. Mixed with her sweet, cloying fragrance, it drifted into his lungs in delicate threads.
Her brows were knitted tightly together. Tears rolled from her damp lashes, yet she bit her lower lip and let out only muffled sounds. She was obviously in pain, and yet he could not smell even a trace of bitterness from her.
She really was willing. But why? Was it merely because he had saved her and kept her company these past few days that she was willing to go this far of her own accord? If someone else had become her husband and protected her in the same way, would she have trembled like this while accepting that person as well?
For reasons he could not explain, a trace of displeasure arose within Ji Xuanyue. It was the same displeasure he had felt during the day when she had affectionately called Xuanli by name. The feeling puzzled him, and unconsciously, his grip around her slender waist tightened for an instant.
The woman beneath him let out a muffled moan, but she did not pull away. She merely turned her head, trying to bury her whimpers in the pillow. Soon, however, he had no time left to think about the source of this irritation. He was completely immersed in that rich, intoxicating sweetness.