Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I had already realized that this matter was by no means simple.

After I left the banquet last night, Lady Li, who is closest to me, intercepted me in the small garden. Hesitating, she revealed a few things to me.

She said that Zhao Shuo and Liu Wenying once had a romance that was forbidden by society.

He was the only son of the Marquis Manor, and she was a famous courtesan. Yet, the two were truly in love. Zhao Shuo had not only spent a fortune to redeem her from the brothel but had even intended to elope with her.

My heart grew colder and colder.

“And then?”

“There was no ‘and then,'” Lady Li sighed. “When the Old Madam of the Marquis Manor learned of this, she became bedridden with illness. The Young Marquis is a filial son, so he promised to marry a proper wife and never see Liu Wenying again.”

Marry a proper wife?

Was he referring to the many trips he took to Jiangnan to visit my family and ask for my hand?

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner, sister?” I suppressed the ache in my heart, though the corners of my eyes felt a faint, burning heat.

Lady Li sighed. “Zhiyin, the Young Marquis truly loves you.

“At first, when he sought to marry you, perhaps it was merely for your reputation as the Top Talented Lady of Jiangnan. He wanted to marry a virtuous wife to satisfy the Old Madam.

“But later, I watched as he welcomed you into the manor. He shared your interests, matching poems and enjoying tea with you, loving and respecting you more sincerely with each passing day.

“His past with Liu Wenying was already a closed chapter, so why bring it up again?”

At this moment, as I looked into Zhao Shuo’s eyes, I had only one question in my heart-

Is it truly a closed chapter?

Meeting my gaze, Zhao Shuo seemed to understand something and lowered his head.

“Zhiyin, Miss Liu and I did have a reckless past.

“But it’s all over now. You are my lawfully wedded wife; I will only be good to you.”

I lowered my eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me about this past before?”

Zhao Shuo was silent for a moment before he said softly, “I was afraid you would mind.

“Your fame has spread far and wide, and countless young men in the Capital wanted to marry you. I was afraid that if you knew, you wouldn’t be willing to marry me.

“Zhiyin, yesterday was just an accident. I promise I won’t let anything like that happen again, alright?”

Zhao Shuo pulled me into an embrace. I closed my eyes in his arms and let out a silent sigh.

I wanted that too.

I desperately wanted yesterday’s incident to be just an accident. I wanted Zhao Shuo and me to continue walking through the rest of our lives hand in hand.

After all, I had traveled a great distance to marry into the Marquis Manor. This marriage had received the Emperor’s praise, and on our wedding day, he had even bestowed upon us his calligraphy: ‘A Match Made in Heaven.’ A divorce would not be easy.

Furthermore, in the days following our wedding, Zhao Shuo had indeed been an excellent husband.

However, my intuition told me that things would likely not go as smoothly as I hoped.

Sure enough, before I could even give him my answer, I heard a servant reporting in a panic: “Miss Liu has fainted at the main gate…”

Zhao Shuo bolted upright and ran toward the entrance.