Chapter 2
Chapter 2
In my previous life, after Jiang Yunzhou and I were married, I did try to live properly with him.
After all, we were both victims. Even if there was no affection between us, at the very least, we could have shown each other some understanding.
But that man was sharp-tongued and spiteful, vicious at heart and foul of mouth.
He vented all his anger over not having Shen Qinghe on me.
Not only did he mock and ridicule me, saying I could never compare to my elder sister in any way,
but when the mood struck him, he would even trip me in front of the servants.
He made me fall flat on my face before everyone.
My hairpins and ornaments scattered all over the floor, and my forehead was knocked bloody.
Those days were truly humiliating.
After the Crown Prince ascended the throne as emperor, perhaps on account of my sister, he inexplicably granted me the title of First-Rank Lady of Imperial Mandate and rewarded me with a pair of jade ruyi scepters.
From then on, I finally had some standing in the marquis residence.
I rose up and fought back, hurling insults at Jiang Yunzhou, slandering him as he slandered me, cursing him as he cursed me.
In private, there were even times when we took off our shoes and threw them at each other.
Over time, it became a habit.
Neither of us was willing to suffer the slightest loss in front of the other.
But in this lifetime, this was only my first meeting with him. I was still the unfavored second daughter of the household. How could I speak to him like that?
He wouldn’t have noticed something was wrong, would he?
Father kicked me hard and barked,
“How dare you speak to the Marquis like that? Apologize to the Marquis at once!”
My knees slammed heavily onto the ground. I gritted my teeth against the pain.
“Qingwu spoke out of turn. Please forgive me, Marquis.”
Jiang Yunzhou glanced at me smugly, clearly intent on revenge.
“Second Miss Shen is so lacking in manners. Lord Shen ought to teach her properly from now on. It is one thing for her to make a spectacle of herself before me, but do not let word get out and disgrace the Shen Family.”
Father forced a smile. “Yes, yes.”
Jiang Yunzhou had not forgotten the real matter at hand. His gaze shifted.
“Then tomorrow, shall I come as planned to escort the bride?”
Another awkward silence fell.
Although the Shen Family had set its sights on making Shen Qinghe the Crown Princess, the palace had not yet issued an imperial decree. Meanwhile, the marriage agreement with the marquis residence had been made first. The Shen Family had neither power nor reason on its side.
Yet to give it up just like that was impossible to accept.
At that moment, Shen Qinghe stepped forward on her own and knelt respectfully before Jiang Yunzhou.
“I am deeply grateful for the Marquis’s affection.”
“The Crown Prince asked His Majesty for permission to marry me, but His Majesty has yet to agree at once only because I already have a marriage agreement with the Marquis.”
“But Marquis, please consider this. Since news of this matter could reach the Shen Family, how could it not also be a hint from the palace?”
Jiang Yunzhou held a teacup in one hand, his thin lips pressed tightly together. For a long time, he said nothing.
How could he not have thought of that?
It was only that in my previous life, he had been too unwilling to accept it. So in this life, he came to the Shen Family by night, hoping that Shen Qinghe would be brave enough to make a different choice for his sake.
But Shen Qinghe was not that kind of person.
Tears glimmered in her eyes as she bowed low to the ground again.
“Although I admire the Marquis, I absolutely cannot disregard the Shen Family!”
“I have wronged you, Marquis. If there is ever anything in the future that I can help with, I will do everything in my power!”
Father and Mother knelt as well, and while they were at it, they tugged me down too.
I was baffled. “Do I have to kneel too?”
It wasn’t as if I had wronged Jiang Yunzhou.
Mother viciously pinched my arm.
Jiang Yunzhou’s face was as cold as a deep pool. His fingers clenched tightly around the teacup, nearly cracking the porcelain.
For a man, giving up the woman he loved was a great humiliation.
But the price of refusing to give her up was impossible to measure.
After who knew how long, his gaze suddenly fell on me. The corner of his mouth curved into a smile that could hardly be called friendly.
“The marriage can be canceled, but I have one condition.”
He signaled for Father to lean in and listen.
After he finished speaking, Father gave me a strange look, then quickly agreed.
“Yes. Everything will be done according to the Marquis’s wishes.”