Chapter 6
The first snow fell in the afternoon. I was in the garden, wrapped in a cloak, watching the snow.
Li Rongchuan’s corpulent figure suddenly blocked my view. “Second Miss, I trust you already know my feelings for you. I came today to tell you: if you are willing, I will immediately report to Mother and marry you as my concubine.”
“Heir apparent, please show some respect. Qiuhe is not worthy of the Marquis Mansion. Please do not joke about such things.”
“What are you pretending for?” Li Rongchuan abruptly pressed closer, bending down, his fat hand gripping my wrist. “You tempt me every day with that voice, and now you won’t admit it? Would marrying you as a concubine be beneath you? Why pretend to be reserved?”
My wrist ached under his grip. The difference in strength between men and women made it impossible for me to break free, so I could only cry out for help as loudly as I could.
The world spun as Li Rongchuan pinned me down on the stone table, his flesh pressing against me so I could barely breathe. My throat went hoarse from screaming, but no one came.
I kicked and bit at Li Rongchuan, but he slapped me into a daze.
My thin clothes were roughly torn away, cold air invading my chest and lower body, the chill instantly spreading through my limbs and bones.
My teeth quietly pressed against my tongue. A few flakes of snow landed in my eyes. I thought my life was over.
Yin Jiuqing rushed forward, knocked Li Rongchuan off me with a heavy thud, and draped a white cloak over me.
“Don’t be afraid. Get up.” Snowflakes swirled through the air as Yin Jiuqing’s stern, upright face appeared before my eyes.
I shrank back, clutching the cloak tightly around myself, hurriedly getting up from the stone table. I stumbled, nearly falling, but managed to steady myself by grabbing the edge of the table.
Tears streaked my face, blood and saliva ran down my neck. I mumbled a thank you, wrapped in the cloak, and ran away at full speed.
Glancing back in haste, I saw Yin Jiuqing standing with his hands behind his back in the swirling snow, his expression unchanged, his face solemn.
When Liu Chaoming came to see me that night, my tongue hurt so much I could not speak. I just sat in front of the candlelight, lost in thought.
“Qiuhe, why don’t we leave?” Liu Chaoming reached out to touch my hair, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “But if we do, you will not be able to be an official’s wife for now. Will you come with me, Second Miss?”
He said, “If you come with me, you can’t turn back. You will never be Second Miss again.”
“If you come with me, we will have to flee.”
“I won’t be able to study for a while, and we will live in poverty.”
The storm in my heart gradually calmed. For the first time, I reached out and held Liu Chaoming’s hand. This somewhat rough hand had wiped away my tears many times, gently and tenderly stroking my hair. I gripped it tightly and nodded with a smile.
I knew I had made a foolish decision, but I also knew that he loved me more than anyone else.