Chapter 1
Chapter 1
One moment, Xing Shuwei was grinding ink at the desk beside the window. The next, Pei Xianjing had swept her up and set her on top of it.
“Brother Jing!” Xing Shuwei cried out, instinctively turning her head toward the bamboo grove outside the window-
No one usually dared enter Pei Xianjing’s courtyard, but if someone happened to come by and see them, there would be trouble.
Pei Xianjing caught her chin between his fingers, his voice edged with ice. “You only celebrated your eighteenth birthday yesterday, and today you’re already scheming to marry someone.
“It seems my six months away made you forget who has the final say over your affairs in this household.”
By imperial decree, he had spent the past six months in Qizhou in the northwest, handling border defense matters. He had only returned today, yet the moment he arrived, Dowager Lady Pei mentioned a marriage between Xing Shuwei and the heir to the Marquis of Qingyuan.
Forced to meet his gaze, Xing Shuwei looked at him with devotion shimmering in her limpid eyes. “I was only able to remain in this household because of Brother Jing. How could I ever forget…”
Before she could finish, his cool lips came down on hers.
Xing Shuwei turned her face aside and braced a hand against his chest. “Brother Jing, you can’t.”
“I can’t?
“Hah. That isn’t what you said when you came begging me back then!”
He gave a cold sneer and pressed closer.
It was true. When she had begged Pei Xianjing for help, she had promised that if he protected her and her younger brother, she would obey him in everything from then on.
Only…
Pulling her thoughts back, she took a deep breath and struggled to calm herself. She coaxed softly, “Brother Jing, please hear me out.
“You have only just won the Emperor’s favor, and at such a young age you have already risen to the rank of minister. Your entry into the Grand Secretariat and appointment as chancellor are only a matter of time.
“The woman you marry will surely come from a great and noble clan. How could Weiwei, a mere merchant’s daughter, ever pass through the doors of the Duke’s household…?”
His fingers tightened, forcing her to face him as he cut her off. “If you cannot enter the Duke’s household, what makes you think you can enter the Marquis of Qingyuan’s estate?
“Surely you don’t imagine that just because Zhang Mingan is a wastrel, the Marquis of Qingyuan’s estate would agree to take a merchant’s daughter as his principal wife?”
The proposed marriage to the heir to the Marquis of Qingyuan had never been her wish. It was merely Dowager Lady Pei’s way of coveting her family’s fortune and throwing her into a pit of fire.
Even so, hearing those words from Pei Xianjing’s own mouth made her heart ache as though pierced by needles.
Was she truly so beneath contempt in his eyes? Even hoping to wed a wastrel was reaching beyond her station?
She could not remain in the Duke’s household for another moment!
Everyone here either coveted her family’s wealth or trampled her into the mud!
Seeing her attention wander, Pei Xianjing tightened his grip.
The cool, austere composure he ordinarily wore had long since vanished from his face.
“Brother Jing.” Though emotions surged violently within her, Xing Shuwei forced herself to remain calm and tried to explain. “The marriage proposal was not Weiwei’s idea…”
Before she could finish, Pei Xianjing forced her jaw open and kissed her.
His lips and tongue were warm, carrying the scent of mint, like snowmelt cascading down in spring.
Xing Shuwei had never been treated with such forceful aggression.
Even with all her strength, she could not break free.
Fear, anger, and panic overwhelmed her, and tears streamed down her face.
Her father had been Dowager Lady Pei’s nephew and had done business in Qizhou in the northwest.
One autumn four years ago, her parents had been ambushed by enemy soldiers while traveling and left dead in the wilderness.
Overnight, Xing Shuwei and her younger brother Xing Shuyan, three years her junior, became orphans.
When Dowager Lady Pei received the news, she personally traveled to Qizhou and brought the siblings back to the capital.
Naturally, their father’s businesses and fortune had entered the Duke’s household along with them.
Dowager Lady Pei had not wanted the two orphans. She wanted their family’s silver and businesses.
Not long after entering the household, Xing Shuwei realized something was wrong with Dowager Lady Pei.
She therefore devoted all her efforts to Pei Xianjing, who possessed both the power and the willingness to protect the siblings.
Pei Xianjing was accomplished in civil and military affairs and known for his fairness. In recent years, he had also won the Emperor’s deep favor. At only twenty-two, he had already attained the third rank and wielded real authority.
He had returned from Qizhou in the northwest only today, and an imperial decree appointing him concurrently as Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review had already arrived at the Duke’s household.
“Xing Shuwei, you can only belong to me.”
Amid their ragged breaths, Pei Xianjing’s official robe fell abruptly open.
The ink still wet on Xing Shuwei’s fingertips smeared into a black stain across his hard chest.
As he spoke, he pressed his relentless assault.
Wind swept in through the open window.
It carried the distinctive chill of early spring.
“It’s broad daylight. At least close-the window.” Xing Shuwei turned her head toward the swaying bamboo shadows outside and pleaded through her tears.
Pei Xianjing seemed not to hear. One hand clasped the back of her neck as he continued kissing her by force.
Just as Xing Shuwei decided he had no intention of closing it, he leaned over and shut the window after all.
The motion pressed their bodies together without the slightest gap.
He lowered his eyes to the fragile, pitiful woman before him, his gaze dark and brooding. “Weiwei, do you like the birthday gift I gave you? Hmm?”
…
Only when dusk had settled did Pei Xianjing finally withdraw.
“Weiwei, I will take you as my concubine.
“You are obedient, intelligent, steady by nature, and know how to plan for yourself. Even after I marry a principal wife, you will not be so easily tormented by others.”
He had calmed down. No longer mentioning Xing Shuwei’s marriage proposal, he offered to take her as his concubine as though presenting a carefully considered decision.
Xing Shuwei froze at his words.
For four years, every one of her plans had centered on sending Yan’er into the army, reclaiming her family’s property, and leaving the Duke’s household.
She had never considered becoming his concubine.
Lowering her lashes, she suppressed the emotion in her eyes and murmured a soft, “Mm.”
Nothing had been settled yet. How could she reject him outright now?
Seeing her agree, Pei Xianjing cupped her porcelain-pale face and kissed it. “I won’t make you wait long.”
“All right.” Enduring the soreness, Xing Shuwei stood and picked up her clothes to put them on.
“You tired yourself out just now. Rest here.” Pei Xianjing embraced her from behind and kissed the crown of her head with a tenderness he had never shown before.
Xing Shuwei removed his hands. “It would be improper for me to spend the night at Qiansheng Pavilion right now. I’ll return to my own room first.”
Though desperate to leave, she kept her voice deliberately gentle and pretended to be sensible.
Pei Xianjing did not force her to stay. After lingering over her a little longer, he let her go.
Under cover of night, Xing Shuwei left Qiansheng Pavilion and hurried back to her own courtyard.
She lived in Qianchen Pavilion in the rear courtyard. The building had originally been three storerooms. Though not dilapidated, it was far from pleasant.
The moment she entered, her personal maid Qiutong came forward to meet her.
“Miss, what happened?”
At the sight of the bruises inside her slightly open collar, Qiutong cried out in alarm.
Two patches of crimson instantly bloomed across Xing Shuwei’s cheeks.
Understanding dawned on Qiutong. She could not help exclaiming, “Miss only just turned eighteen, and the Eldest Young Master already… already did this! Did he keep you in the household because he was waiting for this very day?”
After a pause, she pressed, “Now that things have come to this, did he at least give you an explanation?”
Xing Shuwei entered the room and collapsed weakly into a chair, releasing a long breath. “He intends to take me as his concubine.”