Chapter 4
“Ah—”
My terrified cry had barely escaped before a hand smothered it. I tried to turn and see who it was, but he held me firmly in place.
It was unmistakably a man’s hand—broad, powerful, and carrying the faint scent of ambergris incense.
My whole body went rigid.
When I spoke again, my voice trembled. “Your… Your Majesty?”
He pressed close to my ear and chuckled. “You recognized me so quickly, Madam Lin. You must have been longing for this day as much as I have.”
Silk tore with a crisp rip. The difference in our strength was so great that I could not even struggle before he shoved me onto the daybed by the window.
“Tsk. Everyone says Madam Lin is a well-bred young lady. Who would have guessed you were so wanton in private?”
He hooked an embroidered undergarment from the corner of the daybed, his gaze turning darker still. “No wonder you seduced me so shamelessly the first time we met.”
“I didn’t… I never…”
I shook all over, my face streaked with tears, scarcely able to form a complete sentence.
With one statement, he pronounced me guilty. “Cheng Qingqing, if you cry any louder and the night servants of the general’s residence hear you, word of your loose virtue will spread through the entire capital. And then…”
I did not dare make another sound. At last satisfied, he bent down and kissed me. “Good girl. I like women who know what’s good for them.”
A dog began barking outside, the sound drawing closer and closer.
He frowned and looked up.
“Damn it. Why are there strays here?”
The doors burst open. Two dogs charged in and tore at him, forcing him backward until he tumbled out the window.
I huddled on the daybed, clutching my ravaged clothes around me. From behind the shadowed doorway, a familiar figure came toward me one step at a time.
When Xu Liuzhao saw my disheveled state, she stopped short.
I caught a flash of emotion in that instant of stillness, like a flame sealed beneath ice. Before I could think further, I asked softly, “Are you going to tell Lin Zhao?”
“Why would I tell him?”
“You saw it with your own eyes. My reputation is ruined. If this gets out, no one under heaven will forgive me. Being sentenced to death would be the best end I could hope for.”
With shaking hands, I pulled at my clothes, trying to preserve the last shred of a noblewoman’s dignity, but I could not put them right. “Once I am dead, you can marry into the general’s residence honorably and become Lin Zhao’s principal wife.”
Xu Liuzhao did not answer. She drew a deep breath and murmured as though to herself, “It’s not her fault. It’s not her fault. After everything she’s been taught since childhood, of course…”
She left the rest unsaid.
She came to me and sat sideways on the daybed. Removing her cloak, she wrapped it around me with solemn care, then gathered me into her arms.
“Cheng Qingqing, I told you a long time ago: I have absolutely no interest in that asshole you call a husband.”
Her embrace was warm and carried the faint scent of the golden broom blossoms.
“I came here to save you.”