Chapter 270
Chapter 270
Cui Chaoyun’s face changed as a hand like iron closed around her wrist, leaving her even paler.
The maids in the courtyard were long accustomed to such scenes. They lowered their heads, pretended to see nothing, and closed the courtyard gate.
Cui Jinjun dragged Cui Chaoyun inside and hauled her into the study.
The painting he had given her was indeed gone. His face darkened at once. He pinned her against the edge of the long desk, his tall, hard body looming over her. “You gave away the birthday gift I worked so hard to find?”
With the desk behind her and Cui Jinjun’s lean, muscular body before her, Cui Chaoyun had nowhere to retreat. She met his gaze. “Once Eldest Brother gave it to me, did it not become mine? Must you even control whom I give my possessions to?”
The title *Eldest Brother* darkened Cui Jinjun’s expression further. He leaned closer, one hand gripping her waist. A storm gathered in his voice. “I indulge you in everything. Have I ever treated you poorly all these years?”
“Yet you remain this stubborn.”
“I told you to return and rest because I care about your health, but you insisted upon bringing Second Madam Shen. I finally have time to see you today, and you invited her because you were afraid I would come looking for you, did you not?”
His grip hurt her waist. Cui Chaoyun’s long lashes trembled. “Does treating me well give Eldest Brother the right to harbor such thoughts about me?”
“Does treating me well give you the right to prevent me from marrying?”
“You are the Heir to the Marquisate now and decide everything in the residence. When I was fifteen, I had already been promised an excellent marriage, but you threatened them in secret and made them withdraw. You turned me into a laughingstock.”
“You have ruined two marriages for me. Is this Eldest Brother’s kindness?”
Cui Jinjun stared at her and scoffed. “What sort of man was that boy from the Tan family? He was weak and useless, with two bedchamber maids already in his rooms. I acted for your sake, and you resent me for it?”
Cui Chaoyun clenched her fingers. “Young Master Tan was gentle. Whatever his faults, Father arranged that marriage for me.”
Tears gradually filled her eyes. “I still remember Father’s letters from the frontier. He always regretted that my betrothal had been broken and worried about my marriage. Now he will never see me wed. It has become a wound in my heart. I was not a good daughter. I failed to give Father peace.”
The fierce look vanished from Cui Jinjun’s face when he saw her tears. He wiped them away and gathered her tightly into his arms. “Why think of marrying anyone when I am beside you?”
“Second Uncle is gone. Do not dwell on it. I will protect you in everything from now on.”
He took her shoulders and looked down at her. “Wait two years for me. I will ask His Majesty the Emperor for an appointment at the frontier. Then I will fake your death and take you with me. We will marry there, and I will never return to the capital. No one will know.”
Cui Chaoyun stared at him, eyes wide. She had spent years doing everything possible to evade him, never imagining he had formed such a plan.
Two years earlier, she had approached Marquis Shen and asked to marry him. She knew he kept his distance from women and would never love her, but a man of his age might need a capable, proper wife.
Marquis Shen’s family and status were unrivaled in the capital. Cui Jinjun could not destroy such a match as easily as the previous one. Once she married Marquis Shen, there would be nothing Cui Jinjun could do. She and Marquis Shen would each gain what they needed.
When she spoke to Marquis Shen, she told him she harbored no improper hopes. She wished only to become his wife, manage his inner household, and behave as a virtuous spouse. They could adopt an heir. She wanted nothing from the Shen Residence, only a stable home where she could live in peace.
She had never expected Marquis Shen to agree.
Now she could not help wondering. If her father had not died and the betrothal had truly been settled, Cui Jinjun could not have continued pursuing her so wildly.
Cui Jinjun might not have been a match for Marquis Shen.
But Ji Hanyi was a wonderful woman. Cui Chaoyun felt only some regret that she could never again find a man like Marquis Shen who was capable of stopping Cui Jinjun.
Looking into Cui Jinjun’s possessive eyes, she shook her head without hesitation. “Even if I never marry, I will remain beside Mother and care for her. I will not go with you to a place like that.”
Cui Jinjun studied her refusal. It had not changed after all these years. He had coaxed her gently and threatened her harshly, but Cui Chaoyun remained a heartless stone, rejecting him in every way.
They were only cousins in name, something everyone at the Marquis of Pingnan’s Residence knew. Yet she clung desperately to that identity, refusing to cross the boundary or give him the slightest chance.
After waiting four or five years, his patience was nearly exhausted. Had Cui Chaoyun not volunteered to mourn Second Uncle, he would have taken her directly to his side.
He had never cared what outsiders thought. He wanted only to marry the woman he loved.
Cui Jinjun’s expression darkened again. His hand closed around the back of her neck. If she had not always been frail and recently fallen ill, anger might have driven him to possess her first and then drag her before his mother to explain everything, regardless of what Cui Chaoyun wanted.
He pulled her down onto the nearby daybed and held her firmly beneath him. His voice brooked no refusal. “I give you two choices. When your mourning ends, I will publicly announce my intention to marry you, and we will stand openly before everyone. Or you will fake your death, follow me to the frontier, and live there with me for the rest of our lives.”
Cui Chaoyun stared at him, trembling, one hand braced against his chest. “You truly are mad.”
Cui Jinjun sneered. “I am. I have protected you in this residence since you were young. Has that earned me even a shred of affection? Have you ever once looked kindly upon me?”
His anger mounted. He laughed coldly. “Not only have you forgotten everything I have done, you constantly push me toward other women and encourage them to approach me.”
“At Pear Blossom Tower just now, did you deliberately send Young Lady Qin to watch me again?”
The more he spoke, the harsher he became. He kissed Cui Chaoyun’s lips fiercely. When she turned away, he caught her chin and demanded through clenched teeth, “Do you want me to fall for someone else that badly?”
“Are you so desperate to be rid of me?”