Chapter 271
Chapter 271
Cui Jinjun was tremendously strong. He was a trained warrior who had killed men at the frontier, while the woman beneath him was frail and sheltered. How could she withstand his strength?
Cui Chaoyun had lost count of how often he had restrained her like this. Pain drew a soft cry from her.
Only then did Cui Jinjun loosen his grip.
Fear showed on Cui Chaoyun’s face, but her gaze remained stubborn. “Third Young Lady Qin is innocent and openhearted. She was raised in an excellent family and treats me with genuine affection. She is a rare young woman without calculating motives.”
“She likes Eldest Brother with all her heart. Such a young woman suits you. If the match could truly be made, I hope-”
Cui Jinjun cut her off with a low roar. “Do not call me Eldest Brother.”
Cui Chaoyun flinched. Cui Jinjun pinned both her hands above her head, his eyes threaded with frightening red veins. She no longer dared speak.
On the night of her coming-of-age ceremony, she had already learned how terrifying Cui Jinjun could be. He had done nothing to her that night, but the force of his obsession had overwhelmed her.
From that day onward, he replaced every maid in her courtyard. He even found excuses to dismiss her personal attendants. He controlled her every movement and every interaction with any man.
The brother who had once cared for her so gently changed in a single night.
He became a stranger, almost another person.
For four years, Cui Jinjun had visited her courtyard frequently. At first, he still showed some concern for being seen. Recently, Cui Chaoyun realized he hardly avoided others at all. That frightened her most.
She might have been adopted, but Second Master and Second Madam had always treated her as their own and never wronged her. The Marquis and First Madam had also been good to her. For their kindness alone, she dared not imagine her entanglement with Cui Jinjun becoming public. How would her sisters, her parents, her uncle, and her aunt look upon her? How could she remain in the Cui family with any dignity?
She stared at Cui Jinjun as a tear slid from the corner of her eye. Through the haze, she asked hoarsely, “Can you not let me go?”
“There are so many good women in the capital. Can you not release me?”
Her voice broke into a sob.
Cui Jinjun feared nothing more than Cui Chaoyun’s tearful face. He was a military man, unskilled in gentle persuasion. He had followed his father to the frontier from childhood and grown accustomed to sand and wind.
After learning that Cui Chaoyun was not Second Uncle’s natural daughter, affection had burst through him like floodwater breaking a dam, impossible to contain.
He thought of her day and night as if possessed.
A man who commanded more than a thousand imperial guards now fumbled as he wiped away her tears. His voice softened. “My words were too harsh. I will not speak that way next time.”
Her tear-streaked face was already extraordinarily beautiful and even more pitiful when she cried. He cradled her face and coaxed, “Only listen to me. I will stand before you in everything. What is there to fear?”
“Do you think I will not take responsibility for you? I promise to make you my principal wife. What more must I promise?”
Cui Chaoyun turned her head away without speaking.
Cui Jinjun had never known what to do with her. He cherished her so much he feared she might melt in his mouth. In truth, he had rarely spoken harshly and had kissed her only two or three times. Though she rejected him each time, he never blamed her.
That was Cui Chaoyun’s nature. In her heart, gratitude and propriety outweighed heaven itself. He pitied her for it.
He had already released her hands. His voice softened. “I have only this brief chance to see you today. There is another banquet tonight, and I must leave soon.”
Feeling his grip loosen, Cui Chaoyun looked back. The sun was setting. Cui Jinjun’s face was handsome, and undisguised tenderness filled his eyes. She looked for a moment, then closed her own.
Sometimes she no longer wished to struggle. At other times, she could not bear the thought of everyone’s judgment.
His broad arms drew her into an embrace.
A warm hand covered her forehead, and his deep voice sounded beside her ear. “You look better today than before. I obtained some Wanzhen Pills from the palace to strengthen your health. Your constitution is weak, and you have always been sickly. Take one every day. You cannot keep catching chills.”
“You need not help receive guests tonight. I will handle the entertainment outside. The medicine will arrive soon. Take it and sleep early.”
Cui Chaoyun listened absently. Every word expressed concern for her. She remembered how Cui Jinjun always brought treats and toys for the sisters whenever he returned from the frontier, and how his smiling eyes always found her first.
She too had once adored Cui Jinjun. Even after everything changed, she did not truly hate him. Sometimes, waking from dreams at midnight, she even wondered whether she should yield.
Cui Jinjun had ruined two marriages for her, and she had only ever loved him as a brother.
Yet his love was bold and ardent. He gave her every precious thing he found. It was impossible to remain entirely unmoved.
As he said, she would never again meet another man who loved her so fiercely.
But whenever she imagined what accepting him might bring, she dared not take a single wrong step.
As the Heir to the Marquisate, Cui Jinjun would one day become the Marquis and master of the Marquis of Pingnan’s Residence. How could he remain at the frontier forever? He would eventually have to decide every matter in the family. If he truly never returned, the entire residence would fall into chaos.
Everyone there had treated her with great kindness. Only two days earlier, the Marchioness had noticed her plain attire and ordered two new outfits made for her. Cui Chaoyun could not persuade herself to take that step.
She feared even more what would happen if their affair became public. Would the censors not impeach him? If she truly damaged Cui Jinjun’s future, how could she live with herself?
Cui Chaoyun kept her eyes closed, her face still cool. She said softly, “Even if I am ill, how can I hide here and shirk my duties? The elders and my sisters will ask after me.”
“My health has always been like this. Going out tonight will not make me collapse.”
Cui Jinjun met her stubborn gaze and sighed helplessly.