Chapter 6

Once I left the border, I slowed down.

Having finally slipped away from under Jiang Qingsong’s nose, I certainly wasn’t going back.

I simply hadn’t decided where to go.

War was everywhere, but life in Pingzhou went on.

As the east turned pale, the breakfast shops opened. Cooking smoke rose along the streets, and the scent of meat reached me from afar.

I rubbed my belly and turned into a steamed-bun shop.

I was happily stuffing myself when someone called from behind, “Liu Wenyan!”

At that familiar voice, I froze with a half-eaten chicken leg in my hand, then turned with an awkward smile.

“What a coincidence, my lord.”

His expression dark, Jiang Qingsong squeezed into the seat beside me. “Coincidence? I’ve been looking everywhere. I thought something had happened to you.”

“Pingzhou is a dangerous place right now. Why are you wandering about?”

Before I could answer, he noticed the breakfast dishes covering the table, and the crease between his brows eased.

“You couldn’t possibly eat all this. The rest must be for me.”

“So you came out so early to buy me breakfast?”

What?

Had he misunderstood something?

I had missed Pingzhou’s food terribly, and pregnancy had made my appetite much larger. That was why I’d ordered a tableful.

I quickly pushed the half-eaten chicken leg into his mouth. “Yes, exactly. I came to buy you breakfast.”

“You’re so clever, my lord. You guessed at once.”

He looked at me as he bit into the chicken leg I’d been eating, a faint smile warming his eyes.

He was happy. I, however, could no longer leave.

Jiang Qingsong put me into the carriage, and we headed east toward the capital.

Worried the journey would exhaust me, he laid thick bedding inside so I could lie down whenever I tired.

Resting my head on his thigh, I asked through half-closed eyes, “My lord, do you like me very much?”

“Obviously. Why else would I run around doing everything for you?” He didn’t even lift his eyelids, as though admitting he loved me were the most ordinary thing in the world.

I sighed. “Don’t love me too much. You know I’m a condemned prisoner. My execution has only been postponed because I’m pregnant. Once the baby is born, I still have to die.”

He said nothing, but the hand stroking my hair went still.

I went on, “I won’t live past twenty, my lord. I’m almost nineteen now. That leaves less than a year, I suppose. Don’t love me too deeply. It’ll hurt too much when the time comes…”

“Stop saying such unlucky things.” He frowned and silenced me with a kiss. “Liu Wenyan, you’re perfectly lovely. Why did you have to come with a mouth?”

Two days before we were due to reach the capital, he suddenly slowed our journey and stopped the carriage in a small town.

He pulled me down and insisted on taking me out for something delicious.

At the finest restaurant in town, he ordered every expensive dish and had them set before me.

He kept putting food into my bowl and ladling soup for me. Halfway through the meal, he suddenly produced a wooden box.

I blinked. “What’s this for?”

Looking down at me, he smiled. “You’re nineteen today, Liu Wenyan. Happy birthday.”

“This is your present.”

I expected jewelry. Instead, I opened the box to find deeds to shops, estates, and land.

“Everything the Ning estate owns is in here.” He pushed it toward me.

“Why give me these, my lord?” I asked, bewildered.

“I had them ready before we left for Pingzhou.” My reflection filled his eyes. “I want you to know that you won’t only have a nineteenth birthday. You’ll have a twentieth, a twenty-first, a twenty-second… all the way to a hundred.”

“The fault lies with those soldiers, not you. I’ll take you before His Majesty and explain. He will change your sentence.”

“Any punishment other than death can be redeemed with money under our customs. I’ll use everything this family has to keep you safe. You will live peacefully to old age.”

He was unusually talkative today. Again, he pushed the box toward me. “It’s all for you.”

“I don’t care about status or family. From the day I brought you home, I intended to marry you.”

“Liu Wenyan, I want to put the Ning estate in your hands, and spend every birthday with you.”

For once, words failed me. I slowly set down my bowl and chopsticks, unsure what to say.

He had told me he loved me many times, but I had always thought he meant the indulgent fondness a man has for a concubine or a plaything—something to amuse himself with when he wished. Nothing deep.

Now, as he spoke of marriage and put his entire fortune into my hands, I was utterly lost.

Jiang Qingsong was an upright official, admired by everyone. I was a rat in the gutter, living by things that could never bear the light.

I had no idea how he would react if he learned I’d given Yue the defense map.

Since receiving it, Yue had advanced triumphantly, winning battle after battle. Taking Pingzhou was only a matter of time.

I closed the box and looped my arm through his with a smile, giving him an evasive answer. “We can talk about marriage later. Let’s eat.”

“All right. The betrothal gifts are ready, but your wedding gown isn’t finished. We do need a little more time.”

He nodded and kept urging me to eat my longevity noodles. “Eat more. Fill yourself up.”

He had prepared so much. I didn’t know how to answer. I could only keep taking bites of noodles, almost burying my face in the bowl.

That night, he put his arms around me from behind and drew me close.

Through two thin layers of cloth, I could feel his body’s response. His breathing deepened.

I caught his hand. “Well… I’m three months along now. The physician traveling with us says the pregnancy is stable…”

“It’s all right. There’s no hurry.” He stroked the wisps of hair at my temple and rested a hand lightly over my heart. “I only have to wait ten months. We have our whole lives ahead of us.”

The day after we returned to the capital, he took me into the palace.

Following him, I watched him prostrate himself before the emperor. Gritting my teeth, I copied him and pressed my forehead to the floor.

Jiang Qingsong explained my case. The emperor showed little response beyond a contemptuous snort. “She still killed more than a dozen men. To kill for a woman of the brothels was entirely wrong.”

“Even if she is spared death, she cannot escape punishment.”

“I will commute her sentence to exile. Once the ducal household pays the redemption fee, she need not be banished.”

Then he turned to Jiang Qingsong. “The Duke of Ning has never shown interest in women. Who would have thought a condemned prisoner could attract him?”

“Your name is Liu Wenyan, isn’t it? Raise your head. I’m curious to see what sort of girl could captivate even the Duke of Ning.”

I clenched my fists and didn’t move.

The emperor grew impatient. “Didn’t you hear me?”

Jiang Qingsong hurried to explain. “Ah Yan is rather shy. I fear Your Majesty has frightened her.”

He tugged my sleeve gently and murmured in my ear, “His Majesty is only curious. I’m here. Don’t be afraid.”

I wasn’t afraid. I was composing my face.

I feared that the feelings surging in my eyes would show in front of him.

After repeated urging, I pressed my lips together and slowly raised my head beneath the emperor’s heavy gaze.