Chapter 54: Seizing a Wife (Part 8)

Those were portraits of Mingzhu and Liang Qian.

Because Jiang Wu had mentioned in a previous letter home that she wanted them, Liang Qian had truly gone out of his way to have someone paint them.

Perhaps due to the haste, compounded by a young child's inability to sit patiently for a portrait, the execution was not particularly detailed.

Fortunately, the artist was exceptionally skilled at capturing the living essence of his subjects, so even with just a few sparse strokes, the likenesses were drawn with penetrating depth.

Upon seeing the image of her daughter sitting in Liang Qian's arms, tears welled up and instantly spilled from Jiang Wu's eyes.

She longed so desperately, oh so desperately, to see her daughter again.

Jiang Wu was not actually the kind of woman who would throw her life away simply for losing her chastity. The impulse to commit suicide that day was driven by the crushing weight of power, a suffocating mixture of rage, grievance, and utter powerlessness that struck her down in a single moment.

Now, gazing at the portrait of her daughter, Jiang Wu knew she could not let go.

How could she ever abandon Mingzhu? She still wanted to hold her once more, to watch her grow, to witness her marriage.

Without knowing who would ultimately spend their life with her daughter, how could she ever bear to die?

The figure of Liang Qian in the painting had been added by the artist at Liang Qian's own insistence out of private sentiment, making that part look even more hurried and rough.

A sharper pain pierced Jiang Wu's heart.

She could choose to live on instead of seeking death, yet she had no idea how she was supposed to walk the path ahead with Liang Qian.

The moment Jiang Wu unfolded the scroll, Chu Ling had already walked away to the side.

He poured himself a cup of water, lifted the teacup, but stopped before bringing it to his lips, his deep eyes lost in thought.

Chu Ling had investigated Jiang Wu thoroughly.

When he said she was a clever person, it was not an idle remark. Back then, so many men had sought her hand in marriage, yet she had chosen Liang Qian, who was hardly a prominent figure among them.

It was not out of love. If it had been driven by mere affection, he would not have considered her so clever.

She was someone who clearly knew what she wanted, which was why Chu Ling knew she would eventually agree to his proposal. Chu Ling disliked complications, so reaching a formal agreement made this matter much more secure.

He glanced back in Jiang Wu's direction.

Jiang Wu was still staring at the scroll in her hands, her fingers gently tracing the figures depicted upon it.

She knew she had no other choice. Rather than risking her husband and child by fighting Chu Ling to the bitter end, accepting his proposal was the wisest course of action.

Jiang Wu found it deeply ironic. She resented her father for following every step of this man's blueprint, but was she not doing the exact same thing? Perhaps she was even surrendering faster than he had anticipated.

Jiang Wu raised her head and met Chu Ling's gaze directly.

He was holding the tecup right against his lips as if intending to drink, yet his eyes were fixed entirely on her, his expression half-concealed by the raised sleeve of his robe.

When their eyes locked, the man withdrew his gaze and took a quiet sip of his tea.

The silence hung between them like a soundless confrontation. Simply looking at him stirred an uncontrollable hatred within Jiang Wu's heart, making it impossible for her to utter words of surrender to him.

Chu Ling showed no intention of forcing her immediately. Setting down his teacup, he said in a deep voice, "Take your time to think it over."

Take your time again. Jiang Wu clutched the scroll tightly in her grip.

A suffocating despair of inescapable captivity washed over her. Just as Chu Ling was about to step out of the room, she suddenly called out to him, "Lord Chu."

She forcefully suppressed every ounce of her hatred—an emotion that served no purpose other than inflicting deeper torment upon herself.

"I want my belongings from the Jiang estate."

Chu Ling glanced back at her, though it lasted only a brief moment. He simply said "Very well," and walked away.

***

Although she had made her decision, Jiang Wu had not yet formally spoken with Chu Ling again.

Chu Ling did not rush her. He seemed exceptionally busy lately, and Jiang Wu's illness had not improved; if anything, her fever had grown worse.

In her hazy state of semi-consciousness, she heard movement in the room. Opening her eyes, she saw the maid who had previously served her back at the Jiang estate.

"My lady." The maid had originally been moving on tiptoe, but seeing her wake up, she offered a soft greeting.

Jiang Wu cast a glance past her and spotted her own bundle of belongings.

The maid immediately offered an explanation, "This is your baggage, my lady. Lord Chu gave orders to have it brought over."

Jiang Wu's first thought was to ask why, if he was going to bring her baggage, he had to bring the maid along as well. But before the words left her lips, a bitter smile crossed her face as she realized that this maid had undoubtedly been Chu Ling's person all along.

She had been planted by Chu Ling's side from the very beginning.

"Bring it to me."

Jiang Wu struggled to sit up. Seeing this, the maid immediately stepped forward to help her settle into a seated position before retrieving the bundle and handing it to her.

Jiang Wu rummaged through it and found the medicinal plasters Liang Qian had told her to bring. She had given a portion to her mother and kept a few sheets for herself.

She peeled off one sheet and applied it to her navel, then suddenly noticed a small sachet. Because Liang Qian had packed the bag, she hadn't paid much attention to it. When Jiang Wu opened it, she discovered it was filled with ordinary soil.

She remembered what Liang Qian had said while packing her things.

"I've packed some earth from Tonghuai for you. If you go over there and suffer from the change of water and climate, you can steep it in water and drink it. It's a very effective remedy."

"I won't take it. Don't we already have the plasters?"

"Pack a little extra just in case."

"It's not as if I'll be gone for long."

The two of them had exchanged those few casual words, and Jiang Wu hadn't given it another thought, never expecting that he would actually pack it after all.

Jiang Wu pinched a bit of the soil and held it beneath her nose. Whether it was just her imagination or not, she felt as though she could truly smell the scent of her homeland.

She sat there in a daze for a long while before putting the soil back, retying the pouch securely.

Clutching the sachet to her chest, the woman drifted back to sleep. Her head felt dizzy and heavy, yet a single thought remained painfully clear: she wanted to go back. She wanted to return home.

Waiting for her there were her husband and her daughter.

***

Perhaps Liang Qian's folk remedy had worked, for Jiang Wu's illness gradually began to fade.

It had been quite some time since she last saw Chu Ling.

Chu Ling did come by on occasion, but Jiang Wu was mostly asleep during those times, only occasionally catching the sound of him rebuking the servants. Every time she heard his voice, the hatred flared within her so fiercely that she wished she never had to wake up at all.

Yet continuing like this would do her no good.

Once her health recovered, she finally began to think seriously about her current situation. The hatred had not diminished in the slightest, but she was forced to compel herself to accept it.

And she needed to accept it quickly. She doubted Chu Ling would subtract the days she spent bedridden from the three-month term; she needed to bring those three months to an end as swiftly as possible so she could go home.

Jiang Wu finally waited for Chu Ling while fully conscious.

The moment she heard the servants outside bow and offer their greeting of "My Lord," a piercing, bone-deep hatred began to churn through her blood.

The desire to kill this man remained identical to how she had felt on that fateful day. Her fingernails dug so deeply into her palms that the pain temporarily suppressed all outward emotion.

When Chu Ling entered and saw Jiang Wu sitting up, he looked slightly surprised. The servants made to follow him in to attend to her, but a single sweeping glance from him sent them scurrying away in discreet retreat.

He then sat down on the edge of the couch opposite Jiang Wu.

"Feeling better?"

There were times when Jiang Wu truly admired this man's shamelessness. He never seemed to think there was anything wrong with his actions, maintaining the same composed, brazen attitude from beginning to end.

She remained silent for a long moment before finally forcing a faint grunt from her throat.

Not only did Chu Ling's demeanor remain unchanged, but he also paid little heed to Jiang Wu's coldness. Even when her replies were glacial and perfunctory, he showed no sign of anger.

Jiang Wu began to realize that his intentions were truly nothing more than wanting her company in bed.

The two of them sat in silence for quite a while. When Jiang Wu realized he had no intention of speaking first, she was forced to break the ice herself.

"That three-month period you mentioned..." Every syllable felt arduous to force past her throat. "Will you keep your word?"

"Naturally," Chu Ling answered without hesitation.

For someone as deeply cunning as an old fox, Jiang Wu found it difficult to truly trust him, yet she seemed to have no alternative other than belief.

"Words alone mean nothing. We need to draw up a written agreement."

Chu Ling looked at her. The woman's eyes were filled with wariness and revulsion. Having regained her composure, she had transformed from a terrified little cat into a hedgehog desperately baring its quills—both to protect herself and to wound any man who dared approach her.

"Very well." Chu Ling agreed instantly, without a second thought.

Jiang Wu had already prepared for this, so the moment she heard him agree, she produced the contract she had already written out.

Even in silence, the man's stern countenance betrayed no emotion whatsoever. After Jiang Wu placed the agreement before him, she watched as he studied it meticulously for a long time without offering a single word of critique.

Because he was sitting so close, she caught the faint scent of wine lingering on him—he must have recently attended a banquet.

The alcoholic trace was so light that she hadn't noticed it from afar, especially since Chu Ling's expression was unnervingly calm and sober.

She could not fathom why Chu Ling needed so long to read just a few lines. Her contract did not contain many words; its primary purpose was to guarantee the safety of Liang Qian and Mingzhu, and Jiang Wu was already growing agitated.

In truth, she was not someone who lost her patience easily.

Yet every single moment spent in Chu Ling's company felt utterly unbearable. She could never forget what this man had done to her, and she harbored a murderous intent toward him with every breath she took.

Just as she was on the verge of losing her composure entirely, Chu Ling finally spoke in an unhurried tone: "I can agree to all of these conditions."

Before Jiang Wu could say anything further, he added, "However, since this is a contract, shouldn't I receive some benefit as well?"

Hearing his words, Jiang Wu's anger finally boiled over, and she spat out bitterly, "What other benefits could you possibly want? Aren't you—" She had meant to say, *Aren't you already having me accompany you for three months?*—but the words choked in her throat.

Chu Ling smoothly finished the thought for her: "Haven't I already taken your body?"

He still wore the imposing, unassailable expression of a man in power, projecting an aura of dignity while uttering the most base and vulgar words.

Jiang Wu bit her lower lip, rendered entirely speechless by rage.

Chu Ling watched her. Compared to her frail and sickly appearance over the past few days, her expressions now that she was angry were far more vivid.

"Madam Liang," he murmured, transforming once again into the formidable, undefeated young lord of the Duke's estate, "That is something I could obtain even without a contract. You should offer me something I cannot otherwise get."

When Jiang Wu remained silent, he continued, "During these three months, I expect you not to refuse any of my demands—whether inside the bedroom or outside of it."

Seeing the woman's face flush crimson with fury, Chu Ling's expression remained completely unchanged. "I do not care who is in your heart, how much you hate me, or how deeply you resent me." He had no patience for complicated emotional entanglements; if the little cat occasionally unsheathed a claw, he could simply treat it as an amusing diversion.

"However, I do not have an excess of time or energy, so most of the time, it would be best for you to be obedient."

His tone was precisely that of someone toying with a pet.

To a man like him, such things were taken for granted, making it impossible for him to comprehend the depth of her humiliation.

Jiang Wu took several deep breaths, finally managing to force her rage back down.

It mattered not, she thought to herself; it was merely a matter of losing even more of her dignity.

She murmured a soft "Very well," picked up the writing brush lying on the edge of the desk, and appended Chu Ling's conditions to the paper.

This time, Chu Ling signed with swift efficiency. "Tomorrow, I will have someone bring my seal for you to stamp it."

Without acknowledging him, Jiang Wu pressed her own signature to the document.

Though she had written the contract herself, she could not sign it with the detached ease Chu Ling displayed. Those few sparse strokes marked the official commencement of her three months of humiliation.

Just as she was standing there in a daze, she heard Chu Ling ask, "Are you finished writing?"

"I've wr—" The final syllable caught in her throat the moment she looked up and saw the flickering flames of desire burning within the man's eyes.

Her body seemed to retain the lingering memory of that night, beginning to ache in anticipation.

"I've only just recovered..." Jiang Wu attempted to buy time.

Yet a man who had finally tasted meat only to be forced onto a vegetarian diet for so days had clearly lost all intention of waiting.

"I've already consulted the physician," the man said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he reined in the aggressive light within them. "You are completely recovered."