Chapter 55: Stealing a Wife (Part IX)

Even when she was already placed on the bed, Jiang Wu still harbored a faint hope of escaping.

"Lord Chu..."

"Our agreement starts now," the man unbuttoned his clothes with the same unhurried deliberation as that night. "You aren't planning for the long term either, are you?"

Jiang Wu's expression froze.

The brute was right; starting earlier meant it would end sooner. It was only three months, which would pass in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Wu kept repeating this to herself in her heart, but her hand, reaching toward her waistband, remained motionless. Just as she was lingering and hesitating, the man reached out and pulled her directly in front of him.

Jiang Wu ended up kneeling on the bed, her height reaching right to the middle of the standing man's chest.

Only then did she realize Chu Ling had undressed down to his trousers.

Jiang Wu tried to avert her gaze, but Chu Ling grabbed her by the waist and lifted her slightly higher, right to his chest, where a fresh scar instantly came into view.

In a daze, she remembered it was left by the hidden weapon from when she and he had been ambushed together last time.

Perhaps because some superior ointment had been used, there was now only a faint mark left.

"That day, I couldn't bear for Madam's mouth to suck the poison for me," the man's voice came from above, though a flame of excitement danced deep within his calm eyes. "Let's make up for it today."

Jiang Wu froze there for a long moment before finally moving, though she merely pressed her lips against the scar. She could not bring herself to do any more; even though the man only possessed a pleasant scent, it still filled her with revulsion.

The soft touch of the woman's lips, even if merely brushing lightly against his skin, caused Chu Ling's long-dormant desire to instantly burst out of its cage.

His body seemed to remember the woman's taste with carved-in-bone familiarity, craving it deeply.

Yet this was still not enough to satisfy him. The man patted the head pressed lazily against his chest.

"If Madam acts like this, how is the poison supposed to come out?"

Filled with burning resentment, Jiang Wu gritted her teeth and finally closed her eyes. Putting as much effort into it as if she were indeed sucking out poison, the smacking sounds made her want to die of shame. To Chu Ling's ears, however, they were undoubtedly aphrodisiac heavenly sounds.

A tingling, numbing sensation spread from the spot she kissed all across his body, sending tiny shivers through the man. Yet he knew the woman was only pretending to work hard while actually slacking off. Looking down, Chu Ling could only see the top of the woman's head. His brows furrowed imperceptibly with a trace of dissatisfaction.

The man grabbed Jiang Wu's hair, pulling her head back slightly from where it rested against his chest.

Jiang Wu retreated willingly along with his movement. Stopping was precisely what she wished for, so she merely lowered her gaze and kept silent.

"We only have three months," Chu Ling spoke again, his voice now husky, his slender fingers scraping against the woman's delicate lips. "Your experience should be more than enough without needing me to teach you."

As he said this, he recalled the meagerly clad appearance of Jiang Wu he had peeked at that day. Unable to resist, he used his finger to rub her lips until they were even redder and more vibrant before finally pulling his hand away.

"Continue."

Jiang Wu had to swallow all her resentment. With her head fixed so it could not move forward, the chest was right before her eyes, yet the gap prevented her lips from touching it.

She knew Chu Ling was doing this on purpose.

This time, Jiang Wu had no choice but to stick out her tongue.

From Chu Ling's perspective, he could clearly see how the woman at his chest extended her pink tongue to lick his scars.

He narrowed his eyes in comfort.

More than physical pleasure, it was a profound psychological satisfaction.

He had thought of this the day he was injured, and in the ensuing nightly dreams, those scenes had only grown more alluringly vivid.

Now that the dreams had turned into reality, and he had deliberately kept his distance from this place for the past few days, indulging in such matters was by no means a good sign.

Yet his body, having abstained for a few days and now overly sensitive to the slightest tease, thoroughly awakened.

Chu Ling was not in a hurry; he gently stroked the woman's hair. Hors d'oeuvres before the main feast were well worth savoring.

***

The next day, Chu Ling woke up at the usual time for the morning court audience.

Jiang Wu faced the inner side of the bed, her body curled into a ball.

With her eyes closed, she listened to the rustling sounds of the man dressing behind her. Once he was presumably dressed and things had quieted down for a moment, footsteps suddenly approached and finally stopped beside the bed.

"If you wish to go out, have Zidai accompany you."

Zidai was the maid who had come from the Jiang residence.

Jiang Wu originally intended to ignore him, but remembering the terms of yesterday's agreement, she gave a reluctant hum of assent.

Yet shortly after, other thoughts surfaced in her mind.

Jiang Wu turned around.

Chu Ling was still sitting on the edge of the bed, his gaze deep and unfathomable as if lost in thought, which was why he hadn't left yet. The two of them locked eyes abruptly and unexpectedly.

At least for Chu Ling, it was indeed unexpected.

He hadn't anticipated that Jiang Wu would suddenly turn her head.

A wondrous feeling stirred deep within his heart; whatever vague displeasure he had felt just moments before was instantly swept away. With the gloom dispelled, only the buoyant mood of satisfaction remained.

He discovered that he disliked the sight of Jiang Wu turning her back to him—her gaze ought to rest upon him.

"Were the official posts of my two brothers-in-law arranged by you?"

There was still some time before the morning court, and Chu Ling was in no rush, answering her question with measured patience: "Mhm."

Indeed, he had arranged them. After all, if he had simply demanded people directly, those men might still have retained a shred of conscience. But once they tasted sweetness, they would naturally act precisely as he anticipated.

Jiang Wu gritted her teeth with hatred: "Does Lord Chu take me for someone who would do such a thing just to bring them wealth and glory?"

The morning room was still somewhat dim, and Jiang Wu could not clearly discern Chu Ling's expression, yet she sensed he seemed to smile slightly.

"I know." His voice carried no particular emotion.

After he left, Jiang Wu instructed the servants to prepare a bath.

She scrubbing fiercely, desperately trying to wash away all the crisscrossing marks left by that man on her body, yet they refused to fade.

Growling dejectedly, Jiang Wu sat numbly in the wooden tub for a very long time.

Three months from now, would she truly be able to act as if nothing had happened? Could she genuinely continue living life as usual?

Could she and Liang Qian... still be the same as before?

Jiang Wu knew nothing.

She wrote a reply letter to Liang Qian.

Although their time as husband and wife had been brief, they shared an unspoken rapport like a couple of many years. There had never been secrets between them, nor was there anything to hide.

Yet holding the brush now, she truly had no idea what to write.

Jiang Wu took out the letter Liang Qian had sent her.

The beginning of the letter used the formal, scholarly phrasing of a scholar, but toward the end, it suddenly turned fiercely direct.

"A-Wu, I miss you so much. I miss you so much I feel like I'm dying, like I'm going crazy."

He had written "I miss you" numerous times, dense and crowded on the page, ending with the sentence: "I adore you."

Jiang Wu's eyes began to mist once more.

The sweetness that ought to have been there was now covered in dust. In the end, she began to write, stating that she was living very well here, except that her mother's illness kept relapsing and she could not bear to let her leave just yet, forcing her to stay a little longer.

Handing the letter to Zidai, Zidai took it outside to be delivered.

True to his word, Chu Ling did not restrict her freedom, nor did he care what she thought, what she did, or whom she contacted, even instructing the servants to cater to all her needs.

The only thing he demanded was that she provide him pleasure in bed.

Later in the day, the man in black whom Jiang Wu had seen twice before delivered Chu Ling's personal seal.

Once the seal was stamped, the agreement was officially established.

She only needed to endure these three months, Jiang Wu thought to herself.

***

Only later did Jiang Wu learn that this place was one of Chu Ling's private residences.

Since he currently lived in the Grand Tutor's Manor, he only came over every few days.

Although his style in bed was fierce, often making Jiang Wu suspect he had never touched a woman before, his visits were infrequent. The man seemed to possess rigorous self-discipline, which in turn allowed Jiang Wu to heave a great sigh of relief.

No one restricted Jiang Wu's freedom, but she had no desire to wander around casually, confining her entire range of activities solely to the courtyard.

With neither relatives nor acquaintances in the capital, she interacted with no one.

Yet today, a rare visitor arrived.

"My lady, look, Lord Chu is not here. Perhaps you should wait for him in the front hall while I go announce you."

"Where can I not see him?" came the voice of a young woman. "I heard my brother has hidden a beauty here? Is that true?"

Brother?

Sitting in the pavilion at that moment, Jiang Wu recalled the Miss Chu she had met previously, but that voice did not belong to her.

As she was pondering this, a figure dressed in pale purple appeared at the end of the path.

Following behind was another woman in a cyan-green long dress who did not look like a maid. While the speaker impatiently brushed aside the servant attempting to block her way, the other woman followed quietly behind.

In the span of these few moments, they spotted Jiang Wu.

At that, the woman perged up instantly, shoved the servant aside, and strode briskly toward the pavilion.

Matters concerning the Grand Tutor's Manor had been mentioned to her by her third sister previously. Now, observing the woman's stride and noticing the features somewhat resembling Chu Ling's upon getting closer, Jiang Wu already had a guess as to who this was.

"So you're the beauty my older brother has hidden away?" The newcomer quickly masked her initial flicker of awe, transforming into an arrogant and disdainful expression. "Nothing special, after all. What's your name? Where did you come from?"

Seizing the opportunity, the servant beside her lowered his voice to introduce Jiang Wu: "This is the young lady of the Grand Tutor's Manor."

Under normal circumstances, upon hearing such a status, Jiang Wu would have stood up to offer greetings, or done so the moment she guessed her identity.

Yet now, out of sheer disgust for Chu Ling, she felt no goodwill toward this naturally ill-mannered young lady of the Grand Tutor's Manor either. She continued to wave her round fan leisurely, turning her gaze toward the pond at the side.

This infuriated Chu Chu to no end.

Ever since returning to the Grand Tutor's Manor, relying on the guilt and pampering showered upon her by the Grand Tutor and his wife, whether it was the manor servants or noble ladies of the capital, everyone had fawned upon her to the utmost. She had never suffered such cold dismissal.

"I am speaking to you! Did you not hear me?"

As Chu Chu made to step forward, Zidai blocked her path swiftly.

Clearly having received instructions from Chu Ling, Zidai's attitude was far more uncompromising: "My lady, this is an honored guest of Lord Chu's. I must ask you to mind your manners."

Her blunt words stoked Chu Chu's anger even higher, yet recognizing that this was indeed a trusted aide of her eldest brother's, she dared not flare up immediately.

Fortunately, the woman in green behind her stepped in to stop her in time: "Miss Chu, since this lady is an honored guest of Lord Chu's," she glanced toward Jiang Wu, "then it is we who have intruded."

With that, she turned to address Jiang Wu: "I hope the lady will not take offense."