Xi Wei and Si Yuan stared at Liang Yuzhou's back in astonishment, looking at each other in disbelief.
It was widely known that the Second Young Master Liang was like the moon in the sky, cold, noble, and truly a flower on a lofty peak.
Yet, right in front of the two of them, he had simply slung Song Wanchu over his shoulder and carried her away. Such a bold and unseemly act was far from the rumors!
Song Wanchu, of course, knew what awaited her.
Liang Yuzhou hadn't thrown her too roughly.
But as her body briefly arced through the air, she couldn't help feeling dizzy.
When her back hit the soft satin cushion, she reached out to push Liang Yuzhou away, but his iron - like, strong arms only held her tighter.
"Liang Yuzhou, I'm not in the mood!"
She hated this kind of overbearing, forced possession.
Liang Yuzhou suddenly laughed, but that smile sent a chill down one's spine.
"What, now that Shi Luohan's back, you've got nothing but him on your mind? You don't even want to fulfill your duties as a wife?"
Song Wanchu wanted to say it had nothing to do with her elder brother, but before she could open her mouth, Liang Yuzhou had grabbed the back of her neck and sealed her lips.
She instinctively struggled and dodged, but her strength was like a kitten's scratch. Liang Yuzhou kissed her fiercely, and her protests were firmly blocked in her throat.
All that was left were the broken, tuneless sobs, which seemed like a tantalizing allure.
Liang Yuzhou grabbed her flailing wrists and pinned them above her head. His body was like a heavy mountain, pressing down on her without a single gap.
His other hand slid up from the hem of her skirt, past her waist, and stopped at her chest, covering it with one hand.
Tears welled up in the corners of Song Wanchu's eyes. "Liang Yuzhou, let me go."
Tomorrow, just tomorrow, she would leave him for good. She didn't want any more physical entanglement with him.
Even though their bodies had once been so in tune.
"Let you go? Which kind of letting go does the madam mean?"
Liang Yuzhou's lips lingered on her collarbone. His smile took on a deeper meaning. "Do you mean tonight, or every night from now on?"
Song Wanchu's body went rigid, and her heart began to pound wildly.
There was a hidden meaning in his words, as if he was hinting at something...
Before she could think deeper, her clothes were ripped open.
The complicated collars were layered one upon another. Losing patience, Liang Yuzhou simply tore them apart.
The luxurious fabric turned into shreds in his hands.
"Liang Yuzhou, can you respect me just once?"
Respect was a luxury she had never received from him.
On the last night of their time together, Song Wanchu yearned to be respected, not to be played with without dignity.
Liang Yuzhou's dark eyes were deep as he looked into the depths of those beautiful eyes.
Even when she cried, her eyes were still so clear. He couldn't see his own reflection in them.
Nor had he ever seen a sincere smile directed at him in those eyes.
His hands didn't stop as he stripped off the last layer of Song Wanchu's clothes.
He undid the belt. Knowing she couldn't escape this night, Song Wanchu turned her face away in embarrassment, making her last resistance in this way.
Suddenly, it went dark in front of her eyes. All the light disappeared, and all that was left in her ears was Liang Yuzhou's hot, heavy breathing.
"You don't want to look at me that much? Then don't."
He blindfolded Song Wanchu with the belt.
The darkness made Song Wanchu's body even more sensitive. Liang Yuzhou's hands, like peeling a cocoon, sent shivers through her skin.
As Liang Yuzhou moved, her body trembled. Her porcelain - white skin gradually took on a pink hue. Broken sobs spilled from her slightly parted red lips, forming a sharp color contrast with the black belt hanging by her ears.
Liang Yuzhou thought she was like the peony flower he had searched all over the capital for. Delicate and gorgeous, one couldn't help but want to hold her in the palm of one's hand.
But also wanted to crush her brutally and listen to her cry to her heart's content.
...
The night was deep.
The moonlight shone on the messy bed.
Song Wanchu lay there wearily. The heat left by Liang Yuzhou hadn't dissipated yet. Only a thin quilt covered her waist.
The moonlight delicately traced her silhouette. Her figure was graceful. From her back all the way down, her fair skin was covered with red marks of various depths.
Liang Yuzhou was like a never - satisfied wild beast, mixed with the anger of plunder. He had changed positions all night long, constantly demanding.
Song Wanchu couldn't bear it and pleaded pitifully. Her tears wet the belt, but she still couldn't escape.
Liang Yuzhou was asleep, his big hand still resting on her waist.
Listening to the even breathing beside her, Song Wanchu slowly opened her eyes.
"Liang Yuzhou, farewell forever."
Liang Yuzhou's face was buried in the pillow. In the darkness where the moonlight couldn't reach, his eyes were as bright as stars.
Song Wanchu didn't know when Liang Yuzhou had left.
He trained diligently and would get up before dawn.
Enduring the soreness in her body, she sat up. Seeing the hickeys on her body that hadn't faded yet, her face flushed with heat.
Beast.
She cursed in her heart.
Nan Zhi and Su Yue came in to serve her as she washed up. Song Wanchu moved quickly. She was eager to go and ask the old lady for the letter of release for concubines.
Before she could even leave the door, Qiao Ying came.
"Miss Song."
Her sudden change of address made Song Wanchu stunned.
"This is what the old lady asked this servant to bring for you."
Qiao Ying took out a piece of paper from her sleeve and quickly stuffed it into Song Wanchu's hand.
It felt as if Song Wanchu was holding a weight of a thousand jun in her hand.
She recognized it. It was the letter of release for concubines.
"The old lady said that she couldn't bear to part with you again, so she asked this servant to bring it to you. The old lady has always kept her promise with the Song family and hasn't revealed a single thing about the letter of release for concubines to the Second Master. If the young lady wants to leave, just go."
Qiao Ying's voice was a bit choked, and there was a glint of tears in her eyes.
No matter how others slandered Song Wanchu outside, in her heart, Song Wanchu was the best mistress of the Duke's Mansion.
Song Wanchu felt a mixture of emotions. She murmured, "Thank the old lady for her kindness."
"The old lady also said that she wants the young lady to convey her apologies to your elder brother on her behalf."
Song Wanchu was stunned for a moment. She didn't understand what the old lady could have done to apologize to her elder brother.
Was there something that had happened three years ago that she didn't know about?
After Qiao Ying left, Nan Zhi and Su Yue hurriedly started to pack their things.
"Miss, we sent Yaoguang out to buy something. We have to hurry."
"Don't take any of it. I don't want any of it."
The thing she was most reluctant to part with was the relic left by her mother. Now that all her dowry had been transported away, there was nothing else in the outside world that she was attached to.
While Liang Yuzhou was at the training ground for his drills, she had to seize the time to get farther away...
A low - key carriage quietly left through the back door of the Duke's Mansion and headed straight for the Qi family.
Shi Luohan had been waiting for a long time.
"Did you get it?" he asked anxiously.
Song Wanchu seemed to have become lighter all over. "Brother, I'm free."
She was Song Wanchu, the only daughter of Song Hengyi, her elder brother's sister, and her uncle and aunt's niece.
She was herself, no longer anyone's noble concubine.
"Brother, let's go."
Qi Yuanjun's caravan left the capital at noon.
The bustling and noisy sounds of the capital gradually faded away. Song Wanchu's restless heart gradually calmed down.
"Boss, there's someone blocking our way up ahead!"