In the memorial hall of the Marquis Mansion, white silk was hanging high. The gloomy wind swayed the lanterns with the Chinese character "Mourning" on them.
The lanterns trembled as if unable to bear the weight, just like Qu Yue who was now being pressed inside the coffin.
Her clothes had been completely removed. There were dots of red marks on her fair collarbone, spreading all the way to her waist.
On her slender waist, a big hand was wantonly pinching and gripping, making her tremble constantly.
The man's soft laughter rang in her ear: "What should we do if you've wet your husband's cenotaph?"
Qu Yue's head was extremely dizzy. With great effort, she managed to open her eyes. Her vision was blurry, and she could only vaguely make out the general outline of the person on top of her.
But her ears keenly caught the word "husband". She let down her guard and boldly wrapped her arms around his neck.
Rubbing her head against the man unconsciously, she replied softly: "Aren't you my husband?"
The man was amused. Without answering, he gently sucked and kissed Qu Yue's plump lower lip. After receiving her gentle response, he boldly hooked her soft tongue and took over.
The heavy breaths of the man and the woman came one after another.
The thick and steady coffin made of intertwined - branch nanmu began to shake violently in the main hall.
—
Bang!
The door was kicked open forcefully. Qu Yue woke up from the charming dream. Before she could react, a resounding slap came down hard!
"Evil woman! Where did you go last night?!"
Qu Yue covered her face and looked up, directly meeting the fierce gaze of the Marquis's wife.
Her heart sank. She quickly sat up and got out of bed. Without even having time to care about the soreness in her body as if it had been run over, she bent her knees and knelt on the ground.
She didn't need to be told to guess that Mrs. Song was angry because she hadn't kept vigil all night as ordered.
But in fact, the current dynasty's laws clearly stipulated that women were not allowed to stay overnight in front of the coffin...
Qu Yue didn't dare to say it directly. She obediently lowered her head and explained softly: "Mother, I was really extremely sleepy last night, so I went back to my room to rest."
Mrs. Lin's finger pointing at her was trembling: "So tired, huh! Yuan just passed away. As his wife, you're even reluctant to keep vigil for him. You're really the daughter of a traitor! Heartless!"
As soon as these words were said, Qu Yue immediately froze.
She was originally the Princess Qingjia, with a happy and harmonious family. Until that day, her father, who was a son - in - law of the royal family, personally wrote a confession accusing her mother, Princess Rouhui, of having an affair with the enemy country and attempting to rebel!
The evidence was conclusive. Princess Rouhui, as a grand princess, had no way to defend herself. She was paraded through the streets and beheaded on the same day. Her body hung on the city wall for five days and five nights before being taken down.
The tragic appearance of her mother was still imprinted in Qu Yue's mind.
She pinched her palm. Her lowered eyes were red. She apologized softly: "It's my fault. You're right to scold me."
Mrs. Song wasn't convinced. Pointing at her nose, she scolded: "Fault? You're not wrong. It's our Marquis Mansion that's wrong! We married you, a high - maintenance Buddha!"
These two consecutive sentences hit Qu Yue's sore spots.
Back then, her father became the prime minister of the dynasty because of his meritorious service in inspection. He soon took a new wife.
As the daughter of a traitor, Qu Yue was looked down upon in the prime minister's mansion. After she came of age, her father intended to use her in a marriage alliance to curry favor with the powerful.
She didn't want that. So she took out the marriage contract made when she was young and begged the Marquis's heir, who had been favored by Rouhui, to marry her.
In her consideration, if she married into the Marquis Mansion, she could have enough to eat and sleep well. Maybe she would even have a chance to find out the truth about her mother's treason case.
She never believed that such a virtuous and kind mother would betray the country. There must be something fishy about this.
But on the wedding day, her husband was sent to the battlefield before he even had time to lift her veil. And he was gone for three years!
In these three years, she had few dowries when she came. She was not well - treated. She was only given one maid. Her mother - in - law was so harsh that she deducted her monthly allowance. On weekdays, she even had to go out to work to support herself.
But even so, she still couldn't get a compliment from Mrs. Song.
Now, she was even kicked to the ground by Mrs. Song. "I really shouldn't have agreed to this marriage! My son wouldn't have been killed by you!"
Qu Yue's head hit the edge of the bed. Blood gushed out immediately.
Her eyes were filled with blood, stinging sharply. But she seemed not to feel it. She slowly looked up at Mrs. Song.
After meeting Mrs. Song's blaming and disgusted gaze, she silently knelt back in place.
"Mother, please punish me."
Her humble appearance only made Mrs. Song angrier. She gave her a fierce glare. "Bad omen! Yuan was killed by you! Don't even think about getting a single cent from the Marquis Mansion for his burial items! Figure it out yourself!"
After saying that, she turned around and left.
As soon as Mrs. Song left, Qu Yue couldn't hold on anymore and fell to the ground weakly.
The world in front of her was spinning, and the colors were slowly fading.
"Miss!"
Suddenly, a call came to Qu Yue's ear. She opened her eyes and saw her personal maid rushing in from outside with a handkerchief.
She took the towel and pressed it on the wound with a trembling hand. "Thank you."
Liu Xu, who originally wanted to wipe it for her, paused in mid - air. Her face showed a moment of embarrassment, but it was quickly replaced by anger. "The old lady is clearly bullying you! Everyone knows that women can't keep vigil. She actually uses this as an excuse to make you arrange the burial items!"
How could Qu Yue not understand?
But now she was all alone. If she angered Mrs. Song and was kicked out of the Marquis Mansion, she might not even be able to survive.
Qu Yue took off the handkerchief. On her skin, which was a bit rough from doing work all year round, the blood had coagulated.
She pressed the broken part and looked up at Liu Xu. "Could you please help me fetch some water? I was tired all day yesterday and haven't washed up yet."
When the news of Mu Yuan's death on the battlefield came, although Qu Yue had never met him before, she was truly sad about the fall of a hero.
She had worked hard to arrange the memorial hall all by herself. Both physically and mentally exhausted, when she was keeping vigil at night, she smelled a strange fragrance, and her head began to feel extremely dizzy.
After that, she had an extremely absurd dream of spring.
In the dream, the man's lips brushed over all her sensitive parts, controlling all her breaths.
Qu Yue patted her own face. She really needed a good bath.
Hearing her cold command, Liu Xu's eyes dimmed. "Okay."
Since that betrayal incident, Qu Yue's attitude towards her had always been lukewarm.
It was clearly the same person, but she had become like a fog, intangible and untouchable.
If only that incident hadn't happened...
Liu Xu's nose turned sour, and she went to prepare water for Qu Yue.
Although Qu Yue was the heir's wife of the Marquis Mansion, she didn't have a special bathing hall. She shared one with the servants.
She dismissed Liu Xu and walked in. Then she quickly bolted the door.
She slowly walked up to the bronze mirror. Her slender fingertips picked open the coarse linen clothes, which slid down along her snow - white shoulders and piled up at her feet.
The woman's figure was reflected in the bronze mirror. Slender but full of strength, all the plump parts were there. Her fair skin was whiter than snow, contrasting beautifully with her long black hair like a waterfall.
But what was even more eye - catching were the plum - blossom - like marks all over her body.
Different in depth, a mix of pink and purple.
Qu Yue took a shocked step back and accidentally tripped over the mourning clothes. Pain spread through her body —
She widened her eyes. What happened last night wasn't a dream!
Although they hadn't gone all the way, it was still skin - to - skin contact!
Qu Yue quickly steadied herself, holding on to the bronze mirror. Her breathing was in a mess, and she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
It was a great taboo for a woman to have an affair.
If others found out about this, she would definitely be drowned in a pond!
She had to find that man and find a way to hide what had happened last night.
But who on earth was he?
Qu Yue couldn't help but gently cover her forehead. The wound that had just stopped bleeding began to seep blood beads again.
But no matter how hard she tried to recall, she could never see the man's face clearly!
His deep or low voice had also become ethereal, impossible to hear clearly.