Exclusively for the Marchioness – CH 001

Chapter 1

Before dawn, the Marquis, his horse treading through the remaining snow, rode out of the capital.

The Marquis left Chong-An behind, giving him only one instruction.

At that moment, the man’s gaze fell upon the dimly lit window of the main room.

“While I am away for three days, do not let the My Lady leave the capital.”

Chong-An was startled.

He looked up at the Marquis, who then added, “If you cannot stop her…”

Chong-An immediately knelt down. “Rest assured, Your Highness, I will certainly keep the Marchioness in the capital!”

However, the Marquis shook his head.

Under the dim light of the porch lamp, the flickering light appeared pale in the cold winter wind, and the Marquis’s gaze remained fixed on the Marchioness’s window.

“If she is determined to leave, you cannot stop her.”

The wind-blown lantern creaked and swayed upwards, its flame flickering, momentarily dimming the light that illuminated the Marquis’s eyes. But then, the man’s eyes narrowed again.

“If you discover any trace of the Marchioness, report to me immediately. Not a moment’s delay!”

After the Marquis left, Chong-An did not even eat before standing guard at the main gate of the Marchioness’s courtyard, daring not to go anywhere else.

But everything seemed normal here with the Marchioness:

She got up, washed, and set the table. Her head maid, Qiu-Lin, had set up a curtain in the bamboo grove behind the main courtyard and brewed tea over a small stove. The Marchioness, wearing a thick cloak, sat in the bamboo grove reading for half an hour before being interrupted by the light rain. She returned to the courtyard, and Qiu-Lin lit incense in the west wing, which had been converted into the Marchioness’s study, asking if she wanted to go there…

Chong-An, listening intently from the gatehouse of the main courtyard, heard the Marchioness not respond to Qiu-Lin’s words but instead thoughtfully say, “It’s been a while since I’ve gone out. Have someone prepare the carriage and go out for a drive.”

Chong-An immediately stiffened.

Unexpectedly, the Lady spoke again, her words carried by the breeze from the courtyard, “Go and fetch Guard An, and tell him.”

Chong-An, without being invited, quickly went to the Lady’s side. “My Lady, are you going out? Where are you going? I will prepare the carriage.”

Could it really be as the Marquis suspected, that she was leaving the capital?

Chong-An’s heart leaped, but then he heard Qiu-Lin say, “My Lady wishes to visit some bookstores in Chongjiao District.”

Chongjiao District was located near Anding Gate in the northeast of the capital. Because the Imperial Academy was located within the area, it had become a gathering place for scholars and literati. The bookstores there collected contemporary articles from all over the country; articles that might not appear elsewhere for three to five years would appear in Chongjiao District first.

“My Lady is a scholar, unlike the entire military household of the Marquis of Yongding.” These were the Marquis’s exact words. And since it was not leaving the city, Chong-An could not directly stop her. He hesitated and tentatively inquired.

“The Marquis said before he left that a group of petty thieves has recently infiltrated the capital, and the Five Cities Garrison is busy hunting them down, causing some chaos. My Lady, what do you think…?”

He mentioned the Marquis, giving the Marchioness a particularly meaningful look.

The Marchioness smiled slightly upon hearing this.

“My attendants are all busy outside, and besides a few maids, I have hardly anyone with me. In that case, Guard An, could you send me two or three men to drive the carriage? That way, we can go as soon as possible and return as soon as possible.”

She did not mention the Marquis at all, yet she borrowed his manpower.

Chong-An had no choice but to say, “The capital is crowded and busy; then I will personally accompany the Marchioness.”

He thought that if the Marchioness insisted on going but did not want him to accompany her, there might be some problems.

But the Marchioness nodded in agreement.

The Marchioness’s eyes, as calm as an autumn mountain stream, remained serene. “Then I will trouble Guard An.”

Chong-An was momentarily confused. Was he overthinking things?

He was about to acknowledge the order and leave when someone reported that a general from the northwestern border had come to pay his respects to the Marquis. There was no one else in the mansion; only he could receive him.

Chong-An was in a dilemma.

The Marchioness, however, spoke up, “Go ahead, just send someone with me.”

Chong-An was even more troubled, but the Marchioness certainly did not seem to be leaving the capital.

He could only order four quick-witted guards to escort her, planning to get rid of the general in a quarter of an hour and then chase after them to Chongjiao District in another quarter of an hour.

Two quarters of an hour should be fine.

However, when he rushed to Chongjiao District two quarters of an hour later, he saw the four guards he had arranged frantically searching the alleys.

Chong-An’s heart skipped a beat. “What are you looking for?”

“Guard An, the Marchioness… and her maidservant, they’ve disappeared!”

Chong-An nearly fainted.

The Marchioness had indeed left, just as the Marquis had predicted, without saying goodbye.

But…why?

“Quickly, quickly, go out of the city to look for her!” Chong-An suddenly remembered something.

“That’s right, quickly, quickly report to the Marquis!”

*

An inconspicuous carriage, after Chong-An’s men were gradually dispatched out of the city, finally made it out smoothly.

A crack appeared in the carriage window as it bounced. Qiu-Lin glanced out and saw two guards from the Marquis’s residence searching on horseback, looking in their direction. She quickly looked away.

The capital was a place of great importance, frequented by high-ranking officials and nobles. Even with the Marquis’s power, he could not arbitrarily check passing carriages, especially those of high-ranking officials and nobles.

Right now, they were riding in the carriage of the Dou family, a family that the Marquis disliked, so the Marquis’s guards could not approach to investigate closely. Someone from the Dou family had just left the capital to return home, and the guards of the Marquis’s residence would need several days to verify the details.

However, this departure involved traversing mountains and rivers, a long and arduous journey requiring a change of name and identity and the abandonment of their original identity.

Qiu-Lin looked at her young mistress, wanting to ask if she had truly thought it through, to leave so resolutely, but the words remained unspoken. What her young mistress had decided to do was something she had considered a thousand times over.

If it were not for the imperial decree bestowing the marriage, and it was to a man as powerful as the Marquis, why would it have come to this?

As dusk fell, the carriage arrived smoothly at the lodgings arranged in advance by the steward, Ruan Gong.

Du Lingjing ate a simple meal and went to bed early.

She slept in her usual spot on the innermost part of the bed, but that night, dreams, like endless, winding vines, repeatedly entwined her, and she awoke suddenly, feeling parched.

She sat on the bed, waiting quietly for a moment.

Since their marriage, whenever she woke at night, someone else would also awaken from slumber. He was a military general, a light sleeper, and would always sit up to ask.

“Thirsty? Would you like some tea?”

But tonight, the bed was quiet; no one spoke.

Du Lingjing was stunned for a moment before she came to her senses.

Qiu-Lin was asleep on the other side of the room. She did not call out but gently took a robe and draped it over her shoulders.

But just as the robe covered her shoulders, inexplicably, she felt someone’s warm fingertips gently grasping her shoulder. “Do not get out of bed; I will go get you a bowl of warm tea.”

Du Lingjing was stunned.

These past few days, every night had been like this.

But last night, the night wind rattled the door, and he took the teacup she had finished drinking from. Instead of immediately turning off the small lamp, he said something.

“I will be gone from the capital for a couple of days. Would it be alright if I brought a few potted plants back to my residence along the way?”

Du Lingjing did not understand his meaning at first, until he spoke again, his already low and husky voice even lower.

“Wait for me at home.”

She looked up in surprise. He looked down at her, his eyes fixed on the moonlight scattered by the window. The room was as quiet as it was then.

Du Lingjing could not remember how she had answered last night, but suddenly, she seemed to hear the sound of galloping hooves outside the small courtyard.

*

The group rode at night, and under the faint light of dawn, as they descended the hillside to the courtyard gate, they could still vaguely see a small light shining in the courtyard.

Everyone’s eyes lit up, especially Chong-An, who immediately jumped off his horse.

He was about to push open the door when he heard someone whisper a message behind him.

“Keep it quiet; do not disturb My Lady.”

Chong-An quickly held his breath and hurried to the door, but just as he raised his hand, the wooden door creaked open—

A north wind swept through the courtyard, which was empty. Even the small lamp that had been lit moments before flickered and went out in its oil.

“Marchioness…My Lady, they are gone?” Chong-An asked incredulously.

After the Marchioness disappeared, he could not find any trace of her. It was only after the Marquis received the news that he rushed over, quickly pinpointing the people of the so-called “Dou Mansion,” and following that lead.

He had thought that the Marquis’s swift reaction would surely lead him to the Marchioness, but who would had thought, “Why did we come up empty-handed? Did the Marchioness really decide to leave so easily?”

His words were jumbled, and his elder brother, Chong-Ping, glanced at him hastily. He quickly shut his mouth.

He looked at the Marquis, who remained silent, stepping inside. He walked to the extinguished lamp and looked down at a key beside it.

It was a bronze key, the top of which was cast in the shape of a tall, exquisitely crafted study.

Guilin Tower, a library on the outskirts of the capital second only to the Imperial Wenlan Pavilion, borrowed craftsmen from the Ministry of Works who had built buildings for the palace.

It was a betrothal gift prepared by the Marquis for his wife.

But now, the key to the betrothal gift had been left behind, specifically left here.

Was the lady telling the Marquis to stop looking?

The lingering smoke from the oil lamp drifted in the air, stinging the nostrils.

By the light of dawn, Chong-An saw the Marquis lower his head and smile faintly. But the Marquis ultimately said nothing, only silently putting the key to Guilin Tower into his pocket.

The sunlight was not yet fully bright, blocked by clouds that were drizzling with rain. Under the eaves, it was dim and silent. Chong-An only saw his elder brother, Chong-Ping, hesitate in the Marquis’s silence before stepping forward and asking a question.

“My Lord, shall we continue searching?”

*

They set off before dawn, traveling quickly with favorable winds. The favorable wind only carried them a short distance before it ended.

Unfortunately, in the afternoon, they passed through a small town and encountered a local gathering, causing a massive congestion in the road. The carriage moved slowly, stopping and starting. Just as Du Lingjing called Qiu-Lin to get out of the carriage, Qiu-Lin collapsed against a roadside tree root, writhing in agony.

Du Lingjing herself was also uncomfortable. She walked a few steps to a windier side and mingled with the crowd, continuing alone.

She had not been traveling fast these past two days, spending most of her time thinking about how to conceal her whereabouts. She was still under that person’s watchful eye while still within the capital region. If she could successfully slip out of Beizhili and into Shandong, even without returning to her hometown of Qingzhou, she had a secret place to stay temporarily. But to leave Beizhili, it would take at least three more days.

Du Lingjing was secretly calculating when a sudden gust of wind arose at the intersection ahead. The wind, carrying sand and pebbles, whipped through the eyes of the crowded pedestrians.

The already packed street instantly descended into chaos.

Some cried out, others shoved. In the confusion, Du Lingjing felt herself being pushed, but before she could stumble backward, someone firmly caught her arm.

She stammered, “Thank you.”

Turning her head, her eyes widened instantly.

A familiar face was close to hers, his hands already covering her from the crowd.

Du Lingjing knew she could not escape, but she could not help turning away from him, only to have him grasp her wrist.

“The wind is too strong; your body cannot handle it. Do not go that way.”

She did not turn around. “I do not think this road is windy. As long as I am not traveling with the Marquis, this little breeze is nothing.”

She glanced back at him after saying this. “If the Marquis would allow me to leave alone, I would be eternally grateful.”

The man chuckled softly, his voice low and husky. “Will you come back?”

“Since I’ve left, I naturally will not return.”

“But what if you already have our child?”

His gaze fell on her lower abdomen, paused, then returned to her face, looking into her eyes.

His calloused hands seemed to caress her shoulders and waist in the dim light of the tent… Du Lingjing was slightly startled, then quickly looked away.

“Impossible.”

Cold words, cold brows, cold eyes.

She had never shown him even a fifth of the tenderness she had shown her former fiancé, Jiang Zhuxiu, the Third Young Master Jiang, and now she showed none at all.

Yet, she and he were husband and wife, bound by a lifelong commitment.

The man laughed more, his low, husky voice chuckling softly.

“My wife’s dissatisfaction with me is truly my fault.”

He shook his head, self-deprecatingly blaming himself.

The crowded throng had dispersed at some point, the wind whipping a stray strand of hair across his forehead.

But at that moment, he took another step forward, bringing them within inches of each other.

Du Lingjing instinctively tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip on her wrist.

“I have erred, I know it, but the more I know, the more I cannot let my wife leave. Buddhist scriptures say that if one repents, sins are eradicated. Please, my wife, give me a chance; allow me to spend this lifetime repenting and atoning for my past mistakes. Would that be alright?”

Every word, carried by his intense gaze, pressed down on her.

Du Lingjing could not escape his grasp, and she could not understand how such a person could use repentance as an excuse and say it so readily.

The man, however, pretended not to see the disdain in his wife’s eyes and took her hand, leading her back from a distance.

But suddenly she laughed.

“Is Marquis Lu not going too far? From the beginning, setting up a scheme to obtain the imperial decree for marriage, to later deceiving and misleading at every turn, and now specifically chasing after me, just to imprison me in the capital.”

She scoffed, “May I ask, Marquis Lu, what are you truly thinking?”

She called him Marquis Lu.

The man did not answer her immediately. He took a handkerchief from his robes and gently placed what was wrapped inside into the pouch at her waist.

It was the key to Guilin Tower.

“Do not lose it again.”

She pursed her lips, remaining silent, staring into his eyes, waiting for his answer.

The man paused slightly, smiled slowly at his wife, and spoke slowly, word by word.

“My thoughts are only for you, My Lady.”

…

Outside the carriage window, the mountains rose and fell, appearing like a breathtaking panorama from afar, but for the ordinary people going up and down, the journey was arduous and endless.

Du Lingjing could never have imagined that six months ago, she was merely passing through the capital to collect books, and this brief stopover would plunge her into this place she disliked most—a place of power struggles and intrigue.