Exclusively for the Marchioness – CH 021

Chapter 21

The curtains had fallen sometime earlier, obscuring most of the bright light from the dragon and phoenix wedding candles. The dim light made everything around her inconspicuous.

Only the sudden warmth of the hand pressed against the door was amplified, and with his slight pressure, a peculiar sensation spread across her waist, abdomen, and back.

Du Lingjing’s spine stiffened, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

The man clearly noticed her trembling. His fingertips, resting on her waist, slowly caressed her delicate skin, trying to soothe her.

However, the gentle caress failed to relax Du Lingjing; instead, his touch caused her lower abdomen to tense up.

But she had already decided that these were things she could not avoid tonight. No matter how unbearable it was, what could she do? She could only endure it.

She took a deep breath, trying her best to control her trembling.

Whether he sensed her trembling subside slightly, he lowered his head and gently brushed his lips against her temple.

But the next moment, he suddenly tightened his grip on her waist.

The storm at the door arrived in an instant; he pressed down against it, sliding downwards, the pressure increasing with each step, his heat growing ever more intense, almost as if he were about to force his way in, unstoppable.

Du Lingjing’s mind went blank for a moment, and suddenly, she began to tremble uncontrollably.

She did not know what was happening to her; she felt as if all the blood in her body had drained away, as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her whole body shivering with icy coldness!

The man paused, “Quan Quan?”

That familiar name, yet one that had not been called in so long, now came from the mouth of this stranger before her.

The icy trembling did not stop; instead, it became even more uncontrollable.

Du Lingjing’s mind was a blank, a hazy resignation stemming from the depths of her being.

She resisted this ambiguous marriage, resisted marrying anyone other than Third Young Master, and especially resisted this nobleman she was forced to marry.

But at this point, no matter who it was, they had no choice but to proceed.

Du Lingjing’s heart sank into an abyss. She clenched her teeth, trying to preserve her last shred of dignity.

But the man before her suddenly stopped.

In the dim light of the tent, he sighed softly.

The next moment, he pulled away, grabbed a thick quilt, and wrapped her tightly in it.

The quilt, warm and snug, covered her from her feet to her ears, still retaining the warmth of the sunlight, holding her securely.

She involuntarily inhaled the scent of sunlight filtering through the brocade quilt. Everything before her was unfamiliar, but this scent made her feel as if she could see familiar sunlight streaming in.

The trembling was gradually subsiding.

But her predicament had interrupted what had just happened.

She lowered her head and whispered, “I am sorry.”

She had probably spoiled his mood, but their intimate moment had to continue.

She clenched her fists, trying to calm herself.

But he picked her up, quilt and all, and placed her at the far end of the bed.

The light in the inner room grew even dimmer. She could not help but look up at him. Beads of sweat glistened on his high, straight nose, but his eyes gradually regained their calm.

His voice was low and hoarse, as if his throat had been injured. His already hoarse voice was now incredibly low.

“Let’s take a break,” he said.

Du Lingjing did not fully understand his meaning. She only saw him reach out and brush away the stray hairs that had gotten onto her lips. As his fingertips lightly brushed her cheek, he said again,

“I will go take care of it myself.”

Du Lingjing paused, and he turned and got out of bed, his figure disappearing behind the layers of curtains.

He was gone.

She sat blankly on the bed, wrapped in the brocade quilt, her mind a chaotic void.

The fine autumn rain that had fallen like a net in the morning now pattered down again, the sound of raindrops hitting the banana leaves outside the window. Her chaotic thoughts were dominated by the autumn rain on the banana leaves, splashing and scattering from the leaves, landing nowhere.

The rain kept falling, and she listened blankly.

She could not say how much time had passed when suddenly the candlelight crackled, and someone walked past outside the bed curtains again.

The man was tall and imposing, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs; even through the gauze curtain, his imposing figure was evident.

He appeared to be wearing only underpants, his upper body bare. His shirt was crumpled up, concealing something, and was held in his hand before he tossed it into a trunk.

The scent of photinia wafted out, causing Du Lingjing to momentarily lose her senses.

He then found a new garment, put it on, and walked back to the table, standing there quietly drinking a whole cup of cold tea.

When the cup was empty, he did not immediately turn back but instead looked out the window.

Both inside and outside were quiet, save for the patter of raindrops on the banana leaves.

But he did not linger long. When he turned back, he extinguished the incense the old woman had lit earlier.

He walked to the bed, meeting her gaze through the gauze curtain, and was momentarily surprised.

“Still sitting? Not asleep yet?”

Du Lingjing then realized that her mind had truly gone blank, her gaze inexplicably following him for a long time.

He lifted the curtain and entered the bed, and she quickly averted her gaze.

With just a slight movement, the quilt slipped off her shoulders.

A cool breeze crept up her shoulders and chest, and she froze, realizing she was completely naked, and he was sitting right in front of her.

Her breath hitched. She wanted to find some clothes or pull the quilt back up, but then something occurred to her—

Just a short while ago, they had been completely naked, even to the point of almost touching, on the verge of intercourse. Now, hastily covering up seemed pointless.

But she still needed to put on her clothes. Unable to find a bodice, she could only put on her upper garment first.

But before she could reach out, he had already taken the garment in his hand.

She could not help but slightly conceal herself, wanting to ask him for some clothes, but when she reached out, he did not give them to her.

What was he trying to do?

She did not know what he meant, but he draped a garment over her shoulders.

Du Lingjing was completely confused about his intentions, so she could only put it on.

But just as she pulled up the sleeves, he grabbed her collar.

He held the thin, semi-transparent fabric, gently encircling her bare chest.

Du Lingjing’s heart skipped a beat uncomfortably.

But in the previous fervor, he had stopped and taken care of things himself.

So now…?

Du Lingjing was completely at a loss and could only let him be.

His gaze did not fall on her there but remained fixed on her eyelids. Not knowing how to react, she slightly turned her head away.

He helped her tie her sash and gently held her hand.

“Go to sleep,” he said, looking into her eyes. “It’s not too late when you are ready.”

…

The rain outside the window was broken in two by the banana leaves; one half splashed into the vast expanse of water, the other tinkled and danced into Du Lingjing’s ears.

Everything tonight had been unexpected, both to herself and to the person beside her.

He truly did as he said, doing nothing more, simply holding her in his arms, listening to the night rain as they slept.

Du Lingjing thought she could not possibly fall asleep in this position, but she did not try to pull away. The rain pattering on the banana leaves urged her on, and in a daze, she quietly sank into darkness.

When she woke up the next day, the man was gone.

Hearing the disturbance, Qiu-Lin rushed in anxiously to check on her. “How are you, Miss? I listened all night, and it seems you did not ask for any extra water last night. Could it be… that the Marquis did not touch you?”

“Well… that’s not it…”

Du Lingjing could not help but think of what happened last night. She did not know how to tell Qiu-Lin, or perhaps what happened between them in the bedchamber last night was inappropriate for Qiu-Lin to know.

Du Lingjing felt her mind was still foggy, and her eyes were sore again.

She pursed her lips, remaining silent, while Qiu-Lin looked even more confused.

What exactly happened between the Miss and the Marquis last night?

She wanted to ask another question, but then she heard the Miss instruct her, “My eyes are a little sore. Could you wring out a cool cloth for me?”

Before she could finish speaking, the Marquis walked in from outside.

“Your eyes hurt? Hurt badly?” he asked, and Qiu-Lin instinctively looked at this “new son-in-law” with wariness.

Du Lingjing, hearing the sound, could not help but look over, but her gaze quickly averted upon meeting his.

She said no, but he took two steps forward to stand in front of her.

Qiu-Lin inexplicably wanted to block the way, but the Marquis did nothing, only stepping forward to examine the lady’s eyes closely.

He moved closer, and for some reason, the girl did not immediately turn her head away with her usual cold expression; instead, she slightly turned her face away, avoiding his gaze.

The Marquis said the lady’s eyes were not too red or swollen. “You can press the Qingming and Taiyang acupoints to relieve the pressure.”

After speaking, he pulled up a chair beside him and sat down in front of the lady, raising his hand to press the acupoints around her eyes.

His actions made Qiu-Lin look at the lady involuntarily. Would she refuse?

Sure enough, the lady spoke up and stepped aside, “Marquis, there’s no need for you to trouble yourself.”

Why was the lady’s refusal so polite? Qiu-Lin frowned secretly.

If such politeness could not be refused, the Marquis pressed acupoints around her eyes, saying, “It will be fine in a moment.”

Qiu-Lin thought to herself, if the young lady refused again, she would offer to massage the acupoints for her, asking the Marquis to stay away.

However, the young lady did not say anything more, letting the Marquis lean close to her, his fingertips resting on her eyes.

She merely frowned slightly, her eyes lowered, her face showing an indescribable melancholy, confusion, and a hint of resignation.

Qiu-Lin watched, her mind buzzing.

She increasingly wanted to know what had happened between the Marquis and the young lady last night, during the nightlong autumn rain.

But the young lady would not speak, and the Marquis certainly would not tell her; she would never know.

The wind outside the window tentatively wandered through the cracks in the latticed window.

She simply closed her eyes quietly.

Such a quiet appearance drew the man’s attention, his eyes thoughtful. …

The meal was served.

A simple breakfast was laid out in abundance, prepared by a maid who said it was made by a chef specializing in Beijing and Shandong cuisine.

Du Lingjing glanced discreetly at the Marquis, but he immediately caught her gaze and smiled at her.

“Is your appetite better today?”

Du Lingjing felt slightly embarrassed, nodded silently, and ate her meal.

After breakfast, they went to the Marquis’s ancestral hall.

Just as they reached the courtyard of the ancestral hall, Du Lingjing noticed the man beside her had ceased his relaxed appearance. He straightened his face and stepped into the courtyard, not needing any servants to help him, and personally pushed open the ancestral hall door.

The Marquis of Yongding’s family was filled with heroes.

The grand ancestral hall was now filled with their honors.

After entering the ancestral hall, he fell completely silent.

Du Lingjing looked at the memorial tablets, some high and some low, many of which were placed at the side, and whose seniority was the same as Lu Shenru’s.

Was it that time?

In the fourteenth year of the Hongqi reign, when the late Emperor was still alive, the Lu family led the Yongding army against the southward-bound Tatar army. However, due to infighting among the civil and military officials, they missed reinforcements, and more than half of the Lu family’s generals perished in that battle…

The merits of the Marquis of Yongding’s family were remembered by all.

Du Lingjing also composed herself and respectfully offered incense to the marquises of the Lu family.

But as she rose to leave, he turned to the other side and looked down at a memorial tablet below whose seniority was equal to his.

He whispered something to that tablet, but Du Lingjing did not hear it. She only saw him raise his hand to wipe the fine dust from the tablet before putting it back, and then leave the ancestral hall with her.

Today, as usual, she was to go to the palace to thank the Emperor for bestowing the marriage.

However, news came from the palace that the Emperor had been embroiled in controversy this morning after a suggestion to cut military spending, which led to a coalition of military officials attacking the decision. The Emperor had spent considerable time mediating, and upon returning to the inner palace, he felt somewhat dizzy.

The gratitude visit had to be postponed until tomorrow.

Lu Shenru was not in a hurry. He had originally wanted to stay with her, but several late-arriving military officers in the front courtyard had come to congratulate him, so he had to go as well.

As soon as he left, Du Lingjing could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The rain had stopped early, but a slight dampness from the autumn night lingered outside the window.

She sat at the dressing table by the window, intending to turn a few pages of a book, but instead remained still, quietly gazing at the large banana tree that had been transplanted from Jiangnan outside the window.

Although the marriage was bestowed by imperial decree, it was not exactly an arranged marriage. She had heard of the Marquis to some extent, and from the previous turmoil, she could discern some of his true nature.

He was a powerful marquis, a minister with the power of life and death—that much was true.

Even the respected and fawned-over Old Lady Wan of the capital was disregarded by him; with a flick of his wrist, he nearly took Gu Yangsi’s life.

No wonder the civil officials accused him of having a powerful faction, abusing his power, and controlling troops on the border, threatening the very foundation of the court.

He was a powerful minister, perhaps even a treacherous one—the kind of person Du Lingjing disliked most.

Furthermore, given the marriage arrangement, she could not refuse, and she expected a bad end to her last night.

But last night, he did not.

She found it hard to believe that he had fallen in love at first sight at Zhenyue Tower.

But he seemed to have a special… patience for her.

But they had only met a few times.

Du Lingjing could not help but feel a headache coming on, and her eyes stung.

A little over a month ago, when she left, she told Third Young Master in the bamboo forest of Qingzhou that she would return soon, but now, amidst the chaos, she was married to another man.

The sting in her eyes deepened. There was no bamboo forest outside the window, only the half-closed painted window, where banana leaves swayed freely in the breeze.

Lu Shenru pushed open the door and saw her sitting by the window, propped up on her arms. She was silent, seemingly lost in thought, yet seemingly unable to understand, staring blankly at the banana leaves outside.

The man did not disturb her, standing quietly watching her for a long time. She did not notice him at all. He went to the side and poured a cup of tea, but she still did not notice. Seeing this, he simply took the tea and sat down in the armchair behind her.

She was not wearing a red wedding gown, but only a light blue embroidered jacket in the room. Her black hair cascaded over her shoulders, and she sat in the center of the round lattice window, her chin resting on her hand. Outside, under the carved eaves, the banana leaves swayed in the breeze.

Like a scene from a painting, a view from the heavens.

But not in the heavens, not in memories, not in dreams.

Only in his eyes.

Lu Shenru sat behind her, watching without moving, his gaze softening involuntarily.

The wind stirred the carved windowpanes, and he saw her silently raise her hand and gently wipe away the tears from her eyes.

The man’s heart skipped a beat; he paused.

He wanted to tell her that her eyesight would go bad and that she should not cry, but he did not say it.

He simply watched her quietly, without disturbing her. After a while, seeing her slowly recover, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Marry him; do not be filled with melancholy.