Chapter 40 (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
Chapter Forty
The most leisurely life Lin Rong had ever imagined was that she would redeem herself from the manor and settle down elsewhere.
Lin Rong was hardworking and not afraid of hardship from a young age. She also loved working in the fields and farming.
Lin Rong enjoys the joy of planting and waiting for the harvest. She hopes that the beans, melons, and vegetables will grow big and good.
Bean leaves can be used to make soup.
Boil green beans in plain water, peel them, and dip them in soybean paste to eat.
If you raise them a little older, they become soybeans. You grind them into a paste using a stone mill, then use brine to curdle tofu. You can sell it in town or keep it for yourself.
Soybean pulp can be used to feed chickens, or mixed with flour to make pancakes...
Lin Rong is almost omniscient in farming; she has a way of making a very good living.
Even if she never marries, even if she remains single until old age.
But Lin Rong knew that she had imagined countless kinds of life, but this was definitely not the kind where she would grow old and die in the private quarters of high-ranking officials and nobles.
She didn't want to compete with others for her husband, disliked being confined to the backyard by her children, was afraid of having to ask her husband's permission even to go out, and didn't want to be pushed, coaxed, or forced by servants to please her husband.
Lin Rong stayed by Pei Zan's side, accepting everything passively. There was very little she could resist or do.
If Lin Rong really gives birth to the child, she will be trapped in this house for the rest of her life.
She had to escape; she couldn't stay.
Lin Rong will not have any children; she will not give birth to any of Pei Zan's children.
...
Lin Rong remained silent, until Pei Zan had also washed himself and embraced her back onto the soft couch covered with animal skin blankets.
As Pei Zan's muscular body pressed down on her, Lin Rong finally couldn't help but shrink back and hunch over.
Before she could escape, her delicate, porcelain-like ankle was grasped by a warm palm.
Pei Zan showed no mercy; he used all his strength to forcefully pull Lin Rong back to his waist.
"Lin Rong, don't mess with me."
Pei Zan's gaze was unfriendly, but he kindly offered a word of advice.
He then guided her to bend her knees and wrap herself up around him, clinging tightly to him.
With nowhere to escape, Lin Rong could only helplessly lift her leg and climb onto Pei Zan's slender waist.
The girl's fine, snow-white eyelashes trembled incessantly, and she was sweating profusely. Pei Zan's cold, indifferent eyes, like those of a hawk, scrutinized her carefully from head to toe.
Lin Rong drank the medicine and dispelled the cold. She didn't wear any makeup, and her face was bare and clear. She wasn't sick.
No matter how many times she had sex, she was always terrified, her legs would tremble or her arms would stiffen.
Lin Rong could sense the young master approaching with a tense and menacing air.
Lin Rong, no longer wanting to suffer, naturally did her best to accommodate him, and dared not utter a single complaint.
Lin Rong looked flustered and helpless, but Pei Zan was so frank with her that she felt offended no matter what she looked at. She really didn't know what she should be looking at.
Looking up, Lin Rong caught a glimpse of Pei Zan's elegant jawline and his prominent Adam's apple, which, like a peach pit, throbbed beneath his thin skin.
Perhaps because Pei Zan was pleased, the man lowered his handsome eyes.
A drop of hot sweat fell onto the corner of Lin Rong's eye, burning her and making her breathing heavier.
Lin Rong was somewhat confused. Her slender fingers curled up, making the tiger-skin pattern beneath her appear even more ferocious.
She and the soft blankets crumpled together, exuding fragrance.
She was completely devoured by the man.
Perhaps out of a desire for revenge, Lin Rong, for some reason, tilted her head back and bit Pei Zan's prominent Adam's apple.
That hard, distinctive man's Adam's apple was gently licked and caressed by her tongue.
The girl then pursed and sucked with her full lips, enveloping them in her warm lip cavity.
This was probably the first time Lin Rong was so infatuated that she took the initiative to kiss him.
It was nothing more than a few small swallowing movements, yet Pei Zan's breathing became heavy and his phoenix eyes turned bloodshot.
He gripped Lin Rong's slender waist tightly.
He almost wanted to twist her into dust.
He pressed Lin Rong back onto his lap with such arrogance.
Lin Rong was having trouble breathing, as if every last piece of her flesh and blood was about to be devoured by Pei Zan.
In the blink of an eye, her cherry lips were sealed by Pei Zan again.
Pei Zan narrowed his cold eyes slightly and kissed her with ease.
He bit her, as if in retaliation for Lin Rong's earlier overstepping of boundaries.
Pei Zan deliberately used his teeth to nibble at her soft lips, drawing out her delicate tongue, and wantonly pushed, teased, and entwined it, kissing her with an addictive, sometimes heavy, sometimes light touch.
Pei Zan kissed them so deeply that their breaths mingled, and they were inseparable.
Before Lin Rong could escape from this hot, suffocating, and damp cage...
Pei Zan, having tasted the sweetness, abandoned her already swollen and red lips, licking her chin and moving down to her narrow, crescent-shaped collarbone.
Lin Rong endured those kisses that were sometimes intimate and sometimes lukewarm.
She suppressed her breathing and the soft moans that escaped her lips during moments of passion.
She was powerless to resist and could only let Pei Zan do as he pleased, until Pei Zan softened for a moment and mercifully released her delicate shoulders and neck.
Lin Rong was covered in sweat and saliva, a mixture of the two of them.
It was at this moment that she finally understood: there was a bloodstained tooth mark on Pei Zan's neck.
Pei Zan pressed her against him, and they shamelessly intertwined their necks.
Such insatiable demands left Lin Rong's long neck, the corners of her mouth, her chest, and her fair skin covered in messy, scattered kiss marks and teeth marks...
From then on, Lin Rong finally understood one thing: Pei Zan was vengeful.
She's essentially killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of her own; Pei Zan won't let her gain any advantage.
...
Pei Zan went three times, but still felt it wasn't enough.
Lin Rong was almost going crazy.
She clenched her teeth, tears streaming down her face.
"Young Master, stop!"
"It really won't work..."
Pei Zan, however, was domineering and still had to try his best.
He held down Lin Rong's struggling legs.
"This is nothing... Lin Rong, don't underestimate yourself."
Whenever Pei Zan maliciously offended her, Lin Rong would frown and sob.
The soft sobbing, like that of a kitten, gave Pei Zan a headache.
The man glanced over and saw that all the filth was left on the bed, soaking the area.
It's really upsetting.
Pei Zan's phoenix eyes darkened, and he let out a cold sneer.
If it can't swallow it, it spits out half of it; it's quite delicate.
-
When Pei Zan finished, he finally stopped when dawn was breaking.
Lin Rong was exhausted. She slumped in Pei Zan's arms, unable to utter a single word.
Pei Zan, on the other hand, was quite satisfied and in high spirits.
The tent was filled with a decadent fragrance. Pei Zan half-closed his deep, beautiful phoenix eyes and said lazily at the end of his sentence, "I've always wanted to ask, if you were so afraid, why did you accept the pleasures of love that night?"
Lin Rong immediately understood and guessed that Pei Zan was referring to the time when he delivered the tea.
She wanted to say that he had forcibly dragged her there, and she just didn't dare to disobey her master. Besides, Pei Zan had saved her life when she was a child... so she would help him with the antidote, and that would settle their scores.
Apart from that, there is absolutely no other affection whatsoever!
Before Lin Rong could speak, Pei Zan said something intriguing.
"Lin Rong, you walked right into my trap. It was your destiny to suffer this calamity... You can't blame me."
Lin Rong felt a tightness in her chest and was helpless against Pei Zan's unreasonable arguments.
Lin Rong knew perfectly well that the young master was domineering and tyrannical by nature, and he had his own way of making excuses for himself. He would not allow her to escape even a little bit!
-
Pei Zan had only been sleeping with Lin Rong for two hours when he got up, dressed, and left the sheepskin tent.
For this hunting feast, each household brought their own maids. The mess in the tents was cleaned up by the old women. Lin Rong was too tired to do anything but close her eyes and go to sleep.
There was a hunting competition in the mountains today, but Lin Rong was not feeling well and did not watch the competition.
Wu Nianzhen put on a very convincing act. Knowing that Lin Rong had been frightened yesterday, she specially brought roasted meat wrapped in banana leaves to visit Lin Rong, who was frozen and unconscious, at noon.
The maids and servants guarding the tents this time were sent by Uncle Feng, and they would not let anyone pass by easily, no matter who disturbed them.
The maidservant stopped Wu Nianzhen and said, "Miss Wu, please allow me to go into the tent and report."
Wu Nianzhen was annoyed when a lowly maid blocked her way, but she knew that the place was heavily guarded and there might be spies left by Pei Zan. She dared not make any rash moves and could only force a smile as she let the maid enter the tent to deliver the message.
Lin Rong knew that Wu Nianzhen had arrived, and remained silent for a long time.
She thought of Pei Zan's crazy words last night about wanting her to get pregnant, and how even after all that commotion, he wouldn't let her get up to clean up immediately, nor would he allow her to take any contraceptive medicine... She made a decision in her heart.
"Let Miss Wu in, just her alone. No one else is allowed in... Also, check if she is carrying any sharp weapons, and remove any hairpins from her hair."
The maid knew that Lin Rong was wary of Wu Nianzhen and afraid that she had hidden a murder weapon.
The young maidservant hurriedly replied, "Don't worry, Aunt Lin, I'm Uncle Feng's woman, and I will never let those idle people harm a single hair on your head!"
Lin Rong smiled and said, "Thank you. But after the search, please keep your distance and don't let anyone else in. Since Miss Wu caused me to fall into the water, she should apologize to me no matter what. I am a concubine, living on the favor of the Grand Commander, and she can't do anything to me... But you are different. After all, Miss Wu will be the future mistress of the Pei family. If you offend her too much and see her in such a predicament, you will probably face difficulties in the future."
The young maid was still quite young, and after hearing Lin Rong's heartfelt words, she felt even more that her aunt was kind and gentle. She nodded repeatedly, "Thank you for your advice, Aunt."
After being searched, Wu Nianzhen finally entered the tent with a resentful look on her face.
She took a deep breath, thinking of Pei Zan's angry face last night, and forced a smile, calling out "Sister Lin".
Lin Rong deliberately stroked her lower abdomen under the quilt and whispered to Wu Nianzhen, "Last night, the Grand Commander allowed me to give birth to my eldest son."
"Lin Rong!" This single sentence shattered all of Wu Nianzhen's feigned composure.
Lin Rong pulled her back: "Keep your voice down, so that no one outside the tent can hear you and misunderstand that Miss Wu is causing trouble here."
Wu Nianzhen snapped out of her daze and cautiously observed the figure outside the curtain. Seeing the person had gone far away, she finally snapped, gritting her teeth in exasperation: "You deliberately came here to show off?! You're quite the cunning one! Do you really think that as the mistress of the house, I can't punish you once you're in the household?!"
Lin Rong shook her head, pulled Wu Nianzhen aside, and whispered in her ear, "I know I've made Miss Wu uneasy. Without me, Miss Wu's beauty alone would surely have won over the Grand Commander's heart..."
Wu Nianzhen's expression shifted between light and shadow. She glanced down at Lin Rong, whose features remained delicate and fragile.
Wu Nianzhen couldn't understand Lin Rong's thoughts, so she frowned and asked her, "What exactly do you want?"
Lin Rong didn't speak. She wrote on Wu Nianzhen's palm with very simple words: If I run away, Miss Wu will definitely be the young master's favorite.
Wu Nianzhen was so shocked that she was speechless, and even wondered if Lin Rong had deliberately said those words to set some kind of trap.
Because she didn't understand that Pei Zan held a high position and was handsome and extraordinary. Lin Rong was already favored by Pei Zan, so what more could she ask for?
Regardless of what Wu Nianzhen thought, Lin Rong continued to write in Wu Nianzhen's palm: Prepare silver, men's clothing, carriages, travel permits, and fake identity cards for me, and I will leave the South and give the young master to you.
Wu Nianzhen's heart stirred; she knew, of course, that it was a good thing that Lin Rong had voluntarily withdrawn.
But Wu Nianzhen wasn't stupid. She was afraid that no sooner had she sent Lin Rong away than Lin Rong would run to Pei Zan to complain, saying that Wu Nianzhen was single-mindedly targeting her favorite concubine and had forced Lin Rong to leave the south, thus ruining the marriage between the Wu and Pei families.
Wu Nianzhen's mind raced, and she came up with a mutually beneficial solution.
"Lin Rong, I don't believe you... unless you can give me a promise."
Lin Rong knew what kind of promise she wanted: nothing more than not releasing the hawk until she saw the rabbit.
For women in the inner quarters, the most important thing is having offspring.
The saying "a wife's status rises with her son's" is not just a saying.
Lin Rong lowered her eyes and continued writing in Wu Nianzhen's palm: Prepare the infertility medicine, I will drink it.
Lin Rong made up her mind, and on the day she escaped, she and Wu Nianzhen bartered for each other.
Wu Nianzhen could prepare a bowl of medicine to prevent him from having children, which she would drink in front of him. In doing so, she would cut off her own path to survival, only seeking to escape.
Wu Nianzhen remained silent for a long time. She couldn't believe that Lin Rong would make such a sacrifice in order to escape!
But this is an extremely profitable business!
As long as Wu Nianzhen watches Lin Rong drink the infertility drug and gives her some silver and carriages to help her escape, even if Lin Rong is caught by Pei Zan halfway, she will only be a favored concubine who will never be able to conceive.
With a favored but childless wife, Lin Rong can't cause any trouble!
In this way, the biggest threat can be eliminated.
Wu Nianzhen was tempted. Suppressing her joy, she smiled at Lin Rong and said, "Okay, I'll help you. You asked for this yourself, so don't regret it."
Lin Rong shook her head: "I won't regret it, thank you for your help, Miss Wu."
Lin Rong was absolutely certain that it was far better than being trapped in the inner quarters of her home for the rest of her life, not knowing when she would become pregnant.
She longed to remain childless for life, hoping only to escape one day...
Lin Rong is free; she cannot be locked in the backyard by anyone, trapped in an inescapable hell, never to be reborn.
No matter what, she had to leave Pei Zan and escape the golden cage he had built for her.
Author's Note: This is Tuesday's update~
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