Chapter 42 The upright and virtuous Grand Scholar Liang…
Shanhe has long since fallen from grace.
Her eyes reddened, and she glared at him angrily, scratching his face resentfully. After a long while, she suddenly seemed deflated, lowering her gaze and sighing softly in resignation, "How can I serve you if you hold my hand like this, sir?"
Liang Ye was taken aback, never expecting her to give in so easily. He released his grip and noticed that her wrist and the back of her hand were red from his hold. She must be in a lot of pain. Liang Ye quickly smiled and said, "It's really my fault for hurting you."
Then he noticed that her wrists were also bare, so he pulled her into his arms and said, "Shall we get another pair of gold bracelets?"
Shanhe gently rubbed her wrist. When he pulled her into his arms, she fell to the side, her head hitting his shoulder. With the movement, her chest rose and fell like waves.
Two crimson beads, plump and fluffy like pom-poms, peeked out from behind her silk robe.
She quietly tightened her collar.
Liang Ye freed his other hand and placed it on her wrist, gently massaging it. His warm breath brushed against her ear, making her spine stiffen.
He laughed lewdly: "It's only this itchy? It's just a breath—"
"Can I teach you... how to be soft?"
Shanhe frowned slightly, but when she looked up, her expression softened. Her beautiful eyes swept over his face, inch by inch, revealing her charming and graceful nature.
Liang Ye felt a lump in his throat.
She laughed, but with a hint of gritted teeth: "That's not enough."
"What's not enough?" he tilted his head, puzzled.
"Grandpa, close your eyes."
Liang Ye curled his lips into a smile: "If you had done this earlier, you wouldn't have had to suffer so much." His phoenix eyes were already closed.
Shanhe removed the towel from his waist and tied one of his hands to the bedpost. Hearing his increasingly rapid breathing, her eyes burned with anger. She gritted her teeth, her fingertips reaching to lift the fabric of his shirt, trying to keep her voice even: "Do others know that the self-disciplined and abstinent Liang, the great scholar, is so dissolute in bed?"
He raised an eyebrow, his voice becoming more urgent: "Only you know." This was the truth.
She chuckled softly, a sound that burned in Liang Ye's ears. She then took an unused handkerchief from beside the bed and, in the same manner, tied two tight knots, determined to keep him tied to the bed like an animal.
Shanhe then asked, "Shao doesn't know either?"
He frowned slightly. "Don't mention him." He paused, then added, "From now on, call him Second Master."
"No way, he taught me how to tie people up." She was referring to the time when Liang Shao refused to divorce her and almost tied her up and raped her.
Thinking of this, she felt a little lonely.
"Besides, didn't the old man just say that he could teach me to be soft in one breath?"
He gave a long, muffled "hmm," waiting for her to continue.
She glared at him coldly, then dropped a bombshell: "Your brother knows better than you do."
He suddenly opened his eyes and realized that his hands were tied to the two bedposts, while she had retreated to the footrest and was looking at him with a cold, sinister smile.
She turned around and walked towards the door.
Liang Ye hurriedly raised his voice: "You can't get out!"
She turned her head, smiled, and her smile was gentle and beautiful, just like the Xue Shanhe she used to know. She said, "If I don't go out, how can I run away? I need Master's permission even to die. I'll stay here with Master."
After saying that, she walked to the door, opened it a crack, and said to Huaisong at the door, "You can go down first. I can't get out if the master is here."
Huaisong let out an "Ah".
Liang Ye shouted, "Don't listen to her! Just stay here!" Then he changed his mind and said, "Come in!"
Shanhe frowned, pointed two fingers at Huaisong's chest, and pushed him away: "The old man is having a great time and is joking with you. If you want to come in, I won't allow it. Huaisong, go and rest for a while, and come back in an hour. No late, no early."
Seeing her like this, and noticing her disheveled clothes, Huaisong blushed, quickly lowered his head, said "I'll take my leave," and hurriedly ran away.
Snap.
The door latch was bolted.
Shanhe turned around gracefully, her back against the door latch, and smiled at him from afar: "Actually, you could have forced Huaisong to stay, and he would have come in, but you didn't insist. Why?"
Liang Ye glared at her angrily.
Shanhe said, "You know it's shameful. Even the upright and virtuous Grand Scholar Liang felt ashamed to be tied to a bed by a woman, didn't he?"
Liang Ye's eyes were bloodshot, his jaw clenched, and a few words escaped between his teeth: "Let go of me!"
Shanhe sighed: "Then why didn't you think about me? I was forced to come here, I was forced to be treated like this by you every day. Would I feel just as embarrassed in front of Chengmin, Chengan, Caixiang, and Caiping?"
Liang Ye's lips tightened: "With me here, they wouldn't dare think that way."
Shanhe sneered: "What makes you so sure they wouldn't dare to think that way? When my grandfather was alive, when Ah Shao and I were still husband and wife, you followed the rules. Can you say with certainty that you never dared to think about me?"
He swallowed.
"Would anyone know that the self-disciplined and virtuous scholar Liang was so easily mocked in bed by a female slave?"
Liang Ye was furious and ordered her to untie herself immediately.
She continued with the previous question: "Does Ah Shao know?"
Shanhe lit an incense stick first, pointing to the rising smoke: "I'll untie you after the incense burns out." Then Lian walked to the table, laid out paper, and ground ink. Her heart was pounding with excitement. Her eyes were stinging and her nose was tingling with sadness.
Dipping her brush in ink, Shanhe wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and sniffed, "Why are you doing this to me? I've already compromised so much, why won't you let me go?"
The voice suddenly became urgent: "Why won't you let me go!"
Her sudden outburst brought the room to an abrupt silence.
Liang Ye stared at her face, which was covered in tears, endless tears that quickly blurred her beautiful face.
Suddenly, he felt a pain in his heart, like being pricked by a needle. It wouldn't kill him, and it might not even leave a wound, but it hurt, slightly and for a long time.
He knew he had gone too far in how he had treated her before. But seeing her so wronged and upset, his heart ached more than ever before. He felt a pang of pity, but only a little. He thought she would soon come to him and become his woman. He thought he could change her mind and treat her well, for the rest of his life.
But now, her crying was no different from before, and her resistance was not even as intense as before. So why did he feel a sharp pain in his heart? He looked at Shanhe wiping away her tears, and his throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, making him feel uncomfortable.
Shanhe burst into tears, her hand trembling as she held the pen. She supported her right wrist with her left hand, forcing herself to draw.
The painting was naturally not very good, but every stroke and line was complete, capturing exactly what Liang Ye looked like at that moment.
She didn't have many thoughts. Her experiences over the past two days had taught her she couldn't escape. Even if she did, he would use her slave registration to arrest her at the Jinling government office. She didn't believe his words about taking her as a concubine. With his concern for his reputation, career, and future, how could he possibly give her a title? Besides, she didn't want to be by his side at all.
Shanhe recalled a phrase, "a stopgap measure".
The sweet words he uttered and the promises he made were merely expedient measures. For him, she might only be a novelty, a physical attraction. But for someone as intelligent as him, who had passed the imperial examinations with flying colors, how easy was it for him to disguise physical desire as deep affection? Perhaps he truly intended to "take care" of her for life, but that was likely only due to his upbringing and his desire to keep it a secret from others. Even the refined and gentle scholar Liang, in private, was having an affair with his brother's wife.
It's not about taking care of her, it's about imprisoning her.
She can't escape anyway, so she might as well stay here! But if she's unhappy, he won't be happy either.
That was all the resistance she could offer.
The incense had gone out by the time the painting was finished. Liang Ye leaned against the bedpost, veins bulging on his forehead, staring coldly at her. Shan He, however, smiled gently, showing him the painting of Liang Jinshi bound, while using her slender fingers to untie his handkerchief.
Shanhe said, "Please take a look, sir."
Red marks were already visible on Liang Ye's hands from the bindings, and he was barely suppressing his anger, a palpable rage emanating from him. Just moments before, as Shan He was painting, he had been tormented, his heart aching for her pitiful state, for her weeping so sorrowfully; then, he was consumed by rage, furious that she dared to mock him like this. He had bitten his lips until they bled, and now, seeing her kneeling before him, carefully untying her handkerchief, so gentle and considerate, as if nothing had happened, his heartache had taken over. But then, upon closer inspection, the simple sketch revealed himself—his hands bound to the bedpost in a humiliating state. Rage completely overwhelmed his heartache, and Liang Ye trembled with rage.
The handkerchief was tied too tightly, and Shanhe had to use quite a bit of effort. Her voice was soft, as if she were talking about everyday life: "I used to paint a lot back home. But after coming to Mizhou, I put it aside. I was busy with trivial matters every day and had no time to pick up a brush and paint. I have never painted like this for my grandfather or A-Shao. This is the first time I have done it for my uncle."
She didn't know why she was talking to him about these things. Perhaps she had genuinely compromised, and by saying some gentle words to lessen his anger, she could feel a little better. She laughed at her own weakness, and at how she was clearly weak yet couldn't help but resist.
They were weak but not completely weak, and they resisted but not completely resisted.
Shanhe looked up at him, her smile still somewhat forced, as if she were trying her best to maintain it. Seeing Liang Ye's furrowed brows and bloodshot eyes, she reached out to smooth his furrowed brows: "What are you angry about? Don't you treat me like this too?"
He sneered, his phoenix eyes narrowing in a cold gaze.
Shanhe rolled up her sleeves, revealing two sections of her wrists with faint red marks, and placed them beside his hand: "Look, I have them too, you did it."
Liang Ye remained silent, taking off the handkerchief that had already been untied from his wrist and tossing it onto the couch, his eyes blazing with anger. He twisted his wrist, suddenly stood up, grabbed Shan He by the collar, lifted her up, and strode out with her.
Shanhe clung to him, refusing to go with him. He pursed his lips, then suddenly pulled Shanhe out and hoisted her onto his shoulder.
How could Liang Ye, a mere scholar, possess such great strength? In fact, the two Liang brothers used to study and practice martial arts together, but later they chose their own paths and went their separate ways.
Moreover, there's another point: Liang Shao is naturally strong, but when facing Shan He, he always holds back, only using eight-tenths of his strength, for fear of hurting her. Liang Ye, on the other hand, is not as strong as Liang Shao, naturally only having eight-tenths of his strength, but when facing Shan He, he uses all eight-tenths of his strength, for fear of making her disobedient. Furthermore, he has a ruthlessness that Liang Shao lacks; when he uses eight-tenths of his strength, it seems as if he has ten.
Shanhe lay on his shoulder, but this time she didn't thrash around with her fists and feet like last time—she knew that thrashing around was useless, so she might as well be sensible and suffer less physical pain.
However, not wanting to be too embarrassed, she said softly, "Tell them to leave."
Liang Ye laughed sinisterly: "So you know how to be embarrassed! Do you think you can just let yourself be?" He called out loudly: "Cheng Min! Cheng An!"
The two men rushed over, heads bowed, not daring to look directly at each other.
Liang Ye said to Cheng An, "Drag Qingyue over here."
Cheng An hesitated: "Sir, Miss Qingyue's hand hasn't fully healed yet."
"Oh, she walks on her hands?"
Cheng An hurriedly said, "I'll call her right away," and turned to go into her room.
Upon hearing Qingyue's name, Shanhefu shuddered and exclaimed, "What are you going to do? She didn't do anything to you!"
Liang Ye's voice grew colder and colder: "Shanshan, didn't I tell you that if you don't listen, Qingyue's days will be unbearable?"
Shanhe's body trembled slightly, and she hurriedly patted Liang Ye's back, asking, "What are you doing? What exactly are you going to do?"
Seeing the person on his shoulder like a fish out of water, Liang Ye frowned, clicked his tongue softly, and slapped Shanhe's buttocks.
Her round, firm breasts rippled like waves when she slapped them. A crisp "smack" rang out, sounding somewhat sticky to the ears. Cheng Min was standing right in front of her, and the servants and maids passing by were naturally drawn to the short sound, unable to resist raising their eyes before quickly looking away. Shan He felt a surge of shame and indignation, her vision blurred, and she dared not move.
Cheng Min, who had been peeking and watching the commotion, lowered her head even further in a panic.
Liang Ye said in a deep voice, "Shanshan, do you really think what I said was just to scare you?" He then turned to Cheng Min and said, "Bring the cane."
Cheng Min asked doubtfully, "A cane?"
Liang Ye was known for his gentle and kind nature; he rarely used corporal punishment, let alone spoke harshly. The servants of the main branch all praised his benevolence. Where could they find corporal punishment now?
“I know you’re a tough nut to crack, not even afraid of death.” Liang Ye turned to Cheng Min. “Then, if Madam Xue makes a mistake in the future, the punishment will be applied to Miss Qingyue. Do you understand?”
-----------------------
Author's Note: The next chapter will be quite angsty... [Chilled]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
