Along the way, Jiang Suifeng struggled madly, trying to break free from the servants’ grip, but no matter what he did, it was useless.
Eventually, he was dragged into the main courtyard and thrown to the ground with a thud.
At that moment, he felt like a beaten dog.
He looked up to see most of the Marquis’ household had gathered. Everyone except for the second and third branches was there.
Quan Heng sat off to the side, with the man named Shen Zhengyu standing behind her, watching him coldly.
Quan Rui leaned against Zhao Qingrong, staring at him with undisguised disgust.
As for the Marquis and Marchioness, the look they gave him was as if they were already mourning him dead.
At last, Marquis Yongning, Quan Minghao, opened his mouth.
“Suifeng, do you understand what you did wrong today?”
Hearing this, Jiang Suifeng immediately dropped to his knees and began kowtowing desperately to Quan Minghao.
“I know I was wrong, Marquis. I know! I’ll never dare again!”
In this moment, no matter how unwilling he was inside, he had to beg for mercy. Otherwise, he might not even live to see the civil service exams begin.
Quan Minghao looked down at the man kneeling on the ground, sighing slightly.
Back when the two families lived next door, this boy had still been small—appearing innocent and sweet.
Even when he later moved into the Marquis’ manor, he seemed well-mannered and scholarly.
Who would have thought that in private, he was such a person—immoral, depraved, and calculating?
They’d already heard from Rui’er about how he deceived both her and the Chen family’s girl.
As someone he had raised from childhood, how could Quan Minghao not be furious?
But Rui’er’s reputation must be protected—what he did to her would be buried and never spoken of. They would act as though it never happened.
That left only the Chen family to handle.
Though their two households didn’t have close ties, they still served under the same court. There was a bond of colleagueship.
Half an hour earlier, a servant from the Chen residence had come to inform them of everything. As he left, he asked that the Marquis’ family not shield Jiang Suifeng, and to give them a proper explanation.
Now, it was time Jiang Suifeng learned his fate.
“Suifeng, you’re unmarried, yet you had illicit relations with the Shilang’s daughter. Now that Chen Qinghuan has miscarried, you must face the consequences.”
With a signal from his hand, a group of house guards rushed in, each wielding heavy wooden rods—an intimidating sight.
Seeing them, Jiang Suifeng trembled all over. He tried to crawl toward Quan Minghao to cling to his leg.
But halfway there, the guards pinned him to the ground, unable to move.
“Strike!”
At the command, a rod was raised high and came down hard on Jiang Suifeng’s legs.
Pain surged through him, and he howled in agony.
“Marquis! When Madam was in labor with little Quan Kai and nearly died, it was my parents who saved her!”
Another blow landed, and Jiang Suifeng collapsed, sobbing in pain. “Marquis, how can you repay kindness with cruelty like this?!”
Quan Minghao turned his back to him and shut his eyes.
“I know. And because of that debt, I allowed you to live here in the Marquisate. But your actions have bitterly disappointed me.”
“Yes, when Qingrong was in difficult labor, your parents saved my wife and child. But since then, we have given you wealth and gifts in return. Any request you made, we fulfilled.”
He opened his eyes with a sigh.
“It’s been five years. That debt has long been repaid in full.”
At those words, the beatings grew even fiercer. One blow after another fell on Jiang Suifeng’s legs.
Even though Quan Rui hated him, she turned her face away at the sight—unable to bear watching further.
Quan Heng stared fixedly at the man writhing on the ground. When she saw blood seeping from his legs, she felt her blood phobia begin to flare up again.
Suddenly, everything went dark in front of her eyes.
Turning her head, she saw that Ah Zheng had reached out and covered her eyes.
“Don’t look.”
Quan Heng chuckled softly.
All these years, and he still remembered she was afraid of blood.
The thought softened her heart just a little.
No one knew how long the beating lasted, but eventually, when Jiang Suifeng’s legs were shattered and he could no longer walk, the guards finally stopped.
Quan Minghao turned to look at the man lying on the ground like a dying dog and felt no pity at all.
He had two daughters. The thought that either of them might one day fall victim to someone like Jiang Suifeng made his skin crawl.
All men who toyed with women’s feelings deserved this end.
“That’s enough. Throw him out of the manor. From now on, he can fend for himself. He has nothing to do with our Marquisate ever again.”
Hearing the order, the servants dragged Jiang Suifeng away.
By now, darkness had fallen.
A clap of thunder cracked across the sky, followed by streaks of lightning. A drizzle began to fall, then quickly turned into a torrential downpour.
When Jiang Suifeng was thrown into the street, he landed directly in a puddle of muddy water.
At this moment, his heart was filled with hatred.
To serve as an official in court, one could not have any physical disability. Now, in this state, not to mention any hope of becoming an official in the future—even sitting for the imperial exam was no longer possible.
From childhood until now, he could be considered a young master of an official family. Though he lived in a remote area and was merely a concubine’s son, not favored by his household, he still had no worries about food and clothing.
When he had first arrived in the capital, all sorts of banquets, big and small, had sent him invitations.
It was then that he first felt dazzled by the endless splendor. He had originally only intended to take the exams, but later, he began to think that if he could marry a noblewoman and remain in the capital forever, that would be ideal.
So, later on, even as he toyed with two young ladies at the same time, he didn’t think anything of it.
After all, he was a man—what did it matter if he had three wives and four concubines? If both Quan Rui and Chen Qinghuan married him, wouldn’t that be perfect?
Why? On what grounds had he ended up in such a miserable state?
He hated the Marquis Manor. He hated the Chen family too.
At that moment, another deafening crack of thunder exploded overhead.
Jiang Suifeng burst into crazed laughter in the dark, rainy night.
This world was truly unfair to him!
If he could start over again, he would make sure the entire Marquis Manor died. If Quan Rui fell into his hands, he would make her cry to the heavens in vain, scream to the earth without answer.
Every suffering he had endured—he would make her go through it all, one by one.
But the next moment, a wave of endless sorrow crashed over him.
His wounds hurt so much. If he couldn’t find shelter tonight, if no doctor treated him, he might really die here.
He wanted revenge—so he had to survive first.
Clinging to that thought, he dragged his crippled leg, knocking door after door, but not a single household was willing to take him in.
Finally, just as he was about to collapse from exhaustion, he crawled to the end of a narrow alley.
A person stood before him.
It was clearly raining, yet this person wore white shoes—how odd.
He looked up and saw that not only the shoes, but the man’s entire outfit was white, and he wore a silver mask on his face.
Perhaps seeing that he was still alive, the man seemed to take some interest. He crouched down and reached out a hand to him.
“Want to live? Then come with me.”
At that moment, even though Jiang Suifeng had already reached a dead end, he remained wary in the face of such a strange figure.
“Who are you? Why are you helping me?”
The man chuckled lightly. “You just looked pitiful, that’s all. If you don’t want to, I’ll leave. You can stay here and wait to die.”
As soon as he finished, he stood up to go.
Jiang Suifeng gritted his teeth.
His wounds throbbed in agony—he couldn’t die like this.
“…Fine. Then let me see your face under that mask—can I?”
The man gave another quiet laugh and removed the mask.
But the moment Jiang Suifeng saw his face, he was utterly stunned.
“Shen Zhengyu?! Why are you here?!”
Yet on closer inspection, doubt crept into his heart.
This man looked exactly like that young Master Shen from the Marquis Manor—but under his right eye, there was no red mole.
They weren’t the same person.
The rain poured harder and harder, nearly drowning out his shocked exclamation.
Thunder crashed, as if it were about to strike the two of them where they stood.
But the man paid it no mind. He only stared in the direction of the Marquis Manor and murmured, “There’s thunder, Ah Heng. Are you afraid tonight?”
***
Quan Heng had just returned to Mingyue Pavilion. After quickly washing up, she climbed into bed.
The thunder tonight was terribly loud. She had feared thunder since childhood—and tonight was no exception.
She curled up tightly under the covers, pressing her hands over her ears as if that could block out the noise outside.
Even so, she still trembled with fear.
Suddenly, she thought she heard something at the window. But it was deep into the night now—she feared the thunder, and also ghosts. She didn’t dare poke her head out to look.
The next moment, she felt something shift on the bed. Looking closely, she was shocked to see someone climbing under the covers!
She instinctively wanted to scream—but a kiss sealed her lips.
“Mm—mm!”
In this world, the only person who would dare sneak into her bed in the middle of the night and kiss her… could only be Ah Zheng!
Shoving the person away, Quan Heng’s face flushed red. “What are you doing?!”
Just earlier today, she had witnessed the consequences of Jiang Suifeng and Chen Qinghuan’s affair. It had scared her terribly—she didn’t want the same thing to happen to her.
Knowing what she was worried about, Ah Zheng stole another kiss on her cheek. “Don’t worry. Before I came in, I checked—the whole Mingyue Pavilion is asleep. I was very careful. No one saw me.”
Hearing this, Quan Heng finally relaxed a bit.
But thinking of how he had suddenly stolen another kiss, she felt shy and flustered, awkward and embarrassed.
“With thunder this loud, why did you come over? Wasn’t it cold on the way?”
She looked up at him. He lowered his head and said pitifully, “It’s because of the thunder—I’m scared. So I came to find you. Will you protect me?”
His words made her laugh, her eyes curving into a smile.
“Alright, I’ll protect you.”
Anyone could tell—Ah Zheng knew she was afraid of thunder, so he made up an excuse to come keep her company.
Outside, thunder roared and rain poured down, but the two of them hid under the covers, quietly huddling together away from everyone’s sight.
A deep, contented happiness bloomed in her heart, almost filling it completely.
If only time could stop at this moment.
She and Ah Zheng—may they always understand and cherish each other.
