"Creak."
The sound of the wooden door turning on its hinges was piercingly distinct in the silent night.
The two men inside the room both jolted, their eyes holding both terror and a sense of relief that an end was finally coming.
Qin Yanzhou did not enter immediately. Instead, as if remembering something, he took a step back, took the lantern hanging under the eaves, and entered, holding it aloft. The light spread from outside in, illuminating the two men inside and allowing them to see the face of the visitor.
Inside, Fan Tianshi and Fan Zhongmin had their mouths stuffed with coarse cloth to prevent them from biting their tongues, while their hands were tied tightly behind their backs.
When the two men saw Qin Yanzhou holding the lantern, they were both taken aback.
Fan Zhongmin's pupils constricted, his nostrils flared, and a heavy, muffled sound issued from his throat.
Compared to the emotionally volatile Fan Zhongmin, Fan Tianshi beside him was more composed—though this was perhaps also due to him having been seriously injured for a long time.
Qin Yanzhou casually placed the lantern on a low table, then drew a short blade from his waist and walked towards Fan Zhongmin.
Fan Zhongmin shook his head frantically. With his legs and hands bound, he wriggled on the floor like a worm, trying to get away from Qin Yanzhou.
Qin Yanzhou walked up to him, crouched down, and pulled the cloth from his mouth. "Do you want to live?"
Fan Zhongmin was stunned for a moment, then nodded wildly. "Quanjie, I have no grievance with you! Let me go! I have much silver and beautiful concubines. If you are willing to spare my life, I will give you all of it."
Qin Yanzhou swung the blade.
Fan Zhongmin instinctively closed his eyes and screamed, but the expected pain did not come. Instead, the bindings on his hands loosened. He opened his eyes, thinking Qin Yanzhou had agreed, and a wave of wild joy surged within him. But the next moment—
"Clatter." A short blade landed in front of him.
The blade bounced slightly on the wooden floor, its polished surface reflecting a cold gleam.
"Within one quarter of an hour, cut off his right arm, and I will let you live," Qin Yanzhou said expressionlessly.
The joy on Fan Zhongmin's face froze. He turned stiffly to look beside him, where his father was staring at him in horror. "I... I..."
Qin Yanzhou silently drew another blade.
Fan Zhongmin began to tremble. Pampered since childhood, he knew he was no match for the man before him.
He shifted his gaze back to Fan Tianshi. After struggling for a long time, he gripped the blade with both hands and approached, beginning to mutter neurotically, "Father, he's forcing me. It's all Quanjie forcing me. And Quanjie doesn't want your life, just an arm. You'll surely part with it. You've already lost one legitimate son. You wouldn't just watch your only remaining legitimate son die for nothing, would you..."
Fan Tianshi's eyes nearly burst from their sockets, a heavy, furious sound coming from his nose.
Fan Zhongmin closed his eyes, his hands shaking as he plunged the blade in, intending to slice it off in one stroke. But he was out of shape, his strength insufficient, and his heart was filled with dread. The cut was not clean at all; it was more like he was sawing back and forth across Fan Tianshi's shoulder.
Fan Tianshi's eyes filled with blood, his teeth grinding audibly.
A long, long time later, something finally fell with a "thud," blood spreading across the floor.
Fan Zhongmin, his face pale, turned around, about to force an ingratiating smile, when a short blade pierced him through. His pupils dilated. "You... you lied to me."
A breeze blew in just then, causing the flame of the now-uncovered lantern to flicker violently. The wildly shifting light and shadow played across the young man's exquisite features, and as his lips curved slightly, it revealed a sick, sinister coldness. "So what if I did? What can you do about it?"
He pulled the blade out cleanly, kicked away Fan Zhongmin who had collapsed before him, and walked towards Fan Tianshi, blade in hand.
Wiping the blood from the blade onto Fan Tianshi's face, then tapping his cheek with the flat of the blade, Qin Yanzhou whispered, "Even a dog can bite a man to death. Don't you agree?"
Fan Tianshi's mouth was still stuffed, unable to utter a single word, and he could only glare at him with hatred.
Qin Yanzhou looked at his intact left arm, a flicker of excitement passing through his eyes.
The full moon hung high in the sky, shining brightly, its silvery light spilling over the earth and slipping into countless households.
At this moment, in a side room not far from the main courtyard, no lamps were lit inside. Only the moonlight slipping through the window illuminated the two figures by the window a little.
Daili sat on Qin Shaozong's lap, one hand braced against his solid chest, the other resting on the beast-head buckle of his sash, which was now exceptionally loose and served no purpose in holding his clothes together.
The night wasn't particularly sultry, but with every breath, Daili felt as if she were inhaling scorching air.
It was as if the air, still carrying his scent, entered through her mouth and nose, traveled down her windpipe, spread through her meridians, leaving behind tiny sparks of fire in her blood and bones wherever it passed.
"...It was nothing. I just gave Nangong some horses and provisions, and made up for the things that brat looted before. He agreed to let bygones be bygones. In the future, if he sees that kid, Nangong might even exchange a few pleasantries with him. Yanzhou is already taken. Tell him he can go out boldly from now on."
Qin Shaozong answered her question while raising his hand first to wipe away a trace of moisture at the corner of her lips, then moving his calloused thumb a little further, brushing over her swollen lips.
"My lord is indeed a man of his word, a true gentleman." As she finished speaking, the woman's soft, red tongue seemed to inadvertently peek out slightly, lightly touching his rough thumb like a dragonfly skimming water.
The corners of her eyes were flushed crimson, her red lips and the dot on her forehead the color of cinnabar. The moonlight fell on her jade-like face, adding a touch of hazy grace to her peach-blossom eyes that seemed to hold deep emotion, like a peony in full, breathtaking bloom after a misty spring rain.
It was a mature, alluring beauty that invited wild imaginings, and an enchanting charm that could drown a man.
The man's eyes darkened abruptly. The large hand resting on her spine moved back up, settling with full possessiveness on the slender, pale nape of her neck.
He pressed her to draw close to him again.
As they met once more, he first gently caught her lower lip between his teeth, nibbling and sucking, teasing her thoroughly before driving deep, capturing that soft red with an ineffable sense of possession to bully it, then sliding down to repeatedly stroke the sensitive root of her tongue.
Daili trembled violently, her dazed eyes glistening with moisture. For a moment, she didn't know whether to press down on his mischievous hand below first, or to lean back to avoid its advance.
The battle for Yanzhou was over, the war completely concluded. He came with overwhelming force, like a man finally released from restraint, ready to feast heartily, making Daili's heart quiver.
Having experienced the previous few times, she suddenly realized she couldn't let him completely control the pace. Given this man's habits, he would always make things last until very late.
Daili immediately changed her actions. She still pressed down, but this time it wasn't on his hand.
She pressed down, then began to act willfully herself, learning from him.
Qin Shaozong's pupils contracted. A low, beast-like sound of excitement rumbled in his throat, and the large hand on the back of her neck slid down once more.
The two sets of breaths in the room grew gradually heavier, the temperature seeming to climb layer by layer. After an unknowable amount of time, Daili suddenly felt the powerful body beneath her tense.
Her chest was heaving violently now, her sash completely loose, the undergarment that had been tied behind her back barely hanging on, revealing vast stretches of snowy, lush whiteness.
Moonlight fell upon it, making that expanse of fair, slightly blushed skin shimmer with a soft glow.
Qin Shaozong suddenly tightened his embrace of the woman before him, buried his head, and pressed his high-bridged nose into the soft, pearly flesh.
A moment later, Daili felt him relax. She secretly curved the corner of her lips. Unexpectedly, he chose that moment to look up, and their eyes met squarely.
Daili's heart gave a lurch, thinking to herself that she was in trouble.
"Courtesy demands reciprocity. Let me serve my lady in return," he said, hooking up the corner of his mouth. Suddenly, he encircled her waist with one arm, lifting her solely by the strength of his arm, while his other hand slid down along the line of her waist and into her trousers.
By the time Daili sat down again, she was sitting entirely on his hand.
Daili was greatly startled. Before she could even speak, he leaned in again, swallowing all the words in her throat.
When Qin Yanzhou walked out of that pavilion courtyard, a night breeze happened to brush past. The wind blew against his face, cool and refreshing, like an invisible yet powerful hand lifting some of the weight of the great mountain pressing on his shoulders.
The scent of blood drifted from behind. It was distinctly unpleasant, yet the young man closed his eyes as if enjoying it, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled, as if expelling all the depression and pain accumulated in his chest over the years.
A moment later, he finally stepped away. The area outside the courtyard was already empty.
At first, Qin Yanzhou thought Daili had returned, but when he got back to the main courtyard, he found that whether it was the side rooms or the main quarters, listening intently revealed no movement within.
"Young master is back." Nianxia had been waiting in the courtyard.
Qin Yanzhou asked, "Has my mother returned?"
"She did return. Madam came back to fetch something, then went out again with the lord." Nianxia replied thus.
Qin Yanzhou: "What did mother take?"
"Fish bladder." Nianxia answered truthfully; she didn't understand the use of that item either.
Qin Yanzhou didn't understand either.
Nianxia remembered the lord's instruction. She hadn't intended to relay it, but who knew the young master would be so intent on getting to the bottom of it. She had no choice but to brace herself and say, "Young master, the lord told you to go to bed early, saying that's how you can grow taller faster, and told you not to concern yourself with matters between your elders."
Qin Yanzhou's face instantly turned grim.
Tonight's moon was exceptionally bright and clear, without a single wisp of cloud around it. As the moon slanted westward, even larger swathes of moonlight than before slipped into the room.
The room was filled with a subtle, floating fragrance, glowing softly.
Daili no longer had the strength to hold up her spine, and could only slump limply into Qin Shaozong's embrace.
Her arms were wrapped around his neck, as if trying to leverage herself up, or perhaps seeking support. The iron-like arm tightly encircling her waist directly eliminated the first possibility.
Her fair fingers clutched tightly at the man's lapels, with such force that faint, jade-like veins appeared on the back of her hand.
She trembled violently, quivering like autumn leaves in the wind. In the end, as if finally unable to bear the rough calluses on his fingers and palm, Daili opened her mouth and bit his neck.
Attacked in such a vulnerable spot as the neck, Qin Shaozong tensed for an instant, but quickly relaxed again. Along with this relaxation came a pause in his other movements.
Daili was hanging by a thread, left suspended by him in a state of unbearable tension. She shifted restlessly on her own, only to have her rounded rear slapped by his other hand the next moment.
"My lady has a bad habit of burning bridges after crossing the river. It's quite a nasty habit and must be changed from now on." Not only did he slap, but he also spread his large palm and kneaded.
Daili made no sound, continuing to bite him.
Qin Shaozong slapped again, sending a ripple through the flesh. "Did you hear me?"
Daili remained silent.
Qin Shaozong clicked his tongue lightly and resumed giving her what she craved. "Speak."
The woman biting his neck loosened her grip slightly, letting out a sticky, indistinct sound of assent from her nose.
"Agree or not agree?" Qin Shaozong was not satisfied with her evasiveness.
This vixen had eight hundred tricks up her sleeve. What did "mm" mean? She was brushing him off again.
Daili, tormented by his teasing, saw before her his neck marked with her teeth and his prominent Adam's apple. She simply leaned closer and began tracing them with her lips.
That Adam's apple immediately bobbed violently. Qin Shaozong gritted his teeth, knowing she was playing a little trick, but the sensation came in waves, each stronger than the last, like a hurricane sweeping away his restraint.
And so, he abandoned his measured pace.
Daili's vision blurred for an instant, her heart rate skyrocketing, followed by a prolonged, melting softness.
An embroidered bird-patterned sash slipped from the side of the soft chair, followed by a light, plain silk undergarment. Layer upon layer, they spread out around the soft chair like petals.
Two breaths, one urgent, one heavy, intertwined. Suddenly—
"Wait! Let's go inside." Daili whispered.
He didn't move, his voice equally hoarse. "Earlier inside, my lady complained it was hot, and found the bed dirty, unwilling to get on it. Now you don't mind?"
"Someone might see here." It was indeed cooler by the window, but Daili, having regained some composure, was worried about being seen.
"No one will come." Qin Shaozong went to kiss her plump earlobe. "If someone comes, I will hear them."
"Then let me put on some clothes." Daili hesitated, then said, trying to get off his lap to pick up her clothes.
Qin Shaozong reached behind himself, took hold of the black outer robe he had removed earlier, brought it back, unfurled it with a flick, and draped it over the beauty with skin like fragrant jade and fresh snow before him.
Jet black enveloped the pristine white. To one intimately close, the curves beneath the loose robe were visible. The same yet different from usual, his robe worn on her, her whole person enveloped in his scent.
Qin Shaozong was visibly more aroused. Just as he was about to move, he was pressed down by that soft hand.
"My lady!" A tendon pulsed and vanished on the side of his neck.
Daili hadn't forgotten the important matter. "The fish bladder."
"What use is that thing?" Qin Shaozong was both puzzled and restless.
When she had said she was going back to fetch something, he had indulged her, only for her to bring back a fish bladder. He had asked her mid-way what use it was, but she hadn't explained, only saying he would find out later. Who knew at this critical juncture she would bring this thing up.
"To prevent pregnancy." Daili was succinct.
The poor state of ancient medical conditions need not be elaborated; countless mothers had died at the ghostly gate of childbirth. But setting that aside, even if she could safely bear another child, she would not have any more.
She would only have Zhouzhou in this lifetime. All her emotions—tenderness, affection, guilt, or self-reproach—belonged solely to Zhouzhou.
She couldn't divide them, nor did she want to divide them for another child. Knowing she couldn't balance two bowls of water, it was better not to pick up a second bowl from the start.
The fish bladder had been soaking in a small bowl on the side table, within easy reach.
Qin Shaozong frowned almost imperceptibly.
Seeing he was about to speak, Daili spoke first, her tone unusually carrying an unconcealed forcefulness. "Qin Changgeng, are you using it or not? If not, then don't do it. There's nothing else to discuss."
By the moonlight, Qin Shaozong saw the fish bladder clearly, then suddenly leaned back. "I don't know how to use this. I'll trouble you, my lady, to help me."
Daili stared at him for two breaths, then proceeded to put it on for him.
However, the fish bladder seemed a bit too small.
She pressed her lips together and used brute force.
A vein throbbed on Qin Shaozong's forehead. "If my lady has any grievances against me, you might as well speak plainly. There's no need to strike so directly at my vital point."
Daili lowered her head, striving to keep her lips pressed into a stern line.
"What? Am I wrong about you?" Qin Shaozong frowned.
Daili's shoulders trembled slightly, unable to hold back.
Qin Shaozong had been watching her all along; how could he not notice her odd behavior? He immediately lifted her chin, using two fingers to gently pry her jaw open from the outside.
Unable to keep her lips pressed, Daili couldn't control a soft "Ha," and laughed out loud on the spot.
The main issue was that a fish bladder shrinks significantly after being dried. Even after soaking in water, it remains somewhat stiff and doesn't fully return to its original state. Moreover, she hadn't paid attention earlier; the one she picked was likely from a fish of modest size.
Qin Shaozong's face instantly darkened. "My lady seems quite pleased. Then wouldn't it be a disservice to your current mood if we didn't... reach a higher level later?"
Before Daili could comprehend what "reach a higher level" meant, she felt his hands scoop under her thighs, lifting her entire person up.
Realizing his intention, Daili instantly grew tense. "Qin Changgeng, wait! Don't..."
Before her words fell, he let go.
Daili's pupils constricted sharply, her unfinished words all turning into breathy gasps.
Still unsatisfied, he circled one arm around her waist, supported her leg with the other, and rose directly from the seat. And this act of rising truly, as he had said, took them to a higher level.
Daili instinctively clung to him, but being close felt wrong, and pulling away felt wrong too.
"Have you considered what I said earlier?" he murmured in a low voice.
Daili's mind was gradually turning into mush. "Said what?"
Qin Shaozong: "That my lady stays by my side forever."
Daili mumbled incoherently. And so, she rode the human-powered carriage all night.