Chapter One: The Shameless Scoundrel

Laizhou City.

“Bong— bong, bong, bong—”

“The dawn arrives at the hour of Mao, rise at the crow of the rooster, the paths are frozen over, snow yet unmelted, take care, the roads are slippery—”

Reclining on the grand carved bed, Yun Jiao listened as the watchman’s clapper faded into the distance. She turned over, still with her eyes closed, pulled the apricot-red brocade quilt more tightly around herself, and stretched out her foot to kick aside the foot-warmer at the end of the bed. After a night, the foot-warmer was icy cold.

Half-asleep, she thought she saw someone standing by the bed.

“Jianjia?” Yun Jiao assumed it was her personal maid. “Did you go check on Grandmother at the hour of Yin?”

The figure remained silent at her bedside.

Yun Jiao sensed something amiss and opened her eyes—only to blanch in terror. It was not her maid, but her cousin-in-law, Shen Changdong, standing there. The room was empty but for the two of them.

Her two maids were nowhere to be seen.

She had no time to ponder this. Clutching the brocade quilt to her chest, she sat up. “Cousin, I am alone here. There should be propriety between men and women. Your presence is improper—please, I beg you, leave at once!”

Her grandmother had taken gravely ill of late, confused and unable to recognize anyone, often wandering about until recently, when she somehow broke a leg and was now bedridden, muddled, and without a single devoted attendant.

Yun Jiao had been raised by her grandmother until the age of five before returning to her own family.

Her grandmother had always doted on her, and Yun Jiao had a special affection for her in return.

By all appearances, her grandmother’s life had been blessed with a large family—three sons and five daughters, and a host of grandchildren. People say many descendants are a sign of good fortune, yet Yun Jiao felt her grandmother was not a woman of much luck.

With all these children and grandchildren, each shirked the duty of caring for her in illness. Remembering her grandmother’s love in her childhood, Yun Jiao’s heart could not bear it and so she volunteered to stay at her second uncle’s house and tend to her grandmother.

Her second aunt, Madam Ding, was notoriously jealous. Her second uncle, Qian Shihai, well past forty, had never taken a concubine and had only one son and one daughter.

What was more pitiful, her only male cousin, Qian Xiangshan, had drowned in the river before coming of age.

Her uncle and aunt inherited the family business left by her grandfather and continued with the tea and wine trade. They had some property to their name.

When the Qian family lost their only son, they married their daughter, Qian Xianglan, to this failed scholar, Shen Changdong, who became a live-in son-in-law.

Yun Jiao had been there three to five days, her heart uneasy all the while. Perhaps because she had spent her early years away from her parents and grown up with her grandmother, she was sensitive and thoughtful. She had long noticed the way her cousin-in-law looked at her was not quite right. Yet, living under someone else's roof, she could only be ever cautious and on guard.

She had hoped to keep to her own place and not provoke any trouble, thinking her cousin-in-law would not be so brazen as to approach her at her grandmother’s quarters.

Yet the man was utterly shameless, daring as he was, to come into her room while the maids were gone.

She did not trouble herself with how he gained entry, nor did she wish to know his reasons—she only wanted him gone as quickly as possible.

If anyone were to see this scene, no matter how she defended herself, her reputation would be lost. In this world, a woman’s virtue, once stained, was a lifetime’s ruin.

“Yun Jiao, don’t be afraid.” Shen Changdong stepped closer. He was of medium build, sturdy, his eyes burning. “I just find you so endearing. I’ve been thinking how best to show you that affection.”

This little cousin had grown tall in recent years, her face round and childlike as a jade plate—still a touch of youthful innocence, but her beauty was undeniable. Her eyes were like ink dots, lips tinged with scarlet; in a few years, she would surely be stunning.

She always greeted people with a gentle caution, a dimple flickering at her lips, putting others at ease. Yet whenever she met his gaze, she would withdraw her smile, lower her head and eyes, cautious and reserved—a fact that drove Shen Changdong nearly mad.

He was a lecher at heart, forever chasing after women, but all he ever found were ordinary girls. Even the rare beauties paled beside this celestial cousin.

Yun Jiao had never before heard such brazen words. Revulsion rose in her throat. “Cousin, don’t be absurd! I know you must be drunk, to come here and spout such nonsense. Please, just go—I promise not to tell anyone you came.”

Only one thought filled her mind: drive him out, quickly.

“Who drinks at this hour?” Shen Changdong’s expression grew more crazed and vulgar. “Sweet girl, my feelings for you are sincere—why not yield to me?”

“Shen Changdong, you shameless beast! Are you not afraid I’ll tell my cousin and uncle?” Yun Jiao cried, both terrified and furious.

“Go ahead.” Shen Changdong was not cowed; instead, he laughed with delight. “Your cousin will only scold you for being wanton, claiming you were sent here to care for a sick elder but used the chance to seduce me. And as for your uncle, do you think he’ll punish me for your sake?”

Fear and rage welled up in Yun Jiao’s eyes, tears glittering. “And you claim to have read the classics, yet you act without a shred of decency!”

“So what?” Shen Changdong sneered. Seeing her tearful and helpless, his desire only grew. “If you’re obedient today, I’ll treat you well. In a few years, you’ll be of age to marry—when the time comes, I’ll explain it all to your cousin, and bring you to my house as a proper concubine, carried in with all due ceremony. How about that?”

Seeing she was alone and vulnerable, Yun Jiao realized that if this brute tried to force her, she would be powerless to resist. Her mind spun; she raised her tear-filled eyes toward Shen Changdong. “Cousin, do you truly wish to cherish me?”

Shen Changdong, seeing her seeming to waver, so pitiful and alluring, grew all the more inflamed. “Of course.”

“To be a concubine is already lowly. If I were to yield to you today, would I not be even more debased?” Yun Jiao’s eyes brimmed with tears.

Shen Changdong, unable to contain himself, stepped closer. “Don’t cry, dear girl. Tell me what you want, and I’ll do it.”

“If you truly care for me, you should speak properly with my uncle, aunt, and cousin, and only then come to my family to propose for my hand.” Yun Jiao wiped her tears away.

At this, Shen Changdong’s face darkened. To take this cousin as a concubine? His wife, Qian Xianglan, would never agree, and neither would his father-in-law. Even if he managed to force them to yield, the Ba family would never let their daughter marry him as a concubine.

Precisely because he knew this, he had staged today’s scene. If he could force the matter now, would he not have her in his grasp?

He was no fool. He instantly saw through her stalling tactic, and would not be taken in.

“I’ll promise all you ask, and do it when the time comes. But for now, let me show you how much I care—”

He could restrain himself no longer and reached out to grab Yun Jiao’s brocade quilt.

A message to my readers after writing 1.2 million words: This is a slow-paced story, so those who crave fast-paced, face-slapping scenes may be disappointed.

The heroine has no golden finger, no time travel, no reincarnation—she is simply intelligent and patient.

So please don’t judge me by the standards of a typical feel-good novel. If you find anything unreasonable, well, I say it’s reasonable.

Also, this may turn out to be a long novel. As long as I’m alive, I won’t abandon it, so rest assured.

Lastly, I hope you’ll support the official version! After all, I need to make a living too. Thank you (*^▽^*).

(End of chapter)