That way, there was no need to worry about the young lady’s safety anymore.
“Do I even have the right to refuse?” Qiuyun muttered, struggling against them.
Her only answer was the soft sound of the door behind her closing.
“…”
“Miss Qiu, this is inside the estate. Your life isn’t in danger. Our master simply wants to have a chat with you.”
Fine.
A frivolous young heir whose legs were paralyzed didn’t exactly pose much of a threat.
“Please lead the way.”
They went up to the third floor.
When Qiuyun stepped out of the elevator, darkness immediately met her eyes.
Every door along the corridor was shut tight. The windows were covered with blackout curtains, and the entire area was shrouded in lightless gloom. The atmosphere was lifeless and oppressive.
Following the assistant, Qiuyun arrived at the master bedroom.
The assistant opened the door and quietly left.
“You’re here.”
Jiang Yifeng’s hoarse voice came from inside the pitch-black room. He sounded utterly dispirited, nothing like the flirtatious man who had enjoyed teasing her before.
Qiuyun remained standing at the doorway instead of entering.
“Young Master Jiang, why did you ask me to come?”
Since she refused to enter, Jiang Yifeng did not invite her in.
“I heard that Big Brother escaped disaster because of your warning?”
“Uh, it was mainly because Uncle Cao has excellent driving skills and a strong sense of danger. It didn’t have much to do with me,” Qiuyun said.
Jiang Yifeng sat motionless in his wheelchair. “Is that so? Saving Old Master was still your contribution, wasn’t it?”
“I just happened to recognize that particular poison. Old Master Jiang simply wasn’t meant to die.”
“I investigated you.”
Jiang Yifeng lifted his eyes indifferently. “You were born into a working-class family. Before this, your friends and classmates all thought you were vain and pretentious. I never expected that after marrying into the Jiang family, you would suddenly shine so brightly.”
Qiuyun modestly replied, “An orange grown south of the Huai River is an orange, but grown north of it, it becomes a bitter fruit. They called me vain because I loved money but had no way to obtain it. They called me pretentious because someone confident and generous like me seemed strange in their narrow-minded eyes. Look at me now. After coming to the Jiang family, haven’t all those flaws they saw turned into strengths?”
“Is that so?”
Qiuyun summed it up. “People aren’t unchanging. We’re always growing and adapting.”
Jiang Yifeng stopped arguing with her. “That isn’t what I wanted to discuss, and I don’t care about it. I only want to tell you that you can openly show me what you desire—power, status, money, whatever it is. I can give you all of it. As long as you marry me.”
“…”
Qiuyun rubbed her forehead.
Why were both father and son so stubborn? Once they set their minds on something, they simply refused to give up.
“Before this, you said you rejected me because I would keep other women outside the marriage.” Jiang Yifeng let out a self-mocking laugh and patted his completely unresponsive legs. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
“…”
Trying to be tactful out of consideration for the disabled man, Qiuyun said, “Well, I’m a rather ordinary person. I still have a strong longing for romance and physical intimacy.”
She had no desire to marry into this family only to become a stepmother and spend the rest of her life as a widow in all but name.
Jiang Yifeng emphasized, “I can guarantee that after you marry into this family, you’ll be the lady of the house. You can control the finances and arrange the staff however you like. If we succeed in the end, the entire Jiang family will be yours to command. Even that isn’t enough?”
Actually…
If she had only just arrived in this world, she might truly have agreed.
A husband confined to a wheelchair and useful only as a figurehead would be no different from a boss to her. It wouldn’t matter much.
But that wasn’t her situation anymore.
She had been here for quite some time.
The madam had always treated her well—kindly and respectfully. The young lady relied on her and trusted her deeply.
If not for how good the madam and the young lady were to her, the master’s generosity alone wouldn’t have been enough to make her stay with the main branch. She would still have hesitated and weighed her options carefully.
It was precisely because of the madam and the young lady, and the deep bond they had formed, that Qiuyun couldn’t bring herself to betray them against her conscience.
“Well, let me put it this way.” Qiuyun chose her words carefully so as not to hurt the disabled man’s pride. “I’m a traditional woman. I like virgins.”
??!!
The shock wiped away Jiang Yifeng’s despondency, and his voice rose uncontrollably. “That’s the reason you kept rejecting me?”
“That’s right.”
“…”
The dark room fell silent. Qiuyun leaned against the doorframe and waited for him to digest her words.
After a long while, Jiang Yifeng said heavily, “Time can’t be turned back. There’s nothing I can do to change what happened in the past. But I can promise that from now on, you’ll be the only woman by my side.”
“…”
Honestly, if he hadn’t been disabled, Qiuyun really would have cursed him out.
There were plenty of untouched virgins in the world. Why would she have to lose her mind and marry him for money?
“Even that would only be you passively accepting your circumstances. It wouldn’t be a choice you made yourself,” Qiuyun said. “If Young Master Jiang doesn’t mind me keeping a few lovers after we’re married, then I might consider marrying you. Tsk, you can’t be the only one who gets to enjoy life, can you, after all those years of freedom?”
There was no way they were going to reach an agreement now.
Jiang Yifeng’s face darkened, but he said nothing.
He couldn’t understand it. He had already offered such sincerity and such favorable terms. No woman in the world should have refused him.
What gave her the right?
The silence on the other side dragged on for so long that it seemed he was still searching for some reason to persuade her to accept him.
Qiuyun sighed helplessly. “Young Master Jiang, you have to admit that not every woman in the world has to like you or marry you.”
Jiang Yifeng said nothing more. He pressed the button beside his wheelchair.
Before long, the assistant appeared again and respectfully escorted Qiuyun downstairs.
Elsewhere.
After Jiang Chuyun pulled Seventh Sister into the bedroom, she locked the door. Then she sat gloomily against it, hugging her knees.
Jiang Chuyun thought she was upset about being alone, so she sat down beside her and tried to comfort her. “It’s all right. Our family is rich enough. We’ll surely be able to find a doctor who can heal Fourth Uncle’s legs.”
Jiang Chuyun shook her head. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“Hm?”
When Jiang Chuyun asked again, she fell silent.
“Wait, weren’t you the one who said you wanted to come up here and whisper a secret to me? Why aren’t you saying anything now?”
Jiang Chuyun continued hugging her knees in silence.
“Honestly, you’re so weird.” Jiang Chuyun curled her lips and stood up to leave.
Jiang Chuyun spoke in a muffled voice. “I’m going to have a new mother.”
??
The single sentence made Jiang Chuyun stop. “When did that happen? Is it confirmed?”
“Mm. Grandma agreed too.”
Wow!
Didn’t that mean the wedding was just around the corner?
It was understandable, though. Fourth Uncle’s legs no longer worked, so the family really did need to find a new Fourth Aunt to take charge of everything, big and small, in the household.
Jiang Chuyun buried her face in her knees. “But I don’t like her.”
?
Jiang Chuyun asked, “You know her?”
“You know her too.”
Curious, Jiang Chuyun asked, “Who is it?”
“Your assistant with the surname Qiu.” Every time Jiang Chuyun thought about it, she grew irritated. Unfortunately, her father remained determined, and Grandma had ultimately agreed as well. Her opinion didn’t matter at all!
“Sister Xiaoqiu?” Jiang Chuyun exclaimed in surprise.
“Mm.”
“…”
Jiang Chuyun comforted her. “Then you don’t have to worry. Fourth Uncle has no chance with her.”
