Chapter 59

The boy’s ink-dark eyes flickered as he felt the long-lost warmth seeping from the embroidered bedding. Qin Jinxiu, her fingers were covered in chilblains, sores upon sores, itching unbearably. Coupled with the slap she had given him earlier, it ignited a surge of dark, violent thoughts within him, an urgent desire to do something, to exact revenge.
The fool Wei Buxun might have believed he’d met a fairy, but he was no fool.
Qin Jinxiu, I gave you a chance. You’re still as stupid and vicious as you were in my last life.
The boy lifted the quilt silently and rose from the couch.
Dressed in only a thin undergarment, he leapt out through the window lattice. Though the Qin residence had later burned to the ground once he became grand chancellor, years spent living like a dog had etched every corner into his memory, especially where Qin Jinxiu’s Hidden Pear Garden lay.
In the dead of night, standing before the courtyard, Wei Buxun felt a wave of emotion.
It had been so long.
Before fourteen, his suffering came from his stepmother’s torment. After fourteen, every disaster in his life had been brought by Qin Jinxiu.
What a good cousin.
No, she didn’t even qualify as a cousin. Just a pheasant squatting in a phoenix’s nest.
Snowflakes drifted across the courtyard, moonlight dim under the vast night sky. Cold stars glimmered above, the world silent. The scent of pear blossoms filled the air, elegant and refined, wholly mismatched with its owner. Wei Buxun sneered inwardly.
Pear blossoms fell, and he reached out instinctively, only to find he couldn’t grasp them. His brows lowered slightly as he slipped into the courtyard.
He glanced at the maid dozing at the doorway and couldn’t help thinking, Qin Jinxiu was the same as ever. Aside from chasing men, she knew nothing. She couldn’t manage accounts, oversee the household, or play music, chess, calligraphy, or painting, much less control servants.
Layer upon layer of scented curtains, pale sky-blue hues, fresh and refined. Even the gauze drapes were goods merchants fought over for fortunes. She truly lived extravagantly.
His aunt had gone to the capital to investigate the destruction of the Yun family and wouldn’t return for some time. If he killed Qin Jinxiu here and now, no one would notice. She was weak and often fell ill, if he was quick and clean, it would look natural.
In his previous life, he’d been about sixteen when his aunt finally brought him to the Qin family. His body had already been ruined by that poisonous woman, his stomach left gravely damaged. Only after arriving at the Qin household did he recover somewhat.
Then he met Qin Jinxiu.
A woman reborn from a pig, pretty on the outside, stupid and obsessed within, utterly malicious at heart. Whenever she was displeased, she whipped people. In winter, she forced him into icy ponds to catch carp “to nourish her body.” In summer, she forbade him from studying and made him catch fireflies to amuse other young masters.
She always managed to do things both degrading and inappropriate.
Worst of all, she judged people solely by their looks, regardless of status or gender.
A complete idiot.
For all that, he could’ve spared her for his aunt’s sake. But later, she believed the words of a handsome scholar and severed his right arm, simply because if he entered the examinations, that scholar wouldn’t take first place.
That was when she truly wanted him destroyed.
He had wanted to kill that demoness countless times, but out of gratitude for his aunt’s kindness, he held back.
Yet after he rose step by step to power, that demoness dared to look at him that way, it disgusted him to no end.
His aunt eventually begged him to give her the status of a noble concubine. He laughed. Since the demoness wanted to come to his household to die, how could he refuse?
By chance, he later discovered she wasn’t even his aunt’s biological child, just a cuckoo wearing phoenix feathers.
How satisfying.
It was a pity she grew increasingly ill before marriage and died while still a high-born lady, quickly and comfortably. Though he later exhumed her corpse and whipped it, never having personally taken her life haunted him for years.
Now, his long, pale fingers brushed against her slender white neck. With just a little force, the woman who had tormented him for years would die cleanly.
A shivering thrill surged through him, his eyes faintly reddening. This was more exhilarating than manipulating court politics or holding supreme power.
Killing her had been his lifelong wish.
She’d died first last time. This time, he would finally succeed.
Then he heard a soft whimper.
Perhaps the quilt was too thick. Qin Jinxiu kicked lightly, half her body exposed. Candlelight flickered. Wei Buxun thought she had woken, panic flashing through him, after all, he was still just a destitute cousin living off his aunt, not the all-powerful Chancellor Wei.
But if she opened her eyes and saw herself being strangled, wouldn’t that be even more interesting?
His breathing quickened.
Steeling himself, he prepared to tighten his grip. But by candlelight he saw, she hadn’t woken at all.
Disappointment flickered.
His gaze slid downward, landing on porcelain-white, fragrant skin, ice and jade incarnate. Even the undergarment failed to fully cover her curves.
He froze.
His expression turned complex.
This demoness truly had no shame, sleeping at night with only a bellyband, naked beneath.
That moment of hesitation cost Wei Buxun his chance to kill Qin Jinxiu with his own hands.
Outside, the dozing maid seemed to wake. She quietly entered and trimmed the wick of the dying candle, renewing the flame.
Half-asleep, Chuntao glimpsed a shadow moving within the bed curtains. Had Miss woken? She rubbed her eyes and whispered,
“Miss? Miss?”
Wei Buxun hadn’t expected the maid, drugged with incense, to wake up and tend the lamp. Shocked, he reacted instantly, dropping down and pulling the quilt over his head.
At that moment, it felt less like a murder in a dark night, and more like a lecher sneaking into a maiden’s chamber to steal fragrance and jade.
He lay against Qin Jinxiu’s neck hollow, her body still radiating warmth, the scent of pear blossoms curling into his nose. For a fleeting instant, he thought, if this demoness were even a little kinder, surely some young master would have loved her.
When Chuntao received no response, unease crept in. Second Miss had always been frail. That was why someone kept night watch, to prevent her from slipping away without warning.
The lack of response only worsened her panic. If she had dozed off and something happened to Miss, when Madam returned…
Thinking of Madam’s thunderous methods, Chuntao trembled.
“Miss!”
The sharp cry woke Qin Jinxiu from her sleep. She murmured and slowly opened her watery, beautiful eyes.
“Chuntao… weren’t you outside, ”
Her words died in her throat.
There was a man lying on her.
She felt scorching breath against her neck. Though she chased young masters openly, that had never gone beyond handkerchiefs, sachets, and polite visits. Premarital intimacy, such self-degradation, she had never done.
The words she hadn’t spoken were cut off by a cold hand gripping her throat, icy and lethal, as though one more word would end her life.
Chastity was important, but compared to her life, she knew which mattered more.
For once, Qin Jinxiu was clear-headed.
Her voice trembled as she said,
“Chuntao… I’m fine.”
“Miss, I called for you several times just now.”
Chuntao seemed about to push aside the curtains and come in to tend to Qin Jinxiu.
“Go outside first. I’m fine, just continue resting.”
Once Chuntao left, Qin Jinxiu, her voice trembling and choked with tears, asked,
“Who… who are you? If it’s money you want, my jewelry, a few fine jade pieces, even my headpiece are all worth a fortune, you can take them all. I won’t tell anyone. I have no silver on me; my mother only gives me twenty taels a month as pocket money.”
In her heart, she already thought, once this person leaves, I’ll have someone make him pay.
Wei Buxun lowered his voice, speaking in a way that hid his age. Perhaps it was the dim candlelight, or some twist of fate, that made him ask,
“If it’s not money I seek… then what would you do, Miss?”
Not seeking money? Then it must be lust. Qin Jinxiu felt her face go pale as death. She still had to marry the little prince, and this rogue was no ordinary scoundrel. She tried to reason with the madman,
“Let me go, and I’ll find you a beautiful wife. If you fear things might change, I can have someone find her for you right now.”
When he didn’t answer, she assumed he feared the long night might bring complications.
“If you already have someone in mind, my maids are here, you may choose freely. There are many pretty girls in my household…”
What was he trying to do? Wei Buxun realized too late and felt annoyed. Now that Qin Jinxiu was awake, and the maid outside was alert, it was no longer a good time to act.
Fine. He’d let her be for a few days. Moreover, she wasn’t really his aunt’s daughter, if this were revealed, the high-born lady would be reduced to a rustic girl. How could he forget? This would be the most exquisite way to humiliate the vicious cousin, far less than the humiliation she had dealt him before.
What Wei Buxun hadn’t expected was that, once spared, he would never be able to bring himself to act again for the rest of his life…
Now, escaping her gaze would reveal his true face. Wei Buxun thought briefly, rifled around the bedside, and found Qin Jinxiu’s sash.
“Cover your eyes. Tie it tight.”
“Alright. I’ll do as you say, just don’t hurt me.”
Sobbing, Qin Jinxiu tied the sash over her eyes. She now felt the madman’s hostility had diminished. Just moments ago, when she woke, a chill had swept over her, fearing he would assault and then kill her.
Worried she might resist, Wei Buxun reached out to check the back of her head, making sure the knot was secure. Perhaps because her eyes were covered and her senses heightened, Qin Jinxiu misunderstood his movements and burst into tears.
“Master, please… let me go! I, I can give you money, a beauty, my father is the prefect, he could help you rise in rank and gain wealth!”
Money, beauty, power. Not bad, sometimes, she wasn’t completely stupid. Wei Buxun smirked. But what he wanted was her life.
Abandoning thoughts of immediate flight, he asked instead,
“If I release you, and you later renege and have someone capture me, it would be effortless. Or perhaps you’re already deceiving me to buy time. Better leave proof.”