Chapter 15:- Eyes Like Hooks

It had been a full year since the whole family last returned to the capital together. Now that everyone was finally reunited, the Marquis’s residence was filled with rare joy and liveliness.

They had only just come back from the palace, yet the second and third branches of the Jiang family couldn’t wait to come over to pay their respects.

With everyone gathered under one roof, the house was bustling with noise and laughter. The second uncle’s family was always fond of talking; once they opened their chatterbox, it was impossible to close. But as usual, conversation inevitably drifted toward the younger generation.

They spoke of the sons’ prospects in official careers, and then of the daughters’ marriage matches.

The second uncle’s entire household had come, and several cousins were present as well. But the third uncle’s side appeared quite deserted as he only brought along a concubine, saying that the third aunt and cousin Shen Meier had gone to Cheng’en Temple to offer prayers and would return three days later.

That cousin, Jiang Rao had never liked her. It was just as well she hadn’t come.

Among the younger generation, Jiang Rao was the youngest, so by propriety she sat on the outermost side of the gathering. It was already late, and after such a long, exhausting day, Jiang Rao felt tired. Her face showed fatigue, and she rarely joined the elders’ conversation.

Xiaotao stood beside her and, seeing this, bent down to whisper with concern, “My lady, why do you look so preoccupied the moment you return home? Did something happen in the palace?”

Jiang Rao had been so drowsy that even her eyelids were too heavy to lift, but at those words, she instantly grew alert, her conscience pricked.

Without warning, a series of wild, shameful scenes flashed through her mind.

She saw herself clinging boldly to Chen Lian, using both arms and legs; even shamelessly tugging open his collar with her teeth, gasping softly as she bit and nipped at the side of his neck. No matter how he grunted or tried to evade her, her soft lips only chased after him relentlessly.

Her legs had gripped tightly around him, rubbing at his waist; now lightly, now firmly
and when she bit him, she had even let out those faint, breathy little sounds.

She remembered watching the heat surge up in Chen Lian’s dark eyes. Then she had lifted her head at the perfect moment, whispering against his ear, “What you said just now doesn’t count.”

Her eyes were as alluring as hooks.

Jiang Rao had arched her back again, using her entire body to demonstrate what true seduction meant.

Her body twisted like that of a spirit-fox, breath warm as she murmured, “This…this is what counts as seducing you.”

And then, in that instant when Chen Lian’s face was awash with both desire and disbelief, she took advantage of his startled hesitation to spring away from him, fleeing without looking back.

If she didn’t run then, her little pretense of skill would have truly been exhausted.

“Miss, the Second and Third Masters are about to leave, come see them off,” Xiaotao spoke just in time, pulling Jiang Rao’s drifting thoughts back to the present.

Jiang Rao answered softly, her face still flushed red, the color refusing to fade.

Xiaotao looked at her in puzzlement, but in the end said nothing.

Once the guests had been sent off, Elder Sister suddenly brought up a troublesome matter that Jiang Rao had nearly forgotten.

It was about Ge Ruyan.

Only then did Jiang Rao realize that she hadn’t seen that woman all day.

Now that Mother had returned, it was time to settle that issue completely.

Jiang Yuan was the first to ask for confirmation. “Mother, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. A few days ago, a woman in red came to the house, saying she was saved by you at the Hehuan ferry. She also claimed you made her a verbal promise. She said she had come to repay that favor and refused to leave, so we arranged for her to stay in Ming’er’s Rui’an Pavilion.”

Hearing this, Jiang Rao secretly glanced toward her second brother. He had always been a man of few words, but today he seemed even quieter, as though lost in thought.

Shen Jing, her mother was stunned for a moment upon hearing her eldest daughter’s report.
Then, realizing something, her eyes brightened in excitement, and she blurted out, “She’s in Ming’er’s courtyard? Then has Ming’er already taken her as his concubine?”

“Cough, cough…”

At those words, the entire room’s expressions shifted.

Jiang Ming shot up from his seat at once, hastily denying it, his face deeply awkward.

As for Jiang Yuanting, head of the household, he found it difficult to maintain his usual dignified composure. He had to restrain his wife’s reckless remarks while preserving the majesty of a patriarch; a delicate and exhausting balance.

“Madam, mind your words.”

“Don’t use the manners of those capital ladies to bind me. I’m a rough woman who’s spent half her life on the battlefield, what’s there to be so cautious about?”

Shen Jing, displeased by her husband’s rebuke, continued sharply, “I raised my two daughters in the capital, turning them into those so-called noble ladies you speak of, who could possibly understand my regret? All my martial skill and I couldn’t pass it on to them!”

Jiang Yuanting reacted quickly, forcing a conciliatory smile. “Ming’er leads troops and fights battles too. Passing your martial arts to him means it hasn’t been lost.”

“You know nothing!” she retorted. “Our Shen family’s spear techniques are passed to daughters, not sons. Ming’er and Rao’er have been raised so delicately they can’t even lift their arms or carry a load; pinch them and water might come out! You’ve wasted two excellent martial seedlings.”

Shen Jing gazed at her two precious daughters with a sigh of heartfelt regret.

“…”

Being called out by name, Jiang Yuan and Jiang Rao exchanged looks, neither knew what to say.

Mother and father were at it again.

“Mother,” Jiang Ming interjected, “she’s been staying in my courtyard all this time. Whatever else may be said, I fear that living there without name or title might harm her reputation.”

Jiang Ming seemed to have thought it through carefully before speaking.

But Shen Jing waved it off carelessly. “If that’s your concern, then marry her and give her a proper name. When I saved her, I did joke that since my son hadn’t yet been betrothed, if the girl wished to repay the favor, she could do so by offering herself in marriage. I never thought Ruyan would take it seriously.”

At that, Jiang Yuanting could no longer sit still. “Nonsense! How could the heir of the Marquis’s house take some common-born girl as his principal wife?”

Shen Jing shot back, unyielding, ‘Common-born girl? Do you even realize her martial skill may well be no lesser than mine?’

Jiang Yuanting fumed but dared not argue further. Still, how could the heir’s marriage be decided so lightly? Even His Majesty might one day intervene in that matter.

“For now, let her stay in the manor,” he said at last. “As for marriage… we can speak of it later. It’s not impossible to discuss, is it, Madam?”

Seeing him trying to appease her, Shen Jing accepted the step down and nodded. “It should depend on Ming’er’s wishes.”

Jiang Yuanting immediately seized the chance, giving his son a meaningful look. “Ming’er, your mother says it’s up to you. If you dislike her, if you wish her gone, say so.”

Of course, Jiang Ming understood his father’s intention, he wanted him to use this chance to send Ge Ruyan away himself, so that Shen Jing wouldn’t continue to make a scene.

But instead…

“Father, Mother… let her stay.”

“……” Jiang Yuanting’s kindly smile froze slightly.

Jiang Ming hurried to elaborate, speaking with a straight face, “She’s a young woman who has come from afar. We can’t simply let her wander the streets, if word spread, it would harm our Marquis Residence’s reputation. But if she’s to stay for long, we must also take her reputation into consideration.”

Jiang Rao added softly, “In that case, why not give her the title of a study maid? She wouldn’t need to do any actual chores and just help Second Brother grind ink that would be enough.”

“That settles it nicely,” Shen Jing said with a broad smile. “My son truly has good taste! That girl isn’t only skilled in martial arts, she’s quite a beauty too. A bit unrefined in her manners, yes but that can be corrected. What do you say, Marquis?”

Jiang Yuanting took a large gulp of tea. Seeing that the situation could no longer be salvaged, he muttered awkwardly, “The Madam is right.”

Jiang Rao couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. Father still thought Second Brother was his ally, planning to maneuver around his wife yet he didn’t realize his “ally” had already switched sides long ago.

She leaned over toward Jiang Ming and whispered, “Second Brother, why haven’t I seen Ruyan today?”

Jiang Ming gave a dissatisfied snort. “She said there’ve been pickpockets around the southern part of the city, so she went to catch them. All she does is meddle in other people’s business and can’t even pour me a cup of hot tea. I really don’t know whether she came here as a maid or as an ancestor.”

Jiang Rao couldn’t help teasing, “Isn’t she making it quite obvious? She came to be your wife, of course.”

“Rao’er!”

“Don’t be angry, Second Brother,  Rao’er knows she was wrong.”

With both parents and siblings at home, Jiang Rao had missed this kind of family warmth so much that she was reluctant to go anywhere. Every day, she stayed close to them, perfectly content; and so, time passed quickly.

Before she knew it, half a month had gone by. During this time, curiosity got the better of her, she insisted on having Ge Ruyan take her along to catch the southern-city pickpockets.

Unfortunately, they had gone out in high spirits and returned in disappointment.

Apparently, the thieves had once worked as a group, but in the past few weeks, Ge Ruyan had captured and “taught lessons” to them one by one. By the time Jiang Rao wanted to see the excitement for herself, those small-time thieves had been so terrified of Ge Ruyan’s fists that none dared to show their faces again.

Seeing her look so disappointed, Ge Ruyan kindly offered, “Well, since we’ve already snuck out, why not go take a look at your little sweetheart? The Yunhua Riding Grounds aren’t far from here.”

Little sweetheart, of course, she meant Chen Lian.

Out of the whole family, only she knew a little of that secret.

But…

“Let’s not. Let’s just go home,” Jiang Rao said.

Ge Ruyan frowned. “Why? Did he wrong you?”

Her tone was full of the energy of someone ready to defend her friend’s honor.

“No,” Jiang Rao shook her head, denying it. She pressed her lips together as there were things that could not be explained to anyone.

That day, she had resorted to desperate means, staking her very body as a price. She had determined to turn herself into a thorn lodged in Chen Lian’s heart, forcing him to care for her, to think of her.

She wanted him sleepless and restless, torn between desire and restraint until finally, willingly, he would fall into the web woven of her softness and warmth.

The longer she stretched the tension, the harder it would be for him to bear.

But she hadn’t expected this stalemate to last half a month. He had far more self-control than she had imagined. Still, this time, she resolved to harden her heart again.

She would wait…wait until he could no longer endure that hunger, until he would willingly bow beneath her skirts and surrender.

Meanwhile, Ge Ruyan was still pestering her, refusing to drop the subject. “If that’s not it, then why are you hesitating so much? If I liked someone, I’d cling to him every day and wouldn’t want to be apart for even a moment. Back when you asked me to help you climb the wall to see him, I actually admired your courage!”

“Then what about you?” Jiang Rao deftly turned the conversation away from herself. “Didn’t you say you liked my Second Brother? But these past few days you’ve been avoiding him and spending all your time in my courtyard instead of staying in Rui’an Pavilion with him.”

“I do like him,” Ge Ruyan said, turning her eyes aside and kicking at a pebble on the ground. “But he looks down on me. So I’ll just stay away and save him the annoyance.”

Jiang Rao frowned and took her hand. “Did Second Brother say that to you himself?”

“No, but I can tell.” As she said this, Ge Ruyan’s head drooped, her usual bold, heroic energy completely gone.

Just then, Jiang Rao caught sight of a familiar figure. She lifted her gaze over Ge Ruyan’s shoulder and sighed inwardly with a helpless shake of her head.

She deliberately teased, “Are you sure that’s true?”

“Mm,” Ge Ruyan muttered reluctantly. “He must be tired of me.”

Jiang Rao’s lips curved into an unkind smile. Ge Ruyan thought she was being mocked and glared in protest but then Jiang Rao tipped her chin slightly, gesturing behind her.

Ge Ruyan turned and froze.

Not far away stood Jiang Ming.

He was dressed in white, handsome beyond compare. One hand rested before him, the other clasped behind his back. Even in simple casual clothes, he still carried that lofty air of a general.

Standing in the middle of the bustling street, his presence seemed to gather all the light even the noise and clamor of the crowd seemed to hush around him.

He walked forward unhurriedly, though a faint frown creased his brow.

His voice was cool and even as he asked simply, “Have you caused enough trouble? Why aren’t you home yet?”

“I was doing a good deed! How was that causing trouble?” Ge Ruyan averted her eyes, staring fixedly at her toes.

Jiang Ming was silent for a moment; when he spoke again, his tone had softened slightly. “It’s time for the evening meal.”

From the side, Jiang Rao watched this entire scene unfold. She saw Ge Ruyan’s expression change from gloomy, to bashful and awkward.

Jiang Rao quietly stepped back, thinking, Second Brother came all this way just for her. I’d better make myself scarce.

On the way home, she deliberately slowed her pace, wanting to give the two of them a bit of space of their own.

Yet she didn’t realize not far away, someone’s eyes were locked on her, watching her every movement, not missing a single step.

Author’s Note:

Rao’er: I’m shipping my brother and sister-in-law! ❤️
Ah-Lian: And you won’t ship me?
Rao’er: ??
Ah-Lian: …Biting works too.