Chapter 10 — Better to Lean on Mountains Than a Faithless Heart

Shen Yian turned pale with terror, his face twisting in sudden shock. At that very moment, Jiang Nanxi lunged forward with a sharp cry. But before she could reach me, I deftly stepped aside. Having lost her footing, she tumbled down the stone steps, curling into a tight, shivering ball while clutching her stomach. Soon, fresh, crimson blood began to pool beneath her, soaking into the cold ground. To lose one’s chastity before marriage was a disgrace, but to be pregnant as well—the reputations of Shen Yian and Jiang Nanxi had been dragged through the mud. Yet, for Yun Jingting, letting her off so easily was out of the question.

In the past, my lady had endured the cruelty of the Marchioness and the cousin due to the deep bonds of life and death shared between the Marquis and her late mentor. But I, Yun Jingting, am not a man of such soft resolve. She had dared to strike at my wife and my unborn child; even if she had failed, I could not pretend it never happened. Where blood had not yet been shed, blood would have to be the price of compensation. Whether to preserve the House of the Marquis or to cast aside a woman of such sinister heart and her treacherous niece was a choice the old Marquis would have to weigh for himself.

As the Marquis stood trembling in disbelief, the band of mountain bandits—those whom I had previously crippled and blinded in the ruined temple, and who had rotted in the dungeons for a year—were brought to the Ministry of Justice. One particularly talkative scoundrel, broken by countless tortures, wept like a man seeing his savior the moment he spotted the officials. He spilled every detail, laying bare how the cousin had incited their every crime. When the Ministry officers arrived at the estate to make their arrests, the Marchioness collapsed into her chair, her face a mask of ruin. "I… I never imagined the lesson would be so calamitous! Had I known she would destroy her own future, I would rather have died than let her accompany me to the Hot Spring Villa." The old Marquis closed his eyes, drawing a long, weary breath. "I have failed the trust of an old friend. Even in the afterlife, I shall have no face to meet them. I will write a divorce letter for you, as that is the finality you so stubbornly demanded!" The mother of Shen Yian stared in shock, her face deathly white. "No! Marquis, I do not want that… I never intended for us to divorce! We—" "My mind is made up, say no more!" Shen Yian, overwhelmed by the rapid succession of tragedies, felt his mind reel. By the time he recovered his senses, he felt as though his very internal organs were being torn apart. After suppressing his anguish for so long, his old ailment flared up. He vomited a massive mouthful of blood and collapsed into unconsciousness.

Hoping to curry favor with me, some suggested that Jiang Nanxi—now discarded by her clan—should be sent to the military barracks. I forbade it. Cruel as she was, I had no desire to use the harsh instruments of the military to torture a woman to death. After all, if the mother of Shen Yian had not given her false hope, and if Shen Yian himself had not been so indulgent, allowing her to believe she had a chance, she never would have grown arrogant enough to strike at me so many times. In the end, the fault lay with Shen Yian. For the crime of soliciting murder, Jiang Nanxi was sentenced to thirty lashes and exile a thousand miles away.

The day she was to leave the capital, I was returning with Jingting from praying for the safety of our child when we happened to pass her on the main thoroughfare. The thirty lashes had been delivered without a shred of mercy, leaving her covered in gore and unable to move a muscle. Her hair was a tangled mess, her eyes vacant and clouded, yet the moment she saw me protected by Jingting’s side, her eyes turned bloodshot. She shrieked, "On what grounds! We both crawled out of the same filth, so why is it that you have nothing but fair winds and gentle rain, treated like a precious gem by all? What do I lack compared to you? What exactly!"

I had intended to say something, but seeing her still unrepentant, I chose to leave her to her bitterness, destined to be imprisoned for the rest of her days in the freezing storms she had brought upon herself.

Back at the manor, the steward reported, "The House of the Marquis sends word that the heir is terminally ill; it is unlikely he will survive." Shen Yian pleaded to see me one last time. The poison had already consumed his marrow; I could not save him. That joyless past had long been buried by me, and there was no need to revisit it now. Seeing me lost in thought, Jingting mistook my hesitation for lingering concern. He coaxed me, "My lady has always been kind-hearted and loath to strike; if you are truly troubled, we shall go see him once. I will accompany you, and I shall never let you suffer the slightest grievance."

I looked up at him and asked softly, "If the child in my womb is a boy, and he grows up as mischievous as you were in your youth, how ought I to discipline him?" Yun Jingting laughed heartily, "I have my own ways of teaching; my lady need not worry!"

By the seventh month of my pregnancy, white banners were hung at the House of the Marquis. Shen Yian died on a cold, rainy night, his hand clutching the fragment of a marriage contract. He had suffered to the very bone, agonizing through the long months until his flame flickered out, only then realizing that what was lost could never be reclaimed; he closed his eyes in tears. His mother lost everything, treated like mere chaff by the clan. With her haughty prejudices, she had assumed I could be manipulated, but in the end, she had destroyed herself and the only drop of blood her younger sister had left in this world. Consumed by regret, she slammed her head against Shen Yian’s coffin and died on the spot.

As I recount these old tales, Yun Jingting is busy hand-crafting a cradle for our child. He mutters incessantly, "The baby has already suffered enough; hereafter, I shall ensure it never endures a shred of hardship."

"What of a tutor? Perhaps letting him instruct the child would give you some respite?"

"Absolutely not. That old man has always criticized my lack of decorum; who knows if he might treat our child unfairly."

"Perhaps we should send the child to the Emperor? He taught me with such dedication in the past..."

"No! None of the princes are easy to deal with; if they dig a pit for our child, I would die of anger!"

"Must we take the child with us when we travel the mountains and rivers in the future?"

"No, no! I must find a foolproof plan."

The dappled light fell upon his furrowed brow as he pondered, causing me to cover my mouth to hide a giggle, my eyes crinkling and my lips curling into a smile. This was my peaceful time, the quiet life that belonged to me alone.