Chapter 154: Chapter 154: Quit While You’re Ahead

In the South Garden Residence, Liang Wan knelt before her vanity, quietly studying the person in the mirror.

She had seen this face for two lifetimes, yet the more she looked, the more unfamiliar it became.

She dared not forget, not for a single day, what she was living for in this life.

Liang Wan closed her eyes. ’What makes him think he can keep me trapped?’

She had said it long ago: the Master’s Mansion was never her destination...

Bai Lu and Gu Yu had just returned from the flower house, chatting and laughing, when they were suddenly startled. Clothes were strewn across the floor of the inner chamber, and a figure was sitting bolt upright before the mirror. Her black hair was loose, and she wore only her nightclothes. The sight gave them a terrible fright.

It was Liang Ji, who was supposed to be at the Zhou Residence’s wedding banquet.

The two maids exchanged a look.

The banquet was far from over; they couldn’t understand why she had returned so early.

Surprised, they looked around for the other person, but he was nowhere to be seen. This left them completely baffled. Whenever they were at the residence, the master and Liang Ji were inseparable, never leaving each other’s side.

But today, she was alone.

Strange. Peculiar.

As they were trying to figure it out, a clear, cold voice spoke.

"Gu Yu, take these clothes and burn them."

The two quickly exchanged another glance.

Gu Yu respectfully complied.

They assumed something must have happened and that they would have to be even more careful than usual in their service.

But unexpectedly, aside from bathing and changing her clothes, she had no other requests.

There was no anger in her expression either. She simply looked impassive, passing the time as she usually did at home: painting, playing the qin, reading...

The two maids breathed a sigh of relief.

After dinner, Liang Wan played a bit of chess, washed up, and went to bed early.

She didn’t like having servants nearby when she slept. Once the lamps were extinguished, the room was plunged into darkness, and she felt as if she were sinking to the bottom of a deep, dark lake.

Liang Wan did not toss and turn, unable to rest.

On the contrary, with no one to disturb her, she fell into a deep sleep.

Sometime in the middle of the night, or perhaps not long after she’d fallen asleep, she felt someone lift her quilt. A figure, carrying the damp air of a recent bath, lay down beside her.

The familiar scent of cold pinewood.

Liang Wan was truly exhausted, her eyelids too heavy to lift. She let a pair of hands slide under her arms and pull her into an embrace, her soft, delicate body pressed tightly against his.

She hadn’t forgotten the look in his eyes during the day—a look that wanted to tear her apart, to slaughter her. Yet now, his hands and body were so tender.

’What is he, if not sick in the head?’

’A madman.’

Liang Wan wasn’t sure if she had cursed him silently in her heart or mumbled it in her sleep.

Immediately after, warm, soft lips came to kiss her, and the hand on her back grew restless, taking the opportunity to remove all restraints and act as it pleased.

She was so sleepy, but he seemed to be deliberately causing trouble, making her inexplicably and unbearably irritable.

’We already tore all pretenses apart during the day. Is there any need to be so coy and affected at night?’

Unable to fight him off with her hands, she simply clenched her jaw. But Lu Xiu knew her all too well. In a moment, she was at a disadvantage again.

’Hate!’

’Why does he get to decide everything?!’

They were like two beasts fighting for territory, pulling and tearing at each other. Neither would be the first to back down, neither would yield a single step. They had to fight for dominance, a battle to the death.

"Does my lord intend to take what he wants by force?"

Her breath was hot, her mockery ice-cold.

He was completely unconcerned, and instead of getting angry, he laughed.

"If courtesy is useless, then I don’t mind bullying the weak and striking first."

’Scoundrel!’

Liang Wan gritted her teeth in hatred.

’As expected, not a single one of them is any good!’

Liang Wan said angrily, "You wish!"

"What can you do to stop me?" He seemed quite pleased with himself for provoking her.

And why wouldn’t he be? His actions were his attitude.

He impatiently laid siege to her, seeking the most perfect pleasure.

She resisted the urge to kick him off the bed, but he only pressed closer.

He simply trapped her in that tiny space, lifting his hips to press against her...

This was probably what they meant by "give him an inch, and he’ll take a mile."

’Too bad. He had driven away my sleepiness and is being so brutish and domineering. How can I let him get his way!’

The best defense is a good offense.

She took the initiative, wrapping her arms around his neck, and got the expected reaction she was hoping for.

But he seized the opening she gave him, pressing his advantage.

Liang Wan, furious, snapped, "Give me your life, and I’ll give you what you want!"

"What’s so difficult about that? My body, my heart, my life—they can all be yours."

A low, derisive chuckle.

He was clearly mocking the words she had said to Cui Hao during the day.

Liang Wan’s heart hardened. She lunged forward and bit his shoulder, a true venomous snake intent on taking a life!

He let out a low grunt. The pain was real, and he hadn’t expected her to be so ruthless.

The close contact of their skin was enough to show that this hadn’t affected him in the least; he didn’t slacken at all.

He sucked in a breath and laughed. "Go on, bite. Anywhere else you want to bite, be my guest."

His words made Liang Wan release her jaw, her face burning hot.

"Shameless! Scoundrel!"

Suddenly, it all felt so pointless.

Liang Wan surrendered, admitting defeat. Like a soldier defeated in a great battle, she was unwilling, but helpless.

It had been so long. She knew that sooner or later, she would be devoured completely. She hadn’t cared originally, but for some reason, the longer it went on, the more she resisted. She kept holding out, though for what, she herself didn’t even know.

As the saying goes, a defeat is like a landslide.

She just felt she couldn’t let it start.

Lu Xiu had already taken every advantage. How could he not know when to quit while he was ahead?

It was time to sound the retreat.

"I won’t force you."

He finally quieted down.

Liang Wan was choked with anger. "You act all innocent after getting everything you wanted."

He held her and planted a hard kiss on her cheek, in a very good mood, as if he had completely forgotten that they’d had a huge fight just that day.

Lu Xiu pulled her closer against him. "A husband and wife don’t hold a grudge overnight."

’A good woman can’t withstand a persistent suitor. The ancients certainly weren’t wrong.’

She had already lost in action, so Liang Wan couldn’t be bothered to argue with him verbally anymore.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck, his voice low and muffled. "Wanwan, I have my reasons."

’Yes, and who doesn’t have their own reasons?’

’That sentence—as long as he was there, he wouldn’t let her kill Gao Qian—what was the deeper meaning behind it?’

Liang Wan closed her eyes, not wanting to think about it.

’What do his reasons have to do with me?’

He sighed softly. "I thought my heart was hard enough, but I never expected yours to be even harder."

Liang Wan lay against him, saying nothing.

Eventually, all fell quiet.

The days seemed to go on unchanged, just as before.

Nine years out of ten see a spring drought.

It truly proved the saying, "Spring rain is as precious as oil."

No one could have predicted that Qi Country, which had auspicious heavy snows portending a bountiful year, would instead face a great drought, the likes of which hadn’t been seen in decades.

During a season that should have been filled with endless rain, not a single drop fell.

A month had already passed. Even a wealthy household like the Master’s Mansion was feeling the strain; one could only imagine what a tragic sight it was outside.

Lu Xiu also grew increasingly busy.

Although the people in the mansion knew the disaster was severe, it hadn’t truly affected them yet. They were even somewhat hopeful, simply waiting for the next season to arrive.

Liang Wan did not share their optimistic mindset. Every day, she calculated how long their remaining stores could last.

After a great drought, a plague of locusts was sure to follow. At that time, they would likely face an even more severe famine.

The roads would be lined with the bodies of the starved, and the fields would be filled with white bones.

Moreover, famine easily leads to unrest.

Bai Lu and Gu Yu bustled about nearby.

Liang Wan furrowed her brow, bent over her desk. She already knew many of these things; now, she was simply experiencing them all over again.

’But this so-called disaster... for me, isn’t it also an opportunity?’

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