Chapter 105: Couple in Adversity

Chapter 105: A Couple Through Hardship

The Lu household ran a tight ship, yet even the bastard daughter Lu Qingling was raised to be willful and spoiled. Lu Feng had never imagined his wife endured so much hardship in her maternal home. As for Madame Qin’s two sons, their misfortune was purely Lu Feng’s act of settling personal scores under the guise of official duty.

He had no such noble virtues as "sparing the elderly, women, and children." It was simply that Madame Qin held a special status—she was Jiang Wanrou’s stepmother. If anything happened to her, Jiang Wanrou would have to go into mourning for three years. She loved her meat, wearing robes woven with gold thread, and adorning herself with glistening gold jewelry. Lu Feng had no intention of subjecting her to such deprivation.

Thus, Madame Qin’s two unlucky sons became scapegoats—sons paying for their mother’s sins, a practice deemed righteous since ancient times. Seeing her sons arrested, Madame Qin grew frantic, pleading for help everywhere, which eventually quelled Lu Feng’s wrath.

Looking into Jiang Wanrou’s dark, shimmering eyes, Lu Feng chuckled and asked, “Why that look? Stunned?”

Jiang Wanrou lowered her head and stammered, “I thought… my lord was fair and unbending.”

This wasn’t just her assumption. Anyone who had worked with Lu Feng knew he fiercely upheld Qi’s laws. Back when Pei Zhang meddled with the tax and labor system in Luoyun Town, every loophole had been exploited, only to be overturned by the Prince of Qi’s decree: “Follow the laws of Qi.” The incident had caused such an uproar that even Jiang Wanrou, secluded in the inner chambers, had heard of it.

Lu Feng laughed softly. “Rou'er, I am no saint.”

Deities and laws were merely tools to govern the people. He rose above such rules because, as a noble, he sought order by ensuring everyone abided by them.

But he himself naturally stood beyond such constraints. Even the emperor had clear preferences. If he wanted to stand up for his woman, why should he bother with trivial rules?

In a few years, he would make the rules himself.

At the time, Jiang Wanrou didn’t grasp the deeper meaning behind Lu Feng’s words, but she was once again certain that she held a special place in his heart. He cared for her.

He loved her.

……

Because of this “special” status, tonight Jiang Wanrou gritted her teeth, determined to get a clear answer.

No more dancing around it—she looked straight into Lu Feng’s eyes and asked, “Is this the Emperor’s order, or yours?”

The hand resting on the small of her back paused slightly. Lu Feng replied, “Today, the Imperial Household Department sent over a few rolls of Shu brocade. Have the seamstresses make you a new dress.”

Jiang Wanrou had more clothes than she could ever wear, many of which were left unworn in storage after being tailored. A few rolls of fabric hardly impressed her. She scoffed, “I don’t want them!”

“My lord, please give me a straight answer. Every day feels like walking on air—it’s unsettling.”

Lu Feng said, “What is there to fear?”

“Even that dim-witted maid of yours knows that if the sky falls, the prince will catch it. Why worry needlessly?”

Jiang Wanrou’s heart skipped a beat—those were Cuizhu’s words from that afternoon in the pavilion, when it had been just the two of them!

Her surprise was plain to see. Lu Feng smirked. “I am not Ling Xiao.”

A man who couldn’t even secure his own home deserved more than fifty lashes.

At this critical moment, every movement inside and outside the residence was under his control.

Before Jiang Wanrou could reflect on whether she had ever been obedient on the surface but defiant underneath, she blurted out, “Do you truly intend to rebel?”

……

The room went still. The couple locked eyes, the candlelight flickering over their faces in the quiet.

Lu Feng’s smile faded. After a long pause, he asked, “If I rebel, will you follow me?”

Hearing what she’d expected, Jiang Wanrou, surprisingly, felt no fear.

She lowered her lashes, dark as raven feathers, and whispered softly, "His Majesty is now in his prime, and the capital's defenses are impenetrable. Not only is it perilous, but it would also be unjust and defy Heaven's will."

"Husband, please reconsider."

Lu Feng gazed at her, his voice low. "What if I choose to defy Heaven?"

Jiang Wanrou thought for a moment, counting on her fingers. "The three children must be settled first. Huai Yi is older now and shows the bearing of an elder brother."

"Auntie has suffered most of her life. I asked her before—she would rather leave the Marquis of Ning'an's household, giving up her place as a noble’s concubine, even if it means living as a poor peasant woman."

She lifted her eyes, her gaze steady and earnest. "As long as the children and Auntie are safe, I want nothing more."

Lu Feng frowned. "Why don’t you think of yourself?"

Jiang Wanrou fell silent. Then, with a sudden smile, she reached out to touch his stern face.

"You’ve said it yourself, husband—with you shielding me, I have nothing to fear."

"Since I married into the Lu family at sixteen, I’ve lived in nothing but luxury. We shared prosperity—how could I abandon you in hardship?"

"I’ve had enough fortune."

Back when Lu Feng was still the Commander of the Forbidden Dragon Bureau, Jiang Wanrou had imagined this scenario many times. After all, men of his power seldom die peacefully. Now that her fears had come true, at worst, it’s just death. Over the years, she’d found joy wherever she could—not a day wasted.

She knew she couldn’t dissuade him, so she wasted no breath on futile pleas. "As the saying goes: 'A couple shares hardship.' I fear nothing—only that you keep me informed."

"Though I may be just a woman, as you’ve said, I’m clever enough. I won’t hold you back."

Her voice, light as a feather, brushed against Lu Feng’s heart, setting it alight.

Though he had planned meticulously, success was in Heaven’s hands. If he failed, he would accept it. He had long prepared an escape for her and their children—less than their current glory, but enough to ensure their comfort for life.

In his military days, his extraordinary strength had often drawn comparisons to Xiang Yu. He had scoffed—how could a coward compare? But now, with her pledging to follow him even unto death, he understood Xiang Yu’s tenderness then.

To have her as his wife—he could die without regret.

Lu Feng’s throat tightened, his chest brimming with unspoken words. In the end, he only uttered two: "Not enough."

She was only twenty-two. How could her fortune already be spent?

He’d lift her to the highest place—gilded and revered, in eternal bliss, where none could force her to kneel again.

—Last time, in the Hall of Literary Brilliance, she’d knelt until her knees bruised purple beneath her thin summer robes. Jiang Wanrou dared not complain of the emperor, but Lu Feng never forgot.

He pulled her tightly into his arms, as if to meld her into his bones. Jiang Wanrou gasped, "It hurts—"

"Be gentle, or you’ll break me."

Lu Feng chuckled. "I wouldn’t dare."

"Let me soothe you."

Before she could react, he swept her into his arms and drew the bed curtains.

...

The next morning, Jiang Wanrou rose, clutching her waist, sure she’d been thoroughly had.

***

Yesterday, she laid bare her feelings, only to receive Lu Feng's two cryptic words in return before being pulled into bed and stripped of her clothes.

The Prince of Qi was true to his word and truly massaged her waist—though his hands were utterly shameless, deliberately targeting places she couldn’t bear to be touched, until… he left her breathless and aching.

Such a transparent ploy! Now, with her sore and weak waist, Jiang Wanrou had no choice but to endure it.

Cuizhu, ever quick-witted, brought her a soft cushion, but Jiang Wanrou waved her away, dismissing her.

Once alone, Jiang Wanrou crouched like a thief, reaching beneath the ever-creaking canopy bed to pull out a long wooden box intricately carved with flowers and birds.

Inside lay thick stacks of banknotes—the smallest denomination being a thousand taels—from various major banks, totaling fifty or sixty thousand taels. There were also deeds to fertile lands and shops, scattered inconspicuously around the capital—the farthest she could manage. After all, if a noblewoman from the capital were to open shops in Jiangnan or the northwest, suspicions would inevitably arise.

A small brocade pouch held a few pieces of gold and silver, along with several high-quality pearls. These were Jiang Wanrou’s entire assets—or rather, her private savings. Most were "siphoned off" during her time as the Duchess of Lu, supplemented by the emperor’s rewards for bearing twins, all converted into easily portable banknotes. Other lavish gifts—jewelry, vases, coral ornaments—bore imperial markings and couldn’t be sold, to her frustration, though Lu Feng had insisted they were just for show.

At the very bottom of the box lay a travel permit. Thanks to her friendship with the Minister of Revenue’s wife, she had fabricated a story about a distant relative fleeing trouble, securing this document to leave the capital unchecked.

This was Jiang Wanrou’s safety net.

In the early days, when her mother-in-law despised her, her sisters-in-law were hostile, and her husband was a moody, distant man, she had feared being cast out of the Duke of Lu’s household and had stashed away money for an escape. Later, as Lu Feng’s power grew, she worried about his downfall and what would become of her and their children—so she kept saving.

After Lu Feng was granted the title of Prince of Qi, she relaxed. The royal household’s expenses were managed by the Imperial Household Department, leaving no room for embezzlement. This little box had lain untouched for years. Now, counting the contents, she found it more than enough—for Huai Ling and Huai Yi’s future brides, for Mingzhu’s dowry, with a nice nest egg left for herself.

Jiang Wanrou laughed bitterly. Who would have thought her foresight would prove useful now?

Last night, Lu Feng had said, slowly and deliberately, “I will fight.”

“We are all the emperor’s sons. Why should I take a back seat? Because of these legs? I refuse!”

…

Lu Feng claimed he had prepared an escape route—a secret tunnel from the Prince of Qi’s residence to a safehouse, dug in secret since their arrival.

Jiang Wanrou meticulously counted each banknote and deed before packing them away. Surveying the opulent furnishings around her—all impossible to take—she paused, suddenly remembering two small but valuable items.

A black waist token emblazoned with a gilded, flamboyant “Forbidden” character. Lu Feng had given it to her during her pregnancy before leaving for Jiangnan, declaring it as good as the emperor’s own word—capable of mobilizing not just the Forbidden Dragon Bureau but also the Five City Guard and patrol battalions. She had only used it once, to summon a royal physician when Huai Yi fell ill. After giving birth safely, neither had mentioned it again, leaving it in her possession.

Hesitating, she placed the token in the box and closed the lid. Then, from the incense table, she picked up a string of sandalwood prayer beads, a gift from the abbot of Huiguang Temple when nightmares haunted her. Since then, she had slept soundly.

With a sigh, Jiang Wanrou tucked the beads into the box as well.