Chapter 50 Control: “Because you’re the easiest to tame.”

Chapter 50: Taming: Because You Are the Easiest to Tame.

After a long time, Tian Qin lay weakly on the rocks by the shore, her legs still dangling in the water, panting, her cheeks flushed like peach blossoms after a spring rain, pale with pink.

Xie Tanwei gently brushed her wet hair aside, the veins at his temples stood out faintly, his gaze hazy, his expression affectionate and tender.

In the babbling spring, the moon's reflection flickered softly, the deep silence carrying a serene Zen charm, thick and lingering.

In the dim air, a sultry mood hung; the lamplight was faint, casting long, heavy shadows that loomed oppressively.

Tian Qin instinctively tried to recoil, a deep fear ingrained in her bones. Kneeling with half her body still in the water, she mumbled and pushed him away: “No. I know I was wrong already.”

His voice was as calm as ever: “Wrong about what?”

Her voice was hoarse, sounding like she was reciting a lesson she'd been taught: “I shouldn't have talked to another man behind your back, shouldn't have left your sight without permission, shouldn't have talked back to you.”

She could hardly continue.

Her dignity was shattered, she lost herself.

Xie Tanwei tweaked her slightly reddened earlobe: “Don't do it again, or I'll think you're deliberately looking for punishment.”

“Get up.”

He flicked his sleeve dismissively.

Tian Qin's steps faltered, and she sat down on the rough rock as if defeated, her clothes loose and disheveled, she leaned into his arms.

His uprightness in the court was real, and his possessive control over her was also real—like two sides of the same coin, light and dark, not contradictory.

She closed her eyes in disgust, exhaustion and frustration crashing over her like a tide; fate had trapped her with no way out.

“Contraceptive brew.”

Her eyes were terrifyingly dark. She reached out to demand: “I don't want to have your baby.”

Xie Tanwei paused, then kissed her hair with a serene purity, smooth as moonlight silk: “Fine. Drink it when we go back.”

He ordered a meal—well, technically it was breakfast. The two of them had been at it all night; the sky outside was just beginning to show pale rosy dawn.

Tian Qin endured her aching back and soreness, her body covered with bright red hickeys, and climbed out of the pool. After Xie Tanwei straightened his own clothes, he thoughtfully dried her hair, dressed her in her gown, and covered the dense red marks. Then he handed her a steaming bowl of contraceptive brew.

Xian Qiu had not yet woken up.

The two of them ate first in the hall.

This combination of breakfast and late-night snack was a lavish spread: refreshing meat jelly, plum blossom-shaped soup cakes, almond cheese cakes, thin-skinned spring cocoon buns, and clear pear juice. Tian Qin had just drunk the bitter and fishy contraceptive brew and had no appetite; her eyes drooped, and she didn't pick up her chopsticks for a long time.

Xie Tanwei picked up her favorite almond cheese cake and placed it in front of her, saying softly: “It's sweet—give it a try.”

Tian Qin couldn't refuse and took a token small bite; it was sweet and delicious. The little cake had gone through eighteen steps, made by the chef who had worked tirelessly since last night. In her previous life, trapped in the inner chambers of a large mansion, she had never tasted such good things.

“I'm not hungry.”

She made excuses, truly having no appetite.

“Eat.” Xie Tanwei's mellow voice carried a hint of a sigh. He held her slender fingers and promised with a tone as cold as metal and jade: “Next time, I won't make my sister-in-law drink contraceptive brew. I'll take care of contraception myself.”

Next time—there would actually be a next time. Tian Qin suppressed the surging emotions in her eyes, tasting blood, not knowing how long this ugly, hidden relationship between brother-in-law and sister-in-law would last.

“Brother-in-law, remove the Love Gu. I'll be obedient from now on.”

She harbored a secret, covert thought: “That thing feels strange inside me; last night it caused me pain.”

“Better to hurt once than ten times. People are all trying to gain profit and avoid harm. Only when it hurts deeply will my sister-in-law remember deeply.”

Xie Tanwei served her dishes, his manner as chilling as ice shards, hitting the bone and sucking marrow. A line was a line, and he would haggle over every ounce, not yielding half an inch: “Don't talk about these things. Eat first.”

Tian Qin held a porcelain spoon, tapping it lightly against the bowl, making a clinking sound. The warm spring sunlight slanted into the room, bright and warm, as if the chaotic nightmare of yesterday never existed.

Her limbs and bones were relaxed, filled with the pleasure of released desire and the nourishment of rain and dew. The Love Gu lay dormant peacefully under her skin, quiet, like a dispensable health tonic.

But it was all an illusion. Once she entertained a thought she shouldn't, the beast of the Love Gu would immediately bare its fangs, trapping her in a life-or-death situation.

After finishing breakfast, Tian Qin returned to her boudoir. Xie Tanwei, as if no one else was around, put his arm around her shoulder and neck, his demeanor intimate, sometimes leaning down to her ear, laughing and whispering some bold private words.

Her right lapel was slightly loose, revealing fair skin and faint red marks, and a strand of hair hung behind her ear, full of charm, just like a kept mistress in a wealthy family.

Xie Tanwei's arm rested on Tian Qin's slender waist, and Tian Qin's head leaned on his shoulder. Their steps were leisurely, both basking in the lazy spring sunshine—a handsome man and a beautiful woman.

The manor lord's family was dragging their belongings out, having worked hard for so many years, never expecting to be kicked out one day.

The manor lord's son stared blankly at this scene—Tian Qin clinging flirtatiously to the master of the house, who already had a wife. His heart broke, and he seethed with resentment: indeed, beautiful girls are not decent women.

“Let's go.”

The manor lord pushed his son hard, forcing him to leave. The latter's eyes were wide with anger, filled with extreme grief.

In the distance, Tian Qin was immersed in her own gray world and didn't notice the sound of an outsider's heart breaking. When they reached her room, she closed the door first, blocking Xie Tanwei outside the threshold.

“Brother-in-law, I want to rest.”

Last night, he had taken her all night, and she was exhausted.

“Don't you like it?” Xie Tanwei twirled a strand of her silky hair around his long fingers, frivolously, “My sister-in-law also enjoyed it all night.”

“Brother-in-law enjoyed it more than I did.” She mercilessly slapped his hand away. “You forced it, and it left me physically and mentally exhausted.”

Xie Tanwei paused briefly, then said with a clear and serious tone: “All last night, I was the one putting in the effort while you enjoyed. And now you complain of being tired. Well, fine—if you want to rest, rest properly. Don't wander around.”

Tian Qin said: “I'm going to sleep.”

With that, she quickly closed the door and locked it from inside.

The figure outside paused for a moment, then left.

Tian Qin stubbornly sulked. She moved a chair to block the door, so she would know if someone tried to force their way in.

She lay down on the couch, pulled the blanket tight, her limbs numb and lifeless. She tossed and turned for a while before falling asleep, but it was a light, restless sleep.

When she woke again, a large dark cloud had drifted outside, gloomy and dim. The room was deathly still, and she couldn't tell the time.

The maidservant who brought the meal said the lord and his wife had gone out to inspect another manor. Tian Qin secretly pondered an opportunity to go out.

Through the window, there was no sign of Zhao Ning nearby.

After waiting for the maidservant to leave, Tian Qin opened the door.

As soon as she stepped half a foot out in her embroidered shoes, the Love Gu suddenly went wild, electrocuting her and causing her to fall immediately, almost suffocating.

She lay curled up on the ground for a long, long time before she could catch her breath, soaked in sweat as if she'd been drenched, with stars dancing before her eyes.

The electric tide of the Love Gu ebbed, and Tian Qin belatedly realized that he had set a boundary for the Love Gu—confined to this modest room—cold, harsh, precise, and merciless.

He changed his game, couldn't be bothered to warn her beforehand, leaving behind a flippant 'Don't wander off.' When she crossed that red line, he delivered a thunderous lesson, using the shock of sudden pain to drill the rules into her.

Tian Qin nearly snapped her nails.

Limping back to the bed, her opponent was a monster—powerful, terrifying, his methods suffocating.

Though the manor was vast and the grasslands expansive, for her, it had shrunk to a cage no larger than a few square feet, covered in thorny brambles.

She forced herself to calm down, but having just felt the Love Gu's suffocating grip, like a mountain pressing down—how could she? Her heart was in turmoil.

He meant what he said; he wouldn't keep indulging her.

The difficulty of escape had escalated to an unprecedented degree.

Xie Tanwei respected Xian Qiu as his virtuous and gentle wife, and he also "needed" her.

Their show of mutual respect was for outsiders; his saint's disguise was a mask. Everything needed a dark outlet, and she was that outlet—a tool for the filthy, selfish desires in his dark human side.

Why did it have to be her?

Tears streamed down her face as she collapsed onto the bed, gasping heavily.

In the pitch-black despair, Xie Tanwei's phantom seemed to drift to her side, smoothing over her pain and sorrow, a faint smile on his lips as he whispered in her ear:

"Because you're the dumbest and easiest to tame…"

...

After the Lord and Lady returned, Tian Qin was summoned to join them for dinner.

Tian Qin, still shaken, dawdled and refused to step out of the room. The maid thought she was being dramatic, putting on airs. After a lot of pulling and dragging, Tian Qin finally stumbled out the door.

Miraculously, the expected pain never came; the boundary of the Love Gu had somehow expanded.

Tian Qin's face turned pale, and she felt even more manipulated.

"Miss Tian, please hurry. The Lord and Lady have been waiting for you for some time."

This maid was Xian Qiu's, and she had long disapproved of Tian Qin. Along the way, she chattered incessantly, singing Xian Qiu's praises.

Tian Qin was distracted. If Zhao Lu and Wan Cui were here, they would have given this clueless maid a thorough tongue-lashing.

She happened to hear that after the Beginning of Spring, the Lord and Lady would leave the manor and return to the Xie residence.

Tian Qin twitched the corner of her mouth but couldn't manage a smile. Whether she returned to the Xie residence or not didn't matter. She was shackled so tightly that even if the door were wide open, she'd still be trapped in hell, no way out.

At the dinner table, the three of them looked like a picture of peaceful, harmonious relatives.

Tian Qin exchanged a glance with Xie Tanwei—a knowing look. His penetrating eyes were frigid, dripping iciness, and a faint smile curled at the corner of his lips, as if asking: How did the Love Gu feel? Still trying to run?

She froze, her gaze filled with defiance and hatred, her knuckles cracking.

Xie Tanwei smiled, sinking deeper into this twisted game, relishing their unspoken dark relationship and control.

He lowered his eyes, casually poured himself a glass of wine, drank it in one gulp, stretched contentedly, and appeared very pleased.

With that casual indifference, without even glancing at her, he could be certain of trapping her for the rest of her life. In private, he could make her tremble with fear; in public, he was distant and almost cold, slipping back into the respectable-brother-in-law guise as smoothly as a fish in water, switching seamlessly.

Tian Qin's stomach churned; the smell of food made her want to vomit. This hot-and-cold, near-and-far—unreadable, unpredictable, leaving her hanging—was more suffocating than simple coercion.

If she could die for good, that'd be fine, but a sliver of hope lingered, keeping her constantly on edge, nerves taut, living in perpetual fear. She could neither resist nor become completely numb, watching helplessly as she sank. The noose was around her neck, but the chair under her feet wasn't kicked away.

"Tian'er, come sit beside your sister. We came back late today—you must be hungry, right?"

Xian Qiu, warm and familiar as ever, introduced each lavish dish on the table. On the night of the Beginning of Spring, there would be fireworks. After the fireworks, they'd change into spring clothes, then return to the Xie residence.

Tian Qin sat down, following orders apathetically, eating mechanically, the food tasteless.

Xian Qiu also poured herself a glass of wine and drank with Xie Tanwei, the couple drinking together, content and merry.

Their two shadows fell, with Tian Qin's tiny silhouette squeezed awkwardly in between—unable to fit in or leave.