Chapter 94 Blindfold: Covering Her Eyes.

Chapter 94: Blindfolded: Blindfolding Her Eyes.

Tian Qin had just stopped vomiting, gasping feebly as she leaned against the carved bed, catching her breath, when the Love Gu at her heart began to stir, like a dose of anesthetic injected into her, the dull pain growing stronger and stronger. She hurriedly covered her heart, her delicate brows furrowing.

This was him "caressing" her, from a distance, unbound by time or space. Whenever he caressed her, she would feel pain; if his touch was heavy, her pain was heavier; if light, so was hers.

That pair of Love Gu were eyes peering into her heart, reporting her condition to their master at every moment.

The same Love Gu, in his hands, was named manipulation and power; in hers, it was obedience and confinement.

Her stomach still churned, and Tian Qin forced herself to drink some warm water to calm it, lest her telepathic master discover and impose harsher, more cruel punishment.

Nanny Chen worriedly helped Tian Qin lie down.

Wan Cui and Zhaolu exchanged glances. Lately, the mistress had been desperately seeking a child, so the Lord must have been sharing her bed. Even if he couldn't perform the act, he had to be close to her frequently; perhaps the young lady could get some rest.

They had barely entertained this thought when their sweet dream was shattered by a loud knock at the door.

It was Zhao Ning.

"Miss Tian, the Lord requests your presence."

Through the door, his voice was respectful but brooked no refusal.

A heavy blow crushed all their hopes.

Nanny Chen silently cursed Zhao Ning a few times, but could not change the reality. Tian Qin dragged her ailing body and was forced onto the stone path leading to the Garden of Shared Spring with Me.

For Tian Qin, lying on her sister's bed and sleeping with her brother-in-law was nothing new.

But when she was once again trapped in that sensual yet ominous atmosphere, her knees still bruised from kneeling, she suddenly began to sob uncontrollably, gasping for breath, experiencing an avalanche of despair. With a pleading look, she said, "I beg you, spare me tonight."

Heartbroken and terrified, she recoiled.

"The range of the Love Gu is this room. Inside, you are comfortable and safe. Step one foot out, and the Love Gu will awaken immediately, and you'll be in so much pain you'll collapse on the ground."

Xie Tanwei explained the rules to her with near cruelty, as if giving her absolute respect and ample choice.

"I believe you're smart enough to know how to choose."

Tian Qin flickered like a dying candle, her tearful lashes quivering.

He was unusually patient, his expression relaxed. Bending down, he cleaned away her untimely tears one by one, a sense of pleasure rippling within him.

He was confident she wouldn't choose a mutually destructive outcome. She would stay here, comfortable with him.

Willing or not, as long as she chose him, he was willing to give her more affection.

Tian Qin was on edge, a hint of distrust rising within her.

His gentleness and patience were built on her absolute submission. He tossed her a candy. Once she sparked rebellion, he would instantly fall from a saint to a devil's visage.

The strength in Tian Qin's hand, which she had used to brace herself against the cabinet, gradually faded. She no longer mentioned her sister or made other excuses. She was like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Xie Tanwei sensed her surrender and kissed her trembling eyelids, expressing his gratitude. After all, he didn't want to cause a scene and let the servants watch a farce.

Tian Qin slumped, her hands dangling limply, as if her life had been severed in half.

"Brother-in-law..." she muttered hollowly, a tide of hatred surging within her.

"Don't call me that."

He pressed her down, returning her coldness with his own.

"Xie Tanwei." She chewed on that name, already ground into her bones, and clutched him tightly, "...Xie Tanwei!"

Xie Tanwei let out a faint laugh, a mixture of warmth and coldness. He pulled out an extremely smooth and soft silk sash from his embrace, the color of dragonfly blue, slender and precisely covering the width of the brows and eyes.

He worked on her corsage pin, her lower garment, her belt, her crossed-collar right-sided lapel, her ink-black hair, his force growing heavier, not allowing her to move an inch, only letting her lie obediently as a compliant vessel.

Under the restraining yet romantic prohibition, candlelight flickered. He blindfolded her with that silk sash, tying it tightly at the back of her head.

The sudden loss of sight made Tian Qin extremely nervous, like a taut string. The scent of Xie Tanwei's "Moon-Watering Cold Spring" agarwood wafted into her nostrils. Her sense of smell and hearing were magnified. She couldn't help reaching out to pull off the silk.

Xie Tanwei didn't stop her, watching quietly, deliberately testing the object's level of obedience.

As expected, to avoid harsher punishment, Tian Qin's hand, just as it touched the silk, slid down weakly.

She wasn't afraid of the silk; she was afraid of the Love Gu.

Under his rule, rewards and punishments were arbitrary. If she showed the slightest reluctance, the Love Gu would probably tear her resistance to shreds.

Xie Tanwei deliberately darkened the dim light further, drawing the curtains of the carved bed, trapping the two of them in a space neither too big nor too small, with a faint, delicate scent of water caltrop wafting from the four corners.

Tian Qin tossed and turned, trying to reclaim her stolen sight, but he gently held her wrists, softer than the silken sash, frighteningly soft.

"I find you more well-behaved without your eyes."

Xie Tanwei whispered in her ear, his spine-chilling words flowing slowly.

Tian Qin had every reason to suspect this wasn't just a joke under the silk blindfold, but rather that he truly wanted to make her "lose" her eyes.

"Afraid of the dark?" A thread of laughter seeped from Xie Tanwei's throat. His knuckles pressed into the silk depression, applying pressure to her pupils, as if he intended to gouge out her eyes.

Tian Qin was silent. The fear amplified by her blindness made her move closer to him, like grasping a piece of driftwood in a dark ocean.

Xie Tanwei conveniently pulled her into his arms.

Her submissive behavior won his favor.

Once she had fully adapted to the bed and the silk, he turned her over, his attack like a force of nature sweeping away decay.

Tian Qin let out a few muffled sounds, feeling especially vulnerable after losing her senses.

Amid the chaos, she forced him to stop, sternly demanding he use contraception. She did not want to bear a child born of such twisted control; she wanted a clear line between them.

Xie Tanwei kissed her and agreed lightly.

...

After that day, Xie Tanwei did not seek out Tian Qin for several days.

Tian Qin was more than happy about this, hiding in the Painting Garden and enjoying her leisure.

Nanny Chen went to investigate and found out that Xie Tanwei wasn't coming to her because he was entangled by Xian Qiu. This long-neglected mistress was determined to win her husband's favor. Every day, she cooked personally, presenting new and interesting dishes without repetition.

Every day after Xie Tanwei left court, Xian Qiu would personally lead people to wait for him at the Chui Hua Gate. Saying "wait" was putting it nicely; they were completely blocking him, using emotional pleas, alternating between persuasion and coercion, lowering her pride, half-dragging and half-pulling him to invite Xie Tanwei.

Of course, Xie Tanwei had a strong hand, but it was hard to use it against a wife who was acting out of good intentions. He turned a blind eye to Xian Qiu's behavior, with the bottom line being that he wouldn't stay overnight. Of course, this was for Xian Qiu's physical health; even if Xie Tanwei wanted to stay, Xian Qiu's illness wouldn't allow it.

Tian Qin couldn't be bothered to care about that couple; she simply spent her days basking in the winter sun in the courtyard.

Her period was late this month, making her anxious for days, fearing she might be pregnant. When her period finally arrived, she breathed a sigh of relief.

One day, Nanny Chen brought back coal and a letter: "For the young lady." The Painting Garden was isolated—how could a letter reach her hands?

Tian Qin lazily opened it and found it was an invitation from Su Tiaotiao.

It had been a long time.

Tian Qin was almost stunned, staring at the invitation for a long, long time.

Not long after they parted ways at Qianjin Hall, Su Tiaotiao had followed her parents' orders and married a vice director in the Ministry of Revenue. Now her child's full-month banquet was being held, and she invited Tian Qin.

Knowing Tian Qin's family situation, Su Tiaotiao specifically told her not to feel pressured; if she really couldn't come, it was fine.

Su Tiaotiao was Tian Qin's only friend in this difficult situation.

Tian Qin wasn't sure if Xie Tanwei would allow her to go, especially since he had been tightening his control over her lately. Just mentioning leaving the residence was enough to make her scalp tingle.

Besides, Xie Tanwei didn't like Su Tiaotiao—he didn't like her having anyone closer to her than himself, not even a woman—which made attending the banquet even more difficult.

She tossed the letter aside in despair, being controlled, having no freedom, such a painful life stretching out for her entire existence—she might as well have died in the sea back then, quick and painless.

She was his pet, stuck in the Painting Garden, waiting for his summons again and again. Without his permission, the Love Gu was like an invisible lock, binding her firmly to the Painting Garden.

Nanny Chen was also anxious for Tian Qin and urged, "Miss, why not go ask the Lord? What if he lets you go? If it fails, you simply stay home—no harm done. The Lord wouldn't punish you for something like this. Besides, I think if this letter could pass through the mansion's many gates and reach you, the Lord must have tacitly allowed it."

Tian Qin thought Nanny Chen made sense. A man like Xie Tanwei, always scheming and never missing a trick—a letter suddenly appearing before her could not be a coincidence.

He seemed to be trying to make amends for her falling into the sea.

She gathered her courage and went to the study. An inexplicable trembling and hesitation came over her as she knocked lightly twice. She saw Xie Tanwei in conversation with a high-ranking official in robes embroidered with bird motifs. The scene was solemn and serious.

Tian Qin suddenly barged in, and both of them froze.

The official, in particular—around forty years old, looking like a staid pedant—was extremely shocked that a woman from the inner chambers would barge into the study, a secure study, as if strolling into a garden. His wrinkled old eyes practically bulged.

Tian Qin clutched the invitation, sweating. Ignoring the official, she went straight to Xie Tanwei and said in a low voice, "...Brother-in-law, the Su family sent an invitation for the full-month banquet. I want to go."

Xie Tanwei nodded slowly and indifferently.

"Have Zhao Ning take you there."

"Got it," she replied sullenly.

The fact that matters of inner quarters, feasting, and socializing were not brought to the mistress but to the master made the words "brother-in-law" carried a scorching, ambiguous warmth.

Looking closely, Xie Tanwei's neck, where his clothes partially covered it, still bore a faint bite mark, a lingering carmine-red color.

The official watched, utterly dumbfounded. Combined with recent rumors circulating in the capital, he vaguely guessed there was an unusual relationship between the brother-in-law and sister-in-law. His heart pounded with shock, and he nearly choked on his tea.

Outrageous, absolutely outrageous!

Xie Tanwei casually brought the interrupted conversation back on track without any explanation, as if Tian Qin's coming to the study was perfectly natural. The official was bewildered and shocked—how could a concubine be so lawless and the wife at home tolerate it?

Tian Qin left quickly. The last order Xie Tanwei gave her as she left was, "Come back before sunset." That meant she had to set off after lunch at the earliest, spending nearly an hour on the journey.

Even so, Tian Qin had already won. The result was far better than she had expected, and the reporting process had been very brief.

Nanny Feng was right; he must have known about the letter. He didn't pull the noose too tight, deliberately letting her out for some air.

He had tacitly approved from the start, yet she had been suspicious. Was she afraid of the pain from the Love Gu, or had she been trapped in this cage for so long that she subconsciously accepted this imprisoned life?

Thinking back to how she had cowered and begged in front of Xie Tanwei, she sneered at herself in disgust. A wave of intense self-loathing washed over her, and she wished she could shed this filthy skin. A cloying, nauseating sadness churned inside her.