Chapter 100 Lantern Festival: “Won’t touch you. Nights are cold—let me hold you as you sleep.”

Chapter 100: Shangyuan Festival: "Won't touch you. It's cold at night; I'll hold you while you sleep."

Tian Qin could handle his cruelty and coldness, but what she could not bear was his forced tenderness.

Weaving warmth and affection into the trivialities of daily life—without the title of husband and wife, yet performing the same tender deeds—was itself a kind of absurdity.

They had a relationship of need; it would be enough for him to vent his urges on her without adding anything else. Even in the bedchamber, she did not require his prolonged, superfluous foreplay.

Having lived a second life, Tian Qin remained unmoved by Xie Tanwei's deceptively considerate care, just treating him like a servant combing her hair.

Xie Tanwei saw her sitting motionless like a corpse, her expression showing endurance, not emotion.

A flicker of displeasure rose within him. He wrapped the towel around her head to hold her still, and said coolly, "What, you don't like people touching your hair? Or just me?"

Tian Qin looked away and said flatly, "It's untimely."

"How is it untimely?"

She sighed in reply, "Brother-in-law is the master; there's no reason for a master to stoop to drying someone else's hair."

This remark was self-deprecating but dripping with sarcasm.

She did not need his tenderness—at least not the kind offered by a tyrant who could strike, scold, or make her kneel in punishment at any moment.

Xie Tanwei, stung by her words, he seemed ready to flare up, but a faint smile crossed his face. He let her hair drop, his tone gentle but edged: "Little sister is on her period—these days she's easily irritated. I won't argue with you."

Tian Qin was slightly startled. She wasn't menstruating yet, but it was due in a few days. How could he remember?

Sure enough, before long, a dull ache settled in her lower abdomen, and blood began to flow.

"How did you know?"

Xie Tanwei did not answer. He called for Wan Cui and Zhaolu to help her clean up and handed her a cup of cardamom water sweetened with malt sugar. It carried a faint medicinal fragrance, laced with some mysterious medicinal herbs. After Tian Qin drank it, the pain in her belly vanished at once.

That evening, Xie Tanwei approached her. Before she could say, "I'm indisposed today," he spoke first: "Won't touch you. It's cold at night; I'll hold you while you sleep."

Tian Qin was speechless and had no excuse to refuse.

The scent of aloeswood on Xie Tanwei was wonderfully calming. Tian Qin relaxed into it. His hand, a steady warmth, covered her lower belly, seeping through her skin, making her womb feel like spring had come.

All of these ambiguous gestures seemed to suggest that he cherished her, even loved her.

Tian Qin closed her eyes to rest, but she was always acutely aware that he was a devil, and devils had no conscience.

He was doing this maybe because his possessiveness had kicked in, making him think his property shouldn't be damaged—hence the extra care while she was on her period. Or maybe holding her like this satisfied some private kink of his, a way for him to vent his own needs. Either way, his intentions were not good.

In the middle of the night, she felt a chill on her shoulders, and soon a hand reached up to tuck the corner of the blanket over her. It turned out he had been holding her all night without letting go; by the second half of the night, she was sticky with sweat from the heat.

...

Tian Qin lazed around the house for seven days until her period finally ended.

Now the Shangyuan Festival was approaching. The streets were hung with colorful lanterns, and towering mountain-like lantern displays were set up. There were lantern riddles to solve, tangyuan to eat, and a lively, bustling atmosphere filled with captivating earthly pleasures.

Tian Qin wanted to stroll the streets and informed Xie Tanwei. However, he was required to attend the emperor's sacrificial ceremony and the palace banquet on the festival day, so he could not accompany her.

But because Tian Qin had been so obedient, he didn't disappoint her and allowed her and her maids to go on their own.

"Zhao Ning is occupied that day and probably won't be able to escort you," Xie Tanwei said, almost negotiably, patting her head. "Do you know your way back home?"

Tian Qin's heart skipped a beat. She was going out alone.

Feigning nonchalance, she slapped his hand away. "Brother-in-law underestimates me too much."

Xie Tanwei smiled faintly, his voice light and casual. "You still get lost in your own garden, let alone on the street. Never mind, I'll trust you this once. If you can't find your way home, call Zhao Ning to come get you."

He spoke lightly, as if it were a trivial matter, deliberately glossing over the possibility of her running away, as though it simply didn't exist.

The more he acted like this, the more it proved he was confident he could handle any betrayal on her part.

Tian Qin retorted unhappily, "Just let the maids follow me. I promise I won't get lost."

Xie Tanwei asked again, "Do you have any money on you?"

Tian Qin felt her flat purse. She had some money, but not much.

He was about to order someone to bring her a large sum of gold coins, but she refused: "No need, I have some."

Xie Tanwei had given her many fine things in the past; she could pawn any one of them for a lot of money. He pinched her cheek and said, "Remember to pay when you're out—it's not like in the mansion where everything is handed to you, you fool."

Tian Qin's face turned as red as a boiled crab.

She had been teased by him again. His despicable teasing was relentless.

Although the Shangyuan Festival lantern fair was lively, it had many security gaps. But for her to try to run away would be extremely foolish, walking right into Xie Tanwei's trap. Her so-called escape would be no different from playing house—utterly insignificant.

Last time when she fell into the sea, she lost many coins in the water. Although some were recovered, the loss was heavy.

She had no backup plan. Even if she left the Xie residence, she couldn't survive. Moreover, she had many constraints: Nanny Chen, Zhaolu, Wan Cui, and Yan Geer—each one was dear to her heart. From any angle, she lacked the conditions to flee.

This time, she simply came to see the lanterns.

Perhaps Xie Tanwei saw through this and therefore didn't bother to take precautions.

Tian Qin carried the only copper coins she had left, planning to buy a lantern. After being jostled through the crowd for a few rounds, she suddenly realized her money pouch was gone—along with the three large and small Hetian jade pendants that Xie Tanwei had given her.

The crowd was dense, shoulders brushing shoulders, with several pickpockets moving among them. Tian Qin, a naive wealthy young lady "traveling incognito," was the perfect target.

"Miss, our money..."

At some point, Zhaolu's monthly allowance had also been stolen.

The three women were crestfallen.

The danger of the world revealed itself right then. Vulnerable, refined women simply couldn't hold onto their money. This was their first experience with theft.

Wan Cui immediately said, "Let's report to the authorities!"

The official in charge of the entire street was overwhelmed by the dense crowd. He was only responsible for watching out for arsonists and brawlers; how could he possibly track down who had stolen Tian Qin's small money pouch and jade pendants?

"May I ask which household this young lady belongs to? Let me make a note for you," the official said obsequiously, noticing the expensive Suzhou silk on Tian Qin.

Tian Qin sensed that the official had ill intentions, so she led Zhaolu and Wan Cui away. All three had lost their money pouches, so they lost both the ability and the desire to enjoy the fair. They regretted that Zhao Ning wasn't there.

If Zhao Ning had been there, they wouldn't have ended up in such a dire predicament.

Tian Qin realized belatedly that the outside world was dangerous. Having been protected in a golden cage for so long, she had lost the ability to fend for herself. This 'slow-boiling frog' tactic was truly insidious.

Zhaolu and Wan Cui supported Tian Qin as they were crowded among the masses, as if submerged. Wan Cui had a sudden thought, and she whispered, “No one is watching right now, miss, are you really not leaving?”

The three knew in their hearts that they couldn’t leave, yet a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity lay before them, enough to tempt anyone.

Tian Qin made the difficult choice: “No.”

Without money, preparation, or a travel permit, rushing off recklessly would bring no benefit except angering Xie Tanwei and incurring punishment.

She took a deep breath of the air laced with fireworks, drifting with the crowd, her identity submerged, she felt an extraordinary sense of freedom.

For the first time, there were no spies monitoring her, no orders from superiors, and she walked down the street following only her own heart.

Even if this freedom was dangerous, accompanied by threats like pickpockets and human traffickers, even if it was fleeting.

When Xie Tanwei truly abandoned her in the future, this might be the wild and dangerous life she would face.

No one would confine her anymore, and no one would have her back. She would bid farewell to the days of being waited on hand and foot, and would have to survive bit by bit, relying only on her delicate hands.

...

The palace’s Lantern Festival banquet lacked the lively atmosphere of the commoners’ celebrations, solemn and dignified more like a ritual, with extravagant but tasteless dishes that held no interest. Xie Tanwei attended the emperor until midnight, coaxing the drunk young emperor to sleep, then handed him over to his aunt, the Grand Empress Dowager, before leaving the palace.

Arriving at the Xie residence, he saw three small dark figures standing before the plaque, lonely and isolated, one of whom was his Tian Qin.

Xie Tanwei got off the carriage and hurried forward. Seeing the bedraggled state of Tian Qin, Zhaolu, and Wan Cui, he said, “What happened? Why did you come back and not go into the mansion? Standing out here in the cold?”

As he spoke, he removed his cloak and draped it over Tian Qin’s cloak, doubling the layers. Tian Qin’s nose was red, her snowy skin like fragile porcelain: “Our money pouches were stolen, and we didn’t get to enjoy the festival...”

Xie Tanwei listened to her story, put his arm around her shoulders, and returned to the mansion. He lit warm charcoal, removed her cold outer garment, and handed her a cup of warm tea: “Don’t worry about the money being gone. There’s money in the treasury, as much as you want.”

“But that was money we, as a household, had worked hard to save, including Zhaolu and Wan Cui’s monthly wages.” Tian Qin felt choked, instinctively seeking someone to back her up. Yet her tone was also stubborn, not wanting him to think she was useless without him.

Xie Tanwei rubbed her frozen little face and replied calmly, “Alright, we’ll get it back. Rest first, and tomorrow morning it will be returned to you intact, okay? Do you trust me?”

Tian Qin had no choice but to trust him.

Zhaolu and Wan Cui stood to the side, unconsciously protected by their Lord as well, heads bowed, holding their breath, expressions complicated.

The night was deep, and the rising and falling sounds of fireworks outside the window gradually faded. If they delayed much longer, dawn would break.

Xie Tanwei still had government affairs to attend to and could not sleep with Tian Qin, so he sat by the bed coaxing her to sleep, chatting about light and amusing topics, humming a lullaby. Only after she had fallen into a deep sleep did he get up and leave.

All the mansion guards were punished, for obvious reasons. The young lady had stood outside the mansion, yet no one had invited her in, causing her to catch a chill. The head of the household once again made it clear to everyone in a high-profile way that Tian Qin was someone not to be offended in this house. Her status in the Lord’s heart surpassed that of the mistress. What did status matter? The Lord’s favor was what truly counted.

Tian Qin slept uneasily that night, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. This Lantern Festival banquet had been really frustrating.

She had to get the money back. Because it was loose silver and copper coins usable outside, money without the Xie mansion’s mark, which she would need later when leaving the Xie family. Not necessarily for future escape, but even if one day she were kicked out by her master, having some of her own money would give her peace of mind. This couple, Xie and his wife, were black-hearted; who knew whether they would compensate her financially in the future.