Chapter 1 Sultry

Chapter 1 Sultry

Nan Mei felt like she was having an erotic dream.

Her heart was racing, pounding fast and urgently, and there seemed to be an engorged feeling down there—strange and unsettling.

She couldn’t help but clench her thighs, even her butt tightened.

A strange pleasure, mixed with a gritty shiver, coursed through her, and her breath caught.

In a daze, she hugged her husband tightly.

No, her husband was on a long trip—he wasn’t even home!

Nan Mei jolted awake and opened her eyes.

Ocher-yellow gauze curtains fluttered lightly in the air, and the dim sunlight filtered through the carved window lattice, illuminating a spacious and luxurious bedroom.

The bed swayed gently from side to side. The air was filled with a fresh, watery scent, and the sound of splashing water filled her ears.

A boat?

She had clearly been resting at a teahouse. How did she end up on a boat? Her coarse linen clothes had been replaced with light, flowing silk gauze.

Men’s voices came from outside the cabin.

Panic seized Nan Mei. Without a second thought, she wanted to get out of bed and leave this place.

But somehow, her limbs were limp and weak, and her body had become extremely sensitive. Even the brush of the blanket against her chest made her nipples poke through the gauzy fabric.

The restless stirring that had just subsided began to surge again.

Nan Mei was no inexperienced girl. She knew clearly that this was not a normal physical reaction.

Creak. The cabin door opened from outside, and a tall figure appeared in the doorway.

Light slanted in, casting his face half in brightness and half in shadow, accentuating his sharp features. His eyes were as cold as a winter moon and as sharp as frosty stars, and a faint, enigmatic smile hung at the corner of his mouth—neither gentle nor warm, but sharp and aggressive.

In her panic, Nan Mei lost her balance and tumbled toward the ground.

But instead of the expected pain, the man caught her in his arms.

Solid, powerful muscles seemed ready to burst through his clothes, pressing heavily against her tender, resistant limbs.

An indescribable sensation washed over her. Nan Mei trembled all over and couldn’t help letting out a muffled moan.

“In such a hurry to throw yourself into my arms?” he drawled lazily, his fingers toying with her slender waist.

“Don’t touch me!” Nan Mei was terrified. She slapped him, but her hand was so weak it landed on his face like a feather and slid down just as lightly.

It only made the man’s breath catch.

“You’re trembling so hard. First time?”

“No, no…” Leaning against his chest, she panted and pushed at him, but her feeble strength was more like feigned resistance than a real rejection.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s not your first time.” He laid her back down onto the bed.

The woman before him had a soft, innocent face. Her large, round eyes held not only panic but also a purity and innocence untouched by the world.

Clearly, she had been well raised.

It made him want to dominate her even more.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. He grabbed her shoulder with his left hand, and with his right, he slowly traced down her neck.

Nan Mei cried out, feeling goosebumps prickle all over her skin. Her body burned and felt swollen, and she couldn’t stop trembling and twitching.

“Who are you? Let me go! Let me go!”

She was furious, but completely helpless.

The man let out an enigmatic chuckle. “A prostitute, and such a big temper.”

“I’m not a prostitute! I’m a lawful citizen, a commoner. I’m married—I have a husband! I swear!”

He toyed with her sash. “Your husband? I am your husband.”

“You’ve got it wrong! Completely wrong! I’m not a prostitute! Please, have mercy and let me go.” Nan Mei twisted her body, trying to escape his grip.

The man’s patience snapped. “When you were begging me for favors, you weren’t so chaste. Refusing once or twice is flirting; any more than that is just playing hard to get.”

Whether by instinct or from the drug, Nan Mei’s mind went blank. Under wave after wave of surging arousal, her eyes grew hazy.

He kissed her violently—it could hardly be called a kiss. It was like a man dying of thirst in the desert finding a clear spring, nothing but desperate sucking.

The near-suffocating sensation only inflamed the deliberately suppressed desire.

Nan Mei gasped for air. Her skin, white as satin, was flushed with an unnatural rosy flush. Beneath the thin clothing, her body was voluptuous and subtly seductive—an incongruous match for her pure, innocent face.

He kissed her again, this time gently, like a soft rain and light breeze, yet no less relentless.

The night was deep, the dew heavy, soaking through layer after layer of silk…

The sudden onslaught made Nan Mei’s mind explode, jolting awake the last shred of her reason.

She struggled and resisted, but she was no match for his strength. Everything was futile. She could only cry helplessly, enduring passively.

The drug’s effect, coupled with the repeated stimulation, slowly eroded her rationality. Her sobs transformed into moans, and her body began to act on its own…

He gripped her slender ankles.

After thorough caressing, she was now shy, restrained, yet wanton.

“From now on, you are mine.”

…

When Nan Mei woke up again, everything was a blur. She couldn’t tell if it was dusk or dawn.

Her bones ached as if they’d been taken apart and put back together.

It took her a long time to come back to her senses.

The cabin swayed. No one was beside her. Aside from the sound of water splashing, there was no other movement.

She felt as if she had fallen into a bottomless pit. Darkness pressed down on her like a mountain. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe, and around her, there was nothing but deathly silence.

All hope was gone.

Tears streamed down her face in large, heavy drops, but she didn't dare cry loudly, afraid she might bring that man back again.

When she was done crying, she stood up, trembling. The clothes on the floor were torn to shreds, unwearable.

Nan Mei grabbed a thin quilt, wrapped it haphazardly around herself, and pushed open the window.

The morning sunlight came rushing in with a noisy brightness. She slowly climbed onto the stool by the window. Outside, the river was wide and vast, the water glistening, with no other boats in sight.

She had only wanted to buy her husband some cloth to make a decent narrow-sleeved robe—why had this happened to her?

How could she ever face him again?

Xiao Lang, let's be husband and wife in the next life…

She closed her eyes and leaned forward.

In that instant when she felt herself falling, someone grabbed her around the waist.

A dizzying whirl, and she was thrown back onto the bed.

“Are you crazy!”

He was agitated, his tone harsh with lingering fear, but to Nan Mei, it sounded completely different.

“I’m not playing the virtuous woman! I’m no courtesan!” Nan Mei hugged her shoulders tightly, as if defending something indefinable.

The man froze, an incredulous expression crossing his face. “You’re not the courtesan offered by the Shi family?”

Nan Mei could hold on no longer. Her voice hoarse, she broke down into loud, desperate sobs full of hopeless sorrow.

The man raised his hand, and Nan Mei recoiled in fear.

He stepped back, putting his hands behind his back. “Pull yourself together.”

She cried like the world was ending, completely unaware that the thin quilt had already loosened and was about to slip off.

Only then did Nan Mei realize, and she turned beet red.

He let out a laugh, whether teasing or comforting it was unclear. “No one saw except me.”

Nan Mei curled up even tighter.

“There’s hot water behind the screen.” Before leaving, he added, “If you die like this, have you considered what happens after you’re gone?”

Nan Mei froze.

If she died and was pulled from the water, naked and exposed to the eyes of gawking onlookers, she would be violated over and over by malicious stares.

People would let their imaginations run wild, speculating about what she had suffered, gathering cheerfully to exchange all sorts of rumors.

Only her husband would truly grieve.

Thinking of that man, as pure and elegant as a jade tree in the snow, Nan Mei’s heart clenched in pain.

Given Xiao Lang’s stubborn nature, he would surely avenge her.

The luxurious furnishings of the room, the oppressive aura of the man—all indicated that he was no ordinary person, someone their lowly merchant family could never hope to cross.

If only none of this had happened.

Nan Mei sat in the bath, hugging her knees, staring at the red marks covering her skin, silently crying.

She washed for a long, long time, until the water became as cold as her heart.

The man did not come back in to check on her, which came as a great relief to Nan Mei.

On a rack beside the tub were several delicate porcelain boxes, containing powders, balms, liquids, and some crystal-like, salt-like substances in various colors, with elegant fragrances—she had no idea what they were for.

Nan Mei glanced at them and looked away.

When she got out of the tub, she faced another problem—no clothes to wear!

The bed had been stripped clean, completely bare, not even a sheet left.

The gauze curtains were still there, but they were as thin as wings and light as smoke, hardly enough to cover her body; wrapped around her, they would only look like an invitation.

“Are you okay?” After a long silence, the man finally called out from behind the door.

“Fine, fine…” With only a towel barely covering her chest, Nan Mei couldn’t bring herself to ask him for help.

Her eyes fell on a cabinet beside the bed. Stealthily, she opened it—inside were neatly folded the man's clothes.

Gritting her teeth, she took out two narrow-sleeved tunics. She couldn’t bear to wear his trousers, but since he was tall, the shirt hems trailed on the floor, so it wasn’t obvious whether she was wearing pants.

After putting on both shirts and wrapping the sash around herself a dozen times, she threw on a wide-sleeved robe. Only when she was sure nothing could slip out did she slowly walk out of the bedroom.

The boat was not small—the cabin was divided into an inner and outer room. In the outer room, a cool mat was spread, and the man was leaning against an armrest, dressed in a loose robe with his chest half-open, revealing a few suggestive scratch marks.

Nan Mei quickly looked away. Even though she was the victim, she felt oddly guilty and scared, as if she had done something wrong.

The man looked her up and down. “Not too hot?”

Nan Mei shook her head.

The fine silk fabric, though not thin, was smooth and breathable, and with the cool river breeze, even in midsummer, it was not stuffy.

“Sit.” He gestured with his chin and poured her a cup of water.

Nan Mei picked up the celadon cup and took a small sip. The water seemed sweetened with honey—cool and refreshing, soothing her sore throat.

She couldn’t help herself and downed it in a few quick gulps.

“When the boat docks, I’ll buy you some new clothes, miss.” He refilled her empty cup and asked, “Do you remember what happened before you boarded the boat?”

“There was a girl by the roadside who fainted from heatstroke. I gave her some of my heatstroke pills and helped her to a nearby teahouse to rest. Then I felt dizzy too, as if I’d gotten heatstroke. When I woke up, I was on the boat…”

Nan Mei’s voice trembled, and she was on the verge of tears.

The man was silent for a moment, then his voice grew low and gentle. “I will find out the truth and give you an explanation. Since things have come to this, why not stay with me? I have no wife, no concubines—I can give you whatever title you want.”

Nan Mei shook her head without thinking. “I’m already married.”

“I don’t care about that.”

“No, I mean… I have a husband.”

The man said nothing, his fingers tracing the rim of the cup, no longer looking at her.

The weight of the still air pressed down on Nan Mei's shoulders like a thousand pounds, making her back droop without her realizing it.

Then, Xiao Lang's face flashed through her mind.

Nan Mei gathered her courage and straightened her spine. "Sir, could we… could we just pretend yesterday never happened?"

The man finally looked up at her. "You can. But I can't."

Author's note:

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My next book is *The Prison Warden's Beauty*—a female inmate versus a prison guard. Convicted of a serious crime, she enters prison only to discover the guard is her scumbag ex. Please add it to your collection!

Blurb:

In the dark, damp torture chamber, Chun Ning was tied to a rack, blindfolded, mechanically repeating the confession she had recited over and over.

"My name is Yu Chun Ning, I'm eighteen. I sell wine in a tavern to make a living. The debt collector, Master Zhao, tried to rape me, and I accidentally killed him. While fleeing, I accidentally knocked over a candlestick, starting a fire that destroyed South Gate Street. I confess. I accept my punishment. I only ask for a quick death."

"Is that all?"

"No... that's all..."

"It seems you've forgotten something." A cold, hard bamboo whip struck her chest, slowly moving downward.

Chun Ning couldn't move; she could only let him have his way. On the verge of breaking down, she sobbed, trembling, "I truly can't remember. Please, sir, tell me what it is."

The blindfold was suddenly ripped off. The man before her showed no emotion, his dark eyes unreadable, and a distinct scar ran across his forehead.

Chun Ning recognized him. Pei Shaoyu, her former fiancé. Two years ago, for a reward of one hundred silver taels, she had sold his whereabouts to the authorities.

"Didn't expect me to still be alive, did you? Unfortunately for you, my family's case has been overturned." He whispered softly in her ear, his voice still gentle. "I won't let you die. The game has only just begun."

-

Chun Ning obediently went along with Pei Shaoyu's various perverse whims, only begging him not to take it out on her father and sister.

She thought she would eventually be tortured to death by him,

But she never imagined that one day, this man, who hated her to the bone, would absurdly spare no expense just to clear her name.