Everyone was instantly covered in a cold sweat.
Fortunately, Chu Hong, Chu Mengyao, and the others had left early. If they had heard the conversation between Su Qianyu and Su Longyuan, they probably would have been driven to an early grave with anger.
Su Qianyu gave a sheepish laugh.
Naturally, he wouldn't mention that he had been overpowered and pinned down by Chu Yanran today—it was simply too humiliating.
"Hurry!"
"Faster!"
Just as the group was about to leave, an urgent voice suddenly rang out from ahead.
Su Qianyu looked up.
A carriage was rushing toward them at top speed.
"Whoa!"
The carriage came to an abrupt halt.
"Your Majesty, I beg you, please save my husband!"
The moment the carriage stopped, a petite woman dressed in a long purple gown hurried out from inside.
She was around twenty years old, and her petite figure combined with a baby face made anyone instinctively want to take her in their arms and dote on her.
More importantly, although Jiang Yue was petite, certain parts of her were by no means small; the two snowy mounds on her chest were trembling so violently they looked as though they might burst out at any second!
Moments later, the woman was seen supporting a sturdy yet pale-faced man as she stepped down from the carriage and knelt before them.
"Your Majesty, my husband was fighting the enemy forces at the frontier when he was ambushed and severely injured. Please, Your Majesty, save my husband!"
The purple-robed woman knelt in front of Su Longyuan, tears streaming endlessly down her exquisite, oval-shaped face, a sight to tug at anyone's heartstrings.
"Marquis Zhengyang, Jiang Yue."
Su Qianyu recognized the two of them.
The man was named Xiao Shan. Thanks to his formidable cultivation talent and the many military achievements he had racked up for the Tianwu Dynasty over the years, Su Longyuan had bestowed upon him the title of Marquis Zhengyang half a year ago, dispatching him to command the troops guarding the frontier.
The woman was Jiang Yue, born to a maidservant after the head of the Chu Family, Chu Hong, had a night of heavy drinking.
Because of this background, Jiang Yue had never been favored within the Chu Family, to the point where she wasn't even allowed to bear their surname and had to go by her mother's.
Half a year ago, seeking to rope in the newly elevated Marquis Xiao Shan, the Chu Family had married Jiang Yue off to him.
Rumor had it, however, that Xiao Shan thoroughly despised Jiang Yue; if not for his desire to secure the backing of the Chu Family, he never would have married her in the first place.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Xiao Shan coughed violently, his complexion turning even paler, and he hurriedly looked to Su Longyuan for help.
"Your Majesty, I beg you, save me! I don't want to die..."
As his words trailed off, Xiao Shan's body suddenly began to convulse violently before he collapsed straight to the ground, losing his breath entirely.
This turn of events was so abrupt that before anyone could even react, Xiao Shan was dead.
"Husband!"
At the sight, Jiang Yue wailed in despair, tears and snot streaming down her face.
She had traveled thousands of miles carrying the heavily wounded Xiao Shan all the way back just to save his life, yet in the end, she was still a step too late.
Su Longyuan sighed and issued an order: "Take Marquis Zhengyang's body away and bury him with all the honors due a marquis."
He then glanced at the weeping Jiang Yue, his eyes suddenly lighting up. Turning to Su Qianyu, he asked, "How about you take her back and look after her?"
His calculation was simple.
Su Qianyu would be heading to the Heavenly Sword Sect before long, and whether he would live or die there was anyone's guess. Since Jiang Yue was currently left with no one to rely on—and happened to be rather easy on the eyes—he figured Su Qianyu would definitely have a soft spot for her type.
If they could plant a seed before setting off for the Heavenly Sword Sect, that would be even better!
"What on earth would I look like bringing her back with me?"
Su Qianyu shook his head and said, "Isn't she from the Chu Family? Just send her back to them."
"No, I don't want to go back!"
At that moment, as if recalling some terrifying memory, Jiang Yue shuddered violently.
She scrambled over to Su Qianyu, grabbed the hem of his trousers, and begged bitterly,
"Your Highness, please don't make me go back to the Chu Family. If I go back, they'll surely beat me to death..."
Hearing this, Su Qianyu felt a sudden headache coming on.
Just as he was trying to figure out how to refuse, however, Su Longyuan suddenly spoke up: "I've made the decision on this. Just do a good deed and take her back with you!"
Before Su Qianyu could object,
Su Longyuan stepped right up to him.
With a sly grin, he whispered, "I checked with my Xuan Power just now—this Jiang Yue is still a maiden. You can go ahead and have your way with her without a single worry. Besides, if you take her back, you'll be in for a treat in more ways than one!"
Su Longyuan laid heavy emphasis on the final words, leaving Su Qianyu with black lines all over his forehead.
***
Once Xiao Shan's funeral concluded, Su Qianyu brought the tear-stained Jiang Yue back to his residence.
"What are your plans for the future?" Su Qianyu asked, looking at Jiang Yue's tear-streaked face.
At these words, Jiang Yue dropped to her knees before Su Qianyu with a heavy thud, pleading pitifully, "Ninth Highness, please take me in."
Su Qianyu felt an immediate headache coming on.
Jiang Yue was already petite and charming, and with her thoroughly exhausted and sorrowful appearance, she looked exceptionally endearing, making one yearn to pull her into their arms and comfort her at once.
Yet her husband had only just died; how could he possibly harbor any improper thoughts?
"Well, you can stay here for now. I'll have a room arranged for you," Su Qianyu said.
His estate was vast, with plenty of empty rooms to spare; adding one more person posed no problem at all.
Yet the very next second...
Jiang Yue actually reached out, unfastened her buttons, and let her outer garments drop to the floor, laying her exquisite figure completely bare to the open air.
"What are you doing?"
Su Qianyu was utterly dumbfounded, though his gaze still instinctively drifted down, deeply captivated by that valley between her breasts...
"Your Highness, make me yours."
Jiang Yue lowered her head and spoke softly.
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face once more, her petite and lovely appearance tugging fiercely at the heartstrings.
She had suffered endless torment back in the Chu Family, and after marrying Xiao Shan, life had hardly improved—he beat and cursed her daily. She had truly just leapt out of the tiger's den only to walk right into a wolf's lair.
Furthermore, Xiao Shan had offended quite a few people during his lifetime, and those individuals were bound to target her.
Staying behind would likely be a fate worse than death, and the only solution she could think of was to beg Su Qianyu to take her in.
Right now, the only asset she had left to offer was her own body.
Seeing that Su Qianyu remained silent, Jiang Yue hurriedly added, "If Your Highness looks down on this humble one's mediocre looks, you can rest assured—I am still a virgin."
Hearing this, Su Qianyu was not particularly surprised; after all, Su Longyuan had just mentioned moments ago that Jiang Yue was still a maiden.
"Ever since I married my husband, he always despised me, thinking I was completely useless, and he wouldn't even touch me..."
As she spoke, Jiang Yue wept even more bitterly.
Su Qianyu felt a surge of profound admiration. Not only was Jiang Yue strikingly beautiful, but her stunning physique was also packed with infinite temptation.
If it were him, he simply wouldn't have been able to endure such a beauty by his side and remain unmoved. In this regard, he could only mentally give Xiao Shan a thumbs-up.
"Your Highness, please show mercy and take me. I'll be obedient, and I'll work like a horse and an ox to repay Your Highness in the future." Jiang Yue stopped crying, stood up, and drew close to Su Qianyu.
"Your Highness, I truly have nowhere else to go. I beg you, Your Highness..." Jiang Yue's voice was full of desperate entreaty as she proactively reached out to help untie Su Qianyu's robes.
Su Qianyu did not stop her.
He could feel Jiang Yue's body trembling incessantly.
The poor woman was clearly driven to this out of sheer desperation, and since she had already laid everything out so plainly, refusing her now would only make him seem hypocritical.
"You are really driving me to my wit's end!"
Hardening his heart, Su Qianyu scooped her up into his arms. Stripped of all pretense, they crossed paths that very moment in a storm of unbridled passion!