Only After Clear Skies Do I Know Summer Has Deepened - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sheng Rongchuan and I tacitly stopped mentioning what had happened that day.

He was busy with affairs at court, leaving early and returning late.

Often, I would wake from nightmares in the middle of the night, only settling down once I fell into that familiar embrace.

“You’re prone to being trapped by nightmares at night. I thought if I came back, you might sleep a little more peacefully. Instead, I ended up waking you.”

Sheng Rongchuan gently nuzzled the top of my head.

“Be good. Sleep.”

I curled deeper into his arms and, without thinking, called him Brother Chuan.

The familiar form of address made both Sheng Rongchuan and me freeze.

Back when Sheng Rongchuan went to take up his post in Linxi, he had not wanted to bring me with him.

My father was a hypocrite, and my legal mother had a honeyed tongue and a venomous heart.

If I stayed in the capital, my end would be no different from those foster daughters my father had taken in. Either I would have my name changed and be sent to some powerful man’s bed, or I would become a handful of dry bones in an unmarked grave.

After my desperate pleas, Sheng Rongchuan’s heart softened, and in the end, he took me with him.

“What are you bringing her for?”

“Do you think you’re going to that godforsaken backwater to enjoy yourself? You’re bringing along someone who can’t carry a load on her shoulders or lift a thing with her hands-am I supposed to wait on her too?”

Because of me, the Zhuangyuan who should have risen swiftly through the ranks had nearly had his official career cut short.

It was only right that my mother-in-law resented me.

I hid behind Sheng Rongchuan and murmured in a small voice, “I don’t need anyone to wait on me. I’ve been chopping firewood, carrying water, feeding chickens, and cooking since I was little.”

“I can work.”

My mother-in-law’s words were sharp, but her heart was soft. No matter how much she complained, she never truly drove me away.

Instead, when the frostbite on my hands flared up again, she carefully applied medicine for me.

“I don’t know how your parents raised you. Such a nice young girl, and your hands have been ruined like this.”

Before my mother died, she left behind a large sum of money and entrusted me to my uncle.

When I was fifteen, urged on by my aunt, my uncle planned to sell me to a local squire as a concubine.

I neither cried nor made a fuss, playing the part of the meek, submissive girl to perfection.

At last, after my uncle and aunt had completely let down their guard, I seized my chance, knocked out the cousin watching me, and fled under the moonlight without looking back.

Clutching the jade button in my arms, I traveled a thousand li to the capital to find my father.

I had no idea what kind of abyss I would step into when I knocked on that door.

I yearned greedily for that tiny bit of warmth my mother-in-law gave me, yet I still kept my distance and knew my place.

Terrified that if I wanted too much, I would become tiresome.

“Juexia.”

Sheng Rongchuan called my name gently. “What happened back then was not your fault. You don’t need to blame yourself, and you don’t need to feel indebted.”

“I’m a few years older than you. If you don’t mind, how about calling me elder brother?”

Brother Chuan…

Only an elder brother?

Trembling, I carefully pressed a kiss to his lips.

“Brother Chuan…”

I rarely took the initiative. Sheng Rongchuan was stunned for only an instant before he seized control.

As our skin and hair brushed together, I couldn’t help thinking…

Back then, if not for that cup of Love-Infused Wine from my mother-in-law, perhaps Sheng Rongchuan and I really would have been as the divorce letter said.

Parting in peace, each…

I closed my eyes, unwilling to think any further.