The Villain's Delicate Beauty Won't Run Away - Chapter 4

As the year drew to a close, the marchioness took the household to Hanguang Temple to pray for blessings.

The moment we reached the foot of the mountain, Xie Lixue pulled me aside and suggested we obtain a longevity talisman for Xie Jinxiu together.

I agreed without much thought. What was the trouble in asking for a talisman?

“Then let’s start kneeling our way up, Sister-in-law.”

I thought I must have misheard her. Pointing at the thousand snow-covered stone steps, I asked, “You mean kneel all the way up there?”

She nodded. “Didn’t you know? That’s the custom for a longevity talisman. Only a sincere heart can move the Bodhisattva. Or do you not want Elder Brother freed from illness and misfortune?”

The household was all around us. Her words had backed me into a corner. Seeing my reluctance, she let a sneer flash through her eyes, walked to the steps, and knelt.

She turned toward me. “I’m so disappointed in you, Sister-in-law.”

I covered my mouth and retched several times, one hand resting on my lower belly. “Third Miss, it isn’t that I don’t want to. But if kneeling harms what’s in here, your elder brother will be heartbroken. I’ll leave the longevity talisman to you.”

Ignoring her expression, which suggested she wanted to eat me alive, I told my maid to summon a sedan chair. Once seated, I waved. “I’ll go ahead, Third Miss. Better kneel quickly. You wouldn’t want it to get dark.”

The sedan chair took me to the temple in no time. I prayed, dedicated a thousand ever-burning lamps to Xie Jinxiu, and donated a generous sum for incense. No one would have much room to gossip about me now.

I’d never believed in making myself suffer over a problem money could solve.

The marchioness was a devout Buddhist and planned to chant scriptures and observe a vegetarian fast at the temple for seven days. Naturally, the rest of us had to stay with her.

I made a quick tour of the temple and returned to the guest room assigned to me. I’d only just lain down when a hand stroked my face.

“Cousin.”

I opened my eyes in terror. Lin Qingheng stood beside the bed.

I shoved him away and got up. “Who told you to come? I told you to leave me alone! Get out, now!”

Members of the household occupied all the nearby rooms. If anyone found him here, I could never explain myself.

【The heroine’s devious. She and the cannon-fodder guy are working together to ruin her reputation, and now she’s bringing people to catch them together.】

【If the villain finds out, he’ll be heartbroken again. He’ll think she still has feelings for her cousin.】

At the thought of people coming to catch us, my heart clenched. I struggled and pushed at Lin Qingheng, trying to force him out, but he held me tighter.

“Cousin, weren’t you the one who called me here? We already have a child together. How long do you intend to hide it?”

“What child? What nonsense are you talking about? Get out!”

Footsteps drew closer outside, but he wouldn’t let go. It felt like a trap with no way out.

I grabbed an inkstone, meaning to knock him unconscious. He caught my hand, pinned me to the bed, and reached for my clothes.

Tears of panic filled my eyes. “Lin Qingheng, we’re cousins. Why would you do this to me?”

“People die for wealth, birds for food. You’ve only yourself to blame for—”

His eyes widened. He looked down at the sword point that had pierced through his chest from behind, and his body went limp. Before he could collapse onto me, someone hauled him up and tossed him to a masked man in black.

I lay trembling and weeping on the bed. Xie Jinxiu’s face came into view.

“Xie Jinxiu, what took you so long?”

He wrapped an arm around me, flipped the quilt up, and climbed onto the bed, pressing me beneath him. The quilt fell around us, blocking my view. Burying his face against my neck, he bit hard just below my loosened collar.

I let out a muffled cry and pushed at him through my sobs.

The door crashed open. The marchioness roared, “You adulterous pair! You’ve disgraced the marquis’s household! Seize them and drown them in a wicker cage!”

The quilt was pulled aside, revealing me in Xie Jinxiu’s arms.

“Wh-why is it you?”