Recklessly Breaking a Delicate Branch - Chapter 35

The hem of her skirt fluttered in the air, and amidst the shock, Jiang Wanshu managed to land firmly on the ground. She was about to open her mouth to offer her thanks, but before she could speak, she was once again crushed against the man’s chest.

The man carried a heavy scent of peppermint, looming over her like a great mountain, pressing the words right out of her throat. In a flash, her lean chin was tilted upward. Zhou Yan lowered his head once more, and before Jiang Wanshu could struggle, he offered his thin lips again.

Pressing down on the fairy-like pink lips once more, how could Zhou Yan be satisfied? Feeling the thrill of the kiss, he naturally ignored the girl gasping for breath in his arms. He used his palm to force her jaw downward, compelling her to open her lips.

Zhou Yan could no longer endure the sweet fragrance emanating from Jiang Wanshu. Before the intense kiss began, his teeth parted his lips, and he plunged inside completely.

As his long tongue met and pressed against her soft tenderness, Zhou Yan could clearly feel his own breath becoming heavy. Lowering his voice, he swept her up into his arms.

Jiang Wanshu was startled into a shiver by this move. She tried to push him away with all her might to escape, but she was pinned tight by the man’s brute strength. Suddenly, her legs were pushed outward to either side.

In shock, her hands struck at the man’s chest, but she was no match for his strength. In an instant, her legs were separated, forced into a position where her knees hooked around his waist, and her pink lips were attacked once more.

In her panic, she pressed against his shoulders, struggling and moving wildly. Suddenly, the man landed a sharp slap on her buttocks.

He pulled away from the girl’s pink lips, his voice husky and raw. “Wanwan, I promise I am only kissing you now.” His expression then turned serious, taking a sudden turn. “If you struggle again and provoke me, you know exactly what I am capable of doing.”

Jiang Wanshu felt like weeping but had no tears.

Gazing at the domineering, uncompromising man before her, her eyes couldn’t help but redden, and she ceased her resistance.

After all, Zhou Yan’s kiss was so fierce that she almost couldn’t hold onto his shoulders; her body felt as if it were about to fall backward.

In a frantic rush, she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. Sensing the coldness at the back of his neck, the corners of Zhou Yan’s mouth curled into a smirk. He once again pressed against her small tongue, swirling and tangling, stealing the very air from her lungs.

He kissed with deep passion, his ears and face flushed red, the sound of their wet exchange echoing in their ears. His fingertips were slightly cool as he rubbed the small of the woman’s back.

Finally, just as Jiang Wanshu was about to run out of breath, he released her pink lips.

This gave Jiang Wanshu a fleeting opening. Seizing the chance, she struggled out of his arms and stood on the ground. However, after being tossed about by the man, her brain was deprived of oxygen, making her stand with a heart-trembling instability.

Dizzy from the lack of oxygen, she swayed backward.

But then she was pulled back by the man. He saw that her pink lips had become red and tender from his sucking and lingering—a vivid beauty like a spring garden that could not be contained. Pity stirred in his heart, and he pulled her into his embrace. “Wanwan is so good.”

Yet, these words only earned Zhou Yan a step back.

Jiang Wanshu’s eyes were circled with red. She pushed the man away forcefully. “If it weren’t for your threats, do you think I would let you take from me like this?”

She was never willing.

A perfectly good outing had been ruined like this by this man.

Tears fell from Jiang Wanshu’s eyes, and she turned to leave on her own.

The girl’s bitterness caused a sudden pang in Zhou Yan’s heart. Recalling her words of unwillingness, he dejectedly pulled the girl back into his arms.

“Wanwan, according to the customs of the Central Plains, we are already married. You and I are husband and wife. Why can you never let go of the knot in your heart? Even if you don’t like me, can’t you learn to accept me?”

Under the stimulation of lust, the words people speak are rarely filtered by thought.

Through their time together, he admitted it: he had truly fallen in love with the girl before him. At first, he liked her beauty and wanted to possess her, but now he was being held captive by her stubborn, noble, and pampered nature.

His heart had been stirred; he did not want to love alone.

This time, he didn’t hold Jiang Wanshu tightly, so in an instant, she easily shook off his arm.

Such a confession felt laughable to Jiang Wanshu.

He had saved her life, but that did not mean she had to give herself to him in return. She, Jiang Wanshu, was not such a blind and foolish girl.

Since things had reached this point, and after being treated that way just now, Jiang Wanshu’s anger flared. She didn’t care to think about anything else and spoke with loathing:

“I cannot! According to Central Plains marriage customs, a man must offer a betrothal gift before marriage, and a woman must prepare a dowry. We have no betrothal contract as proof, no consent from our parents, no formal bowing to the high hall, and no mutual affection. Point by point, how can any of this prove we are truly married?”

“Furthermore, there is no mutual love between us. I do not like you, nor can I ‘slowly accept’ you as you say. To me, you are nothing more than a passing affair. In the future, if mentioned, we will be nothing but strangers.”

With that, Jiang Wanshu took a large stride and walked away, leaving the man standing frozen in place.

Gradually, for some unknown reason, the tears in Jiang Wanshu’s eyes fell even heavier, like pearls, dropping onto the patch of plum blossoms and large chunks of snow, dampening a small area.

All the way back, Jiang Wanshu followed her memory to walk back to the tent alone, while Zhou Yan followed behind her. He looked lost and dejected, pulling the saddle as he walked slowly.

He began to regret—regret why he had let the atmosphere get to him just now.

Unconsciously, he had blurted out the words in his mind. Even he hadn’t realized, before that scene occurred, that he had already fallen so deeply for Jiang Wanshu.

This beginning of a comedy and ending of a farce naturally left both of them unhappy.

That night, Zhou Yan stayed in the administrative tent.

In the place where the candlelight flickered and shadows were blurred, Yulu entered the tent as usual. Seeing her mistress’s eyes were red and her lips swollen, she took a cooling ointment from the cabinet and dabbed it onto Jiang Wanshu’s lips. It felt icy and refreshing.

Yulu lowered her brows, guessing some of what had happened.

She spoke softly, her face filled with pity for Jiang Wanshu. “Mistress, did that barbarian bully you again?”

Yulu was a loyal servant; seeing the situation, tears also welled up in her lashes.

Jiang Wanshu’s tears had only just stopped, but seeing Yulu cry, she immediately took a handkerchief to wipe away the girl’s tears.

She didn’t want Yulu to worry, so she simply shook her head. “No.”

“Then why are your lips swollen, and why were you crying?” Yulu hit the mark with a single strike, pointing out the core of the matter.

Jiang Wanshu didn’t answer; she just kept shaking her head.

Indeed, she didn’t know why she was crying herself. At first, she knew it was because she had been forced by the man, but what about just now? Amidst her sobbing, she felt a faint, slight heartache—not much, just a tiny bit.

Seeing her stubbornness, Yulu stopped asking. A thin layer of ointment was applied to Jiang Wanshu’s lips and was soon absorbed.

Seeing that it was late and the barbarian had not yet brought bathwater for her mistress, Yulu stood up, intending to go out and carry the water herself.

Reaching the front of the tent, Yulu turned her head and looked at Jiang Wanshu, her voice crisp. “Mistress, I have finished drawing the map for entering the grasslands. I will bring it to you tomorrow.”

Jiang Wanshu nodded in acknowledgment, her voice raspy. “Mhm.”

With that, Yulu walked out of the tent.

Jiang Wanshu couldn’t help but wonder what her relationship with Zhou Yan actually was. Toward him, she felt both gratitude and a sense of being wronged, but she uniquely lacked the love found between lovers.

She didn’t know why she had clashed with Zhou Yan like that today.

She didn’t want to admit it, but she did feel gratitude toward Zhou Yan. Even though he was currently forcing her to stay by his side, she knew that if he hadn’t saved her at the beginning, she wouldn’t even be alive. Moreover, she had noticed the little things he did for her.

She had told Zhou Yan that she was thankful for his care during this time, even if she wouldn’t accept his feelings. Because even in the palace, she had never been cared for in such a way.

The moonlight outside the window was bright. Looking up, she inexplicably thought of her Imperial Father and Mother. Those two who loved her, yet never as much as they loved her Imperial Brother.

Her parents loved her, but they loved the brother who would one day sit on the dragon throne even more. Regarding her brother, they took charge of everything, big or small, from a young age. Even for a minor cold, her parents would be so nervous they’d be pacing frantically, staying by his bed day and night, wishing they could suffer in his place.

Unlike her. Only the broad direction of her actions would catch their attention. When she had a fever or cold, she was mostly looked after by imperial physicians and the maids by her side. Even if they did stay by her side, it was only for a few moments.

Her father would leave because of busy state affairs, and her mother would leave to tutor her brother in his lessons. From start to finish, she rarely felt the emotions of an ordinary family with them.

She knew her parents were rulers who had to prioritize the state and the brother who would lead it. Yet, for some reason, she felt aggrieved. They were siblings from the same womb; why were they treated so differently?

She didn’t resent her parents for the different treatment, but her heart felt suppressed.

As for Zhou Yan, no matter which angle she looked at it from, she could see his focus and kindness toward her. But it was precisely because of this that she felt awkward about what had happened today.

That night, neither Jiang Wanshu nor Zhou Yan slept peacefully.

It wasn’t until the dawn light broke that the girl in the tent finally fell asleep. Meanwhile, the man who had been in the other tent stepped out, mounted his black horse, and galloped toward her tent.

The black horse ran fast; it took only fifteen minutes for him to reach Jiang Wanshu. He lowered his gaze, looking at the girl before him with tender affection.

It seemed she was uneasy in her sleep, her body moving from time to time. Zhou Yan stared at her without blinking, his hands clenched tightly into fists.

What exactly must he do to win Jiang Wanshu’s heart!

He admitted his previous meanness. That subconscious confession yesterday made him realize that he had unintentionally fallen deeply in love with her. It was so intense that he hadn’t even realized it himself.

He thought that if he hadn’t forced her when he first saved her, perhaps he would have had a chance to enter her heart. After all, a young girl usually feels gratitude toward the savior who rescued her. By grasping that connection and guiding her patiently, how could he not make her like him?

But he didn’t regret it. Without that initial force, even if he had tried another way, the current Jiang Wanshu would have long ago returned to the imperial family. How would there be any place for him, Zhou Yan?

This was the first time in his life he had liked a girl; he had to have her. If not, he truly wouldn’t be worthy of being a man.

Among wolf packs, a mate is of utmost importance. Having chosen her, he would never let go in this lifetime.

Several days passed like this. The two of them seemed to have an unspoken agreement not to mention the events of that day again. They interacted just as they had before.

Until one day, Magulaji and Musha returned from the Central Plains laden with goods. They brought a pile of things Zhou Yan had ordered for her, as well as items Magu Laji had been told to ask her about. When they entered the tent, Zhou Yan noticed a box among the items that looked very strange. He opened it to investigate, and his face instantly turned cold.

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