Pearl saw his gentle smile, still the same elegant, noble man he always appeared to be. She held back the urge to slap him across the face and closed her eyes.
"Wife, are you trying to avoid seeing your husband?"
"I wonder if you've thought over the proposal I made to you last night."
Pearl kept her eyes shut, but her delicate hands were clenched into fists. She was doing her best to hold back the fire inside her.
"Heh... do you really think ignoring me means I won't do anything about it?"
Before she could react, pain shot through her chin. His strong body pressed her down, and he harshly sealed her lips with his.
He kissed her violently, without restraint. Then he bit her lip hard, drawing blood, and greedily sucked it clean…
When he finally let go of her lips, her beautiful face twisted in pain, which made him smile with satisfaction.
"This pain on your face—do you enjoy it, wife?"
He kissed her cheek again, then held her close.
"We share joy and hardship, husband and wife as one. Isn't it wonderful?"
…
A voice came from outside.
"Lord Alaric, my lady, lunch is ready."
Inside the room, Alaric held Pearl in his arms. After a moment of silence, his voice was calm.
"You haven't eaten all morning. You must be hungry. Let's go have some food."
"Come. I'll carry you."
"Get out…"
Pearl shoved his hand away violently as he tried to pick her up.
His hand froze in mid-air. His calm face darkened slowly, a shadow falling over his expression.
"You're being very disobedient…"
"Leave…" Pearl shouted again, her voice filled with anger.
Alaric curled his lips into a smile.
"That's not a very good habit, you know."
Suddenly, he pressed on a pressure point on her body. Pearl froze where she sat, her eyes filled with disbelief. This damn man had sealed her pressure points again. He could do whatever he wanted to her anytime he pleased!
Was this really how her life would be from now on? No. She refused to accept it!
She stared at him with rage, eyes full of warning.
Alaric chuckled softly and spoke in a gentle tone.
"Come, let's have lunch."
Then he carried her to the table and sat her on his lap.
The dishes served were: stewed lamb, braised fish, sliced meat with mushrooms, barbecue pork, yam with blueberries, and pigeon soup.
Looking at the spread, Alaric smiled.
"It's been a while since I personally fed you. Today I finally get to do it again."
Pearl didn't need to guess what he was about to do next. But there was nothing she could do. She glared at him with furious eyes.
He ignored it, picked up a piece of lamb, and said, "This lamb looks good today. Let's start with this."
He put the meat into his mouth, chewed it into small bits, leaned in, pressed his lips to hers, pried open her mouth, and transferred the meat into her mouth, scattering the pieces inside before pulling back.
Pearl couldn't do anything except glare at him.
Because of the food in her mouth, she had no choice but to swallow it down completely.
One bite after another, she couldn't stop herself. She kept eating until most of the dishes were gone.
When the meal was over, Alaric kissed her cheek and smiled.
"You're such a good girl."
He carried her inside, placed her on the bed, and held her close for a midday nap.
Pearl had already slept well in the morning, so she lay there wide awake.
When it was time for Alaric to return to his duties, he saw she wasn't asleep, kissed her, and said, "Wife, think carefully about what I proposed."
Pearl stared angrily at his retreating figure.
She couldn't move, so she lay on the bed staring blankly at the ceiling.
When she finally could move again, she got up, poured herself a cup of water, then opened the door and told someone to call Servant Xin.
When Servant Xin arrived, she bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Madam."
Pearl smiled. "Xin, I've been feeling quite unwell lately. Please help me fetch these medicines. Don't let anyone find out."
She handed over a freshly written note.
Servant Xin didn't take the note immediately. Instead, she looked at her nervously and asked, "Madam, are you sure you want me to do this?"
Pearl found her reaction strange and asked, "Is there something wrong, Xin?"
Hearing that, Servant Xin's face crumpled and she burst into tears. "Madam, do you know the Lord ordered that anything you do must be reported to him and only carried out with his approval?"
"If I try to hide something from him, I won't be able to do it. He said if anything was kept secret, he'd kill my whole family. And he also warned that I must not let you know I was reporting to him."
"Right now, I don't even know what you're planning, but I just can't lie to you or let you get into trouble with him."
Pearl sat there frozen.
It was true. Everything she did was under his control. She'd known that before, but not to this extent.
She had been thinking maybe she could make another batch of drugs to knock everyone out and escape this cursed place. But now, it seemed impossible.
And it was a good thing she hadn't tried it. If he found out she didn't even have any real drugs on her, who knew what that beast of a man would do to her?
Pearl stood up, held Servant Xin's hand, and smiled. "Thank you, Xin, for telling me all this. If you ever need my help with anything, just say the word, and I'll do all I can for you."
"Madam, please don't say that. I just didn't want to see you suffer," Servant Xin said, moved to tears.
"Alright. Just keep this conversation to yourself. I only called you here to help me find some poetry books, nothing more. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand. I'll go get them right away," said Servant Xin with a smile.
"Go ahead."
After she left, Pearl sat down again, angry and helpless. She thought hard but couldn't come up with any solution.
When Alaric returned, Pearl was reading the poetry books. He sat beside her, pulled her into his arms, kissed her soft cheek, and asked, "What are you reading, my lady?"
Pearl didn't respond. Alaric glanced at the book and read aloud, "Summer Poems Collection."
As he read, Pearl silently sneered. You already knew what I was reading, didn't you? What's the point of pretending?
"I remember this collection has a poem that beautifully describes summer," he said.
"Tall locust trees and willow branches hush the new cicadas
Warm summer breeze slips into the strings
Behind the green silk window, incense curls up in smoke
Chess sounds disturb a daytime nap
A light rain flips the tiny lotus leaves
Pomegranate blossoms burn red with bloom
A slender hand plays in the clear basin
Jade beads splash, shatter and roll again."
Pearl said nothing and kept turning the pages. Coincidentally, she turned to the very poem he had just recited. Her brows furrowed, and she flipped the page again.
Alaric chuckled softly. "You turned the page so quickly. Don't want to check if I recited it right?"