The Marquis doesn't support his beloved wife's ambitions, so I'll take the imperial e

The seven-day deadline, like a sword hanging overhead, seemed to offer a chance to breathe, but in reality, every minute and every second was tightening the noose.

Jiang Zhenxue began to become absent-minded.

Although she was at Qingyun Pavilion, handling business and chatting with customers, she always felt an invisible gaze fixed on her back. That gaze came from the private room on the second floor, from that persistent, haunting man.

Xiao Qingyan kept his word and actually moved in openly. He didn't interfere with her business, but he asserted his presence in a way that was almost like surveillance.

"Manager Jiang, look at this batch of newly arrived Huzhou brushes, their quality is truly excellent." A wealthy young master, fanning himself with a folding fan, tried to get close to Jiang Zhenxue.

"Young Master Wang has a good eye."

Jiang Zhenxue wore a polite smile, but in her heart she was calculating another matter—Xiao Qingyan had been staring at them for a full quarter of an hour, his eyes seeming as if he wanted to break this young master Wang's fan in two.

Sure enough, when it came time to settle the accounts that evening, Xiao Qingyan came downstairs and sat down opposite her without saying a word.

"Is there something you need, Lord Marquis?" Jiang Zhenxue asked without looking up.

"How long has that guy surnamed Wang been loitering in front of you today?" His voice was calm, yet it carried a sense of impending doom.

Jiang Zhenxue put down her pen, looked up, and felt a deep weariness. "My lord, those are my guests. I'm running a business; I can't just turn all my guests away, can I?"

"I didn't ask you to kick him out," Xiao Qingyan said coldly. "I just don't like the way he looks at you."

Again.

Jiang Zhenxue took a deep breath, put down the account book, and put on a smile again as she began to coax the child: "Yes, yes, his eyes were annoying. But I'm just trying to make money, so I can pay your rent, Lord Marquis, right? Just treat him like a money-giving boy, don't take it to heart."

Xiao Qingyan's expression softened slightly, but he remained defiant: "Do I care about your meager rent?"

"I feel bad if you don't want it," Jiang Zhenxue said, going along with his words. "You are the upright Marquis of Ningguo, I can't let you stay in my little place for nothing. If word gets out, I'll be the one who doesn't know what's good for me."

His words made him feel better, so he snorted and stopped pursuing the matter.

But such scenes play out almost every day. Today it's because of a customer who asked a couple of extra questions, tomorrow it's because of the waiter who brought her the snacks, and the day after it's because of some trivial matter.

Jiang Zhenxue felt like she was being driven crazy. He was like a possessive child who couldn't stand any male creature getting close to his toys. He would throw a tantrum at the slightest provocation, and when he did, she had to drop everything to coax him.

This isn't doing business; it's clearly undergoing a tribulation.

This can't go on. Going back is out of the question, but if he keeps dragging this out, her Qingyun Pavilion will be doomed sooner or later.

That night, Jiang Zhenxue lay on the hard recliner, listening to the steady breathing of the person on the bed in the inner room, her mind racing.

You can't win by confronting him directly. He won't listen to reason. The only way is to find something else for him to do and distract him.

A bold, almost absurd idea popped into her mind.

She refused to believe that any man in the world could resist the temptation of beauty. No matter how powerful Xiao Qingyan was, he was still just a mortal.

Rather than letting him torment her every day, she'd rather hire two professionals to take care of him. If he gets so engrossed in it that he forgets about her, wouldn't she be free?

Jiang Zhenxue is a decisive person who acts on her thoughts without hesitation.

The next day, she used the excuse of shopping to quietly go to the most famous "Spring Breeze Pavilion" in Yunyang County. She didn't go in, but through an intermediary, she spent a lot of money to find two of the most beautiful girls in the pavilion who were also the most knowledgeable about men.

She had only one request: to do everything in her power to make the distinguished guests in the top-tier rooms of Yingxianlou so happy they would forget all about home.

That evening, Xiao Qingyan was reading in his room, feeling bored, when there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Enter."

The door opened, but instead of a waiter bringing tea, two alluring women with stunningly beautiful faces entered. Dressed in light, sheer gauze, they moved with graceful steps, a fragrant breeze wafting through the air, and immediately bowed deeply upon entering.

"This servant is here to serve the Marquis on orders."

Xiao Qingyan lifted his gaze from the book and swept it over the two women. Instantly, the last bit of warmth on his handsome face vanished, replaced by an icy chill that could freeze a person to death.

He didn't even bother to ask whose idea it was.

In this world, there is no one else besides the reckless Jiang Zhenxue who would dare to do such a thing to him.

"Get out." His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable command.

The two women were terrified and ran away as fast as they could.

Xiao Qingyan slowly stood up, his murderous aura almost tangible. He walked out of the room step by step, and the Night Hawk guarding the door didn't even dare to raise his head.

He was going to Qingyun Pavilion; he was going to personally snap that woman's neck.

Jiang Zhenxue was checking the final procedures for tomorrow's literary appreciation meeting under the lamp when she suddenly felt a gust of wind. Immediately afterwards, her wrist was gripped tightly by a large, iron-like hand, and she was roughly pulled up from her chair.

"Xiao Qingyan! What's wrong with you?!"

"Am I crazy?" Xiao Qingyan pinned her against the wall, his unfathomable phoenix eyes filled with boundless rage and humiliation. "Jiang Zhenxue, what do you mean?"

Jiang Zhenxue's heart skipped a beat when she saw his expression, which looked like he wanted to devour her, but she pretended to be calm and said, "I don't understand what you're saying, Lord Marquis."

"Don't you understand?" Xiao Qingyan sneered, his grip so tight it almost crushed her wrist. "Sending women to my room, you've certainly grown bold! What? Do you think I can't satisfy you, or are you so eager to push me away so you can find other men?"

It's the same old excuse again!

Jiang Zhenxue's patience completely ran out at this moment. She felt that communicating with this man was more tiring than closing a hundred deals.

"What other man have I been seeing?" She finally couldn't hold back any longer and raised her voice, "Xiao Qingyan, can't you be reasonable! I just feel that your presence here every day is affecting my business! You sit there like a living Yama, which customer would dare to stay any longer? Is it wrong for me to find you two beauties to keep you company and keep you occupied, so you don't bother me?"

"To relieve boredom? Don't bother me?" Xiao Qingyan seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. He pinched her chin, forcing her to look at him, and said each word with icy coldness, "In your eyes, am I just a nuisance that you can easily get rid of?"

"Isn't that right?" Jiang Zhenxue, pushed to her limit, lost her temper and decided to throw caution to the wind. "You eat my food, live in my house, interfere with my business, and throw tantrums over the smallest things. I have to treat you like a queen! Xiao Qingyan, being with you is really exhausting!"

After she finished yelling, her chest heaved violently, and her eyes were red with anger.

She was truly fed up with this kind of life.

She suddenly understood why the female protagonist in the original book was tortured so badly.

Because there is no equality or respect when you're with this kind of paranoiac. All his actions revolve around his pathetic possessiveness.

But she herself wasn't the type to swallow her pride and suffer in silence. She would speak out when she was wronged and fight back when she was dissatisfied, always managing to precisely hit his sore spots and make him furious.

Jiang Zhenxue smiled bitterly to herself.

Fine, she admitted, she was just not cut out to be the heroine of a tragic novel. Her rebellious nature destined her to fight this man to the death.