Young widow in her boudoir

She couldn't see anything clearly.

Xie Rutang was kidnapped as a child and nearly died several times. It was her older brother, Xie Huai, who was a few years older than her, who rescued her from the slave traders. However, after that, she developed night blindness, making it difficult for her to see clearly at night, almost like she was blind.

Therefore, she would become stressed every time her night blindness flared up.

When Xie Rutang returned to the ancestral hall, he could only slowly squat down against the wall, hugging himself with his arms, his shoulders trembling slightly.

At this moment, a light rain began to fall outside, and the hall was dark and gloomy, with raindrops dripping from the eaves onto the banana trees in the courtyard and the bluestone steps in front of the steps.

Because Xie Rutang was locked inside and there was no one outside, she could only face her deceased husband's memorial tablet in silence to alleviate her fear.

The wind howled even more fiercely, eerily, like whispers.

Xie Rutang was terrified, thinking it was Shen Yuan's ghost causing trouble, perhaps truly angry and resentful that she had found another man after his death.

Maybe ghosts really do exist.

Xie Rutang knelt on the ground, cowering. "Don't worry, even if I give myself to another man, you will always be the only one in my heart. I will never leave the Shen family in this lifetime, and I will always stay by your side, never abandoning you..."

"Yuanlang, don't be angry. You're so good to me, I'll never change my mind. Any children my second master and I have will still take your surname and be recorded in the family genealogy. They'll be your offspring. My mother-in-law and I have already agreed on this..."

"Once I become pregnant, I will break up with the Second Master. Given my lowly status, he wouldn't even look at me. We were just mutually benefiting..."

Even if I sleep in bed with Pei Zhiheng, I won't have any feelings for him.

The Shen residence was large, and for the past two months she had followed the rules and behaved herself. In her desperate fear, even Xie Rutang couldn't tell whether these were her true feelings or just a way to appease Shen Yuan's spirit.

Suddenly, a gust of wind rushed into the courtyard of the ancestral hall, slamming the window on one side shut with a deafening roar in the silence.

Xie Rutang was terrified; her face turned pale, and she ultimately couldn't overcome her fear.

She was afraid of Shen Yuan, who had transformed into a vengeful ghost...

Xie Rutang instinctively wanted to leave. She hurriedly reached out and groped wildly in the air. Her fingertips missed, and her arm bumped into a wooden pillar next to her, making her gasp in pain.

There was a step in front of her, but she didn't see it and tripped over the hem of her skirt.

Xie Rutang did not fall.

A long, strong hand reached out and rested on her waist, supporting her delicate, boneless body.

Xie Rutang caught a whiff of the cool sandalwood scent emanating from the newcomer, tinged with a slightly bitter aroma. He often wore this fragrance, and she had smelled it when she visited Su Xue Ju last time.

His robes were all carefully scented by the maids, and even the incense burner in the room was filled with sandalwood incense. He was as orderly and meticulous as he was, but beneath this neatness and order lay an insurmountable indifference that made people feel distant.

Xie Rutang was stunned.

She frowned slightly. Even though it was pitch black, she could still feel the oppressive aura emanating from the man, which made her increasingly uneasy.

Xie Rutang curtsied, her head bowed, "Second Master..."

Perhaps it was because she learned that he was satisfied with her and willing to have a child at the Shen residence that she looked embarrassed and didn't know how to face him. What's more, she had angered him last time because of that box of jade skin cream.

When the man arrived at the ancestral hall, he witnessed the scene just now.

Xie Rutang, dressed in white with black hair, stood alone, tears streaming down her cheeks, her shoulders trembling slightly as she sobbed. She was pouring out her grievances to her husband's memorial tablet, revealing the softest and most private part of her heart, and recounting the grievances she had suffered during her widowhood in the Shen family.

Pei Zhiheng frowned. Indeed, she looked like someone who had been raised in a luxurious house and loved and cared for by Shen Yuan. She had never encountered such a situation before.

It is said that Shen Yuan used to cherish her dearly, and Xie Rutang had never been possessed by any other man.

Her eyes were streaked with tears. As the rough old woman was about to drag her to the ancestral hall, she struggled, and a silver hairpin scratched her slender neck, making her skin appear even whiter and softer, so delicate that one couldn't help but want to caress her and cherish her.

After Pei Zhiheng arrived at the ancestral hall, he stood with his hands behind his back and remained silent.

Xie Rutang couldn't see him, so she could only try to find his shadow in the darkness. She asked gracefully, "Second Master, why have you come to the ancestral hall?"

Pei Zhiheng lowered his eyes, taking in her nervous and uneasy expression.

Xie Rutang had extremely poor eyesight and was completely unaware that the man's tall and broad shadow had completely enveloped her, leaving no gaps.

Soon, Pei Zhiheng noticed that she was acting differently than usual.

In her fear, the beauty's eyes were dull and lifeless in the darkness, as if veiled by a layer of gray glass—beautiful, yet unable to let in light.

Pei Zhiheng's icy gaze scrutinized her bit by bit. He raised his hand and waved his large palm across her face, but she didn't blink, her reaction was very slow.

She seemed to be frightened by facing the ancestral tablets of the Shen family tonight, and didn't even realize it as she stood in the courtyard getting soaked in the rain.

The rain dampened the hair at her temples, the soft, dark strands clinging like tiny water snakes to her delicate nose and naturally red lips.

The rain soaked her plain white gauze dress, which was already thin and became completely transparent when wet.

The woman was soaked in the rain, but she seemed oblivious; her lips were still trembling with lingering fear.

Because she is blind, men can freely spy on her at night, observing her fragility and beauty.

Pei Zhiheng remained silent. Xie Rutang frowned, her breathing becoming increasingly rapid. She could see nothing; the deep-rooted shadows of her childhood made her feel as if she were drowning.

She desperately wanted to prove that he was there, so that at least she wasn't alone in the ancestral hall tonight, even if the other person was the Second Master Pei, whom she feared most in her life.

Xie Rutang gripped her sleeve and took a deep breath: "Second Master, are you still there?"

She nervously bit her lip.

"Second Master, could you please find some incense and candles for me? I can't see. Or did you bring a lantern on your way to the ancestral hall...?"

She desperately needed something to light her up.

Seeing that he showed her no pity, Xie Rutang gritted her teeth, almost desperate. Because she was begging a man of noble status, she could only make her voice more charming and pitiful.

Her curled eyelashes were damp with raindrops. "Second Master, I'm scared..."

Pei Zhiheng lowered his eyes, his dark and cold gaze still fixed on her, and more precisely on her slender waist.

Suddenly, the man picked her up and carried her horizontally.

Xie Rutang was lifted into the air and instinctively reached out to hook her arms around his neck, looking for something to lean on.

Her heart raced; she wondered what Pei Zhiheng was going to do to her.

All she knew was that Pei Zhiheng led her to a side room of the ancestral hall.

In the blink of an eye, she was placed on his lap.

His warm yet cold hands held her waist, and then a barrage of kisses rained down upon her.

First he kissed her neck, then his red lips were forcefully captured.

The sound of rain pattering on banana leaves in the courtyard mingled with the sudden downpour, which drowned out the sounds of blushing, heart-pounding, and embarrassed kisses inside the house.

Because her skirt was soaked by the rain, the rainwater from her body stained his robe at the thighs during their kiss, creating a beautiful, dark stain.