Chapter 134: I'll marry you, then let you go in two years

Shen Shuangning's face flushed as she panted.

Xiao Jingyuan turned his wrist, laying her on the soft couch, his eyes on her, his hand sliding up her slender waist—his movements were wanton and frivolous, yet his expression was ordinary.

"Like this?"

"Or like this?"

Xiao Jingyuan's hands never stopped, step by step probing Shen Shuangning's limits, giving her no chance to react, instead fully revealing his black-bellied nature.

Such behavior left Shen Shuangning unable to fend him off.

At that moment she was like a fish on a chopping board, repeatedly pan-fried, unable to escape, yet he had touched her ticklish spot, making her want to cry and laugh, but she couldn't scold him.

Soon, coerced to the brink of tears, her eyes glistened like peach blossoms as she repeatedly begged for mercy.

"Don't......"

"I don't know how to be gentle, Ningning—will you teach me?"

Xiao Jingyuan had originally only wanted to tease her, but perhaps his anger hadn't been fully relieved; instead, she stirred his lower abdomen, causing lustful fire to surge, his breathing grew heavy and his voice hoarse.

He then realized his innate wickedness was worse than he had imagined.

He then lifted her skirt with a big hand, half-coaxing, half-forcing her to turn around and press her legs together.

Today was splendid weather, cloudless for miles, the breeze carrying a hint of coolness.

Yaoniang brought over a plate of snacks.

She thought the Fourth Miss rarely visited, and the heir had little to offer, so she brought some tasty treats.

Ah Heng sat on the stone bench under the locust tree, having slept poorly last night; now bored waiting, he tapped his chin intermittently, half-asleep.

Only upon hearing footsteps and realizing someone was coming did he startle awake.

Seeing Yaoniang, he quickly rose and bowed.

Yaoniang knew Shen Shuangning had come to see Xiao Jingyuan; seeing Ah Heng, she asked, "Are the heir and the Fourth Miss still discussing affairs?"

Ah Heng glanced at the tightly shut room, nodded, and wondered why the miss hadn't come out yet.

Yaoniang walked along the corridor.

A window was half open.

Before she even approached, she heard noises from inside.

Yaoniang's face stiffened, as if she couldn't believe it.

She paused a moment, then softened her steps and crept over, peering through the crack in the window.

Just one glance made Yaoniang startle and dodge away, not daring to look again; her whole face flushed with a "shh" sound.

Leaning against the wall, the hand holding her tea trembled slightly, her heart pounded nonstop, and then her whole body's blood turned cold.

It turned out the heir and the Fourth Miss... she should have realized earlier.

Yaoniang fled, her eyes red.

Ah Heng watched Yaoniang clearly bring the snacks over, then bring them back, and walk away so quickly he couldn't help but look puzzled.

Shen Shuangning now truly understood what "give them an inch and they'll take a mile" meant!

Having just been forced to swallow a bit, Shen Shuangning quickly gulped down several mouthfuls of tea, wiped her mouth with her sleeve, then shouted angrily.

"Xiao Jingyuan, you're shameless! Lewd! A bastard! Pushing your luck!"

Saying that, she hurled the teacup in her hand hard at him.

Xiao Jingyuan raised his hand and easily caught it; if one looked closely, they'd see his ears were also slightly flushed.

Yet his expression showed no embarrassment at all; he was even smiling.

After setting the teacup aside, he reached out with his long arm and pulled her into his embrace: "All right, don't be angry—you know what kind of person I am. Did you really not expect what I'd do to you when you came alone to see me?"

Shen Shuangning choked.

Xiao Jingyuan's gaze shifted, and he chuckled low: "I thought Ningning had come today to confront me, but it seems you've already made up your mind."

Shen Shuangning, having her thoughts exposed, blinked guiltily.

Xiao Jingyuan fed her his blood to detoxify; she couldn't convince herself to accept it willingly, but before finding another antidote, she seemed to have no choice but to rely on him.

"You help me detoxify, and I can help you with things," Shen Shuangning said.

Xiao Jingyuan raised an eyebrow: "Help me with what?"

His gaze was extremely aggressive.

Shen Shuangning's heart skipped, and she felt like a lamb entering a tiger's den; she pressed her lips and said, "Whatever the heir needs."

She added, "As long as it's not too much."

Xiao Jingyuan gently held her waist and said, "Then I want to see what you have first."

Shen Shuangning said solemnly, "I have a thousand mu of good farmland; the heir has Mr. Chen; the potatoes grown can give the heir eighty percent—I won't ask a single extra question about what the heir wants to do with them."

"I'm not interested in potatoes," Xiao Jingyuan replied almost without hesitation.

Shen Shuangning said, "I also know a bit about business."

Xiao Jingyuan said, "I also lack no silver."

Shen Shuangning fell silent.

He knew what he wanted, and she understood perfectly.

The man's long fingers twined around her hair, unintentionally revealing the scabbed tiger-mouth wound on his hand as he said, "My blood is quite precious."

Speaking of blood... Shen Shuangning suddenly recalled why she had come to see him and asked, "Why can your blood detoxify?"

In her previous life, she had once inadvertently overheard Xiao Jingyuan conversing with a woman outside the study; the woman spoke earnestly:

"She is naturally weak; using poison to counter poison is truly too dangerous, my lord—you must never give her your blood again."

At that time, Shen Shuangning never imagined the "her" in those words referred to herself; the notions of "fighting poison with poison" and "blood-feeding" sounded terrifying, and afterward she dared not ask further.

Thus, she never knew what secret Xiao Jingyuan hid in his body.

She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but Shen Shuangning felt that Xiao Jingyuan's aura had grown a bit colder all around, though it wasn't directed at her.

She vaguely guessed it might be related to the topic he had avoided answering when he just entered.

Shen Shuangning said, "If you don't want to say, then forget it."

Xiao Jingyuan lowered his eyelids, his thin lips parting slightly, and uttered two words: "Two years."

"What two years?" Shen Shuangning wondered.

Xiao Jingyuan said, "Your poison will take a year to dispel, meaning I need to feed you my blood for a year; I don't need you to do anything, as long as you stay with me for another year."

Shen Shuangning: "Heir Apparent, could you be clearer?"

Xiao Jingyuan lifted his gaze to her, speaking word by word: "I will marry you, and release you after two years."

Shen Shuangning pulled away from his embrace, her face sinking: "Xiao Jingyuan, you scoundrel!"

Xiao Jingyuan remained unperturbed, his composure calm: "If being a scoundrel lets me briefly hold you, I gladly accept being the most shameless scoundrel under heaven. Moreover, this is already the safest method."

"If you refuse to marry me, I'll have to sneak over every few days to climb the wall of your courtyard and detoxify you. If I happen to be seen, it wouldn't matter much to me, but it would harm your reputation and that of the Duke's Manor. If I recall correctly, you still have an unmarried sister in your household?"

"Even if we arranged to meet elsewhere, leaks could still occur. Besides, I'm not always free, and the timing of your poison outbreaks is hard to predict. Only by having you stay under my watch as my wife can we be more secure."

"It may seem I'm taking advantage of you, but you also preserve your life and reputation. Rest assured, I will prepare the divorce letter in advance; when the two-year term ends, you will regain your freedom, and I will not entangle you in the slightest."

Having said that, he didn't glance at her expression, simply lifted his tea and took a sip: "No need to rush your refusal; I'll give you a few days to consider, you can think it over slowly."

His tone was gentle and conciliatory, yet his words concealed an overbearing intent.

What would he do if she refused?

Shen Shuangning gazed at his calm, expressionless profile and bit her lip.

She gathered from his words that he would never abandon her regardless, but if it became public knowledge, her reputation, the Duke's Manor's dignity, and even Shen Ling's marriage would likely be ruined.

He seemed to give her a choice, but in fact he had already blocked all retreats, leaving only this path.

After returning to the Duke's Manor, Shen Shuangning pondered for three full days and nights.

Even when Shen Ling came to play with her, she had no inclination to entertain.

Whenever she thought of having to return to the Prince Yan's Manor as the Heir Apparent's consort, memories of her past life would surface, forcing her to shrink back.

Although she knew that measuring the present Xiao Jingyuan against the grudges of her previous life was unfair to him, she simply could not separate them into two distinct people.

How much could the disposition of the same person differ?

Moreover, the current Xiao Jingyuan insists on having her; if the two-year period ends, would he truly be willing to let her go?

To her, the Prince Yan's Manor was a grave; those wounds and estrangements formed an invisible barrier between them.

During those three days, Shen Shuangning hadn't gotten a decent sleep, often waking from nightmares.

A Heng looked on, very worried.

That day, Shen Shuangning had someone summon Chen Jia to the Duke's Manor and brought him to see Lady Liu.

Lady Liu sat at the head, sizing up the plain-looking man before her, and said, "Are you Chen Jia?"

Chen Jia bowed and said, "I have paid my respects to the Duchess!"

The fact that Chen Jia grew potatoes in the manor farm was naturally hard to hide from Lady Liu's eyes and ears, but since he had promised her daughter to let her handle it, she hadn't inquired—yet he had actually achieved some notable results.

She had also seen those potatoes and had the manor's cook prepare some dishes from them, which tasted quite good.

"Besides potatoes, what else can you grow?" Lady Liu asked with a pleased expression.

Chen Jia honestly replied, "There's also the ordinary wheat, beans, millet, and sorghum—common crops in the manor farm; I roughly know how to cultivate them."

"Oh?" Lady Liu's tone gained a bit of interest, "Then tell me, for growing grain, how do the methods differ between mountainous and flat land?"

When Chen Jia spoke about farming, his earlier nervousness eased considerably.

Lady Liu then asked, "What do you usually read?"

Chen Jia: "I have studied the Qi Min Yao Shu, the Nong Sang Ji Yao, and the Shou Tong Kao, among others."

Lady Liu glanced at Shen Shuangning, her eyes seeming to say, "I didn't expect you to bring someone who actually knows his stuff."

Shen Shuangning smiled, but didn't say that Chen Jia belonged to Xiao Jingyuan.

Lady Liu asked a few more things, pondered a moment, then said, "I have a thousand mu of land here; take it and plant whatever you wish."

Such talent, if limited to just growing potatoes, would be a waste.

Chen Jia's eyes lit up; he was overjoyed, for farming was his greatest passion in life, fearing she might change her mind, he quickly agreed.

After Chen Jia left, Shen Shuangning still hadn't departed.

Lady Liu looked at her as if she had something to say, gave her a few glances, and asked, "I've already entrusted that Chen Jia with responsibility, why do you still wear a frown? Your complexion looks worse too—what are you worrying about?"

Madam Liu saw that she seemed to have something to say, so she glanced at her a few times and asked, "I've already entrusted Chen Jia with important duties, why are you still frowning? Look at your complexion—it's also much worse. But what are you worrying about?"