This Is What a Villain Is Like

Images from last night suddenly flooded her mind.

A blush crept across Su Qinghan’s fair cheeks.

"Miss Su, we’re here to help you bathe and dress. The hot water is ready."

Several serving maids carried in a wooden tub half as tall as a person. Steam billowed from it, fragrant with the scent of floating flower petals.

"There’s no need. You may all go. I’ll do it myself."

Su Qinghan propped herself up on the bed, looking at the torn black gauze dress on the floor. She pursed her red lips, a wave of complex emotions welling up in her clear eyes.

"Miss Su, you have just... received the Young Master’s favor. Your body must be weak, making it difficult to move. It’s better if we attend to you."

The maids rushed forward to support her, but they all froze in astonishment when, after a few slightly awkward steps, Su Qinghan began to move with ease. Their surprise quickly turned to admiration.

"Miss Su is incredible! Truly a favored daughter of heaven, as expected of a successful cultivator..."

"We were so worried we even prepared soothing salves and painkillers, afraid you wouldn’t be able to get out of bed today."

At that moment, one of the maids, holding a bowl of abortion soup, stepped forward and said,

"Miss Su, the blade-wielding lord who serves Young Master Jiang specifically instructed us to prepare this. He also told us to watch you drink it..."

Hearing this, Su Qinghan glanced at it and knew what it was. She pursed her red lips tightly and said nothing more. She picked up the medicinal soup, tilted back her long, snow-white neck, and drank it all in one gulp.

"You may leave. I wish to be alone."

She spoke faintly, then slowly stepped into the bath, allowing the floating petals to gradually envelop her.

Su Qinghan gently closed her eyes.

’The scenes from last night, however, now flashed through her mind on a loop. The more she tried to push them away, the clearer they became.’

’Even every word she’d spoken, every sob that had escaped her, was still fresh in her memory.’

’Right now, she just wanted to find a hole to crawl into and bury herself, to forget every last one of those awful memories.’

’Jiang Lan had clearly been the one to force her, to demand she become his concubine. So why had she felt so flustered, so uneasy, so... afraid? Why had she, so uncharacteristically, started crying and poured out all the feelings she’d been bottling up? And then, in a daze...’

’She felt so pathetic.’

’Could it be? Am I really just what everyone says I am—a venomous vixen, a social climber obsessed with power?’

...

After her bath, a fully dressed Su Qinghan saw Jiang Lan again. He was in a pavilion, sipping tea, dressed in robes whiter than snow, utterly immaculate.

His handsome, aristocratic face was a picture of leisure. His eyes were narrowed slightly as his fingers tapped gently against the jade table.

A troupe of courtesans danced before him, their graceful figures singing and swaying. Each was a peerless beauty with skin like snow, their forms tantalizingly veiled.

In an adjacent pavilion shrouded in a light mist, several Qing Guanren played instruments, their clear, melodious song drifting through the air.

Several other graceful beauties in gauzy dresses were at Jiang Lan’s side, massaging his shoulders and legs. Their flirtatious glances shimmered with enchanting charm; their intentions were not difficult to guess.

"Qinghan is awake? Why not rest a little longer?"

"Go prepare a bowl of lotus seed soup."

Jiang Lan noticed Su Qinghan approaching, smiled slightly, gave an order, and then gestured for her to come over.

"Young Master..."

Su Qinghan hesitated for a moment. Seeing that Jiang Lan’s face showed none of the indifference from last night, she gave a graceful curtsy, walked over, and sat down beside him, her legs tucked to the side.

"It didn’t leave a mark, I see."

"It wouldn’t be pretty if it did."

"Are you feeling any discomfort?"

Jiang Lan’s gaze swept over her fair, flawless chin before he smiled nonchalantly.

"I’m fine. I feel no discomfort."

’At this point, Su Qinghan couldn’t tell which of his words were true and which were false.’

Before, although Jiang Lan would speak to her like this, there was little warmth or mirth in his eyes.

Now, however, there was a trace of genuine warmth and amusement in them.

"Young Master, I know I was wrong. What happened last night... I overstepped. I wasn’t intentionally trying to test you."

Su Qinghan thought for a moment, pursed her tender, moist red lips, and spoke in a low voice to admit her fault.

"It was just a small matter. Why do you dwell on it so much?"

"In my presence, you don’t need to be so cautious. Just be as you usually are. It’s just that there are some things you’d best not ask too much about."

"It’s a good thing for a woman to be clever, but being too clever can sometimes be a bad thing."

Jiang Lan still just smiled. His gaze was gentle, his voice soft, as he reached out to tuck a strand of dark hair behind her ear.

Su Qinghan froze, staring at his handsome face so close to hers, and felt her heart give a slight flutter.

At the same time, some scenes from last night surfaced in her mind again.

A faint blush colored her cheeks.

’If she could just ignore all the vicious rumors...’

’This Young Master Jiang before her... his power was unfathomable, his background formidable, his family illustrious. He was strikingly handsome, with a refined, jade-like bearing. Countless favored daughters of heaven would dream of the chance to become his concubine.’

She reached out, wanting to touch the hand he’d placed near her ear, but he seemed to just smile as he withdrew it. With a light flick of his sleeve, one of the women beside him rushed to produce a clean embroidered handkerchief and began to wipe his hand.

"I plan to set off and leave Yu Yi City today. Qinghan, is there anything else you need to arrange with your family?" Jiang Lan asked.

Su Qinghan froze for a moment before gently shaking her head. "I will naturally follow you, Young Master. As for my family, I need only send them word."