Born to Be Either Rich or Noble - Chapter 66

A person wounded in love, compensated only with material goods, was already the one on the losing end. Now, before she’d even had a chance to turn that compensation into anything concrete, someone wanted to take it away.

Could he really be so heartless?

Qian Tong stood before his writing desk, head slightly lowered, looking small and pitiful enough to stir sympathy in anyone.

But Song Yunzhi was no longer the man he had once been. All sympathy was gone.

A thief crying “stop thief.”

Song Yunzhi’s voice was cold. “If I remember correctly, you intend to get engaged to the eldest Park son. Old feelings rekindled. Compared to that, a salt field means nothing to you. The Park family can give you far more.”

“It does matter—why wouldn’t it?” Qian Tong seized on what she thought was the crucial point and explained, “The salt field is extremely important to me…”

At that, a flash of anger finally cut across Song Yunzhi’s expression. His features hardened. “Qian Tong.”

He was tall to begin with, and when he suddenly stood, even with the table between them, his presence made her instinctively lean back.

“Since you’ve decided to be engaged to the Park family’s eldest son, you should never again mention any entanglements between us. Your past and your future with him—I neither care nor intend to. I do not care where your salt field came from. You made your mark. There is no taking it back.”

Qian Tong froze.

What had she even said? Did he have to blow up over this? Fine, she wouldn’t say it again…
Still, she couldn’t help muttering, “But you’re not ‘anyone else.’”
He was the one who’d taken something from her—she was simply reasoning with him.

Her mutter ignited him again; fire flared once more in his eyes.

“Who am I, then? Or rather, let me ask—what am I to you, Qian Tong?”

She was stunned.

What was he to her? She could come up with dozens of answers immediately. He was her foolish dream… the Seventh Son-in-law who had married into the Qian family… her… former husband?

But that was something she wouldn’t dare say out loud. She tested another guess and watched his face.
“Are you… my savior?”

He looked at her cold, ungrateful face and finally lost his patience. His voice dropped low with anger. “Get. Out.”

Was that wrong?

Before he could summon his guards to throw her out, Qian Tong rushed to try again, one guess at a time.
“Benefactor? Former ally—no, ally, still ally. There is no ‘former.’ Think carefully, Heir Apparent… ever since the day we met, apart from that initial offense, have I ever truly wronged you?”

She looked at him, waiting for him to recall.

Yes, her intentions had been purposeful, and yes, she had used some extreme methods. But in the end she always worked in the court’s interest. Even this time—she had delivered the Third Madam into his hands and helped the court reclaim the canal from the Park family.

The Grand Madam had agreed only because she didn’t understand what this Heir Apparent was capable of; Qian Tong had overwhelmed her into giving her word. Had she known his nature, she would never have agreed so easily.

Qian Tong believed that once the Park family opened the canal, given Song Yunzhi’s uncompromising personality, he would dare seize it from Prince Pingchang himself.

Such a massive benefit—he should be rewarding her, not confiscating her reward.

She waited, hopeful, for him to remember all the good she’d done him. But after staring at her a moment, the anger in his eyes only deepened. His jaw tightened.
“Whether you’ve wronged me—think very carefully yourself.”

Qian Tong hated guessing what others were thinking more than anything.

“Heir Apparent, I’m not clever. I am terrible at reading people. Please just tell me clearly—how have I wronged you?”
She said this, but she still tried to think. And the moment she did—too many possibilities flooded her mind.

First and foremost: when she kidnapped him to make him the Qian family’s Seventh Son-in-law, she’d discovered his true identity.

She had admitted this herself that night.

Worse, to force him to fight back, she had confessed to many crimes she should never have claimed as her own. Qian Tong regretted it now—she should not have talked so much.

The more one said, the more leverage one handed away.

Even the salt field he seized today—she had let that slip because her mouth was careless.

A guilty conscience weakened her momentum.

She glanced at the man who looked as if he might swallow her whole and tried to defend herself.
“Heir Apparent, I know you won’t believe me, but everything I said that night was just to provoke you…”

“Which parts were true, and which were false?” His words were icy. He insisted on dissecting every detail, sorting right from wrong.

But Qian Tong hated taking life so seriously. She wanted to tell him he didn’t have to remember anything she’d said that night—but feared if she said it aloud, he might call in the cavalry again like earlier.

She bowed her head and admitted fault.
“Heir Apparent, are you angry because I deceived you?”

He didn’t answer. Which meant she was right.

She hurried to explain her original intentions.
“If I hadn’t abducted you at the start, how would you and Mister Shen have infiltrated the Four Great Houses so quickly? Making you the Qian family’s Seventh Son-in-law looked like an insult, but wasn’t it also a form of protection?”

“Who could ever suspect that the husband of a mere merchant’s daughter was actually the Heir Apparent?”
Qian Tong reminded him earnestly, “See how it is now? The moment your true identity was restored, everyone started calling me shameless.”

The anger in his eyes faltered for the first time.

Qian Tong pressed on. “Don’t look at the process—look at the result. Hasn’t everything progressed exactly as it needed to?”

Song Yunzhi was silent for a long time.

He studied her sly eyes, searching for even a hint of sincerity. Then he asked:
“Since you’ve already chosen the Park family, why work for the court?”

Qian Tong had expected the question and answered easily.
“There is no conflict. Whether I get engaged to the Park family’s eldest son has nothing to do with my loyalty to the court or my sense of duty. Until the Park family is officially convicted, someone like me—half attached to them at most—is committing no crime.”

Song Yunzhi’s hands curled into fists. The composure he’d only just regained began to slip again.
He dismissed her. “It’s late. Go home, Miss Qian.”

After all she’d said, the original problem remained unsolved.

Seizing on the words it’s late, Qian Tong suddenly turned shameless.
“Heir Apparent, if you don’t return the salt field to me, then I’m not leaving tonight. If word gets out tomorrow that you left me—me, Qian Tong—alone in the prefecture estate overnight during a private inquiry… everyone will think the two of us have turned fiction into reality. By then you won’t be able to take it back. You’ll have no choice but to let this little sparrow perch on your lofty branch and ruin your—”

“Mengqing.”
Before she finished, the Heir Apparent called out toward the door.

The shadow guard who had served the dishes earlier slipped inside. “My lord.”

Qian Tong thought he meant to have her thrown out. She moved swiftly, lunging forward to cling to the corner of his desk.
“If you don’t give it back, I won’t leave even if I die—”

His reputation mattered far more than a salt field.

Without so much as glancing at her, Song Yunzhi ordered, “Close the doors. Lock them.”

Qian Tong blinked.

Before she could react, the double doors slammed shut with startling speed. A sharp click followed—the sound of a heavy lock sliding into place.

What was he doing?

Slowly, bewildered, she stood and looked at him for an explanation.

Song Yunzhi closed the memorial on his desk, placed it neatly aside, and walked out from behind the table. He cast her a calm glance.
“The high branch is right here. Go on—fly.”

Qian Tong: “…”

He crossed to the vanity on the left, removed his official headpiece, and set it down. His voice remained level.
“The washroom is on the right. There’s water—you can wash up.”

When no answer came, he looked back.

The girl who had been so sharp-tongued a moment ago stood there as if struck by lightning, staring at him in blank confusion, not yet able to comprehend this sudden reversal.

He spared her only a single quiet glance, then stepped into the inner room.

As he shed his official robe, the girl suddenly snapped back to life. Through the bead curtain she called out,
“Heir Apparent, you’re really not worried about rumors? I’m just a merchant’s daughter—I don’t care about reputation. But you? You’re noble, esteemed, untouchable. You can’t afford scandal.”

He ignored her, sitting on the bed to remove his boots.

After a moment, she tried again.
“Heir Apparent, aren’t you afraid you’ve invited a wolf into your house?”

He lay back, hands behind his head, eyes open, listening.

“Do you know how tempting someone like you is to a girl? If you’d encountered any other woman today—she would’ve climbed into your bed no matter what, ruined your purity, and demanded a title afterward…”

She rambled for a long time without getting a single response.

But she had clearly seen him go into the bedroom. She couldn’t just barge in. She could only stand outside and continue,
“Human nature is unpredictable. You shouldn’t test it, Heir Apparent…”

Still nothing.

Qian Tong went to the door and tugged at the panels. The lock clattered loudly. It was truly bolted shut.

Even the windows were sealed.

She hurried to the inner partition, speaking toward the silent man inside.
“I’m not as noble as you think. What if I can’t control myself? What if I—just like last time—force myself on you again? Then what…”

The man inside seemed dead to the world; he gave no reply, letting her chatter endlessly.

Until her mouth went dry, her energy drained, and she finally gave in to exhaustion. She went to the washroom on the right, rinsed her face, brushed her teeth with salt, and tried to calm her pounding heart.

A man and a woman, alone in one room…

If the Heir Apparent wasn’t afraid, what was she afraid of?

No matter how strong one’s stamina, night would wear it down. By this hour the entire prefecture estate was silent. Sleepiness crept over her. Qian Tong searched around and, behind his desk, found a chaise meant for resting. She lay down, planning to make do for the night.

The incense in the room burned steadily without fading.

She slept in a heavy haze. Half-dreaming, half-awake, the crisp scent near her nose grew stronger. She was too tired to open her eyes. Somewhere between sleep and waking, she felt a coolness brush the shoulder on her wounded side.

A moment later, air touched her exposed skin, sending a shiver across her. The most tender place—where pain had once lived—was most sensitive. Instinctively, she lifted a hand to shield herself.

And then—

A warm kiss fell onto her lips.

Shallow at first.
Then deeper.

Her lips parted under pressure. She let out a faint, helpless murmur, trying to open her eyes.

But a warm hand pressed over her lids, blocking her body’s instinct to resist. She could only swallow, again and again, her throat trembling…