Chapter 1: The Young Master Has Returned

The tenth year of the Republic of China, Fancheng City.
The weather in June changed in an instant. That morning had been bright and sunny, but now the wind blew harder and harder, filling the rooms with the scent of dust mixed with sophora blossoms. The windows rattled loudly as if they were about to shatter.
Aunt Zhou hurried to close them, only to catch sight of a black car slowly approaching in the distance. Her heart lurched. She turned back to the woman on the bed and whispered urgently, “The young master… he’s back.”
The woman on the bed snapped her head up, a flicker of hope flashing in her eyes. She quickly changed into a pale blue dress. Her hair was still disheveled and uncombed when she heard Fu Yu’s footsteps climbing the stairs.
Stumbling, uneven footsteps. He’d been drinking again. He only ever came to see her when he was drunk.
The door slammed open. The stench of alcohol hit her, mixed with the scent of a woman’s perfume.
“Fu Yu, you’re back?” Jiang Mei stepped forward, reaching out to help him with a gentle, pleasing manner.
Fu Yu roughly shoved her aside. Off-balance from his own force, he stumbled and crashed into her. Jiang Mei landed hard on her bottom. Aunt Zhou rushed over to help her up. “Young mistress, please be careful at a time like this!”
Fu Yu’s cold, sharp eyes were bloodshot from intoxication. He reached out and grabbed her wrists. The man who was usually aloof and proud now looked savage.
“Jiang Mei, do you ever get tired of playing the weak and fragile little thing? Huh? Do you?”
“Fu Yu, let go of me first!” Jiang Mei’s wrists were bright red, and the pain twisted her face.
“What are you pretending for? Didn’t you send word that you weren’t feeling well? And now you’re putting on this act of purity and pride!”
“Fu Yu, I need to talk to you…”
“What could you possibly have to say to me? Who are you planning to hurt now? It was you! You made me give up Yu Wei! You drove her away to a foreign land! Jiang Mei, you’re truly cruel! You really know how to kick someone when they’re down!” He said this as he grabbed her and pulled at her clothes.
“Young master, please—she’s not well right now…” Aunt Zhou stepped in to shield Jiang Mei, unable to bear watching any longer.
“Get out! Get out of here!” Fu Yu roared at her.
“And who do you think you are? Do you really believe she’s the wife of the Fu family’s eldest son?” he shouted.
Aunt Zhou had raised Jiang Mei from childhood. She winced at his outburst, heartbroken for the girl, but met with his cold, furious gaze, she had no choice but to withdraw.
“Fu Yu, I was lawfully married into the Fu family. How am I not your wife? Besides, it was your father who came to ask my father for my hand! How can you treat me this way?” Jiang Mei spoke softly, yet firmly.
Jiang Mei knew full well that her family had never been on equal standing with the Fu’s. Back then, the Fu and An clans were locked in a bitter power struggle. Her father had held a small force of troops, and at the critical moment, he had sided with the Fu family, helping them bring down the An’s.
But her father had set one condition: that Jiang Mei would become the Fu family’s eldest daughter-in-law.
After her father passed away and her stepmother remarried, the Jiang family lost all its influence overnight. To the Fu’s, she really had climbed far above her station.
“How dare you mention my father! If it weren’t for you, he never would have had that heart attack! You killed him!” Fu Yu’s mind filled with old grudges. He gripped her throat, his face twisted with rage.
“Fu Yu, it wasn’t me! I’ve told you so many times! When I walked into his room, he was already gone!”
It had been shortly after their wedding. She’d heard shouting coming from her father-in-law Fu Changsheng’s quarters. By the time she got there, he was already lying dead on the floor. She’d been alone in the room, yet the servants all claimed they’d heard her arguing with him.
Slap!
Fu Yu struck her hard across the face. Stars danced before her eyes. She gripped the wall to stay upright.
He leaned in, pinching her chin. “Stop playing the pitiful victim, you venomous witch! You killed my father and drove away the woman I love. Don’t think I’ll ever forgive you! And don’t forget—the Fu family paid a high price for you! At the end of the day, I bought you! Five thousand silver dollars—and you’re not even worth that!”
Jiang Mei had heard far worse things said to her over the past two years. Though she’d grown numb, her eyes still stung. She held back tears, and her pale face flushed with emotion, making her eyes shine bright.
Suddenly, the drunken man pulled her into his arms and kissed her. It was rough and violent—no tenderness, no mercy. He shoved her down onto the bed, his breath reeking of alcohol and fury.
Jiang Mei felt like a small boat tossed about on a stormy sea.
He looked down at her tear-streaked face and sneered. “What have you got to be upset about? The Jiang family helped mine, and I married you! It was a fair trade—we’re even! What more do you want? Did you expect me to fall in love with you? Who are you putting on this show for?”
Fu Yu wore a pale purple short-sleeved shirt. Strands of his wavy hair fell over his sweat-slicked forehead. Some of the alcohol had worn off, and a look of surprise crossed his face. His long, stern face remained handsome, though now filled with disdain.
“Let me make this clear—if my mother’s birthday wasn’t coming up, I never would have set foot in this room! The day after tomorrow is her banquet. You’d better pull yourself together! But then again, acting has always been your specialty!”
“Fu Yu, I have something to tell you…”
“No!”
“You don’t even know what it is!” Jiang Mei’s face went pale.
“I don’t care what it is—the answer is no! But I do have news for you!” He turned her face toward him, his expression dark. “Yu Wei is back. At my mother’s banquet, I’m going to formally introduce her to the whole family. Don’t you dare try anything!”
“Fu Yu, bringing an outsider to a family dinner—what does that mean?”
“Outsider? You really don’t understand, do you? Chen Yu Wei is no outsider—you are! My father is gone now. I run the Fu family! No one can keep me from the woman I love! No one!” With that, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
“Fu Yu… I… I’m pregnant.”
But he was already gone.
Once, an old classmate had asked Jiang Mei why she’d insisted on marrying him.
She’d said, He’s like a hero out of a story. No one else has ever given me warmth like he does. Back then, she hadn’t known that his warmth was never meant for everyone.
Two days later, the Fu family held a grand birthday banquet at their Purple Manor Villa.
Jiang Mei was told to stand at the entrance to greet guests. She was supposed to stand beside Fu Yu, but he clearly wanted nothing to do with her and remained inside showing guests to their seats.
A chill ran through her. Over her pale yellow qipao, she slipped on a light-colored long-sleeved cardigan.
“Jiang Mei, it’s sweltering out here. Why are you dressed like that? Are you trying to embarrass me?” He looked at her with pure disgust.
“Fu Yu, I…” She tried to tell him about the baby, but his eyes lit up. “Yu Wei’s here!”
He pushed past her without a second glance and hurried forward.
Jiang Mei looked up to see a tall, poised woman walking toward them.
Chen Yu Wei came from one of Fancheng’s most respected families. Her father Chen Han Zhi had made his fortune in jewelry, and with Fu Yu’s help, had recently expanded into the arms trade. Born into privilege, she carried herself with natural grace and elegance, dressed in a perfectly tailored purple gown and styled in modern short hair that accentuated her figure.
She saw Fu Yu approach and stood waiting, smiling warmly.
Fu Yu strode up to her, placed both hands on her shoulders, and pulled her tightly into his arms. “Yu Wei… you’ve finally come.” He closed his eyes and rested his chin gently against her head, as if holding something precious he’d lost and found again.
Jiang Mei had never seen such a look on his face. She stood frozen, watching. She’d always thought his coldness was just part of who he was—never imagining he could be so gentle.
“Yu Wei, don’t leave again. I’ll keep my promise. We’ll be married.”
Jiang Mei remained stunned, barely taking in his words.
Only when Fu Yu guided Chen Yu Wei past her toward the main table did she finally understand—They’re getting married. What about me?
She stood motionless, pale as marble. Fu Yu sat Chen Yu Wei beside him at the head of the table—the seat that should have been hers.
Jiang Mei lingered awkwardly at the door, but soon all the guests had arrived.
Her mother-in-law Han Qiu Xue, though from a prominent family, did not want to see her humiliated in front of everyone.
“Jiang Mei, if you’re not feeling well, you may go to your room and rest,” she offered gently.
It was her mother-in-law’s special day. Jiang Mei didn’t want to make a scene. She glanced at Fu Yu—he was carefully peeling crab for Chen Yu Wei, not once looking her way.
Aunt Zhou helped her back to her room.
Jiang Mei lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. “Aunt Zhou… he says he’s going to marry Chen Yu Wei.”
“You must tell him about the baby! A mother’s standing rests on her child. Once he knows, he won’t cast you aside—not when you’re carrying his heir!”
“I hardly ever get a moment alone with him… but right now, I don’t think I want to tell him anymore.”
Laughter and cheerful music drifted up from below. Outside, it began to rain, harder and harder. The drumming sound matched the chaos in her heart.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from downstairs—sharp and clear even through the storm.
Jiang Mei sat bolt upright.