The night settles.
The feast at the main house had already concluded, and the guests had flocked away, leaving the expansive mansion restored to its usual deserted tranquility.
Dressed in her bright red bridal gown, Lin Ran was situated in a brightly lit ancestral hall. She lit the incense set aside and placed it in front of Ji Moshen's memorial tablet. With both hands clasped together, she courteously bowed three times. Then, she knelt on the meditation mat, slowly closing her eyes.
This was the night of her wedding with Ji Moshen, and she should be at his side here.
She knelt for who knows how long until her knees turned numb. Suddenly, a creak echoed from the grand doors of the ancestral hall being swung open. Swiftly, she straightened her back, kneeling upright.
Footsteps paced from afar to near, stopping right behind her. She hesitated, deciding whether to look back. An abrupt gust of wind blew, extinguishing the lights on the altar table, leaving only a few glints of candle flame flickering in the pitch-black night. In explicably, a chill spread within her.
The abrupt darkness startled her. She steadied her nerves, and said, "I...I'll go light the candles..." Although she was uncertain who the person behind her was, Lin Ran thought she should give him a notification.
"There's no need." An unfamiliar and icy voice resonated abruptly from the darkness. Lin Ran nearly got scared, as she whipped her head around and widened her eyes, gradually adapting to the darkness in the room. A tall and upright silhouette stood in front of her.
In the darkness, it was impossible to make out the person's face, but a half silver mask covering his face was undeniably apparent.
He must be up to no good—a stranger bearing secrets.
Lin Ran took a step back, eyeing him alertly, "Who are you?"
"It's not important who I am, what's important is why I'm here." His icy voice resonated again. Out of the blue, he extended his hand to grab her arm, forcefully yanking her into his embrace, imprisoning her.
She was astounded and horrified, "What...what are you trying to do?"
"I'm here to fulfill the marital duties for your deceased husband, are you happy?" His cold fingers trailed down her delicate collarbone in a blatantly suggestive movement.
"You jackass, let go of me!" Enraged and embarrassed, Lin Ran lifted her knee and aimed a fierce blow at his lower abdomen.
"Heh, turns out it's just a little wildcat, interesting." The man scoffs coldly, swiftly avoiding her attack, and then bends over to cover her mouth to prevent her from screaming.
Her breaths were filled with the man's dominant scent as he pressed her onto the hard floor, using one hand to hold her arm above her head.
He releases her lips.
"Help me--help--"
No one came to her aid. It was the time when the night was deep and silent, no one would know what heinous acts had taken place in this tightly sealed ancestral hall.
"Don't do it here..." Lin Ran barely had the strength to whisper, she was completely devoid of the energy to resist. Since there seemed to be no way out, she resigned herself to it as one does when bitten by a dog. But she didn't want to tarnish the Ji Family Ancestral Hall, being humiliated in front of the ancestors by this bastard, the intense sense of shame made her wish she could just die on the spot.
...
When dawn broke, Lin Ran awoke frozen, lying on the chilly floor. Opening her eyes, she was met with the picture of Ji Moshen hanging on the wall, making her jolt in shock. As she tried to get up, a tearing pain between her legs made her shudder, as memories of being violated last night came flooding back. If not for the physical pain reminding her, she would have thought it was all just a horrific nightmare.