Chapter 2

That was true.

After she got married to River, she gave up on her flourishing career, suppressed her aggressive nature, and memorized more than 18,000 family rules.

Every day at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., she had to greet the elders of the family. If she was late, she would be forced to stand for the entire night.

Talking during meals was not allowed. If she laughed, she could not show her teeth. She was not to have more than three bites of every dish on the table.

She was not allowed to spend more than three minutes in the toilet and use more than two squares of toilet paper. If she broke this rule, she would be whipped twenty times.

During her period or when she was sick, she was not allowed to sleep together with River in the same bedroom.

Even when they had a moment of intimacy with each other, they had to go on a vegan diet and pray for three days before sleeping together again.

Every rule must be followed.

Over the course of five years, she felt like she was walking on thin ice and was thoroughly tormented by those rules.

After hearing about it, Violet ran out of the room to ask for answers, but when she turned a corner in the courtyard, she saw Nina leaning into River’s arms while sobbing.

He looked at her tenderly. He had never shown such tenderness toward her.

Violet immediately stepped forward to demand answers, and she thought that he would at least defend himself, but River just admitted to it.

“I married you so that Nina won’t suffer from the family rules. Don’t worry. You’ll forever be my wife. I won’t cross the line with her either.”

Despite saying he would not cross the line with her, he doted on her endlessly.

At that moment, Violet was completely disappointed.

If she had known that he loved someone else, she would not have wasted her youth and lived meekly in this one-sided marriage.

She went to Martha and asked for a divorce.

A long time passed before the punishment finally ended.

Her white dress was drenched in blood. Violet’s face was as pale as a sheet. When she moved, every part of her body hurt.

Even so, she pushed her broken body up and staggered off the bed of nails.

Martha sighed. “The divorce procedure will be completed one week later. After that, you can leave the Marsh family.”

With that said, she motioned for the servants to take her back to her room to rest.

Just as she was about to take off her blood-drenched dress and ask the servant to treat her wounds, River opened the door and walked in.

When he saw her wounded body, he froze for two seconds before asking, “What did you do this time to get punished?”

Violet was so hurt that she had no strength to speak. She just hung her head and said nothing.

Over the years, if she took one more mouthful of food and spoke a little too much, she would be punished harshly. He never overlooked a single thing.

River then took the ointment from the servant to treat her himself.

But Nina opened the door and said, “River, according to the family rules, those who are punished are supposed to stand in the ancestral hall for an entire night. They’re not supposed to rest.”

River stopped moving. His jaw tensed, but after staying silent for a while, he pulled his hands back. “Nina’s right. You can’t break the family rules this time, or you’ll break them again.”

He then told the servant to take Violet to the ancestral hall after treating Violet’s wounds.

The servant’s hands were rough. As she dragged Violet to the ancestral hall, Violet’s scabs ended up torn, and pain spread through her entire body.

The pain caused Violet to break out in a cold sweat, but she gritted her teeth and refused to express her pain.

Soon, she was thrown into the chilly ancestral hall, and the door was locked.

The pain and the bone-chilling cold nearly froze her.

At midnight, her stomach churned because she had not eaten for an entire day.

Just as Violet curled up to endure the pain, she heard whispers from the kitchenette nearby.

“River, the noodles you made taste so good!”

River’s voice was gentle and was not as tense and cold as usual. “If it’s good, have more.”

“If we cook at midnight, aren’t we breaking the family rules? Won’t we get punished?”

“I’m here. You don’t have to be scared.”

His words pierced Violet’s heart, and the pain seemed endless.

She remembered that one year, she attended a banquet with River. When they came back, it was already past 10 p.m.

She had been so hungry that her stomach hurt, and she curled up on the bed while she broke out in a cold sweat, but River only gave her a glass of warm water.

“Endure it. The family rules state that no one is allowed to cook past 8 p.m. You can eat tomorrow morning.”

But her stomach hurt for an entire night, and she fainted at dawn. She only recovered after being hospitalized for three days.

Violet had thought that the rules were written in stone. The Marsh family had been an aristocratic family for more than a century, and the rules were so ironclad that no one could break them.

It was only at this moment that she learned that the rules could be broken, just not for her.

Violet lay curled on the cold floor quietly, and the last bit of hope in her eyes disappeared.

The next morning, her mind was still dizzy from fever, and her wounds stung. She felt dazed, but Alan dragged her up from the floor.

“It’s time for your morning greeting, Mrs. Marsh.”

She felt weak, and she had to force herself to stand on her feet.

Looking down at her feet, she started counting.

Six more days…

She just had to endure for six more days, and she could escape from this prison.