Chapter 8
Chapter 8
No one knew when that round of torture finally ended.
Outside the bizarre instrument of punishment, Yan Luoxi waited with a group of brocade-clad armored guards for a full two hours-until the sun had set and the cold moon hung high. By then, there had long since been no sound from inside the coffin.
No one could make out his expression, so they could only offer cautious advice from the side. “My lord, women are delicate…”
“Yes, it’s been almost four hours!”
“She hasn’t made a sound for so long. Could she have been shaken to death in there?”
At that, the man with his hands tucked into his sleeves gave a slight nod. As if granted amnesty, everyone hurried to open the coffin. Unfortunately, though they managed to lift the person inside out, she simply lay there on the ground, silent and still.
At the sight, the expression on Yan Luoxi’s face, which had not shifted in the slightest, finally began to crack.
“Yu Xuzhen. Get up.”
No movement.
A flicker of panic passed over his face, and he raised his voice.
“Yu Xuzhen!”
Still no movement.
Rarely had anyone seen the commander lose composure like this. As the crowd exchanged looks, they saw the ever-cold-blooded “Heartless Yama” suddenly drop to one knee and lean in, placing his ear beneath her nose to listen.
His expression was solemn, even carrying the desperate hope of a man who had found a lifeline at the edge of ruin.
A breath later…
…
On the flat ground, a faint little snore sounded.
When I woke again, it was already the next morning.
After sleeping soundly through the night, my hangover had vanished completely. I felt refreshed from head to toe, with cool air drifting under my arms…
Wait.
Where were my clothes?
I looked around and realized I had already been returned to my own room. I had been stripped completely bare, with only a thick cotton quilt covering my body.
Having no choice, I wrapped myself in the quilt and went searching everywhere for something to wear. Just then, the door flew open. When the person who entered saw me standing on the floor, she hurried over to support me.
“Oh my, why are you out of bed?”
It turned out to be Wanfang.
Only then did I relax. She set the tray in her hands by the bed and asked softly, “Sister Yu, did you have a quarrel with our lord?”
“…Why would you say that?”
Wanfang helped me sit on the edge of the bed. “He told me to check whether you had any injuries.”
“He said he was afraid he hadn’t controlled his strength and had hurt you.”
Well. What was this supposed to be?
Hit me with a stick, then hand me a sweet date?
Seeing me stay silent, Wanfang shook her head with the air of someone offering heartfelt advice. “Even if you don’t say it, I understand. In my opinion, when husband and wife quarrel at the head of the bed, they make up at the foot of the bed. What couple lets anger last overnight?”
As she spoke, she stuffed the item on the tray into my hands. “Listen to your little sister’s advice. Put this dress on. When our lord comes to see you tonight, won’t the two of you make up and be as close as one person?”
After she left, I lifted up the dress, which had more holes than fabric, and finally understood what she had meant.
Take a chance, and one pillow becomes two.
Make a gamble, and two people become one.
Good heavens.
Everyone in this Yan Residence was a talent.
Fortunately, while there was nothing proper in this room, there was, somehow, an entire basket of needle and thread.
I sewed for a good long while before suddenly hearing a knock at the door. I quickly bit off the last thread and threw the garment over myself as best I could.
After waiting a moment and hearing no response, the person outside gently pushed the door open and entered. Seeing me sitting at the head of the bed with my hair loose around me, his eyes shifted faintly.
“You’re awake?”
“Yes. Thanks to you.”
Faced with my sarcasm, Yan Luoxi avoided the sharp edge of it and chose instead to comment on my current attire.
“That outfit of yours…”
“The most fashionable style in the Great Jin Dynasty. Haven’t seen it before?”
“Oh.”
Seeing him standing in the doorway, half his face hidden against the backlight, I could not help but mock him. “With all those torture devices of yours, aren’t you going to treat me to a few more?”
“Yu Xuzhen.”
“Present.”
His brows did not move, but his tone softened slightly. “I never meant to make things difficult for you… After all, you are her full-blooded elder sister.”
From his tone, it seemed he still held out hope for my younger sister, who had already transferred her affections elsewhere.
I was somewhat puzzled. “Brother-in-law, as the Deputy Commissioner of the Northern Pacification Office and Chief of the Thirteen Guardians, are you truly so mired in romantic sentiment?”
“As I recall, the two of you have never even met…”
Before I could finish, Yan Luoxi suddenly leaned in. His cold, pale fingers clamped around my jaw, forcing me to tilt my face up and meet the frost and snow between his brows. “Destroy yourself all you like. Just don’t drag her down to suffer with you.”
“Do you know that this book has been circulating in private under the alias Record of Deep Injustice for quite some time? If I hadn’t intercepted it in advance, it would only have been a matter of time before it alarmed His Majesty!”
“Heh.”
I flatly denied such an absurd claim. “That’s impossible.”
As early as twelve years ago, Father had died on the road to exile, and I had burned all the remaining manuscripts.
Forget the manuscripts. I had even poured the ashes into the river that very night.
Seeing how certain I was, Yan Luoxi held me in place with one hand, his gaze assessing. His lashes lowered at the roots. “Do you think I am deceiving you?”
At that moment, that beautifully contoured face was right before my eyes, his skin luminous as jade, the cinnabar mark like blood. He had the otherworldly, untouchable beauty of a jade-carved statue.
Only then did I suddenly realize the posture between us was ambiguous, as though I were being held in his arms. Those beautifully shaped lips were just inches away, his breath as fragrant as orchids.
“Yu Xuzhen, answer me!”
At that, I looked him up and down twice and could not help sighing with feeling.
“…Your waist is so slim.”
“…”