Chapter 12
Chapter 12
They tied me up, threw me into a carriage, and took me to a remote villa.
The house was cold and damp. My wrists were bound tight with hemp rope.
My mother-in-law approached me slowly, carrying a bowl of dark herbal medicine.
She pinched my jaw shut and forced the black liquid down my throat.
Bowl after bowl was poured into me until my consciousness began to fade…
In a nightmare, I found myself kneeling before a sacrificial hall.
I was surrounded by a circle of paper-mache brides. They wore vibrant red dresses, and tears fell continuously from their eyes.
Someone approached me with black thread, stitching my lips shut, needle by needle.
Then, that person held a bronze mirror up to my face.
In the reflection, patches of my skin were peeling away in layers, revealing glowing veins beneath…
I woke up screaming.
The room was pitch black, and I was drenched in a cold sweat.
Shen Yanlan’s gentle voice drifted through the dark.
“Huaiyi, are you still feeling unwell?”
I turned my head to see Shen Yanlan sitting on the edge of the bed, watching me quietly.
He reached out to touch my forehead, and I instinctively recoiled.
“How… how did I get back?” I asked.
He slowly withdrew his hand, his voice remaining soft.
“You fainted in the street. A kind soul brought you home.”
He picked up a tea bowl from the table, intending to give me some water.
I stared at him warily and asked, “The people on the street told me that Lin Village doesn’t even exist.”
“So, where did I come from? What exactly am I?”
Shen Yanlan fell silent for a moment before speaking.
“Where you came from doesn’t actually matter. What matters is that you are my lawfully wedded wife, and I will treat you well.”
My eyes burned with unshed tears. “But… I don’t want to stay in the Shen Residence anymore!”
He sighed. “Huaiyi, this is my fault. I haven’t spent enough time with you, which has allowed your mind to wander into these wild thoughts.”
His hands skillfully unfastened the intricate frog buttons of my clothes, and the slightly chilled air enveloped me.
When his palm touched my burning hand, he suddenly paused.
“Huaiyi, you have a fever.”
He stood up and left to instruct the servants to brew some medicine.
At the word “medicine,” my heart shuddered again.
“I don’t want to drink any medicine!”
He looked at me as if he understood something, then comforted me softly.
“I promise, no one will ever force you to drink medicine again.”