"Tantai Ye, I don't love you. I don't want to marry you. What use is a person who doesn't love you?!"
She had lied. She had loved him!
She had once loved him.
Loved the young general who rode horses like a warrior in shining armor on the battlefield.
But during those years confined in Shangjing City, she had endured endless humiliation and clearly understood the chasm between them.
His mother disdained her status; his family could not accept her; the daughters of noble families in the capital looked down on her, accusing her of having aspirations beyond her station.
And he had never given her any formal recognition.
Yes, they were right.
He was the Great Liang's Great General of Zhenxi, born into the Tantai clan, wielding immense power. As for her, she was merely an orphaned girl without power or influence.
A world of difference, a gulf as wide as heaven and earth between them!
He had treated her as nothing more than a plaything, never truly cherishing her.
Later, she concealed her feelings and contentedly played the part of a caged bird.
But then, he forbade her from seeing anyone, restricting her freedom and indulging his greed. Her love was gradually worn away by his obsessive and pathological possessiveness.
After all these years, having stayed by his side for so long, what had she gained?!
She had gained his marriage to another woman, and the covert decree from his family to end her life.
She had thought she was dead, that she had found release.
But in the end, he still refused to let her go.
"Don't love me?!"
Tantai Ye let out a cold laugh, his arms wrapped tightly around her, his scarlet eyes filled with a twisted stubbornness.
"I know you don't love me, but you can only marry me."
She had never loved him.
For so many years, she had only been waiting for him to marry someone else and set her free.
But he refused. He could not bear a life without her.
She could only be Tantai Ye's, and his alone.
"Ruo'er, it was their fault. I will avenge you. Let's go back and get married, alright?"
His voice still carried an undeniable cold killing intent.
Lan Murou sneered, "Tantai Ye, do you not recognize your own flaws?"
If he had truly valued her, how would the Tantai clan have dared to try and kill her?
His agreement to marry another, without even giving her proper status, was it not a public declaration that she was dispensable?
"I said, I will marry you."
He tightened his grip on her waist, his obsession evident.
"You've always wanted to escape me, never to marry me, haven't you?"
"Now, I am yielding. I beg you to marry me. We will be wed as soon as we return!"
Lan Murou's eyes grew distant as she listened to him.
She knew that people accustomed to high positions like him rarely admitted their mistakes and could not tolerate defiance. But she no longer wished to submit.
She lowered her head, her gaze deepening as she looked at the saber at his waist.
"Tantai Ye, my waist hurts."
Her soft words were just like before, gentle.
Tantai Ye unconsciously loosened his grip.
Suddenly, Lan Murou's hand shot out, grasping the saber at his waist. She drew it out with a swift motion, shoved Tantai Ye away, and moved backward.
The scene stunned everyone present.
Tantai Ye watched coldly as she pressed the saber against her chest, his eyes burning with a sinister rage.
"Are you trying to threaten me into letting you go by threatening suicide?"
Absolutely not!
Dark clouds obscured the entire sky, casting an oppressive gloom everywhere.
Lan Murou stood at the prow of the boat, gazing at him serenely. Her white gown trailed on the floor, her sleeves fluttering in the cold wind.
Her beauty was breathtaking, her skin like freshly fallen snow. Her eyes resembled the snow lotuses on Mount Tianshan, untouched by worldly dust, as clear and ethereal as a painted immortal.
It was like their first meeting by lamplight, a fleeting, stunning glance.
"I know you are ruthless, and I am not trying to threaten you."
She looked at him calmly.
Clad in a dark brocade robe, his posture was upright, exuding an ineffable nobility.
Yet his brow was etched with endless frost, chilling and fearsome.
The young man who had once charged across battlefields had ultimately changed, no longer the person in her memory.
This was his true nature!
Having endured for so many years, she no longer wanted to endure.
"Then what are you doing?"
Although Tantai Ye's voice sounded cold and calm, his heart was about to explode. He was so enraged he felt as though he might detonate.
To threaten him with death for some other man!
Lan Murou glanced sideways at Yelü Qi, lying dead on the ground, a flicker of sorrow in her eyes.
He had died because of her; she owed him!
"Why are you looking at him? He's dead. He can't come back. I'm going to chop his corpse into pieces and feed it to the dogs. If you dare to look at him again, I'll have his corpse whipped first, then fed to the dogs."
Li Qiongyu, not far away, felt a jolt go through his forehead upon hearing these words.
What utter nonsense! It would only push the young woman further away.
Lan Murou's heart could no longer be stirred by his words.
She peered at the darkening sky, a silent sorrow surfacing in her heart.
She had thought she would finally see Ayuan, but it was all a delusion. She would never see him again in this lifetime!
"Tantai Ye, I'm pregnant."
What?!
Tantai Ye was stunned by her words.
Pregnant?!
After a moment, an overwhelming wave of joy washed over him.
With a child, perhaps she would be willing to return to him.
Lan Murou looked at his expression calmly, her own face serene.
She had only discovered it a couple of days ago. She had been vomiting on the boat, and luckily, there was a doctor in the entourage. She had secretly consulted him and learned she was pregnant, about a month along.
The love flower made conception difficult, but after stopping the medication, her body gradually recovered.
Estimating the time, it must have been the night before Madam Yuehua took her away; he had taken what he wanted, and she had conceived directly.
But she hadn't expected that even after taking poison and attempting suicide, the child would still be alive.
She lowered her eyes slightly, reaching out to touch her belly, a hint of unspeakable sorrow flashing across her lips.
"You're pregnant, so why are you still making a fuss? Come here."
Tantai Ye's expression softened considerably, and a hint of undisguised joy appeared in his usually cold eyes.
His child with her. It was their child.
He didn't know how to describe his feelings at that moment.
Before, he had disliked anyone else holding claim to her, and he hadn't wanted her to conceive. But now, he desperately wanted a child, a bond between them, so she wouldn't leave him again.
"Ruo'er, we'll get married as soon as we return. I won't let anyone harm you. Be good, come here."
Lan Murou slowly raised her gaze to him, pressing the saber against her heart. "Don't come closer."
Seeing her action, Tantai Ye stopped and immediately flicked a hidden weapon, intending to knock the dagger away.
But she instantly pushed the blade deeper, terrifying him into stillness.
An unspeakable rage churned within him.
Tantai Ye forcefully suppressed his temper and spoke in a gentle tone.
"Whatever you want, I'll give it to you. Stop this."
Making a fuss?!
Lan Murou looked coldly at his face, scorn flashing in her eyes.
He would never know how much humiliation she had endured during those years in Shangjing.
He would also never know how much she hated being threatened by him, the pain of being unable to see her family.
She wanted to ensure he would have no peace for the rest of his life!
This was her punishment for him!
"Tantai Ye, you never knew, did you."
Dressed in white, she stood by the boat, her slender figure and flowing sleeves like delicate snow on a branch.
But her usually gentle eyes held a frigidity she had never shown before as she looked at him.
Tantai Ye tightened his grip on his hidden weapon. "Knew what?"
"I once loved you!"
"I loved the young man who conquered battlefields and rode in shining armor, and I also loved the War God General who galloped across the land for half a lifetime."