The vast Ju Hua Lou was completely under control, covered in blood.
Xiao Chi Zhan, clad in a snow-white robe and white boots, ascended to the second floor, knife in hand.
He kicked open the dilapidated door and strode inside.
What greeted him was a maiden in a moon-white tunic lying on the floor, her body drenched in blood, her palm-sized face terrifyingly pale.
A sharp pang struck his heart, his blood-red eyes filled with a terrifying thirst for blood.
He threw down the knife and immediately rushed over to embrace her, "Ye Luan?!"
Hearing his voice, Ye Luan slowly opened her eyes.
Damn it.
What was the point of all this swaying?
The blood had splattered.
But she feigned a look of distress, her eyes reddened as she cried out, "Your Highness--"
Seeing her eyes open, Xiao Chi Zhan's deep red pupils contracted sharply, and he pulled her fiercely into his embrace.
"Hiss, it hurts--"
He quickly let go of her, lifted her horizontally, and placed her back on the couch.
"Xue Ren, bring the medicine."
His roaring voice, amplified by internal energy, pierced through the entire pleasure house.
Xue Ren immediately entered with a medicine chest.
Ye Luan's pale lips trembled as she spoke.
"Your--Your Highness, he escaped, he escaped through the secret passage--"
She had to gain Xiao Chi Zhan's trust. This man was too shrewd, too inhumanly intelligent; once he regained his senses, he would undoubtedly become suspicious of her.
"Shut up!"
He suddenly roared at her, then, after dismissing the dark guards, he tore open her clothes and began applying medicine.
Ye Luan gazed at his cold, somber face, a chill creeping up her spine.
Why was he suddenly enraged?!
Xiao Chi Zhan looked at her sword wound, a hint of gloom flashing in his eyes, before raising his head to look at her languidly.
Ye Luan was startled. She had deliberately used Xie Bei Han to inflict the wound, carefully controlling the force. Had he discovered something?
She secretly pinched herself, tears instantly welling up in her eyes. With reddened eyes, she sobbed, "Your Highness, he said you intentionally had him bring me here."
Strike first!
She had to strike first!
Xiao Chi Zhan paused in his application of medicine, his mind flashing to the image of them embracing, his deep eyes flickering with murderous intent.
"He also deliberately pushed me towards the window, pretending to hold me, to make you misunderstand, and he kept speaking ill of you."
He pressed down hard on the wound, and Ye Luan winced twice from the pain.
He sneered and looked up, 'You clearly know each other, you're lying to this King!'
Her delicate red lips instantly turned deathly pale.
Ye Luan was silent for a moment before deliberately looking at him with reddened eyes, and said softly, "It was our first meeting, and he almost strangled me. I don't want to mention him again."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Chi Zhan's eyes darkened, his slightly narrowed red pupils revealing a fierce killing intent.
A moment later, he glared at her, questioning, "Back then, at the temple, who were you with exactly?"
Ye Luan was slightly alarmed internally, but her expression remained unruffled.
"I went to burn incense and pay respects at the temple, and I encountered him being chased. He held me at knifepoint and almost strangled me. I was truly terrified."
He looked up, as if assessing the truth of her words.
"He just stabbed me and wanted to abduct me to threaten you—"
Before she could finish, he coldly stated, "How much of your words are true, and how much are false? Are you saying this now to make this King pity you and let you go?"
Xie Bei Han's ruthlessness was known to everyone in Bei Qi.
Why did he repeatedly spare her? His feelings for her were definitely not as she described.
A cold hand abruptly lifted her chin, his devilishly handsome face mere inches away.
The fierceness in his eyes was unconcealed.
"This King is a man; I can clearly see the possessive, invasive gaze he gave you. What is your relationship?"
Hearing his suspicion, Ye Luan took a deep breath.
She was truly tired.
Let it all be destroyed.
He was too shrewd. Perhaps it was due to his upbringing; he never easily trusted anyone, and he had dissected human nature thoroughly.
She had intended to use his soft spot for her to prevent him from retaliating against her too fiercely.
But this man was truly hard to fool.
She said, "You had him abduct me, deliberately to test me. Now that he hasn't taken me away, aren't you still uneasy?"
She finally understood. If Xie Bei Han took her away, neither of them would be able to leave Youzhou City, let alone Thirteen Capitals.
At that time, if she were captured and brought back, no matter how she acted, with Xiao Chi Zhan's possessiveness and pettiness, he would suspect her of colluding with Xie Bei Han.
Being retorted, Xiao Chi Zhan's expression remained unchanged, but the sinister look in his eyes was impossible to suppress.
"Of course, he wouldn't dare take you. Why would he die in Youzhou for a woman?"
Ye Luan looked at his ferocity and swallowed slightly.
The bleeding from her wound had stopped, and the pain slowly receded.
She extended her jade-like hand, encircling the man's neck, and looked at him with reddened eyes.
"He held me by the throat, bullied me, and even stabbed me. If you don't pity me, you still keep suspecting me--"
After speaking, she buried her head in his neck, fearing that his shrewdness would see through her act.
Xiao Chi Zhan allowed her to hold him and said languidly, "If he wanted to kill you, you would be dead by now."
Ye Luan's back trembled, her voice cold.
'Then aren't you afraid he will really kill me?'
"Heh, he won't touch you. Do you think you can compare to his grand ambitions? If he were to touch you, would this King let him leave Da Liang alive?"
So, from the very beginning, Xiao Chi Zhan knew that Xie Bei Han would not harm her, and she had stabbed herself.
Ye Luan felt a chill from head to toe. His scheming was truly profound.
She feigned distress and said, "Then are you suspecting me of stabbing myself?"
As soon as she spoke, Xiao Chi Zhan roughly pulled her onto his lap, staring intently at her, "Haven't you always been so ruthless?"
"I'm not crazy to stab myself. He deliberately injured me to make you suspect me."
"Besides, he is your enemy. If he captured me, wouldn't he torment me to make you suffer? How could he let go of such a good opportunity?"
"Is that so?"
He caressed her face, his gaze terrifyingly deep.
Ye Luan felt as if she were being stared at by a ferocious predator, about to be torn apart and devoured. A chill ran down her spine.
"Are you telling this King that he wants this King to know that there is affection between you two?"
"-----"
After a long pause, she lay on his shoulder, sobbing softly, "You can suspect whatever you want. If you don't believe me, then so be it."
Whether he believed her or not was already irrelevant.
She was so badly injured; he wouldn't harm her.
She felt truly pathetic, only able to exploit his meager affection and live precariously in this imperial society.
She had to find a way to end this kind of life soon!
The atmosphere in the room was eerily silent.
Xiao Chi Zhan slowly lowered his gaze, looking at her fair, small face devoid of any expression. The scene from moments ago flashed back, and his gaze turned deep and cold.
Suddenly, he grabbed the maiden's soft, slender waist and strode over, pinning her against the window with force.
A fierce, chilling aura descended upon her.
"Was this how he held you just now?"
His cold, deep voice was extremely terrifying.
Ye Luan was startled. Before she could react, he abruptly pulled her, lowered his head, and kissed her.
The familiar scent overwhelmed her. She instinctively pushed him away, but he held her tightly with his hand, restraining her.
Her lower back was pressed against the window, the soft flesh digging in painfully.
His lips tore at hers, his force both wild and ferocious.
"Ooh-- it hurts--"
He ignored her cries, his entire body exuding a ferocious, violent aura as he entwined with her.