After a long time, the outside was bright, and birds chirped.
Inside, everything had calmed down.
Tantai Ye leaned back comfortably against the bed, glancing down.
She was lying there, her mouth slightly open, her face flushed, her eyes glistening with moisture, a few strands of hair at her temples damp, looking utterly ravaged.
He reached out with his calloused hand and squeezed hard, smiling faintly, "So delicate!"
Lan Murou desperately wanted to roll her eyes at him, but she still didn't dare.
His threat had deeply and firmly ensnared her. Towards him, she felt mostly obedience and fear.
"Are you hungry?"
She softly hummed an affirmative.
Tantai Ye put on his robe, got out of bed, flung open the quilt, and lifted her into his arms.
"What are you doing?"
She gasped in surprise.
"First, we bathe, clean you up, then eat."
-----
Ye Luan had been staying at the Shen manor for several days. Old Master Shen, perhaps at Xie Beihan's command, never disturbed her, and no one in the manor dared to bully her.
With nothing else to do, she sat in the courtyard with Xueqiu, reading a book.
The afternoon sun streamed down, falling on her face as if a thin layer of light had been applied.
"Miss, the Crown Prince has arrived."
Outside, a wet nurse's voice could be heard.
Ye Luan raised her eyes, "Where?"
"Over by the cold pavilion."
"Alright, I understand."
Ye Luan picked up Xueqiu and went to the cold pavilion. As soon as she arrived, she saw him standing by the pond, feeding the fish. Several young ladies from the manor were fawning over him, chatting and laughing.
Xie Beihan's sinister face held a faint smile, but upon closer inspection, the depths of his phoenix eyes revealed spreading ice-cold ferocity.
"Oh, you've arrived. What is that thing you're holding."
He turned and looked over, a chilling smile curving his lips.
Ye Luan walked calmly towards him, "A cat."
"So fat, one might think you're holding a pig."
Xueqiu: "----"
Xie Beihan smiled and reached out to tease it, "Come, let me have a look."
The moment his slender, handsome hand reached out, a predatory glint flashed in Xueqiu's eyes. With a hiss, it opened its mouth and bit down hard on his hand.
"Hiss"
Ye Luan was astonished and quickly tried to pry Xueqiu's mouth open.
Xie Beihan withdrew his hand, looking at the two beads of blood on his finger. His phoenix eyes flashed with a fierce yet excited smile.
"Still a little wild cat. This habit is not good. Did you learn it from your owner?"
Xueqiu glared at him with its round eyes, baring its teeth in dissatisfaction.
Ye Luan frowned. Had the cat learned bad habits from being around Xiao Chizhan for too long?
"Miss Ye, this beast actually dared to bite the Crown Prince. It should be dragged out and beaten to death."
Several young ladies beside them looked at Ye Luan with displeasure. This woman was too beautiful, so beautiful it was almost aggressive.
If the Crown Prince truly married her and made her his Crown Princess, even if they married into the Eastern Palace, they would find it hard to gain favor.
Ye Luan pursed her lips and smacked Xueqiu hard on its backside.
"Your Highness, it's just shy of strangers. I apologize."
Unexpectedly, before Xie Beihan could speak, a woman in a pink silk dress, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, said coquettishly.
"A beast is a beast, it might bite someone else someday. Miss Ye has been staying in our manor for several days; she doesn't seem like someone who doesn't understand propriety."
She wanted to annoy Ye Luan, to make her angry to death.
At this moment, Xie Beihan suddenly chuckled. He wiped the blood from his hands with his handkerchief and turned back with a devilish grin.
"Third Miss speaks correctly. A beast is a beast. If it says the wrong thing or does the wrong thing, it should be dragged out and killed."
Shen Hua, seeing the Crown Prince speaking to her directly, was excited and smug. She shot a provocative glance at Ye Luan opposite her and was about to say something when she heard.
"Guards, drag her out and beat her to death."
A voice laced with danger and malice echoed around them. Soon, guards burst in, grabbed the still smug Shen Hua, who was greatly startled.
"What are you doing? You've got the wrong person."
The other young ladies were aghast and quickly knelt on the ground, "Your Highness, spare us."
The Crown Prince's cruel methods were well-known throughout Yanjing. They had been too carried away, losing their composure in front of the Crown Prince.
Xie Beihan leaned down, pinching Shen Hua's chin, his voice exceptionally gentle.
"I, the Crown Prince, detest dogs barking in front of my people."
He smiled cruelly, "Drag her away."
"Oh, and cut out her tongue, so she stops making such unpleasant noises."
"Yes."
The others knelt on the ground, trembling, not daring to say another word.
Shen Hua's shrill screams soon disappeared into the garden.
Ye Luan looked at the man whose face was devoid of any warmth, her palms turning white.
"You may leave."
"Yes."
The other young ladies left, trembling.
Xie Beihan looked at her playfully, "Why aren't you speaking?"
Ye Luan suppressed her fear and looked at him calmly, "Has the Crown Prince brought the travel permit he promised me?"
"Tsk." Xie Beihan habitually lowered his head to look at her, a careless smile on his lips. "It's not time yet, why the hurry?"
"Then why did the Crown Prince ask to see me?"
"I missed you, wanted to see you."
Ye Luan ignored his flirtatious words and asked calmly, "Why did the Crown Prince publicly announce he was marrying me?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Beihan chuckled faintly, with a hint of nonchalant teasing, "To make him angry, doesn't that please you?"
She truly believed his nonsense!
He had enmity with Xiao Chizhan, likely a deep feud. Caught between them, she had become mere cannon fodder.
"The Crown Prince doesn't need to ruin his reputation to help me. He won't come looking for me again."
Xiao Chizhan was a germaphobe; how could he shamelessly pursue a woman who had been intimate with another, even if it was fake?
"You are truly heartless. I saved your life, helped you with your identity, and helped you provoke him, yet you show me no kindness."
He twitched the corner of his mouth, his gaze towards her carrying a hint of teasing, but Ye Luan could clearly see the obsessive pathology churning in the depths of his eyes.
Her alarm bells rang; this fellow was fundamentally no different from Xiao Chizhan.
He was simply better at pretending than that madman Xiao Chizhan, patient enough to play with her.
If he lost his patience and decided to deal with her, she would have no power to resist, left to be slaughtered. If he locked her in the Eastern Palace, she would be truly doomed.
She was now walking on thin ice.
But she was helpless. Without a travel permit, she couldn't leave. She was surrounded by Xie Beihan's hidden guards, and he wouldn't let her go easily.
Unless... she sought Xiao Chizhan's help.
Damn it.
She really didn't want to bother with any of it anymore. Whatever. Let them do as they pleased.
"Little girl, why have you gone quiet?"
Ye Luan said, "The Crown Prince is using me to deal with Xiao Chizhan. I'm cooperating with your act. We're just getting what we need. The Crown Prince doesn't need to pretend to be so deeply affectionate."
"As for the Crown Prince saving my life, that's a debt I owe you. Once I have money, I will thank the Crown Prince properly."
After speaking, Xie Beihan laughed heartily, teasing, "How do you know I'm not sincere?"
"Someone like the Crown Prince will be a qualified emperor in the future."
Someone like Xie Beihan, who was heartless, emotionless, and strategic, was most suited to be an emperor.
Xie Beihan remained silent, watching her with a smile.
Ye Luan picked up the still baring-toothed Xueqiu and slowly walked out, "Since the Crown Prince is fine, I'll be going back now."
"In two days, there's a banquet at the palace. Accompany me."
"Alright."
She would cooperate with him.
After Ye Luan finished speaking, she left.
She walked along the bluestone path, and as she rounded the rockery, a hand suddenly reached out from behind.
Startled, she was about to draw her knife when the person roughly grabbed her, pulled her in, and pressed her against the stone wall.
"You had quite a nice chat with him."
-----
ps: I've noticed that not many people leave comments.