But she knew in her heart that Xiao Chizhan's temper was stubborn; no one could change what he had decided.
He truly would not let her go, and even if they argued, he would not allow it.
Yet, she had to go.
Thinking this, Ye Luan threw off the quilt and sat up.
Xiao Chizhan immediately took down her clothes from the rack and handed them to her.
Ye Luan dressed in silence, her body covered in dense red marks a reminder of the previous night's fervor. She furrowed her brows.
She truly couldn't bear his desire anymore; her legs were still trembling.
"I'm returning to the Bai manor first. You go ahead and tend to your business."
As she spoke, Xiao Chizhan suddenly lunged forward, his arm encircling her and pinning her beneath him, kissing her fiercely.
Ye Luan, angry, kicked him and bit his lips.
Xiao Chizhan cried out in pain but did not let go, kissing her with desperate passion, caressing and pinching, his fierce voice echoing within the curtains.
"I'll wear you out until you can't get out of bed. Then, let's see if you can go anywhere?"
Ye Luan could feel his ferocity acutely; her bones felt as though they were about to melt. She glanced at the book.
Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, but she knew his temperament, so she could only appease him. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and took the initiative to kiss the corner of his lips.
"I won't go, I won't go."
Xiao Chizhan heard her concede, paused his actions, a smile blooming on his face, his entire aura of hostility seeming to vanish instantly, his eyes filled with a shimmering light.
A hint of suspicion flashed in his eyes, "Really?"
Ye Luan nodded, "Mm."
Xiao Chizhan knew she was skilled at deception and didn't believe her.
"Then come to the palace with me."
"The palace is too boring. I want to go back and see Grandmother."
"Luan Luan, don't lie to me. You said before that we should be honest with each other and not to lie."
Ye Luan's heart skipped a beat, a surge of bitterness rising within her, but she showed no outward signs of it, glaring at him.
"Climbing up the ladder by leeching onto authority, spoiled by favor."
In the past, when they had argued like that, he still had to pretend, fearing she might try to kill herself. Now, it was different; he didn't fear anything.
Xiao Chizhan paused, then pulled her waist and pressed her into his embrace, burying his head in her neck, his voice low and hoarse.
"You can only control me."
Ye Luan was stunned and lowered her gaze.
He was so possessive. If she really left secretly, would he go mad?
Thinking this, she paused, then looked up at him, speaking sincerely, "A dead person is like an extinguished lamp; all that has passed is scattered like smoke. He had no close family when he was alive. We knew each other, and I truly want to see him off."
Xiao Chizhan remained silent, holding her tightly.
She whispered softly in his ear, "Will you allow it?"
"No!"
Whether it was before or now, she always cared about Lu Feibo, and always would.
Lu Feibo was always more important than him.
A sinister glint suddenly appeared in Xiao Chizhan's eyes, and he held her even tighter.
"No one is allowed!"
Ye Luan, "---"
She said nothing further and pushed him away.
"Let's go."
Xiao Chizhan looked at her, "Don't even think about sneaking away. You won't be able to leave the capital."
Ye Luan hummed in response, remaining silent.
Seeing her demeanor, Xiao Chizhan felt a surge of unease. He took her hand and started walking outside.
"I don't want to go to the palace."
Her voice turned cold. kanδん
Xiao Chizhan was silent for a moment, "Then I'll accompany you in the Northern Palace."
"Don't you have to go to the military headquarters?"
"No."
Ye Luan, "---"
She shook off his hand, turned, and returned to the inner chambers.
Xiao Chizhan watched her indifferent retreating figure, his lips pursed slightly, and then called for meals.
Ye Luan nestled on the soft couch in the inner chambers, her gaze slightly lost in thought.
Lu Feibo!
Lu Feibo!
He was truly dead.
Her eyes couldn't help but well up, her clear black and white pupils gradually moistening.
That gentle and jade-like young man, she would never see him again.
Suffering from congenital frost disease, he had been in extreme pain before he died.
The more Ye Luan thought about it, the more distressed she became; her heart felt like it was being churned with shards of ice, causing her pain.
"A Luan, live well."
His clear, resonant voice echoed in her ears, and all the past events surfaced before her eyes.
Ye Luan pressed her forehead with her hand, curling herself into a ball.
The moment Xiao Chizhan entered, he saw her covering her face in distress, his brows instantly knitting with coldness.
"Come and eat."
His deep, pleasant voice suddenly sounded.
Ye Luan came back to her senses, quickly suppressing her emotions, and got off the couch.
Xiao Chizhan reached out to embrace her, but she immediately dodged him and sat on the other side.
His gaze deepened abruptly, and he walked over to sit beside her as if it were natural.
"I'll hold you while you eat."
Ye Luan slowly drank her porridge, "I don't want to."
Xiao Chizhan lowered his eyelids, a layer of shadow seeming to spread beneath his lashes, his pupils reflecting a chill.
He silently picked up dishes for her and scooped soup.
After Ye Luan finished eating quietly, she went to the medical pavilion.
Xiao Chizhan was very busy. Seeing that she was staying obediently in the Northern Palace, he breathed a sigh of relief and went to the council hall.
The Northern Palace was heavily guarded; he was suspicious and guarded against her.
Wherever Ye Luan went, she could sense secret guards following her, and even when she returned to the Bai manor, guards were stationed there.
With no other recourse for a while, she became cold towards him.
Xiao Chizhan couldn't stand her indifference and tried various ways to appease her, but it was no use.
Ye Luan did not want to live with him, nor did she want him to keep climbing over the walls of the Bai manor every day. So, she went to live in a small courtyard in Willow Lane.
When Xiao Chizhan climbed through the window, she was sitting at her desk, fiddling with the mechanism on a brocade box.
She had discovered it by chance, and she didn't know what Lu Feibo had placed inside.
The sound of extremely quiet footsteps approached, startling her. She immediately hid the brocade box.
"Luan Luan."
Ye Luan ignored him and flipped through the medical books on the table.
Xiao Chizhan walked over and reached out to touch her.
Ye Luan directly dodged him, "Is something wrong?"
For several days, she had been consistently cold.
The anger suppressed in Xiao Chizhan's heart was about to spiral out of control. He was silent for a moment, then his fingertip subtly brushed her hair.
"Come back with me."
Ye Luan said faintly, "I'm quite comfortable living here."
"Are you giving me the cold shoulder?"
His back tensed, his deep red eyes held terrifying anger, falling upon her as if to bore into her bones, burning her little by little, piercing through her.
Ye Luan leaned back in her chair and glanced at him, "Don't I even have the right to not look at you?"
"Don't want to see me?!" Xiao Chizhan's heart suddenly erupted in rage. He suppressed the urge to kill, his vocal cords sounding as if they had been torn, hoarse, "Then who do you want to see? Someone who is dead?"
"Ye Luan, he is dead. He cannot come back to life. All you will see is a pile of bones."
Ye Luan saw the frenzied, fiery glow in his eyes and pursed her lips, remaining silent.
Xiao Chizhan, furious, kicked over a nearby flower stand and questioned her sternly.
"You keep causing trouble with me because of him. Do you still like him?!"
"Xiao Chizhan!"
Ye Luan also lost her temper, standing up abruptly, "Pick up that stand. Who spoiled you with all these bad habits."
"Then tell me, why is he more important than me? I am your husband."
Ye Luan said indignantly, "How many times do I have to tell you, human emotions are not just about love."
"He's dead, dead. Why are you fighting with a dead man?"
Yes, he was dead.
Ye Luan's eyes couldn't help but sting with sorrow. The uncontrollable grief washed over her from every limb, and the bitterness churning in her heart gradually welled up.
Suddenly, her waist was violently pulled, and she was trapped in his embrace, her head forced up.
Xiao Chizhan looked at her reddened eyes, his anger driving him to madness, his internal organs beginning to ache faintly.
He spoke words of threat without thinking, "Ye Luan, if you think of him again, I will dig up his corpse and whip it."