Two strong wet nurses immediately pulled Ye Luan away.
Ye Luan glared at Xiao Chi Zhan. The amusement in his eyes was clearly telling her to soften and beg for mercy, but Ye Luan refused to appease him today.
She kicked away the wet nurses, snatched the knife from a guard's hand, and plunged it fiercely into her own abdomen.
The scene unfolded too quickly.
Everyone was shocked. They had never imagined she would be so resolute.
"Miss!"
Xiao Chi Zhan moved like a phantom, his crimson eyes containing a destructive, furious aura.
He grabbed the knife with his hand, blood gushing onto his palm, falling mixed with the rain.
But he seemed to feel no pain. He tossed the knife aside, a low, chilling laugh rumbling from his throat. The icy venom was more terrifying than the downpour.
"You are simply courting death!"
Ye Luan sneered, looking at him stubbornly.
She had gambled correctly.
He still couldn't bear to part with her.
"Very well, you've been pretending for so long, you can't keep it up anymore, can you?"
Her arm was tightly gripped by him, and she was so close she could see the killing intent in his eyes.
"You dream of leaving this prince!"
His sinister voice carried a trace of morbid obsession. "Even if you die, this prince will not let go."
He dragged her along, her crimson skirt trailing alluringly on the ground. She swayed unsteadily as he pulled her, the rain lashing down on both of them.
Ye Luan glanced at the blood on his hand, averting her gaze.
She was not wrong.
She wanted to kill those who had humiliated her, wanted to escape this cage. She was not wrong.
A few days prior, a major event had occurred in the capital. Elder Yu was accused of colluding with the enemy and betraying the nation. The Emperor ordered the execution of his entire clan.
However, Elder Yu publicly incited rebellion and assassinated the Prince of Dingbei in court. During his suppression, dozens of his family members hanged themselves in the main residence.
Under the eaves, bright red blood flowed onto the ground with the rain. Paper lanterns carved with beautiful women adorned the entire Yu mansion.
"Do you see, Ye Luan? If you dare to leave this prince again, the Ye family, the Bai family, and even your little maid will meet the same fate."
A sinister, chilling aura pressed in, his sharp eyes piercingly fixing on her.
Ye Luan looked at the courtyard filled with lanterns of beautiful women and fell silent.
"My dear, restrain your sharpness, your unruly temper. Stay by this prince's side obediently, and this prince will bestow upon you the highest favor."
The deep, cold words pierced her heart like a bloody knife.
Ye Luan glared at him, her eyes bloodshot. Her perfectly shaped nails dug deeply into her palm, leaving red marks on her fair, delicate skin.
Xiao Chi Zhan, you never understood.
How I loathe your power, how I detest your arrogance.
His authority constantly reminded her that it was impossible to defy the emperor's will.
She was merely the daughter of a lowly official. With just a look from him, he could destroy her. She wished to fly, but she could never escape.
She was destined to become his plaything.
Dream on!
Xiao Chi Zhan, you are dreaming!
So what if it's like a mantis trying to stop a chariot? She would never be confined to the prince's mansion and wither away.
She had to leave.
Ye Luan fell ill. She became sick after returning from the Yu mansion.
One day, Xiao Chi Zhan returned to the mansion and was stopped behind the purple bamboo screen.
"Your humble subject is gravely ill and fears infecting Your Highness with her sickness. Please do not enter."
Xiao Chi Zhan's eyes darkened. "This prince is not even holding you accountable for the poisoning. What temper are you throwing?"
'Your humble subject did not poison anyone.'
"Heh." Xiao Chi Zhan touched the jade thumb ring on his finger and said lightly, "You truly covered your tracks flawlessly."
The pearl curtains and shadows were heavy. The bitter scent of medicine mingled with her cool aroma, filling the inner chamber. Xiao Chi Zhan ignored the obstruction and strode in.
Ye Luan leaned by the bedside, her expression weak.
"In this state, I'm afraid I can no longer please with my appearance."
She was smiling, yet her laughter was tinged with coldness. Her captivating eyes were like pear blossoms scattered in a clear river, broken all over the ground.
Xiao Chi Zhan sat beside her, lifting her chin. He smiled terrifyingly.
"Less than a month, and you're already dying to leave. If I'd known, why play that game? It would have been more satisfying to just kill you."
Ye Luan knew she was in the wrong and lowered her gaze, remaining silent.
"Do you think by deliberately making yourself look like this, this prince will let you go?"
He would never let her leave. He wanted to confine her to the prince's mansion, for eternity.
"Haven't I treated you well? Why do you always want to leave?"
Ye Luan glanced at him, feeling a desire to laugh.
Someone like him, she supposed, would never understand respect.
Confining her to the prince's mansion like a plaything, without her own thoughts, was that treating her well?
Back then, she had fallen into degradation to save her life. She had nothing to say.
But now, things had changed.
Ye Luan curled her lips into a cold smile. "Is it treating me well for Your Highness to keep me in the prince's mansion without any title or status? Do you know what the outside world says about me, about the Duke's mansion?"
"So you want to run, to leave the prince's mansion."
Ye Luan smiled wider. "Yes."
Xiao Chi Zhan also smiled. "A daughter of a fourth-rank official, offering you a position as a secondary consort is also a high honor."
"Your humble subject knows she is not worthy. Would it not be better for Your Highness to release your humble subject?"
Xiao Chi Zhan's eyes turned as dark as the night. He stood up, towering over her, and pinched her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
Their breaths mingled.
She calmly looked at the man suppressing his rage before her.
"Let you go? This prince will compensate you well, treat you well, and bestow upon you the highest favor. Why do you always think of leaving me?"
Ye Luan gave a sarcastic smile. "Should your humble subject kneel and kowtow to thank Your Highness for such suffocating favor?"
As the words fell, Xiao Chi Zhan's face contorted, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Suffocating? Does being by this prince's side suffocate you?"
Ye Luan opened her mouth. "I only wish for a peaceful life. If Your Highness would be willing to let me leave today, your humble subject would be eternally grateful."
Time and again, she sought to leave him.
Xiao Chi Zhan felt a surge of anger rush to his head. He raised his foot and kicked the purple bamboo screen into pieces, roaring uncontrollably.
"You want to leave so badly, do you really think this prince can't do without you?"
"I can have any woman I want. It's not like I'm particularly fond of you; there are plenty like you in the capital."
Her heart clenched suddenly.
Ye Luan felt as if her heart had been frozen by shards of ice, causing a cramping, numb pain.
She quickly dug her nails into her palm, arming herself with reason and composure against the burgeoning emotions within her, watching his furious outburst with mechanical eyes.
"The women this prince has been with, who in this world dares to want them? If you have the backbone to leave the prince's mansion today, this prince will make your life worse than death."
Threatening her again.
A faint smile appeared on Ye Luan's face.
"May Your Highness's wish come true, and may this humble subject's life be worse than death."
Outside the window, the sky was bright and clear.
Her smile was blinding.
"Good!"
"Very good!"
"Ye Luan, you are very good."
Xiao Chi Zhan laughed in exasperation, his laughter somewhat eerie and chilling.
He leaned close to her ear. "This prince waits for the day you beg me to let you return."
No, he would never let her go!
He waited for the day she would beg him to return, and when that day came, she would never be allowed to leave, only to stay by his side day and night.