Who would have thought that in a place she believed to be very safe, a lunatic would be sitting at the head of her bed in the middle of the night, staring at her ominously.
It was as terrifying as a nightmare!
"This is Jingyu. How did you get in?"
Ye Luan forced herself to calm down, gripping her knife as she looked at him.
Xie Beihan watched her actions, a faint smile playing on his lips. His shoulders trembled with laughter, a chilling madness evident in the darkness.
His beautiful phoenix eyes stared at her with wicked intensity, as if veiled with mist.
Ye Luan felt a chill run down her spine.
Why the hell was he smiling?
It was eerie!
She quickly pulled her clothes tighter and drew the quilt up, revealing only her smooth, jade-like face.
Fortunately, she didn't have the habit of sleeping naked, so she wasn't exposed.
"Did the Crown Prince risk coming here just to scare me?"
"This Palace came to see how its Crown Princess is doing in someone else's home?"
He looked at her, smiling, exuding a palpable danger that sent shivers down her spine.
Ye Luan, hearing his sarcasm, was momentarily stunned. She then reached out from under the covers and quickly grabbed her outer robe from the bedside, wrapping it around herself.
Xie Beihan watched her every move quietly, his smile unchanging.
But that smile was truly enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Ye Luan knew that people who had long held positions of power possessed a strong desire to conquer.
He was displeased with her actions.
She said calmly, "We both know it's all a pretense. You promised to give me a travel permit, and I cooperated with your act. Now, I don't need it anymore. Our transaction is over."
"As for the Crown Prince's life-saving grace, I have no way to repay it. Once I earn money, I will certainly return ten thousand taels."
"Does this Palace lack your paltry sum of silver?"
His expression was cold, a chill that penetrated to the bone.
"You say it's over, and it's over? What do you take this Palace for?"
Ye Luan replied, "I no longer need the Crown Prince to process my travel permit, nor will I cooperate with your act. Is there a problem with that? Moreover, the agreed-upon month has passed, and I have fulfilled my promise."
Xie Beihan looked at her calmly, his face expressionless.
His usually sinister features conveyed a coldness that was ingrained to the bone.
Ye Luan felt uncomfortable under his gaze.
"You are the Crown Princess this Palace has declared to the public, and the Imperial Astronomical Bureau is even preparing an imperial decree. You now tell me it's over?!"
Was it her who made him speak such nonsense?
Hadn't he himself deliberately spread rumors to provoke Xiao Chizhan?
Ye Luan felt like a pawn, caught in the middle and suffering the consequences.
"Xie Beihan, you were the one who deliberately spread rumors to anger Xiao Chizhan. You knew I was just acting with you. You should have considered the consequences when you made this decision. I can't possibly act with you forever."
He was counting on her not being able to get the travel permit and leave, nor would she beg Xiao Chizhan for help, thus leaving her at his mercy to marry him.
Unfortunately, his plan was about to fall through.
If Xiao Chizhan couldn't control her, Xie Beihan wouldn't be able to either!
"You are here questioning me now; you are just being unreasonable."
After speaking, Ye Luan remembered that he had indeed saved her life and helped her obtain a false identity. She felt a pang of discomfort and her expression softened.
"You owe me a life-saving debt. Whatever you want, as long as I can do it, I will help the Crown Prince achieve it."
Xie Beihan suddenly leaned forward, grabbing her chin. His sinister face displayed a terrifyingly eerie expression.
"I want you to lie beneath me, spread your legs for me. Can you do that?"
A cold smile flickered in Ye Luan's eyes. He had such a handsome face, yet he could utter such shameless words.
She fiercely threw his hand away and cursed.
"Disgusting."
He laughed instead of getting angry, his laughter chilling.
"Break up with him and marry me, or neither of you will ever leave Northern Qi."
Ye Luan looked at his sinister and ruthless eyes, a tremor running down her spine.
She gripped her knife and asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll call in all the dark guards?"
"Will you?" he asked. "If I die, can you leave Northern Qi?"
"----"
Seeing her silence, Xie Beihan raised an eyebrow slightly, stood up, and began to unfasten his belt.
"Are you sick? What are you doing?"
Ye Luan looked at his actions in horror and quickly tried to get out of bed.
Xie Beihan grabbed her arm and flung her back onto the bed, his eyes filled with a playful, perverted smile.
"I really want to taste what it's like to have you in his room right now."
Damn it.
This crazy pervert.
"You're truly desperate. If you dare to move again, I'll really call for help."
He didn't seem to care at all.
"Go ahead and call. It will just let Xiao Chizhan see how you writhe and moan beneath me."
Ye Luan, "---"
He had gone mad. Not sleeping in the middle of the night, but coming here to throw a fit.
What had gotten into him? What an idiot.
Seeing that he was really about to make a move, she immediately shouted to the outside, "Xueren."
"Xueren?!"
There was no response from outside.
"What did you do? Where are they?"
Xie Beihan smiled faintly. "Hmm, perhaps they're dead."
Ye Luan gritted her teeth. "Xie Beihan, don't go crazy. Look at yourself now, are you even human?"
"This Palace has never been human; I am inherently wicked. Are you afraid?"
His cold smile was like that of a venomous snake.
Ye Luan kicked him angrily, but he restrained her ankles and shamelessly fondled them.
"Aren't you disgusted?"
Xie Beihan pinched her foot, a flicker of anger in his eyes. "You find me so disgusting, where do I fall short compared to him?"
"Everywhere."
Both of them were scoundrels, crazy lunatics, six of one and half a dozen of the other.
"If you dare to touch me again, I'll die for you to see."
Xie Beihan looked at her resolute action of holding the knife to her own heart and let out a cold laugh of anger.
He pulled with force, dragging her down with the quilt.
Ye Luan pressed the hilt of her knife firmly against him, creating distance.
"Don't force me."
"Do you believe I'll ensure you truly cannot leave Northern Qi?"
He was threatening her!
Ye Luan sneered, "If the Crown Prince still wants to fight against Da Liang, then feel free."
If the Prince of Dingbei were to die in Northern Qi, how could Da Liang let it slide?
As long as they weren't completely insane, they wouldn't kill each other.
Hearing her dismissive words, Xie Beihan lowered his eyes slightly, glancing at her, and a few sinister laughs erupted from his chest.
"Ye Luan, I truly want to take you back to the Eastern Palace and imprison you now. My biggest regret is letting you have your way back then."
Ye Luan remained silent, coldly pushing him away.
But he just held her waist, refusing to let go.
"Luan Luan--"
At that moment, Xiao Chizhan's voice suddenly came from outside.
Ye Luan was startled and immediately said, "Quick, hide in the cabinet. If he comes in, he'll kill you."
She didn't want these two lunatics to fight.
Not to mention that they were on Northern Qi's territory, and they might not win. Even if they did, once they left, with Xiao Chizhan's temperament, he would turn around and attack Northern Qi.
In that case, the border would be in turmoil, the people would be displaced and suffer immensely.
She truly didn't want a war to start, partly because of her.
"He abducted this Palace's Crown Princess. If he isn't afraid, why should this Palace be?"