No!
Jiang Yu clamped her knees tightly shut, her spring-drenched eyes glaring stubbornly at him.
She was trembling all over, fully aware of her sensations, yet she refused to bend, not even willing to speak a single soft word.
What had changed her so?
On their wedding night, she had been so frail, so fearful as she curled up, yet she never said “no.”
She merely held back her tears and slowly accepted him.
But now, why did she push him away again and again?
Why was it suddenly unacceptable?
An inexplicable rage surged through Pei Xiao. He forcibly parted her knees and leaned over her.
“Ah!” Jiang Yu finally let out a sharp cry, as if assaulted by a beast, her body feeling as though it were being torn apart.
Pei Xiao had only breached a sliver of her defenses, not truly taking her.
Yet he could clearly sense her unwillingness to accept him—or rather, her disgust and rejection.
Was he some kind of pest?
He folded her legs back, forcing her to face him in the most explicit manner.
For Jiang Yu, this was an immense humiliation. Her legs thrashed uncontrollably, and she would rather fall off the table than endure it.
The incense table was half a person’s height.
As she fell, the sound of hairpins clattering to the ground echoed through the room.
Jiang Yu rolled on the floor, her foot colliding with a stool.
Ignoring the injury to her leg, she stumbled outward, desperate to escape the space filled with his presence.
“Yu’er, where do you think you’re going?”
Where could she possibly go?
Pei Xiao didn’t chase her, merely watching her panicked retreat with detached indifference.
Jiang Yu didn’t know where she could go either, only that she couldn’t bear to stay with him!
Clutching her torn collar, she staggered through the dimly lit room like a headless fly.
Finally, she found the door and rushed out without a second thought.
She actually dared to run!
Pei Xiao flicked his sleeve, and a strong gust of wind slammed the door shut.
Jiang Yu nearly crashed headfirst into it.
Pei Xiao pulled her back, and she collided with his chest, her vision swimming with stars.
Pei Xiao looked down at the panicked rabbit thrashing in his arms, disbelief washing over him.
She was such a refined lady—usually, if her clothes showed the slightest sign of wear, she wouldn’t touch them again.
But now, she would rather run outside in tattered garments than share a room with him?
“Why?” He gripped Jiang Yu’s chin, staring into her tear-streaked face.
Why else?
Status and background might be secondary, but he had deceived her!
That gentle, jade-like husband had only ever treated her as a pet.
When she was obedient, he coaxed her; when she wasn’t, he forced her, reducing her to such a pitiful state!
How could she continue to love him?
“Nothing! I’d rather be laughed at by strangers than do it with you…”
“You are my wife. You have no say in the matter!” Pei Xiao tightened his grip, cutting off her words.
Jiang Yu’s hands stubbornly tried to pry his fingers away.
His palm was like an iron clamp, impossible for her to budge, yet she refused to give up.
As they struggled, Pei Xiao’s palm touched something warm and sticky, the sensation burning him into releasing his hold.
Pei Xiao examined his hand under the moonlight streaming through the window—it was stained with blood, trickling steadily between his fingers.
Frowning, he turned back to find Jiang Yu swaying unsteadily before collapsing softly.
Pei Xiao scooped her up by the waist. “Jiang Yu!”
Jiang Yu didn’t respond or struggle, lying peacefully in his arms like a lifeless ragdoll.
Pei Xiao felt more sticky liquid on her body—it was everywhere!
His eyelids twitched as he carried Jiang Yu to the daybed and lit a lamp.Jiang Yu lay on the couch, her clothes in disarray, the goose-yellow skirt spread out beneath her, dotted with bloodstains.
The hem of the skirt was particularly stained with blood.
Clearly, the wound on her ankle had reopened.
Great Master Huijue had warned that if the injury kept recurring, she would surely end up crippled.
Wasn’t she always pampered? Why was she being so stubborn now?
“Jiang Yu? Jiang Yu?” Pei Xiao called her repeatedly, but there was no response.
Her face was as pale as paper, as if she had fainted.
Pei Xiao’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly sat by the couch to feel her forehead.
His breath washed over her, and Jiang Yu instantly woke, shrinking into the corner of the bed. She hugged her knees, her disheveled black hair falling over her face. “Don’t come near, don’t come near…”
Even after three years together, Pei Xiao had never seen her in such a wretched state.
Blood continued to seep through her socks.
Pei Xiao, with nowhere to vent his frustration, said gruffly, “Let me see your leg.”
At those simple words, Jiang Yu trembled violently like a sieve. “Get out!”
Pei Xiao narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning cold. “If your leg is injured, you’re the one who’ll suffer…”
Jiang Yu ignored him, gritting her teeth as she shakily tried to stand.
Suddenly, a gust of night wind blew in.
Jiang Yu collapsed back onto the floor.
“Knocked over by a breeze, and still causing trouble?”
She was becoming more and more disobedient!
Pei Xiao rose angrily and blocked her path.
She looked up at him, but unlike her usual docile self, there was a fierce determination in her eyes. Supporting her injured leg, she tried repeatedly to stand.
Even if she fell, she refused to utter a single plea for his help.
“You…” Pei Xiao gritted his teeth and stepped forward forcefully.
Jiang Yu shrank back, leaving a trail of bloody footprints on the floor, which Pei Xiao nearly stepped on.
When had she become so strong-willed?
In her frail, half-dead state, as if ready to snap in the wind, who would even be interested?
Pei Xiao took off his outer robe and tossed it to her, sighing in resignation. “Put this on!”
Jiang Yu’s vision was obscured as the robe landed on her head. She pulled it off.
Then she heard him add, “After all, you’re my woman. How could I let outsiders see you like this?”
!
Jiang Yu flung the cloak back at him.
Pei Xiao was just stepping out for some fresh air when the heavy cloak struck him in the waist.
Stumbling, he turned back, but Jiang Yu had already buried her face in her knees.
Not much courage, but quite the temper!
Pei Xiao opened his mouth to speak, but seeing her curled into a ball, he ultimately said nothing and stormed off with a flick of his sleeve.
Pei Xiao stood under the corridor, letting the wind cool him, but his heart remained clouded.
He glanced at the frail shadow cast on the window, pondered for a moment, and then strode into the night.
He hesitated before a dilapidated wooden door.
Several times he raised his hand to knock, but withdrew it each time.
“The medicine is ready.”
Great Master Huijue’s voice came from inside the room.
The shadow behind the window pointed toward the door. “The lady has had a fright. Give her some calming medicine to prevent her from dreaming of vicious dogs biting people in the middle of the night.”
Pei Xiao’s temple throbbed.
Since when did even Huijue speak with such sarcasm?
“Were you eavesdropping?”
Huijue chanted, “Amitabha.”
With all the commotion Pei Xiao and Jiang Yu had made in the room, was eavesdropping even necessary?
“Instead of being suspicious, Benefactor Pei, you should go back and comfort your wife properly. Don’t end up filled with regret.”
Pei Xiao was tired of hearing this advice. Ignoring him, he went straight to pick up the medicine pot.
But as soon as his fingers touched the scalding pot, he flinched and withdrew his hand into his sleeve. “You take the medicine to her!”
“Did the lady scold you?”
“How dare she!” Pei Xiao retorted indignantly. “She deceived me first! How does she have any right to be angry?”Huijue rarely heard him sound so aggrieved. Rising to open the door, he examined Pei Xiao’s dejected appearance with amusement. “Instead of hurrying home to appease her at a time like this, why come here acting unreasonable?”
Pei Xiao parted his lips, then snorted coldly. “I have urgent matters! No time for this!”
With that, Pei Xiao stormed off in a swirl of sleeves.
Watching his retreating figure, Huijue suddenly understood. “So it’s like that—you’ve been thrown out by your wife?”