[No, no, no! I refuse! The great villain swings both ways and plays around so much. Who knows if he has syphilis? Penicillin hasn’t even been extracted yet. What if I get infected?]
The moment Liu Xiyin realized she couldn’t escape her new identity, she had already made a plan.
She would work hard to act obedient.
She would play the role of an ignorant, harmless country wife.
She would avoid becoming entangled with the story’s important characters as much as possible.
Then, when the right opportunity came, she would divorce him and run away.
But if Yan Changye really took her back to his residence and insisted on consummating the marriage…
Her entire plan would fall apart.
This was literally a matter of life and death!
Yan Changye heard every single one of her thoughts.
Swings both ways… syphilis?
If he really had it, he’d make sure she caught it too.
She wanted the title of his wife while pretending to stay uninvolved?
She was dreaming.
Using all her strength, Liu Xiyin still couldn’t break free from Yan Changye’s grip.
He dragged her out of the Marshal’s Mansion and stuffed her into the vintage sedan waiting outside.
Panting, Liu Xiyin made one last desperate attempt.
“Young Marshal, I know you don’t think highly of me. I’d rather stay at the Marshal’s Mansion and accompany Mother while she prays.”
Ever since Yan Changye had enlisted in the army at twelve, the unfavored Madam Qin had devoted herself to vegetarianism and Buddhist prayers, withdrawing from worldly affairs.
Liu Xiyin believed staying beside Madam Qin was safer than staying with anyone else.
Yan Changye pulled her into his arms and lowered his voice.
“If we don’t consummate our marriage tonight, Young Madam… are you trying to make people look down on you?”
“Or look down on me?”
“Everyone says I’m just a country girl. If the Young Marshal doesn’t like me, then perhaps— Ah!”
Yan Changye suddenly seized the back of her neck.
She let out a startled cry.
“Don’t worry.”
“I may have broad tastes.”
“But country girls have their own kind of fun.”
“I don’t mind.”
!
That pervert!
There was a faint smell of blood lingering on Yan Changye’s clothes.
Liu Xiyin had no idea where it came from.
Held tightly against him, her entire body stiffened in terror.
What do I do?
I don’t want this rotten cucumber.
If I refuse him… will he strangle me on the spot?
Actually… being strangled would probably be easier than being turned into fish food.
In the original novel, Liu Xiyin was nothing more than cannon fodder.
She ultimately ended up chopped into minced meat and fed to fish by the male protagonist.
Waaah…
Yan Changye ordered,
“Drive.”
The chauffeur started the car.
Liu Xiyin sat rigidly on Yan Changye’s lap, not daring to move.
Unfortunately, the old sedan had terrible suspension.
The moment it lurched forward, the recoil slammed Liu Xiyin’s forehead straight into Yan Changye’s chin.
“Hiss…”
He winced before pushing her onto the seat beside him.
Liu Xiyin immediately shrank against the car door.
Inside her mind, thoughts exploded like thunder as she desperately searched for a way to escape consummating the marriage.
It wasn’t only because she disliked the “rotten cucumber.”
She was genuinely worried the future Ninth Concubine would care.
When that time came, Yan Changye might sacrifice her just to please the woman he truly loved.
[What if I knock him unconscious with acupuncture? Then I can escape… No, the Young Marshal’s residence must be crawling with guards.]
[Maybe I should make him temporarily impotent instead. Once I’ve prepared my escape route, I’ll cure him afterward.]
The Future Research Institute preserved humanity’s greatest scientific achievements.
It safeguarded civilization’s knowledge while continuing to push mankind toward an even more advanced future.
Liu Xiyin had been specially recruited there at the age of eleven.
She mastered every field she studied with astonishing speed.
Chinese and Western medicine alike came naturally to her.
If she wanted to render Yan Changye temporarily impotent…
She knew at least one hundred and eight different methods.
She began mentally sorting through which techniques would work best.
And every single method she considered…
Entered Yan Changye’s ears.
She wanted to make him impotent?
He’d like to see whether she actually had that ability.
The car eventually arrived at the Yan Residence.
This was Yan Changye’s personal estate.
Although it wasn’t as grand as the Marshal’s Mansion, it occupied a vast area.
By twenty-first-century standards, it was practically an entire luxury villa complex.
The main building was a three-story Western-style mansion built with gray bricks and dark roof tiles.
Roman columns stood proudly before the entrance.
An elegant crystal chandelier illuminated the grand hall.
A polished redwood staircase curved gracefully upward.
Liu Xiyin was carried all the way to the master bedroom on the third floor.
Yan Changye tossed her onto an enormous Western-style bed covered with velvet bedding.
The mattress bounced beneath her weight.
Terrified, Liu Xiyin scrambled backward into the corner using both hands and feet.
“Y-Young Marshal… please don’t…”
Yan Changye stepped closer, grabbed her, and pulled her back.
“Don’t what?”
The scent of blood clinging to him felt overwhelmingly oppressive.
Tears instantly welled in Liu Xiyin’s eyes.
“I… I haven’t bathed yet. I’m all sweaty. Why doesn’t Young Marshal bathe first?”
Yan Changye pressed her down onto the bed.
He caught both her wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head.
“That’s fine.”
“I don’t mind.”
With her hands restrained, she couldn’t even reach the silver needles she carried.
More than half the plans she’d prepared instantly became useless.
This pervert!
Does he seriously think I’m worried he’ll find me dirty?
He’s the one covered in blood! Who knows where he’s been all day? Touching people without even taking a bath… Isn’t he worried about spreading disease?
Liu Xiyin struggled with all her strength.
“No… I can’t disrespect the Young Marshal.”
Watching her strain until her face turned bright red, Yan Changye calmly untied the sash around her waist.
[Aaaaaah! No! Where is the Ninth Concubine?! Somebody save me!]
Completely panicked, Liu Xiyin tried kicking him.
Unfortunately…
Physical strength had always been her greatest weakness.
A genius who spent her life inside laboratories was a giant in theory…
And a complete weakling in practice.
After transmigrating, she’d never expected to become the Liu family’s real daughter and had never devoted much effort to physical training.
As a result, Yan Changye subdued her effortlessly.
The rest of her carefully prepared escape plans instantly became nearly useless as well.
Yan Changye’s hand searched carefully around her waist.
Nothing?
His sharp eyes remained fixed on Liu Xiyin.
She kept insisting he’d someday have an affair with his father’s Ninth Concubine and planned to run away afterward.
More importantly…
A country girl had somehow built a gramophone capable of instantly replaying recorded voices.
Yan Changye suspected she was a foreign spy.
That was why he had insisted on bringing her back for a thorough investigation.
Yet from the moment she’d left the Marshal’s Mansion until now…
Aside from the ridiculous schemes running through her head…
She hadn’t shown a single trait expected of a spy.
Unless…
Even those thoughts were part of her cover.
Yan Changye leaned closer and continued searching through her clothing.
She had resisted consummating the marriage so fiercely and insisted on bathing first.
Was she hiding something beneath her clothes?
Nothing around her waist…
Then it had to be somewhere else.
Liu Xiyin completely exploded.
Pervert! Bastard! Sexual predator!
If he really dares force himself on me…
I’ll smash my head into his before I die!
After searching her thoroughly, Yan Changye finally discovered a roll of photographic film hidden inside her clothing.
Just as he’d suspected.
Before Liu Xiyin could ram her head into him, he stepped aside.
Holding up the film, he asked coldly,
“What is this?”
Liu Xiyin threw herself forward with all her strength.
Only to hit empty air.
Her hair scattered completely loose, and the momentum left her dizzy.
When she saw the object in Yan Changye’s hand…
She instantly looked like a dead fish that had lost every last dream.
“Film.”
Yan Changye’s voice remained icy.
“What kind of film?”
“Did you take these photographs?”
“Or did someone give them to you?”
The dizziness vanished from Liu Xiyin’s mind.
It felt as though a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head.
She instantly understood.
He suspected she was a spy.
The Marshal’s Mansion was a military stronghold.
She had wandered around outside late at night carrying a roll of photographic film.
Even in modern times, that alone would be enough to get someone detained and interrogated.
I’m finished.
There’s no way I can explain this.
I’m going to die again.