In the quiet, dimly lit forbidden chamber, only a single candle flickered, casting a faint glow upon a slender, petite figure kneeling on the cold stone floor, appearing particularly lonely and forlorn.
As the last rays of twilight completely faded, the door was pushed open from the outside, and steady footsteps approached from afar.
Wei Nanxun had been kneeling for an entire day, her whole body stiff, especially her legs, which had long lost all sensation. Even her perception of her surroundings had become dull. She was stunned for a moment before realizing someone had come.
Moreover, she was very familiar with these footsteps. Every day and night in the past, she had longed for him to come.
Step by step, step by step, it was as if he was treading on her heart.
Wei Nanxun slowly raised her neck, gazing at the person with a dazed look.
The person who came had handsome features with a hint of scholarly air, but his brows revealed a sharp edge. He was exceptionally tall, standing before her and blocking all the light, like a deity descending from the heavens.
He was wearing a wide court robe, and his movements had a dragon-like ease. Had he come directly to see her after finishing his work in the imperial study?
The thought made Wei Nanxun’s long-dormant heart suddenly beat again.
Having not had a drop of water all day, her voice was a bit hoarse, but her tone was as gentle and lingering as a Jiangnan folk song: “Your Highness.”
The person, however, paid no attention, remaining motionless, not even sparing her a glance.
Was he angry?
Angry that she had provoked his sister and caused her to have a miscarriage? But she had been framed.
Wei Nanxun had never seen him with such a stern face before, and a sudden pang of heartache struck her. She didn’t want to see him angry.
She bit her lip, recalling the intimate scenes they shared in the room on ordinary days, and boldly reached out to tug at the dark sleeve, her soft, cold fingers exploring up the man’s firm, muscular arm.
Kneeling was a bit inconvenient, and she had to straighten up slightly, but she had been kneeling for too long, and her movements were stiff. Moreover, she had never done anything so bold and shameful, causing her fingers to tremble incessantly.
“Your Highness…”
Finally, his eyelids lifted, looking down at the woman on the ground. From this angle, one could clearly see her trembling eyelashes, her fair cheeks faintly flushed, and her slender, white neck.
Her complexion was like congealed fat, her skin like beautiful jade, so beautiful that it was soul-stirring.
Pei Yuyan’s eyes darkened. His well-defined fingers traced across her jade-like cheek, eventually gathering into that thick head of beautiful hair. With a slight force from his other hand, he forced her to stagger to her feet.
Her legs were numb and she couldn’t stand steadily at all, but he didn’t care. In this position, he lowered his head and kissed her.
He kissed her until her face was flushed and her eyes were filled with tears, and she was about to run out of breath before he let her go. Then, before she could react, he wrapped his arms around her, picked her up horizontally, strode to the Arhat chair beside him, and pressed her down.
Wei Nanxun still had a trace of reason left, and she tugged at his clothes and said in a low voice: “Your Highness, I’m, I’m still in the forbidden chamber…”
“So what?”
She wanted to say that this was not good, that she was still being punished, and whether they should go back to the bedroom to continue. At the same time, she also had a bellyful of grievances to tell him. She had been framed and locked in the forbidden chamber, not only suffering from hunger and cold but also being beaten on the palms…
But her voice gradually became fragmented, and he drowned her in wave after wave of passion like a storm.
How long it had been, Pei Yuyan finally let go.
Wei Nanxun had long lost consciousness, only knowing that there was a pair of wide palms that had been holding her tightly, making her feel no cold.
When she woke up again, she had already returned to her bedroom, and a palace maid was feeding her medicine.
She didn’t know what kind of medicine it was. The soup was a bit cloudy and the taste was very unpleasant. She didn’t like drinking medicine on ordinary days, and subconsciously turned her eyes away.
It just so happened that she saw Pei Yuyan walking out of the clean room behind the screen. He had just taken a bath, wearing only a robe, and beads of water with heat rolled down little by little as he walked.
Wei Nanxun’s eyes lit up instantly: “Your Highness, you didn’t leave.”
Pei Yuyan gave a faint “hmm” and habitually sat beside her. She wanted to say something, but was interrupted by a palace maid beside her: “Greetings, Your Highness. The Crown Princess was worried that Consort Wei had been kneeling for a day and would have cold in her body, so she specially ordered the servants to boil the soup and send it over.”
“But Consort Wei seems unwilling to drink the medicine.”
Pei Yuyan glanced at the porcelain bowl, then at the person on the couch. She was already weak, and after kneeling, her pale face was even more bloodless. He swallowed the words that came to his mouth and said, “Go get a plate of sugar cakes.”
“Eat a piece of sugar, and it won’t be bitter.”
Wei Nanxun’s eyes suddenly turned red. Even if the medicine was bitter, she would drink it for this sentence.
Perhaps she was too tired, first kneeling for a day, and then a exhausting bout of pleasure. After drinking the medicine, she felt a little sleepy again, but she still remembered to explain yesterday’s matter to the Crown Prince.
She forced herself to stay awake and speak to him: “Your Highness, I didn’t hurt anyone. It wasn’t me who caused my sister to be frightened and fall…”
Pei Yuyan didn’t know what he was thinking, and only patted the back of her hand comfortingly: “Let’s talk about these things when you get better. I won’t punish you.”
What did it mean to talk about these things when she got better, and what did it mean that he wouldn’t punish her?
Did he believe that she was the one who pushed her sister?
Wei Nanxun wanted to say something, but felt a burst of colic in her lower abdomen, and her back was instantly wet. It hurt, it hurt so much. Was it the bowl of medicine just now?
“The imperial physician sent someone to say just now that the Crown Princess’s pregnancy is not good. You rest first, and I’ll go see her.”
“Your Highness, don’t, don’t go…”
Pei Yuyan didn’t notice that she was not right, only tucked the quilt around her and said “be good”, then turned and strode out.
Wei Nanxun was in so much pain that she couldn’t even speak, her eyes full of his resolute back. She couldn’t help but recall how he had coaxed her to drink the medicine just now. Did he know what kind of medicine this was? Did he think she was wrong and want to vent his anger for his sister?
How absurd. She had never hurt anyone. On the contrary, she only learned yesterday that her miscarriage last year was not an accident, but her sister’s doing.
That was her most trusted sister. She couldn’t accept the truth, so she went to ask her sister to clarify. Her tone was a bit excited, but her hands didn’t even touch her sister’s clothes, but she fell down in front of everyone.
No one believed her, not even Pei Yuyan. What was the point of her living?
Her vision became blurred, and she remembered the year she first met Pei Yuyan, when she had just turned fifteen.
It was an afternoon in summer. She was picking lotus pods in the back garden and accidentally twisted her foot and almost fell into the water. There were no servants around her, and he passed by and saved her, and also treated her wound.
It was the first time she had seen a man other than her father and brothers. At that time, she didn’t know that this was the current Crown Prince, who was also her sister’s fiancé.
The next time she saw him, he came to propose the annulment of the engagement. She had never seen her sister cry so sadly.
Although she was a daughter of the Wei family, her father was a concubine of the second branch and had always been looked down upon.
Moreover, her grandmother disliked her appearance, which was too much like her mother. Before she had even grown up, she had a bright and charming appearance, which looked like she was not safe. It would be fine if she was born in a small family, but how could she look like a daughter of the Duke’s mansion? Therefore, since she was a child, no brothers or sisters were willing to play with her.
Only her sister, as the legitimate daughter of the Wei family, was knowledgeable, gentle and generous, and never looked down on her. She not only took her with her in everything, but also stood up for her. She had always liked her sister the most.
Her sister came to her crying, lifted her sleeves and showed her wrists full of scars.
“Axun, I have never asked anyone for anything in my life. This time, I beg you, please help me.”
She then learned that Pei Yuyan was originally betrothed by the emperor to marry a daughter of the Wei family, but this time he actually wanted to break off the engagement to marry her.
He was the first man Wei Nanxun had met, and he had saved her, so she naturally had some feelings for him, but after learning that he was her sister’s fiancé, she immediately dismissed the idea.
Now that she learned that he wanted to marry her, she couldn’t help but be surprised. She knew that she was good-looking, but the other party was the current Crown Prince, who had seen all kinds of beauties, how could he fall in love with an unloved and uneducated woman at first sight? She couldn’t believe it.
Did he really like her?
What could she do to help her sister?
Seeing her stunned, her sister had already tightly grasped her hand: “Axun, the Emperor and the courtiers will not agree to let the Crown Prince marry you as a concubine, but Daddy has already asked the Crown Prince’s opinion, you and I can marry into the East Palace together.”
Wei Nanxun thought her sister was crazy. How could anyone tolerate sisters serving one husband together?
“Axun, if the Crown Prince breaks off the engagement, I will be the biggest joke in the whole capital, and I won’t be able to live. Our sisters have had the best relationship since childhood, and now only you can help me.”
“The Crown Prince likes you, I won’t compete with you for favor, and all the rewards and betrothal gifts will be yours. Instead of a blind marriage, it’s better to marry into the East Palace, and our sisters can still support each other, isn’t that good?”
Her sister threatened her with death, making it impossible for Wei Nanxun to refuse for a while.
The next day, her grandmother and other elders also came to her one after another. This was the first time she had been so valued by her family, and they used all means to threaten and lure her with her father and younger brother.
When she was almost collapsed and didn’t know what to do, the Crown Prince appeared. He was still gentle and said, holding her hand, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here for everything.”
It was this sentence “Don’t be afraid” that made Wei Nanxun nod and believe him.
But what about now?
She believed him, but he stood with her sister and wanted her life.
Her life, from marrying Pei Yuyan to serving him in bed, becoming pregnant, and being framed, was ultimately because she loved the wrong person. She tried to hope for that unattainable love, which made her live so humble and become more and more unlike herself.
She was tired, extremely tired, and didn’t want to love him anymore.
A bloody taste surged in her throat, and a line of hot tears silently slid from the corner of her eyes.
She heavily closed her eyes, and actually felt that death was not scary at all.
At this moment, her heart was very light and free, with nothing to bind her anymore.
She thought that if she could live again, she would definitely stay away from Pei Yuyan and go back to being Wei Nanxun.