The Donggong, admired by the world, was clad in splendid robes and wielded immense power.
To Jiang Rongyin, however, the Donggong was her nightmare—and even more so, a cage.
Because Jiang Yun was there.
Someone who hated her, who tormented her.
At the entrance to the side hall of the Donggong, Baoyin was stopped.
Jiang Rongyin forced a smile and shook her head at her.
Just as she stepped inside the hall, the dense mist nearly stung her eyes.
In the bathing pool, Jiang Yun sat with his back to the hall entrance, half his body submerged in the water.
“Your Highness.”
Jiang Rongyin called out timidly, leaning against the door and going no further.
“Am I going to eat you?”
“Come here.”
With a splash, Jiang Yun reached out and rested his hand on the edge of the pool.
His wheat-colored skin bore crisscrossing scars.
Jiang Rongyin’s uncle from the Wei family had said that the reason Jiang Yun was so feared on the battlefield was his reckless, death-defying way of fighting.
Whether it was infiltrating enemy territory alone or holding his ground against a hundred foes, no one else could match his composure.
To Jiang Yun, those scars were more like medals.
On his bulging muscles, blue veins were still visible—an outburst of power, and absolute control.
The unique pressure of a man in power made Jiang Rongyin somewhat reluctant to step forward.
“I don’t have much patience, Little Nine.”
Hearing no footsteps from Jiang Rongyin, Jiang Yun spoke again.
Only then did Jiang Rongyin shuffle forward. Just as she reached the edge of the pool, Jiang Yun’s hand closed around her ankle.
Even through her clothes, Jiang Rongyin felt that the hand gripping her ankle was scorching hot, unbearable.
“I—I’ll scrub Your Highness’s back.”
Jiang Rongyin lifted her foot to step back, but Jiang Yun didn’t let go.
“As if I need you to?”
As the words fell, Jiang Rongyin was yanked into the water by Jiang Yun, sending up a great splash of ripples.
“Cough, cough.”
Choked by the water, Jiang Rongyin burst to the surface coughing. When she opened her eyes, a pair of pitch-black eyes met hers.
The water was warm, yet for some reason, the fingers that landed on Jiang Rongyin carried a chill.
“I’ve been gone a month, and Little Nine’s temperament has grown quite bold.”
His fingertips slipped inside her clothes. The water-soaked fabric floated on the surface, which made things convenient for him.
Jiang Yun’s gaze drifted downward, landing on the pendant hanging at her chest.
A gift from Qin Shiyan—Jiang Rongyin treasured it, never letting it leave her person.
Of course. The Qin family’s young master and the legitimate princess had grown up together as childhood sweethearts. Everyone assumed their marriage was a foregone conclusion.
But then Jiang Yun appeared.
“Back then I asked Little Nine—if you were willing to go to Dayue for a marriage alliance, I wouldn’t stop you.”
“Was it not you who said you were willing to serve me, to repay the debt of more than ten years past?”
His cool fingertips moved upward, untying the strings of her undergarment. Listening to his words, Jiang Rongyin’s whole body trembled.
Her wet hair clung to her cheeks, and the dripping sound made it hard to tell whether it was water or tears.
She parted her lips and forced a smile: “Rongyin is Your Highness’s person. I dare not harbor thoughts of anything else. It is Your Highness’s magnanimity not to hold it against Rongyin for occupying this identity for sixteen years. To be able to stay in the palace and serve Your Highness, Rongyin is endlessly grateful.”
The words she didn’t mean came out haltingly.
Listening to Jiang Rongyin, Jiang Yun’s hand beneath the water gripped her waist and pulled her crashing against him: “What are you trembling for? Afraid that if you tell a lie, Heaven won’t forgive you?”
“They’re sincere words.”
Jiang Rongyin lowered her head. What could she say?
That when the Dayue envoy came to the capital seeking a princess in marriage, she had been willing?
Or rather, if she had known that staying in the imperial palace would make her a caged bird for Jiang Yun, would she have preferred to die?
Even under such circumstances, being able to leave through a political marriage was already an honor for Jiang Rongyin.
The one who wouldn’t let her leave the palace was Jiang Yun.
That day, the bright moon illuminated the floor of Guanghua Dian, and the clothes Jiang Yun had torn were scattered all over the ground. He said that even if she were to die, she would have to die by his side.
By what right was it that he had to endure sixteen years of suffering, while Jiang Rongyin got glory and wealth?
This was what Jiang Rongyin owed him.
At the time, Jiang Rongyin had been tormented by him until she lay prone on the **, the torn gauze curtain binding her hands together, the delicate skin of her wrists rubbed raw and bleeding.
Her eyes red from crying, her hoarse voice could only repeat “I’m sorry” over and over.
Even though it clearly wasn’t her fault.
She said, Your Highness, I’m sorry. She said she was willing to leave the palace, even if it meant becoming a nun for the rest of her life.
The one who wouldn’t let her go had always been Jiang Yun.
“I can pretend that nothing ever happened with Qin Shiyan.”
“Xiao Jiu, this is the last chance I’m giving you, understand?”
Jiang Yun lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.
An utterly aggressive look that left no room to avoid it.
“May I go back to Guanghua Dian?”
Kissed until her head spun, able only to cling to Jiang Yun’s arm, Jiang Rongyin spoke and made this one and only request.
There were still classes at Xuezhiguan tomorrow, and Jiang Rongyin didn’t want anyone to see her coming out of Donggong.
Jiang Yun was the darling of Empress Wei, the favored son of heaven of Dayong.
And she was nothing but a counterfeit with no blood relation, kept in the palace only because of Jiang Yun’s kindness.
If she seduced Jiang Yun and caused him to do something against propriety, Empress Wei would never let her off.
If anyone found out, to protect the imperial family’s reputation, Jiang Rongyin would have only one way out: death.
“Depends on my mood.”
Jiang Yun replied only this, then changed direction. Jiang Rongyin was pressed against the edge of the bathing pool, the cobblestone surface digging into her, painful.
She bit her lip and said nothing, looking at the tightly shut doors and windows all around like high, hopeless palace walls. Even if she turned into a bird and grew wings, she still wouldn’t be able to fly out.
Jiang Rongyin felt like crying, and the tears that fell were wiped away by Jiang Yun’s fingertip.
He leaned down, his fingers forcing their way into her palm, forcefully interlocking with hers.
“I truly do want to kill Qin Shiyan.”
“It’s just that keeping him alive is the only way to remind my Xiao Jiu of what should be done and what shouldn’t.”
Amid the ebb and flow, Jiang Yun’s words fell one by one by Jiang Rongyin’s ear.
Their tightly clasped hands gripped until even the knuckles creaked. Jiang Rongyin curled her fingers and closed her eyes. “I know I was wrong.”
Jiang Yun said nothing. He lifted her body with his hands, and the pool water ** open ring after ring of ripples. She could only lean against him.
She didn’t know how much time had passed. When Jiang Rongyin opened her eyes, the lamps outside had already been lit for the evening.
Palace lanterns swayed in the wind, and she huddled in the corner clutching a quilt.
Jiang Yun sat at the desk not far away, wearing only a robe of Shu brocade and silk, his belt tied loosely, revealing the scratch marks on his chest.
“Awake?”
Hearing the sound, Jiang Yun looked toward Jiang Rongyin, and then she saw him stand.
The quilt was pulled away by Jiang Yun. He took off his shoes, got onto the bed, and pulled her into his arms.
“Your Highness, I should return to Guanghua Dian.”
Jiang Yun’s palm was warm. Hearing Jiang Rongyin’s words, he circled her waist, his gaze drifting downward, dark and unreadable: “Can you leave?”
A single sentence was enough to make Jiang Rongyin blush crimson.
“There’s still class at Xuezhiguan tomorrow—Master Sang’s class. If I’m late, I’ll get scolded.”
Jiang Rongyin added softly, then turned her gaze away and refused to look at him anymore.
When Jiang Yun stared at you, even if you were fully clothed, it felt as though you were wearing nothing at all.
Utterly invasive, steeped in desire that seemed about to drown Jiang Rongyin.
“I wasn’t aware that Xiao Jiu had grown so fond of attending class.”
“Get dressed. Xiang Ming will take you back.”
Jiang Yun stared at Jiang Rongyin for a while, long enough to bore a hole through the top of her head, before finally relenting.
“After the Yanshe Yan, once the crown princess candidate is decided, I will send you out of the palace.”
Sitting there getting dressed, Jiang Rongyin heard these words and her brows relaxed. He’s tired of me?
But Jiang Yun’s next sentence sent Jiang Rongyin plummeting into hell.
“The Empress Dowager doesn’t like you, so you’ll stay at the side residence as a kept woman.”