The faint blush on Su Yao’s ears abruptly faded, and the veins on her pale neck tensed visibly.
Her pearly teeth sank deeply into her lower lip, the taste of blood spreading across her tongue.
“Speak!”
Su Yao raised her eyes, meeting Lu Huaijin’s gaze—icy and unyielding.
She shook her head, the red agate earrings swaying against her cheeks, making her appear all the more innocent.
“Abandon those unrealistic thoughts of yours. The one Chuyao will marry in the future must be the legitimate daughter of a noble and prestigious family.”
Lu Huaijin suddenly took half a step closer, the scent of cedarwood enveloping her.
A low, masculine voice sounded by her ear: “It will never be the daughter of a disgraced official.”
Su Yao’s heart ached with bitterness.
Lu Huaijin continued coldly, “Do you understand your place now?”
She nodded, her innocent almond-shaped eyes meeting his gaze.
“Go back on your own. I’ll be waiting for you in the courtyard tonight.”
When Lu Chuyao returned, he found only Lu Huaijin standing there, his expression stern and cold.
He glanced around but saw no sign of Su Yao, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. “Father, where is Sister Ayao?”
“She left first.” Lu Huaijin’s voice was flat, betraying no emotion.
“Ah, why didn’t she wait for me! It’s so rare to run into her, and now I don’t even know where to find her!”
Lu Chuyao was filled with regret.
“If only I had taken her to the carriage earlier. It’s only been a moment, and she’s already gone.”
The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was a pity, and he couldn’t help but complain, “Father, why didn’t you help me keep her here?”
Lu Huaijin’s sharp gaze swept over the coiled serpent jade belt hook at Lu Chuyao’s waist—a tassel Su Yao had personally crafted for him years ago.
His fist tightened slightly within his sleeve as he said coldly, “Didn’t I forbid you from seeking her out?”
Lu Chuyao was startled by his father’s glare. “I… I only happened to run into her.”
“Happened to run into her?”
Lu Huaijin sneered. “How many times have you come here in a single day? Do you love these pastries that much? I’ll buy them all for you. Starting tomorrow, you are not to come here again.”
“Father…”
Lu Chuyao wanted to argue further, but seeing the stern expression on Lu Huaijin’s face, he dared not say another word.
Lu Huaijin had always been a man who knew his boundaries, and Lu Chuyao understood well that his father wanted nothing to do with the daughter of a disgraced official.
But Su Yao was Su Yao, and her father was her father. What did that have to do with her?
Lu Chuyao thought to himself but dared not voice his thoughts in front of his father. He could only sigh silently.
When Su Yao stepped into the courtyard, the hem of her skirt was stained with mud.
The maid Chun Tao supported her, feeling her hands tremble slightly.
The lanterns beneath the corridor swayed in the wind, casting mottled shadows on the blue brick ground.
Lu Huaijin stood with his hands clasped behind his back under the corridor, his python-patterned brocade robe rustling in the wind.
Su Yao’s face was pale, whether from the cold wind or from fear, it was hard to tell.
She kept her head lowered, avoiding Lu Huaijin’s gaze.
She couldn’t understand why the upright Chief Grand Secretary of the court would, in secret, force himself upon a frail woman like her.
No one would believe it if word got out!
Lu Huaijin’s gaze fell on the oil-paper package in Su Yao’s hands. “What are you holding?”
“It’s… it’s pastries.”
Su Yao instinctively tried to hide the package behind her, but he seized her wrist.
“Craving pastries? I can have them delivered to you. If your maid can’t even handle such a simple task…”
He paused, his eyes sweeping over the trembling Chun Tao. “Perhaps she should be sold off.”
Behind her, Chun Tao fell to her knees in terror, her forehead striking the bluestone pavement with a heavy thud.
“It has nothing to do with her! I went out on my own. Lu Huaijin, I am not your pet. Do I not even have the right to go out for a walk?”
“You promised me you wouldn’t see him.” Lu Huaijin’s voice suddenly turned cold, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists.
“We just happened to run into each other… We had only spoken a few words when you arrived.”
Before Su Yao could finish speaking, her chin was seized roughly by him.
“Happened to run into each other?”
He sneered, “If I hadn’t come, what else did you plan to do? Elope with him?”
The pressure of his fingers increased, leaving red marks on her fair skin.
Su Yao bit her lower lip in humiliation, feeling utterly wronged.
She would not admit fault—this was not her mistake to begin with.
Lu Huaijin’s hand caressed her face, icy and piercing: “Truly a fine appearance, no wonder Chu Yao has never forgotten you all these years.”
His eyes seemed poisoned, his voice low: “Do you still remember, if it weren’t for me saving you back then, you would still be serving others in the Music Bureau.”
He leaned close to whisper in her ear, “Tell me, if Chu Yao knew you seduced his father, would he still think fondly of you?”
Su Yao trembled with anger, pushing him away abruptly: “Lu Huaijin, you…!”
Before she could finish, she was pressed back into his embrace.
The man’s slender fingers trailed over her back, sending shivers through her.
“Su Yao, I am in a bad mood today. Do not provoke me further.”
Su Yao dared not move, frozen in his arms, for out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of two dark shadows in the courtyard.
Two fierce hounds were staring intently at her, their fangs gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
“Heihu, Tiejia.”
Hearing their master’s call, the two hounds wagged their tails excitedly.
Su Yao’s pupils contracted sharply, memories flooding back like a tide, her feet involuntarily retreating.
How could she ever forget the terror of that night?
That night when she fled Lu Fu, it was these two hounds that pursued her relentlessly.
She fell into the mud, her skirt torn to shreds, Lu Huaijin’s icy voice echoing in her ears: “Let her learn a lesson.”
Heihu’s sharp teeth were inches from her throat, Tiejia’s claws leaving bloody gashes on her arms.
And Lu Huaijin stood not far away, watching coldly until she broke down and begged for mercy.
“Yao’er, you cannot escape.”
Feeling the person in his arms trembling, Lu Huaijin held her tighter, coaxing softly: “Don’t be afraid, they won’t hurt you.”
Su Yao did not believe it; she clearly saw the hounds’ sharp fangs.
She bit her lip hard, her nails digging deep into her palms.
Lu Huaijin lifted Su Yao into his arms, the scent of cedar enveloping her. She stiffened, utterly unable to resist.
Her gaze remained fixed on the two hounds.
As they approached the dogs, Su Yao clearly heard the low, threatening growls in their throats.
“Kneel.” Lu Huaijin commanded coldly.
After a moment of hesitation, the two hounds actually knelt on their forelegs.
Su Yao stared in shock at the scene—such obedience she had never witnessed before.
“They only listen to me.” Lu Huaijin lowered his head, his breath brushing her ear. “Yao’er, what about you?”
Su Yao clenched her fists, understanding that this battle was far from over.
Heihu and Tiejia were not a threat but a warning… she could never escape his control.
“You brought them here to punish me?”
Lu Huaijin chuckled lightly, his fingertips brushing her pale cheek: “The palace has been unsettled lately. I cannot watch over you at all times.”
He paused, “With them here, I can rest assured.”
Su Yao’s knuckles turned white: “No need… I’m fine here, very safe. Take them away.”
Lu Huaijin’s eyes darkened as he held her tighter: “With me here, they won’t hurt you again.”
He lowered his head, his breath brushing past her ear, “Do you want to touch them?”
Su Yao shook her head desperately, her body instinctively shrinking into his embrace.
Lu Huaijin sensed her resistance and felt a pang of regret for having been too harsh with her in the past.
He no longer insisted, only letting out a soft sigh.
Su Yao had always been stubborn—he had always known that.
Lu Huaijin’s gaze shifted from her eyes to her cherry lips.