Another pungent medicinal fragrance filled the air. Suzhen felt her body being roughly lifted by someone who pinched her nose and poured bitter medicine straight into her mouth.

She choked and cried out, opening her eyes in panic to see a pale, slender hand.

She pushed hard, spilling all the medicine on the other person. She escaped to the empty side of the bed and looked at the medicine-giver in shock.

Lian Yu sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her coldly. Medicine dripped from his palm, and his robes were splattered.

He set the bowl heavily on the bedside table, his expression frosty as winter: “You have a foot injury and old internal ailments, but today showed no relapse and wouldn’t cause coughing blood. You’re faking illness!”

Suzhen was initially at a loss, then suddenly remembered something. Looking down at herself, she immediately understood – when she had blood on her hand from her boot, she had wiped it on her clothes—

Lian Yu had already turned to leave, decisive and swift.

“Damn it, stop right there!” Her eyes suddenly heated as she instinctively shouted, “If you leave, we’re truly finished.”

She spoke angrily, then murmured: “No, we were already finished. You’re taking Gu Shuangcheng as consort – what more could there be to say between us?”

She got down from the bed and fumbled for her shoes. Her foot wound had been rewrapped. Honestly, this place gave her an indescribable strange feeling. She had been here before – it was his bedchamber. She didn’t know why he had brought her here.

Lian Yu stood ahead, completely still.

She bit her lip and strode forward. Just as she reached the door, he gripped her hand fiercely.

She was startled. Lian Yu’s gaze was so sharp it seemed he wanted to dismember her. He pressed her firmly against the round table in the center of the adjacent room, his hands suddenly gripping her throat.

His eyes held a fire – a rage that wanted to kill her. Her anger must have seemed laughable to him.

His voice emerged bit by bit from his throat:

“In Minzhou, Lian Jie saw you and Quan Feitong being intimate with his own eyes. How accomplished of you – today you even climbed into his bed. You can be good with other people, so why can’t I marry Gu Shuangcheng? Making me take Shuangcheng – wasn’t that your and Quan Feitong’s scheme?”

“Why did Quan Feitong withdraw the marriage proposal? Li Huaisu, don’t tell me you don’t know! If I don’t marry her, tonight she’d have to marry Quan Feitong whether willing or not. This marriage decree was approved by the late Emperor – only I, his son, can overturn my father’s edict! With my mourning period incomplete, if I marry her, there are still three years – enough time for great changes. I only need to restrain Mother to arrange her departure from the palace, just as I promised Wuyan – arrange for her to leave due to illness.”

“If I agreed, Quan Feitong would perfectly repay his Minzhou revenge by destroying her. If I refused, he could withdraw the marriage gracefully, making you lose heart toward me and turn to him instead. Gu Shuangcheng is my old friend’s sister – no matter what, I must ensure her safety. Even if I die, I must keep her unharmed. What does a marriage matter!”

“Li Huaisu, you actually understand everything. You’re just pretending not to, trying to push all the blame onto me. You know I love you, know I’ve never let you go in my heart, but you’re also afraid that your harsh rejection that day might harm your case appeal, so you keep appearing before me these days. You made yourself sick on purpose, didn’t you?”

Suzhen was being choked, and though he wasn’t trying to kill her, it was tight enough that she couldn’t breathe properly. She felt heartbroken, angry, and wronged, but his words made her heart race with wild joy. Just as she trembled all over, not knowing what to do, she heard him say “you made yourself sick,” her face burned with heat, her eyes widened, and she twisted her body, hoarsely lying: “No, I was really sick—”

Lian Yu’s gaze was razor-sharp. Seeing her despicable expression made him even more hateful, but he dared not tighten his grip further, fearing he’d truly hurt her.

He suddenly felt his mouth full of bitterness, like the medicine he’d tasted earlier to test its temperature – his tongue was bitter and sour.

This woman had been full of lies from the moment they met!

“Stop glaring at me like that. My understanding of you is like my understanding of myself. Now that I’m marrying Gu Shuangcheng, it gives you the perfect excuse – you don’t have to love me but can still ask me to help with your case. Get out, get far away, or don’t blame me for what I might do to you!”

He roared angrily. Seeing her face flushed red, though his words were hard as iron, his hand on her throat gradually loosened.

He smiled mockingly and slowly walked to the bed to sit down.

He still couldn’t bring himself to be cruel to her.

He was the Emperor – what couldn’t he do?

She wanted to appeal her case? He could easily use this to coerce her, force himself on her, and bring her into the harem. What could she do?

He wasn’t afraid of her hating him.

But he was afraid of her being hurt.

So every time he put down his dignity to pursue and love her, when he realized she remained unmoved, all he could do was let go again and again, telling himself to handle it coldly and stay far from her, not letting himself hurt her.

She already deeply loved someone else. If he loved her, he should let her go and let her find her own happiness, like in their carefree youth when she was always joyful and worry-free.

But back in Minzhou, when he learned she had been intimate with Quan Feitong, he still harbored thoughts of killing her with his own hands.

Kill her, and then he’d never suffer again.

After all, his hands had long been stained with blood over these years. Once she knew some truths, she’d probably be afraid too.

He’d had thoughts of killing her several times.

But he could never bring himself to do it.

Lost in thought, he suddenly looked up to stare at her face carefully, couldn’t help smiling slightly – not knowing if he was laughing at himself or her.

Wanting to send colored letters and plain silk, but with mountains long and waters wide, where could she be found?

Suzhen covered her throat, her brain still somewhat oxygen-deprived, swaying unsteadily as she stood up. When he had choked her just now, she hadn’t been too afraid – her instincts firmly told her he wouldn’t hurt her.

But now—

A chill rose in her heart. He was staring intently at her, his lips curved in a faint smile, jade-like and lustrous, but his eyes revealed… killing intent.

Sharp and vicious.

He wanted to kill her?

Did he really not love her anymore?

Why was he so contradictory? As if returning to his youthful years. But his current bearing was completely unlike a youth – terrifyingly calculating.

Her heart pounded as she took a step forward, then hesitantly shrank back.

She was actually quite afraid of death. The case wasn’t solved yet.

She smiled and stammered: “Tomorrow, after morning court, I’ll still come find you. What I said that day was sincere. Since it’s getting late now… I should take my leave. You should rest early.”

She ran to the door as if fleeing, but her footsteps involuntarily stopped.

Her nose was sour, her mouth bitter, her heart twisted into knots – she couldn’t take another step.

Feng Suzhen, Lian Yu might kill you! Leave quickly!

This isn’t a joke – people really die. This way, your family would truly be extinct.

She gritted her teeth and walked toward the door.

A series of heavy footsteps.

A chill shot up her spine!

She was shocked as Lian Yu lifted her from behind. She screamed, but Lian Yu was filled with predatory ferocity. He held her tight, his gaze wild, revealing bloodthirsty viciousness. The usual clear, water-like quality was completely gone, replaced only by deep desire and conquest.

He threw her roughly onto the bedding.

His lean body then covered hers. She screamed in terror, tears immediately flowing: “Lian Yu, what are you doing?”

Lian Yu sneered. What was he doing?

Did she think he hadn’t seen Quan Feitong’s handiwork on her lips?!

Ridiculous!

Each time he retreated, she trampled his dignity underfoot.

Why should he yield again? She was his!

Looking at her chest rising and falling intensely from struggling, remembering that time in the forest cabin when she lay naked and white before him, his lower abdomen immediately ached as if struck by something. His eyes quickly became dark and turbid. His legs pinned down her wildly kicking ones as he bit her ear, coldly declaring: “Don’t think I don’t know what you did with Quan Feitong! Tonight I will have you. I won’t care if you’re happy or in pain – I only want my own pleasure!”

That pain mixed with numbness… Suzhen trembled violently from his bite. He suddenly reached out and pulled, loosening her hair tightly secured by hairpins.

The bed was immediately covered with cascading black hair.

Lian Yu’s eyes grew several shades darker. He threw the hairpin roughly to the floor with a clear clatter.

Suzhen shook her head desperately, struggling and resisting with all her might. But Lian Yu seemed mad, his eyes red. With a “rip,” Suzhen’s mind went blank – he had torn her outer robe. Damn, that was official… robes!

The inner garment was also torn, and her chest binding was untied. His lips curved downward as he actually used the fabric to bind her hands.

Suzhen realized in terror that she was bare-chested before him, wearing only her lower garment.

In the instant her hands couldn’t resist, he had quickly removed his own clothes and boots, pressing his naked body against her chest, passionately kissing every inch of her skin.

Like her, he wore only dark long pants below.

The shameful place was pressed against by something hard and burning. That unfamiliar feeling… that frightening yet strange sensation made Suzhen cry and bite him.

Lian Yu let her bite. He glanced contemptuously at the wound she’d made on his arm and reached toward her lower garment.

Just then, anxious knocking came from outside, and a guard’s trembling voice sounded: “Your Majesty, is everything… alright inside?”

“I am fine. No one is permitted to enter!”

Lian Yu spoke coldly, then looked down at Suzhen intently, smiling darkly and mercilessly: “Scholar, you’re crying too loudly! Tell me, do they think you’re trying to assassinate me, or do they guess what we’re doing!”

Suzhen was furious: “I hate you!”

Lian Yu’s eyes were ink so thick it couldn’t dissolve: “Very good. If you won’t love me, then hate me.”

Suzhen’s mind felt like it would explode. She’d never known Lian Yu could be so shameless and despicable!

She was ashamed, angry, and resentful, hating this person utterly, wishing he’d die immediately. She bit down hard on his shoulder, biting with all her might.

There was something strange in her mouth. Though the place she bit was as hard as iron muscle like his arm, it was also somewhat rough – she paused and looked, seeing his shoulder to chest area covered in large and small scars, no less than a dozen, looking quite frightening.

She was startled. Wasn’t he a child raised in the palace? How could—

She suddenly remembered his cynical appearance when they first met. He helped her hunt rabbits daily. Later when they met again, he personally helped her up in the Golden Hall. At Quan’s residence, he covered his wound and forcibly brought her back to his group…

She involuntarily stopped biting and looked up to see him gazing deeply at her, his eyes full of herself, full of hatred, yet also full of flame.

Her heart ached sharply, though she didn’t know why.

She seemed to go mad too, tenderly kissing the scars where she’d just bitten him and drawn blood.

Lian Yu’s hand had reached her waistband. The warm, soft, wet sensation on his body felt like being stabbed with a dagger – even more painful than the desire burning below.

He looked at the person beneath him crying her heart out, her eyes swollen and red, swallowed, pressed hard on her lips, and finally withdrew from her body. He covered her with his dragon robe, walked barefoot to the corner of the bed, pressed his hand to his forehead, and finally said wearily: “Go. Don’t come to court anymore. Go handle your Xia family case. If… it’s true, tell Yan Da when it’s done. I’ll have him assist you fully. He’s a minister of three reigns, unlike Seventh and Ninth Brothers who don’t know propriety. Don’t see me again. Never see me again.”

His voice returned to coldness.

Suzhen tremblingly pulled away the robe covering her, quickly put on her undergarments, then picked up her torn official robe to put on, got off the bed and ran straight for the door without a word.

But at the threshold, she somehow couldn’t step out.

She thought: Feng Suzhen, you really are pathetic. This is your attitude toward love. Always being pathetic.

She gripped her robe tightly and slowly, step by step, walked back.

She sat beside him.

Lian Yu was covering his forehead, but the sounds nearby made him suddenly drop his hand and look back.

Suzhen was intimidated by his frighteningly deep gaze. His eyes showed surprise and joy, a faint expectation seemingly about to emerge, yet he was warily suppressing it harshly.

His Adam’s apple was moving slightly, as if swallowing saliva.

Suzhen suddenly fell into helpless nervousness. She turned her head aside and said quietly: “I carry a blood feud, but I haven’t become so base as to trade love for case appeals. Initially I truly didn’t love you, even hated you, but later… I really…”

She had wanted to say “really developed feelings for you,” but when the words reached her lips, she couldn’t say them. Imperial Consort Feng had said girls who were too bold would scare men away.

She hesitated, staring fixedly at the ground, but quickly moved over and kissed his face.

Lian Yu touched his kissed nose, frozen for a long moment.

All was silent. In his ears, only her recent words echoed.

After a long while, he came to his senses to find Suzhen had shrunk to the head of the bed, watching him warily, her eyes showing both panic and anger.

This strange expression made his wildly joyful heart even more delighted, as if everything had cleared after the storm.

Though she was full of lies, tonight she had left twice and returned twice. The way she looked at him finally gave him certainty.

Even if she didn’t love him as much as he loved her, she had still developed feelings.

The rest he’d leave to himself – to make her grow to love him as much as he loved her.

No longer hesitating, he strode over, scooped her up entirely, and placed her on the bed.

He urgently covered her completely, but to avoid crushing her, he supported his weight on his hands beside her neck, then narrowed his eyes slightly to study her deeply.

“The truth?”

He asked knowingly, his tone dangerous.

Suzhen also deliberately put on a stern face and snorted, though sweetness seemed to flow from her heart.

Both had countless things they wanted to ask and say, but when Lian Yu saw the disheveled person beneath him, his throat tightened and he couldn’t help but lean down to kiss her lips heavily.

Suzhen’s first encounter with desire, now willing, was quite different from before. She bit her lip and closed her eyes… as he manipulated her entire body. Wherever his hands passed, she trembled all over, feeling as if her body had been scorched by fire, urgently wanting him to do something, yet also shyly embarrassed, feeling it truly improper.

That was something for the wedding night!

Just as she was about to refuse, Lian Yu rose from her body first, his gaze still misty with desire. He looked at her helplessly: “No, you’re not my consort yet. If we make love and the Bureau of Palace Attendance doesn’t record it, you’d be at a great loss. Bear with it – once I restore your female identity, we can—”

What? Make her bear with it? Suzhen was going crazy – he spoke as if she were the one wanting something from him.

But Lian Yu was frowning, still looking troubled: “But I’m very uncomfortable here. Help me with it.”

Suzhen was dumbfounded.

Note on the poem reference: From Song Dynasty poet Yan Shu’s “Butterfly Loves Flower” – the referenced line about “colored letters and plain silk” expresses the desire to send love letters to someone far away. The preceding famous lines “Last night the west wind withered the green trees, alone I climbed the high tower, gazing to the end of the horizon” are very well-known, expressing longing for someone distant.