“I…” Pan Chi started to explain, but Shen Du cut him off. “You still have excuses? Let me warn you today – if you dare have any contact with her again, I absolutely won’t let you off.”
Having delivered his warning, Shen Du angrily pulled Zhuyan away.
As the two left, Pan Chi’s face regained its usual serious expression, though his deep eyes held an unusual emotion.
Xiuxiu noticed this. The man who had been so cheerful moments ago suddenly became solemn. His mood seemed entirely tied to that woman…
After pondering for a moment, Xiuxiu went to the table and poured a cup of wine. She brought it to Pan Chi, saying, “Master Pan, the prized flower already has an owner. I’m afraid your one-sided affection can only be like a falling blossom with feelings for an indifferent stream.”
Pan Chi took the offered wine and drank it in one gulp. He smiled and said, “What does it matter if the flower has an owner? He’s just embarrassed and angry. Who would like a husband with only three months to live?”
Pan Chi set the wine cup down coldly and strode away.
At this, Xiuxiu suddenly seemed to realize something. She covered her mouth in shock, speechless.
So that man radiating dark fury was the infamous White King of Hell of the Grand Secretariat, Shen Du!
And that woman was none other than his new bride, the sixth daughter of the Zhu family.
How unexpected!
Back at the yamen, Zhuyan was about to tell Shen Du what she had discovered at the brothel, but she found him too blinded by anger to listen.
His face was dark, completely uninterested in hearing her words.
“Will you listen to my explanation? Going to the brothel with him was just to investigate the case. Besides, I didn’t even touch those male courtesans!”
Zhuyan explained as she hurried to keep up with Shen Du’s pace. At his current walking speed, if she slowed down, she feared he might flay her alive.
“So I suppose I came at a bad time,” Shen Du said coldly, not even glancing at Zhuyan as he pulled her into a room.
“That’s not what I meant. Listen to my explanation.” Once in the room, Zhuyan shook off Shen Du’s grip and looked at him with frustration. “I know why you’re angry, but you need to let me finish speaking.”
“Say what?” Shen Du stepped forward again, grabbing Zhuyan’s wrist. This time he truly used force, gripping her wrist painfully.
“What are you doing?” The sharp pain in her wrist made Zhuyan wince. She tried to break free but found Shen Du’s grip only tightening.
“What am I doing?” His other arm suddenly wrapped around Zhuyan’s slender waist, trapping her in his embrace. He lowered his head and said, “Didn’t you want a man? You were bold enough to go to a brothel for those male courtesans. As your husband, I naturally should do something about this behavior.”
With that, ignoring Zhuyan’s shock, he lowered his head and covered her lips with his own.
The sudden kiss startled Zhuyan. She struggled desperately but to no avail.
Shen Du was far too strong. Even when Zhuyan’s struggle made her body ache, he showed no sign of letting go.
Perhaps caught up in the moment, Shen Du began tearing at her clothes.
Zhuyan panicked completely. What madness had come over Shen Du today to make him treat her so roughly?
Zhuyan kept struggling, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t budge him an inch. In desperation, she bit down hard on Shen Du’s tongue.
The taste of blood filled her mouth. Shen Du finally stopped his rough behavior.
His eyes held love mixed with hatred, and beneath that, helplessness.
Zhuyan completely failed to grasp Shen Du’s state of mind. Furious herself, she wiped the blood from her lips and said coldly, “You forced me to do that.”
“Hmph.” Shen Du suddenly snorted, his eyes deep and cold as he wiped the blood from his bitten tongue with his thumb. “You resist quite fiercely. But if I truly wanted to have you, do you think this would stop me?”
“What?!” Zhuyan’s eyes widened in shock. Shen Du’s words filled her with terror.
Before she could think of how to respond, Shen Du picked her up in a princess carry and tossed her onto the bed.
Without pausing, before Zhuyan could even process why Shen Du was so angry, she found herself pinned beneath him.
She tried to resist again, but as soon as she raised her arms, Shen Du grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head. His other hand began roughly tearing at her clothes.
Zhuyan was like a frightened deer. This man wasn’t joking at all. They had an agreement between them – why was he doing this?!
His actions didn’t stop. Shen Du seemed unsatisfied with the earlier deep kiss and lowered his head to cover her lips again.
This kiss was full of the taste of blood, along with his innate arrogance and forcefulness.
Zhuyan’s struggles were futile. Shen Du was like an enraged beast as if he wanted to devour Zhuyan whole to satisfy his desires.
Zhuyan gave up. She stopped struggling and simply closed her eyes, letting tears fall from the corners.
Perhaps from heartbreak, perhaps from despair.
It no longer mattered.
Her sudden stillness woke Shen Du as if from a dream.
Seeing the tears rolling down Zhuyan’s face, he felt a stab of discomfort in his heart.
What was he doing?
Hurting the woman he cared for?
Seeing the red marks his tight grip had left on her wrists, he felt a pang of remorse.
He hastily sat up beside her, looking at a loss.
Seeing this, Zhuyan quickly sat up and adjusted her clothes. She saw Shen Du hand her a vial of medicine.
“…”
Looking at the red marks on her wrists, Zhuyan took the medicine. At that moment, something seemed to click in her mind.
Shen Du sat with his back to Zhuyan, trying several times to apologize but unable to get the words out.
Especially when he thought of Zhuyan’s behavior at the Xiuxiang Pavilion, jealousy churned in his heart.
He stood and sat down at the table. Zhuyan quickly tidied herself and came to sit across from him.
Far from blaming him for what had just happened, Zhuyan asked in confusion, “Do you like me?”
…
Her words struck at the core of his heart. But was this the kind of thing one could say so casually?
He glared fiercely at Zhuyan without responding.
Zhuyan continued with sudden realization, “Then do you like Pan Chi?”
…
Shen Du was shocked. How could this woman’s thought process be so different from others?
How could she think he liked Pan Chi? Which eye had she used to see that?
This woman had completely shaken his worldview.
He gave a bitter laugh and said, “Did you inherit such an unusual way of thinking from your father?”
“…” Zhuyan didn’t react at first, but when she understood his meaning, she glared at him in displeasure. “What does our relationship have to do with my father? Why are you bringing him into this?”