"Marital obligations?"

Chu Changning couldn't help but sneer, shaking the gold chain on her foot as she questioned him.

"You forced me to wear shackles and lock me in the palace, is this how you, Yan Beimo, treat your husband?"

"That way you can't escape, can you?"

He chuckled lightly and walked away.

Chu Changning let out a muffled groan, her eyes instantly becoming hazy like the sunset, her cheeks spreading like peach blossoms in the spring breeze, exuding a delicate charm that emanated from her very bones, making her incomparably beautiful.

The hall was dimly lit, but Yan Beimo could see clearly at night. He saw his reflection in her extremely moist eyes, and his breathing became heavy.

He leaned down to kiss her lips, kissing her passionately, pressing her body down as if he wanted to knead her into his bones.

Chu Changning bit his tongue, the metallic sweetness spreading in her mouth, but he ignored her and continued to bully her more fiercely.

She angrily turned her head and pushed him away, but he held her tightly, fiercely and roughly pulling her into his arms and kissing her like a wild dog.

Chu Changning was so breathless from the kisses that she pinched and scratched him fiercely.

"You're trying to imprison me and make me your plaything."

"Chu Changning, you provoked me first."

He looked down at her; her black hair was loosely tied back, with a few strands hanging down. Beneath her long eyebrows that reached her temples, her eyes were deep and gloomy, like the snow that never melts on the Kunlun Mountains, cold and eerie.

Chu Changning's eyes reddened with anger at his words, and her heart felt heavy.

It wasn't that he was lustful, nor that he used threats or inducements. So, who provoked whom first?

"Even if I provoked you, when have you ever truly treated me as your wife? You're just infatuated with this body and haven't gotten tired of it yet."

Yan Beimo tightened his grip on her waist. "Tired of playing?"

"Isn't that so?" Chu Changning didn't want to argue with him, so she calmly said, "Your Majesty now possesses the world, what kind of woman can't you have? Let me go."

Yan Beimo was amused by her words, bit her neck, and said fiercely.

"Let you go? Do you think the Yan family is at your beck and call? Do you think Yan Beimo is someone you can summon and dismiss at will?"

Chu Changning gasped slightly as she was bitten, "So you plan to keep yourself trapped in your palace forever?"

He was being rough, and a mist of tears welled up in her eyes. Hot beads of sweat fell on her body, her skin was fair and radiant, and she exuded a captivating charm.

Yan Beimo suddenly scooped her up, staring intently at her, his voice hoarse.

"Chu Changning, you are mine, you are my wife, I will never let you go, even if it means my death."

He revealed his true colors, his eyes gleaming with a possessiveness that seemed to want to devour her, more frightening than a wild wolf.

Chu Changning was held tightly by him and sat on his lap, leaning on his shoulder and biting his shoulder hard.

"You're a madman, a complete and utter madman."

On New Year's Day, the entire palace was filled with revelry throughout the night. The grand banquet lasted all night long, with various music, dances, and acrobatics resounding in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and the officials enjoying food and drink.

However, the emperor who returned from the Vermilion Bird Tower did not attend, and the noble officials and various princes, without any restraint, indulged in debauchery and licentiousness at the banquet table with their beautiful maids.

Wang Dun came out of the inner palace and saw the people standing under the palace corridor. He walked over with his hands behind his back.

"This servant pays respects to the Prime Minister."

"What is it?"

The visitor respectfully said, "The young lady's body has been returned to the manor."

What?

Wang Dun's expression changed slightly. "Dead?"

"yes."

"Hmph, fine."

Wang Dun looked at the brightly lit palace and sneered.

"Our Emperor is so arrogant. Has he forgotten that he comes from a prestigious family in Yandu? What good can come of opposing a prestigious family like this?"

Wang Dun was born into the Langya Wang clan and served several emperors. During the reign of Emperor Wei, he once had the idea of ​​deposing the emperor and usurping the throne, which was opposed by many ministers.

The aristocratic families supported Emperor Shengwu in establishing the Southern Dynasty. After the Southern Dynasty was overthrown, they lost to Emperor Dajin because of the aristocratic families' ancestral precepts, thus missing the opportunity.

Thinking that he was over fifty years old and had accompanied the emperor on several southward migrations, he was now losing to a junior from Yan Beimo, which was truly unacceptable.

"Call Sanlang over here."

When Wang Hezhan came out of the cabinet, he saw a man standing in front of the hall with his hands behind his back.

He lowered his eyes slightly, walked over, and bowed.

"uncle."

Wang Dun turned around, glanced at his most valued junior in the family, and patted him on the shoulder with a light laugh.

"You've returned from Southern Liang?"

Wang Hezhan straightened up, his eyes slightly darkening. "Yes, His Majesty has already sent someone to hand over the duties."

Wang Dun paused, looked at his nephew who was half a head taller than him, and spoke.

"Have you set a date for your wedding with Yan Yuan?"

"It will be done after the New Year."

The unity of the aristocratic families, the marriage alliance between the Yan and Wang families, and the consolidation of the interests of the four major clans in Yandu have been an age-old practice.

Wang Dun took a deep breath and sighed, "The Empress Dowager wanted our Wang family's daughter to enter the palace, but His Majesty sent back a corpse instead. This is a warning to us."

Wang Hezhan remained expressionless and did not speak.

"Your cousin was in the prime of her life, and her untimely death is a misfortune for the Wang family."

"His Majesty's temperament is unpredictable. My grandfather was rash and shouldn't have stepped forward first."

Wang Dun looked at the night view of the palace, glanced at his nephew standing beside him, and his gaze became indifferent.

"If even my Wang family doesn't dare to make a move, then which of the great families in the world would dare?"

Wang Hezhan's expression remained unchanged, and he spoke calmly.

"The Yan family's nineteen main branches are deeply intertwined. After Yan Nanyan's death, Yan Rongli took over Jiangdong. If Uncle wants to form a marriage alliance with the Yan family, why not marry your third sister to Yan Rongli?"

Wang Dun's expression darkened slightly after being rebuked by his nonchalant words.

He didn't actually want to form a marriage alliance with the Yan family. The Yan family giving Yan Wu to Wang San was just another way of showing goodwill to the Wang family. There was absolutely no need for the Wang family to marry another legitimate daughter into the Yan family.

What he wanted was for his royal descendants to have the blood of emperors.

"I've heard that His Majesty used to dote on that princess from the former dynasty, but now that His Majesty has ascended the throne, he hasn't seen Jinling. Where is she?"

Wang Hezhan said, "My nephew is far away in Southern Liang and is not very clear about His Majesty's private affairs."

After going around in circles, they still won't take the bait.

Wang Dun's expression darkened, and he gave a reminder.

"Sanlang, you are the eldest son of the Langya Wang clan. You bear the honor of your family on your shoulders. Do you understand?"

"Uncle's words are wise, and I understand."

Seeing his indifferent expression, Wang Dun remembered what his subordinates had reported, and his voice suppressed a hint of anger.

“Your father doesn’t care about you, but the legitimate son of the Langya Wang clan cannot be involved in a scandal of having an affair with a concubine’s daughter from a noble family. Clean up your private affairs.”

Wang Hezhan's father was obsessed with poetry and books, and was fond of refined pursuits. He rarely interfered in the marriages of the younger generation in the clan.

Wang Hezhan's eyes darkened slightly upon hearing this.

"Uncle, rest assured, I will handle it properly. Please do not interfere."

Although he acted dissolutely, he intended to hide it from his family. How did his uncle, who was far away in Jiankang, find out?

There's a mole inside.

Wang Hezhan's lowered eyes darkened slightly.

"As long as you don't do anything reckless, nobody will bother you."

After Wang Dun finished speaking, he flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.

Wang Hezhan watched the departing figure, slowly straightened up, and a sinister look appeared on his handsome face.