Chapter 42 Without her, he's just someone no one loves...

Wei Zhang easily grabbed her chin from behind, forcing her to look up at him. "Tell me, what is the first chapter of the Concubine's Book?"

His words were as calm as ever, but left no room for argument.

The firelight flickered in those unfathomable eyes, and Xue Lanyi clearly saw the undercurrents hidden beneath, seemingly on the verge of exploding.

The first rule of the concubine's letter: A concubine should groom herself to please her lord; to weep is considered a great disrespect.

As a concubine of Lady Wei, one must guard against pride and anger, and always prioritize pleasing the master.

Her tear clearly displeased Wei Zhang.

But so what?

They are prisoners now, guilty of heinous crimes that will surely lead to their deaths. What is she afraid of?

Xue Lanyi's slightly moist eyes twitched upwards as she stubbornly gazed at him.

Gone was the respect of the past, and there was no need to suppress her feelings for Wei Xuan anymore; she let her tears of reluctance flow freely.

Tear stains marred his fair skin.

It's like a piece of fine mutton fat jade that has developed cracks.

Looking down at her, Wei Zhang saw a lingering affection in her eyes that shouldn't have been there.

He disliked the coquettish way women cried.

"Take it back." Wei Zhang said in a deep voice, still maintaining the demeanor of the head of the Wei family.

Xue Lanyi laughed, "Who do you think you are?"

She is Li Zhaoyang, not Xue Lanyi, and certainly not one of Wei Zhang's concubines.

The rules and regulations in the concubine's book could confine Xue Lanyi, but they could not confine Li Zhaoyang.

He can't control her!

She would never again fawn over the man who had ruined half her life!

She tried to pry open his iron-like jaws, and when she couldn't, she used her teeth to bite him.

She was just as fierce as when she jumped off the carriage that morning, and the teeth marks were embedded right there.

The unhealed wound started bleeding again, flowing down Wei Zhang's fair hand.

Wei Zhang suddenly grabbed her by the throat.

The air in her throat stopped abruptly, and Xue Lanyi instinctively released her breath, her lips and teeth still stained with bright red blood, gasping for air.

Wei Zhang tightened his grip on Xue Lanyi's neck and slowly lifted her up.

She has become too arrogant and spoiled lately, and has even lost sight of her own place.

He had told her that everyone in this world who deceived him, disobeyed him, or betrayed him would come to a bad end.

He has already forgiven her once, and there won't be a second time.

"Are you Li Zhaoyang?" Wei Zhang chuckled teasingly, whispering in her ear, "Who were you when you were beneath me, lost in pleasure? Who were you when you begged me to love you?"

Where in this world is there any celestial pearl, the inviolable Li Zhaoyang?

All he had was Xue Lanyi, who belonged to him inside and out.

With his other hand, he gently stroked her angry brows, the tear stains at the corners of her eyes, and the lingering hickeys on her neck.

Finally, he grabbed her oversized prison uniform and yanked it.

The linen fabric was easily torn, revealing smooth and delicate shoulders.

Her smooth, creamy skin was covered with marks left by Wei Zhang, and there was also a beautiful blood-stained seal.

The tattoo wound had healed, and his blood had seeped into her body, blending perfectly—more perfect than any contract Wei Zhang had ever signed.

"Don't you know how much your body loves my essence?" Wei Zhang stood behind her, his hot breath spraying onto Xue Lanyi's shoulder.

Xue Lanyi was imprisoned by him and could not turn around to look at him.

But the two figures were reflected on the wall five steps away.

The man covered the petite woman, his elongated figure magnified in front of us.

The room was dimly lit, filled with a heavy atmosphere and a chilling aura.

Everything seemed to replay the scene from that study on our first night.

The unbearable memories were bluntly blown into Xue Lanyi's ears.

Her pupils contracted, and she glanced angrily at the gloomy face so close to hers. "You lied to me!"

But with her neck being choked, she couldn't even send out an angry look.

"I'm lying to you..." Wei Zhang chuckled awkwardly, "Think about it again?"

It was on a cold winter night that she sneaked onto his bed, nestled in his arms, looked at him pitifully, and said she wanted to share a bed with him for warmth.

She took his hand and placed it on her heart, vowing, "My heart is as firm as a rock, it cannot be moved."

She repeatedly told him that she liked him and that she would always be loyal to him.

Every single time, wasn't it her who came of her own accord?

As a result, within a few months, she was determined to kill him.

In the end, who is lying to whom?

Wei Zhang pressed his index finger against her chin, forcing her to look up.

He observed with great interest the slightly parted lips and the pink tongue beneath them.

What a clever tongue that can turn black into white and speak sweet words while harboring daggers in its heart.

A mouth that dares to disobey its master.

He used his thumb to slowly push the blood from the corner of her mouth and lips back into her mouth.

His breath instantly filled her mouth.

Xue Lanyi was disgusted by his taste. She would never swallow his food again, nor would she allow his blood to enter her body.

She kept her mouth open but refused to swallow.

Wei Zhang's thumb went straight to the back of her throat.

All the air was blocked.

It felt like there was a wad of cotton stuck in my throat, and gradually, it felt like a weight was pressing down on it.

She was out of strength, and her legs slid down weakly.

Wei Zhang gave her no chance to escape, forcing her to stand with his left arm under her armpit.

Her vision went white, and her chest felt like it was about to explode.

Finally, her body's instincts forced her to swallow the mouthful of blood.

He was able to breathe freely for a moment, and his body slumped limply on Wei Zhang's left arm.

She returned to him, but he saw no remorse or repentance on her face, only resentment.

"Xue Lanyi, do you know what punishment an unfaithful woman should receive?"

"I am not your wife, so what talk of fidelity?!"

Xue Lanyi breathed weakly, her stubbornness undiminished despite her pale face.

The arm that was across her chest suddenly tightened.

Xue Lanyi's back and neck slammed against the prison bars, forcing her to take a step closer to Wei Zhang.

The rivets on the wooden railing pressed coldly against her flesh, and the air was filled with the cold pine scent emanating from Wei Zhang.

She couldn't see him in the darkness, only hear his chilling breath.

"You are not my wife? Then why did you respond when I called you Xue Lanyi just now?"

Xue Lanyi's pupils contracted.

A chilling wind swept by from who-knows-where, causing the enormous figure on the opposite wall to sway, like a ghost assaulting Xue Lanyi's vision.

She then realized that Wei Zhang had deliberately called her "Xue Lanyi".

She responded as if it were commonplace.

Subtle influence is a terrifying thing; it can change a person from the inside out without them even realizing it.

Being stubborn won't help.

"The truth is: you've been forever branded as Xue Lanyi. Do you want to go back to being Li Zhaoyang?"

"Perhaps... let's talk about it after we've atoned for the sins of this life." Wei Zhang suddenly pulled an iron chain from a hidden compartment in the wall with his right hand.

The violent clanging of metal echoed in the sealed cell.

The darkness made the sounds even more jarring and chilling.

The chains still reeked of a stale, bloody smell.

How do you want to die? Choose for yourself.

Wei Zhang gripped the shackles at one end of the chain, scraping them against Xue Lanyi's neck.

The shackles were covered with a dense array of serrated teeth, and the slight stinging pain instilled a deep fear in Xue Lanyi.

She thought that at worst, she would be beheaded, cut in two, and her head would fall to the ground.

However, she underestimated Wei Zhang's vindictive nature.

His trusted confidant had simply let an innocent child go because he was soft-hearted, but he called it betrayal and made the confidant pay with his life.

Xue Lanyi was trying to drag him down to hell, so how could he let her die easily?

Xue Lanyi had witnessed his cruel methods of breaking the leg bones of his confidants.

As human beings, who wouldn't be afraid before their head rolls?

She glanced around and saw two or three jailers standing about ten paces away.

She was about to speak when the jailer vanished as if his feet had been greased.

The prisons that supervised the law were empty, yet no one stopped Wei Zhang from abusing his power to punish others.

He had been a powerful figure in the imperial court for many years, and even as the dynasty crumbled, he still had connections.

Otherwise, how could he have happened to be locked up in the same place as her?

No wonder he said we should watch the stars together tonight.

At that time, he was already thinking about how to repay the favor.

The more Xue Lanyi thought about it, the more terrified she became. She pulled at his arm, trying to break free from this ghostly figure.

But Wei Zhang's arm, which was held across his chest, was strong and powerful.

He didn't exert any effort at all, yet Xue Lanyi couldn't break free at all.

Wei Zhang looked at the girl in his arms, her eyes red with anxiety, her neck turning red as well.

The punishment hasn't even started yet, and you're already scared and want to run away?

Where did that fierce determination to betray the Lord go?

"According to the laws of Dayong: Those who do not follow the virtues of womanhood and disobey their lord shall be drowned in a pig cage."

While carrying the legal code on his back, he pressed the raptor against Xue Lanyi's neck.

Xue Lanyi's throat tightened.

Just like the feeling of suffocation when your throat is squeezed while drowning, a suffocating sensation surges forth.

She stopped moving.

Wei Zhang slowly and deliberately circled her thin, soft neck skin.

Gradually, an incredible itching sensation emerged from the suffocating feeling.

Xue Lanyi lowered her eyes and noticed that the wrist cuff was wrapped with a circle of white fox fur.

The pale white light shone in the cramped, dark space, making it appear especially sacred.

Xue Lanyi didn't understand why there were such strange shackles in the prison.

She had no time to think, because the fine, dense downy hairs were circling around her shoulder, the soft, fluffy touch tugging at every pore of her skin.

An image involuntarily surfaced in her mind: a man with slightly reddened eyes burying his face in her neck, licking her again and again.

She struggled to breathe, taking deep breaths to try and erase those images.

The shackles slid down her collarbone and slowly came to rest on her extremely thin belly.

"Or, how about riding a wooden donkey?"

"Or perhaps, tattooing?"

Wei Zhang looked down at her, his thin lips gently caressing the top of her head.

The shackles, however, seemed to be a warning, grinding against her: "The skin here is delicate; if you tattoo the Lord's mark on it, it will surely be more beautiful than the last tattoo."

"In consideration of the time you served me, I will personally carry out the execution for you."

Hot, deep breaths pressed down on Xue Lanyi's head intermittently.

Her mind was a mess, and she couldn't hear what he was saying at all. In the dim light, her senses were amplified, and a subtle, tingling sensation spread throughout her body.

Images of the past, within the red silk tent, uncontrollably surfaced in Xue Lanyi's mind.

Her body tensed instinctively, and she bit her lip to keep herself from making a sound, but the moisture in the corners of her eyes betrayed her.

Wei Zhang looked down at the woman in front of him, her face flushed and her hair damp, watching as her body tensed to the extreme.

He suddenly pulled out the fox fur.

Xue Lanyi instinctively brought her legs together. She tried her best to restrain herself, but the subtle movement of pulling her legs together did not escape Wei Zhang's eyes.

"Look at you, can you still live without me?"

Wei Zhang chuckled and handed the shackles to Xue Lanyi.

Her once fluffy down was now covered with a little sticky moisture, and she looked listless and limp, just like Xue Lanyi at this moment.

"Having betrayed me, who can bring you pleasure? Him?"

"Wei Zhang!"

Xue Lanyi used all her strength to suddenly swing away the shackles.

The chains clanged, the harsh sound echoing between the two.

"Aren't you disgusting?" She couldn't turn around, so she could only stare fiercely at the tall figure on the wall, her chest heaving.

The shadow on the wall remained motionless.

Then he slowly leaned down, close to her shoulder, like a mountain collapsing, completely enveloping her shadow.

"I just like to tell the truth. The truth is: you are Xue Lanyi, and you are destined to depend on me."

He suddenly bit her earlobe, biting down hard until a drop of blood seeped from between his teeth.

He wanted her to feel pain, and he wanted her to remember these words.

However, Xue Lanyi could no longer feel pain after repeated stimulation.

She stood still, letting him lick the drop of blood and swallow it.

She suddenly laughed, "Is it Xue Lanyi who can't live without you, or you who can't live without Xue Lanyi?"

"Are you having hysteria again?" Wei Zhang's eyes were full of sarcasm.

However, the hand restraining Xue Lanyi loosened its grip.

Xue Lanyi turned around and glared at him. "Isn't that right? You're afraid that if Xue Lanyi is gone, you'll become a pitiful, lonely wretch with no one to love you. That's why you keep trying to prove that I'm Xue Lanyi, not Li Zhaoyang, right?"

“If that’s not the case, you can just kill me. Kill me with one blow or use all sorts of torture. It’s all just to vent your anger. Why waste your breath on me and insist that I admit I’m Xue Lanyi?”

Her words were firm and resounding, echoing throughout the prison.

In an instant, there was no other sound around.