Chapter 2, Section 2: "From now on, you'll just have to accept it obediently."...

Miss Su?

Xie Linyuan put down his official duties.

He leaned back in the mahogany chair, his head drooping, his long neck forming a curved shape that seemed about to bend, gleaming with a cold, eerie light under the lamp, making him look strangely unsettling.

Xie Linyuan had his eyes half-closed, seemingly lost in thought.

A moment later, as the figure outside seemed to be swayed by the wind, he chuckled softly and then said, "Please come in, sister-in-law."

As Xie Linyuan finished speaking, the figure outside paused for a moment, but only for a moment.

The door opened, and the evening breeze carried an even stronger fragrance from the spring night.

Xie Linyuan turned his head and looked over.

She stood outside the screen.

A breeze blew, the candlelight flickered, and through the screen, the woman's slender and graceful figure was reflected without any concealment.

With a slender waist and a graceful figure, her curves were captivating. Even when hidden behind a screen, she was still a mesmerizing presence.

In the hazy light, the figure on the screen seemed to turn into wisps of green smoke, drifting in through the screen.

Like those demons that suck people's life essence.

A myriad of evil thoughts arose in an instant.

Xie Linyuan suddenly opened his eyes, his peach blossom eyes as cold as sharp blades.

She really knows how to seduce people.

To this extent, debauchery has reached its peak.

"Su Muying requests an audience with the Second Young Master," Su Muying said from behind the screen.

Xie Linyuan chuckled coldly, his expression remaining stern, and replied, "Please come in, sister-in-law."

Su Muying's lowered eyelashes trembled.

These words sounded exceptionally polite, but each one was precisely aimed at her crumbling sense of shame.

Every word he uttered reminded her of her identity.

How she survived.

Now, what shameful things is she doing just to survive?

Su Muying lowered her long eyelashes, her hands were clasped together, her nails were white and almost scratched her skin.

A moment later, she let go.

Her skin was fair and thin, leaving obvious red marks that could be vaguely seen through a thin veil.

Su Muying stepped out from behind the screen.

Her body was as slender as a willow, and her face more beautiful than a peach blossom. Her clothes were clearly a tightly wrapped cross-collar, but they could not seem to hide the woman's beautiful figure. The faint whiteness of her skin was particularly dazzling.

Under the flickering lamplight, the white mourning clothes draped over her body like a thin layer of moonlight, making her snow-white skin appear even whiter and her alluring beauty even more captivating.

Vibrant and fragrant.

This was the first time Xie Linyuan had ever seen these words on someone observing mourning.

Xie Linyuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

She's truly a seductive enchantress.

Did she also use this method to bewitch her brother?

How could she make her brother willingly abandon the entire Xie family and die for her?

That's ridiculous.

What else can she do besides seducing people?

Xie Linyuan looked up at her.

The thin layer of eyelids lifted revealed an overwhelming sense of oppression.

He had fought on the battlefield for many years, and his aura of killing and ruthlessness was extremely strong.

With just one glance, Su Muying's body trembled uncontrollably. She could only clench her hands tightly until they bled without her noticing.

"Is my sister-in-law so afraid of me?" Xie Linyuan raised an eyebrow and chuckled. He got up, walked around the long table, and stood in front of her, leaning casually against the edge of the table, his posture relaxed and at ease.

With a kind of...condescending scrutiny.

The woman was dressed in white mourning clothes, and beneath the white veil, her delicate wrist, smooth and graceful, revealed a hint of alluring beauty.

And there was that glaring crimson against the snow-white background.

The fragrance mixed with the stench of blood grew stronger.

His gaze gradually darkened.

"What brings you here so late at night? Please tell me, sister-in-law."

Xie Linyuan spoke with exceptional politeness, as if he truly regarded her as his sister-in-law.

Although he called her "sister-in-law," his drawn-out tone and mocking laughter were like thorns pricking people.

His posture was also condescending; he leaned against the edge of the table, arms crossed, looking at her with amusement in his eyes, but also with deep disgust and arrogance.

It's like looking at something very dirty.

Su Muying lowered her eyelashes, her long lashes fluttering like butterflies. She bowed gracefully, her tone soft and gentle, unknowingly carrying a delicate and charming allure.

It seems to be innate, making people feel pity for them.

"Ying'er is desperate and has nowhere to turn. I hope you will take pity on her, sir."

That's what she said.

After the words were spoken, there was a long silence between the two. The spring night breeze blew in, and the light from the glass lamps flickered.

Xie Linyuan stared at her for a very long time.

Then, he bent down slightly, parted his thin lips, and a few words rolled off his tongue, his voice seemingly carrying a tender smile.

"Ying'er, Ying'er..."

"You're desperate, have pity on me..."

"But you are my sister-in-law."

"Sister-in-law, do you know what you're doing?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he completely abandoned his unrestrained demeanor. The smile in his eyes vanished, and the last bit of laughter in his words disappeared, replaced by a chilling aura emanating from his body.

The oppressive aura emanating from him almost completely engulfed her.

Su Muying stubbornly refused to back down, even as the bloodstains on the back of her hands were being gripped deeper and deeper, gradually staining the white gauze red.

"What is my sister-in-law doing now? Climbing into my bed and begging for sex?"

“My brother’s mourning hall is still there. Is it proper for my sister-in-law to do this?”

"Does your sister-in-law still remember how he looked when he died? He was covered in wounds, and there was a sword stuck in his chest..."

"Those wounds on your back, were they taken for you?"

"What a tragic death, and it was all for nothing."

"My brother has only been dead for two days, and my sister-in-law is already so eager to climb into my bed...please..."

"It seems my brother died a truly unjust death."

With each word Xie Linyuan spoke, the bloodstains on the back of Su Muying's hand became more and more pronounced.

But she still didn't back down.

Su Muying's long eyelashes drooped, casting a small shadow, carrying a slight tremor.

She still said, "I hope you will take pity on me, sir."

He seemed unmoved by Xie Linyuan's words just now.

Xie Linyuan straightened up.

He was tall and strong, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Although he was handsome and beautiful, he was even more sharp. The sense of power he exuded was indeed different from that of a civil official, and he had an imposing aura.

Su Muying stood before him, completely enveloped by his figure, looking just like a rabbit cornered against a wall.

They'll only be dismantled and eaten.

He approached her step by step, invading her territory, entwining himself with her breath, and the distance between them was gradually compressed.

Soon, in the cramped space, under the swaying light and shadow, only the two of them could be heard breathing in sync.

Xie Linyuan leaned down, his cold and heavy aura gradually enveloping her.

"Pity...?"

"How is my sister-in-law planning to seduce me?"

"My brother's body is barely cold, and now you've made me pity you..."

"My sister-in-law is truly so lewd."

He leaned close to her ear, his thin lips parted slightly, his breath burning against her fair earlobe, his words tender and lingering, like a secret whisper between the bed.

His words were extremely insulting, and his laughter was full of sarcasm.

He was gradually stripping away her sense of shame.

She appeared to be completely naked, and her defenses were already crumbling.

What else is supporting her?

She just wanted to live.

The deeper the bloodstains on the back of the hand, the stronger the smell of blood.

The white gauze was stained blood red.

Suddenly, Xie Linyuan grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the bookshelf.

Several books fell to the ground with a clatter, rustling as the wind blew through the window.

Why were you the only one who survived?

He asked, his voice soft yet ruthless, laced with a chilling hatred, "Three hundred and ten people in the temple, thirty guards, and my brother—all slaughtered..."

Why did you alone survive?

Moreover, he was completely unharmed.

He gently held her wrist with one hand and lifted her chin with the other, as if toying with her. His well-defined knuckles slowly moved down from the girl's chin, through her throat, collarbone... until he reached her snow-white, soft spot.

Su Muying trembled slightly.

He hated her intensely.

Su Muying's wrist was grabbed and raised above her head, and she was pressed against the bookshelf, unable to move or move at all.

"Still so wanton, seducing people like this."

"Promiscuous and utterly shameless."

"I want to know, is this what your brother saw in you?"

His words and tone were extremely vile; his handsome face carried a smile, but also a hatred that seemed to want to tear her apart inch by inch.

He was humiliating her.

With a flick of his slender fingers, he lifted the sash of the mourning clothes, and the garment slipped off the girl's shoulders and neck, the soft rustling of the clothes falling to the ground echoing discreetly.

Naked and bare, defying frost and snow,

The girl seemed to be enveloped in a faint halo of light.

It was truly glaring to the eye.

With her shame completely stripped away, Su Muying trembled. She couldn't help but shudder. Then, the woman's gently fluttering butterfly wings lifted, and she suddenly looked at him, asking:

Why can't I live?

She looked at him and stared directly at him.

She had a seductive and alluring appearance, with her eyes brimming with tears, looking fragile and pitiful. But deep in her eyes, there was a hint of contempt that was extremely difficult to detect.

It was as if she was the one looking down on everyone.

She was the one who despised him.

Xie Linyuan suddenly felt that what was in her eyes was very glaring.

This is something that shouldn't belong to her.

In an instant, evil thoughts arose again.

He insisted on breaking it.

He insisted on breaking it.

The thought flashed by, then vanished in an instant.

It disappeared completely.

Xie Linyuan released her.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his peach blossom eyes seeming to contain something indescribable.

"interesting."

He smiled, but the smile, hidden in the shadows, had a chilling, eerie quality.

"My brother instructed me before he died to marry you, but sister-in-law, you were too hasty..."

Xie Linyuan had his hands behind his back, slightly hunched over, and his lips brushed against the girl's earlobe. The bright red lips seemed to lightly glide over the girl's earlobe, and soon the bright red also stained the girl's earlobe.

"I will marry you in accordance with my brother's dying wish, but only as a concubine."

"You asked for this."

"From now on, you'll have to accept it obediently."

"Until the day you pay for this life."

Su Muying burst into tears, large tears rolling down her reddened eyes.

Xie Linyuan suddenly felt agitated. He stared intently at her tear-filled eyes and uttered a single word:

"roll."

——

Su Muying truly did not know that Xie Lin'an would order Xie Linyuan to marry her.

The reason she went to Xie Linyuan today to offer herself to him was because she knew it was her only chance to survive.

Xie Lin'an died. He died to save her. He was the eldest son of the Xie family, the head of the Xie family, and an important official in the court. She was just a lowly woman whose life was as insignificant as grass. No matter how much he valued her before, she would have no way to survive after his death.

Forced into a ghost marriage and beaten to death, this was her fate.

But Su Muying didn't want to die; she wanted to live.

Therefore, she had no choice but to offer herself as a concubine and climb the social ladder to survive.

Even if this person is a demon or an evil spirit, she still has to go find him.

She abandoned all shame to go to him, but little did she know that Xie Lin'an had already planned an escape route for her as he closed his eyes on his deathbed.

only……

Su Muying picked up the pieces of shame that Xie Linyuan had crushed on the ground, left Xie Linyuan's study, and unknowingly walked to the outside of the mourning hall.

Some people were keeping vigil, some were wailing, white banners and white cloths were being blown by the wind, and paper money was also being scattered by the wind in the courtyard.

As a tear slid down Su Muying's cheek, a half-burnt piece of paper money fell onto her shoulder.

Tears welled in her eyes as she stood in the shadows, slowly raising her eyes to look at the coffin and memorial tablet in the mourning hall. Suddenly, Xie Lin'an's image before his death flashed before her eyes.

And then there were Xie Linyuan's eyes, cold and sharp as blades, as if they wanted to pierce her through.

Lin'an, what if this road leads to hell?

You brothers share a deep bond, but Xie Linyuan hates me intensely.

But Su Muying had no other choice.

She did not go to pay her respects to Xie Lin'an; she glanced at him from afar and then returned to her room.

She cannot be seen by him.

——

After returning to her room, Su Muying picked up the embroidery ball and began embroidering by the light of the candle.

She needs to finish embroidering this batch as soon as possible so that Xiao Rong can take it outside to sell and save more money.

As she embroidered, images of Xie Lin'an covered in blood and Xie Linyuan's eyes kept flashing before her eyes.

He and his father do look very alike.

So, is it Lin'an who hates her...?

Suddenly, a tear fell and stained the back of her hand, soaking the bloodstains she had scratched, making them even more glaring against her snow-white skin.

pain.

She felt pain.

Su Muying simply wiped away her tears and continued embroidering.

Just then, the gate to their small courtyard was pushed open. Xiao Rong carefully closed the door, her face increasingly beaming with joy. Clutching the things in her arms tightly, she happily went into the inner room and said to her young mistress:

"Miss! Young Master has sent a letter!"

"Young Master Biao has sent a letter!"

"We'll be able to leave here soon!"