91. Punishment

The four words that came to her mind were—skin torn and flesh ripped open…

Qi Gu could no longer speak because her mouth was blocked by Sima Hong's. She struggled, but the person in front of her did not give her a chance to breathe.

He held her tightly in his arms, and his kisses were no longer as fleeting as they had been in the carriage last time.

His hand on her neck sent shivers down her spine and her heart raced.

Sima Hong felt his blood boiling, and his kiss tasted of blood.

Qi Gu tried desperately to escape this wretched and chaotic situation, but Sima Hong wouldn't allow it. When she tried to speak, she could only utter "ooh... um..." sounds.

Qi Gu was forced to accept Sima Hong. She stared blankly at Sima Hong, who kissed her with possessiveness and ferocity. He half-closed his eyes and swept over her like a devastating force.

Qi Gu felt that she must be dreaming. If she wasn't dreaming, why did she feel dizzy, weak all over, and the whole world seemed unreal? The people in front of her became blurry, and the screens, tables, and chairs around her began to float.

He threw all notions of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame to the back of his mind. Nothing was enough. A fire was burning in his heart, spreading throughout his body. Sima Hong only wanted to let the person in his arms feel his warmth.

Qi Gu looked at me, looked at me, and kept staring at me without looking away!

Sima Hong felt that he was sick, otherwise why would he feel that nothing was enough!

Qi Gu struggled until she was exhausted, and even her forehead was slightly sweaty. Her cloak unconsciously slipped to the ground. When she reached out to grab it in mid-air, the person in front of her forcefully grabbed her hand.

A tear glistened at the corner of her mouth; she was utterly ashamed! Even in their past life, when they were married, they had never been this embarrassed!

Sima Hong noticed Qi Gu's angry gaze. The two fingers she had dug into his arm were of no use to him.

Instead, Qi Gu's blushing and embarrassed appearance only made him unable to stop. He tightened his arms around Qi Gu's waist and smiled wickedly.

Sima Hong even gently sucked on the trace of moisture on her lips... Following that trace of moisture, he pressed Qi Gu's head, returning to the place that had captivated him.

Qi Gu's heart fluttered uncontrollably; Sima Hong was utterly despicable!

She closed her eyes and thought, "That germaphobe Sima Hong wouldn't do something so shameless!"

Even the seemingly respectable Sima Hong wouldn't do such a despicable thing!

Sima Hong, a man of high moral character and noble integrity, would never do such a shameless thing!

The person in front of me must be crazy, or she is crazy, how could she have such a dream!

Qi Gu's face turned increasingly red, whether from anxiety or anger. She felt her breathing becoming increasingly labored, and the person in front of her was like an insatiable beast, constantly plundering and invading.

Not enough, not enough at all, Sima Hong blocked every single gap.

"Aunt Qi, look at me, look at me, call my name, okay?"

The overwhelming tide surged in, engulfing Qi Gu. Qi Gu could no longer bear it and collapsed into Sima Hong's arms, where he caught her steadily.

After an unknown amount of time, Qi Gu felt as if all her strength had been drained by a demon, and collapsed in front of Sima Hong. Only then did the plundering finally stop.

In her hazy, unclear consciousness, a pair of strong hands lifted her up and placed her on a soft, warm bed. Qi Gu slowly closed her eyes and was finally able to breathe smoothly.

When Atai finally arrived with the palace physicians, they saw the princess lying on the young master's bed, seemingly asleep or unconscious, with the young master gently kissing her hand beside him.

This scene left the royal physician momentarily unsure whether it was his own husband or the princess who needed treatment.

The physician was completely bewildered. When Atai came to him, he spoke in a cryptic manner and chatted for a while in his pharmacy before finally telling him that his lord's wound had reopened.

He picked up his medicine box, ready to treat his husband's injury, but Atai hesitated and said vaguely, "Doctor Wang, there's no need to rush."

The royal physician dared not delay and looked reproachfully at Atai: "If anything happens to the young master, we will also be punished."

Atai pouted, "Physician Wang, just listen to me. If you arrive late, the young master will be overjoyed. On the contrary, if you arrive early, the young master will not only blame you but also be unhappy."

The physician Wang didn't know what Atai was up to, but Atai was one of the most trusted people by the young master's side, so he naturally wouldn't harm the young master. Thus, it took the two of them almost half an hour to arrive at the young master's courtyard.

He initially thought it was because his husband's wound had reopened and his fever had returned. But when he entered the room, he found that his husband seemed to be fine, while the princess was unconscious on his husband's bedside for some unknown reason. Could it be that the princess was injured?

Just as he was about to ask, the young master turned around and made a shushing gesture, looking at him almost greedily for a long time before reluctantly moving away and leading him and Atai to the outer room.

Only then did the royal physician dare to ask, "My lord, is Her Highness the princess alright?"

Sima Hong said, "It's alright, she's just tired, let her rest."

The royal physician didn't dare ask why he had fallen asleep from exhaustion, and could only say, "That's good, that's good."

She then looked at Sima Hong's back, where there were scattered bloodstains on his snow-white clothes. "Oh dear, my lord, your wound has reopened. I'll re-bandage it for you. I've already told you not to move around too much, or the wound will reopen."

The physician didn't think much of it; the young master never took care of his health and would neglect everything when he was busy.

He deftly produced medicine and gauze, saying, "Although your fever isn't severe, you still need to avoid getting chilled. You must rest well; neglecting your health now will leave you with chronic illnesses."

The only sound in the room for a while was the incessant chatter of Physician Wang.

When Qi Gu woke up, she was still a little confused. She thought she had a nightmare in which Sima Hong did something very bad and wicked to her.

She looked at the unfamiliar bed curtains and room, and her mind gradually cleared from the fog.

"Sima Hong! Prepare to die!" Qi Gu rushed out from the inner room with a furious expression.

The physician, Wang, who was applying medicine and bandaging his husband, trembled slightly and turned to look at Qi Gu, who was letting out a thunderous roar behind him.

Sima Hong turned his back and looked back at Qi Gu, feeling a little regretful that it was too short.

Qi Gu, who had prepared countless curses, thought of four words when she saw the dark red, horrifying scars covering that snow-white, firm back: "skin torn and flesh ripped open"...

It turns out he was really badly injured.

Sima Hong put on his clothes and gestured for the royal physician and Atai to leave first.

Qi Gu, who was originally quite confident, couldn't open her mouth when she saw Sima Hong's injury.

She thought of the strange atmosphere between Sima Hong and Sima Taigong in her previous life. At that time, she didn't know what they disagreed about, but Sima Taigong was very dissatisfied with Sima Hong's actions after learning that he supported his mother.

That was her first time visiting the main residence of the Sima family. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was looking, she slipped into the courtyard of the Sima family and unintentionally stumbled into the room where Sima Taigong was punishing Sima Hong.

She stood outside the door, listening to Sima Taigong use filial piety and the stories of Sima Hong's early-deceased father and mother to hurt and scold him.

"You're ruining the Sima family's reputation! You're dragging the Sima family to their doom!"

"If your father and mother knew in the afterlife that you had done such an unfaithful, unfilial, unjust, and morally reprehensible thing, they would not rest in peace!"

"You've interfered in the struggle for the crown prince's position, colluded with the empress, and done such indecent things! Are you trying to drive me crazy? Is this how I raised you? Our Sima family only serves the emperor. Only the emperor deserves our support. The empress and the crown prince? What are they? You fawn over the empress, are you trying to help her become a hen crowing at dawn?! You've completely disgraced our Sima family's century-old reputation as a family of upright officials!"

"If I had known this would happen, I would have been better off raising a dog than a spineless coward like you!"

For every word Sima Taigong spoke, he would lash out with a whip.

Sima Hong endured Sima Taigong's scolding and whipping, his back never bent, nor did he ever defend himself.

How could anyone treat their own grandson so cruelly, especially the grandson they raised themselves? Didn't Sima Taigong, his closest grandfather, know Sima Hong's character and moral integrity?

Sima Taigong was a renowned scholar from a prominent family that had been in power for centuries. He was well-versed in the classics, history, philosophy, and literature, and was praised by the founding emperor of the previous dynasty as being unparalleled in his time.

This same person said vicious things to his grandson and even whipped him.

Through the crack in the window, Qi Gu watched as those eyes, once clear and pure like the bright moon, darkened. This was another side of Sima Hong that she had never seen before.

She felt sorry for him. The bright moon was stained with dust, and this dust came from the hands of a loved one. The whip in Sima Taigong's hand was not striking Sima Hong's back, but striking his own heart. Qi Gu's heart ached so much.

She could no longer contain herself. She pushed open the door and, for the first time, displayed the dignity of a princess, questioning Sima Taigong: "How can you treat your grandson so cruelly and without any compassion? Don't you know he has already done enough?"

"Princess, this is the Sima family home. Even if you are a princess, it is not your place to interfere in the Sima family's internal affairs!"

Qi Gu was determined. She stood in front of Sima Hong and turned to ask him, "Are you alright? I'll take you away." She didn't know where she got the courage to actually take Sima Hong away. Where to go? Not to mention that the person in front of her was Sima Taigong, who had raised him, Sima Hong himself didn't want to go with her.

"Guards, escort the princess back to the palace!" Sima Taigong was surprised that someone would barge in and defy his discipline of his grandson, saying that he was inhuman.

This princess from the countryside was uncouth, disrespectful to her elders, and even wanted to take his grandson away right in front of him—it was utterly ridiculous. Especially since this princess was the empress's daughter, he disliked her even more.

He had heard rumors that this princess was shameless and shamelessly followed Xiu Yuan around all day, hoping to marry into the Sima family. Could it be that the Empress was planning to do the same?

Sima Taigong's eyelids, wrinkled like deep valleys, drooped heavily. "Hmph! Princess Yuanchu, you are not qualified to interfere in the affairs of my Sima family now, and of course, you will not be qualified to interfere in the future. Please be mindful of your royal etiquette and do not disgrace the royal family."

Grandfather Sima coldly looked at Lady Qi, "Also, tell the Empress that if she wants the Sima family to serve her and for you to marry into the family, she can forget about it!"

“Grandfather, this has nothing to do with the princess; it is my own decision.”

Sima Taigong was even angrier, pointing his trembling finger at Sima Hong as if he were looking at a good-for-nothing grandson. Sima Hong was clearly the most valued man in the Great Jin Dynasty, who had solved many problems for the emperor and helped the empress formulate many national policies. Everyone admired him, yet no one could do what he could.

Qi Gu knew that after today, her chances of marrying into the Sima family were almost nil. Grandfather Sima already disliked her, and now she had openly challenged his authority...

But she doesn't regret it; Sima Hong has already done an excellent job.

What's wrong with the Sima family choosing to help the Empress Dowager and the Emperor? The Empress Dowager cares about the world and is loved by the people. The Emperor's brother will also make good use of Sima Hong after ascending the throne. The Empress Dowager has a long-term vision. If they join forces, the Great Jin Dynasty will only prosper.

She truly couldn't understand why Sima Taigong was so furious about this, even going so far as to humiliate his grandson in Heyang.

In this second life, it seems that Sima Taigong knew in advance about Sima Hong and his mother's alliance.

"Does Grandfather Sima know that you helped the Empress Dowager?" Qi Gu asked.

Sima Hong put on his clothes and, instead of answering, asked, "Is there anything wrong? Shall I have the royal physician examine you?"

Qi Gu originally had a thousand or ten thousand things she wanted to say to Sima Hong, but when she saw the wound on his back, she thought of the scolding Sima Taigong gave him in her previous life because he chose to stand on the side of the Empress Dowager.

He couldn't bring himself to say those words. In the end, he had sacrificed too much for his mother, his brother, and the Great Jin Dynasty. He had given his emotions, his pleasures, his marriage, his time and energy, and even his wife. He had given everything he could to the Sima family, the Chu family, and the world.

Everyone admires him, but no one can be like him.

His mother and younger brother benefited from his sacrifices.

Qi Gu glanced at him one last time, then lowered her head and said, "You should rest well. I'm going to see my father."

[Author's Note]

It's not easy to write a kissing scene without a quick fix; it's really not easy. [sunglasses]

It was locked, so I changed it. [laughing and crying emojis]