Chapter 40 Settling Accounts Dusk was approaching, and the entire mountain forest was bathed in its hues…

As dusk approached, the entire mountain forest was bathed in the orange glow of the sunset.

Zhao Linzhang climbed the mountain in one breath and quickly arrived at the cave where they first met. The cave was dark inside, and he felt a sense of loss, but a voice in his heart told him to go in and take a look.

He left the guards outside and tiptoed inside; this place was filled with their memories.

The cave was easily visible at a glance, but Zhao Linzhang suddenly stopped looking. In the corner, a small figure was huddled up, almost blending into the dark cave wall. If it weren't for his years of martial arts training, which gave him better eyesight than most people, he would have been a sight to behold.

The heavy footsteps were exceptionally clear in the silent cave. Having barely slept a wink last night and having traveled continuously today, Shen Yunrong was utterly exhausted by the time she finally arrived at this cave. She curled up in a corner and drifted off to sleep.

The sudden sound of footsteps startled her, making her jump to her feet: "Who is it!"

Her voice trembled with fear. It was so dark, how could anyone still be going up the mountain? In this desolate wilderness, if they encountered bad people, they wouldn't even have a way to call for help.

"Don't be afraid, it's me!" Zhao Linzhang's anger vanished without a trace when he saw her curled-up figure, replaced by heartache. He forgot that she was just a village girl, and the Empress Dowager's words were her everything. His two words of comfort were not enough to put her at ease.

The familiar voice and the approaching figure—it was the scent of Zhao Linzhang.

Shen Yunrong was even more surprised and anxious: "You are still under house arrest, how can you come out? If the Emperor finds out, he will punish you!"

"You don't want me anymore!" Zhao Linzhang's voice choked with sobs. This tough and unyielding man embraced the woman in front of him like a helpless child.

The bundle in Shen Yunrong's hand fell to her feet, and her face was brushed by his, the ticklishness of his newly grown stubble and the coolness of his tears.

She hugged him tightly: "I'm scared! I'm scared that you'll fall in love with another woman."

"It's my fault. I didn't properly express my feelings to you. I only want you, and I only want to be with you. My queen is only you, there are no other women. If they don't allow it, I'm willing to give up being a prince!" Zhao Linzhang held the woman he had lost and found again, wishing he could explain everything to her.

"What nonsense are you talking about!" The sunset reflected in the cave entrance, and Shen Yunrong saw the man in front of her clearly. He was travel-worn and his eyes were bloodshot. She quickly covered his mouth. These words were outrageous and could not be said carelessly. For her sake, he even disowned his ancestors. She would be cursed and gossiped about by future generations.

"How could you just leave like this? Don't you want Ruoyu and me anymore?" the man accused, feeling wronged. In his entire life, apart from the day his mother passed away, this day was the only one that filled him with fear.

“I didn’t abandon you. I… I thought about it all night. The Empress Dowager is right.”

"She is who she is. Even if she is the Empress Dowager, she cannot force me to marry another woman!"

"She is the Empress Dowager, she can grant marriage, how can you defy the imperial decree? I also cannot defy the imperial decree, to watch you and another woman do what we did in bed, Zhao Linzhang, I can't bear it!" Shen Yunrong said, tears streaming down her face, and pushed him away.

"You mean..." Zhao Linzhang chuckled foolishly, "You're jealous!" Or rather, jealous of some unfounded woman.

"Anyway, I don't want to see you with another woman. You should leave. It's better for our daughter to suffer with you than with me. Let me go back to serve my mother, and I promise I won't bother you anymore..."

Zhao Linzhang's breathing became slightly heavy. He pinched her chin to stop her from saying anything about leaving him. A strong possessive desire surged in his chest, as if he wanted to crush the woman in front of him.

The next moment, a heavy kiss landed, forcefully penetrating her teeth. He gently cupped the back of her head with one hand and restrained her waist with the other, suppressing the ruthlessness that had just erupted. His gaze became focused and tender as he licked the tender flesh inside her lips.

Her lips stung; Shen Yunrong hadn't eaten a single grain of rice all day and had no strength to push him away. She tilted her head slightly, her mouth and body filled with his burning breath.

Xiao waited outside for a long time. The cave was quiet. He cautiously went in to check, and caught a glimpse of two entangled figures. He quickly withdrew.

Once the cave was completely shrouded in darkness, Zhao Linzhang released her, pressing his forehead against hers: "I will never let you leave, even if it means my death. Tomorrow I will go to the palace and tell the Empress Dowager that I, Zhao Linzhang, will only love you in this life!"

On the day she left, Shen Yunrong knew that she couldn't bear to leave this man either. She leaned gently against his chest. Was this the ill-fated relationship her mother had spoken of, one that she couldn't escape or break free from?

"Why are you doing this, defying the Empress Dowager for my sake?"

“This is not disobedience, it is that I want to be myself. I, Zhao Linzhang, have served the Great Yan Dynasty for ten years. I went to the battlefield at the age of fifteen and returned to the court at the age of twenty. In order for the emperor to secure his throne, I could be the emperor’s mouth, his hands, or even the emperor’s knife. After ten years, I want to be myself again and marry the woman I want to marry.”

Shen Yunrong was stunned. In those years that she didn't know about, he was honored as a prince, but he was not in control of his own destiny.

“You don’t know, what you’ve given me is exactly the life I’ve always dreamed of. With you here, you see, it can finally settle down.” Zhao Linzhang pressed her hand against his beating heart.

The guards outside the cave lit torches; they dared not enter without Zhao Linzhang's orders. Inside the cave, objects could be vaguely seen by the torchlight.

Upon hearing Zhao Linzhang's words, Shen Yunrong felt a surge of warmth in her heart. She hugged him tightly, tears streaming down her face.

"You have to believe me this time!" He swore to God, and he could even write a guarantee, as long as she believed him.

"I'm just scared!" Shen Yunrong choked up and couldn't speak. She was sensitive and insecure, and she was afraid of putting Zhao Linzhang in a difficult position. She had never encountered such a complicated problem since she was a child, and she didn't know what to do.

"No matter how much I promise now, it's useless. If I really change my mind, I will let you and Ruoyu leave the manor, how about that?" Zhao Linzhang wished he could peel his heart out and show it to her.

"Yes, I believe you!" Shen Yunrong listened to his heartbeat and pressed her hand to stop him from making another vow. She was willing to believe him this time.

Upon returning to the Prince's residence, an imperial decree arrived immediately. Zhao Linzhang could only comfort Shen Yunrong, saying, "I'll be right back. You should rest!"

"Is the Emperor going to punish you?" Shen Yunrong asked worriedly, pulling Zhao Linzhang aside. This time, it was all because of her.

"I know what to do. Just eat your food and I'll take care of the rest!" Zhao Linzhang reassured her by patting the back of her hand.

"Is the Emperor going to punish you?" Shen Yunrong thought of his swollen and red buttocks from the last beating.

"It's alright, His Majesty shouldn't do it this time!" This time, it's probably not just a few slaps that can atone for the crime.

Zhao Linzhang was afraid of frightening her, so he didn't say it outright.

As night fell, the glazed tiles of the palace twinkled with starlight, reflecting and complementing the stars in the sky. The pavilions and towers appeared and disappeared in the night, like a traditional Chinese ink painting.

Zhao Linzhang knelt under the eaves where hexagonal lanterns hung, his body covered by an oval-shaped glow.

The Emperor was furious. He couldn't understand why he didn't punish his younger brother, the Prince, who had always adhered to etiquette, for disregarding the law twice. How could he then deter the other officials?

Little did they know that this guy would actually volunteer to be relegated to the bottom of the page.

Enraged, he smashed a set of teacups, and the inkstone on the table was particularly glaring. It was something he had brought back from his campaign against the Hu Kingdom. A series of cracking sounds filled the imperial study. Zhao Linzhang knelt upright, his eyebrows and eyes lowered.

When the Empress Dowager arrived, Zhao Linzhang was still kneeling in the palace. She looked at him deeply and asked, "Little Seven, do you have no regrets?"

"Your Majesty, I have no regrets!"

"Alright, you've grown up!" He was no longer the timid little prince who followed the crown prince around.

The Empress Dowager entered the Imperial Study. After a long while, an eunuch from the Emperor's side came to summon him to rise. Zhao Linzhang knew that he had succeeded.

There's no need to be overly cautious in this imperial city, not even to the point of being careful with your breathing.

The Empress Dowager and the Emperor sat upright to one side. When he entered the hall, the Emperor turned his face away.

“According to ancestral rules, princes must leave the capital and return to their fiefdoms after reaching adulthood. Little Seven, you have grown up by my side since childhood. I have treated you as my own son, just like the Emperor. This time you insist on requesting your own fiefdom. Have you thought it through?”

"Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, I have made up my mind. Now that the country is peaceful and prosperous, and Your Majesty's rule is secure, I should also follow the ancestral rules." Zhao Linzhang showed no regret on his face.

The emperor felt even more aggrieved: "You abandoned me for that woman!"

They grew up together and their bond extended beyond being ruler and subject; they were also brothers.

"No, Your Majesty will always be the most important person in my heart! If the country summons me, I will return!"

"In that case, I will grant your wish!"

"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Linzhang had never felt so relaxed walking on the palace avenue in all his years of walking. He looked back at the palace where he had grown up, feeling both familiar and strange.

When he returns next time, he will be the Prince of Pingnan, and there will be no more Prince Zhuang in the world.

Shen Yunrong was getting impatient. Last time, he was beaten bloody and mangled. This time, he had been gone for so long. How would the Emperor punish him? She regretted her impulsive departure. Otherwise, Zhao Linzhang would not have disobeyed the Emperor's decree.

The sound of bowing came from the doorway. Shen Yunrong rushed out of the room and bumped into a familiar chest. The man steadied her with both hands: "Watch your step!"

Shen Yunrong looked him up and down, then reached out and touched his back and buttocks: "Did the Emperor hit you?"

"No!" Zhao Linzhang pressed down on the hands that were roaming over his body, his eyes deep and serious. It was time to settle accounts with this little woman.

"Then how did he punish you?" Shen Yunrong asked him with concern.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Linzhang saw her face flushed red with anxiety and couldn't help but bite her bright red earlobe, mumbling, "Let's take a bath together first!"

There was no chance for her to say no. In the steamy inner room, half of the water in the bathtub splashed out, and water droplets slid down her shoulder. The man behind her kept asking her, "You said you wouldn't leave me!"

Like a stubborn child who is afraid of being abandoned, she answered him several times but he was still not satisfied. Each time he hit her, he made her say it again.

Surrounded by mist, Shen Yunrong was like a fish thrown ashore. She gasped for breath, her fingers gripping the edge of the bathtub until they turned white. A strand of wet hair fell from her neck, and the man behind her reached out and brushed the strand of black hair onto her chest.

The warm water swayed in the bathtub. Zhao Linzhang pinched her face and kissed her deeply again. The night was still long, and they could settle their scores slowly.