Chapter 19 Nighttime Talk: You Want to Divorce Me

He had drunk some wine that night, and the corners of his eyes were slightly red. Yet, in the darkness, his eyes shone like obsidian, his gaze so intense it seemed to pierce through people, and the burning heat emanating from his body also poured into the cramped space of the cave.

Lin Shutang blinked, suddenly feeling somewhat at a loss.

She tried to push him, but Shen Yun didn't budge. He then grabbed her hand and pressed it against the mountain wall.

He leaned closer and buried his face in Lin Shutang's left cheek, inhaling her scent.

"Are you happy today?" he suddenly asked out of the blue.

Lin Shutang was a little confused. "Huh?"

"Will you go out again tomorrow?" He moved his hand down her ear.

"What?" Lin Shutang was somewhat puzzled.

Are you worried about me coming home late?

Have you visited Yan'er?

"..."

He bombarded her with a barrage of questions, kissing her all the way down to her neck.

He opened his mouth, his canine teeth gently rubbing against her delicate skin, and a powerful throbbing could be felt beneath the skin.

Lin Shutang gasped in pain, and in the midst of the sharp pain, he suddenly remembered what had happened during the day.

A chill ran down my spine.

How did it reach Shen Yun's ears so quickly?

"I... my carriage broke down today, and I happened to meet the Third Prince, who sent someone to give me a ride," Lin Shutang said carefully, without explicitly mentioning Song Ying's name.

"The Duke's mansion can send another carriage." Shen Yun rubbed the skin harder, clearly not buying it.

Lin Shutang was speechless.

"You want a divorce?" Shen Yun looked up from her neck, as if he had just thought of this, and stared at her with deep eyes.

Lin Shutang was terrified. She wasn't surprised that Shen Yun would pay attention to Song Ying, but she never expected that even her exchanging a few words with a woman would be reported to him by his subordinates.

She quickly explained, "I...I did that on purpose to anger Princess Changning."

Lin Shutang didn't know if Shen Yun believed her story. In the darkness, Shen Yun's eyes were fixed on her, staring until her heart pounded with anxiety. Only then did Shen Yun lean in and kiss her lips.

His movements were gentle and affectionate, slowly rubbing and licking along her lips, as if she had been coaxed.

Lin Shutang's jaw was pried open, and she dared not disobey Shen Yun at this moment. She tilted her head back and felt his tongue entwining with hers, teasing her again and again, deliberately trying to make her sink into it.

Lin Shutang's legs went weak from the kiss, and he swallowed her breath and saliva. As if he couldn't get enough, Shen Yun grabbed her waist and lifted her up, using his knees to spread her legs apart to prevent her from sliding down.

A sob escaped her throat. Lin Shutang opened her slightly unfocused eyes, panting as she turned her head away to avoid him.

Surprisingly, Shen Yun didn't hold on to her. Instead, he brushed her cheek and took her earlobe into his mouth. His movements were tender, and his voice was very low, tinged with desire, yet every word was enunciated with exceptional clarity.

"Ah Tang, don't try to escape, don't try to leave me."

Lin Shutang shuddered, the faint voice in his ear seeming to carry a ruthless intent that could devour bones and gnaw blood.

Her head, which had been a little dizzy from the kiss, suddenly cleared up. She turned her head to look at him. In the dark night, Shen Yun's eyes shone brightly, like a vicious wolf guarding its prey in a cage.

They stared at those who coveted her, and they stared at her as well.

...

Lin Shutang didn't know how she got back to Jingyuan Residence; she was probably carried back by Shen Yun.

Upon hearing his words last night, Lin Shutang was terrified and immediately closed his eyes, pretending to be dead and fainting.

She didn't want to face Shen Jun's scrutiny.

It's also difficult to make any promises against one's conscience.

Over the years, Shen Yun has never concealed his control and possessiveness towards her.

Even though Lin Shutang endured a great deal, he still found it difficult to get used to it.

She used to think that maybe one day Shen Yun would get tired of her and let her go.

So year after year, they waited with pitiful hopes.

But as they waited, Shen Yun married her.

Even now, they've forced her to have the child.

His paranoia, possessiveness, obsession, and morbidity seem to have not diminished at all over time, but have even intensified.

Lin Shutang leaned against Shen Jun's chest, her mind a jumbled mess.

Perhaps because so much had happened that day, Shen Yun carried her and before they even reached Jingyuan Residence, she fell asleep halfway there.

Lin Shutang stared at the crimson canopy top entwined with crabapple blossoms, and let out a long sigh.

I got up, lifted the curtain, and realized how weak and exhausted I felt.

In particular, there is a dull ache between my legs, as if it has been rubbed by a hard object.

Lin Shutang looked down and saw that his clothes were intact and his bedding was dry.

But when you lift up her clothes, you can see dense red marks on her snow-white skin, and obvious finger marks on her slender waist.

Lin Shutang did not bother to take off his underwear.

She got up expressionlessly and called her maid to come in and wash up.

As Lin Shutang sat down at the dressing table, she could still see the gaudy hickey on her neck, which Shen Yun had bitten her in the cave.

Reaching out to touch it, it stung slightly.

"I'll use some cosmetics to smooth it out for you later, Madam," Green Willow said considerately when she saw Lin Shutang staring at that spot.

Lin Shutang nodded, looked away from the glass mirror, and gazed at Luwu behind him. "How is Qingdai's health?"

Green Willow lowered her eyes and combed the ends of Lin Shutang's hair, pursing her lips, "Sister Qingdai's family came looking for her, saying that the elder in the family is seriously ill and they want to see her one last time."

"The lady was still asleep this morning when the young master took it upon himself to restore her to her slave status and allow her to return to her hometown."

"She's gone?"

Lin Shutang was somewhat surprised and quickly turned around. A strand of hair suddenly broke off on the silver comb due to the force, causing a sharp pain in her scalp. Lin Shutang had no mind to care about it anymore.

"Yes," Green Willow replied, carefully brushing the hair off the comb. "Sister Qingdai originally wanted to say goodbye to Madam, but she didn't want to disturb her, so she left first."

Having received an affirmative answer, Lin Shutang lowered her eyes and turned away listlessly.

Life is truly unpredictable; yet another maidservant who had been by her side left her for some reason.

Over the years, Lin Shutang's personal maids have changed many times.

Either her family redeemed her from her servitude, or she was to be married and have children, or she was taken away by the concubines or young ladies of other households.

Now, even Qingdai, who had been with her the longest, has left without warning.

She hadn't even said goodbye to her in person yet.

Lin Shutang knew that she wasn't bad to these maids, but she certainly wasn't kind to them either.

As her personal maids, they were almost always by her side.

Lin Shutang initially disliked them because she felt they were Shen Yun's people, there to spy on her.

But later I realized that we were all just servants, and could only obey our masters.

Lin Shutang gradually stopped rejecting it.

She finally gets used to having someone by her side, but eventually, someone else always ends up by her side again.

In this vast Duke's mansion, it seems that nothing can be kept around Lin Shutang.

"Okay." Lin Shutang pouted.

After tidying up, Green Willow asked in advance so that she could instruct the servants to make preparations, "Is Madam going out of the manor today?"

Lin Shutang recalled what Shen Yun had said yesterday; clearly, he didn't like her going out so often.

After meeting Song Ying yesterday, Shen Xiuyan also said some inexplicable things to her. Lin Shutang was unsure whether Shen Yun knew these things or how much he knew, so he decided to stay out of trouble for a while.

She stood up. "No need."

Remembering the room in the east wing, Lin Shutang instructed, "Have someone clean up that wooden house."

Upon hearing this, Green Willow looked up, seemingly puzzled.

Lin Shutang recalled that she seemed to have entered Jingyuan Residence at the end of last winter, so she added, "It's the room next to the Prince's study."

Green Willow blinked, accepted the order, and hurried downstairs.

It's not Green Willow's fault; Lin Shutang rarely went into that room, and it was almost always locked.

When Lvwu first entered the mansion, she naturally did not know what the wooden house she was talking about was.

That room was a woodworking room that Shen Yun had specially built for her, by setting aside half of his study.

Lin Shutang's father was a carpenter in Qingzhou. He made his fortune through his skills and became quite well-known in Qingzhou.

Although Lin Shutang's craftsmanship was not as exquisite as Song Ying's, his talent in woodworking, which he had shown since childhood, was no less remarkable.

Lin Shutang's interests were just too wide-ranging.

She wanted to try everything, and the monotonous woodworking couldn't contain her restless heart.

Shen Yun built her a wooden house, hoping that she could continue to do what she liked and that she wouldn't be too bored while staying at Jingyuan Residence, thus relieving her fatigue.

But Lin Shutang hated that room so much, as if staying inside meant resigning herself to being trapped by Shen Yun.

So, the wooden house took three years to build, and Lin Shutang only went in on the first day, led by Shen Yun. He never set foot in it again after that.

Lin Shutang refused to accept any of Shen Yun's attempts to be friendly.

So on that day, she threw all the fine wood and tools that were placed inside out.

This crushed Shen Yun's desire to ease the tension between the two.

She doesn't need compensation or embellishment; she and Shen Yun should always be at odds and speak ill of each other.

However, Shen Yun was unusually quiet that day, calmly enduring Lin Shutang's deliberate harassment.

She let herself smash the things inside to pieces.

Lin Shutang smashed everything he could. The antique display shelves were overturned, and the decorative porcelain pieces were shattered all over the ground. The noise was deafening, and the servants outside the wooden house all shrank back and walked away.

The resentment that had been building up in Lin Shutang's chest seemed to have dissipated a little.

But Shen Yun's calmness gave Lin Shutang the illusion that he had punched cotton.

He stood there quietly, the warm yellow light shining in from outside landing right behind his feet, as if sparing no extra soft light from falling on him.

Lin Shutang couldn't see his eyes clearly; the backlighting meant she could only see a layer of warm light around his edges. But the area in front of him was shrouded in shadow.

His gaze seemed to fall on her face, or perhaps on the mess around her.

After a long while, his slightly lowered eyelids slowly lifted, as if he was finally moved by Lin Shutang's trampling of his feelings.

Finally, the act couldn't go on any longer?

Lin Shutang chuckled.

Waiting for his storm, waiting for his threats and coercion, waiting for his uncontrollable rage.

But when he walked in, he took Lin Shutang's hand and gently wrapped a handkerchief around her palm.

Lin Shutang looked down and noticed that something had scratched his palm, leaving bloody marks.

"If you don't like it, then forget it." Shen Yun finally spoke, her voice hoarse, as if she were forcibly suppressing a breath.

He finished wrapping the last loop, looked up and his nonchalant expression returned, his tone becoming casual, "I'll give you something else."

Staring at Lin Shutang, the shadows cast by her drooping eyelashes covered the blue under her eyes, dispelling some of the inconspicuous fatigue, but the expression in her eyes quickly turned mischievous, as if she had endless energy to keep going with her.

Lin Shutang looked back, his face deathly pale.

A note from the author:

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Shen Yun: She doesn't like me, and she doesn't like the gifts I give her.

Sichuan peppercorn: Oh. [Eating melon seeds]