Chapter 48 Crushed to Ashes? No, it's forced love and keeping a mistress in a gilded cage!

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The sword in Yan Linye's hand trembled slightly, its tip less than an inch from Yun Zhan's throat, reflecting a cold light. The expression on his face was like a spilled palette—shock, rage, the excruciating pain of being deceived, and the deep-seated love and disbelief that he suppressed yet still revealed in his eyes.

Yun Zhan closed his eyes, his long eyelashes trembling like butterfly wings, awaiting the final judgment. He even bid a final farewell to the system in his mind: "Little Seven, it seems our journey has come to an end... In the next life, let's bind to an easy mode..."

However, the expected excruciating pain did not occur.

He only heard a crisp "clang," the sound of metal hitting the gold brick floor heavily.

He opened his eyes in astonishment, only to see Yan Linye's blood-stained longsword lying on the ground, while Yan Linye himself was walking towards him step by step. In those deep eyes, a storm even more terrifying than before was churning—a possessive desire that was almost insane and capable of destroying everything.

"Death?" Yan Linye's voice was terribly hoarse, carrying a chilling chuckle. "You wish, Chu Yin... or should I call you... Yun Zhan?"

He walked to the dragon throne, leaned down, and placed his arms on the armrests, completely enveloping Yun Zhan in his shadow. Their noses almost touched, and their breaths mingled.

"You've deceived me so deeply..." Yan Linye stared into his eyes, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, filled with deep-seated hatred and a twisted excitement. "Watching me go crazy for you, watching me search for you like a fool, watching me raise an army to 'save you'... Don't you find that amusing? Hmm?"

Yun Zhan shrank back, startled by the terrifying light in his eyes, but the dragon throne was only so big; he had nowhere to escape. "I...I didn't..." he tried to explain, but found words so pale and powerless at this moment. What could he say? That he didn't mean it? That he was also in pain?

"No?" Yan Linye suddenly reached out and grabbed his chin, the force so great that he cried out in pain. "Then tell me! Why you! Why you, Chu Yin of all people?!"

His roar echoed in the empty hall. Yun Zhan looked into his pained and crazed eyes, his heart feeling as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, a mixture of bitterness and rage at being deceived. He decided to give up, turning his head away, refusing to look at him: "You're the one who's blind! Whose fault is it!"

These words completely ignited the last shred of reason in Yan Linye's heart.

He abruptly pulled Yun Zhan up from the dragon throne, ignoring his struggles, and carried him horizontally out of the hall.

"Yan Linye! Let me go! Where are you taking me?!" Yun Zhan struggled in panic, using both his hands and feet, but unfortunately, in the face of the absolute difference in strength, his resistance was like an ant trying to shake a tree.

"Where to?" Yan Linye looked down at him, a cold and obsessive smile curving his lips. "From today onwards, you're not going anywhere. Aren't you my 'best friend'? Aren't you the one I long for day and night? Fine, then I'll keep you by my side forever! Let you watch how I take over this mess you've made, how I govern this world! And you..."

He leaned close to Yun Zhan's ear, his warm breath brushing against the sensitive earlobe, but the words he spoke sent a chill down Yun Zhan's spine:

"And you, you can only watch me, you can only stay by my side! This is the price you have to pay for deceiving me!"

...

Yan Linye swiftly seized control of the capital and the palace with ruthless methods. He announced that the previous incompetent emperor, Chu Yin, had "committed suicide out of fear of punishment" when the palace fell, and his body was never found. In accordance with "divine will" and "the will of the people," he ascended the throne as emperor, establishing the dynasty with the name "Chen," historically known as the Later Chen Dynasty.

The enthronement ceremony was grand and solemn, marking a new beginning for everything.

However, deep within the palace, in a newly renovated, seemingly magnificent but heavily guarded palace, the real "Chu Yin" is about to experience a major turning point in his destiny.

This place was no longer his bedroom, but his prison.

The palace was furnished with the most luxurious items imaginable, including fine silks, satins, and precious jade artifacts—even better than what he used when he was emperor. But the windows were sealed shut, and the palace was guarded by layers upon layers of elite guards, so not even a fly could get in.

Yun Zhan's dragon robe, a symbol of his status, had long been stripped away, replaced by a soft yet undeniably restrictive brocade robe. A thin, yet incredibly strong, black iron chain was fastened around his ankles, the other end of which was deeply embedded in the thick pillar in the center of the bedchamber. The chain's length had been carefully calculated, allowing him just enough movement within the bedchamber, but absolutely preventing him from touching the door.

"Yan Linye! You madman! Let me go!" Yun Zhan was so angry that he trembled all over. He pulled hard on the cold chain, his wrists were rubbed red, but the chain did not budge.

[Host, according to mechanical analysis, your strength is insufficient to break this black iron chain. It is recommended to conserve your energy.] System Xiao Qi's voice rang out at the opportune moment, carrying a hint of...wanting to stir up trouble?

"Conserve energy my ass! He's practically chained me up like a dog!" Yun Zhan exclaimed in despair. "What happened to the promised annihilation?! This is even worse than that!"

From a biological perspective, reducing the body to ashes signifies the end of life. Currently, the host's vital signs are stable. From a mission perspective, the host is still alive, and the self-rescue mission has theoretically not yet failed. The system analyzed this in a serious tone.

Yun Zhan: "..." Thank you!

That evening, after finishing his busy political affairs in the early days of his reign, Yan Linye arrived at the palace where Yun Zhan was imprisoned.

He changed out of the solemn imperial robes he wore during the day and into a simple black dress, yet he still couldn't hide his sharp and imposing aura and the lingering gloom in his eyes.

Upon seeing him enter, Yun Zhan, like a startled rabbit, abruptly stood up from the bedside, glaring at him warily. The chain on her ankle made a crisp clanging sound due to the sudden movement.

Yan Linye's gaze swept over the glaring metallic gleam on Yun Zhan's ankle, his eyes darkening briefly before returning to their unfathomable depths. He dismissed the palace servants and walked step by step toward Yun Zhan.

"You still seem quite energetic." Yan Linye's voice was devoid of emotion.

"Thanks to you, I'm still alive!" Yun Zhan retorted irritably, trying to use anger to cover up his inner panic.

Yan Linye stopped in front of him, reached out as if to touch his face, but Yun Zhan dodged away in disgust.

His hand froze in mid-air, and his eyes instantly darkened.

"You hate it when I touch you that much?" Yan Linye's voice turned colder. "Back in Hejian Prefecture, when you were in my arms, it wasn't like this."

Mentioning Hejian Prefecture, Yun Zhan felt as if his heart had been pricked by a needle, a mixture of pain and anger: "Back then! Back then I was venturing into the tiger's den... I was..."

"What am I?" Yan Linye took a step closer, trapping him between himself and the bedpost. "Are you the enemy you wish you could grind to dust? And what about you? You clearly know who I am, clearly know my hatred for 'Chu Yin,' yet you still pretend to know nothing, approach me, seduce me, and watch me fall for you... Yun Zhan, who is more despicable? Hmm?"

His questioning was like a heavy hammer, leaving Yun Zhan speechless. Indeed, from Yan Linye's perspective, wasn't his own concealment and deception also a form of cruelty?

Seeing his pale face and flickering eyes, the flames of love and hate burning within Yan Linye burned even brighter. He suddenly lowered his head and captured those lips that were slightly parted in surprise.

This was not the kind of tentative and tender kisses that were common in Hejian Prefecture, but a plundering full of punishment and possessiveness, brutal and domineering, with a bloody stench that almost suffocated Yun Zhan.

"Ugh... Let... go!" Yun Zhan struggled desperately, hitting him with his hands and feet, but Yan Linye easily pinned his wrists above his head with one hand.

The black iron chains rattled as he struggled, as if playing a mournful tune for this destined unequal confrontation.

"Let go?" Yan Linye stepped back slightly, his breathing heavy, his eyes filled with churning desire and obsessive madness. "You'll never get a hold of me in this lifetime!"

The sound of tearing fabric was exceptionally clear in the silent hall.

The cool air touched his skin, and Yun Zhan's eyes widened in horror, his body trembling violently with fear and humiliation. "Yan Linye! You can't...you can't do this!"

"What can't I do?" Yan Linye paused slightly as he looked at the moisture in the corner of his eyes. A sharp pain, which he himself was unaware of, flashed through his heart, but it was quickly overwhelmed by an even stronger possessiveness. "Didn't you keep saying that I wanted to kill you? I won't kill you now... I'll punish you in another way."

His kiss landed again, with an undeniable force, tracing down his neck and leaving marks that declared his ownership. His large hands roamed over his body, igniting trembling flames wherever they touched.

Yun Zhan's struggles gradually weakened, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably. He knew that he could not resist this man, neither in terms of strength nor in terms of the situation.

When the final barrier was completely breached, and when intense pain and an unfamiliar feeling of fullness overwhelmed him, Yun Zhan finally couldn't help but let out a suppressed whimper, like a wounded little animal.

Yan Linye's movements froze for a moment as he saw the clear pain and tears on Yun Zhan's face. His heart felt as if it had been violently clenched.

But the thought of his deception, his concealment, and that he was actually Chu Yin... that faint pity was instantly overwhelmed by surging hatred and a twisted thought of "if I can't have your heart, then I'll completely possess your body."

He bent down and licked away the tears from the corner of his eye, the movement carrying a cruel tenderness, his voice low and dangerous:

"Does it hurt? Remember this pain... This is the price you pay for deceiving me."

"Didn't you want to kill me? Now, you belong to me forever. You can only look at me, only stay by my side... until you die."

Inside the bedchamber, the warmth of the red candles and curtains could not conceal the alluring atmosphere of coercion and humiliation that permeated the room. The occasional clatter of the black iron chains sounded like the desperate cry of a caged bird.

Yun Zhan bit her lip, enduring the torment brought on by the person on top of her, her eyes staring blankly at the intricate patterns on the ceiling of the tent.

A self-rescue system? A way to change your destiny?

In the end, they were just imprisoned in an even more unbearable way.

Yan Linye, in this extreme way, vented his unspeakable, complex emotions of love and hate, as if only through this complete possession could he confirm that the person who had deceived him could never leave again.