Chapter 56
As dawn broke, the sounds of villagers talking to Cui Wuyang drifted from the courtyard, accompanied by the distant barking of dogs.
Luo Yan was woken up and wriggled around in the warm bedding for a few moments before snuggling against Zhu Yun's waist: "What time is it? And why didn't you go to practice your sword today?"
Zhu Yun was leaning against the headboard, one arm around her and the other holding a fragment of a sword manual.
Seeing his newlywed wife wake up, he casually tossed aside the martial arts manual that had been fought over so fiercely in the martial arts world, and instead gently pinched her cheek: "If I'm full of energy this morning after our wedding night, I'll be useless."
After returning to the Prince's residence, Luo Yan seemed to have really learned her lesson. She woke up at Yun's behest every day, ate normally, and didn't go out for a stroll unless Yun went out.
Unlike usual, she didn't act silly and instead became distant and polite towards Zhu Yun.
She used to hysterically call him by his name, but now she only politely calls him Your Highness.
Seeing her current calm demeanor, Zhu Yun inexplicably felt nostalgic for the passionate Luo Yan of the past.
Was she really scared into submission by him?
He didn't think Luo Yan was really that timid, so he became suspicious. Her figure in his eyes became elusive and elusive.
Jinzhan, however, was unusually refreshed; her great-aunt had finally stopped causing trouble.
She didn't care what Luo Yan was thinking; as long as she didn't cause her trouble, she was just grateful.
That girl was too impulsive and had no proper place to use her energy, so she was just causing trouble all the time.
However, Luo Yan did not have the habit of beating servants to vent her anger; all her anger was directed at the prince.
Previously, Luo Yan had a fight with the prince, and she almost smashed his head open with a vase. She was so angry that she wanted to tear the roof off. After the fight, they went on a wild spree in the room until midnight, and then they continued fighting the next day. Jinzhan was used to this kind of thing in the prince's mansion.
However, the title of sworn siblings is indeed useful. If she were a concubine, it would be truly outrageous for her to dare to smash a vase on Zhu Yun's head.
Jinzhan didn't find anything strange about romantic love between men and women. Luo Yan's suicide attempt was simply due to being too idle. If she just went to the docks and carried heavy loads for three days, hey! All her problems would disappear.
After finishing his business at court, Zhu Yun took the opportunity to visit Luo Yan. He found her staring blankly at the flowers, and he couldn't guess what she was thinking.
Logically speaking, she should be happy that his marriage has fallen through, but she is neither secretly pleased nor takes the initiative to be affectionate with him. Instead, she has become unusually refined, and now she really looks like a proper young lady from an official family.
He reached out and touched her hand.
"Luo Yan, come here."
She silently withdrew her hand and gave him a gentle smile.
Zhu Yun felt like she had punched a sandbag, an indescribable awkwardness.
"Luo Yan, I won't force you to get married anymore. If you don't want to get married, then don't."
Zhu Yun didn't know why he was being so awkward in asking her to make up with him; shouldn't she be the one taking the initiative to be affectionate with him?
Luo Yan shook her head.
"I'm going to get married sooner or later, do you think I can just stay in the Prince's mansion and never leave?"
Zhu Yun's expression changed. He roughly grabbed her hand and dragged her into the house.
"Luo Yan, what are you still pretending for now?"
It turns out she wasn't scared out of her wits, but deliberately left him hanging, making him feel awkward and insecure about her, so she could take advantage of his helplessness to manipulate him.
He was furious but had to admit that Luo Yan had succeeded.
He wanted to kiss her like before, but she turned her head away.
"Luo Yan, what exactly do you want from me?"
He suddenly felt that Luo Yan would definitely beg him to marry her with tears in her eyes. As long as she softened her stance and begged him properly, he might be able to grant her wish.
But she lowered her head and said softly,
"I apologize, I unintentionally delayed your wedding. Zhen Fei invited me to the boat trip that day, and I acted impulsively and embarrassed Your Highness."
She kept her head down, avoiding his eyes, as if she truly regretted it.
Zhu Yun was furious. She wanted to put a chain around his neck and force him to bow down to her.
"Take off your clothes."
He coldly uttered this sentence. He knew that arranging a marriage for Luo Yan had hurt her feelings, but he would never take the initiative to bow down to Luo Yan.
She looked up at him as if in great surprise, like an innocent little deer.
"You're acting like you don't know anything."
He lost his patience and pushed her down onto the bed.
Luo Yan kept staring blankly at something else, unwilling to lift her eyelids to look at him.
He couldn't stand her pretending to be a dead fish, so he began to obsessively and skillfully try to please her.
He was very good at this, but he failed today. No matter what tricks he used, Luo Yan couldn't muster any enthusiasm.
"What's wrong with you today? You usually like this, don't you?"
He whispered in her ear,
"Am I not in the right place?"
Luo Yan could only watch as her hands opened and closed in pleasure.
It seemed as if her body and soul had separated; her body reacted as usual, but her soul had drifted far away.
He tormented her obsessively for over a month, and Luo Yan neither made demands nor begged for mercy.
She passively endured it all, like a lifeless doll.
Zhu Yun felt a sense of fear.
Although he was unwilling to admit it, he actually liked her extreme side.
Although he would get annoyed by her constant tantrums, he would also feel a secret joy amidst the annoyance.
It was a feeling of being loved with certainty.
He deliberately pushed her to the limit, watching her go crazy. Only by repeating this cycle over and over again could he secretly savor a hint of the sweetness of being loved from her madness.
Luo Yan stormed onto the ship and went berserk in front of everyone. He secretly hoped that she would kiss him absurdly in front of everyone, announcing their absurd relationship to the world.
Since that's the case, he decided to push her even harder.
“Luo Yan, you have seen it for yourself today. The current emperor is like that... I am afraid his days are numbered. General Dao Yunhou is the biggest threat to the royal family. I must marry his daughter in advance in order to control the general’s power.”
He stroked her hair and sighed.
“I shouldn’t have said these things to you… but for the sake of the greater good, sacrifices are inevitable, and you should be more sensible.”
After saying that, he began to anticipate Luo Yan's reaction.
The teacup was right beside her; she could easily splash the tea on his face as usual. With one hand covered in blood, she grabbed a shard of the teacup and lunged at him, intending to slit his throat.
She could also cry and make a scene, tearfully accusing him of how he had let her down.
But she didn't do that; she just whispered.
"Since this concerns the affairs of the court, Your Highness should prioritize the overall situation and try to persuade them to do more."
He gripped her wrist tightly to ease his unease.
"Luo Yan, I really will marry Yang Ruoyun."
He repeated it, waiting for her to ask him to stay.
He even expected Luo Yan to use even more outrageous methods to destroy his reputation and make him completely hers.
But Luo Yan only nodded.
"Um."
Zhu Yun felt as if she had punched a cotton ball, and felt a hollow sense of disappointment.
Since she was deliberately ignoring him, there was no way he would do as she wished.
"I will go and discuss my marriage with Yang Ruoyun with the general again in the next few days. I will not be returning to the Prince's Mansion."
Luo Yan didn't care where Zhu Yun was going, and just left silently.
Since Zhu Yun is determined to get married no matter what, it doesn't really matter to her who she marries.
With the prince away for the past few days, Jinzhan has become absent-minded and started yawning and slacking off.
“Good girl, let’s cover for each other. I’m going home to see my brother. Don’t tell the prince, and don’t cause any trouble… Even if trouble does happen, just don’t let the prince know.”
In fact, Jinzhan was long past the age of being a "maid," but she felt that calling her "aunt" made her sound old, so she always referred to herself as "maid."
After Jinzhan left, Luo Yan became restless. She couldn't wait to see Qin Sizhao.
She was a woman with intense and straightforward emotions; once she developed feelings for someone, she couldn't hide them for a moment. She would do anything to rush to his door and ask him what he really thought.
She put on her veil, used some silver to inquire about Qin Sizhao's residence, then hailed a carriage and hurried there.
Qin Sizhao's door was deserted, with only a servant standing there.
"Is this Qin Sizhao's residence?"
Luo Yan hurriedly removed her veil, and the servant was startled by her beauty.
“Miss… I remember you. You are the girl on the ship that day. My master has been waiting for you for a long time and specifically instructed me to let you in.”
She blushed, put her veil back on, and stammered,
"Yes, that's me. My name is Luo Yan."
She thought he must know nothing at all, and just because she had a pretty face, he foolishly thought she was a good girl, which was why he was waiting for her.
If he knew all about her and Zhu Yun's sordid affairs, he would look down on her just like Zhen Fei did.
Hearing that Qin Sizhao had been waiting for her, she became timid again and dared not go in. She thought that rather than waiting to be looked down upon, she might as well leave first.
"Please come in..."
Unable to resist the servant's enthusiasm, Luo Yan entered Qin Sizhao's residence like a willow catkin blown by the wind, only to suddenly hear a woman's angry voice.
"Hmph, you just became the top scholar in the imperial examination, so why is the general's daughter unworthy of you? Besides, I thought you were no ordinary person, but all you talk about is family background and social standing. Such vulgarity and cowardice have made me look down on you. I'll give you one last chance. Within three months, you must come to the general's mansion to propose marriage!"
That was Yang Ruoyun's voice...
Her voice was naturally louder than the other girls', and it carried a hint of temper, making it resounding and powerful.
After she finished speaking, a series of hurried footsteps were heard, and Yang Ruoyun had already left in anger.
These words were clearly heard by Luo Yan, making her feel utterly ashamed and embarrassed.
Yang Ruoyun actually has feelings for Qin Sizhao... and she's expressing them so directly...
Luo Yan wished she could disappear into the ground. If a sunny and generous girl like Yang Ruoyun truly liked her, who would want a girl like her who was unclear, crazy, and somewhat neurotic? She had made a wasted trip and only humiliated herself.
"I...I think I should leave..."
Fortunately, she was wearing a veil today, which concealed her shameful expression.
She shouldn't have expected anyone to genuinely want to marry her anyway; she should leave before Qin Sizhao discovers her.
“Oh, young lady, but…”
"Don't stop me!"
Luo Yan, enraged and embarrassed, shouted hysterically.
"Now that Miss Luo Yan has arrived, why is she leaving?"
She didn't expect that the person who stopped her was Qin Sizhao.
Olaf was enjoying a sunbath with his belly exposed, but from just a wall away, the little villain started banging on the table more and more frequently. The detector popped up an alarm, and the danger level fluctuated like a rollercoaster, scaring the little dog half to death.
The little villain could sit still, but it couldn't lie down anymore. It silently rolled over and barked wildly under the shade of the tree: "Woof! Woof woof!"
Luo Yan: "..."
Cui Wuyang: "..."
Zhu Yun's fingertips paused, as if she had caught something.
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