Chapter 59
The group was very conspicuous on the long street, and scouts had already reported the situation to Shangguan Chang, so he went into the restaurant to wait for them.
When Luo Yan got tired of shopping, she started to notice the shops with the Shuangyetang emblem and saw a smiling face leaning against the railing in the distance.
“Your brother.” She shook Zhu Yun’s hand, her tone full of fascination. “It wasn’t hard for him to deduce that we were coming to Xinghua Town, but the fact that he was certain we would go out for a stroll rather than just pass through shows that he knows you quite well.”
Following the conversation, Zhu Yun recalled that she would run into Shangguan Chang several times a year, which was obviously intentional stalking.
"Sister-in-law." Shangguan Chang came to greet her, his gaze quickly sweeping over Luo Yan's face, not daring to look at her for too long. He lowered his eyelashes and said, "I heard from Aunt Miao that Miss Luo is a beauty in the making. Seeing her today, I can confirm that she lives up to her reputation. She has even married my brother. What a coincidence."
Aunt Miao was one of the masked women who saved Luo Yan back then.
"Luo Yan, I know the buttons on the back of your bodice so well that I can undo them with my eyes closed."
He deliberately humiliated Luo Yan by tearing off her bodice and waving it in front of her. She could only barely cover herself with a thin outer garment.
"Why are you still hiding it... Isn't this what I'm supporting you for? Besides, don't you sometimes find it amusing and enjoy it?"
She closed her eyes tightly, biting her lower lip, and didn't make a sound.
He maliciously and skillfully provoked her, forcing her to speak.
"Why are you holding it so tightly... Why not open it a little wider and make it easier for me?"
He gave a sarcastic smile, put his arm around her waist, and whispered in her ear:
"Oh, right, you said that it's more fun to cross your legs, right..."
"Shut up!"
Luo Yan's face, which was originally deathly pale, turned red under his constant provocation.
"Stop... let me go..."
He completely ignored her resistance and forcefully pried her knees apart.
Feeling ashamed, Luo Yan struggled a couple of times, but to no avail.
Afterwards, Zhu Yun asked her in a malicious tone, close to her ear:
"At first you resisted quite a bit, but after a couple of times you were back to your old ways... Luo Yan, why did you resist those two moves? Did you think that by pretending to twist a couple of times you would become a chaste and virtuous woman?"
He specially ordered Jinzhan to brew a bowl of contraceptive soup and personally handed it to Luo Yan.
"You'd better drink the contraceptive soup obediently, or you'll be having my child."
Her lips trembled as she took the bowl of herbal medicine. Her hands shook as she swallowed the medicine in one gulp, showing no fear of taking medicine.
"It's just a bowl of herbal medicine. I'll drink it. There's nothing to be fussy about."
She didn't know if the contraceptive soup would affect the fetus in her womb... but all she wanted now was to survive. She had no one left in her family, but she had promised Qin Sizhao that she wouldn't commit suicide.
Although she was too ashamed to see him again, she hoped she could keep her promise to him.
Luo Yan didn't look Zhu Yun in the eye. After hesitating several times, she finally spoke tentatively:
"If I were pregnant by accident, I would have just quietly had an abortion... Why did you poison me?"
"What accident? It was all your scheming to get pregnant with my child, trying to put me in a difficult position... How can I keep a woman who deliberately schemes against me by my side?"
He grabbed her neck with one hand.
"Besides, I can kill you whenever I want. What reason do I need? Killing you is as easy as crushing an ant for me. Do you think anyone would risk offending me to seek justice for you?"
Luo Yan showed a pleading expression.
"Please let me go, I understand..."
She unconsciously covered her stomach, hoping to get rid of the fetus in her womb without the prince's knowledge, so that she would have a chance of survival.
Zhu Yun released his grip and sneered:
"Pingyun, weren't you always looking for death and never afraid of dying? Why are you suddenly afraid today?"
Luo Yan thought to herself that she had promised Qin Sizhao that she would not die, and this promise was proof that they had met, so she had to keep it.
"Because I've figured it out..."
She lowered her head, looking as if she had given up.
Zhu Yun reached out and touched her hair, but felt inexplicably sad.
He wasn't trying to threaten Luo Yan with his life to force her to submit to him; he was simply furious because Luo Yan didn't love him as much as he had imagined.
He wanted to explain to Luo Yan that he was just saying things in anger, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"As long as you obey my every command, I won't do anything to you."
She lowered her head and whispered:
"Your Highness has official business to attend to; please don't waste time here."
Hearing that Luo Yan meant he wanted to get rid of him, Zhu Yun felt his anger rise again.
“I do have official business to attend to in the palace, but I don’t want to let you enjoy yourself in the palace by yourself… Why don’t you come and serve me?”
He spoke slowly and deliberately, through gritted teeth.
Luo Yan's face turned pale. She couldn't delay any longer about her pregnancy. She had to find a female doctor to find a way to have an abortion while Zhu Yun was away.
"This is probably against the rules... I dare not go..."
He grabbed her wrist with his other hand and laughed:
"We've done plenty of things that don't follow the rules. Once I'm on the throne, I can do whatever I want without any consequences. Who can stop me?"
Luo Yan hesitated before speaking:
"Your Highness, after you ascend the throne, I only ask that you give me a house and a monthly allowance... I will make do on my own and will never bother you."
"What, you want to cut ties with me? Go live your separate lives?"
Zhu Yun was so angry that she smashed a cup.
"That's right. When I, Lord Yun, have three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines, I will forget about you very soon. You are smart enough not to join in the fun."
Zhu Yun was furious, and Luo Yan had no mind to coax him; her mind was preoccupied with how to deal with the baby in her womb.
Seeing that Luo Yan was lost in thought, he was so angry that he picked her up, her clothes disheveled, and put her in the carriage, taking her directly to the palace.
Luo Yan wasn't wearing an inner garment, only an outer garment, thinly draped over her frail body; she had to wear Zhu Yun's coat over her shoulders.
He touched her spine and snorted coldly:
"To teach you a lesson."
Luo Yan had no choice but to borrow a palace maid's dress to change into. Zhu Yun was quite displeased with it, as her slightly aloof temperament did not match the green palace maid's clothes, which diminished her beauty.
He summoned a familiar old palace maid:
"Bring me that light blue Yue silk ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress)."
The old palace maid looked surprised and confirmed it again:
"Are you really going to take that Yue Luo Ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress)?"
He nodded.
After a while, the old palace maid found an old box made of golden nanmu wood. The Yue silk dress inside was half worn, but its extraordinary texture was still evident.
"Let her change into this dress."
The old palace maid simply nodded in agreement, and tremblingly took out the Yue silk skirt, afraid of accidentally damaging it.
"Young lady, this dress is precious and must not be ruined. You must wear it carefully and be careful not to damage it."
She was puzzled. No matter how valuable it was, it was still just a dress. She had ruined many of the finest silks and satins in the Prince's mansion. Why was this particular dress so special that she couldn't afford to ruin it?
And this dress looks quite old...
Such a light blue, slightly worn dress would probably make other girls look a bit old-fashioned, but on Luo Yan, it added a touch of aloofness to her charming yet cold eyes.
The dress was already worn and faded, but that only made it look more luxurious and extraordinary, with a chilling gleam.
The old palace maid looked at her and sighed:
"If the Empress Dowager had a daughter, she would probably be just as beautiful as this."
She wiped away her tears with her handkerchief and said:
"It's a pity that the Dowager Princess left us too soon... Her beautiful and charming appearance still often appears before my eyes... Her eyes were always cold, but her heart was extremely warm."
Zhu Yun sneered:
"If the Dowager Empress had a daughter, she would probably end up like the late Emperor."
He directly took Luo Yan's hand:
"I'm just lending you this dress, so please don't ruin it."
Luo Yan was suspicious. Why was Marquis Zhu Yun so fond of his possessions? She couldn't help but ask:
"Why are you dressing me in such expensive clothes?"
His expression showed slight impatience.
"Just wear it, and come here to grind ink for me."
Luo Yan ground ink for him, but after standing for a while, she started yawning repeatedly, feeling soreness in her waist and her mind wandering.
Before she knew it, ink dripped onto her sleeve, but Luo Yan was completely unaware.
"Zhu Yun, I need to rest on the small couch for a while. I can't do this."
She rubbed her lower back:
"My back aches from standing for too long."
He reached out and touched her sleeve, noticing a drop of ink. He grabbed her wrist and sneered:
"Luo Yan, you have quite the nerve to get your sleeves dirty."
She belatedly checked her sleeves, her face flushed red with embarrassment and anger, and said:
“It’s just a piece of clothing. I only put a drop of ink on it. You’re so petty.”
Luo Yan had tolerated him for a long time. Things shouldn't happen more than three times. It was just an old piece of clothing, but Zhu Yun was still trying to pick a fight with her. So she fiercely challenged Zhu Yun to a verbal argument.
Seeing this, the old palace maid quickly stepped forward to advise:
"Young lady, those are the Dowager Empress's belongings..."
Luo Yan's face instantly turned bright red with shame. She was indeed wrong; she had unintentionally soiled Zhu Yun's mother's belongings.
But she was still angry, so she said to the old palace maid:
"Then hurry up and take off these clothes... They're so valuable, I can't afford to take responsibility if they get dirty or damaged."
The old palace maid was in a dilemma and looked at Zhu Yun.
He simply dealt with official business, his expression remaining calm and indifferent.
"Luo Yan, I still have to meet with several ministers these days, and there is a lot of work to hand over. You should stay here for now. This is a very important place in the palace, and you can't act recklessly like this."
She felt uneasy, knowing she still had a baby in her womb.
"I...I didn't mean to stay here. I'll just return your clothes to you and go back home..."
The old palace maid glanced at Zhu Yun and said:
"Why don't you stay at Congcui Palace for now, young lady... it's always been kept very clean..."
Zhu Yun nodded.
"Then let's take her to the Congcui Palace."
As Luo Yan walked through the palace, she inexplicably felt that the palace maids around her were all looking at her sideways. She blushed and lowered her head, guessing that they were all speculating about her relationship with Zhu Yun and gossiping behind her back.
It's so awkward staying in this palace. She has no status whatsoever and has no right to come here.
Those gazes felt like dull knives cutting into her, making Luo Yan feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Miss, don't be nervous. Congcui Palace is where Prince Xiaoyun lives, and it's always kept very clean."
The old palace maid seemed to sense her unease and offered words of comfort.
Luo Yan had no time to think about what it meant to have her stay in Congcui Palace. Unconsciously, she covered her stomach, hoping that her pregnancy would show more slowly.
Desperate, she thought, she couldn't possibly ask the imperial physicians in the palace to help her with an abortion... The palace was full of Zhu Yun's people, with countless spies; she would surely be exposed soon...
Zhu Yun has already made his position clear. Does she really want to gamble that he will soften his stance towards her? She's not that stupid.
The two were rarely apart, sharing almost every joy and sorrow. The moment she realized her side was empty, she felt a panic and sorrow that were difficult to describe in words.
Zhu Yun found it amusing: "So this symptom is called separation anxiety?"
"Probably."
“I’ve been sick for years,” he said, fiddling with the water temperature with his finger and feigning distress. “It takes almost half an hour to see the water while I’m washing it. What am I going to do?”
Luo Yan's face flushed red, but she thought to herself, "He's touched me inside and out anyway, and I promised to let him have his way tonight..."
She licked her lips: "Then, shall we shower together?"
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