Under house arrest
When Cheng Yayin woke from her dream, her mind was a mess. Soon, the events of her life came flooding back into her mind like snowflakes. She sat up with a start, touched the soft blanket on her body, and with horror, she lifted her clothes to check them.
Her underwear was fully clothed, and she felt no pain or discomfort. She breathed a sigh of relief, but a helpless sigh echoed from the side: "Do you really treat me like a beast? Although I am attracted to you, love between men and women must be consensual. I will never force you."
Cheng Yayin was startled as if by a bolt of lightning. Her hair stood on end and she retreated to the inside of the bed, hugging the quilt. She wished she could shrink into the corner, staring with fear and vigilance at the person who was slowly pacing to the bedside.
"Why are you so scared? I told you I won't force you." Meng Yu held a glass of water and handed it to Cheng Yayin, looking at her gently. "You've slept for so long without a drop of water. Drink something to moisten your throat. I've asked the servants to prepare the meal, it will be ready soon."
Cheng Yayin's throat was indeed dry, but she didn't even touch the glass of water. She looked past Meng Yu, glanced around the unfamiliar room, and asked coldly, "Where is this?"
"This is my villa in Ganchuan. I stay here when I have nothing to do."
Cheng Yayin snorted coldly: "Didn't you say you wouldn't force me? Why did you kidnap me and bring me here?"
"I'm not kidnapping you. I just think we need a quiet environment to get along well and let you get to know me better." Seeing that Cheng Yayin refused to take the glass of water, Meng Yu simply sat down beside the bed and fed the water to her lips.
Cheng Yayin retreated quickly like a frightened rabbit. Her body was already pressed against the wall with nowhere to retreat. She hid her face in the quilt and said in a voice that was both angry and fearful: "I don't want to waste any more words with you. Just let me go home!"
Meng Yu remained unmoved. He put the cup aside and said calmly, "You must want to eat first. No problem, I'll have them prepare it quickly."
Soon, servants came in one after another carrying bowls and plates. The table was filled with delicacies. The aroma of food soon filled the room. The servants set the table and left in an orderly manner. The door was closed again, isolating the room from the outside world.
Meng Yu stood by the table and waved to Cheng Yayin: "I don't know what you like to eat, so I asked them to prepare more. You must be hungry, come and try it."
Cheng Yayin bit her lip and stared at him in silence. She was truly anxious. When the door opened just now, she saw that it was already bright outside. She didn't know when the rain had stopped. She had slept for at least a whole day. Pei Songsheng must be extremely worried.
She lowered her eyes, softened her tone, and said earnestly: "You kidnapped me here, and Pei Songsheng will definitely look for me everywhere. Everyone knows that I disappeared after going to Jin'an Palace. The identity you have concealed for so long has been exposed. Soon my husband will bring people to Ganchuan to look for me. Even if you are a descendant of the emperor, it is illegal to kidnap someone else's woman. Rather than making a scene later, why not let me go now? I promise that for my sake, Pei Songsheng will never pursue your past crimes again. From now on, we will go our separate ways. "
Meng Yu laughed so hard he couldn't even straighten his back, as if he'd heard something funny. After a while, he took a deep breath and said to Cheng Yayin, "You're really panicking. You actually tried to trick me with that. Do you think I'm a three-year-old child?" He raised the corner of his mouth sarcastically and sneered, "I might as well tell you that Pei Songsheng is too busy to save you right now. Just give up on that idea and stay by my side."
Cheng Yayin was shocked and asked in disbelief, "What did you do to him?"
"I just gave him some Soul-Separating Powder. Who made him so stupid as to chase after me alone? Come to think of it, you helped me a lot." Meng Yu looked at Cheng Yayin, his tone calm but chilling. "Thanks to the book you wrote, he now thinks he is Duan Changjue. I don't have to do anything else. I just said a few words and he walked into my prison on his own. He's so easy to deal with, I'm starting to find it a bit boring."
Cheng Yayin clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms. The sharp pain was enough to keep her composure. She gritted her teeth and asked word by word, "Did you torture him?"
"Not right now." Meng Yu raised an eyebrow and looked at the food on the table, "But if you continue to be disobedient and starve yourself, someone will have to take the blame for you."
Cheng Yayin gritted her teeth and glared at him, her eyes swollen and sore. Meng Yu sat calmly at the table, staring at her, unmoved. After a moment, Cheng Yayin had no choice but to throw off the covers and get out of bed.
Her legs were weak and she staggered as soon as she stepped on the ground. Meng Yu came over to help her, but she waved him away. She forced herself to walk to the table and sit down, picking up the chopsticks and randomly putting some food into her mouth.
Cheng Yayin felt empty, but not hungry. Perhaps it was the drug she'd been given. The delicious food, once delicious, didn't whet her appetite; instead, it made her feel sick. Seeing her eating obediently, Meng Yu smiled with satisfaction and picked up his chopsticks, adding more food to her bowl. Cheng Yayin suppressed her discomfort and struggled to chew and swallow.
After eating half a bowl of rice, she put down her bowl and chopsticks and said, "I want to see him."
"No." Meng Yu said flatly.
"You are imprisoning me!" Cheng Yayin glared at him.
Meng Yu shook her head. "When you understand who is the one worthy of your lifelong trust, I won't hold you back like this."
Cheng Yayin was so angry that she felt dizzy and only managed to hold up her forehead to avoid falling down.
"Still feeling uncomfortable, right? The medicine will make you dizzy and weak, but it's okay, it will be better in a while." Meng Yu stood up and stretched out his hand to her, "Get up and walk around to dissipate the effects of the medicine."
Cheng Yayin knew that she had no right to refuse him, so she supported herself on the table, stood up shakily, and walked out of the house.
When I went out, I found that it was raining again. Although it was not as heavy as before, it was hazy and lingering, as if it would never stop. Cheng Yayin walked slowly along the corridor. Meng Yu wanted to help her, but she avoided him.
He no longer insisted and matched her pace, saying as they walked, "Ganchuan is my mother's hometown. The current governor of Ganchuan is my uncle. This is where my mother lived before she entered the palace. It's a secluded place, and not many people know about it. I like it here very much. It's quiet and the scenery is beautiful. If you stay here for a while, you will definitely like it too."
Cheng Yayin listened to him expressionlessly, but sneered in her heart. Wasn't this a warning to her that the entire Ganchuan was under his control, so she shouldn't even think about turning the tables.
She gradually felt a little desperate. Since not many people knew about this place, who would find this place to save her and Pei Songsheng?
After passing through several corridors, Cheng Yayin faintly heard the sound of someone playing the pipa. She listened intently for a moment. The music was graceful and clear, and the player must have been extremely skilled. However, for some reason, there was a sense of sorrow in the pipa's sound. The originally clear and melodious sound seemed particularly sad amidst the sound of rain.
Seeing that she seemed interested, Meng Yu took her to the courtyard of the main house.
An unexpected scene appeared before Cheng Yayin's eyes—a woman sitting naked in the rain, clutching a pipa, plucking the strings. She had been playing for who knows how long, her body drenched, even her fingers bleeding. The pipa strings, soaked with blood, had a duller sound, and in the rain, it sounded eerily mournful.
The woman seemed to be completely indifferent, with empty eyes, as if she had become a puppet whose soul had been taken away by a demon and who only knew how to play the pipa.
Cheng Yayin's heart was shaken, and she couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"
Meng Yu didn't say anything. He helped her to the inner room and let her sit down. He also put a soft pillow behind her waist so that she could lean more comfortably.
Cheng Yayin couldn't help but look at the woman outside the house and asked Meng Yu, "Is she the former top performer of Fanle Tower, Liu Cuifu?"
Meng Yu nodded, his face still expressionless.
Cheng Yayin gritted her teeth and asked, "What did she do wrong to punish her like this? Did you bring these women back just to torture them?"
Meng Yu said innocently, "You wronged me. I never said I wanted to punish her. She wanted to do this herself."
Cheng Yayin glared at him, and he smiled helplessly: "Don't look at me with such beastly eyes. If you think this music is disturbing, I can ask her to stop."
After saying this, he stepped out and stood in the corridor. Without saying a word, Liu Cuifu had already stopped playing and called out in a mournful voice, "Your Highness."
Meng Yu asked calmly, "Cui Fu, are you dissatisfied with me?"
Liu Cuifu said anxiously, "I dare not! Your Majesty has given me a place to stay and saved me from being looked down upon and despised by others in this world of prostitution. He is my great benefactor in this life. I only regret that I cannot repay Your Majesty with a favor. How dare I harbor any dissatisfaction with Your Majesty?"
"When you were in Shengjing, you were known as the Fairy Yaoyin, and your pipa music drew crowds to the streets. If you weren't dissatisfied with me, why have your skills declined instead of improved since you came to the villa? Your music is filled with foul air and unbearable to listen to."
Although the tone was not harsh, Liu Cuifu felt as if she had been whipped. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she said miserably, "I don't know what's going on. I will continue to practice diligently. Please don't dislike me, Your Majesty."
After saying that, he started plucking the strings again with his bleeding fingers.
Meng Yu walked back into the house: "Look, there's nothing I can do."
Cheng Yayin was filled with grief and anger. She stood up and walked into the rain, saying to Liu Cuifu, "Stop playing. If you keep playing, your hands will be broken."
Liu Cuifu pretended to be deaf and the music continued.
Cheng Yayin added, "Your skills have declined because you are trapped in prison and your mind is blocked. If you don't leave here, you won't be able to play well."
Liu Cuifu was still like a puppet without a soul, and she didn't hear a word Cheng Yayin said.
Cheng Yayin stood in the rain, her clothes quickly soaking through, and she felt a chill running down her spine. Meng Yu came over with an umbrella, shielding her from the rain, and said calmly, "Go back, take a shower, and change your clothes. Don't get sick."
At night, Cheng Yayin lay in bed. The rain outside gradually subsided, and the plaintive sound of the pipa became clearer and clearer, piercing her heart like a ghost. Thinking of Liu Cuifu playing the pipa in a daze, her hands covered in blood, she was terrified and tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Later in the night, the pipa music gradually died down. Cheng Yayin wondered if Liu Cuifu, unable to endure, had finally gone to bed. But at dawn, she suddenly heard a scream, piercing the eerie silence that enveloped the entire villa. She threw on her clothes and hurried out to follow the sound. Outside the main room where Meng Yu was resting, she witnessed a scene she would never forget.
Liu Cuifu fell to the ground, with a pipa string wrapped around her wrist, tightly wound, leaving a deep cut on her wrist. Blood gushed out and gathered into a shallow pool beside her.
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