Chapter 59 Paying with one's body—am I not enjoying it right now?
Fangru dragged her injured ankle as she ran with difficulty through the woods.
Each time she landed, a tearing pain shot through her ankle, almost causing her to collapse to her knees.
The withered branches kept tugging at her skirt, making a piercing tearing sound.
"Wait...wait for me..." she gasped as she called out to Ma Xian ahead, her voice broken and intermittent with pain.
But Ma Xian didn't even turn his head. Instead, he quickened his pace and soon disappeared without a trace into the dense forest.
Just then, a flickering light suddenly appeared behind them.
The orderly footsteps of the Imperial Guards grew closer, but they still did not fire an arrow, clearly out of some concern.
Fangru stumbled and fell heavily to the ground.
The dry branches and pebbles hurt her terribly. She struggled to get up, but her injured ankle caused her to fall back to the ground once again.
"She's over there! Grab her!"
In the flickering torchlight, a familiar figure slowly walked in, surrounded by imperial guards.
Zhou Ling.
He was dressed in a dark-colored casual outfit, holding an ebony longbow in his hand. The flickering firelight cast shadows on his angular face, and his deep eyes appeared particularly cold in the night.
Fangru instinctively shrank back.
Her memory suddenly returned to the fourth life, to that restaurant, where after she ran away, he held her tightly in his arms, calling her name over and over again in her ear.
But this time, he slowly raised the bow in his hand.
"No……"
She opened her eyes wide in terror, her voice caught in her throat.
The bowstring vibrated, and a sharp arrow pierced the air, whizzing past her ear before embedding itself deeply into the tree trunk behind her with a "clang".
The white feathers at the end of the arrow were still trembling slightly, and the strong wind they generated made her ears sting.
"Your Majesty!" she cried out in alarm, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
A second arrow followed, grazing her other cheek, and a few strands of hair slowly drifted to the ground.
She could clearly feel the cold touch of the arrowheads as they grazed her skin.
She stood frozen in place, too afraid to move.
She knew Zhou Ling's archery skills; he never missed a shot from a hundred paces away.
If they really wanted to take her life, she would have died countless times already.
This is clearly a cruel mockery, a meticulously planned intimidation.
The third arrow flew past her neck, the cold arrowhead leaving a thin trail of blood on her delicate skin.
A drop of blood slowly seeped out, appearing particularly glaring in the moonlight.
She finally collapsed to the ground, too weak to even lift her arm. Dry leaves clung to her hair, leaving her looking utterly disheveled.
Zhou Ling then put down his longbow and slowly walked up to her.
The dark brocade boots stopped within her reach, the dark dragon heads embroidered on the uppers appearing and disappearing in the firelight, highlighting the owner's supreme status.
He leaned down and gently lifted her chin with his long, slender fingers, forcing her to look up.
The movement was performed very slowly, as if he were admiring her current disheveled state.
"For a random man," his voice was low and chilling, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, "you'd even risk your life?"
Fangru bit her lower lip, stubbornly turning her face away, unwilling to meet his gaze.
This action seemed to anger him.
He chuckled softly, his fingertips slowly sliding down her slender neck, finally resting on her heaving chest. Through the thin fabric, she could feel the warmth emanating from his fingertips, a warmth that sent chills down her spine.
"Not going to speak?" His fingers lightly brushed against her collar, the movement eerily gentle. "Then I'll tell you something. Your father, Shen Shaoqing, has been imprisoned."
She looked up abruptly, meeting his unfathomable eyes.
"Want to know how I plan to deal with him?" His fingers gently unhooked her collar, revealing the delicate skin beneath. "What a pity, he's too useless. He fainted three times after only two rounds of torture."
"No!" Fangru finally broke down, grabbing his sleeve, her fingertips turning white from the force. "Your Majesty, please have mercy! I know I was wrong!"
Zhou Ling grabbed her wrist with his other hand, the force almost crushing her bones: "What did you do wrong?"
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty shouldn't have run away..." she choked out, tears finally streaming down her face.
"Anything else?" His thumb rubbed the inside of her wrist, sending a shiver down her spine.
"I shouldn't... I shouldn't have followed someone else..." Her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible.
He suddenly pulled her up from the ground and held her tightly in his arms.
The movement came so suddenly that she was caught off guard and bumped into his firm chest. His warm breath sprayed against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.
“Remember,” his lips almost touched her earlobe, his voice carrying a chilling tenderness, “this is the last time you’re going to run away.”
“If there is a next time,” his voice was as gentle as if he were speaking sweet nothings, but the content was chilling, “I will make you watch your father die inch by inch.”
Fangru trembled in his arms, feeling both fear and humiliation, yet she had no choice but to reach out and wrap her arms around his waist.
This gesture pleased him, and she could feel his tense body relax slightly.
"Return to Guanyin Pavilion." Zhou Ling picked her up and ordered the Imperial Guards behind him, "Pass on my decree: the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Concubine have been frightened. Escort them back to Qingyi Garden immediately to recuperate."
This imperial decree stunned the accompanying imperial guards.
The Empress Dowager had been busy all night searching for Prince Cheng and had just rested. The Consort, who had also been up all night because of the prince's disappearance, was now being sent back overnight.
This is clearly an attempt to empty the entire Guanyin Pavilion, leaving only one person behind.
But the emperor's authority was unquestionable, and everyone answered in unison, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
Fangru was carried by Zhou Ling towards Guanyin Pavilion, where she could see the Empress Dowager's carriage ready to depart.
The Empress Dowager stood before the carriage, her gaze sweeping over Fangru like a knife before finally landing on Zhou Ling's face: "Is the Emperor going to send even his own mother away for the sake of a mere concubine?"
Zhou Ling did not stop walking, her voice calm but not argumentative: "Your Majesty is too kind. Qingyi Garden is more suitable for quiet recuperation."
The Empress Dowager's imperial carriage and the Imperial Concubine's palanquin departed one after another into the night, leaving the entire Guanyin Pavilion deserted.
Zhou Ling carried Fangru into the room, which was brightly lit by candlelight, illuminating his deep-set eyes.
He placed her on the soft couch, leaning over her and supporting himself on either side: "That person," his voice was low and dangerous, "did he ever touch you even a little?"
Fangru shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her face: "No... I swear on my life, he didn't even touch the hem of my clothes."
He sneered, his fingers deftly untying her sash, his cold fingertips touching her warm skin: "Words are no proof. I want to verify it myself."
"Your Majesty!" she cried out in terror, grabbing his ravaging hand. Her voice trembled with fear. "I know I was wrong. Please... please spare my father."
These words were like adding fuel to the fire.
He suddenly pressed her down on the couch, his tall body covering her and completely enveloping her in his shadow.
"Now you know how to beg for mercy? When you eloped with that other man, did you ever think that your father's life was tied to your skirt?"
Fangru trembled with fear at the madness in his eyes, pleading incoherently, "Don't kill my father... I'll do anything you want."
"Anything is fine with me?" He grabbed her chin, forcing her to raise her head. "Then please me properly. Prove your loyalty with your body."
The ordeal had already begun, and Fangru screamed in agony.
"Your Majesty...please spare my father..." her voice broke. "I am willing to offer myself in return...please, Your Majesty, have mercy..."
"Pay back?" He chuckled softly, his breath brushing against her ear. "Am I not enjoying it right now? Or is it..." His hand slowly moved down, "that my beloved consort thinks I'm not being attentive enough and insists that I... penetrate her very soul before she'll be satisfied?"
Fangru looked up at him, the moonlight illuminating the tears welling in her eyes. "Your Majesty..." she choked out.
“Tell me,” he leaned closer, the crisp scent of ambergris enveloping her completely, “did that person’s hand… touch this place just now?”
She was forced to endure his brutal violation, and the pain was unbearable.
But thinking of her dying father in prison, she could only hold back her tears and plead in a trembling voice, "Only Your Majesty... from beginning to end, only you touched my body..."
These words seemed to please him, but they also further fueled his morbid desire for control.
The hand that was originally pinching her face suddenly moved to her neck and slowly tightened.
“Since only I have touched you,” he whispered in her ear, his voice carrying a chilling tenderness, “you will never escape my grasp for the rest of your life.”
"Spare me...please spare me," she pleaded intermittently, her voice weak from lack of oxygen.
A suffocating feeling washed over her, and she instinctively struggled, but in the dizziness of oxygen deprivation, she heard his devilish whispers:
"Spare you? Didn't you say you were willing to do anything? Now you're begging for mercy?"
Fangru's fear seemed to excite him abnormally; his eyes gleamed with an almost insane light, as if he wanted to devour her alive.
“I have not betrayed you,” she gasped between breaths, “My body… has always belonged only to you.”
These flattering words are like a sweet poison.
Zhou Ling knew that there might be lies involved, but he had to admit that they did please him.
It was precisely because of her past betrayals and aloofness that he so desperately craved her obedience. Yet, this feeling of being swayed by her words also stirred up his displeasure.
He gently held her neck with his fingers, his fingertips caressing the throbbing veins.
"Weren't you eloquent just now? How come you're only panting now?" He slid his fingertips along the neckline to the collarbone, lingering on the hollow.
"Come, let me hear what else your little mouth can do besides lie?"
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