Chapter 63. "They're all worn red."
Shen Mi tried to free her feet, which were chained by the gold chain, from Gu Zhan's grasp, but he held them firmly in his hand. Every time she moved, the chain swayed and made a metallic vibration.
Hearing the sound, Danju, who had come to deliver the blanket, couldn't help but look up towards the soft couch in the hall. However, Gu Zhan noticed her and, with a sharp glance, Danju immediately lowered her head, closed the door, and left.
Gu Zhan's calloused hands brushed against Shen Mi's skin, causing a series of fine tickles on her calves. She couldn't help but pull her foot back, which made the chains rattle again. At the same time, a slight pain came from her ankle, making her gasp.
Gu Zhan pushed the chain up, revealing her ankles, which were rubbed red by the gold chain.
His fingers brushed against the skin, his tone seemingly tinged with regret, "They're all rubbed red."
Shen Mi couldn't help but frown and whispered, "If Your Highness hadn't tied this gold chain around my ankle, this wouldn't have happened."
Gu Zhan shook his head and denied it: "No, Zhi Niang, I have measured and calculated the length of this chain time and time again. As long as you don't move or struggle, it won't hurt you."
After he finished speaking, he raised his eyes and looked into Shen Mi's eyes.
Shen Mi couldn't help but meet his gaze. If she could ignore what he had done, she would have seen a hint of tenderness in his eyes.
She didn't deny that Gu Zhan was indeed born with a handsome appearance. His eyebrows were like swords, his eyes were like a vast lake, calm and composed, his nose was high and straight, and when he didn't show his emotions, his thin lips were tightly pursed. He was truly a handsome and refined man, like a precious jade.
Wearing a crimson official robe, he didn't look as cold as usual; instead, he seemed more approachable.
He was just like a "good husband" who came home from court and warmed his wife's feet.
Shen Mi quickly looked away, staring at the chain on her ankle, and said, "Why are you restricting my movements and my freedom?"
Gu Zhan gazed at the woman's snow-white neck. "I have no intention of restricting your movements. You can still move around in the palace. It's so cold outside, and it's snowing. You usually don't like to go out in the winter. Even with this chain, you can still practice calligraphy and play the zither. I can give you whatever you want, except for your so-called freedom."
As he spoke, he pulled Shen Mi into his arms, rested his chin on the top of her head, and wrapped one arm around her waist. "Be good and don't think about running around. Things are not stable outside lately. Once I have resolved everything, I will naturally untie this chain for you. It will just take some time."
Shen Mi felt wronged, but she didn't look up. She just asked Gu Zhan, "How long is a period of time? A few days, a few months, or a few years? Or a lifetime? You are always like this, putting your own affairs and feelings first."
Gu Zhan saw a thin layer of red at the corners of Shen Mi's eyes, and a lump formed in his throat, but he said nothing, only letting out a long sigh.
Shen Mi was surprised not to hear Gu Zhan speak, so she looked up at him and saw Gu Zhan take out two small porcelain bottles from his bosom, one blue and one white. Zhou Fanyin had pulled her to the side hall and given them to her at the New Year's Eve banquet yesterday. Her heart suddenly trembled.
Whether she was still shaken by the fact that Gu Zhan had almost drunk the hangover soup laced with anesthetic last night, or afraid that Gu Zhan would hold her accountable again, she didn't know.
After all, Gu Zhan was always unpredictable. Although he said he wouldn't blame her last night, he still tied this chain to her ankle while she was asleep.
"Did Zhou Fanyin give you the medicine?" Gu Zhan placed both bottles of medicine on the small table next to them.
Seeing that he had guessed correctly, Shen Mi did not deny it, but simply nodded in agreement, since she had no reason to cover for Zhou Fanyin.
Gu Zhan smiled slightly, then stood up and poured two cups of warm water from the teacups on the octagonal table. One cup contained the medicine from the blue bottle, and the other contained the medicine from the white bottle. He then placed the two cups in front of her.
"If you had to choose, Zhi Niang, which cup would you pick?"
Survival is a basic human instinct, so Shen Mi didn't hesitate much and chose the cup with the medicine from the blue bottle.
Gu Zhan looked at her intently, smiled self-deprecatingly, and asked Shen Mi, "So you'd rather choose poison, rather die, than stay by my side?"
Shen Mi's breath hitched, not knowing why Gu Zhan had asked that question.
Didn't Zhou Fanyin say that the white bottle contained a drug to induce sleep and the blue bottle contained a sleeping potion?
The next moment, Gu Zhan took out two pieces of silver from his pocket and put them into the two cups in front of him. In no time, the silver pieces in the two cups turned black.
Gu Zhan raised his hand and knocked the two cups to the ground. "Last night you tried to poison me with a drug but failed. Today, in front of me, you chose this tea that you know is poisonous without any hesitation? But you can see that both bottles contain deadly poison."
Does she really not value her life at all?
When Shen Mi saw Gu Zhan's actions and the veins popping on his forehead, she was genuinely startled, even though she could sense that Gu Zhan was restraining his anger.
She pursed her lips and said truthfully, "I don't know what Your Highness is talking about, but when Zhou Fanyin gave me the things, she said that the one in the blue bottle was a sleeping potion, and the one in the white bottle was the drug that would seduce me."
Gu Zhan frowned slightly. "You believe everything she says?"
"I didn't," Shen Mi denied, because she had indeed realized at the last moment last night that Zhou Fanyin didn't want to help her at all, but wanted to use someone else to do her dirty work, which was why she deliberately knocked over the hangover soup.
“No? She said there were two bottles of medicine, one a sleeping potion and the other a poison, and you believed her? But last night, no matter which one you put in that hangover soup, I would have died without a second thought if I hadn’t been on guard. You didn’t tell me what the stranger gave you, but chose to trust them without reservation. In your heart, am I so untrustworthy and unworthy of your trust?” Gu Zhan finished speaking and looked at Shen Mi quietly.
Shen Mi felt a tightness in her chest. She retorted to Gu Zhan, "Could I trust you? How could I trust you? I once trusted you completely, regarding you as the husband I could entrust my life to. But when you allowed Zhou Fanyin to push me into the water for your power, did you ever ask yourself that question? When you forcibly brought me back to Bianjing from Runzhou under the guise of protection, and then chained me up with these chains, did you ever ask yourself that question?" As she spoke, she reached out to pull on the chains on her ankles, but it was all in vain.
Gu Zhan saw tears welling up in the eyes of the woman before him. He was about to take out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe them away, but seeing her stubborn and resolute expression, he stopped himself. His tone was cold and hard, "If you weren't so stubborn and didn't keep thinking about escaping from me, of course I wouldn't lock you up. Of course, I promise you, if you're willing to act like before, I will unlock these chains in a couple of days. If you continue like this, locking you up will be a lifelong commitment."
Shen Mi raised her hand to wipe away her tears. "Does it have to come to this between us? Do you have to force me to hate you for the rest of my life?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Zhan suddenly laughed, stretched out his long arm, and pulled her into his embrace. "It's fine to hate me. Hate lasts longer than love. As long as you hate me, you will think about how to kill me instead of how to escape from me."
The sight of that laugh sent a chill down Shen Mi's spine. She stopped looking at Gu Zhan and said only, "I will definitely find a way to break free of these chains myself."
Gu Zhan didn't take these words to heart, but whispered in Shen Mi's ear, "Then Zhi Niang doesn't need to waste her energy. This chain is forged from black iron, and the other end is firmly embedded in the wall of the Qingluan Palace, connected by the most exquisite mechanism. Only I can open it."
Shen Mi's pupils trembled. When she escaped the East Palace four years ago during that fire, Qingluan Palace should have been burned to the ground. Therefore, the chains must have been buried in the wall when Qingluan Palace was rebuilt. But hadn't she already "perished in the fire" at that time?
She looked at Gu Zhan in shock.
Gu Zhan stroked her slender back, immediately understanding what she wanted to ask. He looked at Shen Mi with a leisurely air, “From the moment I saw you in Runzhou, I sent a message back to Bianjing and set up this mechanism on the wall of Qingluan Palace,” he paused slightly, “of course, there is an identical one in Danfeng Palace as well.”
Shen Mi was speechless for a moment: "You..."
It turns out that Gu Zhan had made up his mind about this from that time on.
Gu Zhan sighed softly, "Of course, if you don't do these things, I won't do anything."
After a long pause, Shen Mi only managed to utter one sentence: "You've gone completely mad."
Gu Zhan wrapped her in the blanket, trapping her completely in his arms. "You've been mad for a long time. You went mad back when you were willing to die to leave me countless times. So, you'd better give up on that idea, okay?"
Shen Mi remained silent.
Sun Cheng's voice came from outside the door, "Your Highness, it is past noon. Shall we go to the palace with the Crown Princess to pay our respects to the Emperor and the Empress?"
Gu Zhan simply replied, "I already know."
Shen Mi glanced at the chains and asked Gu Zhan, "What? Does Your Highness intend to keep me chained up like this?"
Gu Zhan gently kissed her forehead, then slowly released her, stood up and said, "In the palace, I will personally explain to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager that the Crown Princess has unfortunately caught a cold and is unable to see anyone. Zhi Niang only needs to rest and recuperate in the East Palace and wait for our wedding in two months."
Then, he summoned a palace servant to bring him his court robes. He changed out of his official robes, tied the sash on his clothes, and picked up the jade belt on the tray. He remembered that Shen Mi would always come over when he went to court, even though she was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open, she still insisted on getting up to help him change his clothes and tie the jade belt. His fingertips suddenly paused.
He carried the jade ribbon to Shen Mi and said, "Zhi Niang, tie it for me."
Shen Mi pretended not to hear and ignored it.
Gu Zhan leaned down slightly and said, "If Zhi Niang can be like before, I may be able to untie the chains on your ankles."
Shen Mi didn't want to be bound by this chain, didn't want to be kept like a caged bird, and reluctantly accepted the jade belt.
Gu Zhan chuckled softly, opened his arms, and watched as Shen Mi's hands wrapped around his waist and tied the jade belt around his neck. He was quite satisfied.
Just as Shen Mi was about to pull her hand away, he grasped it and gently squeezed her soft knuckles. "Let's do this from now on, okay?"
Shen Mi didn't respond to him, pulled her hand back, and turned to look at the snow falling softly outside the window.
Gu Zhan's fingertips traced the jade belt around his waist. It seemed as if Shen Mi's body temperature still lingered on that belt, and for a moment he felt a little greedy for it.
However, once he successfully clears the name of the Shen family and deals with all those who instigated Shen Mi to leave him, it will only be a matter of time before he and Shen Mi reconcile.
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Author's Note: There will be another update later tonight. [Pat head][Pat head]
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