I didn't see many people along the way. I didn't recognize the road and was constantly worried about falling. When Xie Yuancheng got angry, he really didn't care about anything and kept a distance from me.
When the horse reached some flat ground, I was wondering whether to jump off. I had only turned my head a couple of times when a hand suddenly appeared around my waist.
"If you dare to jump, I'll make sure the children suffer when I get back!"
"You bastard, they are your children too. How can you take your anger out on them?"
"You're no different. When you're unhappy, you ignore everyone. Even Xizhi and Suling aren't as good as you."
I couldn't be bothered to argue with him. The horse kept moving, and this time we weren't heading out of the city, nor were we going to Jinglin. Just as I was pondering this, I saw a familiar rooftop and wondered how we ended up at a villa in the northern suburbs.
The horse stopped at the gate, and Xie Yuancheng casually tossed the whip over before carrying me inside. It was a gloomy place, and I was frightened, so I quickly buried my face in his arms.
"So you're scared now? I thought you were fearless." A cold voice drifted over from above. I snorted and looked up at him.
I must have looked really fierce, which amused Xie Yuancheng: "Ying'er, this is the place where you first argued with us."
"Put me down." I looked around. It was the same as before, with people inside, but the entrance was deliberately made to look desolate, so it was rather chilly.
"Of course I won't let you go. Let me show you what I did the night before you left."
Xie Yuancheng tightened his grip. I had a bad feeling. Before we even got close, we saw a glittering golden sign that read "Ying'er Luo." What a strange name!
A bad feeling welled up in my mind. The layout of Ying'er Residence was exactly the same as the place I stayed in the mansion when I first came to Linyang, even the bed placed at the back was exactly the same.
"You're so annoying, I'm leaving."
"Why don't you go in? Are you feeling guilty? Or are you worried I might do something to you? Even if I were to do something, you couldn't object."
I started to think to myself, "It's clearly his fault, why is he blaming me?" I felt upset, and once inside, I had no interest in looking at the things Xie Yuancheng was showing me.
“Ying’er~ You slept so soundly a few years ago. I have to finish all the things that need to be done so that you won’t have any more bad thoughts and leave me.”
Before I could even object, he grabbed me and dragged me inside. A woman with no time to spare, how could I possibly break free from a man who was like a martial arts master?
“I’ll recall everything with you slowly, and you’ll remember it all in no time. Luckily, you two slept in separate beds back then; if you had dared to sleep together, you would have died on the way.”
I flailed my arms wildly, but missed every time. "You, uh, don't do that."
"Were you thinking about how to escape just now?" I was about to cry. When he goes crazy, I can't stop him at all.
It was already dark outside. I rubbed my aching temples; my whole body ached. He was sleeping right next to me, and I didn't have the strength to kick him off the bed.
"He's such a jerk, so annoying!" I tried to sit up straight, my eyebrows starting to furrow.
"I'm not a good person to begin with~ Ying'er is absolutely right." Xie Yuancheng leaned closer, deliberately pressing against the spot where I was uncomfortable, and teased me in my ear.
I covered my ears. "Ugh, I hate it! Don't bother me."
"I'm just going to annoy you. I'll talk until you're all red in the face and you don't even have the strength to get up. I've looked you over from head to toe. I know your body better than you do!"
Xie Yuancheng lifted the blanket to look directly at me, so I had to cover my eyes. He's good-looking, with a face that could bring ruin to a country, but he's also petty and wicked.
"Give me the blanket." I coughed. Even with the heater on, the room was still cold, and I felt dizzy.
"Ying'er, I think you've caught a cold." The old fox pretended to be kind and came over to massage my acupoints. "I told you not to move around, but you didn't believe me. Your tummy is all gone, you must be hungry. I'll let you off the hook for now."
If I had the strength, I'd definitely smother his head with a blanket and see if he dared to be so arrogant with me again. There should be someone regularly coming to clean this place; hot water is readily available.
"Still angry~" Xie Yuancheng played with my hair, looking disgusting. I turned to the other side.
He definitely did this on purpose—using such a small bathtub and living in a tiny room. He can see everything I do and go wherever I want. The food he cooks isn't what I like; it's all Yu'er's favorite dishes.
How could I possibly eat children's food? It was rice porridge and radish cake, without any salt; it tasted like chewing wax. I only ate a few bites before putting down my chopsticks. There were also some toys for children in it; they were clearly trying to use children to talk to me.
“This is our son’s favorite food. How can you not eat it? If Yu’er finds out, he’ll cry so hard.”
Xie Yuancheng served me porridge, and as I ate it, I felt like crying. "Ying'er is such a good girl, with such beautiful eyes, full of affection, like bright autumn water."
I turned my face away, and his breath brushed against my skin. I protested for a long time, but still ate all the children's food on the table. A tear slid down my cheek, and no matter how much he apologized, I ignored him.
"Ying'er, let me see if you're still feeling unwell?"
"It's all your fault. You wouldn't listen to a word I said. I suddenly remembered that when you returned to the capital, you spoke to me in the same tone and with the same expression."
“This is what our three children eat every day. They are still young, how can they eat food with so many ingredients in it?”
“You are their mother. If you can’t share the hardships with your children, you’re not acting like a mother.”
He always manages to change the subject and make up excuses. I moved inside, and he immediately followed, nagging in my ear for ages. Just when I was about to fall asleep, he started getting handsy again.
"That's enough! Leave me alone!" I angrily shook off his hand and burrowed under the covers to sulk.
"I'm so annoyed by you. How can you treat your own man like this? Other men would protect him because they'd feel like their hearts were being stolen away, but you're the opposite. You want to leave at the slightest disagreement. You're so petty and disobedient."
I listened to him with my eyes closed, not even knowing when I fell asleep. When I woke up in the middle of the night, no one was beside me. I quickly went to change my clothes. There were few people around, so they probably didn't know I was gone.
I had just put on my coat and hadn't even fastened the belt when Xie Yuancheng pushed the door open and came in again. He looked like he had just come back from outside. I was annoyed. Why didn't he get up earlier? I had to run into him.
"Are you leaving, or are you going to pick me up?" Xie Yuancheng slowly walked over, his back to the outside light, so I couldn't see his face, but I suddenly felt scared.
"I just went out for a walk, slept for a long time, and when I woke up I was still in the house, of course I felt stuffy."
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