Xin He’s heartbeat quickened until it missed a beat; her face instantly turned a few shades paler. Turning around she laughed softly, saying, "Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be entertaining guests in the front courtyard?"
Mu Houchu’s eyes were glacial as he looked at her in a way that sent chills down her spine. Leaning down to look at her he said, "If I didn’t come, you might get abducted and I wouldn’t know."
Xin He hugged his arm tightly. "What are you talking about?"
By doing so, she tried to reassure Mu Houchu that she was only his wife and will never be Duan Lan’s. Also, she aimed to restrain him from possibly dismembering Duan Lan due to his intense fury.
Mu Houchu was not oblivious to this small woman’s intention. Did she think her faint cunning would deceive him?
Although her action did soothe him to some extent, the thought that she was secretly still siding with the insolent brat, Duan Lan, kept his anger boiling.
Mu Houchu glared coldly at Duan Lan. "You’re quite bold, daring to snatch away my woman under my watch."
Duan Lan showed no trace of guilt. On the contrary, he confidently met his gaze and smirked. "Snatching others? Who else could do it better than you?"
She was originally his fiancée after all!
Mu Houchu sneered hearing Duan Lan’s insinuating words. How dare he assert his rights?
His woman was now an object of another man’s declaration of sovereignty?
Unconsciously clenching his fists, Mu Houchu impulsively slapped him.
Caught off guard, Duan Lan received the blow heavily, spat out blood and fell to the ground clutching his chest.
Watching this, Xin He turned pale and cried, "Mu Houchu!"
Mu Houchu pinned her chin and kissed her violently. Perhaps it was his anger, but the traces of blood seemed to permeate their kiss.
Xin He wanted to push him away, but was completely powerless against this man. Especially when he was fuming with rage, she didn’t have a chance.
Once Mu Houchu realized that his forceful kiss nearly choked her, he released her. With one arm around her waist, he smirked at Duan Lan, who was lying on the ground, "There’s no such thing as worthy or not. There are only those I want and those I don’t. If you’re smart, you’d better stay in your place."
Duan Lan’s eyes turned bloodshot. The pain in his chest from that slap was nothing compared to the heartache. His hand in his sleeve was almost clutching the flesh, teeth clenched as he stared at the man before him, his resentment surging.
In the past, he was indifferent and carefree about everything, so he didn’t care about fame, was not particularly interested in the officialdom and instead, studied contentedly in Jishan Academy, far away from the capital. But now, he suddenly hated himself for being a nobody, hating everything he had given up!
Because at this moment, he was standing in front of this man at the peak of power, yet he couldn’t resist.
Let alone contend with him for the woman he dearly loved.
Even if Mu Houchu’s power was not honorably attained, even if his hands were stained with blood, even if such a man deserved to go to hell! Yet, he was still standing at the peak of power.
Who would care about the process? Only the final outcome was visible, and it was not until this moment that he realized the huge gap between them, frightening and unbearable.
Struggling to get up from the ground, Duan Lan wiped the traces of blood from the corner of his mouth. He glared at Mu Houchu, saying word by word, "Today, either you kill me or else in the future, you will regret it."
Mu Houchu scoffed, "Is that so? To save myself some trouble, it seems I will have to kill you after all."
Xin He quickly shielded him, speaking in haste, "He was just talking nonsense, why are you taking it seriously? Are you doubting the sincerity of my feelings? Mu Houchu, you are being overly harsh!"
"How am I being excessive? I spared his life once and that was being generous. I’m not accustomed to giving people second chances," Mu Houchu said, his gaze icy cold.
He was not even used to giving people a first chance!
Xin He anxiously intervened Marquis Mu Houchu: "Marquis Mu Houchu! You just promised that after marriage, you would heed my words! Today is our wedding day, don’t you know how inauspicious it is to have a death? I have already married you, do you think I would leave you just because someone manipulated you with a few words? If you really can be easily manipulated like this, then I really misjudged you!"
Marquis Mu Houchu’s footsteps paused momentarily, looking at Xin He with a deeper gaze. After a brief silence, he coldly said to Duan Lan: "Today, she pleaded for you. I’ll let you off, leave!"
Upon hearing this, Xin He breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to chide Duan Lan: "What are you waiting for? Leave!"
Duan Lan wiped the blood that dripped from the corner of his mouth, his eyes momentarily flashed with an unprecedented ruthless color, and he turned around and left.
Xin He finally felt her heart settle down, her whole body seemingly bereft of any strength.
But the moment she turned around, seeing the gloomy look on the man standing behind her, her heart instantly jumped to her throat again.
Marquis Mu Houchu coldly looked at her: "I said I would abide by your wishes, but this does not include matters with other men."
Xin He swallowed nervously, taking an involuntary step back: "I understand..."
In her haste earlier, she had used that pretext to keep the peace. She understood Mu’s temperament well - he was possessive and domineering. It was impossible for him to completely let go of what just happened.
But...what does he really want to do now?
"Pleading for another man comes with a price." Marquis Mu Houchu’s gaze grew even colder.
Xin He awkwardly contorted her face into a smile: "I was just considering that a death on our wedding day would be inauspicious, so actually I wasn’t pleading for him...ah!"
Marquis Mu Houchu had already picked her up and was striding towards the bridal chamber, cutting her off mid-sentence.
"Marquis Mu Houchu! If you have something to say, say it clearly! Put me down!" Xin He could guess his intentions simply based on his actions!
This man was at the height of his fury, intending to vent his aggression by sleeping with her, she might be half dead by the end of it!
The last time at the medicinal spring, he still cared for her, yet she still wound up battered and bruised from the incident!
Just thinking about this caused Xin He to shiver uncontrollably.
It was Duan Lan who came looking for her, not her who got cold feet at the wedding. Why was this man so angry!
Ling Feng was standing outside the garden. Seeing Marquis Mu Houchu coming out, he lowered his head and asked: "Master, what about the guests outside..."
"Let them all scram!" Marquis Mu Houchu shouted, and carried Xin He away, straight past him.
Having been left behind successfully, Ling Feng breathed a sigh of relief, feeling his chest. At least his master’s anger didn’t fall on him. As for the guests, let them leave if they want to, they’ve been wanting to leave for some time anyway.
But he did feel sorry for the Prime Minister’s wife...
As Ling Feng looked up at the woman being held in Marquis Mu Houchu’s arms, he held a moment of silence for her, then turned and hurriedly headed towards the front courtyard to announce the dismissal of the guests.
"Marquis Mu Houchu, today, I had no idea that Duan Lan was coming to see me. I just ran into him in the garden. You know that we knew each other before, so I just greeted him, ah!"
The words hadn’t even left Xin He’s mouth when she was lifted into the air and thrown onto the bed.
In that moment as she hit the bed, Xin He suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. Just as he was about to pin her down, in the blink of an eye, she seemed to recall everything.
When he returned to the capital that time, he happened to see Duan Lan giving her a flower lantern at a poetry gathering at the Ruifu Building. He was furious then too, and just as he had done now, he had thrown her onto the bed, dominating her, and had recklessly tore her clothes off!
History was always tragically repetitive. Thinking back to his brutality that time, Xin He felt like crying!
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