Chapter 71: Tearing Apart the Relationship and Wanting Another Child
She stood there, watching that familiar figure walk towards her against the firelight. All fear, lingering dread, regret—all her emotions vanished without a trace.
It seemed as if they had already guessed the current situation, and it also seemed as if they had already given up hope.
The man before her was tall and imposing, his robes jingling like jade, and he possessed a golden and jade-like appearance. Lin Shutang used to find him quite pleasing to the eye, but now she found him repulsive, a wicked demon who would devour people without spitting out the bones.
Firelight rose behind him, and as he stepped forward, he captured her every glance.
She wasn't frightened, nor did she turn and run away. She just stood there quietly, looking at him as if he were a stranger.
The calm that had lasted for several days was about to be broken. His usually composed face showed signs of cracking, his thin lips were slightly pursed, his jaw was taut, and his eyes were filled with a terrifying gloom.
It was probably because Lin Shutang had deceived him once again, and he had even forgotten to restrain the fierceness that he usually thought he could conceal.
The collapse of the sky and the sinking of the earth only require one fuse.
He lowered his eyes and scanned Lin Shutang from head to toe. His terrifying gaze was like a steel knife scraping over her inch by inch. He saw that her dress was torn by thorns, and her bare, fair hands were covered with scratches. She was a mess.
He suddenly laughed, his voice like the biting snow of winter, laced with insulting contempt, "Is this the life you went through all that trouble to escape to?"
Lin Shutang remained silent, her stubborn gaze fixed on him, her attitude made clear in her silence.
His smile grew colder as he bent down to look her in the eye, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Lin Shutang, what have I done wrong to you? Why are you so eager to leave?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her down. Lin Shutang stumbled and almost fell into his arms, instantly closing the distance between them.
His cool breath fell on her face, his expression suppressing a murderous rage, "You can seduce anyone, one Song Ying wasn't enough, the princess wasn't enough, and now you've even gone after Shen Xiuyan?"
As she pressed him relentlessly, Shen Yun's eyes gradually reddened, and the hand gripping the back of her neck tightened inch by inch. The way she ground her teeth and sucked blood made it seem as if she wanted to swallow Lin Shutang whole.
A strange smile crept across his lips as his gaze slowly swept over her face, which was now showing signs of fear. He savored her trembling. "So all this time, your obedience, your attempts to please me, and your promises were all lies to me, weren't they?"
Tears welled up in Lin Shutang's eyes. She bit her lower lip, forcing herself to look back. She spoke each word with an air of self-righteousness, as if Shen Yun were asking a very stupid question.
"Otherwise what?"
Given the current situation, there's no need to save face for each other anymore.
How could someone as self-righteous as Shen Yun possibly understand the pain and frustration in her heart?
He was always aloof and arrogant, treating human life as worthless. He always accepted all her moves with gentle persuasion, while she was the only one acting like a clown, retreating step by step to become his caged bird.
For three years, she was cautious and timid by his side, and wasn't being his plaything for three years enough?
Determined to provoke him, Lin Shutang began to speak recklessly, "Shen Yun, you're a madman. Nobody wants to stay by your side."
"For the past three years, not a single day has passed that I haven't wanted to leave the Duke's mansion and leave you. Even though you forced me to give birth to Shenyan, I never thought of staying to spend my whole life with you."
"That child is an illegitimate child to me!"
The smile on Shen Yun's lips gradually faded, and a storm silently swept through his dark eyes.
He felt that if Lin Shutang were smarter, she shouldn't have continued to speak so recklessly. If she had just continued to act weak and deceive him, he could have pretended that nothing had happened.
But Lin Shutang showed no sign of admitting his mistake. Shen Yun's handsome face could no longer maintain any semblance of dignity. He couldn't understand why the words coming out of Lin Shutang's lips, which were usually so soft and sweet to kiss, were becoming more and more hurtful.
He held her chin firmly, cutting off her words, but Lin Shutang couldn't help but burst into laughter, laughing until tears streamed down her face.
Hot tears fell into his palm, meandering down his wrist as if corroded by lava, and he involuntarily loosened his grip.
Shen Yun's expression was not good, but Lin Shutang felt extremely relieved, as if all the resentment that had been suppressed in his heart for many years had finally found an outlet.
"Shen Yun, I know you're doing this to me to avenge Zhou Ziyang, right?" she suddenly said, her voice very soft, not missing the rare look of shock that flashed across Shen Yun's eyes.
In that fleeting glance, she confirmed her guess, her heart sank to the bottom, and an unbearable soreness spread through her chest. "He died in the battle of Black Pine Ridge because of the crossbow I developed."
"You believe that I colluded with Xiyue, that I betrayed my country, so you killed so many people to avenge Zhou Ziyang, is that right?"
"Then why don't you kill me? Why do you have to torture me like this!"
Lin Shutang spoke each word as if she had suddenly lost control, her voice becoming incredibly shrill, and large tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and her gaze towards Shen Yun was filled with an unprecedented resentment and hatred.
No wonder he left without a word later; no wonder he disguised himself as a timber merchant and stayed in the courtyard; no wonder that inexplicable fire happened...
...No wonder, after two years, when he reappeared, he ruined his own wedding and stained the entire Lin family with blood.
Tears streamed down his chin and slid down his slender neck, soaking Shen Yun's entire palm. Half of his body felt numb, and his throat bobbed with difficulty. "Who told you that?"
"I just want to know the truth." Lin Shutang's voice was already hoarse. Through her tear-blurred vision, she saw Shen Yun's limp hand slowly hanging down. Her whole body swayed, as if she was about to lose all her strength.
Instead of answering, he stared at her and asked, "You think it's torture?"
“Isn’t that right?” she looked back at him sarcastically.
He suddenly chuckled, something flashing in his scarlet eyes. When Lin Shutang looked again, he was calm and composed, but when he spoke these words, there was a hint of interest in his voice, as if he had come up with some interesting ways to play.
"Alright, I promise you, once you return to the Duke's mansion this time, you won't be able to escape again, Shutang."
He called her name slowly, his large hand stroking her temple, his fingertips tenderly wiping away her tears, his eyes, though filled with laughter, were cold and devoid of warmth.
"What are you going to do?" Lin Shutang belatedly felt fear and subconsciously took a step back, but Shen Yun had anticipated this and held her head in his arms.
Believing she would be subjected to inhuman treatment by Shen Yun, she began to struggle desperately. However, Shen Yun's grip on her was extremely strong. He bent down, picked her up through his knees, threw her onto the horse, and galloped towards Yujing City.
In less than an hour, the group stopped at the entrance of the Duke's mansion.
Shen Yun wrapped Lin Shutang in his cloak and carried him all the way into Jingyuan Residence.
It was still early, with the first light of dawn just peeking over the clouds, and many servants in the mansion were already up and getting to work.
Seeing the prince carrying a woman wrapped up tightly, his clothes billowing in the wind as he strode towards the backyard, they were curious and wanted to look up to see what was going on. However, when they met the prince's cold and hard face, which was covered in cold air and looked like a dead man, they were all so frightened that they lowered their heads and wished they could disappear into the ground.
Upon entering Jingyuan Residence, Lin Shutang was still struggling desperately when she kicked open the bedroom door. Before Shen Yun could throw her onto the bed, she rolled over and fell in herself.
Lin Shutang quickly stood up, sat up straight, and looked up at the man in front of her.
Her gaze fell behind him, and she suddenly tried to get out of bed and rush out, but Shen Yun reached out and grabbed her waist, stopping her.
He pressed her down onto the bed, knelt on one knee between her legs, and reached into the foot of the bed to pull out a jingling instrument.
Lin Shutang's body, which had been struggling, suddenly stiffened, and her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the man in front of her.
Tears streamed down her face almost instantly. "Chen Yun, you're a madman."
"Ah Tang, is this how you'll listen to me?" He tilted his head slightly to look at her, as if exploring how to get along with her.
He spoke gently, his palm caressing her smooth calves, landing on her delicate ankles. With a crisp sound, the chain, the other end of which was attached to the bedpost, was fastened into her wrists.
Lin Shutang's heart sank to the bottom in an instant.
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, her chest heaving as she sobbed, gasping for breath. "Chen Yun, please let me go. I beg you."
"Ah Tang, it will be alright." He lowered his head and kissed away her tears, pecking at her face with delicate, persistent kisses, lingering on her lips, easily prying them open.
Lin Shutang turned her head to dodge, but her wrists, which were pinned above her head with one hand, struggled. "Chen Yun, you're a madman!"
"A complete madman!"
"There's no way we can be together. I'll only hate you more. I'll never forgive you! Never!"
He suddenly stopped, his eyes full of confusion. "But don't we have a child? Aren't we very much in love? You won't even let me lie to you, won't you?"
"Yes! You're a madman!" Lin Shutang stared at him, her eyes red. "Everything I said was just a lie, nothing I said was a deception! I never once truly wanted to spend my life with you, never! I just wanted to leave... uh..."
All the condemnations suddenly fell silent. Lin Shutang tilted her head back, biting her lower lip tightly, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face, instantly soaking the brocade quilt.
She stared at the swaying bed curtains and said in a hoarse voice, "Chen Yun, you are so pitiful."
The person in front of him paused for a moment, then continued to ignore him, lowered his eyes, and grabbed a pillow from the side to place under Lin Shutang.
The bells on her ankles swayed for who knows how long, until large patches of sunlight streamed in through the window, and the slowly swaying curtains made her dizzy and lightheaded.
She spoke, her voice hoarse. "I hate you, Shen Yun."
He remained silent, breathing softly, as he kissed the corner of her eye and licked away her stinging tears, as if they were an ordinary, tender couple...
-
As the last rays of the setting sun entered the room, Lin Shutang was carried into the bathtub by Shen Yun. The warm water spread over her sore limbs, and she leaned against the edge of the tub, slowly opening her weak eyes.
She reached down to her lower body, her delicate brows furrowing tightly as she bit her lower lip to suppress a muffled groan of pain in her throat.
Shen Yun turned around and saw this scene. He immediately reached out and grabbed her wrist, his face so dark it looked like it could drip water. "Lin Shutang, do you think this will work?"
"Whether it works or not, we'll find out by trying it." She looked up at him, her misty eyes filled with sarcasm, her tone sharp with malice. "I feel disgusted just having it."
"Disgusting?" He sneered, cupping the back of her head in his hand and pulling her closer, while his other hand went underwater. "But it will stay here for days and nights to come. You'd better get used to it, Shutang."
Lin Shutang bent her knees, and tears welled up in her eyes again.
He tilted his head slightly to look at her, his dark eyes shifting slightly, suddenly revealing a hint of interest.
He pulled his hand out from underwater, his wet fingertips gliding over his lips. To Lin Shutang's astonishment, he stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, the interest in his eyes suddenly spreading even wider.
He let out a knowing sigh, then looked up at her. "Ah...you lied to me again."
His soft, drawn-out voice trailed off as he moved closer to her, his lingering gaze like an abyss drawing her in, slowly lingering on her slightly parted red lips, as if whispering, "It clearly welcomes me."
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