Chapter 57

The sky had darkened at some point, churning dark clouds shrouding the heavens, turning day into night.
Rolling flashes of lightning and hidden thunder rumbled within the black clouds. A silver, white bolt tore across the sky, followed by a tremendous clap of thunder.
Torrential rain finally poured down in sheets, raindrops pounding the ground with a loud, splashing sound.
Hearing the enormous thunderclap, Yun Pianpian was so frightened that she immediately hid inside the house, closed the doors and windows, and curled up in the farthest corner of the wooden bed. Her body trembled uncontrollably. If Xiao Changyuan had been by her side, she would have long since thrown herself into his arms.
Before long, the flashes of lightning and thunder outside gradually grew faint, fading away until only the sound of pouring rain remained.
Yun Pianpian furrowed her delicate brows slightly upon hearing the torrential rain, beginning to worry.
Xiao Changyuan had left in such a hurry this morning, she didn’t know if he had brought an umbrella or if his clothes had been soaked by the downpour…
The rain poured heavily from the eaves, and when the cold wind blew through it, it resembled a swaying curtain of pearls.
Standing under the eaves, Yun Pianpian held an oil-paper umbrella in her hand, waiting for Xiao Changyuan to return home. Her gaze pierced through the curtain of rain beneath the eaves, fixed on the end of the mountain path, anticipating the moment his figure would appear.
For a fleeting moment, Yun Pianpian thought Xiao Changyuan would never return.
The misty dampness from the courtyard drifted toward her, dampening her clothes, yet she seemed oblivious to the moisture.
Her clear, bright eyes stared blankly at the end of the mountain path.
She waited for what felt like an eternity. The sky grew darker, the rain gradually eased, and wisps of smoke began to rise from the chimneys of the village houses in Jiangjia Village. The villagers started cooking their meals as night fell, and candlelight flickered in every household, illuminating the drizzly darkness.
Finally, in the hazy night rain, Yun Pianpian caught sight of Xiao Changyuan driving an ox cart.
Her eyes lit up, and she immediately opened her oil-paper umbrella, rushing into the curtain of rain.
“Husband, why are you back so late?”
Yun Pianpian ran to the ox cart, hopped onto it, and held the umbrella over Xiao Changyuan’s head, shielding him from the wind and rain.
She reached out and touched his thoroughly soaked clothes. His body was chillingly cold, without a trace of warmth, as if he had been drenched all the way home. Yun Pianpian frowned delicately and said, “Husband, you’re completely drenched. You should take a hot bath later…”
Xiao Changyuan lifted his cold eyes, his icy and gloomy gaze falling upon Yun Pianpian’s fair, delicate face.
Her clear, almond, shaped eyes were brimming with worry.
Liar.
Xiao Changyuan’s thin lips pressed tightly together, his dark, chilling eyes fixed intently on Yun Pianpian.
A cold, raging fury surged within him, like a volcano beneath an icy sea, frigid and suffocating.
This hypocritical liar.
Meeting Xiao Changyuan’s frosty gaze, Yun Pianpian was momentarily stunned. Thinking he was still angry about yesterday’s incident, she immediately lowered her head and apologized, “I don’t dislike you, husband. I’m just afraid of dying and didn’t dare practice demonic arts…”
Xiao Changyuan tightened his grip on the reins, his pale fingertips turning slightly blue from the force.
His dark, profound eyes remained fixed on her face.
This unrepentant liar still dared to deceive him with such an absurd excuse about demonic arts.
Yun Pianpian remained completely unaware of the danger before her.
The young emperor’s eyes were deep and icy. His pale, aloofly handsome face was covered in glistening raindrops, making his jade, like complexion appear even colder and more translucent, exuding a fragile beauty akin to shattered jade and pearls.
Glistening raindrops slid down his face to his sharp jawline, dripping onto the back of her hand.
It seared the depths of her heart.
Yun Pianpian’s long, thick eyelashes trembled.
Her heart aching, she reached out with her delicate, fair hands and embraced him.
Her clear, almond, shaped eyes gradually misted over with a layer of moisture.
“Husband, can we please stop arguing?”
Xiao Changyuan remained as still as an iceberg, his pale, aloof jaw tensing.
In those pitch-black, icy cold eyes, turbulent emotions surged and shifted, suppressing a trace of chilling ferocity.
This liar who toyed with his heart as if it were a plaything.
Even now, she still dared to manipulate his will.
Utterly unforgivable!
Xiao Changyuan's chest roiled with fury, like a frozen river shattering and churning violently.
All his emotions had transformed into a frigid, raging storm.
He must punish her thoroughly, make her never dare to toy with his heart again.
Xiao Changyuan pressed his thin lips tightly together, clenched the reins in his hand, and drove the ox cart into the courtyard. A light drizzle still fell in the night sky, and the thatched roof of the ox shed provided some shelter from the rain. Xiao Changyuan tied the old ox inside the shed, not uttering a single word to Yun Pianpian throughout the entire process.
He grabbed Yun Pianpian's slender arm, pushed open the door to the main room, dragged her inside, and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
The man's tall shadow enveloped the woman's petite frame.
Xiao Changyuan pressed Yun Pianpian against the wooden door, lowered his head, and fiercely captured her red lips.
His wild, out, of, control demeanor was as if he wanted to crush her, swallow her whole, and meld her into his very bones and blood.
Yun Pianpian was kissed until her brain felt starved of oxygen.
Her heart pounded violently.
She knew she could push him away at any moment, but she didn't dare to lift a hand.
She was afraid Xiao Changyuan would show that wounded expression again, just like last time.
She didn't want to hurt Xiao Changyuan in the slightest.
After what felt like an eternity, Yun Pianpian's legs grew so weak she could barely stand. Xiao Changyuan released her red lips, his breath scalding.
His dark, icy eyes fixed on her, his voice low and hoarse.
“Wife, I'm staying in the room tonight.”
Yun Pianpian, still weak and dazed from his kisses, trembled at his words and instantly sobered up in fright.
“You can't.”
Xiao Changyuan stared at her with gloomy, icy eyes. “Why can't I?”
Yun Pianpian averted her gaze, unable to meet his dark, cold eyes. Her almond, shaped eyes gradually glistened with a layer of moisture.
She truly didn't want to lie to him, but she had no choice but to continue deceiving him.
“My body is delicate and weak. I cannot endure the suffering of the demonic arts.”
A shadow of darkness flickered in Xiao Changyuan's cold eyes. He lowered his head and bit her red lips fiercely, his movements filled with suppressed anger.
“Whether my wife can endure it or not, only trying will tell.”
Yun Pianpian's eyes grew wet and red from his biting, her dazed almond eyes brimming with tears.
In the past, such words had always been enough to control Xiao Changyuan, but for some reason, today he was particularly difficult to handle. He was like a wolf gone out of control, and she had no means left to restrain him.
This feeling of loss of control frightened her.
Suddenly, her waist tightened.
Xiao Changyuan lifted her into his arms.
Yun Pianpian clutched the front of his robe, her almond, shaped eyes brimming with panic.
“What are you doing, husband?”
Xiao Changyuan pressed his lips together, his dark, turbulent eyes fixed on her.
Coldly, he uttered three words from his thin lips.
“Practicing demonic arts.”
Yun Pianpian’s pupils contracted sharply, her body trembled uncontrollably.
“We can’t…”
As if he hadn’t heard her, Xiao Changyuan carried her to the bed.
Yun Pianpian, terrified, shrank back, hugging her thinly clad shoulders. Driven to the brink, her eyes reddened as she gazed at Xiao Changyuan with tear, filled almond eyes, looking utterly pitiful. “We can’t do this…”
“You are my wife. You cannot refuse me,” Xiao Changyuan said mercilessly.
Yun Pianpian’s heart tightened into a knot, her fear reaching its peak.
All her emotions piled up, pushing her to the edge of collapse.
Before things escalated further, she had to stop this, even if the outcome terrified her.
Her face pale, Yun Pianpian lifted her gaze, her red, rimmed eyes fixed on Xiao Changyuan.
“I’m sorry, I lied to you. I’m not your wife…”
Xiao Changyuan bit her red lips, his face close to hers, his gaze dark and his voice hoarse.
“Wife, if you’re going to lie, then lie to the very end for me…”
Yun Pianpian’s long, thick lashes trembled abruptly.
Her pupils contracted violently.
Her mind went blank.
Yun Pianpian stared with tear, filled almond eyes.
She looked at Xiao Changyuan in a daze, her gaze met his deep, cold eyes.
He had been watching her all along.
The man’s eyes were colder, deeper, and darker than ever before…
“…Have you regained your memories?”
Her thoughts turned to mush.
Before she could react, Xiao Changyuan stole her breath away, his actions were domineering and frenzied.
Instead of pushing him away, she wrapped her pale, delicate arms around his neck, her eyes red.
Yun Pianpian nervously returned his kiss.
Her movements were shy, meticulous, and cautious.
She wanted to offer herself to him without reservation.
To quell his anger.
To beg for his forgiveness.
Xiao Changyuan froze, his jade, like face flushing faintly.
Every time Yun Pianpian kissed him voluntarily, he would blush uncontrollably.
Xiao Changyuan despised her control over him, he despised his own reactions.
In a fit of shame and anger, he gripped Yun Pianpian’s waist, his cold eyes turning red as he deepened the kiss fiercely.
Outside the window, the wind howled, rain poured, and lightning flashed.
The storm raged all night.
Inside the room, the bed curtains rustled, and the air was thick with intimacy.
Having been exhausted late into the night, Yun Pianpian slowly awoke the next afternoon, her thick lashes fluttering open.
Her body felt as if it had been crushed by a boulder, weak and tender all over.
With great effort, Yun Pianpian sat up.
Xiao Changyuan was dressing, his tall figure standing gracefully, his dark, cold eyes fixed intently on her.
The gentle afternoon sunlight filtered through the thin window paper in delicate strands, falling upon the man's incomparably handsome face, softening his sharp, cold features into something almost tender. This tenderness gave her the illusion of being cherished by him.
Recalling the absurd events of the previous night, Yun Pianpian's cheeks flushed crimson. Supporting her sore waist, she tearfully accused the tyrant, “Didn't you promise you wouldn't hurt me? You big liar!”
Though Yun Pianpian appeared to be making an accusation, she was actually acting coquettishly toward Xiao Changyuan.
The night before, she had melted into a puddle of water, transformed into a wisp of wind, and exhausted a lifetime's worth of tenderness to beg for his forgiveness.
She had offered herself to Xiao Changyuan without reservation, believing that doing so would earn his pardon.
In the latter half of the night, his movements had finally grown somewhat gentle, and she thought they had reconciled as before.
Xiao Changyuan, having regained his memories, paused slightly as he dressed upon hearing her words and let out an almost imperceptible low chuckle.
He lifted his eyes, his dark, cold gaze fixed on Yun Pianpian, carrying a hint of near, mocking pity.
“Is my Pianpian truly so naive as to still believe a man's deceitful words?”
Yun Pianpian froze, tilting her head to stare blankly at Xiao Changyuan.
A glistening mist gradually clouded her clear, luminous almond, shaped eyes.
“What does my husband mean by that?”