Chapter 58

Xiao Changyuan looked down at Yun Pianpian, his dark eyes were as cold and profound as an abyssal cold pool.
“Do you think that just because you spent one night with me…”
Xiao Changyuan gazed down imperiously at her delicate, pale face, a mocking light flickered in his cold, dark eyes. “...that I would pardon your capital offense?”
Xiao Changyuan's gaze was cold, but his tone was dozens of times colder than his gaze.
The warm, bright room instantly dropped several degrees in temperature due to the low pressure emanating from Xiao Changyuan.
It felt like being trapped in an icy, snowy wilderness.
His words were utterly hurtful.
Upon hearing Xiao Changyuan's icy, heartless words, Yun Pianpian felt a sting in her nose.
Hot, glistening tears welled up in her reddened eyes, spilling over and rolling down her rosy cheeks.
With a soft plop, they fell onto the back of her hand.
Shattered.
Just like her fragile self-esteem.
She had thought she had earned his forgiveness yesterday.
She had believed that by breaking herself apart, by tearing herself to pieces, he would pardon her sins.
But she never expected him to speak to her in such a tone.
Xiao Changyuan’s gaze held a faint trace of mockery.
Under his contemptuous eyes, Yun Pianpian felt utterly humiliated, her cheeks burning as if on fire.
Amid her sorrow, she felt a wave of shameful embarrassment and wished she could shrink her body beneath the covers.
But under his intense stare, she dared not move a muscle.
Clutching the blanket, tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes, dampening her delicate, rosy face.
Xiao Changyuan frowned slightly at the sight of her tears.
“Stop crying.” he commanded, his voice cool and deep, laced with clear displeasure.
Hearing his cold tone, Yun Pianpian not only failed to hold back her tears but cried even more intensely.
In the past, Xiao Changyuan would have been flustered at the sight of her tears, wiping them away and comforting her anxiously.
But now, he not only refused to console her but ordered her in such a frigid, unfeeling tone.
It was only at this moment that Yun Pianpian belatedly realized: the pure, innocent, amnesiac Yuan of the past had completely died within Xiao Changyuan. The one who would sever his own right hand over a single mischievous lie, she would never see him again.
At this thought, Yun Pianpian’s tears fell like rain.
Large, pearl-like drops slid down her cheeks, dripping onto the back of her hand and soaking the bedding.
As she wept in sorrow, a pale, slender, and distinctly boned hand suddenly gripped her chin.
Yun Pianpian was forced to meet a pair of icy, dark eyes.
“Pianpian, my patience is limited,” the man’s voice was low and hoarse, as if stained with blood.
It carried a trace of cold impatience.
His deep, frigid eyes held a turbulent, barely restrained ferocity, and a chilling rage, like a frozen river cracking uncontrollably.
“I have lost my patience with you.”
Xiao Changyuan reached out and roughly wiped away the tears at the corner of Yun Pianpian’s eyes with his thumb.
His calloused fingertip scraped harshly against her fair, delicate cheek.
The force was so strong that Yun Pianpian felt as if a layer of skin was being scraped off.
Fearing that Xiao Changyuan might disfigure her, she immediately stopped her glistening tears.
“I, I’ll wipe them myself…” she stammered, her eyes red, fingers trembling slightly as she quickly used the blanket to dry the tears at the corners of her eyes.
After wiping them away, Yun Pianpian whispered, “I, I’ve wiped them clean.”
Xiao Changyuan frowned, still holding her chin, his dark eyes cold as he meticulously inspected her face up and down.
His focused expression was as if he were examining a delicate, fragile porcelain piece.
Satisfied that there were no traces of moisture left.
Xiao Changyuan expressionlessly released his large hand that had been gripping her chin.
Yun Pianpian had narrowly escaped death.
She let out a long sigh of relief.
But halfway through that sigh, Yun Pianpian suddenly heard Xiao Changyuan's icy, chilling voice.
“Why did you lie to me?”
Yun Pianpian knew that Xiao Changyuan was about to settle all scores with her.
She dared not let Xiao Changyuan know about the system's existence. If he discovered she had deceived him merely to complete system tasks, he might think she had no feelings for him at all, which could lead to an even more miserable fate for her.
Under these circumstances, she could only conceal the system's existence and continue lying to Xiao Changyuan.
Biting her red lips, Yun Pianpian hesitated and said, “At that time, when I woke up by the stream and saw Your Majesty.”
Before she could finish, Xiao Changyuan furrowed his brows and interrupted her, “What did you call me?”
Yun Pianpian was taken aback. Seeing his cold expression, she suddenly had an epiphany and cautiously said, “Hus-husband.”
Only then did Xiao Changyuan's furrowed brows smooth out.
“Continue.”
Yun Pianpian felt somewhat dazed, thinking that Xiao Changyuan was indeed as described in the original story, sinister in temperament, unpredictable in mood, with no one able to discern what he was truly thinking. Though he currently appeared ready to devour her with terrifying intensity, he refused to let her address him as “Your Majesty,” insisting she continue calling him “husband.” This inexplicable behavior gave her the illusion that Xiao Changyuan still loved her.
As Yun Pianpian was lost in thought, Xiao Changyuan's cold, gloomy voice suddenly sounded by her ear.
“Speak.”
Yun Pianpian snapped back to reality immediately.
Clutching the quilt tightly, she said with fear and trepidation, “At that time, when I woke up by the stream and saw husband lying beside me. Husband's appearance was peerless, extraordinarily handsome. I couldn't help myself for a moment, overcome by lustful desires.”
Halfway through, Yun Pianpian cautiously raised her head to sneak a glance at the expression on Xiao Changyuan's handsome face. Seeing his impassive demeanor and that he didn't seem displeased, she gathered her courage and continued, “I couldn't resist being overcome by lustful desires and told a colossal lie.”
Xiao Changyuan's thin lips pressed together slightly, his deep, cold dark eyes staring frigidly at Yun Pianpian.
“If you were overcome by lustful desires, why didn't you deceive me to the very end?”
Yun Pianpian lowered her head, her words a mix of truth and falsehood: “Because I have the desire but not the courage, I'm a useless coward. Although I adore my husband deeply, I fear that he would be angry if he learned the truth. So I dared only to deceive his feelings, not his body. The more I love him, the more afraid I am of losing him, and the less I dare to reveal the truth.”
A lie must be woven with threads of truth to be convincing.
Apart from omitting the system as the root cause, every word that followed in Yun Pianpian’s lie was true, they were all heartfelt confessions.
She had no idea whether Xiao Changyuan believed her.
The room fell into complete silence.
Her heart pounded like a drum, waiting for Xiao Changyuan’s judgment.
Xiao Changyuan suddenly reached out and pinched her chin. “Look into my eyes and repeat what you just said.”
Forced to meet his dark, intense gaze, Yun Pianpian, having practiced once before, delivered her lie with remarkable steadiness and fluency. Under Xiao Changyuan’s deep, penetrating stare, her cheeks flushed with a faint pink, growing warm, and her ears turned completely red.
Her heart raced uncontrollably.
Xiao Changyuan studied her eyes for a long time.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally spoke in a mocking tone, “Useless thing. Even lying, you can’t see it through to the end.”
Hearing his words, Yun Pianpian felt both relieved and a twinge of grievance.
“Husband, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me.”
“One last question.”
Xiao Changyuan held her chin, his voice calm but cold. “Yun Pianpian, who exactly are you?”
Yun Pianpian instinctively replied, “I’m just a little palace maid.”
“Pianpian, think carefully before you answer.”
Xiao Changyuan’s voice suddenly turned to ice.
Yun Pianpian froze, lifting her long, thick lashes to stare blankly at him.
Xiao Changyuan was glaring at her coldly, his deep, chilling eyes seethed with an unknown fury.
Yun Pianpian’s pupils contracted, her heart sank straight to the bottom.
She had no idea which part of her words had angered Xiao Changyuan so much.
Her mind went blank.
Amid the chaos, an unbelievable thought flashed through her muddled brain, Xiao Changyuan might have known the original little palace maid!
The original novel had given very little description of the maid, only mentioning her a few times after Xiao Changyuan fell off the cliff. Yun Pianpian didn’t even know the maid’s name, leading her to assume that Xiao Changyuan hadn’t known her before the fall.
But judging by his reaction now, it was highly possible that he had!
Yun Pianpian’s fingertips trembled slightly.
Xiao Changyuan’s grip on her chin tightened.
His voice was low and icy, brimming with suppressed rage.
“Answer me.”
Yun Pianpian’s mind raced. She couldn’t claim amnesia now to brush him off, throughout their time together, she had been the one guiding him in daily life, showing no signs of memory loss. Lying at this point would only provoke greater fury from him. He despised deception and betrayal above all else. There was only one path left for her.
She had to tell him the truth.
Even if that truth sounded like another lie.
With red-rimmed eyes, Yun Pianpian said, “I come from the future, two thousand years from now. I borrowed this body and crossed over into this little palace maid.”
She didn’t want to tell Xiao Changyuan that this world was a novel and that he was the villain in it, because that truth would be far too cruel for him.
Xiao Changyuan stared expressionlessly into Yun Pianpian’s eyes.
“Go on.”
Yun Pianpian froze. Why was Xiao Changyuan reacting like this?
Shouldn’t he be mocking her for lying?
Biting her red lips, Yun Pianpian continued, “I’m not from this world. That night, I had just finished reading this part of history, and when I closed my eyes, I suddenly crossed over into this little palace maid. It wasn’t until I realized we were in Jiangjia Village that I understood our identities.”
Xiao Changyuan stared at her for a long time before suddenly frowning and asking, “Are you Little Butterfly?”
Yun Pianpian was taken aback. “What Little Butterfly?”
Xiao Changyuan’s dark eyes deepened as he said indifferently, “Never mind. It’s not important.”
Yun Pianpian looked at Xiao Changyuan in confusion.
She didn’t know whether he believed her or had forgiven her.
The coldness in his gaze felt unfamiliar to her.
That chill only grew heated when they practiced demonic arts together.
For the next three days, Yun Pianpian barely left the bed.
Xiao Changyuan, having tasted the sweetness, practiced demonic arts with her every day.
He bit every corner of her body, every inch of her skin, leaving his marks all over her.
The Xiao Changyuan of the past, though domineering, had been restrained.
But now, he was like a beast freed from its shackles, unrestrained and indulging in his wicked desires upon her.
Leaving her powerless to resist, unable to break free.