Chapter 65

“Pianpian, who were you talking to just now?”
Yun Pianpian's ears suddenly caught the cold, deep voice of Xiao Changyuan, his tone carried a lazy, husky quality, as if sated.
Yun Pianpian's eyelashes fluttered, her heart began to race uncontrollably.
How could Xiao Changyuan hear her talking to the system?
She hadn't made a single sound.
As if sensing her confusion, Xiao Changyuan slowly explained, “Your breathing just now was different from usual. You were almost asleep, but then you seemed to jolt awake. For a long time, you didn't take a breath, as if you were talking to someone.”
He knew the rhythm of Yun Pianpian's breathing when she spoke to someone.
Yun Pianpian froze, and her scalp immediately prickled.
Was the tyrant's possessiveness over her too intense?
He even wanted to control her breathing.
Yun Pianpian felt as though she could hardly breathe.
Hearing his words, she even forgot how to breathe normally.
Xiao Changyuan noticed she wasn't breathing.
He slowly propped himself up, his thin lips pressed together as he examined Yun Pianpian's face.
He saw the young woman's delicate brows slightly furrowed, her pink cheeks flushed, as if she were struggling for breath.
Xiao Changyuan frowned slightly.
“What's wrong with you?”
Yun Pianpian blinked her tear, filled almond, shaped eyes, gazing pitifully at Xiao Changyuan.
“My husband's words made me forget how to breathe normally.”
Xiao Changyuan was taken aback, frowning as he said, “How can Pianpian be so foolish as to forget how to breathe?”
Tears welled up in Yun Pianpian's eyes as she looked at Xiao Changyuan and cried, “It's all because my husband suddenly started discussing my breathing just now. Normally, I wouldn't pay any attention to it. What should I do now? I really seem to have forgotten how to breathe.”
Xiao Changyuan frowned, somewhat helplessly saying, “Follow me. Come on, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.”
Yun Pianpian did as he instructed, inhaling and exhaling, but still felt that the breathing rhythm wasn't right. The more she focused on her breathing, the more uncomfortable it became. “It's no use. My husband's breathing rhythm doesn't suit me. It's too long. Mine should be shorter than my husband's.”
The two of them spent quite some time studying the breathing rhythm.
Suddenly, Yun Pianpian's stomach growled with hunger.
She lifted her small face and looked pitifully at Xiao Changyuan.
“Husband, I'm hungry.”
She hadn't eaten anything for an entire day.
Xiao Changyuan frowned and said, “I'll have them bring some food.”
Yun Pianpian nodded softly. “Okay.”
Xiao Changyuan stood up, draped his dark, patterned dragon robe over his shoulders, and slowly walked toward the palace door.
After Xiao Changyuan left, Yun Pianpian suddenly found it much easier to breathe. It turned out she hadn't forgotten how to breathe; she was simply afraid of Xiao Changyuan. Whenever he began to suspect her, she would instinctively feel suffocated.
That afternoon, he had nearly killed her at the bottom of the bathing pool.
Her body had already begun to instinctively fear Xiao Changyuan.
Xiao Changyuan pushed open the palace door, and the palace attendants immediately approached. He gave them a few instructions, and soon, steaming hot food was brought into the bedchamber. The attendants respectfully placed the dishes on the rosewood table carved with cloud patterns before leaving the bedchamber and closing the door.
Throughout the entire process, none of the attendants raised their heads.
Xiao Changyuan lifted Yun Pianpian by the waist and placed her on a stool in front of the table.
The table was laden with six hot dishes, a soup, and two plates of pastries. Yun Pianpian noticed that all the food was served in silverware, even the bowls and chopsticks were made of silver. It seemed Xiao Changyuan did this to test for poison.
Yun Pianpian sighed inwardly. Being an emperor indeed came with risks, as one had to constantly guard against being poisoned.
Xiao Changyuan picked up the chopsticks, intending to feed Yun Pianpian himself.
Yun Pianpian blinked her clear, sparkling almond, shaped eyes and looked at him pitifully.
“My husband, I want to eat by myself.”
Xiao Changyuan lowered his gaze and glanced at her.
Perhaps her expression was too pitiful and Xiao Changyuan mercifully handed the silver chopsticks to Yun Pianpian.
Yun Pianpian took the silver chopsticks from him.
She was almost moved to tears.
“Thank you, my husband.”
She could finally eat by herself, no longer would she have to be fed like a doll.
Yun Pianpian ate like a whirlwind, while Xiao Changyuan sat beside her, sharing the meal.
After they finished eating, Xiao Changyuan had the attendants come in to clear the table.
Since returning to the palace, the biggest change was that Xiao Changyuan spent even more time by her side.
Back in Jiangjia Village, Xiao Changyuan would still go to the kitchen to light the fire, cook, fetch water, and wash clothes, these tasks would occupy him for a while. But now, all these chores were taken over by the palace servants, and Xiao Changyuan stayed by her side without leaving for even a moment.
After washing up, Xiao Changyuan held Yun Pianpian in his arms as they lay on the dragon bed draped with golden curtains.
The palace lanterns cast a soft, hazy glow.
Closing her eyes, Yun Pianpian began to seriously consider the system’s words.
She had crossed into this world solely to complete the system’s mission.
Now that she had accomplished her task, it was only natural for her to return home.
If Xiao Changyuan were still the gentle, restrained Amnesiac Yuan from before, perhaps Yun Pianpian would hesitate about going back.
Because she had loved Amnesiac Yuan, and she would have found it hard to part with him.
But Xiao Changyuan was now nothing more than a cold, ruthless control freak, he had even wanted to kill her.
Yun Pianpian could no longer find any reason to stay in this world.
She had to go home.
A wave of resolve swept through Yun Pianpian’s heart.
She would die right before Xiao Changyuan’s eyes.
She would present her cold, lifeless body to him.
She would use death to crown her moonlight.
The night passed without dreams.
The next morning, Yun Pianpian opened her eyes.
To her surprise, she found Xiao Changyuan still lying beside her.
“Husband, don’t you have to attend the morning court session?”
Xiao Changyuan propped himself up on one elbow, lying on the dragon bed, his dark eyes gazing intently at her.
“I have suspended court for three days to accompany Pianpian.”
Hearing these words, Yun Pianpian’s heart tightened.
If this fearsome deity stayed by her side, she would have no chance to seek death.
Yun Pianpian had spent the entire night contemplating her method of death.
There was no poison in the palace, so she couldn’t take her own life that way.
Hanging herself with a white silk cord would be too painful a process, Yun Pianpian didn’t want to die in such agony.
So, in the end, Pianpian decided to end her life with a golden hairpin.
The only condition was that Xiao Changyuan not be by her side.
Because if he were nearby, he would surely intervene to stop her. He was faster and stronger than her. If he knocked her unconscious before she could carry out her plan, she would never have another chance.
He would start guarding against all her dangerous actions.
The system had only said that Yun Pianpian must die before Xiao Changyuan’s eyes, it didn’t specify that she had to commit suicide in his presence. She could prepare while he was at court and stab herself with the golden hairpin before he returned. That way, she could cling to her last breath and die right in front of Xiao Changyuan.
The plan was perfect. Yun Pianpian wanted to find a way to die as soon as possible, lest complications arise.
Yun Pianpian earnestly advised, “Your Majesty is the emperor and should prioritize state affairs.”
Xiao Changyuan replied indifferently, “I am a tyrant. Tyrants need not concern themselves with state affairs.”
He only wanted to care for his Pianpian.
Yun Pianpian: “...”
Such a logical and convincing argument.
Yun Pianpian refused to give up and spent a long time trying to persuade Xiao Changyuan, talking until her mouth was dry.
Xiao Changyuan remained as unmoving as a cold mountain.
In the end, Yun Pianpian was mentally and physically exhausted and had no choice but to give up.
She desperately tried to convince herself to endure him for just three more days.
After three days, she would die and make this man regret everything.
After the two finished their morning meal, Yun Pianpian wanted to stroll around the palace and begged Xiao Changyuan to take her around.
Xiao Changyuan reached out, intending to scoop Yun Pianpian up by the waist to take her to the imperial garden, but she sidestepped to avoid him. When his hands fell empty, his coldly handsome face showed a hint of displeasure. “Did I permit you to dodge?”
Yun Pianpian felt embarrassed being carried around like this every day. It was one thing back in Jiangjia Village, but now in the palace, he still treated her like a ragdoll. How would the palace servants view her?
If this matter spread from the inner court to the imperial court, wouldn’t she become the laughingstock of the entire kingdom?
Yun Pianpian didn’t want that. Since she was about to leave this place anyway, she mustered the courage to resist Xiao Changyuan and said, “I want to walk on my own. Being carried around by my husband every day has made my legs stiff.”
Hearing this, Xiao Changyuan frowned slightly.
“How are you so delicate?”
Yun Pianpian felt a bit aggrieved. It wasn’t that she was delicate, it was his controlling nature that was the problem.
Although Xiao Changyuan complained, he did not force her.
Yun Pianpian gained the freedom to walk on her own.
This surprised her. She hadn’t expected Xiao Changyuan to be so accommodating, agreeing to her request so easily. She then wondered if his previous controlling behavior was simply because she had never explicitly resisted him.
There were many things she hadn’t wanted to do, but when Xiao Changyuan intimidated her, she didn’t dare to voice her unwillingness.
Yun Pianpian forced herself not to dwell on it further.
She had already decided to leave this place.
Overthinking would bring her no benefit.
Xiao Changyuan led Yun Pianpian to stroll through the imperial garden. The surroundings were tranquil and picturesque, with artificial hills and emerald stones encircling a clear stream. There was also a waterside pavilion, exquisitely carved and painted, that lifted one’s spirits.
Yun Pianpian leaned against the pavilion’s railing, watching the plump, colorful koi in the stream for a while. Then she lifted her gaze and suddenly noticed an extremely tall tower.
Pointing at it, she asked, “Husband, what is that tower?”
Xiao Changyuan glanced up at the tower.
He replied in a detached tone, “That is the Moon-Snatching Tower.”
Yun Pianpian was taken aback and stared intently, marveling inwardly. So that was the Moon-Snatching Tower from the novel. She remembered this tower vividly because the main antagonist, Xiao Changyuan, had once forced the female lead, Ye Suxin, to stand atop it and sing to the immortals in the freezing cold wind. The female lead had nearly turned into an ice sculpture from the bitter chill, a scene Yun Pianpian could hardly forget.
Immediately excited, Yun Pianpian said, “Husband, I want to go there and take a look.”
The Moon-Snatching Tower stood two hundred feet high, with over three hundred steps. By the time Yun Pianpian had climbed a hundred or so steps, she was already panting heavily, a layer of heat building beneath her clothes. She turned back, her rosy cheeks flushed, and stretched out her arms toward Xiao Changyuan.
“Husband, carry me up.”
Xiao Changyuan lowered his gaze to her, his tone cool and detached.
“Didn't Pianpian say she would walk on her own today?”
Yun Pianpian blinked her dewy almond eyes and immediately began to coo, “Husband, I'm so tired.”
Xiao Changyuan reached out, scooping her up by the waist. His jade, like face remained impassive, his thin lips pressed together, his expression unreadable, neither clearly pleased nor displeased. Yun Pianpian paid no mind to his mood, merely clutching the front of his robe tightly with her fingers.
He did not take the stairs but instead used his lightness skill to fly directly to the top of the tower. Arriving at the jade platform, Yun Pianpian slipped from his embrace, her feet touching the ground. She bounded spiritedly to the white marble railing, gazing out into the distance, taking in the entire imperial palace at a glance.
She could even see the long streets and buildings beyond the palace walls, the residences and neighborhoods, and further still, the hazy green mountains and emerald forests.
“Did Husband come here every day to look down upon the world?”
Standing there, Yun Pianpian felt the illusion that she was the ruler of all under heaven. She had assumed Xiao Changyuan built this tower to survey his domain.
Xiao Changyuan replied indifferently, “I rarely come here.”
Yun Pianpian was taken aback. She suddenly remembered that in the original story, Xiao Changyuan was cold and detached, with few desires. It seemed he had little interest in the world, he had only been driven to darkness by Emperor Zhaoyan, and in seeking revenge, he had become the master of all under heaven.
At this thought, Yun Pianpian suddenly felt a pang of pity for him.
After enjoying the breeze atop the Moon-Snatching Tower for a while, Yun Pianpian followed Xiao Changyuan back to the bedchamber.
“Husband, don't I have my own bedchamber?”
Xiao Changyuan said, “My bedchamber is Pianpian's bedchamber.”
Yun Pianpian hesitated. “But wouldn't that be against the rules?”
Xiao Changyuan's dark eyes fixed on her. “Pianpian, do you know why I chose to be a tyrant?”
Because you're the villain.
Yun Pianpian said, “I don't know.”
Xiao Changyuan murmured softly, “Because being a tyrant means I can do as I please, unbound by rules. I dislike being controlled. In this world, no one and no rule can restrain me. I stand above all rules, making everyone bow before me.”
Hearing this, Yun Pianpian's face paled slightly.
For she had unwittingly done the very thing Xiao Changyuan despised most.
She had Xiao Changyuan completely wrapped around her finger.
No wonder he had developed the urge to kill her.
Lost in her anxiety, Yun Pianpian forgot to ask Xiao Changyuan why he so despised being controlled.
Xiao Changyuan stayed with Yun Pianpian for three days, inseparable every moment. Every night, they practiced the demonic arts until midnight. Knowing she would soon leave him, Yun Pianpian acted even more passionately than before, even attempting to kiss him on her own initiative.
But Xiao Changyuan frowned and avoided her kiss, only to lower his head and capture her crimson lips himself.
Yun Pianpian didn’t understand why he resisted her taking the initiative to kiss him.
She simply assumed there was something wrong with his head.
Finally, the three days passed. On this day, Yun Pianpian rose at the hour of Yin. She personally helped Xiao Changyuan into his black court robes embroidered with golden dragon patterns and placed the crown with dangling jade beads on his head. Xiao Changyuan was somewhat surprised and leaned down to kiss her rosy cheek.
“Why is Pianpian so obedient today?”
Yun Pianpian couldn’t say it was because she was overjoyed, so she spun a web of lies: “I can’t bear to part with my husband.”
Hearing this, Xiao Changyuan’s mood visibly brightened, his phoenix eyes narrowing with pleasure.
He said softly, “Then I won’t attend the morning court today. I’ll stay in the bedchamber with Pianpian.”
Yun Pianpian: “…” Is it too late to take back what I just said?
Clearly, it was too late.
Steeling herself, Yun Pianpian urged, “My husband has already suspended court for three days. If this continues, what will the court officials say about me? They’ll surely think I’m a seductive consort who brings ruin to the nation.”
Xiao Changyuan asked, “Does Pianpian want to be a seductive consort? If you do, then be one. Pay no mind to the court officials, they can’t overturn my rule.”
As the emperor spoke these words, his dark, profound phoenix eyes shimmered with an intrigued light.
Yun Pianpian: “…” Why do you seem so eager for me to become a seductive consort?
Once Xiao Changyuan declared the court suspended, he truly suspended it.
This time, he announced a half, month suspension, leaving state affairs to his left and right chancellors.
Yun Pianpian had truly shot herself in the foot.
But she refused to give up and began contemplating how to stage her own death in front of Xiao Changyuan.
Half a month was too long; she couldn’t wait that long.
She had to die and return home immediately.
Although Xiao Changyuan wasn’t holding court, the left and right chancellors would bring important memorials to his bedchamber for his personal review. One day, as Xiao Changyuan was reviewing memorials, Yun Pianpian pushed open the ornate window and discovered that the Moon-Snatching Tower was visible even from the bedchamber.
A wild plan began to take shape in her mind.
Yun Pianpian waited several days until the night of the full moon.
The breeze was clear, the moon bright, and the cold stars sparse.
The luminous full moon hung high in the dark night sky.
The night was hazy.
Yun Pianpian took Xiao Changyuan’s hand and said excitedly, “Husband, I want to go to the Moon-Snatching Tower to see the moon.”
Xiao Changyuan frowned. “The moon looks the same from anywhere. The Moon-Snatching Tower is too high, and it’s dangerous to climb at night. You might slip.”
Yun Pianpian turned her dewy almond eyes toward him, her gaze as pitiful and innocent as a kitten’s.
“But I really want to see the moon from the Moon-Snatching Tower…”
Seeing her so pitiful, Xiao Changyuan had no choice but to say, “I’ll carry you up. Don’t walk on the stairs.”
Yun Pianpian immediately nodded, her face blooming with a radiant smile.
“Thank you, husband. You’re the best to me.”
Xiao Changyuan dismissed the attendants and had Yun Pianpian carry an exquisite palace lantern. He scooped her up by the waist and, using his lightness skill, soared up the steps to the rooftop of Moon-Snatching Tower. Once Yun Pianpian’s feet touched the ground, she clutched the lantern and excitedly dashed to the railing, tilting her head to gaze at the moon.
She exclaimed joyfully, “Husband, the moon is so beautiful tonight!”
Seeing her body leaning precariously over the railing, Xiao Changyuan frowned slightly and pulled her back.
“Darling, it’s dangerous there. Don’t stand-“
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a sudden tightness in his chest.
Yun Pianpian had actually reached out and shoved him away forcefully.
In that moment of falling backward, Xiao Changyuan looked up in shock.
His pupils contracted sharply.
He witnessed a scene that made his eyes nearly burst with fury.
Yun Pianpian had stretched out her hand and pushed Xiao Changyuan’s body away with all her might.
She knew that the tyrant was delicate and easily toppled.
Before, she thought the author had given her this cheat ability to help her reject him.
Only at this moment did she realize that the author had given her this cheat so she could go home!
Yun Pianpian shoved Xiao Changyuan aside, tossed the palace lantern in her hand, and without hesitation climbed onto the white marble railing. The cool night breeze rustled her waterfall, like black hair, filling her sleeves and lifting her light pink dress.
The entire sequence took less than three seconds.
The orchid, scented night was like a dream, the moonlit ground like a celestial stair.
Under the pure, radiant moonlight, the girl in pink stood on the white jade railing, spread her arms, and leaped with all her strength.
She resembled a fragile pink butterfly flinging herself toward death in the moonlit sky.
Yun Pianpian tightly shut her eyes, her lashes trembling wildly in the wind.
She felt no fear, only the joy of soon returning home, but her body halted mid, air.
Someone had grabbed her arm.
Yun Pianpian’s eyelashes fluttered lightly and she opened her eyes wide in disbelief.