"You’re unwilling?" Yan Xiu was stunned.
"Yes, I am unwilling!" Li Yuyu met Yan Xiu’s gaze, enunciating each word.
"You actually refuse..." Yan Xiu murmured, the pain in his eyes plain to see.
Looking at Yan Xiu like this, Li Yuyu only felt a tight, suffocating pressure in her chest. She turned, wanting to leave this place.
Her wrist was seized by Yan Xiu; the moment she turned, he forced her back, pressing her against the palace wall, her entire body trapped in his arms.
Yan Xiu’s low voice carried danger: "Li Yuyu, you are my woman. If you’re willing, you will be; if you’re not willing, you will still be."
Li Yuyu’s heart gave a faint tremor.
"It was you who provoked me first. I am not someone you can summon at will and dismiss as you please. When you provoked me, you should have known the consequences. I am not a patient man, yet all of my patience has been spent on you."
"Yu’er..." Yan Xiu’s phoenix eyes were dark and icy, yet his voice was gentle. The slightly rough pads of his fingers covered Li Yuyu’s cheek, lightly rubbing.
Li Yuyu only felt a current of electricity drill into her body, tingling, numbing.
She no longer dared meet Yan Xiu’s gaze. Her heartbeat sped up again, and she realized that something seemed different from before.
"You can do whatever you want, but if you want to leave me—try in your next life."
Yan Xiu lowered his head, pressing his cold lips to Li Yuyu’s forehead. His voice was hoarse yet clear: "Tonight, I will summon you to Yangxin Hall to attend the bed. For the days to come, you will live in Yangxin Hall, until you are carrying a dragon heir."
Li Yuyu’s body stiffened slightly.
"Be good. As long as you are pregnant with a dragon heir, I will definitely place you in that position." Yan Xiu lifted Li Yuyu’s chin and bit down on her lips. His eyes were dark and bottomless, capturing all the emotion in Li Yuyu’s gaze.
Yan Xiu truly bit her; with that one bite, the pain wrung a muffled groan from Li Yuyu.
"You are mine, and only mine. Even if there is someone else in your heart, you can still only be mine."
"Send Li Xiurong back to Yao Hua Palace to rest."
Yan Xiu gave Li Yuyu a long, deep look, then turned and left.
It was his fault for giving her too much time and caring too much about her thoughts. Yu’er was his, could only be his. Whether she was willing or not, he would make her his woman!
Only when he realized he wanted to use a child to trap Li Yuyu did a faintly unreadable smile curl his lips.
In the end, he had laid his true heart utterly bare.
When Yan Xiu’s figure had gone far, Li Yuyu’s legs went weak. She slid down along the palace wall and sat on the ground.
"My Lady!" Hua Yin walked over with trembling lips and knelt before Li Yuyu.
Li Yuyu’s eyes were slightly unfocused, her mind a chaotic mess, her heart just as tumultuous. Her racing pulse refused to calm. She raised a hand and touched her lips; they burned with pain.
Though there was no blood, in that moment just now, Yan Xiu’s gaze had been as if he wanted to swallow her whole.
Too, too wickedly seductive.
Li Yuyu swallowed, clutching Hua Yin’s arm: "Quick, help... help me up. I... I can’t stand, my legs are too weak..."
Back at Yao Hua Palace, the moment Li Yuyu returned she locked herself in the inner room.
Hua Yin called to her a few times from outside but received no response. Worried, she could only go to the side room to discuss it with Feng Yin.
"Four, five, six..." Li Yuyu’s eyes lit up with joy.
The silver note totaled six thousand taels; adding in some broken bits of Silver, she wouldn’t have to worry about money after leaving the palace. Besides, she still had the token Li Mo had given her.
She packed a long skirt that wouldn’t be cumbersome, and took two sets of undergarments. After tying the bundle tightly and securing it to her back, Li Yuyu gently pushed the window open and jumped out.