The Eastern Palace.
For some reason, the Eastern Palace was unusually quiet tonight.
In the star - spangled sky, a crescent moon hung silently, casting its pure and bright light over this serene night.
Inside the vast palace, the candles were burning quietly. The flames slowly crept down, devouring the wicks wrapped in wax and making a series of extremely distinct crackling sounds.
When the crackling sound rang out again, the man sitting at the table finally made a move. He put down the book he had been holding for a long time without even turning a page. In Qi Mengmeng's slightly panicked eyes, he gently placed the book on the table.
Qi Mengmeng looked at Xia Chuli in front of her, who was lowering his head and looking at the book cover rather dejectedly. She didn't know whether he was really reading the book or looking at something else.
The room was completely silent. Qi Mengmeng didn't even dare to breathe loudly. She was sitting on the bed, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Ironically, the reason she could stay here was that, nominally, she was Xia Chuli's wife. However, it was only in name.
So many things had happened these days. Xing Tian was in turmoil all of a sudden, and Xia Chuli was suddenly thrown into prison.
While waiting for the wedding news in her boudoir, she received an order from Qi Shuhuan instead.
Qi Shuhuan, her father, ordered her to marry Xia Chuli immediately.
At that time, Qi Mengmeng knew that her marriage to Xia Chuli would surely be different from others.
The red wedding decorations covered the entire Shanhe Hall. Qi Mengmeng was dressed in a red robe. Through the red veil in front of her eyes, she looked at King Xia Jie and Qi Yan sitting on the high seats. Chen Qi cut a lock of hair from each of her and Xia Chuli's heads respectively, mixed them together, tied a red string on it, and then said, "Congratulations to the two of you on getting married."
Xia Chuli took the lock of hair according to the etiquette. Although he was smiling, Mengmeng, who was kneeling beside him, still caught a momentary stiffness on his face.
Almost instinctively, she turned to look at Chen Qi. She saw that Chen Qi was wearing a strange smile. That smile sent a chill down Qi Mengmeng's spine. In an instant, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, and her whole body was cold.
After that, King Xia Jie and Qi Yan left the seat without saying a word. After they left, Xia Chuli left her side and walked around with a wine cup to toast everyone. It was said that he was showing the dignity of the crown prince, but from beginning to end, Xia Chuli didn't even hold her hand.
She was sent to the Eastern Palace by the servants. She sat upright on the wedding bed, looking at the red everywhere, her body stiff.
She watched as the outside world changed from day to dusk, and then as dusk slowly slipped into night. Finally, Xia Chuli walked into the bridal chamber reeking of alcohol. His steps were unsteady, as if he was drunk.
She served Xia Chuli according to the etiquette of a newly - wed wife, but in the end, after drinking the soup Xia Chuli gave her, she closed her eyes and fell into darkness.
When she woke up, Qi Mengmeng stared blankly at the exquisitely carved wedding bed. Her hand touched the cold quilt beside her. Tears welled up in her eyes and dripped onto the pillow.
She knew there was something wrong with the soup, and she also knew that Xia Chuli married her because of her father's coercion. Qi Mengmeng had already prepared herself mentally, but the reality was even more cruel. As Xia Chuli's wife, she was neglected on their wedding night. It was like someone had slapped her in the face invisibly. She couldn't complain or protest, because Qi Shuhuan had pinched her shoulder when sending her to the Eastern Palace and said -
"This is your fate."
Qi Mengmeng didn't understand. She didn't get it, but she had no way to resist.
She only knew one thing. The moment she entered the Eastern Palace, although she was Qi Shuhuan's pawn, the only person she could rely on was Xia Chuli, whom Qi Shuhuan had always regarded as a thorn in his side.
Xia Chuli, who was sitting at the table, suddenly blinked his eyes, as if a statue had suddenly come to life. He slowly stood up and then looked down at Qi Mengmeng, who was sitting on the bed and almost curled up in fear.
Because he had maintained the same posture for too long, Xia Chuli's hands were a bit sore. Coupled with the fact that his back injury hadn't fully healed, sitting for a long time made it even more painful. But he didn't seem to care. He looked at the woman on the bed and, almost unconsciously, took a few steps forward.
As he expected, Qi Mengmeng trembled. She quickly drew her legs back, and then, as if she felt something was wrong, she timidly moved her legs forward again.
Xia Chuli raised his eyebrows. He could say he was familiar with the woman in front of him, but also not so familiar. After all, he hadn't visited her since he drove her crazy and threw her into the cold palace.
But before that, Xia Chuli had always been forced by Qi Yan and Qi Shuhuan to sleep in the same bed with Qi Mengmeng.
He knew that Qi Mengmeng was just Qi Shuhuan's pawn. She didn't have the ability to make her own choices. He also knew that Qi Mengmeng had been reporting his affairs to Qi Shuhuan in the way Qi Shuhuan asked. But Xia Chuli didn't care about those things. He thought that since a pawn was a pawn, there was no need for it to think for itself.
If she couldn't choose her own fate, well, then she could only be a pawn wherever she went.
So in his past life, Xia Chuli used Qi Mengmeng many times. He used her to strike at Qi Shuhuan, who was imprisoned by him. He bestowed gold, silver, and jewels on Qi Mengmeng just to infuriate Qi Yan. He made Qi Mengmeng the queen not long after he ascended the throne to punish the Shen family for their disloyalty. In the end, he drove Qi Mengmeng crazy just to satisfy his own twisted hobbies.
Yes, he had never regarded Qi Mengmeng as a person. To be more precise, he hadn't regarded her as a person with thoughts.
Xia Chuli took another step forward. He looked down at Qi Mengmeng, who was shrinking in front of him. There was obvious panic on her face. In that instant, he suddenly thought of his past life. At that time, Shen Qingfeng seemed to be the same, shrinking in front of him, looking at him with a panicked and unbelievable look in his eyes, trembling and saying, "What did you send the people from the Listening Wind Pavilion... to the Shen Mansion for?"
Xia Chuli remembered that panicked look. He had never seen it on Shen Qingfeng's face before. At least he thought that Shen Qingfeng at that time shouldn't have shown such an expression.
What had he replied at that time?
Oh, yes, he had said - I allow you to go and take a look at the Shen Mansion.
Looking at Qi Mengmeng in front of him, Xia Chuli suddenly felt a surge of anger in his heart.
He remembered Shen Shiqiu and Shen Yu at that time, and remembered Shen Qingfeng who was crying heart - rendingly while being tied to the torture rack. For a moment, he couldn't distinguish between reality and memory.
He stretched out his hand and, in Qi Mengmeng's frightened gasps, touched the smooth side of the girl's face.
"You can't betray me."
Xia Chuli said so. It was not clear whether he was saying it to Qi Mengmeng or to the person who had already disappeared in his past life.
Qi Mengmeng looked up at Xia Chuli with a panicked look in her eyes. Her trembling lips collided with each other. She couldn't say a word and could only shake her head wildly in panic.
"Answer me." Xia Chuli gently stroked Qi Mengmeng's chin and then moved his hand towards her neck. His movement seemed gentle, but his voice was as cold as ice: "Answer me. You won't betray me."
Qi Mengmeng was shaking like a sieve. Her voice got stuck because of fear before she could finish speaking: "I... I won't..."
"Say it."
"Won't... betray... Your Highness..." Qi Mengmeng was shaking even more violently.
Xia Chuli slowly leaned close to her ear. His eyes were blank as he stared at the empty bed behind Qi Mengmeng, as if he was staring into someone's eyes. His voice suddenly became deep and he said, "But you have already betrayed me, along with your family!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Xia Chuli seemed to go crazy. He suddenly grabbed Qi Mengmeng's neck. In her shrill screams, he threw Qi Mengmeng onto the bed and then pressed himself on her. His voice became even more crazy: "You're just like your father! Just like your elder brother! You all don't want me to be the King of Lixia!"
Qi Mengmeng felt her clothes being torn off layer by layer. Xia Chuli's movements became more and more crazy. She shook her head, screamed, cried out loudly, and struggled with all her might, but she couldn't escape Xia Chuli's control at all.
"Please! Please! Your Highness... I didn't betray you... Ah!"
Suddenly, Qi Mengmeng let out a shrill scream. Xia Chuli grabbed her hair and, without caring how much it would hurt, he lifted Qi Mengmeng's upper body straight up.
"You still say you didn't betray me?!" Xia Chuli's eyes were blood - red. He got close to Qi Mengmeng's tear - stained face and roared, "Then why did you try to kill me?! Why did you want to support Lu..."
Xia Chuli's voice suddenly stopped.
His movement suddenly froze. The room became quiet again. Only Qi Mengmeng's hoarse sobs could be heard.
Xia Chuli loosened his grip on Qi Mengmeng's hair. The girl fell down. The moment she touched the mattress, she jumped to the corner of the wall like a frightened little animal, curled up into a ball, hugged her shoulders, and cried, not even daring to make a loud sound.
Xia Chuli seemed to suddenly wake up from a daze. He was stunned for a moment. He looked down at his hands and then looked up at the girl curled up in the corner of the bed. His eyes flashed, and it seemed that he had regained his clarity.