Nan Zhiyun heard Yu Jingchen's voice and showed no reaction, watching the blood flow from her hand. She felt a strange sense of relief, a feeling that eased the anxiety and oppression in her heart.
Yu Jingchen knelt before her, looking at the ceaseless flow of blood, a murderous aura surrounding him.
"Summon an imperial physician!" Yu Jingchen roared to the outside, while he himself rushed to examine her injuries. Yu Jingchen was truly enraged this time.
"Nan Zhiyun, are you crazy? Have you not listened to what I said? Have you dismissed it all as idle talk? Do you truly think I wouldn't dare to lay a hand on you?!" Yu Jingchen couldn't control his emotions. The sight of the bright red blood made his reason disappear.
Nan Zhiyun ignored him. Yu Jingchen tried to snatch the hairpin from her hand, but she refused to let go, and they struggled over it. In the struggle, Yu Jingchen accidentally cut his own hand.
He glanced at his hand, unconcerned, and the next moment, he violently snatched the hairpin from Nan Zhiyun's grasp, then threw it to the ground. Perhaps due to the infusion of his internal energy, the hairpin shattered into pieces.
The next moment, Yu Jingchen yanked her up.
"What do you think you're doing? Nan Zhiyun, your boldness is simply too much!" Yu Jingchen tried desperately to restrain himself, but found it impossible.
"I won't die. What is Your Majesty worried about?" Nan Zhiyun's face was pale, and her voice was weak.
"Are you determined to test my patience and my limits?" Yu Jingchen had even changed his self-address.
Nan Zhiyun didn't want to answer. She looked at Yu Jingchen, and under his gaze, she slowly brought her right hand to her injured left wrist and pressed down hard. "This hurts... but compared to the pain in my heart, compared to what you've done before, I suddenly feel that this is much better..."
Seeing her frenzied action, Yu Jingchen quickly pulled her hand away, then shoved her onto the nearby bed. Nan Zhiyun was pressed beneath him.
Then, Yu Jingchen tore a strip of cloth from the bed and bound Nan Zhiyun's wound to prevent excessive blood loss. Furthermore... he gripped Nan Zhiyun's hands and pressed them above her head.
"It was my excessive leniency last time that gave you the illusion that you could hurt yourself again and again. Nan Zhiyun, do you really think you can force me to compromise in this way? Utterly foolish. Since you brought this upon yourself, don't blame me for showing no mercy this time." With that, Yu Jingchen kissed Nan Zhiyun's lips, sucking fiercely, clearly driven by pent-up emotions.
Nan Zhiyun struggled, but it was completely useless. Instead, her resistance only ignited the deep-seated desires and rage within Yu Jingchen. In an instant, Nan Zhiyun's coverings became tattered.
"You wanted to cut your arm to feel pain? Since you want to enjoy the sensation of pain, then feel it thoroughly now!" He continued, disregarding Nan Zhiyun's pleas, and her last vestige of dignity was stripped away.
Just then, Xing Lai's voice sounded from outside: "Your Majesty, the imperial physician has arrived..."
"Scram!" Yu Jingchen's earlier fury had vanished. What use was the imperial physician now? Even if she recovered, she wouldn't listen. Since she was being disobedient, he would completely subdue her! If the old methods didn't work, then he would have to resort to new ones.
Xing Lai was surprised by his Majesty's sudden outburst of temper, and listening to the commotion inside, his Majesty seemed... unusually angry. Xing Lai dared not disturb them further, and merely led the imperial physician to wait nearby, in case his Majesty should suddenly summon them again.
Inside, Nan Zhiyun began to feel fear and panic at Yu Jingchen's actions. The terror of her past life returned, but this time, Yu Jingchen did not hesitate as he had before. She had brought this upon herself, so he would fulfill it.
At first, Nan Zhiyun felt as if her body were not her own. She only knew that compared to the pain of cutting herself, this pain was even more unbearable. She had experienced this countless times in her past life, mostly unwillingly, and each time it was heart-wrenching. So, she wasn't sure if what she felt now was from the present or from her past life. However... regardless of which time, the sense of humiliation never changed...
Waves of indulgence swept through the room. The smoke from the incense curled around, and the normally tranquil atmosphere was filled with surging tides.
Yu Jingchen... had hurt Nan Zhiyun once again. Nan Zhiyun had no idea when this punishment would end. Later on, she had given up struggling, feeling only that time was passing exceptionally slowly, and she could only endure it. This kind of event had made her numb, and the fear and pain in her heart grew deeper, never to be forgotten...
Nan Zhiyun slowly closed her eyes. The bloodstain on her wrist had seeped through the cloth, looking even more terrifying. Her complexion had become even paler and weaker than before. Perhaps sensing it, or perhaps the bright red color had reawakened his dwindling reason, Yu Jingchen slowly calmed down.