PMM - 23

He was truly good-looking, and his heart was also good...

Lian Sheng was stunned by his blunt and crude words. She wasn’t stupid, and she could naturally understand what Yi Qiancheng meant. She looked into his eyes, which were filled with fury, and for a moment, didn’t know what to say.

Yi Qiancheng had no intention of waiting for her to speak. Instead, he acted on his words, leaning over to kiss her. Lian Sheng grabbed a pillow and placed it between them. “Husband, you said before that I’m not worthy to warm your bed.”

Yi Qiancheng’s expression froze, his pupils darkening as he glared at her.

“Don’t forget, I’m from the Lian family.” Though Lian Sheng didn’t know why Yi Qiancheng suddenly got angry, his drastic change in demeanor, she knew how to douse the fire with cold water. On the wedding day, he had said he didn’t care for Lian family women. Unless he was now willing to ignore the brutal war from five years ago and slap his own face.

Yi Qiancheng was enraged by this heartless little thing, but after her reminder, he quickly calmed down. The Lian family... the cause of the slaughter in Shaji.

His cold gaze fixed on Lian Sheng. “Didn’t you say you were in love with me? Why aren’t you continuing to play along?”

Lian Sheng was also angry. She knew that Yi Qiancheng had demands after helping Yingdong, and from Lian Sihan, she had learned that he wanted the entire city. She felt her heart hurt for a moment. He truly never regarded her as his wife. At the beginning, she was just a playful thing sent over due to Yingdong’s circumstances, and later, he only agreed to marry her to gain control of Yingdong.

From the start, had he ever shown any sincerity? She defended him in front of Lian Sihan because of his sacrifices to protect Yingdong, but his actions chilled her. He had never spoken a word to her about taking the city.

She was raised by the people of Yingdong. Yingdong was her home. Her husband, however, only cared about annexing and ruling it.

There was no smile on Lian Sheng’s face as she looked at him directly. “Although I haven’t told you the whole truth, I haven’t done anything to hurt you. What about you? Have you ever had even the slightest bit of sincerity? Yingdong is my home, and you quietly took control of it. Have you ever considered my feelings? I married into Shaji, and though I may not have been as unwavering as I claimed, I’ve been trying to integrate myself into Shaji. I wanted to spend my life with you.”

But now, it seemed, she was nothing but a joke. She had traveled a thousand miles, but he never intended to marry her. Even after marrying her, he didn’t treat her as a wife. His heart could hold the entire world, but it couldn’t hold her.

Since the moment she took the surname “Lian,” if he couldn’t forgive the past, there would always be a deep chasm between them, one that neither could cross. She hadn’t done anything wrong, yet she had to bear all his hatred.

Lian Sheng clenched her fist, refusing to let her inner sense of grievance and vulnerability take over. She forced herself to look into Yi Qiancheng’s eyes, watching as the ruthlessness in them slowly faded, eventually replaced by something more ambiguous.

He stood up and walked out the door. Lian Sheng didn’t see his expression, but before he left, his voice was emotionless as he said, “Then don’t change your mind.”

Lian Sheng took a long time to process what he meant. She had said, “I want to live a good life with you.”

— “Then don’t change your mind.”

Not long after, Lian Sheng realized that Yi Qiancheng had locked her up! Concerned about the unconscious Lian Qi, she tried to leave, but was stopped by Fang Mu. Fang Mu scratched his head awkwardly and looked at her. “Madam, the general said you cannot leave the courtyard.”

Lian Sheng couldn’t believe it. “What did you say? Yi Qiancheng won’t let me leave this yard?” Fang Mu nodded and stood silently at the door. His tall figure was like a small mountain, and Yi Qiancheng’s personal soldiers surrounded the entrance in layers. Not even a fly could get out, let alone Lian Sheng.

Lian Sheng was driven crazy by Yi Qiancheng’s unreasonable and perverse behavior. She couldn’t even take a single step outside her own house! What’s worse, Fang Mu only listened to Yi Qiancheng’s orders and made sure the courtyard was sealed off.

With no other choice, Lian Sheng returned to her room with a dark face. Nurse Liu also found this situation absurd and hesitated before speaking. “Miss, can you tell me what your relationship with the general really is?” Nurse Liu hadn’t followed her to Shaji, so she was very worried.

Lian Sheng pursed her lips. “I won’t lie to you, Nurse. Up to now, he hasn’t touched me, and I don’t care for him touching me. He married me to take control of Yingdong openly. I married him to resolve Yingdong’s crisis. There are no feelings involved.” Saying this made her feel inexplicably disappointed. She forced herself to forget the time when Yi Qiancheng had risked his life for her, falling off a cliff with her. Look at what he’s doing now!

Nurse Liu was furious. “How could the general treat you like this!”

Lian Sheng shook her head. “I’m at fault too. If it weren’t for Yingdong, I wouldn’t have lied so much.” At the time, the situation was urgent, and if she hadn’t said some sweet words, her life would have been in danger. The truth was, both of them were at fault.

Lian Sheng didn’t want to dwell on this matter anymore. She was more concerned about Lian Qi’s condition. She thought for a moment, then called over Xi Yu. “Xi Yu, go to my brother’s courtyard and check on him. How is he now?”

Xi Yu was stunned for a moment. “Okay, Miss.”

Fang Mu looked at Xi Yu leaving and hesitated. Had the general instructed him not to stop the maid from leaving? What should he do? Before he could decide, Xi Yu nimbly slipped out, and Fang Mu, scratching his head, muttered—if there were no instructions, he wouldn’t stop her.

Xi Yu left the young lady’s courtyard, and her anxious heartbeat didn’t slow down. She hurried toward the eldest young master’s courtyard. She didn’t know if it was because the young lady wanted to know how the eldest young master was doing, but she wanted to know too.

The inner anxiety felt like a tight knot binding her heart, and even her breaths were filled with unease. Xi Yu covered her face, feeling a bit warm. She tried to calm herself, suppressing unspoken emotions, as she entered the eldest young master’s courtyard.

This was her second time here. Two years had passed, and she wondered if the eldest young master still remembered this little maid. Two years ago, when Xi Yu was fifteen, she was quite pretty, with delicate features. Back then, she was a second-tier maid in Madam Jiang’s courtyard. She didn’t need to attend to Madam Jiang personally but handled some minor matters. The second young master, Lian Xi Yue, had just started to indulge in his desires and had already set his sights on Xi Yu. He was reckless and dared to have designs on the maidservant by his own mother’s side.

Xi Yu was very clever and quickly realized the danger, so she tried to avoid him. She knew that Lian Xi Yue wasn’t a good person, and if he used her, there would be no good outcome. Moreover, he had a ruthless older sister, Lian Si Tian, who, if she found out, might kill her.

However, you can’t avoid fate forever. One day, Xi Yu nearly fell into Lian Xi Yue’s hands, but fortunately, the eldest young master happened to intervene and saved her.

Lian Qi, watching his younger brother tease the maid, didn’t say anything but merely sneered coldly. Lian Xi Yue turned around with an impatient look, and when he saw Lian Qi’s expression, his face instantly turned pale. Not only did his sister fear the eldest brother, but he did too.

A person who had seen blood wasn’t someone Lian Xi Yue dared to provoke. His older brother was a ruthless character. He had protected himself and his younger sister Lian Sheng since they were ten years old, which showed how deep his cunning was. Lian Xi Yue immediately glared at Xi Yu and turned to leave.

Xi Yu was in disarray, her clothes slightly untidy and her hair loose. Lian Qi turned his head away, his voice without emotion. “If anything like this happens again, come to my courtyard. Lian Xi Yue won’t dare touch you.”

He didn’t wait for Xi Yu to reply but left immediately. Xi Yu stared at his back, forgetting the shame, her heart racing uncontrollably. It was the first time she was so close to the eldest young master. He was truly handsome, and his heart was good.

Unexpectedly, two years later, Xi Yu was sent by Madam Jiang to serve as Lian Sheng’s maid. She had no attachment to Yingdong, but the one person she couldn’t let go of was someone she could only bury deep in her heart. With Lian Qi so gravely injured, Xi Yu was deeply worried. When the young lady asked her to check on him, her heart almost leapt out of her chest!

When she arrived at the outer courtyard of Lian Qi’s residence, Xi Yu explained her purpose. Lian Qi’s guard shook his head. “Young master hasn’t woken up yet.”

Xi Yu clenched her skirt tightly. “May I go in and see the young master? The young lady... said she wants to know how he’s doing. It would be hard for me to report back without knowing.”

The guard looked conflicted. He knew that the young master’s most cherished person was the young lady, and he would grant her every request, but right now, no matter what, he couldn’t allow a little maid to go in.

Seeing this, Xi Yu quickly said, “I’ll just peek from outside, just one look. One look will do.”

“Alright, fine,” the guard finally relented. He nodded and motioned to two other guards behind him. “Accompany her inside.”

For them, the safety of the young master was paramount.

Xi Yu entered the courtyard, but she could only see from a distance. Yet, that one glance was enough. Lian Qi was lying with his eyes closed on the bed, and a doctor was re-bandaging his wound. He had strained himself when he went to Lian Sheng’s courtyard earlier, causing the wound to reopen!

Xiyu’s nails dug into her palm as she uncontrollably took a step forward.

“Stop, you should go back.” The guard blocked her way with his sword. Xiyu quickly realized, “Sorry, I’ll leave right away.” She took one last glance inside the room. Lián Qí’s face was pale. Xiyu turned and left, heading back to Lián Shèng’s courtyard.

She had to constantly remind herself that she was here on her lady’s orders to check on the young master. Her lady was still waiting for news.

“How is he? How is my brother?” Lián Shèng grabbed Xiyu’s hand, noticing the injury on her palm. “Xiyu, what happened?”

Xiyu quickly pulled her hand back. “I’m fine, miss, I was just scratched by a branch. The young master is still unconscious, and his condition isn’t very good. You... should think of a way to see him.”

Lián Shèng’s worry deepened as she bit her lip. She had to get out of this courtyard!