Dining Alone

"Your Highness." Lin Yuejiao's voice lacked its usual icy clarity; it was husky, laced with a lazy, seductive tenderness that tugged at the heartstrings.

Rong Yu's body stiffened as Lin Yuejiao wriggled back and forth in his arms.

He had always kept women at a distance, never letting his heart be moved by any, practicing strict asceticism for years. Yet now, she was teasing him to the point of losing all self-control.

"Don't move." Rong Yu caught her hands, staring down at Lin Yuejiao. With a taut, expressionless face, he commanded coldly, "Lin Yuejiao, do not move."

Her hands captured, Lin Yuejiao could only look up at him pitiably. Her watery eyes fluttered, and she made a wronged, pouty expression as she whimpered, "Your Highness, it hurts."

"Endure it for a moment longer. The medicine will be here soon." Rong Yu forced his gaze away from her face. With her acting like this, he felt as though holding her hands made him guilty of some heinous crime.

Looking so grievously wronged, no man in this world would ever want to refuse her.

"It hurts, Your Highness. Yuejiao is suffering." Lin Yuejiao's watery eyes were misty, her spoiled tone so sweet and cloying. Her little mouth drooped, leaving the soul in turmoil.

Seeing her like this, Rong Yu's initially hardened heart softened instantly.

With a slackening of his grip, Lin Yuejiao threw her arms around Rong Yu once more, her small hands roaming aimlessly across his body.

"Ow." Lin Yuejiao frowned, lowering her gaze to her own leg.

Because of her current posture—kneeling before Rong Yu—she had inadvertently pressed down on her fresh injury.

"Be careful." Rong Yu immediately lifted her leg to keep the wound from tearing open.

Taking advantage of the moment, Lin Yuejiao hooked her foot and straddled Rong Yu's lap, looking up at him with autumn-pool eyes shrouded in mist. "It still hurts so much."

Like an octopus entangling its prey, Rong Yu found himself entirely unable to push her away. Only moments ago, he had sworn before Sai Huaquo that he would keep her pinned down, but in reality—

It was sheer torture. It was simply impossible.

"Lin Yuejiao, you are not allowed to move." Rong Yu's face was rigid.

Lin Yuejiao's small hand slipped past his garments.

"Stop."

Their limbs intertwined.

"Mwah..."

Lin Yuejiao planted a peck on Rong Yu's lips, lifting her eyes to gaze at him. Her charming eyes were like tangled silk, soul-stirring and captivating.

Purity mingled with allure; seduction danced with innocence.

"Lin Yuejiao." Pushed past the brink of endurance, Rong Yu pressed a hand to the back of her head and sealed her cherry lips.

A single kiss ignited a raging inferno, sweeping them away in an unstoppable wave of passion.

They kissed frantically as garments fell away piece by piece. The bed curtains swayed, and the candle flames flickered.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

A series of knocks sounded at the door, and Sai Huaquo shouted, "Your Highness, the decoction is ready!"

Disturbed by an outsider, a trace of clarity returned to Rong Yu's eyes. The lust faded from his face as he looked down at Lin Yuejiao lying beneath him.

Her clothes were entirely stripped away, her shoulders marred by purplish-red hickeys. She was drenched in a sheen of sweet sweat, only the final step left unfulfilled.

"Your Highness? What is wrong? Has some accident occurred?" the old man Sai Huaquo asked anxiously from outside.

Rong Yu said coldly, "Wait."

The moment the word left his mouth, he realized his voice was already hoarse. Rong Yu got out of bed, cracked the door open just a sliver, and thrust out a single hand.

Sai Huaquo immediately handed the bowl of medicinal soup into his grasp.

Yet deep down, the old man felt an inexplicable sense of oddity.

Taking the medicine, Rong Yu slammed the door shut once more.

He turned around—and was given a start.

Seeing him get out of bed, Lin Yuejiao had crawled after him. However, her severely injured leg could not bear any weight; she was now teetering on the very edge of the bed, about to fall off.

"Lin Yuejiao." With a swift blur of movement, Rong Yu vanished and reappeared right in front of her, holding the bowl of medicine in one hand while catching her with the other.

Completely oblivious to the fact that she had almost tumbled off the bed, Lin Yuejiao threw her arms around him the moment she saw him. "Your Highness, don't abandon me. It hurts."

***

"Drink the medicine and it won't hurt anymore." Rong Yu handed the bowl to her.

Lin Yuejiao turned her head away, her voice laced with spoiled petulance. "I won't drink it. I want Your Highness, not medicine."

Hanging naked from his body, she reignited the fierce urges he had only just managed to suppress with such difficulty.

His dark eyes deepened further. "Lin Yuejiao, who am I?"

"Rong Yu." Lin Yuejiao looked up at him, her face flushed and made exceptionally delicate by desire.

It was a look that made anyone want to lean down and kiss her—to kiss her deeply and endlessly.

Rong Yu picked up the medicinal soup, took a large mouthful, and pressed his lips to hers, passing the liquid into her mouth. A few drops of the dark broth escaped down the corner of her lips, creating an intensely alluring sight.

The medicinal bowl emptied, it was cast aside to the side.

The two of them rolled together on the bed, kissing fiercely.

Gradually, as the medicine took effect, and having tossed and turned for the better part of the night while losing a massive amount of blood, Lin Yuejiao grew utterly exhausted. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Rong Yu looked down at Lin Yuejiao, who was curled up against him as docile as a kitten, then looked at his own body, still burning with unrequited fire. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

This scourge of a woman had finally quieted down.

She had pushed him to the absolute limit of his patience.

"Lin Yuejiao." Rong Yu's fingers brushed gently across her cheek, his gaze turning tender with a rare vulnerability. "I will marry you."

Unfortunately, fast asleep at that exact moment, Lin Yuejiao did not hear him.

The more he looked at her, the more he fondled her; the more he looked, the less he could control his surging impulses.

Rong Yu sat up abruptly, picked up his garments from the bedside, and put them on one by one. Lying back down beside her, he felt as though he was about to burst from holding back.

In the early morning, bright sunlight streamed into the room. Lin Yuejiao opened her eyes and tried to sit up, only to be struck by a sharp pain in her thigh. Her entire body ached all over, devoid of strength.

Her thoughts gradually cleared as the events of the previous night flooded back into her memory.

"Damn it! That painted butterfly's aphrodisiac was so overbearing that I actually acted like that, like that, and even like that in front of Rong Yu?" Lin Yuejiao was utterly shocked by her past self's behavior.

Even if beaten to death, she could never have imagined she possessed such a coquettish, spoiled, and utterly feminine side.

Fine, granted that she had been controlled by drugs and acting abnormally, but Rong Yu hadn't been poisoned! Given his character—someone who kept women at arm's length and detested being seduced above all else—why hadn't he just slapped her against the wall, or simply locked her in the room and ignored her? How on earth had he ended up cooperating with her to that extent?

Before the antidote was brought in, it was precisely him who had eased the torment of her suffering body.

Lin Yuejiao tapped her forehead with her index finger. "Rong Yu, you really can't blame me for this. You brought this upon yourself. Wouldn't it have been fine if you had just locked me in the room and left me alone?"

Before her voice had even faded, the door was pushed open. Iris and Begonia walked in carrying washbasins, only to catch sight of Lin Yuejiao awake. Tears instantly poured down their faces. "My lady, you're awake! You scared us half to death. This servant only found out this morning that you were injured and in danger. Thank the heavens you're okay, my lady, wuwuwu..."

"My lady, does it hurt? Please don't move... Oh, thank goodness the lady is safe, wuwuwu..."

"Iris, Begonia, stop crying. I'm fine." Lin Yuejiao smiled soothingly at them.

"Sister is awake?" Lin Yi walked through the door just then, his eyes red and swollen. Seeing Lin Yuejiao, he ran over to her, his own eyes brimming with tears.

Lin Yuejiao took his hand and coaxed gently, "Yi'er, don't cry. I really am fine now. With the Divine Doctor here, your sister is completely safe."

Yet the three of them in the room ended up crying together in a ball.

Fortunately, Rong Yu and Sai Huaquo arrived shortly after. After taking Lin Yuejiao's pulse, Sai Huaquo nodded and said, "The spring poison has been completely purged, and her wounds are healing remarkably well. She just needs her dressings changed on schedule."

At those words, everyone finally let out a collective sigh of relief.

Upon seeing Rong Yu, Lin Yuejiao's expression instantly turned somewhat awkward. After everything that had happened between them, she found it impossible to remain nonchalant.

Rong Yu looked back at her as well. Noticing the strange expression on her face and assuming she was brooding over the ordeal, he said, "I have something to tell you."

"Me?" Lin Yuejiao was slightly startled. "Coincidentally, I have something to tell you as well."

The others tactfully withdrew at once: Iris went off to brew the medicine, Begonia hurried to heat bathwater, and Lin Yi went out with Sai Huaquo to buy breakfast, leaving the two of them alone in the room.

"About last night, I..." Lin Yuejiao bit her lip.

It was an obstacle she simply could not bypass.

Rong Yu cut her off, his expression aloof yet brooking no argument: "Marry me."

"What?" Lin Yuejiao's eyes widened in sheer astonishment.

For the first time in his life, Rong Yu felt rather shy talking about marriage and betrothal with a woman. The tips of his ears turned red, yet he kept his face rigid and stated coldly, "I will take responsibility for what I did. You will marry me."

"Your Highness, do you think I might do something foolish like committing suicide and therefore feel a need to take responsibility?" Lin Yuejiao probed cautiously.

Rong Yu looked right at her. "I did what I did, and I take responsibility. I am marrying you."

"Then do you love me, Your Highness?" Lin Yuejiao looked up at him, her initial shock having given way to her usual calm composure.

Rong Yu pressed his lips into a thin line and said nothing.

Silence fell over the room.

He could marry Lin Yuejiao out of a sense of responsibility, but he could not bring himself to articulate any feelings of affection.

When Rong Yu failed to answer, Lin Yuejiao smiled faintly. "Your Highness cannot answer because you do not love me. Coincidentally, I do not love Your Highness either. Although since ancient times marriage has been dictated by the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers, I fought so hard precisely so I could make my own decisions regarding my marriage and the second half of my life."

Pausing for a moment, Lin Yuejiao looked at Rong Yu, her eyes bright and exceptionally earnest. "You do not need to take responsibility for me, Your Highness. Actually, I find it quite strange that you would have such a notion. I assumed that even if an actual marital union had taken place, Your Highness would never utter words of 'responsibility' because of it. For things that happen by accident, Your Highness has never placed the blame upon yourself, and this accident is no different. The fault does not lie with Your Highness, so no responsibility is required."

Rong Yu stared at Lin Yuejiao, taken aback to find that she had rejected his proposal without a moment's hesitation or equivocation.

She had said: Coincidentally, I do not love Your Highness either.

Lin Yuejiao did not love him.

"Your Highness can rest assured. Why would I ever behave like ordinary women and fail to see the light? I will not end my life to prove my innocence, nor do I require you to take responsibility and marry me. I have no intention of haphazardly throwing away the coming decades of my life like that." Lin Yuejiao looked up at Rong Yu, a blossoming smile curving her lips like a radiant flower. "A man as exceptional as Your Highness must surely find a woman you truly love to spend your life with; only then can the days ahead truly be called living. The word 'responsibility' merely ruins lives and brings mutual misery. Your Highness, there is no need to feel troubled."

Lin Yuejiao had never imagined wanting to marry Rong Yu.

She did not believe in illusory romance, nor did she wish to repeat her past life—where, simply for loving a man, she had swallowed every grievance and watched concubines enter the household one after another.

Clearly suffering, she would still have to force herself to act magnanimously, lest she be branded a jealous shrew.

"Lin Yuejiao, are you rejecting me?" Rong Yu's gaze grew progressively colder. "You are unwilling to marry me?"

Lin Yuejiao was slightly stunned.

Had she not explained herself politely enough? The Crown Prince was still angry?

Well, of course. Having grown up the way he did, it was always he who rejected others; no one had ever dared to reject him.

"Your Highness's status is noble, and Yuejiao is unworthy. You are so remarkable that only a woman who loves you, and whom you love in return, is worthy of standing by your side. Yuejiao was merely the victim of last night's mishap, which led Your Highness to show pity; yet if Your Highness were to marry me merely out of a sense of responsibility, it would be Yuejiao who ruins Your Highness's lifelong happiness." Lin Yuejiao offered a formal bow.

Rong Yu looked at her, his fists clenching so tightly his knuckles popped.

Irritated.

Enraged.

"You speak truly; you are indeed unworthy of me." Rong Yu darkened his countenance, his tone glacial.

Hearing the chill in his voice, Lin Yuejiao knew he was even angrier now. Suddenly recalling how pleased he had been the last time she flattered him, a clever idea struck her. She looked up at Rong Yu and said, "Your Highness, you are extraordinarily handsome, ethereal like an immortal, peerlessly graceful, and exceedingly, exceedingly good-looking!"

Rong Yu stared at her. *And your point is?*

"You are accomplished in both literary and martial arts, peerlessly brilliant in strategy, possessed of grand ambitions, utterly incorruptible, and of the highest moral character!"

As she spoke, Lin Yuejiao cooperatively gave him a thumbs-up.

Rong Yu: "..."

Lin Yuejiao looked at him, puzzled. *Huh?*

*Why isn't it working?*

Glancing at her one last time without another word, Rong Yu turned and strode out of the room.

***

The next day, beneath the foot of Nanzhou, in Wuxing Town.

The painted butterfly had been thoroughly tormented by Rong Yu that night. Even though he had already confessed everything, for reasons unknown, the Crown Prince had been in a foul mood that very morning and subjected him to yet another round of torture, beating him to the brink of death with his meridians shattered, leaving him to crawl helplessly on the ground and gasp for breath.

"Guan Weilan—was she the one who bribed you?" Lin Yuejiao sat upon the daybed, looking down at the tortured, unrecognizable captive writhing on the floor.