The magnificent palaces and pavilions were all richly ornamented and well arranged. Majestic as they were, the imperial architecture conveyed a sense of solemnity to its visitors. It had been seven years. The grandiose palace remained the same while time changed those who lived under the roof. The girl who had returned was no longer the same person years ago.

Shui Yinzhu sat alone by the desk in the emperor’s bedchamber. She stopped bleeding, and the blood on her neck had dried. Her wedding dress was soaked in blood. That smell, however, calmed her mind. Still, no matter how much she bled, the sorrow in her heart was never going to be drained.

Her right hand clenched the dagger in her sleeve. She touched the pearl on her hairpin with her left hand out of habit. Shui Yinzhu, the princess of the conquered Kingdom of Shui, once again returned to the imperial palace in the Empire of Yun. Yet, she was no longer that pure and innocent sacrifice named Princess Xi anymore.

As the bedchamber door opened, a man in bright yellow walked in. The young emperor looked more elegant in the imperial robe. As the door closed, he threw all the courtesy to the back of his mind. Yun Su hastened to Shui Yinzhu, grabbed her arm, and stroked the wound on her neck. He carefully pressed on it for fear that he might hurt his girl, with his eyes brimming with concern.

Shui Yinzhu didn’t intend to break away. She stared at this man with hatred, letting him do whatever he was up to. She knew that this was the best way to hurt him. The pain in one’s heart always felt much worse than that on one’s body.

“Sister Xi, does it still hurt?” He didn’t hear the answer from Shui Yinzhu, so he raised his head and looked into her eyes. Immediately, he covered those eyes with his right hand once he noticed the resentment in them. This was the girl he loved. That hatred in her eyes would only drive him crazy. “Don’t give me that look. I can’t stand it.” Still, he didn’t hear a word from Shui Yinzhu. Yun Su kept murmuring, “Sister Xi, you know, ever since the first time we met, I fell in love with you. You are the only woman I’ve ever wanted these years. I couldn’t help missing you when you were gone. I vowed to myself that once I was given a chance to meet you again, I would keep you by my side for the rest of my life even if I had to imprison you.” Yun Su took a deep breath and continued, “Sister Xi, why would you fall in love with Kong Yue? And why Xuan Zhi afterward? Why don’t you ever consider me? I’m way better than those two. I’m the ruler of an empire, and I can give you everything I have. I am the man capable of protecting you for your lifetime. Those men don’t deserve your love. They aren’t worthy of it...”

However, no matter what he said, Shui Yinzhu didn’t spare a single word on him. He felt like an ignored man until he moved his hand away from her eyes. Hatred never faded away from those eyes, and it hurt his heart. The pain made him lose his mind. Then he tried to directly kiss the girl.

As his lips got close, Shui Yinzhu immediately tried to bite him without any hesitation. Luckily, he acted quick enough to draw back from those teeth, or he would be tasting blood. But her intention only made him burn with anger. His heart prickled. The man could no longer be reasoned as he grabbed Shui Yinzhu and threw her onto the bed.

It all happened in an instant. Shui Yinzhu didn’t have the time to react before she got pressed down under his body. Yun Su no longer cared about the look on her face. He covered her lips with his and started to taste her tongue. Sweet as it had always been, he couldn’t get enough of it.

He can’t help but suck her sweet tongue. Being so obsessed with the kiss, he failed to notice the growing hatred in Shui Yinzhu’s eyes. Yun Su didn’t smell at all. On the contrary, he smelled much fresher and cleaner than normal men. Yet Shui Yinzhu only felt sick. She felt like throwing up whenever they had any physical contact.

A dagger pierced the back of the man kissing Shui Yinzhu. But she was held by him so tight that she couldn’t plunge it any deeper. A flash of sadness came across Yun Su’s eyes. His girl just stabbed him without any mercy. There was no doubt that his Sister Xi hated him. But was he going to let her go? Of course not.

Blood spurted out of his vein. Shui Yinzhu tried to pull out the dagger and take another stab. But she was too weak and had no experience of murdering other people. The man clung so tightly to her that she could barely move. It was impossible for her to pull the dagger out.

The bleeding wound and the physical and mental pain didn’t stop Yun Su. He continued to kiss the girl regardless of anything that happened. His hands no longer stayed put. They started to rip off her clothes so that he would be able to kiss the skin of her neck even when there was still a dagger stabbed in his back.

Shui Yinzhu only felt more contemptuous of him. Yun Su did this to her seven years ago. By doing exactly the same thing again, did he really believe that she was still Princess Xi, the little doll controlled by him? This girl who parted only too early with weakness left her shoulder to the beast and scratched her own face with her fingernails.

Since the dagger couldn’t put an end to Yun Su’s assault, her only option was to disfigure herself. If he kept doing it, she wouldn’t mind leaving more scars on her face, body or directly ruining herself. She would fall under no one’s control. Several bloody lines showed up on the left side of her beautiful face. They soon become an eyesore.

Yun Su was shocked. The lust vanished in his eyes. He hurriedly touched the wounds on her face and called, “Someone, get me an imperial physician. Now!” After giving his order to the servants outside, he gazed at Shui Yinzhu sadly and said, “Do you really hate me so much that you would rather disfigure yourself than let me touch you? Sister Xi, why are you so cruel? You know how much I love you.” He shook her shoulder but found nothing except hatred and disgust that was always in her eyes. She didn’t even want to waste any breath on him, which added more sarcasm to her look. Yun Su stopped looking into her eyes, for it would only drive him crazy again. “Well, I won’t let go of you even if you are disfigured,” he sighed. But regardless of what he said, he would still sound like talking to himself. “Do you hear me, Sister Xi? I will never let you go.” No matter how furious Yun Su was, he couldn’t do anything else to her. After all, this was his Sister Xi, the person he loved the most.

Shui Yinzhu wouldn’t give any response as if she was an audience of a monkey show. Her eyes were ice cold without any warmth. Her feeling towards this man was more than just hatred.

Shortly afterward arrived an imperial physician in his forties. He hurried his way here and couldn’t help panting. But as he got into the bedchamber, the man tried to control his breath and stopped panting as he called, “Your Majesty.”

The young emperor and Shui Yinzhu were still on the bed. Yun Su stood up as he saw the visitor. He covered Shui Yinzhu’s partially naked body with the quilt as he got off from bed. This was his girl. He was the only one allowed to see her body. His sick obsession made him more of a pervert.

The imperial physician found them both injured. He chose to check the wound of the young emperor first. However, Yun Su pushed him away.

“I’m all right. Check the empress.”

“The empress?” The imperial physician never expected to hear that title. But he soon understood the emperor as he saw Shui Yinzhu on the bed. “Yes, Your Majesty,” he answers, “but how about your injury?”

“Just do as I say.”

“Understood.” The imperial physician had to check the girl on the bed first. He would like to take her pulse, but Shui Yinzhu wouldn’t cooperate. She was not even reaching out her hand. “Your Majesty, may I take your pulse?”

“I’m fine. I won’t die.” Shui Yinzhu wouldn’t talk to Yun Su. But she answered the imperial physician, not friendly though.

Yun Su crushed the cup on the table. The patched wound on his hand reopened. Blood flowed out from his hand. The servant that just came in to clean up the bedchamber hurriedly told people to call another imperial physician over. After finishing the cleaning, the servant couldn’t help but shiver at the door.

“Sister Xi, if you don’t get yourself cured, I will immediately send my army to catch Xuan Zhi and put a few holes on his body. As long as you are here with me, he will feed himself to me.”

How pitiful Yun Su was as an emperor! He had to threaten his beloved girl with the life of another man. Thinking of this only bred more hate. There was no way he would keep that man alive.

“If you hurt him, I will suicide.” Xuan Zhi would be the only name to upset Shui Yinzhu.

“I have plenty of imperial physicians. I may as well keep him alive after catching him.”

Shui Yinzhu didn’t know that her concern would only push Xuan Zhi closer to his death. Given the emperor’s character, he would never let Xuan Zhi walk away. However, Shui Yinzhu should be smart enough to know that. She simply cared too much and didn’t have enough time to consider everything going on.

For now, her only option would be to get herself treated by the imperial physician. She reached out her hand for the physician to take her pulse. The physician started working immediately.

“Your Majesty, the scratches on your face are not severe. All you need would be some ointment. But that injury on your neck wasn’t properly treated. There’s inflammation, and I need to remove the abscess. It’s going to hurt a lot, and I may have to...”

“Just do what is needed. There is no need to report.” Shui Yinzhu didn’t even want to move her eyelids. The physical pain would feel like nothing to her now.

“Understood.”

As the middle-aged physician finished his work, an older physician arrived. Clearly, the man had more life experiences. He knew how to observe. After greeting his emperor, he only started to pull out the dagger and treat the wound after Yun Su gave permission. He was only into his work and wouldn’t speak an extra word or look around.

Yun Su didn’t care about the pain from his wound. His eyes were fixed on Shui Yinzhu as if she was the best painkiller. Well, the man who spent his childhood in this hellish palace, who murdered others to claim the throne, shouldn’t really care about mere pain.

Meanwhile, on the bed, the middle-aged physician applied ointment on Shui Yinzhu’s face and cleaned up the wound on her neck. Even though removing an abscess would be painful for an adult man, this girl, with her forehead covered with sweat, gritted her teeth through it and never even cried for a single time.

The girl on the bed might seem weak, but she had an unyielding will stronger than any other person. However, the quilt on her body slipped down as she shivered in pain. The middle-aged physician blushed after seeing the smooth and fair skin on her naked shoulder. He moved his eyes away and continued his work. But the stunning beauty of the girl still distracted him.