She got up and asked Muyun, “Did our Madam quarrel with the son-in-law?”

Muyun shook her head, “I don’t know.”

Lu Weimian entered the room, closed the door, and sat in front of the mirror, unbuttoning her collar.

Lu Weimian was shy, and she didn’t want Muyun and the others to help her deal with the marks.

It was as if they had done something on the short journey to the palace.

Lu Weimian took out the ointment and applied it to the marks.  They weren’t broken, but they still hurt when touched.

She knew that her brother’s act of having someone ram his car would not be easily forgotten by him.

Why did he bite her? Like a dog.

Lu Weimian planned that if he provoked her in the future, she would bite back.

But compared to that, if provoking him only resulted in a bite, it was much better than the villain who made her go three days without clothes.

Thinking this, Lu Weimian sighed.

There was also the crisis of border invasion, and Feng Xingyuan had just returned from guarding the border.

She would mention it to him later and discuss how to find that villain in advance.

Lu Weimian finished applying the ointment and put it down.

Deep autumn night, tiny sparks popped from the brazier in the room.

The sparks seemed to gently explode in the girl’s heart.

Her fingertips trembled.

In a daze, she heard a familiar voice, “Madam Feng, His Majesty requests your presence in the study.”

Lu Weimian opened her eyes; it was pitch black, but footsteps approached in the room, attending to her getting up and washing.

She couldn’t see, needing help with everything, like a puppet at someone’s mercy.

The maidservant dressed her in the clothes His Majesty said she looked good in the other day, but Lu Weimian always felt insecure.

She always felt that the gauze dress was too thin, with a semi-exposed waist covered by thin gauze, and gems and bells hanging on both sides, jingling as she walked.

The maidservant said it was common attire in their hometown.

Lu Weimian could only barely convince herself to accept it.

Lu Weimian was led into his study.

He didn’t make things difficult for her today, only asking her to grind ink.

But she had probably oversimplified things.  In her blindness, everything was twice as difficult.

She accidentally splashed ink on the man’s hand and body.

The man said leisurely, “A’mian, you’ve dirtied me. What should we do?”

It was that same ambiguous tone, neither happy nor angry.

Lu Weimian feared his emotionless tone the most.  Although this man did all sorts of bad things, he strangely loved cleanliness and disliked anyone soiling or damaging anything he carefully cherished.

While apologizing, she took a handkerchief to wipe him.

As soon as she touched his hand, he held her wrist, pinning her against the desk.

Things on the desk were scattered everywhere.

In retaliation, he pinned her to the desk, making a mess of her as well.

The gems and bells on her clothes jingled incessantly. Lu Weimian couldn’t stop him, nor could she stop the sounds.

She couldn’t even control her own voice.

When she was exhausted, he took the dirt and smeared it on her hands, completing his revenge, telling her, “Now, we’re both dirty inside and out.”

He commented maliciously, “That’s fair.”

With a “pop,” a tiny spark sounded, Lu Weimian’s nerves snapped, and she suddenly woke from her sleep.

She sat up, opened her eyes, and saw the burning brazier and incense burner in the room, then she came to her senses.

Everything was clear.

It was a dream.

Just a dream.

Lu Weimian hugged herself, a chill running down her spine.

Perhaps because of the nightmare, she felt as if a lurking beast was staring at her in the darkness.

Lu Weimian couldn’t sleep, so she got up and called Muyun, who was on guard outside, to sleep with her.

Muyun was helpless, claiming it was against the rules, but was still pulled onto the bed by Lu Weimian.

Lu Weimian was afraid of the dark since childhood and couldn’t sleep separately from her mother for a long time.

Even after they separated, Grandma Sun slept with her for several years.

Until two years before her coming-of-age ceremony.

Occasionally, when afraid of the dark at night, she would still ask Muyun and Muyu to accompany her.

Grandma Sun always teased her, saying that once married, she would have her husband to keep her company, so she should find a good husband to sleep with her.

But she never imagined her marriage would turn out like this.

Muyun was two years older than her, and Lu Weimian always treated her as an older sister, feeling safer around her.

Lu Weimian rested her forehead against Muyun’s shoulder, pushing away the chaotic nightmares.

She shouldn’t have thought about that person during the day.

Why did she dream of him?

*

On the day of her return visit, carriages and horses lined up outside the Si Kong Mansion.  It wasn’t as grand as the wedding, but enough to attract attention.

Lu Weimian got out of the carriage in a daze, her steps unsteady.

She, who usually slept until noon in her boudoir, had woken up early for three consecutive days.

Last night, she was plagued by nightmares again; she was exhausted.

Lu Weimian swayed, having to support herself on someone nearby.

Feng Xingyuan happened to lower his head, meeting her gaze silently.

Lu Weimian felt a moment of palpitation, meeting the young man’s clear black eyes, somehow remembering the bite he gave her yesterday.

Feng Xingyuan didn’t know what she was thinking, only wanting to move her hand from his arm, when he heard Lu Weimian humming and muttering, “When we’re out, you have to support me.”

“Why?”

“When a couple goes out, they should support each other, so you have to support me.”

There weren’t so many whys, Lu Weimian thought, her father and mother were like that.

Couples all over the world should be like that.

Feng Xingyuan didn’t understand the word “couple.”

How could there be an identity that bound two unrelated strangers together?

Strangers were strangers.

Life and death were irrelevant; it was no different from living alone.

Feng Xingyuan didn’t understand, but he subconsciously reached out, letting her hold him.

Lu Weimian actually felt him a little stiff, but too tired to pay attention to the details, she mumbled softly, “Marriage is tiring; I can’t even get a full night’s sleep.”

The servants who came to greet Lu Weimian’s return heard this sentence and their expressions were subtle. The maidservant closest to her even caught sight of the marks on Lu Weimian’s neck, and couldn’t help but understand.

Lu Sikong and Madam Lu sat in the hall and heard the servants report.

The two anxiously rose to greet her, seeing Lu Weimian step into the room, they still restrained their excitement and urgency, waiting for her to perform the courtesy.

Lu Weimian had left in a hurry that day when she woke up to get married.

Seeing them now, she couldn’t help but think of that day in her previous life, when her whole family was executed, and only she survived.

Lu Weimian controlled her emotions, not letting them see anything unusual.

But after a few words, she couldn’t help but start to sob.

Lu Yu felt bad too, his voice hoarse, “These days at your husband’s house…”

Lu Weimian was afraid that her parents thought she had been wronged, explaining, “I’m fine at my husband’s house; they take good care of me.”

It was just that she was crying while explaining.

She cried even harder.

It didn’t sound convincing.

Feng Xingyuan sat beside her, his eyebrows and eyes full of interest.

He probably found the scene interesting; Lu Weimian was as hypocritical as ever.

Clearly, she hadn’t married the person she loved, yet she still tried to force a smile.

Even with her strange actions and words these days, who knew if she was just acting?

Perhaps feeling the awkwardness of the scene, Lu Yu helped Lu Weimian explain to Feng Xingyuan, “My daughter has never left us since she was young; she is a little spoiled after suddenly leaving home.”

Feng Xingyuan didn’t seem to care.

After all, almost everyone present assumed that Lu Weimian’s marriage was a great injustice.

She must not be having a smooth time at her husband’s house, hence her sadness upon returning.

In the room, some felt pity, some watched the show.

Opposite were her uncle, aunt, and Lu Weimian’s cousin, Ye Xinxian.

The room was noisy. Ye Xinxian stood in the corner and listened to the maidservant recount what Lu Weimian said at the entrance about not sleeping well for several days.

Ye Xinxian looked at the dark circles under Lu Weimian’s eyes, the dark marks on her neck, and how heartbroken she was crying, and understood.

It seemed that the Huanhuan San she prepared wasn’t in vain. Feng Zhen was indeed the Prince’s mortal enemy, and he must have vented his hatred for the Prince on Lu Weimian, humiliating and torturing her.

It was also difficult for her to painstakingly instruct her father to have the celestial master fabricate a reason to facilitate their marriage.

However, today, the star of the world is favored; tomorrow, the star of destruction will be killed, all depending on her mood.

In the past, in the boudoir, they were considered playmates.

But everyone liked to compare the two cousins, and they always only saw Lu Weimian.

Her mother trained her with the courtesy of a queen, and she tried her best to get close to the Prince, but unexpectedly, the Prince also liked her good sister.

She had worked so hard without getting anything, while Lu Weimian didn’t do anything; why did she deserve it?

Lu Weimian should marry this inhuman monster, a match made in hell.

Feng Zhen was seriously injured now, and the Prince’s mortal enemy; after the Prince ascends the throne, Lu Weimian’s difficult days will only just begin.

Ye Xinxian spoke out in time to comfort her, “Today’s return visit is a happy occasion; cousin, you should be happy. I’ve been looking forward to you coming back to play with me for a long time.”

It was unclear if it was an illusion, but Lu Weimian, who used to like to cling to her, seemed not to have heard her.

Ye Xinxian didn’t care about these trifles.

Lu Weimian was simple-minded and straightforward, unable to hide her thoughts, making her easy to manipulate.

Just like this marriage.

She only needed to lift a finger, and no matter how unwilling Lu Weimian was, she had to marry such a low-class person.

Madam Lu, Ye Wan, seeing that her daughter had something to say, found an excuse to dismiss the family members and took Lu Weimian into the inner room.