Chapter 15: Ruthless Revenge
“Princess Consort, we really won’t dare again! We truly won’t!” the maids cried in unison.
“Of course you won’t. Because I’m no longer the lowly girl you used to bully and humiliate at will!” Wei Yuanwei’s sharp words caused visible terror to fsh across the maids' faces.
“P-Princess Consort, this... this is the pair of earrings the Eldest Miss once gave you. I shouldn’t have... I shouldn’t have taken them from you. I’ve kept them all these years, never sold them!” one maid said as she pulled out a bundle wrapped in cloth. Inside was a pair of golden pipa-shaped earrings. Her hands were covered in cuts from scraping against stones.
Wei Yuanwei gnced at the earrings, and her eyes turned icy. “Hmph, you didn’t sell them probably because they weren’t worth much, right?”
“N-no, Princess Consort, I didn’t dare,” the maid trembled.
Wei Yuanwei snatched the earrings from her hand. These were a gift from her mother, who had received them from her father. Her mother had hoped Wei Yuanwei would one day use them to find her birth father—something her grandmother told her before she passed.
Unfortunately, after her grandmother died, the earrings were snatched by this maid. Over time, she had almost forgotten the incident.
Clearly, this maid hoped that by returning the earrings, she’d be spared.
But all Wei Yuanwei could remember was how this body had once clung to the maid’s legs, crying and begging for the earrings back—only to be kicked away.
The pain of that memory was something only this body’s former owner truly knew.
“My mother’s earrings... and you wore them for years!” Wei Yuanwei’s fury ignited.
The maid had openly worn them all this time and only now, upon Wei Yuanwei’s return, chose to take them off and return them.
Did she think she’d be forgiven?
The maid was now too terrified to speak.
Just as Wei Yuanwei was about to act, Yun Xie approached and said coolly, “Cut off her ears.”
“What?” Wei Yuanwei looked at him in shock.
The maid on the floor almost fainted from fear and clung to Yun Xie’s robes, pleading.
“She wore your mother’s earrings all these years. Her ears are useless now. Drag her out.”
Several guards stepped forward and dragged the sobbing maid away.
The rest of the maids were completely silent, some secretly thankful they hadn’t taken anything from Wei Yuanwei in the past, others regretting the way they had treated her.
Wei Yuanwei looked down at the earrings in her hand. The memory of them had faded, but recovering them felt like a strange stroke of fate.
Fortunately, they weren’t worth much. Otherwise, they would have been sold long ago—and lost forever.
But using just these earrings to find her birth father? That seemed unlikely. If he had been a responsible man, he would have come to find her mother himself. Why would she need to search?
Let this be her final connection to her mother.
As for her so-called father? She wasn’t interested.
She pced the earrings into her jewelry box.
“It’s already dark. Shall we rest early?” Yun Xie pulled Wei Yuanwei into his arms, his rge hands gently caressing her long hair.
As his fingers brushed from her hair to her skin, Wei Yuanwei instinctively wanted to push him away.
But Yun Xie’s arm around her waist tightened slightly, pulling her back into his embrace.
“What’s wrong, Princess Consort?” Yun Xie asked casually, his tone cool and without any overt desire.
“I don’t feel fully recovered yet. I think I need another day of rest,” Wei Yuanwei said, searching for an excuse, her eyes shifting nervously.
“But I think you’re doing quite well,” Yun Xie said, continuing to run his fingers through her hair.
A shiver ran down Wei Yuanwei’s spine. She wanted to push him away, but with so many maids present, she couldn’t afford to make a scene. If rumors spread that she was at odds with the Prince, her current position would be at risk.
She gnced at the maids.
“You may all leave,” Yun Xie ordered.
The maids, sensing relief, hurried out of the room, barely managing to stand straight from exhaustion.
As soon as they were gone, Wei Yuanwei tried to push Yun Xie away again. “I really don’t feel well,” she said, pretending to be dizzy as she headed toward the bed.
But Yun Xie grabbed her wrist. “I told you not to py tricks in front of me. If you’re really unwell, I’ll summon the imperial physician now.”
His tone remained calm, but there was an unmistakable edge of sternness.
Handsome men always grew impatient quickly.
Men were all the same—before getting what they wanted, they’d treat you kindly. Afterward, they’d discard you like trash.
This so-called Evil Prince was no different. Supporting her had only ever been about her body.
But... she really didn’t want to consummate the marriage.
“I—” Wei Yuanwei tried to speak, but Yun Xie had already lifted her into his arms and id her on the bed.
The curtains were drawn shut. A crescent moon rose above the trees, casting shadows on the patterned window paper. A faint breeze blew out the candlelight.
Rustling sounds came from within the bed—clothing being removed. Pieces of fabric were tossed out from between the curtains. Among them, a moon-white undergarment stood out starkly.
The room filled with a hazy, ambiguous atmosphere.
The rosewood bed swayed slightly under the moonlight.
Inside the curtains, Wei Yuanwei knew Yun Xie had waited for this moment for a long time. She knew exactly what was about to happen—and also knew that her small frame was no match for him. Resistance would only anger him further.
So she closed her eyes and stopped struggling.
But suddenly, she felt a warm flow from her body.
She opened her eyes instantly—her period had come!
The extinguished candle was relit. Two maids stood by the bed and changed the soiled bedding.
Yun Xie, standing beside the bed, had eyes as dark as obsidian—filled with a barely restrained fire.
Wei Yuanwei washed and changed her clothes. When she emerged from behind the screen and met Yun Xie’s deep gaze, she instinctively lowered her head and gave a small smile.
