004 Never Let Go
Returning to Xuan Yue Pavilion, Yun Xueyan, finding herself with nothing to do, hauled out all the bedding, spreading the quilts beneath the sunlight to air them. She rhythmically beat the quilts with a wooden mallet, over and over again, uncertain how many times she had struck when, turning her head, she suddenly saw Duan Nanyu standing there, his cold, predatory gaze unsettling her heart.
She had no idea how long he had been standing there, but his sudden appearance was wholly unexpected.
“Do you enjoy doing such menial work?” Duan Nanyu glanced at her, stepping closer. “Truly the mark of a lowly servant! Haven’t you done enough of this at the Yun household?”
His eyes, filled with unconcealed disgust, fixed on the half of Yun Xueyan’s face veiled by her dark hair.
“You are right to chide me, my lord. I admit my fault. But at the Yun estate, what else was there for me to do? Act the lady? I was never born for such a role.” Head bowed respectfully, Yun Xueyan did not look at Duan Nanyu, her voice calm and unwavering as her fingers absently caressed the mallet’s handle.
Duan Nanyu cast her a contemptuous glance and huffed coldly. “Just seeing you irritates me!” With that, he turned to leave, but after a few steps, he stopped, his back to her, voice as frigid as ice. “Since you are so fond of being a servant, I will let you be one to your heart’s content! From now on, you will attend to every aspect of daily life for Yin’er and me!”
As if she had expected this, Yun Xueyan simply inclined her head and replied with a single word, “Yes.”
Duan Nanyu sneered, the disdain in his eyes growing sharper. “Then tonight, you will come and serve me!”
He loathed the hideous scar marring her face, so grotesque it made him sick. Yet he could not deny that with the scar hidden beneath her dark hair, she was more beautiful than Yun Xiyin by far.
Yun Xueyan started, “Serve him?” What could he mean by that?
She wanted to ask, but Duan Nanyu had already walked away. Left alone, she resumed striking the bedding, yet each blow seemed to land against her own heart, echoing heavily within her chest.
The night was pitch-black, not a single star in the sky, its emptiness mirroring the hollowness within Yun Xueyan’s soul. A pale gray moonlight spilled over everything, while the creak of the door opening sounded especially loud in the darkness.
Yun Xueyan looked up to see Duan Nanyu entering, clad in an inky black robe that caught the faintest glimmer of light, reflecting a cold, cutting gleam. His exquisite face bore nothing but a chill, utterly devoid of emotion, making Yun Xueyan’s heart tighten with fear.
She had thought she might spend the rest of her days quietly in this little courtyard, never needing to serve Duan Nanyu directly. Only tonight did she realize how wrong she had been.
Anything that belonged to Duan Nanyu, he would keep at his side—even a concubine whose face had been ruined.
He would never let her go.
The sound of his footsteps on the floor echoed in her chest, each step pressing down until she could scarcely breathe.
“My lord, you must have come to the wrong room. The princess resides in Jun Yu Pavilion,” Yun Xueyan managed, summoning all her courage.
She knew perfectly well she was challenging Duan Nanyu’s authority. Yet she wanted nothing more than to keep her distance from him. Otherwise, Yun Xiyin would never let her be, and her father would only make her mother’s life harder.
Duan Nanyu strode to her, his face cold, his fingers gripping her chin with crushing strength, as if he meant to shatter it. He had never realized that her skin in his grasp could feel so soft.
Almost unconsciously, his fingers traced her cheek. “Do not forget, you were married into my household. You belong to me!”
Every icy word sank into Yun Xueyan’s heart. She shrank back toward the bed, her voice trembling, “My lord, I am but a servant, unworthy of serving you.”
“It is not your place to decide whether you are worthy!” he snapped, and with a violent motion, tore away Yun Xueyan’s outer robe.