Ye Jiuge felt like her flesh was going to be torn apart by Zi Shang's mouth. The terrifying sensation made her scalp feel numb, and her whole body shuddered. She gritted her teeth and expended the last of her energy to resist him like her life depended on it. She shouted, "Move aside!"

Without any mercy, Zi Shang pinned Ye Jiuge under his body. The cold, harsh glint that shone from his purple eyes was as piercing as the blade.

"Did he touch you here?" Zi Shang's large palm covered her bosom entirely. His deep voice made her s.h.i.+ver, even though she wasn't cold.

"No. No. No!" Ye Jiuge screamed while shaking her head.

"He really didn't?" Zi Shang narrowed his eyes. The frost that exuded from his body was enough to freeze the air, making it difficult to breathe.

"He really did not," Ye Jiuge insisted adamantly. Dongfang Que definitely had not touched her there. At most, he'd just come into contact with this part of her body when he'd held her down.

Instantly, Zi Shang saw through Ye Jiuge's lies. With a word, he shattered her hopes. "Liar!" He lowered his head and aggressively bit her lip. He took one bite after another, and his mouth began to wander.

Zi Shang's kisses were not gentle at all. He was like a deranged wild beast gnawing its prey. His expression was so ferocious; it was as if he wanted to devour her. Ye Jiuge nearly thought that Zi Shang would bite her to death. If G.o.d gave her another chance, she would keep her distance from Dongfang Que and never allow him to get close to her. Zi Shang appeared to sense her regret. He finally softened and caressed her tenderly, like a lover. Ye Jiuge realized that when Zi Shang was gentle, he was even more deadly!

When Zi Shang finally pulled away from her, Ye Jiuge was already soaked in sweat. Her whole body was sprawled soft and pliant on the bed. At first, she'd thought that Zi Shang was going to force himself on her, so she had already prepared to cut all ties with him and not talk to him ever again, until her death. She'd never expected Zi Shang's kisses to extinguish the deep resentment that filled her. She even experienced a small moment of blissful pleasure. She was too mortified to lay into Zi Shang.

"Did I please you?" Zi Shang smirked like the cat that ate the canary.

Please your uncle! Boom! Ye Jiuge's face was thoroughly flushed. Red as a tomato. She wished that she could kill this perverted snake with a kick and forget about him.

"Next time, will you dare to let another man touch you?" Zi Shang lowered his head, and his hot breath skimmed over Ye Jiuge's beet red ear. His tone was threatening.

Ye Jiuge really wanted to tell him that she was not the head courtesan at a brothel looking to prost.i.tute herself to any man with nothing better to do than touch her. What happened with Dongfang Que was a total accident, alright? However, Zi Shang would not accept this explanation. Right now, she could not afford to anger this psychopath. She could only bottle up her feelings and nod. She was as meek as a lamb as she said, "I will not allow it again."

"Good girl!"

Zi Shang stroked Ye Jiuge's face. He pressed a tender kiss, which was devoid of any s.e.xual desire, onto her cheek. After that, he helped her undo the silk scarf binding her hands. When he saw that her wrists were completely red, he was considerate enough to help her ma.s.sage them. Ye Jiuge was utterly spent and could only let Zi Shang do what he wanted with her.

Zi Shang helped Ye Jiuge put on her clothes properly again. Afterward, he told her, "Your despicable father is here to find you." Then, he returned to the imprint on Ye Jiuge's wrist.

F*ck, is there any situation more awful than this? Ye Jiuge really wanted to cry, but tears refused to come. Wobbly on her feet, she propped herself up and quickly changed into a dark green dress. She also patted her face with cold water so that the s.e.xual pleasure she was experiencing in her body would subside.

When she was done, Qing Mama's voice rang out, "Eldest Miss, Old Master is here."

"Ok! Please ask Father to wait for a moment in the Main Parlor." Ye Jiuge tried her best to make her voice sound calm.

"Alright. However, Eldest Miss, you should get ready as soon as you can," Qing Mama urged before leaving.

Ye Jiuge sat in front of the dressing table and checked herself carefully to make sure nothing was out of place. Fortunately, other than her eyes and mouth being slightly redder than usual, the black scars that covered her face entirely concealed any other aspect of her appearance that would otherwise appear out of the ordinary.

With her mind at ease, Ye Jiuge left the bedroom and walked into the Main Parlor. Ye Yuxuan was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back. Everyone could see that he was extremely irritated and unhappy.

As soon as he saw Ye Jiuge, he yelled at her furiously, "Insolent girl! when you had the nerve to be discourteous to the Empress, did you have a death wish?"

"Father, what are you implying? Why can't I understand you?"

Ye Jiuge did not bother to greet Ye Yuxuan with a curtsey. She walked directly to a chair and sat before motioning to Qing Mama to serve her a cup of tea. She was extremely thirsty.

Soon after, Qing Mama brought her a cup of hot tea. She communicated with Ye Jiuge with her eyes; she was asking her to speak to Old Master using her manners. If she had something important to tell him, she should not talk back. Ye Jiuge disregarded Qing Mama's gestures and sipped her tea indifferently.

It was not that she wanted to answer defiantly to Ye Yuxuan. He was the one who had come to her just to find fault. It was in her character to accept insults without retaliation.

When Ye Yuxuan saw that Ye Jiuge treated him with complete disrespect, he was so livid that his face turned purple with rage. He jabbed his finger at her and tore into her, saying, "The Empress was so insulted that she came knocking on our door. You still have the gall to drink your tea here. If you want to continue drinking, take your tea with you and get out. The Ye Clan refuses to acknowledge a shameless woman like you as part of the family."

Bang! Ye Jiuge slammed the teacup on the table. She glowered at Ye Yuxuan with her beautiful eyes. Won't you let me enjoy my cup of tea?

Ye Yuxuan jumped out of his skin. When he came to his senses and realized that he could, to his surprise, be afraid of this recalcitrant daughter, he became even angrier. "Great, now you even dare to show your displeasure to me."

"Father, as soon as you came in, you berated me. Why didn't you ask me what happened in the palace? Why would I offend the Empress without rhyme or reason?" Ye Jiuge asked in a cold tone.

"Hmph, I know your impudence too well. Even when you're at home, you act without a sense of propriety. Isn't it perfectly expected to hear that you offended someone when you went to the palace?" Ye Yuxuan was completely uninterested in Ye Jiuge's explanation.

"Father, since you are fully aware that I am a person without manners, why were you so keen to have me visit the palace to meet the Empress? Did you not intend for me to anger her?" Ye Jiuge rubbed the embossed pattern on the teacup, and a snide smile appeared on her face.

"Don't you try to twist my words. This time, you've provoked the Empress and the Crown Prince. You need to appease their anger. Otherwise, the whole Ye Clan will be implicated because of your wrongdoing," Ye Yuxuan insisted firmly.

"Then, Father, what are you planning to ask me to do?" Ye Jiuge raised an eyebrow. She wanted to see whether her reprehensible father was capable of expressing more bizarre ideas.

"Hmph, the Crown Prince has already said that, as long as you return the Purple Lightning Wood to him, he will be merciful enough not to blame you for what you did. Not only that, he will even allow you to marry into his family as his Secondary Crown Princess Consort."

Ye Yuxuan thought that this was a fantastic idea. Not only would the Crown Prince be placated, but he could also send this troublemaker away. It would kill two birds with one stone. Before, Ye Yuxuan had thought that Ye Jiuge really had obtained some sort of treasure in the Wanzhang Depths, so he'd put up with her in every possible way. He hadn't antic.i.p.ated that Ye Jiuge would become so infuriating.

Even if there was a treasure, he didn't want it anymore. Instead, he would let the Crown Prince have it as a token of grat.i.tude for taking this problematic brat away from him!