Chapter 8 - Atonement

 Pei Xiuyan's heart suddenly tightened, and he instinctively raised his breath and jumped into the yard.

The shrill voice gradually became clear: "Is there anyone... Save the princess... Someone come..."

Pei Xiuyan was flustered by the voice, and he had no intention of thinking. He kicked the door open and rushed into the house. Bai Zhi saw Ye Chuyan's face gradually turning blue and purple, and she was about to strangle herself to death. She gave up crying and gradually became desperate. If her master was gone, she didn't want to live alone.

She looked at Ye Chuyan with tears in her eyes and said, "Princess, I will go down to accompany you right away."

At this moment, the door was kicked open. The cold wind that whistled in made Bai Zhi shudder. A figure flashed before her eyes, and she saw Pei Xiuyan frowning and coming to the bed. Seeing that Ye Chuyan was about to strangle herself to death, he raised his hand and pressed Ye Chuyan's acupoints, and Ye Chuyan's arms instantly became weak and limp.

Bai Zhi, who was still immersed in astonishment, reacted and went up to half-hug Ye Chuyan, crying and shouting: "Princess, Princess..."

Pei Xiuyan glanced at the roo and saw no other maids except Bai Zhi, and his eyebrows and eyes fell immediately.

"How did you serve the princess? Just watching her almost strangle herself to death? If you can't pull yourself away, don't you know to ask other servants for help?"

Bai Zhi was relieved when she saw Ye Chuyan's complexion gradually return to normal. She heard Pei Xiuyan's scolding and then thought about the affairs of the Ye family and Ye Chuyan lying on the bed with an uncertain life or death.

Her head was hot, and she said without thinking, "Your Highness, the princess was confined to her house, and it was you who ordered that no servants except me serve her."

"The princess's ribs were broken after her miscarriage because of you. Since returning from the execution ground, she has been haunted by nightmares and has had repeated high fevers. She is still in a state of uncertainty. If the prince really cares about the princess, how could he let her fall into such a state?"

As soon as the words were finished, the atmosphere in the room was quiet and weird. Pei Xiuyan was furious, and murderous intent gradually rose in his eyes. The cotton thread in the candle exploded, making a slight crackling sound. Bai Zhi felt a little regretful. She was not afraid of death, but she was afraid that if she died, no one would take care of the princess as attentively as she did. Now that things have come to this, she has no regrets.

She bowed respectfully to Pei Xiuyan and said, "If the prince kills me, I have nothing to say. I just hope that the prince can treat the princess better in the future. The Ye family is gone, and the princess only has the prince now..."

Speaking of this, Bai Zhi's eyes were slightly sore, and she sobbed softly. Before the Ye family got into trouble, the princess smiled and said she would take me to the ends of the earth. Now that the Ye family is gone, the princess is the daughter of a criminal, and she can only rely on the prince to survive, but the prince is the one who personally convicted the Ye family.

Pei Xiuyan suddenly froze; the princess now only has the prince, and this sentence keeps lingering in his mind. Ye Chuyan, the daughter of the Ye family, who was once so proud that she was arrogant, now has only herself. But he is the most indifferent to her in the world and the one who hurts her the most.

Looking at Bai Zhi, who was crying uncontrollably, Pei Xiuyan said in a low voice, "Get up; for your loyalty to the master, I will spare your life today."

Bai Zhi heard this and knew that her life had been saved. She looked up at Ye Chuyan and found that Ye Chuyan's face was flushed. She didn't care about any etiquette or rules; she got up and touched Ye Chuyan's forehead, which was so hot that it was scary. She hurriedly went to get the medicine bowl, trying to control her panic, and fed Ye Chuyan the medicine with a spoon. Ye Chuyan seemed to be determined to die, with her lips tightly pursed, and Bai Zhi could not feed her. Bai Zhi did not care whether Ye Chuyan could hear her or not, and kept begging.

"Princess, I beg you, please take some medicine; if your fever does not subside, you will die."

Pei Xiuyan stood by and watched Bai Zhi feed the medicine again and again, but failed again and again. In his memory, Ye Chuyan has always been like a vigorous plant, never withering. Now, after only a few days of not seeing her, she is dying. He quickly stepped forward, snatched the medicine bowl from Bai Zhi's hand, and pushed Bai Zhi aside. "I will feed her!"

Bai Zhi was pushed to the ground, and before she could react, the medicine bowl in her hand had been snatched away. Pei Xiuyan pinched Ye Chuyan's chin, trying to pour all the medicine in, but Ye Chuyan's mouth was tightly closed. Pei Xiuyan pinched Ye Chuyan's chin until it turned purple, but it was useless. Pei Xiuyan couldn't help but sneer in his heart. No matter how Ye Chuyan disguised herself over the years, she was still the unruly daughter of the Ye family. Now she wanted to die, and she would not open her mouth even if she was unconscious.

He put the medicine in the medicine bowl in his mouth, leaned over and pressed against Ye Chuyan's delicate lips, pried open Ye Chuyan's teeth with his tongue, and then passed all the medicine in his mouth into the other's mouth. He repeated this several times until all the medicine in the bowl was fed.

Bai Zhi was stunned, watching from the side. She never thought that Pei Xiuyan would feed the medicine by mouth in person. For a moment, she was stunned, and her thoughts were messy.

After feeding the medicine, Pei Xiuyan did not leave but sat quietly at the table in the room. The candlelight covering half of his face was dim and unclear. Bai Zhi came to her senses and said no more, but just wiped Ye Chuyan's forehead silently.

Half an hour later, Ye Chuyan opened her eyes in a trance.

Bai Zhi's eyes suddenly lit up, and she said in surprise, "Princess, you are awake."

Ye Chuyan looked around woodenly, and when she turned her head, she saw Pei Xiuyan sitting at the table. Her eyes instantly turned red, as if they were congested.

"Pei Xiuyan, I will kill you."

Bai Zhi was shocked. "Princess, don't..."

Before she finished speaking, Ye Chuyan rolled off the bed and rushed straight to Pei Xiuyan. Ye Chuyan was physically weak at this time. Pei Xiuyan put one hand behind his back and easily grabbed Ye Chuyan's arm with the other hand.

He said indifferently, "You gave me the palace defense map yourself."

Ye Chuyan glared at Pei Xiuyan, wishing she could cut him into pieces with her eyes.

"Pei Xiuyan, I was foolish and loved someone who was not a good person, which caused the Ye family to be raided. I will kill you and then go down to apologize to my father and brother."

Pei Xiuyan chuckled. "Oh, so you plan to kill me and then commit suicide to apologize?"

He glanced at Ye Chuyan with contempt.

"Ye Chuyan, you are so naive. When you married me, you should have thought that my sweetheart was Zhao Yujiao, and you would pay the price for this sooner or later."

Pei Xiuyan's voice was clear and unhurried, but every word was heartbreaking.

 "The Ye family was raided, and the former friends of the Ye family are now avoiding it. I heard that your sister-in-law is pregnant. Now only I can help you. If I die, who can help you?"

Ye Churan was trembling violently, as if she was drenched in a basin of ice water. Pei Xiuyan seemed very satisfied with Ye Chuyan's reaction. He pulled Ye Chuyan into his arms and whispered in the ears of the distraught Ye Chuyan:

"Ye Chuyan, listen, I want you to continue to be the Princess of Qing, and let you face the murderer of your father day and night. Don't worry; as long as you serve me to your satisfaction, I will naturally help you take care of the exiled women of the Ye family."

He saw that Ye Chuyan's ears were pale as jade due to anger and blood loss, and the tiny bones were crystal clear, so he couldn't help but peck at them.

"Live well and atone for your sins. If I see you trying to commit suicide again, I can't guarantee that the women of the Ye family will not die on the road to exile!"

After saying this, he left Ye Chuyan, who seemed to have been drained of her bones, and walked away. After a long time, Ye Chuyan's legs softened, and she kneeled on the ground. She had sinned deeply and was no longer qualified to die. Seeing this, Bai Zhi hugged Ye Chuyan and cried bitterly. She didn't understand what the princess had done wrong. She doesn't deserve this ordeal.