“Then in your heart, what kind of words are the most pleasing to hear?” the Third Prince asked softly.
Princess Wenyang smiled without speaking, her cheeks already flushed red. The Third Prince’s lips had already brushed against her cheek; the distance between them was so close that she could almost hear his steady breathing.
“How could I possibly teach you such a thing myself?”
The Third Prince’s gaze deepened. He turned her face so that her eyes met his, and asked quietly, “So whatever I say, you would be willing to hear? And also willing to reward me?”
To ease her nervousness, Princess Wenyang stuck out her tongue playfully and said with a teasing smile, “Of course. As long as it’s something Your Highness says, I naturally like hearing it.”
“Then I say this—there is only one person my heart can hold.”
Princess Wenyang’s heart suddenly tightened. She looked at him with a trace of unease and tension.
“And who… is that person?”
The Third Prince looked at her with a faint smile. “Why are you nervous?”
Princess Wenyang felt as if her heart were a small boat tossed upon stormy waves, rising and falling uncontrollably.
“Because I’m afraid the person Your Highness speaks of… is Young Master Xue.”
A hint of amusement appeared in the Third Prince’s eyes. “Why him?”
Princess Wenyang’s expression shifted slightly, her earlier boldness gone. “No reason… just a guess…”
“It’s not him,” the Third Prince said calmly.
Hearing this, color slowly returned to Princess Wenyang’s face. She gently drew her legs up onto the bed, resting her head against her knees, murmuring, “Your Highness really knows how to scare people… my heart almost jumped out just now…”
Her voice grew softer as she spoke, but the joy in her tone became more and more evident.
“Does that sentence count as pleasing?” the Third Prince asked from the side.
Princess Wenyang closed her eyes and thought for a moment. In this small courtyard, around the Third Prince, aside from herself, it seemed only Mu Xueshi had ever had close contact with him. Now that he had personally said it wasn’t Mu Xueshi, then surely… there could be no one else but herself.
“I suppose it does…” Princess Wenyang lifted her head and smiled sweetly at him.
The Third Prince showed little expression, only continuing, “Then the reward I spoke of—you can give it to me now, can’t you?”
Princess Wenyang had long anticipated he would bring this up again, but hearing it spoken aloud still stirred a different feeling within her. Though she tried to restrain her wandering thoughts, her cheeks and ears flushed red without her noticing.
“I already belong to Your Highness… what could I possibly refuse?”
“Heh…”
It was the first time Princess Wenyang had heard the Third Prince laugh. But when she lifted her eyes, the smile on his face had already faded. She felt that tonight’s Third Prince was completely different from his usual self. Perhaps, just as she had once heard—men in the day and at night could be entirely different people.
Suddenly, her body was pressed down onto the bed. Above her loomed an incomparably handsome face. Her chest rose and fell rapidly; the more she tried to relax under his weight, the more tense she became.
The best thing is just to close my eyes… and wait for the moment he truly makes me his…
Warm breath drew closer. Princess Wenyang could already feel his lips near her ear, exhaling softly. The ticklish sensation spread like countless tiny insects crawling, making her let out a soft murmur.
“Your imperial brother… gave me a painting…”
Princess Wenyang hadn’t expected the Third Prince to whisper such words into her ear. She snapped slightly out of her nervous state and opened her eyes to look at him.
The Third Prince had already unfurled the painting in his hand, revealing it bit by bit before her.
The more she looked, the more ashamed she felt. When her gaze reached the most private parts, she quickly covered her eyes with her delicate hands and said in a half-annoyed tone, “Your Highness is too much… why are you showing me this…”
“Because this painting is closely related to the reward you’re about to give me.”
Princess Wenyang naturally took it as teasing. Though she felt embarrassed to the core, there was also an uncontrollable excitement. She never stopped to consider why her imperial brother would paint such a piece and give it to the Third Prince—she had already forgotten the words “imperial brother,” her mind filled only with the painting and its contents.
Suddenly, she felt a chill across her body. Princess Wenyang realized that the red gauze dress on her had already been removed by the Third Prince. A cold sensation reached her chest—it did not feel like his hand, but rather something metallic. Her lips trembled as she cautiously opened her eyes a sliver, only to be struck by a flash of cold light that made her eyes sting. Her pupils widened instantly.
“Your Highness!” There was a tremor in her voice.
The Third Prince did not respond. With a cold expression, he used the sharp dagger in his hand to lift and cut at her clothing, his movements unhurried, almost as if he were playing a game. The blade gleamed with a chilling light, clearly extremely sharp.
“Your Highness, don’t use that… I’m afraid…” Princess Wenyang’s eyes showed a trace of grievance, as if displeased with his roughness.
But the Third Prince continued. Only after her garments had been reduced to fragments did he look at her face, a strange curve forming at the corner of his lips.
At this moment, Princess Wenyang felt that he had once again become a completely different person. The predatory glint in his eyes made her heart tremble. It did not feel like possession—but rather a silent destruction.
Perhaps… I just can’t understand him…
“I was thinking—if I turned you into a painting and gave it to your imperial brother, what do you think his reaction would be?”
Panic suddenly flooded Princess Wenyang’s eyes. She clutched the bedsheets tightly, staring at him, hoping he was merely frightening her.
“Your Highness… what do you mean…” Her lips had already turned pale.
The Third Prince explained patiently, “It means peeling off your face, along with your outer flesh, without missing a single detail—then fixing it onto a board to make a painting of human skin. You’ve heard of such things, haven’t you? I recall that in Lubei, during rituals, they use the skin of servants as offerings to worship the heavens and ancestors.”
“No!” Princess Wenyang opened her mouth wide, struggling to speak. “Your Highness… don’t make this kind of… joke…”
“A joke?” The Third Prince let out two cold laughs and waved his hand toward the outside. Immediately, someone pushed the door open and entered.
The one who came in was Sun Ye. He merely placed the item the Third Prince had ordered by the doorway, then turned and left with an indifferent expression. As for what was happening on the bed, he had no interest in knowing.
The Third Prince gently turned Princess Wenyang’s head toward the door and pointed at the object Sun Ye had brought in. He said softly, “Look—how could I be joking with you? The frame has already been prepared for you. Every nail on it was specially forged by the best blacksmiths in the capital—for you. It will definitely secure your beautiful skin firmly onto it.”
Princess Wenyang’s face had turned as pale as paper. She tried to raise her hand, but she couldn’t move at all. Her whole body felt as though its tendons had been pulled out—she had no strength left.
How she wished this were all a dream. That when she woke, she would still be sitting in the bridal sedan. Or sitting at the bedside, waiting for the Third Prince to lift her veil—even if he never came all night, it would still be better than this.
When she realized the Third Prince’s blade had begun to hover over her body, she cried out hoarsely, “Your Highness… don’t… treat me like this… it’s useless… my imperial brother… won’t be angry… I’m not his only sister… he was born of a common woman… Father only adopted him under my mother’s name to give him status…”
The Third Prince snorted coldly. “You can save those words for your ancestors during your rituals.”
With that, he traced the blade across her body, finally resting it at the center of her face. After a brief pause, he asked, “Tell me… should I start peeling from the top down? Or from the bottom up?”
“Don’t… Your Highness… please… my imperial brother has never liked me… it’s only because my mother favored me… that he pretended to treat me well. Doing this will only make him happier. Your Highness, I’m telling the truth…”
The Third Prince smiled, his expression like an icy wind cutting across the face, making one’s heart tremble.
“I know that very well. So there’s no need to discuss pros and cons with me. Just tell me—do you prefer starting from the top, or from the bottom?”
Princess Wenyang’s throat seemed to be choked by something. No sound came out—only broken breaths filled with despair.
“When you people skin your servants, how do you usually do it?” the Third Prince asked.
Princess Wenyang couldn’t even cry anymore. Her eyes turned toward the door, desperately hoping Hao Lin would appear at this moment and save her.
“If you don’t answer, I’ll proceed as I see fit.”
The Third Prince’s voice suddenly turned cold, the dagger in his hand lifting slightly, flashing with a chilling light.
“I’ll say it!!!” Princess Wenyang screamed.
The Third Prince paused slightly, looking at her, signaling for her to continue.
She wept miserably, her eyes filled with pleading as she looked at him.
“It’s… it’s always done after the servant is already dead…”
The Third Prince’s eyes were full of mockery and amusement. “By that logic, the rulers of Lubei are quite merciful.”
Princess Wenyang didn’t know how to respond. She simply kept crying, no strength left even to struggle.
“Very well. Then I’ll let you die first,” the Third Prince said lightly.
Princess Wenyang’s eyes flew wide open. She shook her head violently, stammering, “No… don’t kill me… Your Highness, spare me…”
The dagger in the Third Prince’s hand was like a cold claw, tugging at her heart with every movement. It felt as though a single slip would end her in a gruesome death.
“You think too little of yourself.”
His voice sounded faintly.
Princess Wenyang’s pleas stopped abruptly. The last thread of hope in her heart was dragged upward as she waited, pale-faced, for his next words.
“You are the dignified Third Prince’s consort. How could I treat you like a servant? So don’t worry—you won’t die. You will slowly enjoy the pleasure of being flayed alive. And rest assured, I won’t let your body be covered in blood when you meet your imperial brother. I’ll peel you while soaking you in saltwater, cleaning you thoroughly—only then will you be worthy of that precious frame.”
The moment he finished speaking, a piercing scream erupted. Princess Wenyang cried out like a madwoman, wailing, “Why is Your Highness so heartless… is there nothing in your heart besides power and the realm… not even a trace of feeling…”
As her sobs and pleas continued, the Third Prince’s expression darkened further. Suddenly, he grabbed her throat, forcing her to stop making any sound.
“It seems you don’t even understand why you’re dying.”
Her face turned purplish under his grip, her pupils beginning to dilate. Slowly, he loosened his hold. She gasped for air desperately, then began crying again in a hoarse voice.
“There is only one person in my heart—and only one person I hate. Everything you suffer today is what you owe.”
Hearing him speak again, Princess Wenyang hurried to respond blindly, trying to steady his mood. Perhaps he had only been acting on impulse. Perhaps there was still some misunderstanding between them. As long as she could delay, she might still have a chance to survive.
“Your Highness is right… it’s my fault… I’ve always been in the wrong… it’s only right that you hate me, I…”
“The one I hate is not you. You are not even worthy of my hatred.”
“Yes… I’m not worthy… it’s good that Your Highness does not hate me…”
“The one I hate is Mu Xueshi…”
At the mention of Mu Xueshi’s name, something seemed to crack in Princess Wenyang’s mind. She grabbed the Third Prince’s robe urgently and said, “Your Highness, did Young Master Xue say something to you? That day, he forced his way into my Wenyang Palace—I only…”
The Third Prince gave a cold laugh. “I hate him because he once hurt me. What does that have to do with you?”
Princess Wenyang could no longer comprehend his words. She simply followed his lead blindly. “Your Highness, I hurt him because he hurt you before…”
Hearing this, the Third Prince’s expression changed. When he looked at her again, his gaze was like a demon possessed, filled with killing intent.
“Even if I torment him to death, no one else is allowed to touch even a single hair on his head. If you left a scar on him, then I will take a piece of flesh from you.”
Hearing this, Princess Wenyang trembled violently. Somehow, a surge of courage rose within her, and she actually tried to argue back. Perhaps her hatred had reached its peak, allowing her to reclaim a shred of rationality.
“If you take a piece of flesh from me, then one day someone will take your life in return. Your Highness, my imperial brother has not left yet—you cannot stake your life for the sake of a mere Mu Xueshi.”
After saying this, she saw the bloodthirsty intensity in the Third Prince’s eyes grow stronger. She suddenly began shouting wildly toward the outside:
“Help! Someone come! His Highness is going to kill me!! His Highness has lost his mind—save me!!! Go inform Hao Lin… or all of you will die with me…!!!”
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