He no longer made her wash clothes, nor did he force her to strip those disgusting pelts—was this the price she paid with her body?
He really knew how to calculate!
In just two days, they would be breaking camp, and she was being watched more closely than ever. Now, she could only stay in his tent; if she went anywhere, someone would follow. If it wasn’t Dahe Jiyao, it would be Duo Luo Qi. Whenever Yelü Lie went out, he would always leave one of his lieutenants to guard her.
Occasionally, at dusk, he would take her on horseback into the forest. She understood his intention—he was warning her that the only outcome of attempting to escape was death. The vast, desolate Helan Mountain, with its wilderness and tangled brush, would trap her in an endless loop, and she would die lost within its woods.
He was a man quick to anger. She had seen him once lash out with his whip at a subordinate who had strayed during training, and that man had been unable to get out of bed ever since.
If, on that day, she had angered him to the point where he wanted to whip her, it would have taken just one lash for her to be freed from all of this. But so far, he had only used his cold, indifferent caresses as a means to punish her. He knew all too well that her body had awakened under his touch, and he took pleasure in watching her struggle with herself.
She had become weak. She often wept when he wasn’t around, furious at her own powerlessness in the face of all this. Her home in Jiangnan—it seemed farther and farther away. Would she ever have the chance to return alive? Her elderly father, her young sister—was there anyone to care for them? Was there anyone managing the vast family business? Could unscrupulous merchants be taking advantage of her kind-hearted father? He was bound to be easily deceived!
As long as she was alive, she had to return! She looked down at her small abdomen, unconsciously placing her hands over it. She couldn’t get pregnant! She didn’t want to bear his wild offspring! But with a man as strong as him, making her pregnant would be all too easy, wouldn’t it? Once she had his child, she would be forever entangled with him. She wouldn’t love that child, she was certain of that! She couldn’t bear a child with hatred in her heart.
So, after Yelü Lie left, she went to find the old nanny. Today, she was guarded by Dahe Jiyao, who rarely spoke, which meant he wouldn’t mention to Yelü Lie that she had sought out the old nanny.
The old nanny gave her a deep, knowing look.
“I can’t give you that kind of medicine; the leader would kill me!”
“No, he wouldn’t! He wouldn’t care to have a child of mixed blood.” But he might be furious that she dared to do such a thing; only he could refuse—he wouldn’t allow her to make that decision herself.
The old nanny still shook her head.
“When you are pregnant and the leader decides he doesn’t want it, I’ll prepare the cleansing medicine for you; but not now.”
She turned and left! She didn’t want to endure the cruelty of terminating a pregnancy after it had already happened. If she didn’t want a child, she shouldn’t let it exist in the first place.
Just as she stepped out of the old nanny’s tent, she saw the two Western Xia women, their expressions full of malice. Dahe Jiyao remained in the old nanny’s tent, likely giving some instructions.
Jun Qiluo held her head high, her face cold, refusing to show any emotion.
Li Xing pulled out a small oil-paper packet from inside her collar.
“Do you know why we never get pregnant? Just take this medicine, and you’ll never have to worry about it for the rest of your life.”
Jun Qiluo didn’t move or speak. She didn’t believe these two had any good intentions. She was already ruined by Yelü Lie, and there would never be another man in her life. Since she didn’t want to bear Yelü Lie’s child, it didn’t matter if she never had children. She didn’t care! But what did they want from her? There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and she wasn’t naive enough to believe otherwise.
Li Yutao warmly took her hand and accepted the oil-paper packet from Li Xing.
“Oh, just take it! We’re all the same—having a child for a man who doesn’t love you is so sad! As long as you don’t mind, we’ll be happy to have the leader visit us from time to time. Now, go on, drink it! Just mix it with water and drink it all at once.”
Jun Qiluo didn’t hesitate, pulling off a bracelet from her wrist and giving it to them. “Consider this the price for the medicine.”
It was a fine jade bracelet, carved with a landscape, very valuable. Yelü Lie had given it to her three days ago, like a reward for a courtesan. No matter how beautiful, how precious it was, she didn’t care for it.
She turned and went back into the tent, hearing the Li sisters exclaiming about how it was a treasure! The silver they earned here wasn’t worth as much as this jade bracelet.
Li Xing dragged Li Yutao back to the red tent, a look of cunning triumph in their eyes.
“If she drinks it all, she won’t just never have children—she might bleed out and die. Who told her to act all high and mighty? She’s just a slave! Hmph!”
“She deserves to die! That medicine should only be taken once a month, and just a little at a time. If she drinks it all, even if she survives, no man will ever touch her again.”
Their voices faded as they entered the red tent, and Dahe Ji Yao rushed out of the old nanny’s tent and into the leader’s tent.
“What—what are you doing?” Jun Qiluo watched in despair as he threw the cup of medicine outside, where it soaked into the ground—she didn’t understand why Dahe Ji Yao was stopping her.
Dahe Jiyao remained silent, but when he saw that there was still some powder left on the paper on the table, he gathered it up along with the pot of tea and took it outside. She then heard the sound of the teapot being smashed. Afterward, Dahe Jiyao stayed outside the tent, not allowing her to leave.
Jun Qiluo collapsed onto the rug, biting her fingers to keep herself from crying. Without the medicine, she would always live in fear of getting pregnant!
These Khitan people deserved to die! Even if she was a captive, she was still a person! They allowed their leader to decide the fate of her body but wouldn’t grant her any right to decide her own destiny. If a child were already growing inside her, how could they be cruel enough to take it away! Ha! She understood well enough—Yelü Lie never intended to treat her kindly. Causing her pain was what pleased him the most!
Sitting on the carpet for who knows how long, she was finally brought back to reality when the tent flap was violently thrown open. She looked up, empty-eyed, at Yelü Lie, who was seething with rage.
"What is this?" His tone was icy, brewing the storm that was about to break.
Placed before her was the jade bracelet, meaning he knew everything.
Yelü Lie's grip tightened around the bracelet, and with a swift motion, he hurled it toward the solid wooden cabinet to the side. His fist went straight through the cabinet, shattering the bracelet into pieces.
She didn’t want to bear his child! She refused to carry the child of this barbarian! He had never been so furious in his life.
He kicked the cabinet out of the tent and smashed a nearby table into splinters.
"Master—" came a worried shout from outside, clearly belonging to Duo Luo Qi.
"Get out!" Yelü Lie roared, slamming the tent flap shut, and then turned to glare viciously at the woman curled up by the bed—she was terrified of him!
He yanked the whip from his waist, but fearing he might lose control and strike her in his rage, he threw it to the farthest corner of the tent. Then, with a swift move, he grabbed her before she could even think of escaping.
"You don't want my child? How dare you refuse to bear my child!" He pinned her to the carpet, and instead of striking her, his clenched fist slammed into the bed frame, breaking a thick leg and causing the entire bed to collapse.
His expression was terrifying! He was going to hurt her! The strength he displayed in his rage was terrifying beyond belief. She trembled all over, struggling to escape, but just as she managed to free one of her hands, he grabbed her by the hair, dragging her back down. He slammed her into the ground, nearly knocking the air out of her chest...
God! He was going to beat her to death! She looked up at him, truly terrified for the first time in her life.
He pinned her hands above her head with one hand and began tearing at her clothes with the other. "You dared to give away something I gave you to those two whores! Do you know that you almost died?"
"You just don’t want to see me die at someone else’s hands! Because that would deprive you of the pleasure of tormenting me! And I don’t want anything from you! Giving me jewelry is just another way of reminding me that you’ve finally turned me into a whore!"
"You—" If his heart had been cold enough, he would have killed her right then and there.
So what next? He could beat her, hurt her—his anger was so intense that just one blow could shatter her beautiful face or cause irreversible damage. He stared at the torn remnants of her clothing, noticing a scratch on her chest that had started to bleed...
Suddenly, he released her and stormed out of the tent.
He couldn’t hurt her, he couldn’t bring himself to do it! She might think his roughness had already harmed her, but she would never know that the true brutality had not yet touched her!
In his entire life, he had never given anything to any woman! That jade bracelet was a gift from the Empress Dowager when he was born, originally meant to be part of a bridal gift when he married. But he had wanted to give it to her! Who would have thought she’d dismiss it as a mere reward! What kind of client gives a priceless treasure to a whore? Let alone to a woman who was supposed to be his slave! This damned woman! Any other woman would have been more grateful, more understanding!
He didn’t want her delicate hands to become rough and calloused, so he relieved her of all duties, but she thought this act of kindness was just a price she had to pay with her body.
Perhaps he had frightened her, but he had never truly harmed her. He simply wanted her, and more than that, he wanted her willing submission. He wanted to see her smile for him! And yet—damn it all! She was impossible!
If he truly took pleasure in tormenting people, as she claimed, she wouldn’t be sitting safe and sound in his tent right now. She’d be treated like a real bandit would—pinned down and taken in front of everyone, and then passed around among his men.
Just like the bandits he had finally wiped out today!
Today, he had finally tracked down the bandits that had been terrorizing the Helan Mountains and, with just twelve riders, wiped out a gang of over a hundred. He had seen with his own eyes how the women captured by those bandits were stripped naked and tied to trees, to be used for pleasure at any moment. It was nothing like his camp, where they had to pay to call in women.
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