Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Death
Yu Lingxi was extremely nervous, struggling to undo a white jade belt with a series of muttered complaints.
Ning Yin, on the other hand, remained unperturbed, tapping his index finger leisurely on his thigh without changing his posture.
The candlelight was bright, and from Ning Yin's perspective, he could see her delicate and fair neck extending down to the deep neckline, more enticing than the finest jade.
He saw through everything, with a lazy expression, calmly enjoying Yu Lingxi's clumsy attempts to please him.
Even someone as indifferent as Ning Yin had to admit that Yu Lingxi's appearance was exceptionally beautiful. Despite her recent illness, her snow like skin and beautiful frame still shone under the lamplight, as if even her hair was glowing.
The light bothered Ning Yin, making him want to tear it down and crush it between his fingers, especially considering she was trying to please him for another man.
He watched quietly as the busy cheeks of the blushing beauty under the lamp, and casually said, "Yu Lingxi, you are overestimating yourself."
His eyes were like black ice, handsome, deep, and exuding darkness and coldness.
Tiny beads of sweat appeared on Yu Lingxi's temples, feeling unjustly wronged, "Whether it's an overestimation or not, one has to... try to know."
The silk like hair around her waist fell, and her robe piled up at her feet as she shivered slightly in the chilly spring.
Then, hesitantly, she encircled his neck, getting closer, holding her breath and imprinting the soft fragrance on Ning Yin's slightly cool lips.
Seeing he didn't respond, she boldly moved upward, licking his straight nose.
Having spent two years together, she knew how to stroke the fur of a madman.
If he was in a good mood that night, it would be a bit difficult to endure; if he was in a bad mood, there would be bloodshed.
Unfortunately, the madman had been stimulated that night, and his mood was not good.
"Give me a smile." In the dim tent, Ning Yin coldly ordered.
Compared to his neatly dressed appearance, Yu Lingxi looked much more disheveled. She felt extremely uncomfortable all over, with a burning sensation in her stomach. She reluctantly moved the corners of her mouth, but couldn't force a smile.
Ning Yin raised an eyebrow, visibly dissatisfied.
He pinched Yu Lingxi's lip, pulling it to the sides. Her lips were bitten by him, bleeding and displaying a more splendid color than vermilion.
Until she forced out an unnatural smile, tears welled up in her eyes from the pain, Ning Yin let her go and burst into laughter, shaking his chest.
Supporting his temple, he leaned against the couch, using his fingers to gently spread the oozing blood on Yu Lingxi's lips, his voice low, hoarse, and smiling, "With such a small mouth, how dare you try to please the king?"
The mocking words caused a sharp pain in Yu Lingxi's cheeks.
Once a noble lady of the illustrious General's Manor, proud and dignified, she had endured fear and pain for two years, thinking there was nothing left for her to care about. However, when she heard Ning Yin's sarcastic reminder of her appearance, tears welled up in her eyes again.
Her stomach burned, and her body felt uncomfortable. There was something tightly wound within her that was on the verge of breaking, and Yu Lingxi didn't know where she found the courage.
She stared with reddened almond eyes, forcefully breaking free from Ning Yin's restraint, wanting to leave. However, she was effortlessly pulled back onto the bed and confined.
Refusing to accept this, she struggled and kicked Ning Yin's left leg, causing both of them to freeze.
His left leg, permanently disabled, was his sensitive spot, untouched by anyone, let alone being kicked.
Ning Yin's handsome face instantly darkened. With a disdainful sound, he gripped Yu Lingxi's jaw and sneered, "With such thin skin, why climb onto the bed?"
Yu Lingxi knew she had crossed a line, and fear struck her like a startled quail.
She wanted to say something, but felt a surging abdominal pain.
Her vision began to blur and disperse, her entire being gasping for breath like a fish out of water, unable to make a sound.
Ning Yin stared at her unpleasant complexion, thinking that she hadn't even bothered with superficial courtesy since meeting someone with the surname Xu.
If it were the usual, she would have snuggled up, using soft words to coax.
"Now you start to loathe this king. Isn't it a bit late?" Ning Yin, displeased, wouldn't let others be comfortable either.
He involuntarily grabbed Yu Lingxi's ankle, twisted by her chaotic kicks, and with a sinister tone, said, "Why not break your legs too, chain you up, so that you won't even have the strength to crawl out of the manor to meet your old lover. You'll behave..."
His voice abruptly stopped.
The last thing Yu Lingxi saw was her black blood spraying out like an arrow, splattering onto Ning Yin's snowy white clothes.
Then, intense abdominal pain, darkness enveloped her vision, and she lost consciousness.
Yu Lingxi never expected that her life would end like this.
She pondered for a long time but couldn't comprehend how she suddenly met her demise. Could it really be that she was scared to death by Ning Yin? It was absurd, utterly absurd!
For three whole days, her spirit hovered beneath the rafters, watching her eerie lifeless body lying on the ice bed. From initial disbelief to panic, and then numb acceptance...
She finally dejectedly thought, "It's better to be dead; at least the lunatic won't bother me anymore."
She had no idea where Ning Yin would dispose of her corpse—whether to burn it to ashes or toss it onto a random burial mound with a straw mat.
But she never expected that Ning Yin would not arrange her funeral, not even set up a memorial hall. He couldn't even be bothered to offer a straw mat, leaving her lifeless body forgotten in the dark storage room, day after day.
Perhaps because she was denied proper burial, Yu Lingxi's soul couldn't find its place in the afterlife. It wandered like a lonely ghost around Ning Yin, watching him create chaos in court during the day and commit murders at night.
On the third day after Yu Lingxi's death, Ning Yin visited his uncle Zhao Hui's mansion.
He didn't say a word upon entering but ordered the listing of over ten charges, including corruption and dereliction of duty, against everyone in the Zhao mansion. Dozens of people from the Zhao family were promptly detained.
Uncle Zhao Hui turned pale with shock. He quickly brought out a piece of precious jade and several boxes of treasures, presenting them to Ning Yin while kneeling, pleading for mercy.
Ning Yin lifted an eyelid, looked at the jade, and said with a smile, "The jade is good, but unfortunately, it lacks a bit of color."
Thinking there might be a turning point, Uncle Zhao Hui revealed a hopeful expression, only to hear Ning Yin add lightly, "I heard that jade nourished with human blood is considered a truly rare treasure."
A cold glint flashed, and the splattering fresh blood dyed the blossoming begonias in the Zhao mansion a surreal crimson.
Zhao Hui convulsed, collapsing, and the blood spread under his plump corpse, turning that invaluable sheep fat jade soaked in his blood into a eerie red color.
They didn't even have time to scream. The Zhao mansion turned into a hell on earth.
The ruthless methods made even Yu Lingxi's ghost tremble at the sight.
Soon, only her cousin Zhao Yuming remained alive, but her complexion was more terrifying than a dead person's. With wide eyes, tears uncontrollably streamed down.
Ning Yin used his cane to lift Zhao Yuming's chin, gazing down at her delicate face. After a while, seeming somewhat regretful, he said, "Your face reminds this king of someone. It's a pity to kill you."
A glimmer of hope appeared in Zhao Yuming's eyes, but then Ning Yin lightly added, "I heard that jade crafted from a person's blood can truly be considered an exquisite treasure."
In the next moment, a hidden blade emerged from the cane's tip, cutting a deep bloodstain on Zhao Yuming's fair face from the corner of her mouth to her temple.
Zhao Yuming screamed in pain.
Ning Yin coldly watched and instructed his attendants, "Strip her of her noble status and send her to the border military camp. Remember, don't let her seek death; some sins must be experienced while alive to be meaningful."
As the door closed behind him, Yu Lingxi's soul was forced to follow him, her mind still echoing Zhao Yuming's pitiful cries.
Despite Zhao Hui deserving his fate, and Yu Lingxi not having much emotional attachment to her uncle's family, seeing the horrifying state of the Zhao mansion, she felt more fear than satisfaction.
When Ning Yin mentioned that Zhao Yuming's face reminded him of someone, only Yu Lingxi knew: her cousin resembled her.
She never expected that Ning Yin would detest her so much, wanting to destroy even the face resembling hers and subject her to humiliation as a camp prostitute.
Yu Lingxi carefully thought about it; these past two years, she had worked diligently. Even if she hadn't contributed much, she had put in hard work. It seemed there was no reason for Ning Yin to be so resentful towards her.
Could it be because of the kick on the bed?
If only she had known, she wouldn't have kicked him. Wretched lunatic!
On the fifth day after Yu Lingxi's death.
Ning Yin went ahead and captured the remaining members of the Yu family's collateral branches, banishing them together. Afterwards, he leisurely visited the depths of the Ministry of Justice prison, enjoying the sight of Xue Cen's misery and casually breaking two of his fingers.
Yu Lingxi was on the verge of tears; even after her death, Ning Yin wouldn't spare those around her! She drifted aimlessly behind Ning Yin, cursing and resenting, wishing she could retaliate against him like a vengeful spirit in a novel.
But she couldn't. The slap she tried to unleash with all her might passed through Ning Yin's body like a breeze, unable to harm even a strand of his hair.
On the sixth day after Yu Lingxi's death, Ning Yin seemed to finally recall her existence. The warming spring day couldn't conceal the fact that her body, dead for so long, didn't look pleasant even on the ice bed.
Ning Yin seemed somewhat intoxicated, his eyes showing a bewildering expression. He sat by the ice bed for a while and then fetched the rouge and powder that Yu Lingxi used when she was alive. Slowly, he applied makeup, meticulously drawing her eyebrows.
His skillful strokes created a delicate and charming appearance, but Yu Lingxi had no mood to appreciate it. Devoid of vitality, the makeup on her face presented a ghastly, artificial pallor, accentuating the unnatural redness of her lips.
As if oblivious, Ning Yin even pressed down on the corner of her lips and pushed them up lazily, saying, "Give me a smile."
The audacity! Yu Lingxi was once again infuriated, almost dispersing into nothingness. She suspected Ning Yin had some serious personality disorder or psychological illness.
Her body was stiff; how could she smile? She couldn't smile anymore, not ever again.
It seemed that Ning Yin finally realized this issue. Propping himself up on the ice bed, a faint blue light casting a cold frost on his profile, he hung his head, silent and motionless.
On the seventh day, Yu Lingxi felt her soul becoming as faint as smoke, easily dispersible with a gust of wind.
But Ning Yin still didn't arrange her burial. He had everything related to Yu Lingxi collected and locked away in a secret room.
He even forbade mentioning her name within the mansion, with a death penalty for those who disobeyed.
Yu Lingxi felt a sense of sorrow. She knew that the small secret room would be her final resting place—a nameless grave without a marker, not even deserving a piece of paper money.
In the end, she couldn't accept it, feeling extreme reluctance. She had never done anything morally reprehensible and shouldn't have ended up like this.
As her consciousness faded into endless nothingness, she made a solemn vow:
If there was a next life, she would make that bastard Ning Yin repay his sins by being a slave, making him suffer for the wrongs he committed in this life!
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