After the Alluring Beauty Was Forced into a Political Marriage - Chapter 9

Shen Lianzhi froze, and then his brows knit tightly together. Resentment burned in his eyes until they were nearly bloodshot. He raised his hand and swept the tattered red wedding dress aside.

“Get out!” Shen Lianzhi shouted. “Get out!”

The sight of that wretched red dress was like a spark that ignited Shen Lianzhi, who had already felt like withered wood. He kicked the garment aside in hatred. A servant leaned down to pick it up, but Lianzhi snapped at her.

“Who dares to touch it!” Shen Lianzhi’s chest heaved violently. He pointed toward the exit of the tent, his voice as cold as shards of ice. “Throw it out.”

The servants exchanged glances but did not move.

Lianzhi was furious. “What? Am I not your Khatun? Do you intend to disobey me!”

“Khatun,” the head servant said, lowering her gaze. “This is the Great King’s command. We do not dare to disobey.”

Shen Lianzhi stared at them blankly. The expressions of these servants were calm, as smooth as a lake without ripples. They were like puppets carved from wood. No matter how angry or pained Lianzhi became, they felt nothing.

Lianzhi’s vision blurred with tears. “But I do not want it. I will not wear it. What is the meaning of this?”

What was the meaning of this?

The mere sight of that dress caused Lianzhi’s heart to ache. He could not help but think of the night he tried to escape and the days he spent with Siqin Bari on the road back to the court. While he was wearing that dress, Siqin Bari had treated him with such loathing, constantly mocking him and threatening to cut off his head.

How impatient and disdainful Siqin Bari had been then was exactly how ridiculous Lianzhi felt now, becoming that man’s Khatun. For Siqin Bari to force him back into the very dress that carried all of his humiliation and misery, what was it if not an insult?

Yes, Shen Lianzhi was cowardly and lacked a backbone, but he could not allow himself to be bullied like this!

“I will not wear it.” Lianzhi took a deep breath. He shook his head firmly, as if trying to preserve his final shred of dignity. “Go tell your King that I refuse to wear it.”

“But Khatun,”

“I said I do not want it. Even if you kill me, I will not. You,”

“What is all this shouting about?” Suddenly, another voice, colder and sharper, cut in. Everyone fell silent immediately. Shen Lianzhi looked up and met Siqin Bari’s gaze.

Siqin Bari stared at him intently and called out once more, “Khatun. What is your dissatisfaction?”

Shen Lianzhi did not respond. Instead, the head servant stepped forward and spoke respectfully to Siqin Bari. “The Khatun is unwilling to change his clothes.”

Siqin Bari remained silent for a moment. His gaze shifted from Shen Lianzhi to the red dress in the corner. He seemed to purse his lips, but his face betrayed no emotion.

“I understand,” Siqin Bari said indifferently. “All of you, get out.”

The servants left one by one, leaving only Shen Lianzhi and Siqin Bari in the wide King’s Tent. Siqin Bari looked down at Lianzhi. His face appeared calm, but he was still young and could not entirely hide his emotions. The slight edge in his voice revealed his displeasure. “Shen Lianzhi.”

He used Lianzhi’s name. This was the first time Lianzhi had heard his own name from that mouth, and it sounded strange, especially in this setting. “Why will you not wear it?”

Shen Lianzhi still did not answer. He looked up, his reddened eyes fixed on Siqin Bari. They stared at each other for a long time in the weak candlelight and the heavy silence. Lianzhi reached out and grabbed the edge of Siqin Bari’s robe, his fingers tightening.

Siqin Bari did not know what he intended to do. He stared at those pale, jade-like fingers. The hot alcohol flowing in his veins and an unknown excitement caused his heart to beat erratically.

“What are you doing, Khatun?” His Adam’s apple bobbed.

Shen Lianzhi closed his eyes, and then his knees buckled. He suddenly knelt before Siqin Bari. His knees hit the ground hard, and despite the thick fur rugs, he felt a sharp sting of pain. He still gripped the corner of Siqin Bari’s robe, his brow furrowed and tears shimmering in the corners of his eyes.

“Great King,” Lianzhi said sorrowfully. “Great King.”

A single tear slid down his face. He did not want to cry, fearing it would make Siqin Bari angry, but he could not help it. He only wanted Siqin Bari to be a little more merciful. “Please, I beg you.”

Shen Lianzhi began to sob uncontrollably, his breath hitching. “Please let me return to Great Zhou, Great King. It was my fault for offending you before. It was all my fault. I know you loathe me. You can punish me, whip me, do whatever you like. Once your anger has faded, please just let me go back to Great Zhou.”

The moment Shen Lianzhi knelt, Siqin Bari’s heart sank, and that unspoken expectation vanished. He narrowed his eyes and lifted Lianzhi’s chin with a finger. A single sentence from him caused Lianzhi’s remaining words to die in his throat.

“Shen Lianzhi,” Siqin Bari said coldly. “What do you think you are?”

He withdrew his finger and rubbed his thumb harshly across Lianzhi’s face, forcing his head to tilt to the side. “If I truly wanted to punish you, would you even have the chance to speak such nonsense here?” Siqin Bari’s voice grew lower as he leaned toward Lianzhi’s ear. “Just for your attempt to flee the marriage, a mere whipping would never be enough.”

Shen Lianzhi trembled all over. He stammered, “But, even if you want to humiliate me, why bother marrying me as your Khatun? You do not even, you do not even,”

He did not dare to finish. Even Lianzhi felt that saying that specific word to someone like Siqin Bari was far too ridiculous.

Siqin Bari understood his unspoken meaning and let out a disdainful sneer. “I truly do not love you, but what of it?”

The young Chanyu’s calloused hand moved from Lianzhi’s cheek to the back of his neck. The feeling of his life being held in someone else’s grasp terrified Lianzhi, especially as Siqin Bari used force to make him tilt his face up.

Siqin Bari curled his lips in a cruel smile. “You probably do not know this, but I originally intended to let you go.”

Shen Lianzhi’s face turned deathly pale.

“But I changed my mind at the last moment,” Siqin Bari said dismissively. His hand shifted from a simple touch to something more suggestive. “However, you can only blame yourself for this.”

At that moment, Lianzhi did not understand what he meant, nor did he understand what it meant to “blame himself.” He was like a piece of meat, left to be carved by Siqin Bari’s whims. Siqin Bari did not even wait to bring him to the bed before kissing him.

“My Khatun,”

He seemed to have had too much to drink. Lianzhi’s mind was stuck on the phrase, “originally intended to let you go.” He remained motionless until Siqin Bari took further action. Suddenly, Lianzhi felt as if he had been snapped awake by a whip. He began to struggle violently. “No! I do not want this!”

This level of strength was clearly insufficient against Siqin Bari. The man let out an impatient click of his tongue and exerted more force.

Shen Lianzhi was utterly stunned, feeling a mix of despair and a strange sense of release. The man above him also froze. Siqin Bari remained still for a long time before speaking in a low, husky voice. “How could you, how could you have grown a body like this?”

It felt as though a sword had pierced Lianzhi’s heart. He turned his head, and tears of despair slid from the corners of his eyes. Siqin Bari had unintentionally ripped open his deepest scar once again. However, Siqin Bari was also in a state of confusion.

Although he knew Lianzhi was intersex and had a strange body, he had not expected it to be like this. He had assumed, at most, that Lianzhi possessed a womb and could bear children like a woman. He had not expected this.

In truth, Shen Lianzhi’s body appeared more like that of a man. His chest was flat, and he was much taller than a typical woman. Yet, it was precisely such an unmistakable male body that made the discovery so startling.

It was strange, yet it possessed a unique attraction that made it impossible to look away. Siqin Bari instinctively swallowed his saliva. “This strange body of yours, are you truly a man, or a woman?”

Slap! As soon as the words left Siqin Bari’s mouth, his head was snapped to the side by a sudden force. A stinging pain flared across his face. He pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek and tasted blood.

He slowly turned back. Under the dim candlelight, Siqin Bari’s deep eyes seemed to glow with a faint green light, giving Lianzhi the illusion of being stared at by a wolf. He was terrified and instinctively backed away.

Siqin Bari straightened up and looked down at him. He bared his teeth in a grin, revealing two sharp canines. He looked like a wolf, a mad wolf. Shen Lianzhi covered his mouth, his eyes full of horror.

He could not even scream. His legs felt weak, and he turned to crawl away. He was simply terrified: he wanted to get away from Siqin Bari. But before he could crawl more than a few steps, his left ankle was seized by a hot palm.

An uncompromising force dragged him back. Siqin Bari hovered over him, his chest pressing down until Lianzhi was pinned against the floor. “Khatun, why are you running?”

“Great, Great King.” Lianzhi only realized his mistake after his outburst. His arms were shaking. “I was, I was wrong.”

Siqin Bari laughed again. He grew even more excited. A person who was usually as soft as dough and easily manipulated actually had a temper and would scratch back with his claws. This was too interesting. It was truly,

Lianzhi tilted his neck back. Siqin Bari’s sharp teeth nibbled gently at his Adam’s apple. He heard Siqin Bari’s heavy, ragged breathing.

“Khatun, you belong to me now.”

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