After Transmigrating into a Book, I Was Entangled by the Paranoid Eldest Princess - Chapter 22.2

Chapter 22.2

Wen Chenqing’s back trembled imperceptibly: “This commoner is going nowhere. It is only that Your Highness, with your thousand-gold status, is truly aggrieved by residing here. Since you are bored, you should leave and return to your own villa.”

Si Jinghua let out a sneer, her gaze turning cold: “What is ‘yours’ or ‘mine’? Under the vast heavens, all is the King’s land; what in this world does not belong to the Imperial Family? Since you have the heart to enter officialdom, you ought to know the consequences of enraging bengong.”

Grazing Wen Chenqing’s tense cheek with her fingertips, she laughed softly: “Put away those thoughts you shouldn’t have. Even if I am bored, if I am unwilling to let you go, you can only serve me obediently.”

Wen Chenqing’s fingers suddenly tightened, her knuckles turning white.

Was there anyone more overbearing in this world?!

The one who said she was bored was her, and the one unwilling to let her go was also her.

Lifting Wen Chenqing’s chin, Si Jinghua looked into her eyes once more, only to be stung by the undisguised resentment within them. Her pupils constricted slightly.

This feeling of losing control made her irritable, and her tone grew increasingly foul: “As long as you remain as obedient as before and act as my plaything, I can fulfill whatever it is you desire.”

Plaything.

Wen Chenqing felt as if her heart had been pierced. A biting cold wind whistled through without mercy, leaving behind nothing but ruins.

The word “plaything,” a casual hint.

In an instant, it negated everything she was.

She finally could not endure it. Straightening her swaying body, with tears gathering in her eyes from the physical pain in her jaw, she raised her hand and slapped her across the face.

Smack—

The crisp sound was startlingly sharp in the silent room.

Si Jinghua’s head jerked to the side, and a red mark quickly surfaced on her fair face.

She slowly turned her head, her phoenix eyes filled with disbelief and surging rage—but in the deepest depths, there was also a flicker of a stinging pain she could not understand.

She actually dared? How could she—

At this moment, Si Jinghua regretted not strangling her to death on the spot.

She pulled Wen Chenqing over brutally. Looking into her wide eyes, Si Jinghua raised her hand and struck her with a hand-blade, knocking her unconscious.

When Wen Chenqing woke up, everything before her eyes was unfamiliar.

She touched her aching neck, guessing that the Eldest Princess had knocked her out. This meant she had likely been brought back to the Royal Villa.

She had thought that swinging that slap would cost her her life.

Wen Chenqing’s numb face couldn’t even manage a bitter smile.

Passionate intimacy last night; mutual hatred this morning.

The door creaked open. Wen Chenqing looked up to see Yinxing entering, carrying food.

“They brought you here too?”

Yinxing’s eyes were red: “Wherever Miss is, I will be. If they want to take Miss away, then I’m coming along.”

Wen Chenqing’s eyes felt a bit sour. She gestured for her to come forward.

Yinxing set the tray down and leaned in obediently.

Wen Chenqing gently touched her hair bun, saying apologetically: “It’s my fault for involving you and making you live in fear.”

“Miss is not in the wrong.” Yinxing shook her head repeatedly, her voice choked with sobs. “Miss had good intentions; it was the other person who lied to Miss. Yinxing doesn’t blame Miss.”

Wen Chenqing wiped her tears and sighed softly: “How are Mother Chen and the others? Do you know?”

Yinxing nodded: “Don’t worry, Miss. They are all staying safely in the villa. Nothing will happen to them.”

Wen Chenqing gave a soft “mm.” Seeing Yinxing busily setting out the meal, she helped as well.

“Have you eaten?” Seeing Yinxing shake her head, Wen Chenqing told her to eat some with her.

After eating just a few bites, Wen Chenqing who had little appetite put down her chopsticks. Yinxing, sitting opposite, stopped as well.

She forced a smile to comfort Yinxing: “Eat more. Don’t worry about me; I am fine for now.”

Wen Chenqing was no fool.

Even though the Eldest Princess said she was merely a plaything, a plaything who had slapped her superior had not been punished but was instead locked up. This proved that even if she was a plaything, she was one that held some significance in the Princess’s heart.

After the meal, Yinxing dawdled while cleaning up: “Miss…”

Wen Chenqing understood: “Go on, Yinxing. How can an ephemera fight against a giant tree? There is no need to defy them for my sake.”

She was a plaything; what was Yinxing then?

She didn’t want to see Yinxing get hurt.

After persuading Yinxing to leave, silence returned to the unfamiliar room.

It wasn’t until the moon climbed the treetops that the door was pushed open again.

Clad in a dark red robe, Si Jinghua walked in slowly.

Wen Chenqing didn’t know what she wanted to do now, so she could only respond with silence.

“I heard from Yinxing that you only ate a few bites this evening. What was not to your taste?”

Wen Chenqing’s tone was flat: “If Your Highness lets me leave, this commoner could surely eat two more bowls of rice.”

A smile played on Si Jinghua’s lips, but her phoenix eyes were a swirl of darkness and gloom. She whispered: “If A-Qing says more things I dislike… I have a bad temper, and I’m not sure what I might do.”

Hearing the threat, Wen Chenqing’s eyelashes fluttered.

Seeing her become sensibly obedient, Si Jinghua smiled with satisfaction.

She should have used this method sooner, thought Si Jinghua, who had just downed a bowl of medicine because of her rising anger.

“Turn your head and look at me.”

Wen Chenqing bit her lip and did as she was told.

Seeing her act like a wooden puppet that had lost its soul, Si Jinghua narrowed her eyes: “Look at me and smile.”

Wen Chenqing clenched her fingers and forced a dry smile.

“That smile is truly hideous,” Si Jinghua said with dissatisfaction.

Wen Chenqing lowered her eyes: “I beg Your Highness’s forgiveness.”

Si Jinghua pinched her face, annoyed: “Did I ask you to beg for forgiveness?”

“…”

Seeing her “dead face” silence, Si Jinghua let out a huffing sigh: “Boring.”

Where had the gentle words of the past gone?

Wen Chenqing suppressed the urge to curse and said: “Since Your Highness finds me boring, why not release this commoner?”

“Do not think I don’t know what you are thinking.” Si Jinghua’s thumb pad rubbed over her lips. Her voice dropped low in warning: “Put away your little schemes. Whether I want to let you go or not depends entirely on my whim.”

Wen Chenqing closed her eyes, feeling a sense of despair rise from her aching heart.

This was ancient times. She was facing the imperial power that held the authority of life and death.

Leading a wolf into the house; spilt water cannot be gathered.

What exactly was she supposed to do?

The person beside her pulled her by the shoulders. Ignoring her instantly stiffened body, hot lips and tongue invaded, storming her defenses.

Wen Chenqing tasted a hint of bitter medicine.

As the forceful kiss ended, Si Jinghua breathed like an orchid against her lips, laughing lowly: “Your lips are still soft today. Why are the words you speak so hard and repulsive?”

Wen Chenqing sneered: “If my lips were hard, I would be a dead person.”

This defiant manner actually eased Si Jinghua’s troubled heart slightly.

“Is that so? Then let me see if other places are just as soft.”

Wen Chenqing grabbed her hand and said with restraint: “What does Your Highness mean?”

Si Jinghua raised an eyebrow: “What A-Qing meant last night is exactly what I mean now.”

She toyed with the name “A-Qing” in her mouth for a few moments, then scratched Wen Chenqing’s palm suggestively: “Speaking of which, the name I gave you on a whim truly suits you.”

“This commoner is not worthy,” Wen Chenqing frowned in resistance.

“Heh, such a stubborn mouth.”

Saying this, Si Jinghua kissed her again, a long entanglement of taking and seeking.

As the kissing continued, Si Jinghua, having tasted new pleasures the night before, felt a surge of passion.

She had practiced archery and riding since childhood, so her physical strength and recovery were excellent.

Sensing her movements, Wen Chenqing pulled her hand away.

Si Jinghua gripped it again, squeezing it. Her flushed face bore a frown: “Why refuse?”

In the brief half-day spent with the Princess without the “A-Jin” disguise, Wen Chenqing had already discovered her personality was incredibly overbearing and wanton.

Everything had to revolve around her mood, regardless of the life or death of others.

Wen Chenqing lowered her gaze, a ghost of a cold smile on her lips: “Your Highness is so clever, how could you not see why I refuse? It is simply because I am unwilling.”

“Unwilling?” Si Jinghua gave a short laugh, reaching out to find “evidence.” “But certain parts of you are quite honest.”

Wen Chenqing couldn’t stop her in time; she had her way.

Glancing at her high, arrogant brows, Wen Chenqing said: “As a fellow woman, does Your Highness not know these reactions are normal? The body cannot be controlled, but my heart cannot accept this.”

“—I feel utter revulsion at performing intimate acts with someone I have no feelings for.”

She ultimately swallowed the word “disgusting.”

The words “no feelings” crashed into the depths of Si Jinghua’s heart, stirring up a massive wave.

She suddenly snapped. The hand she had restrained for half the day finally clamped around Wen Chenqing’s neck.

“Say that again,” Si Jinghua squeezed the words through her teeth, her grip tightening on the slender throat.

The hand on her neck wasn’t truly using enough force to block her breathing, but it carried a sense of undeniable imprisonment.

Abruptly, Wen Chenqing sensed a hint of familiarity in this gesture.

Before she could think further, Si Jinghua leaned her nose close. The contrast between her warm breath and the cold touch on her neck was eerie.

Wen Chenqing was forced to tilt her head back, her breathing becoming rapid: “Performing intimate acts with someone I have no feelings for, I—”

“Enough!” Si Jinghua interrupted her sharply.

Wen Chenqing was unwilling, but Si Jinghua would not let things go her way.

Wen Chenqing suddenly felt a great force grab her, throwing her stumbling onto the bed.

Realizing Si Jinghua’s forceful intention, Wen Chenqing frantically clutched her collar.

“Must Your Highness humiliate me like this?!”

“Humiliate?” Si Jinghua looked at the person beneath her. There was no passion in Wen Chenqing’s eyes, only a shattered sort of resentment. She pressed against her and questioned loudly, “When your trembling hands stroked me last night, was that ‘humiliation’ during our tender moments? Did you not once promise to take care of me forever?”

Hearing this, Wen Chenqing’s heart ached. She couldn’t believe she could still say such things.

She pushed Si Jinghua away, her voice carrying a suppressed tremble: “Last night was last night! Last night you were A-Jin. The person I loved was A-Jin, the one I promised was A-Jin. What does that have to do with the high-and-mighty Princess?!”

The dark red robes looked like dried blood under the candlelight, casting Si Jinghua’s face in shadow. Her voice dropped low, carrying a heart-chilling coldness: “So, your affection and your warmth were only for that non-existent ‘A-Jin’? Once you know it is I, there is only resistance and… loathing?”

Wen Chenqing met her gaze without flinching: “What else? Your Highness’s wanton and reckless personality is not at all the type I like. If Your Highness had interacted with me with your true face…”

She paused, masking the emotions in her eyes, and continued: “I would only have avoided you at all costs.”

“…I see your courage is truly grand.” The words “avoid at all costs” stung Si Jinghua. Her phoenix eyes locked onto her as she said: “I don’t care what you think. Anything I want, I have never failed to get. In any case, I am only interested in your body.”

Initially, it was just a whim of a joke. Before today, Si Jinghua only wanted to keep someone who was somewhat pleasing to serve her.

But now, seeing Wen Chenqing resist in every possible way, she was even less willing to let go.

Since she was already her person, she would have to die by her hand if she were to die at all.

Wen Chenqing looked at the burgeoning obsession in her eyes and realized once again what kind of existence she had provoked.

Despair spread like a tide through her heart.

Forceful kisses fell on her neck, ears, and face.

When she tried to probe into her mouth, Wen Chenqing clamped her teeth shut.

Her waist was suddenly pinched hard. Wen Chenqing gasped in pain, and Si Jinghua took advantage of the opening.

Wen Chenqing suddenly bit down hard.

The person pinning her let out a muffled groan of pain but refused to retreat. The taste of rust spread in their mouths.

This bloody kiss lasted a long time.

When they separated, Si Jinghua’s lips were as red as if she had just sucked blood.

Wen Chenqing ultimately did not escape.

After everything settled, in the silent night, there were only two distinct patterns of breathing.

Having been used as a tool for half an hour, Wen Chenqing closed her eyes, the corners of her eyes slightly moist.

A-Jin… is finally, completely gone.

Si Jinghua, having had her way, felt no joy in her heart.

Last night, Wen Chenqing’s cheeks were flushed; she treated her like a precious treasure. In her greenness, she would ask questions constantly, fearing she would cause her even the slightest discomfort.

Sometimes she asked until Si Jinghua was annoyed, yet she would still lean in for a comforting kiss.

But tonight, she had to use others as a threat before Wen Chenqing would be obedient.

And even then, she was like a dead thing.

A completely new and unfamiliar emotion gripped Si Jinghua’s heart, a dull ache that she found hard to bear.

She suddenly wanted to wrap her arms around Wen Chenqing’s waist and bury her head in the crook of her neck, letting her hand rest on her back as it used to.

But Wen Chenqing would only make her unhappy, acting like a puppet that had lost its spark of life.

Si Jinghua threw on her messy clothes and suddenly whipped back the quilt.

“I still have important matters to attend to. Rest well.”

There was no answer.

She rose hurriedly and walked away quickly.

The heavy door blocked out the suffocating silence within, as well as the person who had made her heart so chaotic for the first time.

Si Jinghua looked up at the moon, which was curved like a hook. The cold moonlight could not dispel the gloom in her eyes.

Wen Chenqing had no desire for sleep for half the night. It was only when the sky began to gray that her aching eyes finally closed.

When full daylight arrived, she was startled awake by a nightmare.

The water clock in the room showed that it was already time for her to wake up and go to the academy.

Wen Chenqing put on her clothes and went to push the door.

The door rattled slightly but remained shut.

Hearing the dull sound of the lock and latch shaking, Wen Chenqing realized one thing.

—She was locked in.