The Cannon Fodder Was Pampered By The Tyrant - Chapter 2

“It is My Fault”

Lin Yutian had a nightmare. In the dream, she felt as though she were being tightly bound by warm vines, with sharp stabs of pain blooming across various parts of her body from time to time.

She couldn’t scream at all, she was forced to swallow it, yet her submission did not yield gentler treatment.

The nightmare lasted for a very long time.

Lin Yutian’s eyelids fluttered slowly, and then she sluggishly opened her eyes. Her brain hadn’t quite caught up yet; she was still in a daze.

Thus, when she saw herself pressed tightly against another person whose hand was resting on her waist, she didn’t immediately react to what had happened. Her only thought was how incredibly pale that person’s skin was.

“…”

Wait.

Why was she in someone’s arms?

Wasn’t she just lighting incense in Si Yan’s bedchamber last night?

Lin Yutian instantly froze as stiff as iron, goosebumps erupting across her entire body. A terrifying thought slowly surfaced in her mind. Having read countless web novels, she knew this scene appeared all too frequently.

Gulping nervously, Lin Yutian gathered her courage and slowly looked up.

First to enter her vision was a fair chin, followed by pale lips, and long, narrow phoenix eyes that exuded a cold elegance. It was a very young, sharp, and beautiful face.

At this moment, that person was also quietly watching her.

Si Yan had essentially not slept since it happened. Afterward, she had simply gazed deeply at Lin Yutian’s sleeping face, hardly daring to even blink. Even the headache that usually plagued her seemed to have vanished.

Propping her head up with one hand, Si Yan used the other to slowly stroke Lin Yutian’s face. Her voice was still husky. “Awake?”

Those words snapped Lin Yutian back to reality.

No!

Why was she sleeping with this person?!

Lin Yutian shot back like a projectile. However, because the movement was too sudden, the friction against her skin caused a burning pain to flare up all over. She thought her hands were scraped, but when she looked down, her entire face turned beet red.

Why were there so many marks on her body? And… she wasn’t wearing any clothes.

Si Yan, considering Lin Yutian’s poor stamina, had been holding back. Last night had already been quite restrained for her. But Lin Yutian’s movement left those marks fully exposed, making Si Yan’s body feel a bit parched again.

Lin Yutian hurriedly wrapped herself in the quilt, her eyes filled with shock and horror. “Why am I here?”

She noticed that after she spoke, the beautiful young woman suddenly let out a shallow laugh.

Si Yan shifted her posture, her ink-black hair falling across her pale skin. Her eyes held a hint of playfulness. “You’ve forgotten everything?”

Her gaze landed on the red marks covering the girl’s neck, her voice dropping to a soft murmur. “Last night, it was you who crawled into my arms.”

“Gu?” (The Imperial “I”)

Lin Yutian was stunned for a moment. Her grades weren’t great, but she wasn’t so ignorant that she didn’t know that word. That was the self-address used by an Emperor.

Lin Yutian’s eyes darted around rapidly. She scanned the surrounding furnishings, and when her gaze finally landed on that familiar gold-inlaid mirror, her heart finally sank into despair.

Every expression on Lin Yutian’s face froze.

So… she had intended to light the wrong incense to anger Si Yan, but by some twist of fate, she had ended up sleeping with her?

Huh???

Lin Yutian was a money-grubber. Aside from wanting to spend eternity with gold, she wanted nothing to do with any carbon-based lifeform. And now, she had slept with the tyrant from the book?

Lin Yutian felt that her mindset was actually quite resilient. At a time like this, she even thought that sleeping with her might be good, maybe she would die even faster now.

Si Yan found it hilarious to see Lin Yutian looking like she’d been frozen in ice. At the same time, she wanted to see how Lin Yutian would react to this.

Why had she been lurking in the palace for so long? Why did she suddenly appear in the bedchamber last night? Why did she intentionally light aphrodisiac incense? And why did she “forget” her?

…Did she really forget, or did she simply not recognize her because her appearance had changed? Or perhaps Lin Yutian had been so dazed by the aphrodisiac last night that she didn’t recognize her?

Or was it that she simply didn’t matter? To Lin Yutian, was she just a passing traveler?

Si Yan never let her suspicions show on her face. Even if she were inwardly fuming with rage, her exterior would remain impassive.

She lay there languidly. Just as she reached out to help Lin Yutian tidy a stray lock of hair, Lin Yutian instinctively slapped her hand away.

The action caused both of them to freeze.

Si Yan stared at her hand, which had been slapped red, remaining silent for a long time.

Lin Yutian also felt a bit guilty seeing the obvious red mark on that jade-like hand. Furthermore, the pressure Si Yan exerted when her face went cold was far too intense. She instinctively shrunk back, huddling into the corner.

She really hadn’t meant to do that. The “I’m sorry” was about to reach her lips when she forced herself to swallow it.

If she didn’t apologize, Si Yan would probably be even angrier, right?

Unexpectedly, Si Yan only crinkled her eyes slightly, a shallow smile appearing on that young, beautiful face. Her voice was flat, devoid of emotion. “You strike me?”

Lin Yutian was too terrified to speak.

“Do you know who I am?” Si Yan leaned in closer, the smile remaining on her sharp, vibrant face.

Lin Yutian tried her best to calm down, but her words were still stumbling. “Si… Si Yan.”

She really didn’t want to be like this, but Si Yan’s presence was too overwhelming. Lin Yutian felt a natural sense of dread.

Her appearance seemed to satisfy Si Yan, who asked again, “You know who I am, yet you dare address me by my name, hmm?”

“Do you know how one is punished for addressing me by name in the palace?”

Lin Yutian looked like she was on the verge of tears, but she endured her fear and said, “…I know.” Her apricot-shaped eyes were filled with terror and a misty haze.

She really doesn’t recognize me.

The smile on Si Yan’s lips became more pronounced.

“Last night, you took the initiative to embrace me in front of everyone, took my innocence, and today you harmed me.” She spoke, waving the hand with the red mark in front of Lin Yutian, her tone intentionally low. “What should your punishment be?”

Lin Yutian’s hair practically stood on end.

The descriptions of Si Yan from the book were vivid in her mind: a person who killed without blinking, someone who could vent her rage on a bystander just for blinking at the wrong time. One could only say that seeing her was far more terrifying than the rumors. Even though Si Yan showed no signs of anger, Lin Yutian could still feel the underlying threat; her nose almost seemed to catch the scent of blood.

Si Yan listing her crimes one by one was likely just to let her know exactly why she was about to die.

But for her ten million dollars, Lin Yutian gritted her teeth and decided to give herself one final push.

In any case, dying early meant enjoying the afterlife early. At most, it would be a quick pain to the neck, and she’d be back in the blink of an eye.

She gathered her courage and looked up. With those apricot eyes, which were wet with either shame or fear, she glared at Si Yan, her voice trembling slightly. “It is all… the Emperor’s fault.”

After saying this, Lin Yutian held her breath and waited for Si Yan to execute her.

Clearly, she was the one who had clung to the other person, yet now she was shifting the blame. Lin Yutian felt she was being absolutely detestable; there was no reason for Si Yan not to be furious. Especially since she was someone with such a terrible temper.

Si Yan’s eyes locked onto hers for several seconds. Her gaze moved from the slight graze on Lin Yutian’s lip to her eyelashes, which were fluttering like butterflies.

Is she truly this afraid of me?

If she is so afraid, why did she choose to break the porcelain right when I returned last night, and light the aphrodisiac incense in advance to seduce me?

Everything seemed like a deliberate setup, likely intended to kill her once she let her guard down. She couldn’t trust the person in front of her for the time being.

Is she testing me now to see if I’m willing to kill her?

Si Yan’s mind raced through a thousand possibilities, but she masked her playfulness.

“My apologies.”

Lin Yutian froze for a second, looking up at her in a daze.

She must have hallucinated. This didn’t seem like a line that belonged in her script. Shouldn’t the next second be Si Yan drawing a long blade and delivering a fatal blow?

“It is my fault. I will compensate you,” Si Yan said softly, watching her.

Lin Yutian blinked in astonishment. It took her a long while to find her voice. “Your Majesty, there is no need for compensation.”

“This matter is my fault. Your Majesty should punish me.”

As expected.

Si Yan thought calmly. She was playing on the fact that Si Yan couldn’t bear to harm her. So, the “memory loss” last night really was a test.

…Just a test.

Si Yan said leisurely, “Very well.”

Lin Yutian: “?”

She blinked. She agreed that quickly?

“Would you prefer lingchi (death by a thousand cuts) or being torn asunder by chariots?”

Lin Yutian felt a phantom pain in her neck and arms.

Si Yan took in her reaction. Her voice was light, as if these were merely minor trifles. “Or perhaps the branding iron or flaying?”

Lin Yutian imagined it and nearly went weak, almost collapsing onto the bed. She instinctively burrowed deeper into the quilt.

Si Yan pursed her lips, watching her reaction with a scrutinizing look in her eyes. She spoke with feigned generosity. “You choose.”

Lin Yutian had a bitter look on her face; neither was a good choice.

She had heard that lingchi involved slicing the flesh off piece by piece, and being torn by chariots meant five horses tied to her head and limbs pulling in different directions. The other two were even worse.

The pain would be unbearable.

“Why are you silent?” Si Yan asked, knowing full well why.

Lin Yutian’s resolve to go back was firm, but she was also pathetically afraid of pain. She tried to negotiate weakly. “Is there… anything else?”

“Did you not ask for punishment?” Si Yan said softly. “These are already the best punishments I can think of for you. Are you dissatisfied?”

Lin Yutian licked her lips. Even though she was facing death, she still wanted to plead her case. “Your Majesty, is there anything… less painful?”

Although she really wanted to die, she was still a normal person. If she were truly subjected to a “final penalty,” she would be traumatized even if she did make it back.

Si Yan looked up at her, a shallow smile on her lips, and said brooks no argument: “No one has ever dared to haggle with me.”

Lin Yutian pouted and lowered her head, whispering, “I understand.”

She sounded incredibly aggrieved.

Si Yan knew this was just a little trick to see if she would soften her heart. She wouldn’t fall for it.

Upon hearing this answer, Lin Yutian’s heart turned to ash. Her entire being lost its luster. She got up listlessly, attempting to crawl off the bed.

Si Yan asked, “Where are you going?”

Lin Yutian mumbled, “To receive my punishment.”

Si Yan raised an eyebrow.

Shouldn’t she be clinging to me and begging, or using our past history to seek forgiveness? Why is she going to her punishment so obediently?

Sure enough, just as Lin Yutian reached the edge of the bed, she turned back to look at her. Her hair hung over her shoulders, and her neck was covered in bite marks.

She looked at Si Yan and asked weakly, “Can we really not change it to something else?”

She wanted to try one last time QAQ.

Si Yan was not surprised. She had predicted that seeking death wasn’t the goal. This was.

Having been on the throne for three years, she had seen too many open and hidden attacks. Although she didn’t know who had sent Lin Yutian, the only thing she could be sure of was that the other party wanted to use her feelings for Lin Yutian against her.

Si Yan smiled. “No.”

Lin Yutian’s heart completely died. Her face was pale with defeat. Just as she was about to step off the bed, she was yanked back.

Si Yan pressed a hand against Lin Yutian’s lower back, pinning her against her own chest.

Lin Yutian hadn’t expected Si Yan to do this; she fell into Si Yan’s embrace, her forehead bumping painfully against the other’s collarbone.

“Attempting to strike the Emperor,” Si Yan said flatly. “That is an additional crime.”