Returning after a three-year escape from death, the tyrant has turned evil.

Chapter 20 Sharing a Bed
Jiang Lanye paused, lowered his eyes to gaze at Song Yi's sleeping face, and asked in a cold voice, "What did you say?"

His voice wasn't loud, and Song Yi was clearly not woken up. She just frowned and fell asleep again.

Jiang Lanye chuckled, feeling inexplicably itchy at the roots of his teeth.

"I'm a bastard?"

He looked at the completely unaware Song Yi with a half-smile.

As if sensing the real chill, Song Yi woke up groggily, opened her sleepy eyes, and saw the King of Hell sitting by the bed, looking down at her intently.

She was startled and nearly sat bolt upright, asking warily, "Your Majesty, what are you doing?"

Her guarded demeanor only infuriated Jiang Lanye.

What do you think I should do?

Song Yi said, half-seriously, "Your Majesty, lust can cloud your judgment."

Jiang Lanye looked her up and down, his words radiating a chilling aura.

"In my opinion, you are blinded by lust, and you even dared to call me a bastard in your dream."

"What? Did I force myself on you in your dream, or did I undress you?"

Song Yi: "."

A look of confusion appeared in her eyes.

The dream I just had reappeared vividly in my mind.

It seems that in her dream, in a moment of panic, she did indeed curse Jiang Lanye.

Jiang Lanye stared intently at her. "You remember now?"

Song Yi shuddered. "Your Majesty, please let me explain."

Jiang Lanye looked at her calmly, waiting for a plausible explanation from her.

"that."

Song Yi swallowed hard, then smiled obsequiously again.

"Your Majesty is handsome and elegant, with a graceful and refined appearance. I admire you every day and cannot help but covet you. However, I dare not be disrespectful to Your Majesty. I think about you by day and dream about you by night, so I can only touch you in my dreams."

When she gets anxious, she'll say anything that comes to mind.

Jiang Lanye sneered: "Since that's the case, it was you who took advantage of me, not me who should be scolding you. Why is it that you've become the one calling me a bastard?"

Song Yi chuckled, "Your Majesty, this is the pleasure of the bedroom. It would be rather dull if I didn't gently scold you a couple of times!"

"cough"

Jiang Lanye choked, and his ears turned red from coughing.

Song Yi innocently reached out and patted his back, "Is Your Majesty alright?"

Jiang Lanye looked at her, his expression unreadable.

"You covet me?"

Jiang Lanye was indeed exceptionally handsome and had an otherworldly air. If he weren't a tyrant, he would truly be the kind of person Song Yi would like.

Song Yi's eyes were sincere. "There is no one in the world who does not covet Your Majesty."

Jiang Lanye was unusually silent, unable to utter a single word because of her words.

Seeing that he was speechless, Song Yi became even more emboldened.

"So Your Majesty should be careful of me in the future. This time I got to your bed, but next time I might not be able to!"

Jiang Lanye could no longer bear it and directly covered her mouth with his hand.

"Shut up."

Song Yi waved his hand, indicating that he would not speak anymore.

Jiang Lanye suddenly stood up and glared at her coldly: "If you're not sleepy, find something to do."

Song Yi, who was eager for this opportunity but found it particularly boring here, immediately asked, "Then what can I do?"

He moved his lips, and after a long pause, uttered two words: "Practice calligraphy!"

Song Yi immediately looked at him with resentment.

Her handwriting had improved considerably; though not exactly delicate and beautiful, it was at least presentable. She lay back down and said lazily, "Your Majesty—I cannot practice my handwriting while lying on the couch."

Without a word, Jiang Lanye scooped her up from the bed, strode to the table, pressed her into a chair, and repeated, "Practice calligraphy."

Song Yi shook her right hand, which was tightly wrapped in white cloth, expressionlessly.

Jiang Lanye's gaze deepened, and he said again, "Then grind the ink."

This kind of thing is equally boring.

She dared not disobey, so she picked up the ink stick with her left hand and drew circles with a lifeless expression.

Jiang Lanye quickly finished writing, but before he could write more than a few words, the resentment of those around him was too great, and it still affected him.

Jiang Lanye pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Stop, no need."

Song Yi immediately put it down.

He casually tossed her a book and said, "Since you're bored, then read aloud for me."

Her fingers had just gripped the ink stick, and now her fingertips were black. Knowing how much Jiang Lanye treasured his books, she was afraid of staining them and dared not touch them.

Jiang Lanye hesitated for a moment, then suddenly whispered, "Give me your hand."

He took out a clean handkerchief from his pocket, grasped her slender wrist, and carefully wiped her fingers.

His eyelashes were very fine, and they just hung down quietly, looking very beautiful.

Song Yi was stunned for a moment, and Jiang Lanye didn't even come to his senses after taking the handkerchief back.

Jiang Lanye stared at her and said calmly, "Read."

She quickly responded.

Song Yi cleared her throat. She had to change her voice every time she spoke, and her throat would get tired after speaking for a long time. However, Jiang Lanye asked her to read, so she could only obey.

None of the books around Jiang Lanye were interesting; they were filled with obscure and difficult-to-understand sentences, occasionally interspersed with a few particularly complex words that were hard to pronounce.

Song Yi sighed silently to herself.

Jiang Lanye dislikes being disturbed; this is common knowledge throughout the entire harem.

But for some reason, tonight, when Song Yi was reading in his ear, he didn't feel annoyed or disturbed; instead, he felt an unusual sense of peace.

She read for a long time, pausing occasionally. Seeing that Jiang Lanye didn't react at all, she skipped over it and continued reading the next sentence.

She read for a long time, until her mouth was dry, before Jiang Lanye finally called a halt.

She glanced at the table and only saw the teacup used for Jiang Lanye's tea.

She could only lick her dry lips and look away with some regret.

Jiang Lanye suddenly reached out and took her book, saying, "This character is pronounced '眵', and this character is pronounced '賿'."

Song Yi was taken aback and asked incredulously, "Your Majesty, you know which word I can't read?"

Jiang Lanye looked at her like she was an idiot. "I've known for a long time that you can't read any characters that are complicated."

His voice was very soft, and it rang out in the quiet hall like ice stones falling to the ground.

He taught Song Yi to read it over and over again until Song Yi could read it perfectly, and then he stopped.

Song Yi had assumed that Jiang Lanye would eventually return to the Golden Palace to rest, since there was no place for her to rest there.

But Jiang Lanye said, "I asked you to come here so that I wouldn't have nightmares."

Song Yi pursed her lips. Sure enough, if she weren't beneficial to him, why would Jiang Lanye treat her like this?

He was much more patient than usual tonight.

"Then this concubine would like to take a bath first."

"Your knees and hands are injured, how can you take a bath?"

Song Yi was also in a dilemma.

But if she goes to bed without taking a bath, she will become restless.

Jiang Lanye's eyes were deep, and he suddenly said, "Or, I will help you."

Song Yi immediately changed her mind: "Never mind, I'll just sleep here. I'm glad Your Majesty doesn't mind."

(End of this chapter)