On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

Xia Zhu only felt a stream of hot, sweet blood rushing to his forehead, and his vision even became dazed for a moment!

Her straight back, which represented the integrity of a scholar, suddenly tightened like a bowstring at this moment, and every cell in her body was screaming in resistance!

Her tightly clenched fists were shaking violently, and her nails dug deep into the delicate flesh of her palms, causing a sharp sting, but it was not even one thousandth of the pain in her heart!

"Ah...!" She bit down a painful groan between her lips and teeth.

She suddenly raised her head, and there was no trace of shyness on her face anymore, only burning anger and deep sorrow!

Those bright eyes were now red, staring intently at Lin Zhen, who was lying on the bed like he was looking down at an ant. His voice became hoarse and sharp due to extreme anger and humiliation:

"Lin Zhen!" She even forgot to address the prince respectfully, calling him by his first name, each word sounding as if plucked from blood and tears. "Why on earth are you doing this?! Is it just to humiliate me, to humiliate us women like this?! Trampling on our dignity, watching us crawl on our knees like animals, does that give you such immense pleasure?!"

Her words lashed the silent air like a whip, filled with all her humiliation and accusations.

Lin Zhen, lying on the bed, faced her fierce rebuke without any fluctuation in his expression. Even the lazy smile he had just had disappeared, leaving only a complete, cold calmness.

There wasn't even a ripple in his gaze as he calmly returned the fire burning in her eyes.

"Humiliation? Humiliation?" He spoke slowly. "You're overthinking it. This is a necessary process, a test of your obedience. Wuqing County is Daqian's special economic zone, a major merchant and tax collection center, close to the capital, and is related to the lifeblood of half the dynasty. Such a crucial location is related to the lives of countless people. You say..."

He spoke slowly, each word hammering at Xia Zhu's defenses. "Why should I hand it over to someone who's full of suspicion and hostility towards me, and even, to a certain extent, doesn't trust my will? And why should you convince me that your allegiance today isn't just a temporary solution, that you won't turn against me tomorrow and stab me in the back?"

He spread his hands, making a helpless and cold questioning gesture, "The cornerstone of trust is not based on empty words, but on the most thorough and instinctive obedience."

His eyes suddenly became sharp, carrying an aggressive and oppressive feeling, staring directly into Xia Zhu's eyes, which were boiling with anger but beginning to waver. "Tell me, at this moment and in this place, besides this most straightforward way, do you have a better way to make me believe you immediately?"

The cruel reality was like a bucket of ice water, chilling Xia Zhu from head to toe.

"I..." Xia Zhu opened her mouth, but a suffocating despair gripped her throat.

All the anger, all the accusations, all the arguments seemed so pale, childish and vulnerable in front of the cold, rational but irrefutable logic of the man in front of her.

She looked at the certainty in his eyes that showed he was in control of everything, and the sharp insight into people's hearts, and she found that she could not answer his question at all.

Yes, she could not find any way to immediately, effectively and thoroughly gain his trust in this closed cell, in front of this man who decided the direction of her fate.

Except... following his request and giving up all dignity.

The flames of anger flickered and struggled unwillingly in the face of the cold reality, and eventually, slowly and powerlessly died out.

The only sounds in the room were the occasional crackling of the candlelight and the two people's intertwined breathing, which became increasingly clear and audible.

Xia Zhu stood there, as if all his bones had been pulled out, and all the strength in his body had dissipated with the futile outburst just now.

She lowered her head and could only see her favorite pair of embroidered shoes and the cold, clean floor tiles that looked like an execution platform.

Time ticked away in the frozen air, and every second felt as long as a century.

Finally, the hands that were clenched so tightly that they turned white, with nails digging deep into the palms, slowly loosened their grip, one finger at a time.

Then, in the candlelight, under the calm and cold gaze of the noble prince lying on the bed.

Her body slumped down, becoming extremely stiff and heavy.

My knees finally slammed heavily onto the cold, hard tiles.

The dull sound of the kneecap hitting the stone surface was particularly clear in this silent little room.

She lowered her head, and her long black hair fell, covering most of her face again, along with her desperate and empty eyes.

A drop of scalding liquid uncontrollably rushed out of her eye socket, quickly drawing a clear water mark on the cold skin under her eyes, and finally fell silently on the floor tiles, leaving a dark, quickly evaporating dot.

There were no angry accusations, no hysterical resistance.

The hands that had just supported the body, which had written petitions, approved official documents, and helped the poor and needy countless times, stretched forward with a determination to burn their boats and a humiliation that penetrated deep into the bones, and supported themselves on the cold ground with trembling.

Elbows bent, back bent by an invisible force of gravity.

Get on all fours.

She began to crawl forward.

His knees scraped against the cold, hard ground, and the fabric made a slight friction sound.

Support most of your body weight with your arms and move forward little by little.

The gesture stripped her of all grace and wiped out all her pride.

But she was once the first in the first class!

She was a world-renowned female scholar and the object of admiration of countless scholars and writers.

But now she has completely exposed her most vulnerable and unbearable side to Lin Zhen's condescending gaze.

Every movement of the arm and every thrust of the knee was accompanied by excruciating pain from the depths of the soul and a tearful wail.

The world seemed to be turning upside down and spinning before her eyes, leaving only the humiliating road leading to the bed, which was so close yet so far away.

For that distant, vague ideal about the future of women in the world, for that beam of light that might eventually be ignited... she pushed herself into this abyss of humiliation with her own hands.

Her movements were extremely slow, and every inch she moved was extremely difficult.

The distance from the door to the bed was only seven or eight steps, but for her, it was like trekking through thousands of muddy mountains and rivers.

The air was so thick that it was suffocating. The only sounds were her heavy breathing and the friction of her clothes against the ground as she moved.

Finally, she crawled to his feet.

She paused.

Her whole body was shaking slightly uncontrollably, and sweat soaked her hair and stuck to her hot cheeks.

My heart was beating wildly in my chest, hitting my ribs and making a deafening roar.

A bony, dry, and warm hand, with an innate aura of dominance, calmly rested on her head.

The action was not rough, and was even gentle and soothing. However, the meaning contained in it made Xia Zhu's blood freeze instantly.

This is not pity, it is a gesture of comforting a pet, a confirmation of sovereignty like alms!

Lin Zhen's broad palm naturally covered the top of her black hair. With a satisfied gesture of a master rewarding an obedient servant, he stroked her head very slowly, from top to bottom...

His fingertips even brushed lightly through her sweaty hair.

As he petted her like a dog, a low, clear, and approving monosyllable uttered from his throat: "Good boy."

This word "good boy" was like a red-hot iron, burning Xia Zhu's self-esteem that had been trampled upon.

The arms that were supporting the ground suddenly went limp, and her entire upper body collapsed slightly.

A heavy, devastating feeling of humiliation swept through her consciousness like a tsunami, causing her vision to go black and every bone in her body to seem to be wailing and breaking.

For the sake of her ideals, she sacrificed her last bit of dignity as a human being, an official, and a woman, and made herself worse than a dog.

"You...you...wuwu...wuwuwu!! Ahhhhh!!" Tears, like beads with a broken string, could no longer be contained.

She wanted to speak, but she didn't know what to say, so she could only cry uncontrollably.

She hadn't cried so bitterly in 34 years, and now she had no other way to vent her emotions except crying.

Tears of unwillingness and humiliation burst out of her eyes uncontrollably, falling one after another on the cold ground, quickly creating a small dark stain.

She lowered her head even lower, almost burying it in her arms.

She pressed her chin against his collarbone, trying to block the touch that made her feel so ashamed and angry.

The warmth of that palm was like a maggot on the tarsal bone, burning her scalp and her lingering soul.

She could clearly feel the sound of something inside her body completely collapsing and shattering.

Lin Zhen's hand rested on the top of her head, feeling the slight trembling of the head under his hand and the heat of silent tears.

He stared down at the body that was crawling at his feet and trembling due to the great humiliation, his eyes deep and unfathomable.