Chapter 30: Is That Something to Be Proud Of?

The villa was deathly silent.

The last vestige of intimacy vanished with Dou Hongyan’s impulsive words, and Xiao Ze was thoroughly incensed.

Half of his face hidden in the shadows, he loomed over her like a spectral phantom, ensnaring her completely in a trap from which there was no escape. One wrong step, and she would plummet into a frigid, bottomless abyss. Xiao Ze’s expression was dark and somber, his chilling aura threatening to consume Dou Hongyan, devouring her until nothing remained.

A large, ice-cold hand clamped around her throat. She shivered at the deathly chill of his touch, her instincts screaming at her to pull away. However, her reaction only served to make Xiao Ze tighten his grip in displeasure.

He held her slender, delicate neck in his palm with effortless ease, his thumb tracing the pulse point of her vein—a gesture both intimate and perilous. He leaned in closer, his voice cold and menacing. "Your courage has grown quite large lately; you truly aren't afraid of death, are you? Tell me, is this you relying on my favor, convinced that I would never kill you?"

As he spoke, his grip tightened further. Beneath his palm, he could feel Dou Hongyan’s shallow, rapid breathing and the fine, tremors racking her body.

Dou Hongyan did not retreat; instead, she leaned forward. Lifting her head, her glassy eyes, brimming with forced tears, met Xiao Ze’s gloomy gaze, and she reached out to embrace him.

"Shen Yuheng is your son," she gasped, her voice broken and strained. "I will never allow your bloodline to be tarnished by anyone. Shen Yishu is not worthy..."

"Cough, cough...!"

The pressure on her throat vanished as abruptly as it had come. Dou Hongyan clutched her neck, breaking into a violent fit of coughing. Tears that had been welling in her eyes spilled over, cascading down her cheeks with every racking sob.

The temperature before her did not warm. She knew all too well that Xiao Ze cared nothing for bloodlines, let alone for Shen Yuheng, his biological son. He was merely amused by her attempts to appease him.

*Damn man...* Dou Hongyan swallowed hard, her throat raw and aching. Her red lips parted as she struggled to catch her breath, slowly recovering from the suffocation.

She heard Xiao Ze press on, unwilling to let the matter drop: "When will Shen Yishu die?"

Dou Hongyan fell silent. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke in a hoarse, soft voice, hoping to soften his resolve. "Wait a little longer. I don't want Heng'er to miss his future prospects because he is in mourning. That man is not worth delaying your bloodline's success."

"Let us wait... until Heng'er passes the imperial examination to become a scholar. It won't be too late to kill him then. By then, it will be the perfect time for Heng'er to spend three years honing his skills, preparing to make his mark on the world, without being held back by a waste like Shen Yishu."

Whether or not her words were sincere, they pleased Xiao Ze. He let out a cold scoff and gave a begrudging nod. "Do not disappoint me again."

Having finally managed to deceive Xiao Ze, Dou Hongyan returned by sedan chair under the cover of night, forgetting that Shen Yishu was currently in the Marquis’s estate; coming and going in the dead of night was bound to look suspicious.

As soon as she returned to the manor, she saw Shen Yishu standing in the shadows of the path, his teeth clenched as he interrogated her: "Where have you been? Why did you go out in the middle of the night?"

Was she meeting a lover, or was she up to some other unspeakable business?

"Just clearing my head. Is there a problem?" Dou Hongyan did not slow her pace as she brushed past him, asking with indifference, "What are you doing here? If there is nothing else, go back to the Listening Rain Garden and stay there."

"This is my Marquis’s estate!"

Having been repeatedly cold-shouldered since his return—a stark contrast to the grand, tearful welcome he had imagined—Shen Yishu’s nerves were frayed. He erupted in fury, "I am the master of this house! As a married woman, sneaking out at night—is that something to be proud of?"