Un registro de placer

Capítulo 31

Yue Ruzheng stammered, "And what about you?"

He remained silent for a moment, then leaned against the wall and stood up. Without answering, he walked towards his room. Yue Ruzheng stood in the darkness, wanting to call out to him, but unsure what to say next. She watched him until he entered his room before slowly turning back.

The candle was almost burned out, and Yue Ruzheng didn't bother to find a new one. She went back to her room alone and sat on the dark bed. Rain began to patter outside the window, and her mood, like the chaotic raindrops, was unpredictable and indescribable. She didn't understand why Tang Yanchu had suddenly become so distraught, even seemingly trapped in a deep fear. Yue Ruzheng sighed silently in her heart and lay down, filled with a distant, melancholic feeling.

In the middle of the night, Yue Ruzheng was awakened from her sleep by the sound of wind and rain. She sat up and found that the wind and rain were pouring down outside the window. The thin paper window was being battered by the wind and rain, making a whistling sound, as if it was about to break. She suddenly remembered that the window in the main room seemed to be open, so she hurriedly put on her clothes and went outside. Sure enough, the window was being blown back and forth. She had just reached out to close the window in the heavy rain when she suddenly heard voices coming from Tang Yanchu's room.

She paused, hesitated for a moment, and gently pushed open the door. She heard Tang Yanchu on the bed mumbling something in a daze. She slowly walked to his bedside and saw that his eyes were closed, his brows were furrowed, and his face was full of fear. Suddenly, he struggled and shouted, "No! Don't cut off my hand! Don't cut off my hand!" He shouted repeatedly, cold sweat streaming down his forehead. He looked extremely painful, but it seemed that he could not escape from the nightmare.

"Xiao Tang, wake up..." Yue Ruzheng didn't know what to do, so she leaned down and whispered.

"Give me back my hand! Give it back!" he suddenly screamed in a shrill voice. Yue Ruzheng was so startled by this sudden outburst that she sat on the edge of the bed. After regaining her composure, she hurriedly pushed him away, shouting, "Xiao Tang, Xiao Tang!"

He breathed heavily, and after a moment opened his eyes. Seeing her sitting in front of him, he struggled to support himself with his remaining arms. Yue Ruzheng, seeing how difficult it was for him to sit up, reached out and supported his back, allowing him to sit up with the help of hers. When Yue Ruzheng's hand touched his body, she felt that his back was completely soaked with sweat. She touched his forehead, and her hand was also covered in sweat.

"What's wrong with you?!" she exclaimed, shaking his shoulders violently.

His breathing hadn't yet caught up, but he managed a weak smile and said, "It's nothing...it's nothing...I was just dreaming. You should go back now."

"You're making me very worried! Do you know that?!" Yue Ruzheng's voice trembled as she gripped his sleeve tightly, feeling a stinging sensation in her eyes.

Tang Yanchu was startled, took a deep breath, and said, "Don't worry. I told you it was just a dream."

Yue Ruzheng couldn't see his expression clearly in the darkness, but she could sense his panic from his forced calm. She lowered her eyes and whispered, "This dream...it's about your hands, isn't it?"

Tang Yanchu's breathing suddenly stopped for a moment, and then it became so quiet that almost no sound could be heard. Apart from the whistling wind and rain outside the window, the only sounds were the breathing of the two of them. He sat in the darkness, wearing only a thin white undergarment with the sleeves hanging down to his shoulders, making him look particularly lonely.

Since meeting him, Yue Ruzheng had never dared to ask about this matter, but the reality was undeniable. She no longer wanted to avoid the question, so she steeled herself and pressed on: "What exactly happened at the birthday banquet ten years ago, as Lian Junxin mentioned?"

Tang Yanchu kept his head down, remaining silent. Yue Ruzheng had waited for a long time and was about to give up when she suddenly heard him say in a hoarse voice, "He simply received a very large congratulatory gift at his fortieth birthday banquet..."

"Him?" Yue Ruzheng paused, then asked, "Is it Lian Haichao? What does this have to do with you?"

Tang Yanchu suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly and said, "You should have heard from Lian Junxin that I'm a bastard."

"Little Tang! Don't talk about yourself like that!" Yue Ruzheng felt a pang of heartache and hurriedly covered his mouth with her hand. He pulled away and said indifferently, "That's how it is. I told you before, my mother came from the Tang Clan, a family with strict rules, but she fell in love with Lian Haichao, who already had a wife. The Tang Clan and Seven Star Island have always been at odds, and they wouldn't allow her to marry into the Lian family as a concubine. So, my mother betrayed her family, giving up even her title, and became Lian Haichao's mistress."

Although Yue Ruzheng had vaguely sensed something after hearing Lian Junxin's words, hearing Tang Yanchu say it herself now evoked a different kind of desolation. She remained silent for a moment, then said, "So Lian Haichao's first wife was completely unaware?"

"At first I didn't know," Tang Yanchu said in a low voice. "She had been married to Lian Haichao for many years but had never had children, so she adopted a girl, who is my eldest sister, Lian Junqiu. Later, Mrs. Lian finally became pregnant, but unfortunately, my mother became pregnant with me shortly afterward..."

He took a deep breath and continued, "My arrival was very untimely. At that time, Lian Haichao was busy taking care of his wife all day long and could not take care of my mother at all. She was almost always left alone in the mountains. Later, Lian Haichao had a change of heart and sent a maid he considered a confidante to serve my mother. However, the maid leaked the news, and Lian Haichao's wife finally found out. At that time, she was about to give birth and went into premature labor in grief and anger, giving birth to Lian Junxin. Afterwards, she fell ill and was bedridden. My mother left alone out of guilt and later gave birth to me. From then on, she wandered around with me until I was three years old, when we finally found a place to settle down."

"Is this the place?" Yue Ruzheng asked softly.

He shook his head and said, "I lived on Tiantai Mountain until I was nine years old. My mother probably chose to settle in Tiantai because, although it was far from Qixing Island, it was still within Zhejiang Province... I remember often going with her to collect herbs when I was little, and life was very hard. I was born without knowing who my father was, or even the meaning of the word 'father,' but I never felt lonely with my mother... In her spare time, she would teach me how to use Tang Clan hidden weapons. By the time I was nine, I had learned all the common techniques... But that was all." As he said this, he suddenly pursed his lips, lowered his eyes, and looked at his sleeves.

Hearing this, Yue Ruzheng sensed something and felt a growing unease, yet dared not ask. After a while, he said, "That spring, a group of masked men suddenly broke into my house. My mother fought them for a long time, but was ultimately outnumbered and seriously injured. They stuffed my mother and me into a carriage, and after what seemed like an eternity, they took us to a damp cell and locked us up. Two days later, the group came in, and one of the women was carrying a brocade box… She asked me if I knew who Lian Haichao was. I naturally said I didn't. She opened the empty brocade box for me and said, 'Seven days later is Lian Haichao's fortieth birthday banquet. I am his son, and I should prepare a generous gift for him.' Then… then, the others snatched me from my mother's arms…" As he spoke, though he tried his best to control his emotions, he could not hide the fear that spread from the depths of his heart.

Yue Ruzheng bit her lower lip, staring at him without moving. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He took a few deep breaths and said in a trembling voice, "They dragged me outside the iron cell, pinned me to the ground, and one of them stomped hard on my back to stop me from moving. Two other people held down my shoulders, and then… then, that woman pulled out two steel knives and chopped off both of my arms…"

Yue Ruzheng's heart clenched as she listened. Tang Yanchu could no longer control her emotions; she trembled and bent down, breathing heavily and rapidly.

"Xiao Tang..." she said sadly, pressing her hand against his back, "Don't say anymore, don't say any more... I don't want to know anymore..."

"They put my arms into that brocade box right in front of me. I was in so much pain I was about to faint, and all I could do was raise my head and shout at them, 'Don't take my hands away! Please, give them back!'" He bent over, choking back tears. "They stopped the bleeding and threw me back to my mother. She was almost going crazy, frantically pounding on the iron bars. I vaguely lost consciousness, and when I woke up again, that group of people were back in front of the iron bars. The woman opened the brocade box... I saw my two arms inside, pale and lifeless. They just took my hands and left, saying they were a congratulatory gift for Lian Haichao. I could only cry and beg them not to take my hands away from my mother, until my voice was hoarse..."

"Xiao Tang, please stop!" Yue Ruzheng suddenly hugged him, tears welling in her eyes, and cried out, "I know you're suffering, I'll never ask about these things again! Never again!"

Tang Yanchu's face was pressed against her arm, tears welling in his eyes, yet he refused to let them fall. Yue Ruzheng felt nothing but deep regret; making him recall those events in detail was the cruelest thing imaginable. She held him tightly, as if she could see Tang Yanchu, only nine years old at the time, having his arms brutally severed, and then watching her own hands being presented as a gift in a brocade box…

Thinking of this, she suddenly understood why he had become uncontrollably angry when she brought him the brocade box of pastries. At the time, she hadn't understood, and had even cried to him, insisting on keeping the brocade box. Thinking of this, Yue Ruzheng's face paled. She looked around and, in the dim light of the night, saw that the brocade box was still on the cabinet opposite Tang Yanchu's bed. From the bed, one could easily see the brocade box, which looked particularly dark in the shadows.

She couldn't hold back any longer. She jumped out of bed, rushed to the cabinet, grabbed the brocade box, and ran out. A moment later, she returned, soaking wet, and stood in front of Tang Yanchu's bed. It was impossible to tell whether the water on her face was tears or rain.

Tang Yanchu looked up, staring blankly at her, and said, "Ruzheng... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said such terrible things."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have left the brocade box in your room all this time! Making you face it every day!" She collapsed at his bedside, sobbing uncontrollably.

Tang Yanchu held back his tears, bending down but unable to touch her, only able to watch her sob uncontrollably beside the bed. He struggled to get closer to her and whispered, "Don't cry. I won't blame you. It's just that I haven't told you."

"Why didn't you tell me then?!" Yue Ruzheng sobbed. "You just let me do whatever I wanted!"

"If I could, I would never want to talk about this again," he said in a low voice, then fell silent again. Yue Ruzheng wiped away her tears and looked up, saying, "Then why did you go back? Did Lian Haichao force you?"

Tang Yanchu pursed her lips, and after a moment, she said, "He couldn't force me. I never called him that. In my eyes, he was just someone I had no connection with, but because I was his so-called son, my arms were inexplicably chopped off. My mother was already ill, and after those people left, she struggled to break through the wall and rescued me. She carried me for a long time, finally collapsing on the mountain path. I just watched helplessly as she lay in front of me, her breathing growing weaker and weaker, and I couldn't even lift her up... By the time Lian Haichao and his men found us, my mother had already been dead for a day... Do you think I could have any feelings for such a nominal father?"

Yue Ruzheng's heart grew colder with each word he spoke. Looking into Tang Yanchu's eyes, she felt only icy indifference. She thought of the old man who had come to see Tang Yanchu before, and later, Lian Junqiu. Perhaps their purpose was to send Tang Yanchu back on Lian Haichao's orders, all for the upcoming fiftieth anniversary banquet. He had clearly refused then, but now, Lian Junqiu accused him of agreeing to return to the island. Yue Ruzheng suddenly remembered that night; she had intended to go down the mountain back to Luzhou, but in the early hours of the morning, she found Tang Yanchu sitting in the main room, his clothes damp with cold. It was after that that he told her that Lian Haichao would no longer be going to Yinxi Xiaozhu…

"Xiao Tang," Yue Ruzheng said in a trembling voice, "did you use the promise of returning to the island for the banquet as a condition to get Lian Haichao to cancel his agreement with Mo Li?"

Tang Yanchu didn't speak, but quietly raised her eyes, looked at her, then pursed her lips tightly, and after a long while said, "Don't overthink it."

Although he said that, Yue Ruzheng, looking at his expression, already understood everything. Filled with guilt and unease, she silently knelt by the bedside. Tang Yanchu knelt before her, bending down to say, "Ruzheng, your clothes are all wet. Go back and change."

Yue Ruzheng slowly raised her eyes to look at him. He seemed to have gradually calmed down, but his eyes remained deep and unfathomable. For some reason, Yue Ruzheng suddenly reached out and gently touched his cheek. Tang Yanchu's body trembled slightly, but he still lowered his head and said, "Go back to your room, don't catch a cold."

Yue Ruzheng paused, then stood up with her head down and walked towards the door. As she closed the door, she glanced back. In the darkness, she could only see Tang Yanchu sitting quietly, seemingly gazing in her direction.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Gazing at Each Other Before the Pillow, Never Tiring of Each Other's Pleasure

That night, the wind and rain raged relentlessly, and knowing the reason for Tang Yanchu's lost arm, Yue Ruzheng couldn't sleep at all. She curled up at the head of the bed, listening to the howling wind and rain outside, her mind constantly replaying those cruel, bloody, and resentful images. She also thought about what her master had instructed her on her journey. Now that she knew the relationship between Tang Yanchu and Lian Haichao, would it be time for her to leave again when her master returned to Yandang Mountain?

Xiao Tang once asked her when she was going back. Perhaps this question had always been deeply buried in his heart. But Yue Ruzheng had never thought about it, nor did she want to.

She lay in bed, her eyes closed, feeling an overwhelming sense of unease. Before she knew it, the rain subsided, and dawn broke, but Yue Ruzheng's head throbbed with pain, and she had no strength left. A while later, she heard the sound of a door opening across the hall, knowing Tang Yanchu had gotten up. She tried to force herself to get up, but as soon as she sat up, a sharp pain shot through the back of her head, as if steel needles were piercing her bones. She cried out in pain and collapsed back onto the bed.

Tang Yanchu seemed to have heard her movement and asked through the door, "Ruzheng, what is it?"