Chapter 36: Summoned to the Palace

But as she lifted her eyes and clearly saw the person before her, her hand fell uncontrollably.

"Pei Wuwang?"

Jun Liyang softly called out the name of the reckless man. Then, she widened her almond-shaped eyes, watching him with a mixture of tension and anticipation. The room was not lit, save for a pair of dragon-and-phoenix candles burning silently on the table. Yet, by the frost-like moonlight streaming in through the window, Jun Liyang could clearly discern the contours of the man's features.

His brows were as bright as the moon, his eyes like a clear, star-studded galaxy. Upon closer inspection, however, one could see a hidden, chilling sharpness beneath the flowing luster—like frost, like an abyss, unfathomable.

Pei Wuwang. It was truly, actually Pei Wuwang!

The emotions that had accumulated since her death surged up in an instant. With trembling hands, Jun Liyang reached out to touch his face. It was warm and soft, the exact sensation of being held tightly in his arms on the day she died.

"Pei Wuwang, is it really you?" Jun Liyang murmured.

"Mm."

Pei Wuwang nodded slightly, his voice raspy. Jun Liyang became even more agitated, reaching out to pull him into a tight embrace. But the moment she moved, she was caught off guard by a pair of bloodshot eyes brimming with raw desire.

"Pei Wuwang?" Jun Liyang asked softly.

Hearing his name, Pei Wuwang’s muddled consciousness suddenly cleared for a moment. He steadied himself, staring fixedly at Jun Liyang, his gaze dazed for a heartbeat. Then, realizing the situation, he struggled to pull away from her. But because his limbs were weak and limp, his struggle only caused him to collapse back onto her.

Seeing Pei Wuwang so frail, Jun Liyang felt a sharp pang of heartache, and her brows furrowed involuntarily. Yet, at the sight of that furrowed brow, the last glimmer of hope in Pei Wuwang’s eyes was replaced by a look of profound grief.

"Your Highness, do you truly loathe me so much?" Pei Wuwang asked in a cold, clear voice. But before Jun Liyang could answer, he seemed to have already guessed her response.

His eyes grew weary, and his tone was filled with an indescribable sorrow. "Whether you believe it or not, Your Highness, what happened tonight has nothing to do with me."

Jun Liyang still did not respond, seemingly lost in thought over their current predicament. Seeing her long silence, Pei Wuwang bit his lower lip hard, becoming more convinced than ever that she must despise him deeply. He forced himself to move, struggling to roll off her body and onto the floor, where he knelt with his head bowed before the bed.

"I know well that you must loathe me to the core, Your Highness. Regardless of the circumstances, it was I who offended your noble person. If you wish to punish me, I have no words to say."

Seeing this familiar scene, memories of her previous life flashed incessantly through Jun Liyang's mind. In a flash of lightning, she was struck by a realization.

She had been reborn!

In shock and wonder, Jun Liyang tremblingly raised her hand to her chest. Feeling the strong, steady heartbeat beneath, she could not help but weep with joy. She never imagined that after suffering a miserable death with her heart carved out, she would be reborn! She had been reborn to the day of her grand wedding to Murong Yu, the day she was framed and lost her innocence to Pei Wuwang!

Jun Liyang looked down. Pei Wuwang was still kneeling on the ground. Even though his face was deathly pale and he looked ready to collapse at any second, he kept his spine straight, kneeling motionless before her. Seeing his lips turn even whiter from the pain he was suppressing, Jun Liyang quickly got out of bed and pulled him into her arms with a heart full of pity.

Pei Wuwang instinctively struggled, but Jun Liyang pressed his head against her chest.

"Behave, don't move." Her voice was gentle, yet carried an irrefutable authority.

"Your Highness..."

Pei Wuwang was bewildered at first, but as he felt the strong, rhythmic heartbeat, his mind felt as if a great bell had been struck. His cold, elegant features appeared lost in the hazy moonlight.

Watching Pei Wuwang’s cautious and bewildered expression, Jun Liyang felt a dull ache in her chest. Who would have thought that the "Ghost Yama," the man the world saw as bloodthirsty and cold-hearted, the man who was decisive and ruthless in his methods, would always be so cautious and eager to please in her presence?

This man, who had once held her as his most precious treasure, had been treated with nothing but disdain and coldness because she had listened to slander and the manipulation of those around her, viewing him as a wicked, treacherous minister.

Yet, this very man—the one she had never shown a kind face to—had led his soldiers to storm the palace gates when she was framed for treason, imprisoned in a cold cellar for days, and had her heart carved out while she was still alive, left hanging at the palace gate in a state where she could neither live nor die.

At that time, Jun Liyang had only one breath left. Her blood had long since drained away, and the snow beneath her was stained red, layer upon layer. Pei Wuwang had spotted her at once, flying to catch her as she fell from the city wall, holding her in his trembling arms. In her final moments of consciousness, she saw Pei Wuwang’s eyes splitting with rage, using his spear to return the suffering inflicted upon her tenfold with brutal precision. In the end, he had collapsed with her before a sea of corpses, frantically kissing her broken, mangled body over and over, begging her not to leave him.

In that moment, his blood-red eyes and his descent into madness were etched deeply into Jun Liyang’s soul. Only then did she realize who the wolf was, and who her true protector had been. She had wanted to say something, but her tongue had been cruelly ripped out, and she could only swallow her final breath in regret and bitterness.

Returning to the present, she looked at the incense burner in the distance, sending up thin wisps of smoke. Jun Liyang’s expression turned cold. Having lived through this once, she knew exactly what was burning inside.

She patted Pei Wuwang’s back and said softly, "Pei Wuwang, I do not blame you. I know it was Murong Yu who added the aphrodisiac to the incense burner. He wanted to frame us both on the day of our wedding..."

Pei Wuwang froze, clearly surprised that she knew all of this. Jun Liyang gently helped him sit by the bed, rose, and retrieved a jade-green porcelain bottle from a secret compartment. She poured out two pills and fed them to him. "This medicine will neutralize the poison of the aphrodisiac. Take it quickly."

Pei Wuwang did not hesitate; he took the medicine obediently. Seeing him so compliant touched Jun Liyang’s heart once more. The next second, she leaned over and kissed his lips. As he gasped in surprise, she slipped her tongue into his mouth.

The night wind caused the wind chimes in the corridor to jingle, and in that frost-like moonlight, Jun Liyang could clearly hear Pei Wuwang’s heart suddenly begin to race.

Just then, a delicate, shrill exclamation came from outside the door:

"Oh my! Brother Yu is still here, so who is the man in the bridal chamber with my sister?"

Hearing that voice, Jun Liyang’s eyes filled with frost-like coldness.

Jun Jingyi, Murong Yu—the treacherous pair who stole her throne and carved out her heart in her past life. We meet again.