22 All Mine

"Do not move."

The man's voice was hoarse as if he was enduring something painful, but the authority was still there. If one was not observant enough, one could not tell that there was something wrong with him.

'Was he already here before I went in? How is it possible?!'

XuanRong froze. She could feel the heat and smell the sweet fragrance coming from his body. At the back of her mind, something was telling her that the man's scent was very familiar to her, that he was someone she knew. She wanted to move away from the man behind her and turn around to see his face.

Unfortunately, before she could even move her body, a pair of arms snaked around her waist, locking her on a tight embrace and forcing her to stay still. Her back against his broad chest.

XuanRong felt goosebumps all over her skin. Every part of her body went stiff, but her mind was on full alert like a wounded cheetah that was caught in a trap, unable to move, unable to escape and could only widen its eyes and be vigilant. Wariness struck her heart.

The tiny voice at the back of her mind was tossed far away. The previous thought she had about the familiarity of his scent vanished in thin air, leaving nothing but distrust towards him.

Why did he hug her? Why was he hiding? Why did he decided to alert her with his presence at the last moment?

XuanRong was filled with confusion. She had so many questions towards his action, but she could not think straight and was not able to contemplate deeply. All she wanted to do was to flee, far away from him.

*thump*

*thump*

*thump*

Her heart could not stop beating fast not because of affection but because of panic. She wanted to push his arms that was currently holding her tight and break away from his embrace, but the man was very strong, she couldn't even move. XuanRong stilled as if something snapped inside her head.

Suddenly, bits and pieces of that horrible night flashed inside her mind. She recalled the painful experience she went through before her rebirth. Her face paled when she remembered that horrible pain she felt deep inside her core when she was forcefully pressed on the cold ground. The pain of being taken forcefully. She did not want to experience that bitter memory ever again.

'No!! Not this lifetime!! N-E-V-E-R!!'

XuanRong's eyes reddened not because of fear but because of anger. She would rather die than let the man humiliate her. Her struggling intensified, scratching the arms that was binding her.

"Let go!!"

XuanRong roared as she lowered her head, trying to bite his arm. She had already forgotten that she was currently trying to hide from those groups who were fighting outside the cave. Her mind was now unstable. She could not think straight. She could not calm herself.

Fear.

Anxiety.

Uncertainty.

All negative emotions were clouding XuanRong's judgement. If she was calm, she would have been able to think clearly and ponder deeply. Regrettably, because of her unstable emotion after remembering her past sufferings, she was unable to remain calm, resulting to her stupid action.

"….Don't shout." The man clamped his left hand on her mouth, stopping her from screaming.

"Mmmpph!!! Mmmpph!!"

XuanRong's wariness intensified.

'Am I going to experience that hateful night in this lifetime in the hands of this man?'

XuanRong's mind was now in total chaos. But no matter how she tried, she could only whimper in despair. She felt powerless. She felt useless.

She could only wiggle her body while trying to pull down the hand that was placed on top of her mouth. Because she was forcefully moving her body continously, she was able to find an opportunity to jab the man with her elbow.

When XuanRong felt that the man's embrace loosened a little bit, she immediately pulled the hairpin ornament on her head as she moved away from him.

Without anything securing it above her head, her silky black hair fell, but XuanRong did not care. The only thing that was on her mind was to kill the man and escape. Away from his presence. Away from his embrace.

She turned her body and raised her hand that was holding the hairpin ornament, planning to stab the man on his heart.

'It's now or never.'

Her eyes were filled with resoluteness. Neither an ounce of fear nor confusion were seen inside of it. XuanRong inwardly prepared herself. But when she turned, she was greeted by a pair of Phoenix eyes staring intensely at her.

XuanRong was petrified. The hand that was supposed to stab the man was now hovering above her head, frozen.

'He is---'

-------

"Mother."

XuanFei bent her knees and curtsied. She then slowly walked inside the inner room and ordered the servant who was following her to close the door and leave.

"Fei'er, you are here? It's already late, why are you visiting Mother?"

Xiao-Shi[1], also known as Xuan Lou, the Second Furen[2] of Xuan Family and Prime Minister Xuan's childhood lover, was full of smiles when she saw her beautiful daughter.

"Mother, please tell me. What was written on that paper?"

XuanFei looked into her mother's eyes.

Xiao-Shi's eyes darkened. She tried to suppress the sneer trying to surface on her face.

"Fei'er, you don't have to know. Just let Mother do everything, hao[3]?"

XuanFei sighed. She shook her head.

"Mother, Fei'er is not a kid anymore. Fei'er is already eight years old. Fei'er saw Ling mama passed something to you. Fei'er also heard that the letter came from Lu Shan where DaJie[4] was staying."

When Xiao-Shi heard XuanFei called XuanRong 'DaJie', her countenance darkened.

"Do not call her that! She is not your sister!" Xiao-Shi's voice raised an octave higher when she spoke.

XuanFei was filled with puzzlement. She really could not understand why her mother pampered XuanRong and raised her as her daughter when in fact, her mother loathed XuanRong the most.

Although she was still young, she was attentive and knew that something was not right. It was just few days ago that her mother was crying hard because her DaJie left, but now, her mother won't even allow her to call XuanRong 'DaJie'.

Even though XuanRong was arrogant, she treated XuanFei well like a true older sister.

Xiao-Shi sighed and tried to calm herself. "Fei'er, always remember, if not because of that slut's birth mother, Mother would have been the First Wife of XuanFu and you should have been the Daughter of the First Wife!

Your father and I were in love with each other but were forcefully separated by his family just because Mother was only a daughter of a concubine. Mother could only suffer and swallow her grievance. Although that Slut Chen Yi is already dead, every morning, Mother must enter the ancestral hall and offer incense to that slut's memorial tablet! Even death, she still holds higher status than me!"

Xiao-Shi's eyes were filled with hatred as she spoke. "Fei'er, that little slut's status, everything that she owned, should have been yours. Do not forget that."

After hearing Xiao-Shi's 'educational' teaching, XuanFei's eyes sharpened.

Everything XuanRong owned were supposed to be hers.

XuanRong stole everything that was hers.

'Everything was supposed to be mine. I have to get it back.'

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[1]. 'Shi' indicates that the woman was married. 'Xiao' was her maiden family.

[2]. Legal Wife.

[3]. Can be translated as 'okay?'

[4]. Big Sister/Older Sister

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To my Editor, Avi.... *sob*

I just finished writing this chapter so I was not able to send this to you. I'll send you the drafts tomorrow~ i'll try and write once I return home from work. Thanks Avi~~ muaaah!

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