Chapter 316: You Have Quite a Few Beast Husbands

After emerging from the Divine Hall Illusion Realm, Yu Zhizhi immediately ran to the backyard to wash up.

Hot mist rose in wisps. The moon was hidden by dark clouds tonight, and it looked like it was about to rain.

It seemed a little later than usual...

She thought of how, in the Divine Hall, the young man from the Cat Clan had lifted her onto the round table, and her cheeks began to grow hot.

Today’s Zero was a bit different from usual, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on how.

Later, she had ended up in his arms in a daze.

By the time Yu Zhizhi came out of the Divine Hall Illusion Realm, it was already this late.

After her bath, she changed into her nightgown and headed for the study.

The Duke still hadn’t returned at this hour, so he probably wouldn’t be coming back tonight. She had heard from Teacher Dai Li that he often stayed overnight at the Royal Palace recently.

Yu Zhizhi padded barefoot across the floor. She walked toward the bed, and just as she passed the folding screen, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"D-Duke...?"

’When did the Duke get back? Or has he been here all along?’ He hadn’t made a sound, so Yu Zhizhi had assumed the study was empty. She never expected to find him sitting on the bed.

In the darkness, Yu Zhizhi couldn’t make out the Duke’s expression. She could only see his golden, vertical pupils staring grimly at her from the gloom.

On the floor in front of the Duke lay an article of clothing.

Yu Zhizhi looked down at it for a moment before she quickly realized—

It was the pale purple dress she had hidden in the backyard. She’d never found a chance to throw it away.

Yu Zhizhi’s heart began to beat faster. The pitter-patter of rain came from outside the window, and every drop seemed to land upon her heart.

A smile slowly spread across the Duke’s face. "So, you’re back."

The man slowly rose to his feet.

He walked over to the little rabbit, watching her shoulders flinch noticeably. "Does this dress on the floor look familiar? Do you know who it belongs to?"

"I... I don’t know..."

The Duke was so angry he had to laugh. He suddenly pinched the young female’s cheeks. "Do I keep other pets in my rooms?"

Yu Zhizhi stared at him blankly, not knowing how to answer.

"Just wonderful," the Duke said word by word, his voice sinister. "So you managed to sneak away to a cat after all."

Every time he returned to the study, he could smell the faint scent of catnip.

He’d thought the young female had just brushed against some plants.

But this time, the little rabbit was out so late that the Duke had started searching the entire courtyard. That’s when he found the dress, hidden in a bamboo basket.

Even though it had been washed, the scent of another male still lingered on it.

The Duke stared hard into the young female’s eyes, flames practically bursting from his gaze.

A whimper escaped her.

Yu Zhizhi didn’t dare look at him, and her rabbit ears trembled the moment she heard the word "cat."

He was pinching her porcelain-white cheeks red. When she saw the Duke’s eyes grow even more sinister, an idea struck her. She immediately transformed into a rabbit, dropped from his hand, and bolted.

The next second, she was snatched up by the Duke.

Yu Zhizhi began to struggle, her four little paws flailing wildly.

The Duke carried the little rabbit to the backyard, raindrops splattering against him. The mere thought that the little rabbit had just been with another male made him burn with rage.

He tossed the little rabbit into the pool.

SPLASH!

Yu Zhizhi fell into the hot spring. She choked on a couple of mouthfuls of water, her beast form struggling for a few moments before her head broke the surface.

The fluffy little rabbit was completely soaked. Her ears drooped, and her dark, watery eyes looked as if she was about to cry.

The Duke stood by the edge of the pool. The spring night’s rain fell from the dark sky like pearls from a broken string, the cold drops soaking his deep purple robes.

His eyes were cold and dark as he stared fixedly at the greedy little rabbit. At times like this, she would always turn into her beast form, foolishly trying to protect herself.

Yu Zhizhi’s rabbit paws paddled underwater. She almost sank several times. The pool was shallow, but her beast form was too small. She could only flail her limbs desperately to keep from drowning.

Finally, she ran out of strength. Her Beastification wore off, and she returned to her human form.

Yu Zhizhi stood in the middle of the pool, enveloped in steam as the falling rain sent endless ripples across the water’s surface. Her wet, white nightgown clung to her body. She felt both hot and cold as she looked up at the Duke by the poolside, a look of profound hurt welling in her eyes.

The Duke entered the pool, gradually closing in on her.

A tremor of fear shot through her. She wanted to shrink away, but he seized her by the shoulders and gripped her jaw, forcing her to look at him.

The Duke’s intense possessiveness felt like it would crush her.

His kiss was aggressive. One hand gripped her waist while the other clamped around the back of her head, not allowing her to shy away in the slightest.

All his surging jealousy poured out into that fiery kiss.

Yu Zhizhi’s breathing grew heavy until she could barely breathe, her cheeks flushing bright red. He released her for only a second before his lips crashed down on hers once more.

Noticing the young female’s lack of cooperation, the Duke viciously pinched her rabbit tail. "Open your mouth."

She whimpered.

Yu Zhizhi was kissed until her consciousness blurred, her head growing fuzzy from lack of air. When she came to her senses, she was sitting on a thick snake tail, and the Duke was biting down on her shoulder. "So many attendants can’t even watch you. Do you want me to leash you to my side and take you everywhere I go?"

"Or perhaps I should break both your legs. Then you can lie obediently in bed every day, waiting for my return."

He was absolutely livid. But as he calmed down, a thought occurred to him. With so many eyes watching the study, she couldn’t have left— ’Then where did that damn cat come from?’

Yu Zhizhi was scared to death. She let out a wail and burst into tears, clinging to him. She was terrified the Duke would actually do it, but she also felt incredibly wronged. "You can’t do this," she sobbed. "We... we’re not even anything to each other..."

Her tears streamed down, mixing with the rain. "Aren’t you going to marry Miss Yu Xiang? I’ll... I’ll find another Beast Husband, too!"

Hearing the words the young female managed to choke out between sobs, the Duke’s golden vertical pupils grew even more grim. He asked in a deep, dangerous voice, "Beast Husband? Who are you going to find?"

"Tang... Tang..." She was crying so hard she couldn’t catch her breath.

"Lou... is..."

"Sensen..."

"Any of them... any of them would be fine..."

The Duke’s body stiffened, his snake tail coiling tightly around her. "You seem to have a lot of Beast Husbands lined up."

"What about the cat?"

His snake tail coiled even tighter, and his voice was a low growl, as if spoken through gritted teeth. "Aren’t you going to include your new favorite?"

’The cat?’ Yu Zhizhi’s crying came to an abrupt halt. Her face was streaked with tears, and the falling rain matted her eyelashes together.

’Zero...’

’She hadn’t even considered it.’

’Besides, Zero would probably never agree.’

’He showed no intention whatsoever of wanting to be her Beast Husband.’

Seeing the young female seriously contemplating it, the Duke was so enraged he wanted to fuse her very bones into his own. His snake tail tightened further, and Yu Zhizhi cried out in pain.

She clenched her fists, pummeling the snake tail and struggling to get out of his embrace.

The Duke didn’t yield an inch.

Yu Zhizhi’s mind was still reeling from his earlier threat to break her legs. She latched onto the snake tail and, throwing all caution to the wind, bit down hard!