He softened his tone again.
"Don't be afraid or nervous, I didn't say I would do anything to you," Yu Jingchen said.
Nan Zhiyun hung her head, not speaking.
"Is there anything uncomfortable? This question isn't difficult to answer, is it? If you feel unwell, tell the people below. If you endure it and refuse to speak, how will they know?" Yu Jingchen said as he guided Nan Zhiyun back to her seat.
"If this leaves you with any lingering illness, won't you be the one suffering later? You always end up at a disadvantage. I don't know what's in that head of yours," Yu Jingchen said, becoming somewhat speechless.
Nan Zhiyun kept her head bowed, not saying a word. She wondered if it was her imagination, but she felt Yu Jingchen was different now. The biggest difference was that Yu Jingchen seemed… less prone to anger.
His attitude towards her seemed much better compared to before; he didn't punish her easily anymore and showed more patience. But… why was this happening? He shouldn't be like this.
"Why are you silent again? Is your voice hoarse? So you can't speak? Or are you deliberately refusing to answer, unwilling to pay attention to me?" Yu Jingchen asked her.
"No… this concubine…" Nan Zhiyun didn't know what to say.
"What's wrong with you?" Yu Jingchen asked.
Nan Zhiyun kept wringing the handkerchief in her hands.
Yu Jingchen glanced at her hand movements and knew she was feeling scared and anxious.
"Nan Zhiyun, lift your head and look at me," Yu Jingchen said.
Nan Zhiyun dared not, but since Yu Jingchen had spoken, she couldn't refuse. After considerable self-reassurance, she slowly dared to raise her head.
Looking again at Yu Jingchen's face, which made her heart tremble, a sense of unease filled her chest.
Even though she had lifted her head, after that one glance, Nan Zhiyun lowered her eyes again.
"I told you to look at me, where are you looking?" Yu Jingchen said.
Nan Zhiyun clenched her hands. Yu Jingchen sighed, "You used to look. Now you're unwilling to?" Yu Jingchen asked.
"Look at me. If you continue like this, I'll really get angry soon," Yu Jingchen repeated, but there was no anger in his tone.
However, this did not mean Nan Zhiyun was not afraid. She was at her most sensitive now.
Nan Zhiyun looked back at Yu Jingchen. This time, however, it was Yu Jingchen who was taken aback. Because… Nan Zhiyun was crying. Even though she had been trying hard to hold back the tears in her eyes, she still couldn't stop them from falling.
Her tear-filled eyes stirred something in Qian Chenjue's heart.
"What's wrong now?" Yu Jingchen took two steps forward.
"I didn't say anything to you, why are you crying? Are tears that worthless?" Yu Jingchen asked.
But just as he was about to reach out to wipe Nan Zhiyun's tears, she knelt on the ground.
"Yes, this concubine knows her mistake. This concubine didn't mean to cry… this concubine…" Nan Zhiyun was trying to explain. In the past, Yu Jingchen truly detested her, and he also disliked others crying.
In Yu Jingchen's eyes, only the weak and incompetent would try to solve problems with tears. More often than not, he felt crying was a very insincere, feigned act.
In the beginning, many people in the harem would cry in front of him every day, just to play pitiful and appear wronged, hoping to gain his pity. But such people were always personally punished by his decree.