Chapter 156

 

The strong feeling of fear seemed to bring her back to that late night when she woke up from that dream.

She lay on the cold window with her eyes closed, gasping for breath. Completely engulfed in fear that she couldn’t extricate herself. But then, a vague babbling sound came into her ears.

It was the sound that Xiao Hu’er made when he woke up and couldn’t find her.

The little one, eyes still closed, was nudging with his fuzzy little head as usual, trying to burrow into her arms—but this time, he bumped into empty space. His aggrieved sobbing finally pulled her out of the dream filled with blood and fire.

After having Xiao Hu’er, as long as she had the time at night—no matter how exhausted she was during the day—she always insisted on sleeping with him herself. On many nights when worry, fear, or longing for someone made her feel unbearably alone and sleepless, just seeing this tiny person, holding him in her arms, would gradually steady her heart. With him there, she could patiently wait for dawn, ready to face a new day—no matter what it might bring.

“At that time, I always told myself that even if you really cannot come back, it doesn’t matter. I already have Xiao Hu’er, and I will raise him well. When he grew up, I can tell him what a hero his father was, and that he deserved his greatest pride and respect—

“But I know in my heart that if I can be a wilful person, what does the rest of the world have to do with me? I would rather you have no achievements, as long as you can come back safe and sound!

“Dache City is one thing, we have no other choice, but Chongtian Hall, it’s not as important as you! Pei Er, listen to me, if there’s a next time, if you dare to do this again, I, I—”

She recalled the scene a moment ago that had frightened her to death, her voice trembled, pausing for a moment.

“I will never forgive you!” she said fiercely.

“I’ll remember that.”

After a moment’s silence, he responded softly.

“What exactly would you remember?” Xuyu choked again, “I want you to say it again! Say it to me!”

He gazed deeply at the two pools of shimmering water before him in the dark night. Those were her eyes filled with tears.

“I, Pei Xiaoyuan, swear that from today on, I will take good care of myself. I will always be by your side, protecting you and our Xiao Hu’er.”

He spoke slowly.

Xuyu whimpered, then flung herself at him again, hugging him tightly, kissing him wildly, and even bit him. At first, Pei Xiaoyuan simply leaned back against the tree, unmoving, letting her do as she pleased with him, so she could vent the emotions that had built up inside her. But when her lips and teeth began to trail downward, sucking and biting at his Adam’s apple, the sensations became a mix of pain and unbearable tingling. And she didn’t stop there—her punishment continued, spreading from his neck to his chest. His robes were soon tugged loose and disheveled by her hands. Fortunately, the thick canopy of purple catalpa leaves blocked out the moonlight and completely concealed the two of them. A shudder ran through his body. He leaned close to her ear, lips brushing her skin, and with a voice tight and low with restraint, he coaxed her, trying to make her stop.

“Hao’er… isn’t it enough now? There may be people outside the grove… Let’s… let’s go back first…”

She must have done it on purpose. To punish him. Before he could finish his words, in the dim light, a soft hand boldly slipped under the hem of his robe, slipped in, and took hold of him.

His words broke off at once, replaced by a low, uncontrollable hiss of breath. He lowered his head to look at her, enduring her teasing, her punishment. After a moment, he gritted his teeth, picked her up, turned around, protected her back with one hand, and then pressed her against the tree.

The tree could not withstand the sudden impact—its crown trembled, branches shook, and amidst the rustling, a drowsy blossom was startled from its perch. It fluttered down and landed on the snow-white chest covered by her spring robe. He lowered his head and took both the flower and the tender skin beneath the thin fabric into his mouth with one hungry bite.

He didn’t know whether it was the flowers or her skin, but the faint fragrance filled his mouth and nose. He was utterly intoxicated by this late spring night, and he returned to her everything she had just done to him. Her feet were suspended in the air. The fierceness she had shown just moments before had vanished. She could only cling to his neck with both arms, legs wrapped around his waist to keep from sliding down. Not long after, her head tilted to the side and came to rest weakly on his shoulder.

From deep within the shadowed grove of blue-green trees, a faint, breathy gasp drifted out.

Blood thrumming wildly through his veins, Pei Xiaoyuan could no longer restrain himself. He swept her up once more into his arms and strode quickly out of the grove, across the covered corridor, to the doorway of the residence she had once used when she first entered the palace.

The palace was not open to public. The craftsmen had all left, and the remaining palace servants did not live here, leaving it empty. He brought her inside, closed the door, and the two fell on the bed in the room, their arms entwined, holding each other tightly.

A faint sliver of moonlight slipped through the small window. The bed was narrow, scarcely enough for one. Long uninhabited, the air carried a faint scent of dust and mildew. Yet in this plain, dark little room, Pei Xiaoyuan felt as though he had nearly stepped into heaven. She touched the hand that he once ruthlessly cut a finger off. When he instinctively tried to pull it back, she stubbornly held on, drew it to her face and soft lips, then pressed it firmly against her chest—letting it do as it pleased with her, in whatever way it wished, save one: it was not allowed to leave her again.

Pei Xiaoyuan had never received such a display of love from her like tonight. His eyes turned red at the corners, overcome with emotion. He felt he could bow to her willingly, offer her everything—his body, his heart, his very soul. A wave of fierce passion surged forth and swept the two of them away together. Even as the wave ebbed, it was clear she was far from satisfied—and he, even less so. In no time, they were entangled once again.

Pei Xiaoyuan had indeed experienced an unprecedented sense of fulfilment, and yet, deep down, it felt as though he had not truly received the full offering of her affections. He should have enjoyed this wonderful moment of skin to skin contact with her, but he found himself uncomfortable again, and slowly, his waist and back stopped moving.

At first, she still closed her eyes, waited for a while, raised a slender finger, and tickled the young man’s muscular and smooth waist a few times, motioned him to continue. But he still did not move. She mistakenly thought that he was tired, so she pushed him down, turned over, raised one of her legs, straddled his abdomen, preparing to take her turn. But he pushed her down again without saying a word, and the two returned to the previous position, she was below and he was on top.

She struggled a few times but couldn’t get up, so she suspected that he wanted to try some new pleasure trick on her, but was too ashamed to ask for it. She couldn’t help but chuckle. Half teasing, half encouraging this man who seemed a little reserved in front of her, she said: “What do you want? Just tell me!”

He loved her so much and truly captivated by her.

From the first moment he saw her, she struck a chord within him.

Pei Xiaoyuan was overwhelmed with emotion and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

“Hao’er, when did you start to like me?”

“I have liked you for a long time. Don’t you know, My dear Pei?”

She smiled and responded so quickly. He was startled and suspected that she was just being perfunctory.

“When you asked me to be your prince consort that day, it was clear…”

He couldn’t help but recall his wedding night again and closed his mouth sullenly.

“It was clear what?” She seemed to be still teasing him.

He didn’t answer, only pursed his lips.

The narrow bed made it impossible for him to move freely. He turned over and got off, one knee resting on the edge of the bed. Grasping her thighs, he pulled her toward him in one swift motion. Part eager to please, part fueled by a trace of sullen revenge, he treated her with the same fierce force he commanded on the battlefield, driving straight through the enemy lines, as if in response to her careless indifference.

She was frightened by his reckless action, and with a slight cry of surprise, she was forced to bend over and accept his advance.

“I’ve liked you for a long time.

“It’s true… My dear, please believe me…”

In a moment, amidst the joyful and seemingly painful soft cries, two snow-white arms climbed up his sweaty shoulders. As if pleading for mercy, she murmured again the words she had spoken moments before. But before she could finish, her voice faltered and broke, dissolving into the night air beneath the open sky, alongside the faint, distant sound of palace clock echoing in the dark.

The Milky Way gleamed faintly above, while drifting clouds darkened the sky.

As stars sank and the water clock’s chimes grew sparse, Pei Xiaoyuan and she lay entwined, neck to neck, their bare skin pressed close together, hearts pounding in unison like twin war drums, fiercely colliding in the quiet of night.

Everything fell silent. He let out a long sigh and opened his eyes. With the dim light coming in through the small window, he saw that she remained motionless, quietly resting in his embrace. He then pressed his lips to her ear again.

“Then when did you start to like me?” he asked again.

Xuyu never knew that he could be so persistent to this extent. He kept asking her questions over and over again. More annoying than Xiao Hu’er.

She sighed, opened her eyes and turned around, hooked her arm around his neck, and kissed the corner of his lips affectionately.

“Very early.”

She responded patiently, her voice still a little hoarse from not having fully recovered.

He was silent for a moment. Perhaps due to her boundless indulgence, he, like a child who could never get enough candy, was still not satisfied. He wanted to ask again, to ask clearly, on which month, which day, which moment, and for what reason, he had entered her heart.

But at this moment, a slight noise came from the direction of the corridor.

Someone came over to look for her, but was stopped by Yang Zai’en who was guarding there.

She also heard it. Seeming somewhat unwilling, but she finally turned over lazily in his arms, facing outward, and asked, “What’s the matter?”

After the princess and her husband walked out of Chongtian Hall in full view of everyone, Yang Zai’en led his men to follow behind.

Just now, he had sent all the others further away, leaving him alone to listen nearby. At this moment, he heard the princess’s voice coming from the room, and hurriedly walked over to report through the door.

The foreign objects hidden atop the roof of Chongtian Hall were all cleared out overnight. The master craftsmen also arrived to conduct a preliminary inspection. They reported that repairs would be carried out swiftly and should not affect the upcoming celebration.

In addition, Zhou He had also been captured. Perhaps knowing escape was impossible, he didn’t flee far but instead slipped into the Imperial Academy’s library. When the imperial guards showed up, he was still reading under lamplight, showing little fear, as if he had long been prepared for this moment. On the spot, he readily confessed how he had taken advantage of his work painting murals to hang curtains and conceal things, and how, on several occasions during the night, he had smuggled Li Meng into Chongtian Hall.

“According to his own account, it was Grand Empress Dowager who put pressure on him and promised him wealth and honor. He didn’t know what Li Meng had done when he sneaked in because Li Meng didn’t allow him to be present. But he also admitted that he knew it must be a conspiracy that was detrimental to the court. He said that he had betrayed the Princess’s trust in him and deserved a thousand death. But before he died, he begged the Princess to agree to one thing.”

“What else does he want?”

“He said that before he died, he wanted to go and see the mural he painted in the Chongtian Hall.”

Xuyu was silent for a moment, then said, “Alright!”

“Yes.”

Yang Zaien’s footsteps gradually faded away. After a while, Pei Xiaoyuan saw that she was no longer talking and cautiously hugged her from behind, then said, “Shall we go back too? I want to go see Xiao Hu’er. I haven’t seen him for a few days, and I’m afraid he’s forgotten me.”

Xuyu knew that he was just trying to coax her, so she put aside the emotions brought about by Zhou He’s matter, and nodded.

Pei Xiaoyuan said no more. He smiled and kissed her. Then he stood up, got dressed, and helped her put on her clothes back on one by one. Finally, he squatted in front of her feet, put on her silk stockings, and then put on her shoes.

After they had tidied themselves up, they walked out, side by side, and slowly headed towards her palace.

At this hour, the palace was extremely quiet. There was no one on the palace path. The only sound was the light footsteps of two people walking on the flower tiles of the palace path.

“I can tell the level of a person’s painting skills, but I can’t tell the heart of a person.”

She was still a little sad after all, and suddenly spoke in a low voice halfway through the journey.

“I was careless and created such a huge hidden danger with my own hands. If Li Yan and his people succeed in their plan and cause trouble on the day of the Captive Offering Ceremony, I…”

“It has nothing to do with you! It’s not your fault.” Pei Xiaoyuan interrupted her self-blame, then took her hand and squeezed it tightly.

“The human heart is more treacherous than mountains and rivers, and more difficult to understand than the heavens. Even the ancient sages lamented this. Stop overthinking, everything is over.”

With his comfort, Xuyu’s heart finally relaxed slowly. She felt that with him around, there would be no more difficulties in this world that could not be overcome.

She gently leaned her head on his shoulder, took a few steps forward, and suddenly, her steps slowly stopped.

“What’s wrong? Is there something else?” Pei Xiaoyuan noticed and turned to look at her.

“Something feels off…”

She pondered for a moment, turned her head, looked at the silhouette of Chongtian Hall in the dark night in the distance, and said, “I want to go back and take a look.”

“I’ll accompany you!” Pei Xiaoyuan said.

He accompanied her as they turned around and hurried toward Chongtian Hall. Halfway there, they suddenly saw a faint red light in the direction of Chongtian Hall.

The two of them looked at each other, their expressions changed slightly, and they hurriedly quickened their pace and ran.

At this time, a palace eunuch came running towards them. Upon seeing the two of them, he shouted, “Princess! Prince Consort! This is bad! Zhou He has gone crazy! He actually set fire, wanting to burn down the murals!”

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