Under Ying Lan’s resentful gaze, Jiang Chenbi bit her lip, thinking about what she had to do that night, and felt a bit shy. “What do you think… if I seduce her…”
“It’ll work!”
Before Jiang Chenbi could finish, Ying Lan gave a straightforward conclusion.
No one could resist the Palace Lord’s seduction. As long as the Palace Lord was willing, countless people would beg to be her devoted followers. Cui Wangshu was getting off too easy.
Ying Lan’s blunt words made the tips of Jiang Chenbi’s ears turn red. After five years apart, Ying Lan had truly grown up.
Cui Wangshu was unwilling to talk to her these days, and Jiang Chenbi couldn’t find anyone else to help. She could only cater to her preferences, coax her with her body first, and then win over her heart.
With a light cough, Jiang Chenbi said unnaturally, “Go prepare. I want to bathe.”
Ying Lan: Wow.
As night fell, Cui Wangshu finally appeared before dinner. Jiang Chenbi sized her up, her gaze involuntarily landing on Cui Wangshu’s hands with their distinct knuckles.
She bit her lip and walked over to sit down.
The moment she sat, Cui Wangshu caught the familiar, alluring fragrance on her body. Seeing the thin, translucent clothes she wore, her eyes darkened slightly, and she subtly took two extra breaths.
The palace maid poured wine for the two of them. When Cui Wangshu’s gaze fell on the cup, she hesitated. Jiang Chenbi picked up her wine cup, her eyes filled with expectation as she looked at her.
Cui Wangshu pursed her lips, reached out to pick up her cup, and took a sip. Jiang Chenbi drank a bit more than her and took the initiative to ask, “Have you been busy lately?”
Cui Wangshu lowered her eyes and replied, “Not too bad.”
Jiang Chenbi lifted her gaze, her eyes flowing with charm as she stared at Cui Wangshu. “Then why do I never see you?”
Cui Wangshu’s pupils contracted slightly, her breathing stalled, and she averted her gaze, lowering her eyes. “…Do you want to see me?”
“I thought you didn’t want to see me.” Jiang Chenbi drank another cup of wine, her tongue brushing over her red lips, making them glisten. She smiled lightly at Cui Wangshu.
Cui Wangshu’s gaze stuck to that fleeting glimpse of her tongue tip, staring at those plump red lips. Her throat bobbed, and she said hoarsely, “Drink less.”
Jiang Chenbi curved her lips, stood up with the wine cup in hand, and used her other hand to pinch Cui Wangshu’s chin, leaning in close. Her voice carried a seductive lilt. “Then… Your Majesty, drink for me, okay?”
The palace maid nearby was scared out of her wits at the sight. That was the Empress, being pinched by the chin like this?
Cui Wangshu looked up at her, her eyes darkening, and said in a low voice, “No manners…”
Jiang Chenbi laughed lightly, pinched both her cheeks, and poured the wine straight into her mouth. Cui Wangshu stared fixedly at her but didn’t resist, obediently swallowing the wine she fed her.
Jiang Chenbi leaned in and laughed softly by Cui Wangshu’s ear. “As long as you like it, that’s enough.”
A dangerous glint gathered in Cui Wangshu’s eyes. She reached out, pulled her onto her lap, and said hoarsely, “Behave.”
With that, she picked up the wine pot.
Jiang Chenbi leaned naturally into her embrace, opened her mouth to take the spout Cui Wangshu brought to her lips, and swallowed it all down with a rolling throat. She narrowed her eyes, her gaze slightly unfocused, yet she stared intently at Cui Wangshu.
Cui Wangshu’s breathing grew heavier under her stare. Just that one look made her recall every night from before, how Jiang Chenbi had been so wanton and lost beneath her.
She set the wine pot on the table and stared at Jiang Chenbi, saying deeply, “You’re drunk. Go rest.”
With that, she moved to pick Jiang Chenbi up. But Jiang Chenbi, seeing her sit there unmoved, suddenly grabbed her collar and bit down on Cui Wangshu’s lips. Her tongue pried open her teeth and slipped inside.
The palace maid’s face flushed red, and she quietly pushed the door shut as she slipped out.
Cui Wangshu’s body stiffened, but her instinctive desire quickly surged forward. Her hand uncontrollably pressed Jiang Chenbi into her embrace, while the other hand lightly gripped her neck, seizing back control. The kiss deepened, as if she wanted to devour her whole.
Her other hand slid familiarly from her lower back downward. A soft moan escaped Jiang Chenbi’s throat, unable to bear it. Cui Wangshu paused, snapped back to awareness, released her, pulled her away a bit, and turned her head, saying hoarsely, “You’ve had too much.”
Seeing that she could still hold back even at this point, Jiang Chenbi gritted her teeth and couldn’t resist provoking her. “If you can’t handle it, I’ll find someone else.”
Back then, she wouldn’t let her touch, acting like a mad dog desperate to mount her. Now that she was offering herself up, she was pretending otherwise. Jiang Chenbi wasn’t going to indulge her.
At those words, Cui Wangshu whipped her head back to stare at her, her tone icy cold, grinding her teeth. “Do you know what you’re saying?”
Jiang Chenbi frowned, pushed her away, got off her lap, and sneered, “What else? Should I live like a widow?”
With that, she headed for the door. In an instant, watching Jiang Chenbi’s departing back, the fear of loss surged through her heart again. The old jealousy stabbed into her mind, amplified by alcohol and hallucinations. Cui Wangshu’s eyes reddened at the corners. With a cold face, she stood, grabbed her wrist, and yanked her toward the bed.
Jiang Chenbi stumbled from the pull, but there was no anger in her eyes—instead, a flash of triumph.
She pushed her down onto the bed, Cui Wangshu’s knee pressing between Jiang Chenbi’s legs. She leaned down and bit her lips, her hands swiftly undoing Jiang Chenbi’s clothes.
Jiang Chenbi let out a muffled hum and suddenly regretted it a little. What about her waist…
Before her clothes were fully off, Cui Wangshu thrust her knee upward. Jiang Chenbi twisted to flee in an instant. This wasn’t right… It wasn’t like she’d imagined. They couldn’t do it tonight.
Cui Wangshu chuckled lowly, pinched her chin to turn her face back, and pressed her thumb into her mouth, her voice hoarse. “I told you to behave, but you wouldn’t. Now you want to run? Too late…”
Suddenly, Jiang Chenbi’s body stiffened, her expression pained. She frowned and pushed at Cui Wangshu’s hand. Too much…
Cui Wangshu picked her up, muffling the whimpers from her mouth. Soon, the whimpers turned to soft moans. Cui Wangshu lifted her head to bite her collarbone and laughed lowly. “Enough?”
Jiang Chenbi gritted her teeth, her neck arching back in confusion and desire. She couldn’t take it and wanted to run—it had been a miscalculation. It had been five years; how could she endure it tonight?
Cui Wangshu pressed her down hard and smiled. “Good girl.”
Jiang Chenbi felt like driftwood in the ocean, her pupils contracting sharply as she shuddered and hugged Cui Wangshu tightly. It was the only thing she could cling to now.
Cui Wangshu gripped the back of her neck, pulled her up from her shoulder, leaned in, and took her tongue tip into her mouth. Jiang Chenbi felt her tongue go numb from the sucking and couldn’t help but bite Cui Wangshu’s tongue.
Unexpectedly, that bite excited her more. Cui Wangshu laid her back on the bed, licked her lips, wrapped her legs around her waist, and leaned down with wicked eyes to bite Jiang Chenbi’s lips.
Jiang Chenbi’s throat bobbed, and she thought tearfully of one thing: Cui Wangshu was thirty this year.
It continued until late into the night when Cui Wangshu suddenly paused, her face paling as she stared at the person beneath her, panic flashing in her eyes.
As they neared the peak, she stopped abruptly. Jiang Chenbi, unbearably frustrated, opened her eyes to look at Cui Wangshu. She saw her body rigid, shoulders trembling slightly, as if she’d just realized what she’d done.
Cui Wangshu swallowed, pulled out, and looked at Jiang Chenbi with unease, seemingly at a loss.
Jiang Chenbi cursed inwardly and kicked her thigh. “Who taught you that?”
Stopping midway—typical of her. Was this her revenge?
Cui Wangshu’s voice was hoarse and strained. “I…”
Jiang Chenbi couldn’t stand the unfinished tension. She pulled her down and cursed, “I what? If I didn’t want it, would I be lying here? Finish it, hurry up!”
With that, she lifted her chin and blocked Cui Wangshu’s lips. Cui Wangshu’s breath hitched, and the next second, she seemed to grasp the meaning of those words. Her breathing grew chaotic as her hand ventured downward again.
Jiang Chenbi bit hard on her lip, as if punishing her for what she’d done.
But soon, Jiang Chenbi had no strength left to bite.
Why, even in the late hours, after that brief pause, had Cui Wangshu become even more excessive? Overwhelming possessiveness overflowed from her eyes as she stared intently at Jiang Chenbi, pinning her crossed hands to the bed, each position more intense than the last.
Jiang Chenbi clutched the bedsheets tightly, weakly pushing at Cui Wangshu’s head buried in her neck.
No more biting, or there wouldn’t be a single good spot left…
Before passing out, Jiang Chenbi swore to herself she’d never seduce her again.
Seeing her fall into a deep sleep, Cui Wangshu’s lashes trembled. She leaned down to kiss Jiang Chenbi’s shoulder tenderly, her voice shaking with sobs. “I don’t hate you…”
Unfortunately, Jiang Chenbi couldn’t hear it, but precisely because she couldn’t, Cui Wangshu dared to say it aloud.
She kissed the hideous arrow wound on Jiang Chenbi’s chest meticulously. Cui Wangshu’s throat tightened, a tear falling onto the scar. She kissed the tear away and continued pecking at the wound.
Once Jiang Chenbi’s steady sleeping breaths came, Cui Wangshu lifted her head. In the dim light, she looked at the marks on her body, her throat bobbing. Unable to hold back even though she was asleep, she indulged.
Jiang Chenbi jolted awake from her dream, looked at the top of her head, then at the bright daylight outside, and closed her eyes in despair. She said hoarsely, “Aren’t you going to court…”
Cui Wangshu swallowed the sweetness in her mouth, leaned up to kiss her, and mumbled, “I’m sick today. I can’t go.”
Jiang Chenbi endured her kiss, her tongue root aching. Honestly, she wanted to kick Cui Wangshu off. How could it go on so long? Wasn’t she tired?
Cui Wangshu said nothing, showing her with actions just how clingy a woman who’d endured five years of abstinence could be.
Jiang Chenbi woke and slept, slept and woke again. Finally, she could feel that a certain place was swollen. Frowning, she couldn’t help kicking Cui Wangshu’s face away and cursed, “Enough… If you keep this up, don’t touch me again.”
Cui Wangshu fell silent, lowered her eyes, her expression apologetic. “Sorry, just one last time, okay?”
Jiang Chenbi: “…”
By the time Jiang Chenbi could truly sleep, it felt like night had fallen outside again.
Cui Wangshu carried her to clean up, applied ointment, and then held her in her arms to sleep. After five years, holding her like this again, Cui Wangshu couldn’t help but feel her nose sting.
That fragile, pitiful look made it seem like she was the one who’d been bullied. Half-asleep, Jiang Chenbi felt hot tears in her neck hollow and said helplessly, “I won’t leave you. Go to sleep…”
Cui Wangshu didn’t answer, just held her tighter. Exhausted, Jiang Chenbi let her hold on and fell straight asleep.
When she woke again, it was pitch black outside. Jiang Chenbi didn’t even know how many days had passed.
Her voice was hoarse as she spoke. The palace maid heard and entered immediately. “Madam, do you need anything?”
Jiang Chenbi coughed lightly, her face unnatural. “How long have I slept?”
The palace maid lowered her eyes. “Her Majesty instructed us this morning before court not to disturb you.”
So she’d slept a full day. Jiang Chenbi fell silent, looked down at her body covered in marks, and asked, “Has she come by?”
The palace maid nodded. “Her Majesty came to see you after court, then went to the Imperial Palace. She’s back now, in the study. She said to report when you woke.”
Jiang Chenbi rubbed her temples and said hoarsely, “No need to report… I want some water.”
The palace maid brought tea. She didn’t dare glance at her body, but her peripheral vision caught the marks, shocking her.
Her Majesty… yeah.
Jiang Chenbi handed back the cup and asked, “Is there food? I’m starving.”
The palace maid looked at her with pity and nodded. “Yes, Her Majesty ordered it kept ready. This servant will have the meal brought.”
Jiang Chenbi didn’t miss the fleeting pity in her eyes and instantly felt a kinship. She pitied herself too. Over two days had passed in a haze, and now she was thirsty and starving upon waking.
Jiang Chenbi stood, her face unnatural, taking tiny steps. Looking at the hard stool, she went silent.
The palace maid perceptively fetched a cushion. Jiang Chenbi’s ears reddened as she sat carefully, still sucking in a sharp breath.
She was starving, but facing the table of food, her appetite vanished. Just as she planned to poke at it casually, she heard respectful voices outside: “Your Majesty.”
As soon as Cui Wangshu entered, her gaze fell on Jiang Chenbi. Seeing that she was dressed so thinly, her expression turned somewhat cold. “Why didn’t you help the Empress change her clothes?”
The palace maid hurriedly knelt on the ground, but Jiang Chenbi spoke up first to bail her out. “I didn’t let her help me change. I’m going to sleep soon anyway—what clothes is there to change into?”
Cui Wangshu lowered her eyes and said, “Get up.”
The palace maid quickly stood and retreated to the side.
Cui Wangshu walked over and sat down. Looking at the barely touched dishes on the table, she asked, “Not to your taste?”
Jiang Chenbi looked at her with amusement, noting how her brows had softened. For the past few days, she had worn a cold face every day, but after being satisfied yesterday, even her aura had gentled.
Jiang Chenbi curved her lips and raised a brow. “If you feed me, then I’ll want to eat.”
Cui Wangshu’s eyes brightened for a moment. She picked up her chopsticks, clamped a piece of lamb, and brought it to her mouth. Jiang Chenbi frowned and said, “I don’t want that.”
Cui Wangshu’s expression didn’t even change. She set the lamb down and picked up some shredded chicken instead, offering it to her mouth.
Jiang Chenbi lifted her chin deliberately. “I don’t want that.”
Cui Wangshu saw the sly, fox-like glint in her eyes, curved her own lips, set the chicken down, and picked up some stir-fried vegetables instead.
Jiang Chenbi turned her head away and huffed lightly. “I don’t want that.”
The corners of Cui Wangshu’s lips lifted. She set down her chopsticks and coaxed, “Then I’ll go make something for you. What do you want to eat?”
Jiang Chenbi’s lips curved high. She turned back to look at her and said, “Make all of these on the table, one by one.”
Cui Wangshu let out a light laugh. “Alright, I’ll go make them for you.”
Jiang Chenbi coughed lightly and tapped her fingertips against her own lips. Cui Wangshu’s heart suddenly softened. She leaned down and planted a kiss there.
Watching her retreating back, Jiang Chenbi lowered her eyes and chuckled softly. “Clear all these away.”
The palace maid was still stunned by the scene she had just witnessed. Snapping back to reality, she hurriedly replied, “Yes.”
Had she just seen a ghost?
Was that the same aloof, noble Female Emperor of theirs—who was moody and unpredictable—who had been deliberately teased without getting angry, and even laughed about it?
She remembered that when the Female Emperor had entered earlier, her own head had nearly been forfeit. How had she suddenly become so gentle?
The palace maid’s gaze quietly swept over Jiang Chenbi’s beautiful face. She understood now—as long as she clung tightly to the Empress’s thigh, she could live better. Maybe one day, she could even become head maid.
The palace maid secretly resolved herself: From now on, she wouldn’t allow anyone to defy the Empress!
Once everything was cleared away, Jiang Chenbi had someone fetch a gauze robe for her to drape over her shoulders. She headed familiarly to the kitchen to see what Cui Wangshu was doing.
Leaning against the doorframe with a smile tugging at her lips, Jiang Chenbi watched Cui Wangshu’s orderly movements. The woman exuded a noble air, and even cooking carried an air of elegance and unhurried poise.
Jiang Chenbi watched her skilled motions, recalling the first time she had eaten food made by her hands—it had been so bad she nearly spat it out, and she hadn’t even had an appetite back then.
She had no idea how she had managed to swallow it.
