Chapter 40: The Seductive Shadow of the National Advisor

“Lu…”

“Don’t speak.”

The water poured into her throat, swallowed gulp by gulp. Li Ji’s lips were pressed firmly against hers, her tongue tip nearly numb, struggling even to curl up.

Her palm pressed forcefully against a expanse of smooth, pale skin. Lu Yihuan had originally tried to restrain her breathing, but as oxygen ran low, she let out heavy, ragged gasps that washed over the face before her.

In that moment, Li Ji clearly felt the body in front of her tremble from those breaths.

The water slipping into her mouth was the first Li Ji had ever tasted like this, and the scene unfolding now was one she had never imagined.

She wasn’t sure if Lu Yihuan was still in her right mind when she did this.

But as the other party in this affair, Li Ji felt profoundly shocked.

So mouths could be used like this…

Earlier, Lu Yihuan had dragged her onto the bed. In a mere instant, Li Ji watched as the woman shed her dark outer robe, leaving only her inner garments, and without pause began tugging at Li Ji’s red gauze dress.

The dress was made of thin, light fabric. The scorching heat of Lu Yihuan’s hands instantly seeped through the sheer material to touch her skin.

In the span of a few blinks, Li Ji was left wearing only her undergarments.

“Wait… wait!”

Seeing the woman before her unhesitatingly undo the sash without mercy, Li Ji’s previously muddled mind finally cleared. She realized what Lu Yihuan intended to do right now.

Was she really going to share a night of passion with her?

Heavens, hadn’t she just been coldly telling her to get lost? How had the shift happened so fast!

This second world had only just begun.

“What’s wrong? Unwilling?” The hand untying the sash paused. Waves of lust scorched through her, turning her body feverish, her reason long since burned away.

Lu Yihuan narrowed her eyes, appraising the person kneeling before her. A haze of moisture veiled the frenzy in her gaze. She had just spoken those words, yet now the face showed such reluctance…

Words spoken were like spilled water, Eldest Princess.

“Unfortunately, it’s no longer up to you.”

The sash slowly loosened, revealing the same exquisite beauty as the snow-white form on the bed.

Since the other wanted to hide her identity in front of her, Lu Yihuan obliged by thoroughly using her status to her advantage.

A mere dancer, no matter how bold, was easy prey for the Regent King to bully with her authority.

A vast expanse of pale skin bore down without restraint. Li Ji, suddenly bearing that weight, let out a muffled grunt from her pursed lips. Her chin was seized by a scalding hand and forcibly turned back.

Her breath hitched as she met a pair of intense, fathomless dark eyes.

In just one day, Jiang Li—or rather, Li Ji—had witnessed an iceberg of glacial waters melt away. The glacier, once thawed, burned with such ferocity and passion that it left her speechless.

Dye her black. Blacken those pure eyes. Drag her down to hell together…

The thought surged in her mind, urging and compelling Lu Yihuan to grasp that turned-away profile and force it back. Only then did the displeasure in her heart ease slightly.

What was the point of this coyness after her earlier words?

A promise made was ironclad. This King never went back on her word.

“This King agreed to your earlier request. After tonight, you may leave freely or follow This King back to the residence—your choice entirely.”

Her fingers tightened on the chin, her voice low and husky. Lu Yihuan stared into Li Ji’s evasive eyes, emphasizing each word.

“But right now, This King needs you. And you cannot refuse.”

Those were the last words before they surrendered to desire.

After that, the coverings on their bodies lost all purpose—except for Lu Yihuan’s dark outer robe.

It had originally fallen to one side, but in the midst of it all, Li Ji pulled it over and draped it across Lu Yihuan’s shoulders.

It concealed some of the spilling spring scenery and finally allowed Li Ji to lift her head and look at her.

But that robe soon betrayed Li Ji herself.

Cups of water slid down her face. Draped over Lu Yihuan, it created undulations that completely obscured their faces.

Thus, the only scent Li Ji breathed was hers, and all she saw was the intimate landscape through the veil of water droplets mere inches away.

Water glistened everywhere, dripping down cheeks to pool into a spring at the collarbone, generously nourished by streams from elsewhere.

Li Ji had no room to resist—neither when pulled onto the bed nor when forcibly fed water this way.

At first, amid the drenching, Li Ji tried suggesting another way. Lying there with her head tilted back like this was exhausting.

What if she sat up and took over the motions? Hearing the proposal whispered in her ear, Lu Yihuan glanced sidelong at those ten henna-dyed, alluring fingertips and rejected it amid her low pants.

“You… surely don’t want This King to wake tomorrow and chop off those henna-stained hands of yours.”

Li Ji hissed, glancing at her trembling fingertips before helplessly closing her eyes. She had applied the henna just last night to experience it, who knew it would lead to this…

Seeing this tactic wouldn’t work, Li Ji had no choice but to continue serving the esteemed Regent King with her lips and tongue.

By the end, her tongue was numb from sucking, her lip rouge smeared, yet Lu Yihuan showed no release.

If not for the tightening grip in her hair, Li Ji would have wondered if the woman felt anything at all.

After countless attempts, Li Ji’s henna-tipped fingers weakly pressed against the pale chest bearing down again. “No more…”

Those deep eyes remained fixed on her, seemingly laced with disdain. Li Ji kept her eyes shut, trying to ignore the gaze on her body.

After a long moment, unable to endure, she suggested proactively, “You do it yourself. I saw you didn’t apply henna.”

Her tongue numb, she forced the words out under the increasingly scorching stare.

She was done. Even if Lu Yihuan stared her to death here today, she wouldn’t move another inch.

Let her handle it herself…

The drug—whoever made it—was torturously potent. They had tangled for hours, yet the fire only burned fiercer each time.

Doing it herself? Impossible. But seeing the woman below close her eyes in defiance, a flicker of amusement flashed beneath the heavy desire in Lu Yihuan’s gaze.

The pampered Eldest Princess, pressed beneath her for hours without mercy—truly, she’d suffered.

However. Shifting her body, Lu Yihuan straddled Li Ji’s abdomen. Lust shimmered in her eyes like rippling waves. Her fingertips lightly brushed the slightly pouted lips, still carrying traces of her own taste.

The flush on that face from the laborious efforts was no less than her own. Looking at it, Lu Yihuan wasn’t sure if she was the one drugged or if it was this woman.

She looked pitiful, but Lu Yihuan felt no pity—merely wiping away the moisture at her eye corner with a gentle touch.

“Be good. I said one night—no less, not even an hour short.”

Pretending thoughtfulness, she pressed down the hand Li Ji had placed atop her head, interlacing their fingers tightly. Lu Yihuan rocked her hips forward and back, eyes full of anticipation fixed on the tightly shut ones below.

Doesn’t it hurt for her to grind like this?!

Li Ji’s eyes flew open in alarm, lifting to meet that gaze thick with desire. With each rhythmic pressure on her body, she ducked her head, a blush flying across her face.

She didn’t know if Lu Yihuan felt pain from the grinding, but the water droplets—and lingering streaks—on her own abdomen were all too real.

That night, though Lu Yihuan took the initiative later, Li Ji’s waist ended up sore and limp, not daring to move.

As the exhausted woman drifted into deep sleep, she forgot that later, unable to endure the teasing rubs, she had grown dissatisfied with passivity. Propping herself on her wrists, she’d lifted her waist to rub back.

The two impossibly soft, scorching places had pressed together repeatedly.

By night’s end, they’d tried everything. Lu Yihuan merely raised a brow at the one clinging restlessly to her chest and let her be.

Not long into deep slumber, the auto-call from 123 that Li Ji had preset crackled noisily in her mind, refusing to stop until she woke.

【Not leaving? Planning to really go back to Lu Yihuan’s residence?】

So numb. Waist aching, legs weak… Didn’t want to move…

123’s reminder chimed. But just a slight shift sent intense reactions through her body, making Jiang Li wonder if she was ruined, doubting her current condition.

【Hurry up. You still need to return to the palace and freshen up. Morning Court’s about to start.】

“This Princess has to attend Morning Court?!” Jiang Li couldn’t believe it. Did her princess powers extend that far?

No, the real issue—was she in any state to go like this?

123 replied with a smile: 【Yes, the right to attend Morning Court is what you earned by crying to the Emperor for a week.】

She was speechless.

Glancing out, it was still pitch black—no rooster crows yet. What a life.

Tiptoeing out of bed, Jiang Li’s calf muscles trembled fiercely on the floor. Half from last night’s exertion, half from fear Lu Yihuan might wake.

Not doubt—certainty that Lu Yihuan wouldn’t let her off easily.

After sharing that night, Jiang Li had gained some insight into the ruthlessness beneath Lu Yihuan’s cold exterior. If caught trying to slip away, tsk.

No need to overthink. Jiang Li lightened her steps, glancing back carefully at the sleeping figure on the bed with every move. Only after closing the door and leaving the building did she finally exhale the breath pent in her chest.

Jiang Li fled swiftly, hurrying back to her own palace.

With lamps lit, she removed her makeup, luxuriated in a bath, then let her personal maids dress her.

After a few attempts to speak, Jiang Li wisely shut her mouth.

Her tongue root ached; even curling it was difficult.

Better to rest it. She’d need to speak at court soon.

Eyes closed, her maids slowed, gently combing her hair.

Dawn broke at the horizon.

Despite the night’s exertions leaving her body weak and limp, Lu Yihuan woke at her usual time.

The person was gone.

The hand that had rested on her chest before sleep was missing. The warmth beside her had cooled. Lu Yihuan raised a brow, palm pressing into the bedding as she sat up.

Quite the swift escape, Eldest Princess.

Her hair draped messily over her shoulders. With the room empty, Lu Yihuan relaxed her expression, leaning against the bedhead. Leisurely, she hooked the outer robe from nearby.

Bending at the waist, a red plum bloom amid snow was veiled by her hair. Fingertips plucked the robe; Lu Yihuan’s brow furrowed slightly, but she put it on anyway.

Beneath, against her skin, spots were still damp from the water.

Casually tying her hair, Lu Yihuan walked out.

Just as she exited the back door of Spring Intent Pavilion, someone approached—face pale, beads of nervous sweat dripping.

“My Lord.”

The guard from Lu Residence, who should have appeared last night, only showed up now.

Lu Yihuan glanced indifferently. As the group tensed for punishment, the dark figure boarded the carriage and commanded coldly, “Back to the residence.”

No punishment?!

Exchanging glances, disbelief and relief shone in their eyes.

They hastily assented, yanking the horses’ reins. The group escorted the carriage toward the residence.

Sitting properly, Lu Yihuan lifted her sleeve. Her gaze, amused yet not, fixed on the red scratches from fingernails on her wrist—marks brazenly left behind.

Scratch her and run? Did the Eldest Princess think such a good deal existed in this world?

Daydreaming.