Luo Wushuang’s question hung in the air, but Shangguan Liqian remained lost in thought, offering no immediate response.
If Shen Youran truly is a demon…
Shangguan Liqian sighed inwardly. She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of demon she was, and just how far her powers reached.
As her gaze swept over Prince An, who was kneeling on the floor with a look of utter despair, Shangguan Liqian’s eyes suddenly brightened.
If her dreams were indeed a premonition of reality, then Master Yujing must exist as well. Ever since that nightmare, she had asked Wushuang to send people out to find him. She wondered if they had found any leads yet.
If Master Yujing—or perhaps his Senior Brother—truly possessed the power to move heaven and earth, then…
Thinking of this, Shangguan Liqian shifted slightly, her eyes burning as she stared at the woman beside her. She wanted to ask for clarity right then and there, but with Prince An still present, she held her tongue.
Luo Wushuang, the target of that intense gaze, failed to grasp her sister’s meaning. Just as she was about to ask, she caught Luo Wuyan staring fixatiously at Shangguan Liqian out of the corner of her eye.
Fury surged through her again. The patience she had maintained until now finally shattered.
“Guards! Escort Prince An back to his manor. He is not to leave without an imperial decree.”
“Understood!”
As the personal guards led the prisoner away, Luo Wushuang’s eyes—smoldering with jealousy—turned toward Shangguan Liqian. The urge to “bully” her, which had been simmering earlier, rushed back to the surface.
Unaware of the shift in Wushuang’s temperament, Shangguan Liqian waited until the doors closed behind Prince An before speaking up impatiently.
“Wushuang, do you remember the last time—”
Before she could finish, Luo Wushuang leaned in and captured her lips.
Still intent on discussing serious matters, Shangguan Liqian leaned back slightly, pressing her hands against Luo Wushuang’s chest to push her away.
Luo Wushuang, consumed by jealousy, sensed her resistance. She pulled Liqian into a tight embrace, and with a rope that seemed to appear out of thin air, she bound the hands that had been pushing her behind Liqian’s back.
Once she was sure her sister could no longer stop her, she leaned in for a much deeper, more forceful kiss.
Being “punished” like this made it impossible for Shangguan Liqian to focus, even as her mind remained preoccupied with the portents of her dream. Sensing her lack of concentration, Luo Wushuang pulled back, her smile flashing with a dangerous edge.
“Sister is being naughty. Ever since you saw Prince An, your heart hasn’t been on me at all…”
Without waiting for a reply, Luo Wushuang swept the items off the imperial desk and hoisted Liqian up onto the cleared surface.
Standing before the desk, Luo Wushuang was slightly taller than the seated Shangguan Liqian. She only needed to tilt her head slightly to press their lips together, their foreheads touching.
Luo Wushuang gently tapped Shangguan Liqian’s knee, signaling for her to open up.
But it was broad daylight, and they were in the Imperial Study—a place of gravity and statecraft. Shangguan Liqian refused to let her have her way.
Sensing the resistance, Luo Wushuang braced her hands on the empty desktop. Her waist forced its way between Liqian’s legs, and she leaned down to kiss her again.
“Wu… Wushuang… you can’t.”
When the kiss finally ended, Shangguan Liqian’s hands were still bound behind her. Unable to push the increasingly overbearing woman away, she could only stare with wide, bright eyes, her face filled with silent accusation.
This was the Imperial Study, the place where generations of emperors had reviewed memorials and discussed the fate of the nation. She didn’t want to do this here!
Luo Wushuang’s heart was racing with impulse, and when she met those bright eyes, her desire…
It refused to be suppressed.
“Sister, I’m sorry!”
Luo Wushuang offered a sincere apology, then reached under the desk and pulled out an exquisite wooden box.
Enduring the strange sensations being stirred within her, Shangguan Liqian lowered her gaze. When she saw the contents of the box, her eyes widened in shock.
What is all this nonsense?
Wushuang… how could she keep such indecent things in such a dignified place?
She recalled how, when she had forbidden Luo Wushuang from staying at Qingluan Palace, the Empress had supposedly slept in the Imperial Study every night.
Was she spending every night before bed—or whenever she was bored—plotting how to… how to bully me?
Shangguan Liqian took a deep breath, feeling more and more that this was exactly the kind of thing Luo Wushuang would do.
Faced with the resentment and accusation in Liqian’s eyes, Luo Wushuang gave a placating smile. She pulled a red silk ribbon from the box and tied it over those eyes that always managed to make her feel guilty.
“You… let me go!” Shangguan Liqian cried.
“I won’t! Sister belongs to me.”
As she spoke, Luo Wushuang kissed her eyes through the silk ribbon, her hand sliding down from Liqian’s waist.
With her vision obscured, Shangguan Liqian found her hearing and sense of touch becoming agonizingly sharp. She could hear every hitch in Wushuang’s breath… She could feel exactly where those hands and lips landed…
Suddenly, a chill ran through her lower body… Followed by a searing heat…
“No…” Shangguan Liqian bit her lower lip, her voice trembling with a sob.
“Sister…”
Muffled, indistinct sounds filled the air. A series of blurred images flickered through Shangguan Liqian’s mind. As time slowed, the images seemed to gradually sharpen…
After a long while, Luo Wushuang stood up and untied the rope around Liqian’s wrists and the loose silk ribbon covering her eyes.
Still reeling from the intensity, Shangguan Liqian stared blankly ahead, her mind a complete void.
Luo Wushuang took her hands and draped them around her own waist, then leaned down to kiss Liqian’s disheveled hair. She rubbed her back in a silent, soothing rhythm.
Only when Shangguan Liqian finally regained her senses did Luo Wushuang whisper, “Would Sister like to bathe here, or head back first?”
Shangguan Liqian’s gaze drifted to the wooden box on the floor. Recalling the woman’s reckless abandon just moments ago, she couldn’t help but glare at her fiercely.
Just now… this woman had behaved exactly like a decadent, faint monarch! How… how could she do that in here?
Being glared at only made Luo Wushuang feel like her very bones were melting. Her sister was so beautiful—beautiful when she was angry, and even more beautiful when she lost control…
Seeing the obvious satisfaction on Wushuang’s face despite the glare, Shangguan Liqian was speechless. This girl is getting more and more out of hand.
But thinking of what had just transpired, her face flushed crimson again. It was better to go back and bathe; otherwise, the people outside would surely guess what they had been doing.
Silently marking this debt in her mental ledger, Shangguan Liqian pushed Luo Wushuang away and stood up. Her legs were weak, and her body felt leaden and exhausted. Even her steps were slightly unsteady.
Luo Wushuang carefully supported her. Seeing the fatigue on her face, she suggested, “Perhaps it’s better to bathe and rest here for a while before going back?”
Shangguan Liqian shook her head. Supporting her aching body, she said in a raspy voice, “Help me fix my clothes.”
Luo Wushuang obliged immediately, moving with eager diligence to straighten Liqian’s rumpled robes. She then casually tucked a few stray hairs behind her own ear and looked at Shangguan Liqian with sparkling eyes.
Seeing Wushuang’s “please praise me” expression, Shangguan Liqian let out a cold snort and turned to leave. After two steps, she couldn’t help but stop, turn back, and give another heavy snort. She stomped firmly on Luo Wushuang’s foot before finally exiting the Imperial Study in a huff.
Being stepped on actually helped ease Luo Wushuang’s lingering anxiety. Seeing her sister act so “adorably” was a relief.
Suppressing a smile, she hurried to Liqian’s side and coaxed her in a low, humble voice, “Sister, I know I was wrong. You can punish me however you like!”
“Shut up!”
Catching sight of the servants waiting outside, a humiliated Shangguan Liqian hissed the command, refusing to acknowledge the lawless creature any longer.
Behind her, Luo Wushuang followed closely. Noticing Liqian’s slightly stumbling gait, she thoughtfully called for a sedan chair to be brought forward.
Once she was settled on the sedan, Shangguan Liqian closed her eyes to rest, refusing to give the woman beside her even a single glance for the rest of the journey.
