Chapter 58

“Your Majesty, do you not like it when this consort comes to keep you company?”

Xiao Yuzen flicked her sleeve, the gauzy fabric fluttering like a butterfly’s wings before drifting slowly down onto the intricately grained rosewood table. She drew closer to Lu Xi with a playful laugh, her spread skirts shimmering with flecks of light in the candle glow.

“It’s late at night now. Your Majesty should rest.” She lifted her boneless-seeming wrist, her fingertip brushing lightly before resting on Lu Xi’s shoulder. With just the right pressure, she began to knead the tension away. “This consort simply feels sorry for you. With the snow disaster in Xianzhou Prefecture weighing on you, you’ve surely worn yourself out, haven’t you?”

It had to be said that Xiao Yuzen had quite the talent for this. In just a few strokes, Lu Xi felt her bones turn to jelly. She wanted to refuse, but it felt too good to even lift a hand.

Instead, she simply leaned back against the chair, her eyes half-closing as a soft sigh escaped her lips.

“We already discussed the snow disaster with the ministers during morning court, so I’m not truly that busy.”

Xiao Yuzen’s slender fingers, tipped with bright dan kou polish, curved slightly as they trailed downward. With a gentle flick of her index finger, she parted the collar of Lu Xi’s outer robe. “This consort doesn’t understand court politics. This consort only wants Your Majesty to rest well~”

Her trailing tone was soft and seductive, lingering in Lu Xi’s ear. Pulling herself from the lingering comfort, Lu Xi seized the girl’s soft hand, which had already settled over her heart, and shifted it away.

The beauty before her brimmed with allure—a slightly parted vermilion lip, delicately furrowed brows that seemed to haze with enticing charm.

Lu Xi glanced at her impassively, wondering what purpose had brought her here so suddenly.

“Your Majesty, why are you staring at this consort like that?” Xiao Yuzen leaned toward Lu Xi’s embrace without hesitation, only to find her retreating slightly, widening the gap between them. A flicker of hurt crossed Xiao Yuzen’s face. She bit her thin lip and shot Lu Xi a reproachful glance. “Your Majesty, you’re hurting this consort~”

At her words, Lu Xi released the slender wrist and slipped her hand back into her sleeve, rubbing her fingertip until the lingering warmth faded.

“My dear consort, Zhen did not select your tablet tonight. Why not return to Cuiwei Pavilion?” Lu Xi sensed the girl harbored some unspoken motive for this unexpected visit. After nearly exposing her true identity during that bath not long ago, she was being exceptionally cautious around Xiao Yuzen now.

She was certainly not tempted by this deliberate display of allure.

Lu Xi rose to her feet, ready to summon Eunuch Zhou and have him escort her away.

But Xiao Yuzen quickly wrapped her arms around Lu Xi’s arm in a fragile embrace. Her little mouth pursed, her eyes misting over red in an instant, as if on the verge of quiet sobs. “Your Majesty, why do you always reject this consort? Didn’t you say you liked this consort? Then why won’t you favor her? Is there something this consort isn’t doing well enough?”

Her words rang half-true, half-feigned, profoundly pitiable. For the first time, Lu Xi saw Xiao Yuzen look so aggrieved and helpless—and heard her so bluntly tear through that flimsy veil.

Even knowing Xiao Yuzen was likely acting, Lu Xi couldn’t bear to watch her sob so heartbrokenly. As she pondered how to respond and soothe the situation, Xiao Yuzen bowed her head, weeping softly. “Your Majesty, why won’t you grow close to this consort? Do you know how harshly the other sisters speak of me behind my back every time you summon this consort?”

“No matter what, this consort is a person of flesh and blood… If you don’t like this consort, why summon her at all?”

Lu Xi truly hadn’t known of the other consorts’ gossip. She had thought herself fairly evenhanded in her “sharing the rain and dew.” Apparently, in others’ eyes, she favored Xiao Yuzen excessively? Then it hit her—she had once confided to the Empress Dowager about her issues, how she felt no interest in the other consorts and only found some spark with Xiao Yuzen. Had the Empress Dowager spread that around?

In that moment, Lu Xi deeply felt just how swiftly and widely rumors flew through the palace.

After a moment’s thought, guilt tinged her tone. “My dear consort, it’s not that Zhen refuses to… favor you. Zhen is just too busy, too exhausted to feel that urge.”

“Your Majesty.” Hearing Lu Xi’s voice soften, Xiao Yuzen blinked and gave a light huff. “You’ve used that excuse many times already.”

Lu Xi: “…”

She froze in place, at a loss for how to deflect this. Xiao Yuzen tentatively reached out, her curved index finger pressing against Lu Xi’s waist, circling gently. Even through the fastened sash, the faint tingle of her callused fingertip sent a shiver across her skin.

Caught off guard, Lu Xi let out a muffled grunt.

She turned to stare at the girl, who still hung her head. Her long hair was coiled neatly at the back, two identical red-jade hairpins thrust into the bun, their round jade beads swaying gently with her movements. The flickering lamplight cast trembling shadows across her profile, making her snow-white face all the more enchantingly alluring.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lu Xi saw the girl’s fingertip slip slyly beneath her sash, hooking lightly. The friction stirred heat coiling around her soft flesh, like a spark threatening to ignite a wildfire.

Lu Xi seized Xiao Yuzen’s wrist. As the girl looked up, Lu Xi’s other hand slipped beneath her cloak, clamping onto her yielding waist. With a slight pull, she drew her into her arms.

Xiao Yuzen blinked in surprise. “Your Majesty?”

Lu Xi’s jaw tightened. After a deep breath, she bent down, scooped her up horizontally, and strode swiftly toward the inner chambers.

Her hands clamped firmly around the girl’s lower back and the crook of her knees, allowing no chance for struggle. As they entered the bedchamber, the palace maids withdrew silently at Lu Xi’s gesture. The candles crackled with pops, shattering the eerie silence between them.

“Your Majesty, what are you doing?” Xiao Yuzen looped her arms around Lu Xi’s neck. Tilting her head back, she could only see the sharp line of her chin.

Lu Xi said nothing as she laid Xiao Yuzen on the thickly padded couch. Propping her hands on either side of the girl, she gazed down from above. “Since my dear consort extends such gracious hospitality, Zhen is hardly one to remain unmoved. Zhen shall simply satisfy you.”

Ignoring the flash of astonishment in Xiao Yuzen’s eyes, Lu Xi undid the clasp of her cloak with one hand, revealing her pale-yellow robe with overlapping lapels.

She tugged open the collar, tossing the moon-white sash aside. In moments, Xiao Yuzen’s clothes lay disheveled—her rounded, milky shoulder and a broad expanse of white skin laid bare before Lu Xi’s eyes.

Xiao Yuzen stared blankly, barely processing. How was the Emperor undressing her so swiftly?!

In the bright candlelight, Lu Xi lowered her gaze to the beauty’s tender form—the jade hairpin had fallen loose, her raven tresses spilling across her back in stark contrast to her smooth, pale shoulder. She was a vision of every temptation, ripe for the plucking.

Leaning down, Lu Xi’s thin lips brushed her arm like fine jade paste, a light graze laced with searing heat. At the warm hollow of her shoulder, Lu Xi dipped her head fully into the crook, her exhaled breath sweeping across the girl’s neck and sending shivers through her.

Evidently not enough, Lu Xi’s hand settled once more over the girl’s heart. She tugged the gauzy collar, parting it further. Her callused fingertip pressed into the smooth skin, leaving an stark red mark in an instant.

Xiao Yuzen was dazed for a long while. Before, no matter her poses and allure, though the Emperor’s heart was soft and disinclined to refuse outright, she always conveyed her reluctance mildly and politely. How had she suddenly changed today, acting so urgently?!

The searing lips trailed upward to her chin, where Lu Xi teasingly pinched the spot, tilting it up to make her arch her neck more accommodatingly for the kisses.

This was utterly unbelievable! How could the Emperor behave this way?!

Panic rising, Xiao Yuzen began to twist and struggle.

Lu Xi bypassed the girl’s tightly pursed cherry lips, kissing her flushed, tender cheek instead, then brushing the small, plump earlobe. Her tongue tip flicked out gently, licking it with exquisite softness, drawing another tremor from her embrace.

“My dear consort, do you like it this way?” Lu Xi sprawled fully atop Xiao Yuzen, though she kept her abdomen tensed to avoid detection, ensuring nothing pressed too close.

Her fingertips roamed freely to where they belonged. A light press, and Xiao Yuzen’s mind went blissfully blank—a faint, almost inaudible moan slipped from her lips.

“No… no…” Coming back to herself, her little face burned crimson. Her long, alluring eyes misted over with dampness, a glistening tear tracing from the corner of her vermilion eye, leaving a telltale trail on her exquisite features.

Only then did Lu Xi relent. She pushed herself up on her hands, sitting back. A trace of the girl’s sweet scent lingered on her lips, and she unconsciously flicked out her tongue to wet them.

“What’s wrong?” Her eyes were deep pools, seeming to pierce straight through the girl, yet she innocently tilted her head. “Does my dear consort dislike Zhen treating you like this?”

As she spoke, her heated gaze drifted downward to the appropriate spot, her expression darkening once more.

Xiao Yuzen threw up a hand to block her view, yanking her cloak over herself. Struggling to contain her shock and turmoil, she choked out the familiar tone of piteous vulnerability when she spoke. “This consort… this consort thought Your Majesty was utterly exhausted and simply wished to serve you to sleep.”

“Hm?” Lu Xi slid off her and sat at the couch’s edge, pulling a thick quilt over the girl. “So my dear consort came here tonight not to grow intimate with Zhen?”

Xiao Yuzen clutched the quilt tightly, head bowed as she wiped at her tears. “This consort prefers gentleness. You were too rough just now…”

Lu Xi rubbed her chin. “Very well, Zhen will be gentle this time.”

She shed her outer robe and leaned down once more, aiming to press down the soft and fragile Xiao Yuzen.

“Your Majesty…” Xiao Yuzen panicked again.

With experience from before, Lu Xi naturally kissed the side of her face. “Hm? What is it?”

The softness on her cheek burned with heat, and Xiao Yuzen shivered down her spine, her grip tightening instinctively on the quilt corner. In that moment, clarity returned. No matter her reluctance, this was a rare chance she couldn’t squander for the sake of fleeting thoughts.

After agonized deliberation, she endured the indescribable emotions and closed her eyes. Her arms looped around Lu Xi’s neck as she arched upward to meet her.

A touch to her abdomen—and now it was Lu Xi’s turn to panic. She jerked her head up, scrambling to sit aside. Seeing fresh tears welling in the girl’s eyes, she waved her hands hastily. “Zhen really is a bit tired after all. Let’s end it here tonight.”