Chapter 28: The Splendid Country Part 1

Xia Wuheng didn’t notice the strangeness in Xia Lingyu’s tone, nor did he read her expression. He continued fanning himself, a rakish smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he recounted today’s romantic encounter.

“I just met her in the Imperial Garden. Princess Xiao actually initiated conversation with me. How very interesting.”

The concubines in his manor were all beautiful in their own ways, each with their own charm, but he always felt something was missing. The moment he encountered Xiao Luo today, he understood—his manor lacked a peerless beauty worthy of holding court.

And this beauty was a princess of an enemy kingdom. The taste of pressing a princess beneath him… surely it would be utterly intoxicating.

A glint of amusement flickered in Xia Wuheng’s eyes.

“Prince Heng, you have excellent taste,” the Empress remarked appreciatively.

Encouraged by the Empress’s approval, Xia Wuheng continued in a low voice, “She is a princess of an enemy kingdom. I will take her into my manor as the lowest-ranking concubine, and then send word to the Xiao Kingdom’s palace. Their noble, legitimate princess, reduced to nothing more than a concubine in my household—it will bring shame upon their emperor’s face. What does Imperial Sister think?”

He thought it was brilliant. He would gain a beauty and humiliate their enemy in one stroke.

It was killing two birds with one stone. Absolutely delightful!

Xia Lingyu unhurriedly lifted a cup of hot tea and took a sip. When she raised her eyes again, they were utterly frigid.

“Prince Heng, your idea is not bad at all. However… have you ever considered why I carried her back to Frostfall Hall?”

Xia Wuheng’s mind worked a bit slowly, his expression still puzzled. Why?

Before he could think it through, a teacup came flying straight at his head.

“Smash—” The cup shattered against his face, scalding tea splashing across it. His once-elegant, moonlit-breeze image could no longer be maintained. He let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered.

From above came the woman’s icy voice: “Because she is the woman I have set my sights on.”

Xia Wuheng abruptly raised his head and saw the tyrannical expression on the Empress’s face. He had never seen Xia Lingyu wear such an expression.

This woman had always appeared magnanimous, gentle, and courteous. He had even thought her easy to talk to.

“Imperial Sister,” he called out.

Xia Lingyu slapped him hard across the face, yet still wore a gentle smile. “Prince Heng, I will give you one more chance. What should you call me? Imperial Sister?”

Xia Lingyu was a martial artist. She put her full strength into that slap, making Xia Wuheng’s head ring.

For the first time, he felt true fear of this woman and shrank back.

Xia Lingyu grabbed his hair and slapped him several more times, sneering as she asked, “What should you call me?”

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty…” Xia Wuheng, dazed from the slaps, hurriedly cried out “Your Majesty” several times.

Shadows pooled in Xia Lingyu’s eyes as she looked down at him. “If only Prince Heng had possessed this awareness earlier, he wouldn’t have to suffer today’s punishment.”

“But—” She bent down and whispered, “You said you touched Princess Xiao. Which hand? Or did you use both?”

As she spoke, her dragon boot descended on Xia Wuheng’s hand pressed against the floor, grinding down mercilessly…

A long while later.

“Someone come.” The Empress’s gentle voice sounded from within the Imperial Study.

Chief Lady-in-Waiting Fang hurried inside and saw Prince Heng lying on the ground, more dead than alive. His once-handsome, strikingly attractive face had swollen into a pig’s head. One glance was enough; she couldn’t bear a second.

How utterly brutal!

Chief Lady Fang lit an incense stick in her heart for Prince Heng. She had heard the commotion outside. Of all people to provoke, Prince Heng had to provoke the person the Empress had her eye on, and then describe in detail how he had flirted with Princess Xiao right in front of Her Majesty. Wasn’t this just asking for a beating?

Once she had thought Prince Heng dashing and dashingly romantic, a charming man. Now she only thought his head was full of dung.

“Throw him out.” The Empress, having finished venting, finally felt somewhat better.

“Yes…” Chief Lady Fang summoned two guards, who hefted the pig-dead Xia Wuheng and carried him out.

Xia Lingyu sat on the dragon throne, looking at the messy piles of memorials on the table and rubbing her temples. After a day of handling state affairs, she was weary.

Chief Lady Fang tactfully stepped forward. “Your Majesty, shall I light some Dragon’s Delay Incense?”

“Mm… no need. That’s enough for today. Go bring Princess Xiao here.” Remembering what Xia Wuheng had said earlier, Xia Lingyu was now in no mood for state affairs.

The woman she fancied had been harassed and bullied. She wondered if the little one was hiding in her palace secretly crying.

She needed to offer proper comfort.

Thus, Xiao Luo was once again brought to Frostfall Hall. Recalling her morning interactions with Xia Lingyu, she appeared outwardly calm, but inside she was slightly stirred.

Why was she being summoned so late at night? If it was for attending to the bedchamber… that wouldn’t be unacceptable.

Xiao Luo slowly walked into the hall and called out, “Your Majesty?”

“In here. Come quickly.” The Empress’s voice drifted from the inner chamber, deep yet tinged with softness.

Xiao Luo walked inside, and through the pearl curtains and behind the screen, it seemed the Empress was undressing. The screen cast the tall silhouette of the Empress, hazy and indistinct, flickering mysteriously—simply indescribably alluring.

“Come here,” the Empress said.

Xiao Luo hesitated, then nervously stepped behind the screen. She kept her head lowered, only able to hear the rustle of clothing, a sound that made her ears flush slightly.

“Come help me disrobe, Princess.” Xia Lingyu’s gaze fell on her reddening ears. The other party was like a little rabbit, sneaking about timidly, which greatly lifted her mood.

“Disrobe?” Xiao Luo felt uncertain and lifted her head to look at the complex Dragon Robe.

Xia Lingyu’s eyes lowered slightly as she said softly, “That’s right. Is the Princess unwilling?”

“No… of course I am willing.” Xiao Luo agreed, then lowered her head again. “It’s just… I’ve never touched a Dragon Robe before. I’m afraid I’ll damage it.”

“Don’t worry. My Dragon Robe isn’t so flimsy. Even if the Princess damages it…”

What if she damages it? Xiao Luo raised her eyes to find the Empress looking at her with an ambiguous, smile-not-smile expression, her eyes hiding a hint of dangerous aggression.

“Then the Princess will simply have to pay with her body.” Xia Lingyu bit down heavily on the words “pay with her body.”

Ah, if that’s the case… she almost wanted to damage it on purpose.

After teasing Xiao Luo, Xia Lingyu suddenly noticed the bandage wrapped around her hand. She carefully took her palm and examined it, asking, “With this wound, can you still move it?”

“Your Majesty, don’t worry. It doesn’t hinder me,” Xiao Luo said, shaking her head.

Her gaze falling on the gauze on Xiao Luo’s hand, Xia Lingyu’s eyes flickered. “I heard you stood up for a palace maid and even took a lash for her?”

Xia Lingyu’s tone held displeasure.

The little princess was truly disobedient. Unable to protect herself, she still went to help an unrelated palace maid.

In this deep palace, kind-hearted people rarely met good ends.

Xiao Luo paused, then said softly, “Your Majesty, it was a momentary impulse. I won’t do it again.”

“Mm.” Xia Lingyu rubbed her head, her smile faintly cool. “I hope there won’t be a next time. Otherwise, I will certainly punish the Princess most severely.”

When she said the word “punish,” there was actually no hint of punitive intent.

Xiao Luo’s eyes flickered, as if somewhat afraid. She nodded obediently and moved closer to Xia Lingyu, unbuttoning the clasps one by one…

She lowered her head shyly, unable to control her peripheral vision from stealing a glance. Xia Lingyu’s chest was indeed a little smaller than hers.

Her mind drifted to the Empress’s life experience. From the moment she was born, the Empress had been disguised as a boy, constantly brainwashed by her own mother into believing she was male. Even when she reached puberty, the Empress Dowager, terrified her secret would be exposed, made her bind her chest with Chest Binding Cloth every day, preventing normal development… Even her announcement that she was a woman after ascending the throne came only after she turned eighteen.

Thinking of this, a thread of pity rose from Xiao Luo’s heart. She couldn’t help but ache for the Empress before her.

Had she lived her entire life in shackles?

“What is the Princess looking at?” Xia Lingyu’s voice was slightly hoarse. She lowered her head, curiously observing the woman before her.

She had sensed the woman’s distraction and felt somewhat displeased.

She had asked Xiao Luo to help change her clothes. Though her movements were very gentle and careful, they were too careful. Xia Lingyu had been stirred into a physiological reaction and longed to tear off these clothes, pin the woman against the wall, and tear into her fiercely…

She endured, yet the woman before her was thinking about something else entirely.

Looking at Xiao Luo’s lovely face, Xia Lingyu’s gaze grew increasingly heated.

“Looking at your chest…” The moment she spoke, Xiao Luo realized her blunder and raised her head to meet Xia Lingyu’s deep, fathomless eyes.

Like a panicked little white rabbit, Xiao Luo said, “Your Majesty, that’s not what I meant.”

Xia Lingyu caught her flailing hands and smiled. “Why be shy? If the Princess wants to look, I am naturally willing to undress for her. It’s just that I’ve bound my chest since childhood, so compared to the Princess’s, it’s still much too small.”

Xiao Luo’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. “Your Majesty’s chest… isn’t small.”

“Truly?” Xia Lingyu’s tone held a hint of doubt. “The Princess doesn’t need to console me. As a woman, I have some self-awareness.”

Xiao Luo didn’t know what to say for a moment, nor could she find words to comfort her.

Xia Lingyu leaned close, however, and whispered a sentence in her ear. Hearing it, Xiao Luo’s mouth instantly went dry, and her legs felt weak.

“Princess, do you agree?”

As a captive, how could she dare refuse the Emperor’s request? Outwardly, Xiao Luo could only look as if shame were driving her to death. Inwardly, she was carefree and delighted as she nodded.

In that cramped inner chamber, two entangled silhouettes were cast behind the screen. Clothes littered the floor, and the air was thick with intimacy.

…

Xiao Luo walked out on trembling legs.

Behind her, the tender Empress, now changed into a black informal robe, supported her waist and reached out to rub it. “The Princess is too thin. You must eat more and gain some weight.”

The Empress ordered servants to bring the evening meal, sat Xiao Luo down, and personally piled many dishes into her bowl.

Looking at the towering heap of food in her bowl, Xiao Luo felt a little speechless. How could she possibly eat that much?

She had injured her right hand, and it was difficult to hold chopsticks. Several times she tried to pick up food and failed.

“Come sit closer, little fool,” Xia Lingyu said with a smile.

Hearing the Empress call her that, Xiao Luo’s face flushed. She scooted her chair closer to Xia Lingyu.

Xia Lingyu picked up a small meatball and brought it to her lips. “Ah—open wide.”

“Your Majesty, how can I trouble—” Before she could finish, Xia Lingyu had already popped the food into her mouth.

Xiao Luo: “…”

Still, this feeling of being fed was so romantic. She was practically feeling like a favored Imperial Noble Consort already!

Ahhh, she had no ambition at all. She just wanted to collapse into Her Majesty’s arms and act spoiled~

And so, caught between embarrassment and acceptance, she received Her Majesty’s feeding until the meal was finished. Even her mouth was wiped by the Empress’s handkerchief. She felt like a cripple with useless hands.

“Full?” Xia Lingyu reached out and patted her little belly, conveniently also pinching her waist.

“Mmng~” Xiao Luo let out a sensitive cry, then quickly covered her mouth. “I’m full.”

“Mm, the Princess’s belly is just like her chest—soft and very nice to squeeze,” Xia Lingyu commented.