A Willing Temptress

Synopsis: Song Langyu, heir of the Duke of Zhenguo’s estate, was renowned as a child prodigy. He topped the imperial examination and earned the emperor’s favor, entering officialdom as a young minister of the Court of Judicial Review, overseeing criminal trials. Everyone knew this Young Minister Song was impartial and incorruptible, with keen discernment. One day in late winter, he returned from his office to pay respects to his mother. Upon entering, he saw a charming young girl standing in the hall. His mother said, “This is your distant cousin Wen Jiao. She’ll be staying at the estate for a while.” The girl curtsied gracefully and called him “Elder Brother,” her voice so sweet and soft it could drip with honey. Having long been in contact with criminals, Song Langyu took one look and keenly sensed that this cousin was no simple person. Thus, he began to observe her quietly. Wen Jiao always found excuses to approach Song Langyu under the pretense of paying respects—brewing tea with her delicate hands, making pastries herself, the coquettish charm in her brows and eyes impossible to hide. Occasional physical touches were deliberately ambiguous. Song Langyu guessed that Wen Jiao was trying to seduce him, to marry him, and so he loathed her deeply, viewing her like a rat in a gutter. She tried to seduce him again and again, but failed each time. Finally, disheartened, she turned to flirting with his younger half-brother instead. Yet she didn’t even bother to change her tactics—still the same tea-brewing, pastry-offering routine. But his half-brother was quite taken with it. Song Langyu sneered inwardly, finding Wen Jiao even more contemptible. Who would have thought that later, seeing her chatting and laughing with his half-brother, dimples brimming with sweetness, he would feel a jar of vinegar topple in his heart. He brought her to his study and, like interrogating a criminal, broke down Wen Jiao’s defenses step by step. Watching her weep pitifully, he promised, “Behave yourself, and after I marry, I may grant you the position of a concubine.” Wen Jiao pressed her lips together and agreed. Later, when the palace held a flower-appreciation banquet, Wen Jiao begged Song Langyu to bring her into the palace. There, she seized the opportunity to meet the Empress… When Song Langyu saw Wen Jiao again, she was kneeling before the imperial steps, holding up a stack of evidence sealed for ten years, claiming to be the daughter of the late Minister of Works Chen Wenyuan, begging the emperor to re-investigate the old case from a decade ago. At that moment, she had shed her youthfulness and coquetry—radiant and blazing, no longer the rat in the gutter, but a blazing torch. … The next time Song Langyu interrogated her was in his own bedchamber. He kissed her lips, her body, breaking through her cold hardness, forcing her to admit fault, to apologize, to confess… that her feelings for him were more than just exploitation. He became her first man, but afterward she said, “I’ve given my pure body to the heir, so we’re even now. From here on, we go our separate ways in marriage.” Song Langyu’s veins bulged on his forehead: “You’ve given your purity to me—who else could you possibly marry?” “Marry Heir Xiao of the Wuding Marquis estate,” she said lightly and smugly. “He’s already agreed to take me as his wife. Once he inherits the title, I’ll be a marchioness—how glorious is that?” — Description from novelcodex.orgFull novel: A Willing Temptress — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠