Liu Chan didn’t struggle, instead allowing him to undo her clothes while waiting for the right moment to deliver another fierce kick to his lower body! “Ah!”
Meng Xun’s scream echoed through the room, his face turning crimson as he bent over, clutching himself with both hands.
At that moment, footsteps sounded again at the doorway.
Liu Chan’s eyes instantly reddened. Picking up the silver hairpin, with her clothes in disarray, she faced Meng Xun with tears welling in her eyes, her voice trembling, “Don’t come any closer!”
Having suffered twice already, Meng Xun failed to notice the commotion outside. As he recovered, he wished he could strangle Liu Chan right then and there.
But the burning heat in his body reminded him of his situation.
“You dare scheme against me!” Meng Xun’s eyes burned red as he prepared to pounce on Liu Chan.
Before he could make his move, he sensed someone approaching him, but it was too late to react. A powerful force struck his waist, sending him flying uncontrollably before crashing heavily to the ground.
“Take him away.” Xiao Lin’s voice was cold as ice. “Huang Jiu, summon the imperial physician!”
He usually maintained composure, keeping his rationality even in the face of major disasters, but now he felt an intense surge of anger.
The Meng family had raised such a libertine!
Daring to scheme in the palace—did they have no regard for him as emperor?
“Brother-in-law.” Liu Chan’s voice already carried an unnatural, breathy quality, her entire body exuding a seductive aura. Clutching the silver hairpin tightly, she wept, “Save me!Seeing her like this, Xiao Lin felt as if a giant hand had twisted his heart, an uncontrollable wave of heartache washing over him.
“I feel so uncomfortable,” Liu Chan cried out.
She knew well that merely scheming against Xiao Lin while remaining clear-headed might not guarantee her successful ascent to his bed.
So she threw herself into the game.
The room had been filled with large amounts of love incense. No matter how cold and unfeeling Xiao Lin might be, he couldn’t possibly resist the effects of the drug.
Especially since she had already piqued his interest before.
Liu Chan had bitten her lip so hard that deep marks appeared, her eyes alternating between clarity and confusion as she struggled desperately.
When Xiao Lin removed his outer robe and approached, Liu Chan mustered her last shred of rationality, shaking her head in panic as she tentatively retreated, “Don’t!””
“I won’t touch you,” Xiao Lin’s voice was gentle.
But as he approached Liu Chan with his outer robe, his large hand accidentally brushed against the girl’s exposed fragrant shoulder, immediately stirring a familiar heat within him.
Xiao Lin’s gaze turned cold again—it seemed this room had also been drugged with incense!
“I’m so hot…” Liu Chan’s voice was soft and delicate, her small hands fumbling to undo her clothes. The haze in her eyes grew thicker, clearly indicating that her remaining rationality had vanished.
She grabbed Xiao Lin’s large hand and pressed it against her burning cheek.
As if this could alleviate her discomfort.
Seeing her so alluring, Xiao Lin suddenly remembered their ambiguous encounter in Taiji Hall two days earlier. The more he tried not to think about it, the more the memory stirred his desires again.
“Huang Jiu!” he called out.
But he had only brought Huang Jiu with him, and Huang Jiu had hurriedly dragged Meng Xun out before going to find the imperial physician himself.
No one answered from outside.
Until… Liu Chan threw herself into his arms.
“Mmm, so hot… Your Majesty…” Her soft, seductive moans fell upon Xiao Lin’s ears.
A pair of small hands wandered recklessly through his embrace. Under the influence of the drug, Xiao Lin already knew he was losing control, especially when that address of “Your Majesty” seemed to carry a heart-clawing enchantment that nearly snapped his last thread of restraint.
The next moment, Liu Chan’s hand found the decorative dagger at his waist.
Xiao Lin forced himself to calm down, watching her movements coldly as numerous thoughts flashed through his mind.
Should he take this opportunity to kill her?
However, when he saw the young girl in his arms struggling to unsheathe the blade, about to stab her own thigh, he felt a chill run down his spine.
She was going to harm herself again!
That libertine had drugged her so heavily. She had managed to protect herself with the silver hairpin, yet after throwing herself into his arms, she would resort to self-harm…
Inexpressible heartache exploded throughout Xiao Lin’s being. Without knowing why, a surge of anger made him slap the dagger from her hand.
“I can help you.” Xiao Lin grabbed her small hands, pinning them against the bed as he pressed their bodies closer. He whispered harshly, “Beg me.”
“No… don’t want to.” Liu Chan spoke with great difficulty.
But the next moment, she melted into Xiao Lin’s embrace, once again tearing at her clothes as she wept, “Please… I beg you.”
Liu Chan’s slightly plump body kept rubbing and writhing against Xiao Lin. She felt only that her burning heat could be somewhat relieved by the coolness emanating from the man before her, so she pressed closer with increasing force.
Xiao Lin’s eyes darkened completely. He truly hadn’t intended to touch her.
But this woman’s hands kept stirring fires across his body dishonestly, making the voices in his heart roar ever louder. He was the ruler of a nation – must he still exercise restraint before a mere woman?
With this thought, Xiao Lin threw her violently onto the bed and immediately pressed down upon her.
“Don’t be afraid.” He heard the sound of the last string in his heart snapping.
Except for Jing’er, no woman had ever moved him. The several consorts in the palace were merely tools he used to control the court.
They constantly vied for favor, exhausting their ingenuity to attract his attention, and he found it tiresome.
Even Jing Guifei, who was a substitute, a pawn in his game with the Empress Dowager, had never truly entered his heart.
But this one in his arms…
Liu Chan.
Xiao Lin silently repeated this name. In the last moment before his reason was completely consumed, he thought: if she were to leave the palace and be casually married off by her family, or schemed against by a wastrel like Meng Xun, it would be better to keep her in the harem.
Though he couldn’t give her the love of “one lifetime, one person” that she desired, at the very least, he could grant her a corner of the rear palace.
**
At the palace banquet.
Chun’er hurried to Jing Guifei’s side and whispered, “This servant has already given the key to Young Master Meng and watched him enter with my own eyes. Presumably, he and Liu Chan have already accomplished their deed by now.”
“Mm.” Jing Guifei nodded imperceptibly, her gaze sweeping over the half-drunk crowd below.
Noticing that the Emperor still hadn’t returned from his absence, she asked further, “Did you see where His Majesty went?”
“This servant didn’t see His Majesty. Perhaps he went to speak with some official.” Chun’er shook her head, then inquired quietly, “Does Your Ladyship still wish to bring people to check?”
“Of course we’re going.” A trace of viciousness flashed across Jing Guifei’s face.
She was someone who most detested being threatened and manipulated in her life.
Meng Xun, with his audacious boldness, dared to order her around within the palace walls—she was determined to make him taste the consequences of his insolence!
If she could publicly expose his affair with Liu Chan, the mere charge of defiling the palace would be enough to throw him into the death row.
It was just a pity for Liu Chan.
However, since Liu Chan had now become a useless pawn, she no longer mattered.
Jing Guifei had clearly made up her mind long ago. She rose and stepped forward, addressing the Empress Dowager, “Aunt, Chun’er just returned from outside and mentioned hearing that someone was having a secret rendezvous behind Shou’an Palace…”
As soon as these words were spoken, the surroundings fell silent.
The Empress Dowager frowned, “Did you find out who it was?”
“This humble servant has dull ears, but it seemed to be the young master from Anyang Marquis Manor entering a room. Shortly after, sounds of intimate relations between a man and a woman were heard. If it were elsewhere, it might be overlooked, but the palace rules are strict. I dared not conceal it and beg for Your Majesty’s judgment,” Chun’er immediately stepped forward and said.
As she spoke, Consort Zhao, who had been sitting at the back intently watching the drama, also stood up.