As Xiao Mingyue played hard to get, her elbow accidentally bumped against a stack of books.
Feeling as though she had been saved, Xiao Mingyue quickly jumped down from the desk.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty, I didn’t do it on purpose.” Saying this, Xiao Mingyue bent down to pick up the books, one of which was an album of illustrations.
Quite a few books had fallen, so Xiao Mingyue had no choice but to pick them up one by one. But when she picked up the illustration album, her grip slipped, and the album unrolled across the floor right before the two of them.
The moment she saw the contents of the painting, Xiao Mingyue froze solid, cringing so hard her toes curled into the floorboards.
No wonder it felt so familiar… wasn’t this… wasn’t this the spring palace manual she had secretly slipped into Xie Changsu’s seat back then? She remembered that Xie Changsu had burned the manual in a fit of rage and refused to talk to her ever again—so how did it end up back here?
Her memories flashed back six years…
At that time, Xiao Mingyue was only twelve years old, while Xie Changsu was already eighteen—just two years shy of marriageable age.
Back then, Xiao Mingyue was a study companion to the Sixth Princess, Xie Zhihua, which gave her the opportunity to see the imperial princes in the palace.
Xie Changsu was merely an unfavored prince back then, but he happened to be exceptionally beautiful and remarkably distinct from the rest, so Xiao Mingyue often teased and picked on him. Catching little bugs he was afraid of was considered mild; sometimes, out of pure mischief, she would even slip spring palace manuals into his bookshelves.
Every time Xie Changsu saw them, his expression would be indescribable—it wasn’t anger or rage, nor was it grievance or sadness, but an emotion she simply couldn’t read.
Every time this happened, Xiao Mingyue would hide in the dark and giggle together with Feng Buji, completely forgetting how deep and intense every single glance Xie Changsu cast toward her truly was.
However, one day, Xie Changsu finally grew angry because she had swapped a master’s feng shui painting with an erotic album, causing him to ignore her for days on end. And the very painting before her eyes now was that exact one from back then.
Why was this painting here? Hadn’t he burned it on the spot?
Xiao Mingyue broke out in a cold sweat. In the past, she had truly acted like a “demon child,” just as the System had described. Now look at her—entering the palace having forgotten all about those past antics, not even knowing how Xie Changsu might retaliate against her.
Right then, Xie Changsu suddenly embraced her from behind, burying his head in the nook of her neck as he murmured, “Do you want to try what’s in the painting?”
Xiao Mingyue: ?
The explicit level of this spring palace manual was extreme—he wanted to try it with her? Wouldn’t that be the death of her?!
“No! This concubine came here today because I had something to discuss. But I don’t have anything now—I suddenly feel a bit dizzy, so I’ll be heading back first.”
Xiao Mingyue tried to leave, but Xie Changsu yanked her right back into his arms.
“Why are you still so wicked? You kindle My fire and then start running away? Do you really think you can run away this time?”
Saying this, he scooped Xiao Mingyue up and placed her back onto the writing desk.
Though Xie Changsu appeared fragile and sickly, holding her was an effortless task, forcing Xiao Mingyue to marvel at the vast disparity in strength between men and women.
“I said, whatever you have to say, speak it right here. Any words you wish to say are only effective at a time like this,” Xie Changsu’s expression turned captivatingly seductive as his hands firmly pinched her waist…
Xiao Mingyue wanted to cry but had no tears left. “Are you getting back at me?”
“What kind of heartbreaking words are you saying, hmm?”
Having no other choice, Xiao Mingyue could only plead in a soft, gentle voice, “This is Your Majesty’s study, and in broad daylight, it would defile this place. How about we go inside instead?”
“That won’t do, my wife.”
At this point, Xiao Mingyue’s tears had completely dried up. Was she paying retribution now for the mischief she had wrought in the past?
Had she known this day would come, she never would have teased Xie Changsu back then.
Sob sob…