Xiao Mingyue was utterly exhausted from his relentless demands, sleeping straight from the afternoon until night. When she woke up, she was on the grand bed inside Xie Changsu’s bedchamber, with no one else around.
The lingering trace of ambergris incense still wafted through the embroidered duvet, but the space beside her was already vacant, leaving behind only a cold swath of crumpled sheets.
Far off in the distance, the candlelight flickered on the verge of dying out, casting huge, swaying shadows upon her bare arms.
Xiao Mingyue felt a profound, dull ache throughout her entire body. Who would have thought that despite his frail and sickly appearance, Xie Changsu’s vigor in bed was no small matter? There were even several bite marks scattered across her thighs and calves.
Xiao Mingyue sat up. Just as she was about to lift the blanket to get out of bed, she heard Xie Changsu’s voice along with that of a stranger coming from outside.
“General Xiao’s matter might be somewhat tricky to handle. That treasonous letter is very likely the Prince Regent’s doing.”
Xie Changsu’s voice was low and raspy: “I understand. Continue the investigation.”
“Is it truly necessary to keep investigating? This matter involves far too much; it may very well shake the nation’s foundation…”
“No need to say more, I understand it all. It is simply that as long as these cancerous tumors are not eradicated, I will never be able to sleep or eat in peace.”
“…”
Xiao Mingyue froze, her hand stiffening in midair.
Just then, movement sounded from outside—Xie Changsu was walking in.
Startled, Xiao Mingyue hurriedly turned her back and lay down, pretending she hadn’t woken up yet.
Xie Changsu stood by the bed for a good while before sitting down. Extending a long arm, he pulled Xiao Mingyue by the waist into his embrace.
“I know you are awake,” he said.
Hearing this, Xiao Mingyue simply stopped pretending and turned around to face him.
“Your Majesty knows everything; it is this concubine who was foolish.” Though facing Xie Changsu, Xiao Mingyue kept her gaze lowered, not daring to look him straight in the eyes. She could feel his burning gaze resting upon her face.
With one hand cushioning Xiao Mingyue’s head, Xie Changsu gently caressed the crown of her hair, smiling with tender dotingness:
“You are not foolish at all.”
“What does Your Majesty mean by that? Are you blaming this concubine for eavesdropping?” Xiao Mingyue asked, her expression aggrieved and her eyes glistening with tears, looking unspeakably pitiable.
Xie Changsu pinched her cheek without exposing her act, asking instead, “Since you heard everything, I would like to ask My Beloved Consort: how should I proceed with this matter to minimize the damage?”
Xiao Mingyue’s hand hidden beneath the blanket tightened involuntarily. “This concubine is merely a woman and does not understand such matters.”
“No, you do understand.”
Xiao Mingyue raised her head abruptly, accidentally locking eyes with Xie Changsu’s deep, dark gaze.
Xie Changsu had known her true identity all along, yet he had allowed her to enter the palace and had even bestowed upon her such a distinguished honorific title and high rank. If he didn’t harbor ulterior motives, she wouldn’t believe it for a second.
So, what was his true motive?
“I will do whatever Your Majesty wants me to do, as long as Your Majesty clears my father’s name,” Xiao Mingyue stopped playing dumb. Xie Changsu was no fool, and those words earlier had likely been spoken intentionally for her to hear.
Yet Xie Changsu said, “I do not need you to do anything. As long as you are a bit more candid with Me, I will be satisfied.”
His words carried a deeper implication, and Xiao Mingyue understood it perfectly.
“Don’t you know everything already? You are so clever—even if I tried to hide something, it wouldn’t escape your sharp eyes,” Xiao Mingyue let out a coquettish laugh, deliberately nestling into his chest.
Xie Changsu silently watched her actions. His handsome Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, his eyes suddenly darkening.
Flipping over, he pressed her beneath him. “Will you tell Me yourself, or should I force it out of you?”
Xiao Mingyue pressed both hands against his chest: “There really is nothing else! Who I am and why I entered the palace—don’t you already know all of that?”
Has this Xie Changsu really never touched a woman before? How many times a day does he need before calling it quits? Is he really this capable in bed?
“There is still one thing I do not know.”
“What?”
“Who are you talking to every single day?”
Xiao Mingyue: ?
“If I tell you that I can actually hear your inner voice, would you believe Me?” Xie Changsu’s expression turned somewhat peculiar.
“What?” Xiao Mingyue gasped, staring at Xie Changsu in sheer disbelief. So he had been able to hear her thoughts all along? Could he also hear her conversations with the System?
“I do not know why I can hear your inner thoughts either; I only know that across these thousands of days and nights, I have heard your yearning for him. It infuriates Me.”
“Him” referred to Feng Buji.
But what did “thousands of days and nights” mean? What was he infuriated about?
Could it be that he had harbored such feelings for her long ago?
No wonder he never fought back when she used to tease and pick on him…
She felt that by entering the palace this time, she had merely escaped one devil’s grasp only to walk right into a wolf’s den.
Xiao Mingyue went from wanting to cry without tears at first to having no tears left to cry by the dead of night.