A muzzle is used by superiors to rein in disobedient, lower-ranking alphas, usually representing absolute inequality and dissatisfaction with that alpha’s poor self-control.
The little puppy before her hugged the pillow that had been kicked down right along with her, staring straight at her with bright, sparkling phoenix eyes, holding the satisfaction of one who had eaten her fill.
There was not the slightest trace of worry over her reputation, nor any fear of the muzzle that was about to be fitted onto her.
Pei Yu hooked a fingertip, and the obedient person crawled forward a few steps. The cold, mask-like object was locked onto her cheeks, and only then did the alpha realize something, blinking her eyes.
“Your Majesty, what is this?”
“A muzzle.” The woman’s fingertips gathered the clothes over her chest, trying hard to ignore the intense tactile sensations brought about by the friction.
As early as the first day, she had people prepare this, never expecting that this cheap dog’s self-control would be even worse than she imagined, requiring its use this early.
The alpha let out an ao sound in response, looked around from side to side, and her gaze finally landed on the plate of pastries on the table.
Pei Yu had never had the habit of eating late-night snacks; keeping pastries was a tradition passed down from some former female emperor. She hadn’t deliberately given orders to have them removed, so the imperial kitchen replaced them daily.
Jiang Wu had been craving these pastries for a long time. Marking consumed a massive amount of physical energy, and every single time she went to sleep with an empty stomach.
Pierced by that dazzling, burning gaze, Pei Yu cast a light, casual glance at the pile of sweet pastries.
They had already been left out for an entire day, and goodness knows how much dust had settled on them. She turned her head away, ignoring the puppy’s pleading gaze.
“Did you have breast milk when you were a child?”
The scorching friction over her chest was exceptionally distinct. She diverted a bit of her attention and gently parted her lips.
She did not know how other alphas were, but these showy creatures generally hated showing weakness, with most bragging outside about how they never clung to their mothers since childhood.
Yet the one before her was somewhat too out of the ordinary.
Not to mention desperately risking her life just to enter the palace as a paramour, right now, wearing a humiliating muzzle, her very first reaction was to beg her for pastries to eat.
She was somewhat curious to know Jiang Wu’s answer.
The alpha sat on the carpet, propping up her chin, and shook her head in a serious manner.
She truly hadn’t. She was half an orphan, depending on her older sister for survival. The good news was that when she was half-grown, her sister’s family found them, and they were very wealthy.
The bad news was that they had only lost one daughter back then, and Jiang Wu learned that she was actually a child her sister had picked up off the street.
Her sister’s biological family did not allow her to bring her along back home. That night, she watched her usually gentle and strong sister sit by the bed weeping all night long.
The shabby, peeling corners of the wall could not hide those adolescent, green secrets.
She took the initiative to pack her luggage and left behind a letter before departing. Later, her sister tracked her down, sending her some money every month from her high school years all the way through college, continuing to semi-support her.
Until the year of her sophomore year in college when her sister went abroad and disappeared without a trace.
She did not resent her sister; even she herself found it hard to imagine how a girl only ten years older than her managed to raise her while simultaneously dragging along another burden, never complaining for more than ten years, and never even letting her know she was adopted.
Fortunately, she had awakened her artistic cells and was quite pretty, usually performing at street bars and pubs to support herself quite well, except for the occasional middle-aged male who offered to keep her as a mistress.
She did not notice that the person leaning against the edge of the bed was tilting her head to watch her, her gaze lingering on a face that held a hint of reminiscing and nostalgia, gradually turning indescribable.
In this place, who did not know how deeply Cheng Jin had cherished the posthumous daughter left behind by her late wife? How could she possibly not have let her drink breast milk?
There were rumors that when the grand chancellor’s lactation period ended, she was still searching for folk remedies to help the child kick the habit, yet could not bear to use harsh methods, dragging it out for goodness knows how long.
So, what was this foolish dog reminiscing about? Was she still Cheng Jin?
Saying she had never had it, was it out of a desire to save face like other alphas, or simply acting pitiful to fish for sympathy?
Pei Yu curved her lips, feeling that neither result mattered.
One was putting on a front, while the other was simply bizarre; the degrees of absurdity were evenly matched.
After heading to the side hall to simply wash up, when she returned, she casually tossed a small paper package onto the floor, which was picked up by the person curled up tightly in her small bed.
“For me?”
The person who had already lain down ignored her, so she quietly opened the paper package herself and found four exquisite pastries inside.
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Without even looking back, Pei Yu could imagine the expression of the puppy behind her, a pair of obsidian pupils shining brightly, as elated as if she had accomplished some remarkable feat.
Easily satisfied, and not at all like a child who had been pampered since youth.
With the rustling sounds coming from behind, Pei Yu still unconsciously and stealthily cast her gaze sideways.
The alpha was squatting in the corner, where the light from the oil lamp was extremely limited and failed to reach.
It should have been an exceptionally pitiful scene, but that foolish dog swallowed a pastry in one bite, eating with zero elegance and shattering that sense of brokenness and desolation entirely.
She only ate two, carefully wrapping up the remaining two and placing them by the edge of the table.
“Saving them for whom?”
The cold, clear tone dropped down. Jiang Wu tilted her head, only to realize Pei Yu had been watching her the entire time.
She instinctively walked up to Pei Yu, knelt halfway, and looked up to speak with her.
“For Zhang Lengzhou.”
The woman frowned. “You two certainly share deep affection.”
“Mm-mm.”
The corners of the puppy’s eyes curved into a shallow smile.
Pei Yu let out a cold snort and rolled over to the other side.
Who wanted to hear her mm-mm? Did this alpha not understand human speech? She was having her explain the relationship between the two of them.
Although they had been through so much, she hadn’t detected another alpha’s pheromones on Jiang Wu, but for two as to have a relationship so close that they could share the exact same thatched hut for an entire night, and even share drinks in the dead of night.
And they were both paramours in her inner palace; shouldn’t Jiang Wu explain it clearly to her?