Winter had arrived, bringing a sudden drop in temperature and days of continuous rain and snow.
After returning to Jinxiu Palace, Su Tiyue rested for another two days, and her health improved somewhat.
After dinner, taking advantage of the night, Su Tiyue went alone to the Wen Hui Pavilion, not allowing Liu Wan or Qing Wu to accompany her.
The Wen Hui Pavilion housed over ten thousand books, in addition to numerous volumes containing household registration records of palace personnel.
Upon arriving at the pavilion, she found it completely deserted—not a soul in sight, not even the young eunuch usually responsible for organizing the books. Only a faint light glowed inside the room.
Su Tiyue was very familiar with this place. In the past, when bored and hiding in Jinxiu Palace, she would come here to pass the time, flipping through books and scrolls.
The room was spacious and tidy. Upon entering, there was a long, wide redwood table carved with dragons and phoenixes, meant for reading and research. On either side of the table were rows of neatly arranged bookshelves, with such narrow gaps between them that only one person could barely fit through.
Just as Xiao Heye had said, there were more eunuchs in the palace than maids, so the records of their registrations alone filled more than three bookshelves.
Su Tiyue leaned slightly against a bookshelf, holding a volume in her hand. Her delicate, pale fingertips traced the names in the index one by one as she lowered her head, carefully examining each entry, afraid to miss even the slightest bit of information about Xiao Heye.
She was so engrossed that she didn’t notice when a tall, upright figure entered the room and slowly approached her.
His footsteps were light. From the moment he entered, he spotted Su Tiyue’s figure through the gaps between the bookshelves.
The faint yellow candlelight in the room stretched his shadow long, until he stood before Su Tiyue, his dark silhouette enveloping her small frame like a nightmare.
Su Tiyue, startled by the sudden obstruction of light, looked up in surprise to find Xiao Heye standing before her, though she had no idea when he had arrived.
“Chief Eunuch Xiao?” she whispered, momentarily stunned before quickly closing the volume in her hands and clutching it tightly to her chest.
“Hmm.”
He let out a cold snort. “This servant had no idea Her Ladyship was so fond of reading?”
“I… I had nothing to do, so I was just browsing…” Su Tiyue stammered, feeling somewhat guilty.
She wasn’t here to read at all—she had come specifically to secretly investigate his background.
“Just browsing?” Xiao Heye didn’t continue staring at her but instead turned to look at the volumes on the shelves.
His fair, slender, and well-defined fingers lightly traced the old, yellowed volumes. As he looked at the numbered eunuch registrations, the darkness in his eyes deepened.
He let out a cold laugh.
Then he turned, step by step, closing in on her. His firm, powerful arms encircled her, and his sinister, low voice drifted slowly into her ears:
“Her Ladyship wouldn’t be investigating this servant’s background, would she?”
“I never imagined Her Ladyship would be so interested in this servant…?” he added.
Su Tiyue gasped, her heels and entire body shifting backward, only to realize her back was already pressed against the bookshelf—there was nowhere left to retreat.
“How could that be? Chief Eunuch Xiao misunderstands. I was merely flipping through casually.”
“It seems there is nothing in this pavilion that Her Ladyship is looking for. However… if Her Ladyship is curious, she could simply ask this servant directly. Why sneak around in the middle of the night to investigate someone’s background?”
Xiao Heye spoke as he reached out to take the stack of documents from her arms, carefully placing them on the shelf above her head.
“Then if I ask, will the Chief Seal Keeper truly answer honestly?”
Since he had said as much, Su Tiyue simply followed his lead with her question.
Xiao Heye replied indifferently, “No.”
Su Tiyue furrowed her delicate brows and shot him a fierce glare.
What a scoundrel, this wretched eunuch!
Hadn’t he been the one to prompt her to ask? And now he was going to refuse her?
“Oh, well, it’s getting late. If the Chief Seal Keeper has nothing else, I’ll return to the palace now…”
Su Tiyue bent slightly, intending to slip under his arm, but he deliberately lowered it just enough to block her path.
“Time is of the essence. This servant believes Your Ladyship should not waste it on such trivial matters.”
“Instead of exhausting yourself digging into this servant’s background, why not seek out Consort Ji and learn how to capture the Emperor’s heart?”
He truly couldn’t go three sentences without mentioning their arrangement.
“Thank you for the reminder, Chief Seal Keeper. I will certainly study diligently,” Su Tiyue retorted irritably.
As she glared at him once more and prepared to leave, a burst of playful laughter suddenly echoed from the corridor outside.
She lifted her gaze to meet his, her face filled with suspicion.
Who could possibly come to such a remote place as the Literary Archives so late at night?
As the laughter drew nearer, Su Tiyue finally recognized it…
Wasn’t that… the Emperor’s voice?
Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she covered her mouth, whispering softly, “Chief Seal Keeper, it’s the Emperor and Consort Ji!”
Her lips parted slightly, fear and helplessness written across her porcelain-like face.
Xiao Heye remained silent, merely raising a finger to his lips in a ‘shh’ gesture, signaling her to stay quiet.
Su Tiyue turned her head, peering through the gaps between the shelves toward the entrance, silently praying, Don’t come in, please don’t come in…
Let them just be passing by…
But fate had other plans. The two, arm in arm and laughing, swaggered boldly inside.
They had barely taken a few steps into the room before their lips met in a kiss…
As they kissed, Consort Ji lifted her hips and settled onto the redwood table, her arms tightly wrapped around the man’s neck… Their kiss grew fervent and impassioned.
With a tearing sound, Consort Ji’s clothing was ripped open, revealing her voluptuous and alluring figure. Amidst their heated embrace, her coquettish voice could be heard:
“Your Majesty, be gentle… If this dress is torn, how am I supposed to return to Jingren Palace?”
Consort Ji’s voice was inherently seductive and enchanting, and she deliberately let out a few breathy sighs as she spoke, making it even harder for the man beside her to resist. The Emperor replied, “Beloved Consort, it’s just a dress. Don’t you know that what I love most is seeing you completely unclothed?”
Consort Ji playfully tapped the Emperor’s chest. “Your Majesty, you’re so wicked.”
Suddenly, two entwined figures appeared on the long, wide table. As Consort Ji’s exaggerated, seductive moans filled the air, Su Tiyue felt the atmosphere around her grow increasingly awkward.
Her face flushed crimson, and she turned away, unable to continue watching.
This was not the first time Su Tiyue had witnessed such a scene. When she and Liu Wan had seen something similar in the rear garden, her emotions had been anger and disgust.
And this time, hiding behind the layers of bookshelves with Xiao Heye and witnessing this scene, besides feeling anger and disgust, she also felt shame.
In contrast, Xiao Heye wore a wicked smile and a teasing expression as he looked at Consort Shu, who was so ashamed she wished she could vanish into the ground.
Perhaps accustomed to such scenes, he found nothing unusual about it.
He slowly leaned down, his sensual yet cold lips almost brushing against her earlobe, his warm breath gently caressing her ear: “Has Your Ladyship learned Consort Ji’s skills?”
His tone was unhurried, more like a provocation or even mockery.
“Shameless,” Su Tiyue whispered, cursing under her breath.
“What do you think would happen if the Emperor discovered we are also here?” He curled the corner of his lips, looking down at her, his handsome, jade-like face adorned with a mischievous grin.
At a time like this, Xiao Heye actually had the leisure to tease her.
He was the Chief Seal Keeper of the Directorate of Ceremonies, a favorite in the Emperor’s eyes. If discovered, the Emperor would surely not trouble him.
But Su Tiyue’s situation was different from Xiao Heye’s. If they were discovered… whether she could keep her head was one thing, but what if the lustful Emperor, in a fit of madness, dragged her into the same situation right here?
This debauched ruler was capable of anything. There had been several instances where he summoned two concubines to serve him at once, his methods of torment leaving people speechless.
“Shut up…”
At this moment, Su Tiyue truly wanted to slap him hard, but she feared making too much movement, angering Xiao Heye, and even more, disrupting the Emperor’s pleasure. She could only clasp her hands together and plead softly, “Please, Chief Seal Keeper, stop talking…”
Stop, really stop, or it would be disastrous if they were discovered! She repeated silently in her heart.
But the more Su Tiyue pleaded with him, the more he pushed his luck. Not only did he not restrain himself, but his voice even grew slightly louder than before: “What, is Your Ladyship afraid?”
Su Tiyue was nearly driven mad with anger. Telling him to shut up didn’t work, telling him to lower his voice didn’t work either—he was clearly deliberately opposing her.
She glared fiercely at this smug, petty man before her, grinding her teeth so hard she almost broke them!
Her face flushed red, pushed to the brink.
Fine, so this is how you want to play? Harm others and harm yourself, is that it…?
Who doesn’t know how to stir up trouble? Who doesn’t know how to act like a scoundrel?
Even if she died, she would drag Xiao Heye, this hypocritical, malicious villain, down with her.
“Chief Seal Keeper…”
Su Tiyue crooked a finger at him, signaling him to lower his head slightly.
Xiao Heye thought she had something to say, so he obediently leaned closer to her.
But unexpectedly…
As soon as he lowered his head, he was caught off guard by a bite from her. A sharp pain spread from the corner of his lips, but Xiao Heye could only endure it, not daring to make a sound.
There was no choice—he didn’t want to be discovered by the Emperor either.
After a moment, the pain at the corner of his lips slowly faded…
A soft, silky, and slick warmth assaulted him.
Su Tiyue rose slightly on her tiptoes, her slender hands taking the opportunity to wrap around his neck.
Her warm, soft, and sweet lips pressed tightly against his cold, thin ones. Xiao Heye froze, his blood roaring and boiling throughout his body…
After a dazed moment, he tilted his head slightly and deftly avoided her lips, his gaze sharp as a cold glare fixed on the person before him.
Su Tiyue bit her lip and raised an eyebrow, staring directly at him, her voice soft and seductive: “What, is the Chief Seal Keeper also afraid?”
She returned these words to him exactly as he had said them.
A smile lingered at the corner of Xiao Heye’s lips: “Afraid?”
“I’ve lived this long and still don’t know how to write the word ‘fear’.”
When Xiao Heye spoke these words, his voice was cold and resolute, his expression composed, still maintaining that inscrutable demeanor.
“If the Chief Seal Keeper isn’t afraid either, then why are you hiding?” Su Tiyue leaned her soft waist gently against him: “If you have the nerve, don’t dodge…”
Xiao Heye did not speak, only gazed at her faintly, his expression obscure and unclear.
Su Tiyue blinked her eyes, her pink lips slightly parted, her voice very soft, but Xiao Heye still heard it clearly.
She said: “Chief Seal Keeper, why not join me… whether to ascend to paradise or descend into hell.”
At that moment, the light in the room was dim and murky. Xiao Heye felt as if he were plunged into darkness, a pitch-black abyss where he could see nothing, except for Su Tiyue’s eyes, bright as stars.
He could not hear the sounds of Consort Ji and the Emperor indulging in pleasure, only her words—ascend to paradise or descend into hell.
Xiao Heye could never understand why, despite her being so fragile and insignificant, she dared to brazenly tease and seduce him in front of such a tyrannical ruler.
Xiao Heye also could not understand why, when he was clearly a devil who had fallen into hell—cruel and vile—Su Tiyue would say she wanted to drag him down into hell.