She took the initiative once more, but this time was different from before.
Su Tiyue tilted her head up, her phoenix eyes slightly closed. First, she gently brushed the tip of her nose against Xiao Heye’s, then her soft, delicate lips lingered and rubbed against the edges of his thin lips…
Teasing without fully committing, it was enough to stir restlessness in one’s heart.
Finally, after toying with him for a while, she unhurriedly pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth. That gentle warmth lingered and explored, kissing every inch of his cold, indifferent lips.
Xiao Heye swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing sensually. He thought this kiss was already the limit.
But he didn’t expect this cunning woman to press her advantage, step by step. Her soft, moist tongue skillfully pried open his teeth… slowly invading the space between his lips.
Xiao Heye’s sword-like brows furrowed tightly as he lowered his gaze to look at her. Beneath her jade-like skin, a faint blush had spread. Her long eyelashes rested on her eyelids, delicate and beautiful like a flower bud about to bloom.
From beginning to end, Xiao Heye never once thought of pushing her away.
He was well-experienced; such a small scene was naturally within his ability to handle.
Their breathing gradually grew heavy. Su Tiyue’s small face flushed crimson. The kiss was long and strenuous—she was the one who initiated it, and she was the one exerting the effort.
At first, Xiao Heye didn’t respond at all. But as that soft sensation slowly probed and explored, bit by bit breaking down and destroying the defenses in his heart…
It finally made his eyes turn completely red.
He wrapped his arms around Su Tiyue’s body, encircling her small frame within his embrace. His large, sturdy palm pressed against the bookshelf behind her, the veins on his arm bulging. Su Tiyue clung to his neck with both hands, standing on tiptoe as if her entire body were hanging onto him.
Even though Xiao Heye was already half-bent over, she still struggled to kiss him.
There was no helping it—the height difference between them was simply too great.
Not long after, accompanied by the Emperor’s low growl and Consort Ji’s exaggerated, coquettish moan, the commotion from the two at the table gradually subsided.
It had to be said, the Emperor was indeed getting on in years and not as capable as before.
It ended much faster than Su Tiyue had anticipated…
Over there, it had stopped, but here, it was still ongoing.
Xiao Heye had never tasted anything like this before. Whenever he used to see the foolish Emperor kissing and entangled with his concubines, he only found it dull.
Yes, such things were both boring and annoying in his eyes.
How could lust and fleeting pleasure compare to the satisfaction and exhilaration brought by seizing power and influence?
He wanted to seize power, to control the world. He also wanted to seize influence, to hold the power of life and death over others.
The fingers pressed against the bookshelf turned slightly white from the force, the veins on his hand bulging. His interest was slightly piqued…
But the little one in his arms was beginning to lose strength. Her breathing grew erratic, her legs unconsciously weakened, and her entire body slowly slid down along the bookshelf. Fortunately, Xiao Heye promptly reached out to support her slender willow-like waist.
Su Tiyue’s head had been dizzy just moments before. Only after she steadied herself did the two slowly part.
Her clear eyes, flushed cheeks, crimson lips, and heaving chest—every movement of hers captivated Xiao Heye’s gaze.
He wasn’t the one who initiated it, but he was the one left wanting more.
When Su Tiyue turned her head to look toward the table again, the two were already gone, leaving only scattered books and documents strewn across the floor.
She raised her arm, gently placing her palm against Xiao Heye’s chest, her pink lips slightly parted as she spoke in a light, alluring tone:
“I just learned this from Consort Ji. What does Chief Eunuch Xiao think?”
“Heh… So Her Ladyship was using this servant as a practice target?” Xiao Heye reached out and caught her unruly wrist, licking the corner of his lips with a half-smile as he said:
“This servant dares to offer an evaluation of what Her Ladyship just learned…”
“The technique isn’t quite there, the emotion isn’t sincere enough, the tongue isn’t agile enough… and you even bit this servant and hurt me. In short, the gap between Your Ladyship and Consort Ji is not just a little.”
Su Tiyue shot him a glare. What a petty, rotten man! A dead eunuch who takes advantage and then acts smug. “Yes, the Chief Seal Keeper’s mouth is sharp and eloquent. Why haven’t I seen you take the initiative to teach me? And I wonder who it was just now who stood as still as a block of wood, even stiffer…” Su Tiyue fired back without hesitation.
Someone like him still has the nerve to nitpick? Besides, has Xiao Heye ever kissed Consort Ji? He just opens his mouth and says whatever he wants? And claims the gap isn’t just a little?!
Ugh! A clueless, stinking eunuch!
Su Tiyue cursed Xiao Heye thoroughly in her heart.
Although this was also Su Tiyue’s first time, she was certain that Xiao Heye was a hundred times clumsier than her.
Clearly, he was the one who didn’t cooperate, yet he still had the audacity to shift the blame?
“There will be opportunities in the future.” Xiao Heye smiled, pretending to lower himself as he offered his arm:
“Your Ladyship, it’s getting late. Shall this servant escort you back?”
Su Tiyue looked at the hand before her and frowned delicately:
“No need.”
With that, she turned around and walked toward the door with light, hurried steps, not looking back.
The quiet room could only hear the heavy sound of her footsteps as she left.
Xiao Heye hadn’t expected her to refuse.
Usually, no matter how unwilling she was, Su Tiyue would still let him escort her back.
She was so afraid of him—how dare she defy his wishes?
Xiao Heye shook his head helplessly, gazing at that delicate, graceful figure as his mind uncontrollably drifted back to the lingering, intimate kiss from earlier…
Xiao Heye touched his lips with his fingers, where the faint fragrance of Su Tiyue’s lip rouge seemed to linger.
“Su Tiyue…”
In the empty, quiet room, he slowly murmured her name.
Deep within his dark, unfathomable eyes, an inexplicable emotion lay hidden.
For the next three days, Su Tiyue stayed holed up in Jinxiu Palace. She didn’t go to Xiao Heye’s place, nor did she seek out Consort Ji to learn dancing.
As for Consort Ji, she had heard a few things from Qing Wu—just a few brief sentences, but they were quite shocking.
Consort Ji, named Meng Xueji, was originally just the daughter of a farming family, born stunningly beautiful with a graceful figure. At eighteen, she married a tea merchant from the same village. After marriage, the couple was deeply in love, but their happiness was short-lived. They had a son and a daughter.
However, the good times didn’t last. It was said that once, when the Emperor was traveling incognito, he passed through their village. The tyrant took a liking to Meng Xueji at first sight, and even though she was already married, he didn’t let her go.
Meng Xueji refused to submit, even at the cost of her life, which angered the Emperor. The tyrant beheaded her husband on the spot and threatened to kill her two children as well…
What was once a harmonious family of four suffered an unjust disaster overnight.
Later, it was Xiao Heye who stepped in to save them, and Meng Xueji’s two innocent children were spared.
Yet Xiao Heye was no benevolent soul; everything he did was driven by self-interest.
This was precisely why Consort Ji obeyed Xiao Heye without question.
Xiao Heye held enough leverage to make Consort Ji comply obediently—he had her by the throat. He was the only one who could save her, and also the one who could make her life a living hell.
But had Consort Ji truly been saved?
The Emperor had personally killed the man she loved, yet she had to feign affection, flatter, and please her enemy, embracing him to sleep night after night…
How cruel, how humiliating?
In the palace, everyone saw her as the radiant, dignified, and beloved Consort Ji, but who could see that beneath that opulent and luxurious exterior, her heart had long turned to ashes?
Su Tiyue knew all too clearly that in Xiao Heye’s eyes, she would be the next Consort Ji.
From beginning to end, Xiao Heye could always easily sniff out others’ weaknesses. He would offer a small favor, then lure you into his game under the guise of a transaction.
Once you entered the game, you became a pawn, and the player was Xiao Heye.
Those caught in the game had no control over their own fate.
In the end, Su Tiyue had not truly escaped this cage—she had merely leaped from one foul, muddy pit into another unknown abyss.