Night fell, and all was silent.
Under the cover of deep darkness, a shadowy figure stealthily slipped into the Night Lan Pavilion.
With a soft “creak,” Xiao Heye’s door was gently pushed open. Afraid of waking the person inside, she removed her shoes as soon as she entered, tiptoeing barefoot to the bedside.
At that moment, the room was pitch black, without a single glimmer of light.
Listening to the even breathing from the bed, Su Tiyue assumed he was already sound asleep. Summoning her courage, she quietly climbed onto Xiao Heye’s bed.
Just as she settled in and adjusted her position to sleep, a low, lazy voice suddenly echoed in the room: “Your Highness, have you become addicted to climbing into this servant’s bed?”
Su Tiyue was startled by the unexpected voice. She turned her head to look at Xiao Heye: “Weren’t you asleep?”
“This servant is a light sleeper. I woke up the moment Your Highness opened the door…”
Su Tiyue asked, “Then why didn’t you make a sound? What if the person who entered wasn’t me but someone who wanted to harm you?”
In the darkness, Xiao Heye turned over to face her and said, “Then it would depend on whether they strike faster or this servant strikes harder. But if, just now, I had mistaken Your Highness for an enemy, what would you have done?”
Su Tiyue replied somewhat guiltily, “Then… then I could only blame my bad luck…”
As she spoke, Su Tiyue deliberately shifted closer to Xiao Heye. Her soft, smooth fingers cautiously brushed against his face as she whispered gently, “However, if I truly died at the hands of Chief Eunuch Xiao, it wouldn’t be a loss. After all… I owe you my life anyway.”
Xiao Heye closed his eyes and took a light sniff. A faint fragrance from Su Tiyue drifted in the air. She must have bathed before coming. Xiao Heye could even imagine the misty bathtub filled with countless jasmine petals.
“Does Your Highness think this servant truly wouldn’t dare to kill you?”
“Chief Eunuch Xiao, I’ve long been like fish on your chopping block. If you truly want to kill me… I don’t believe I have the ability to escape your grasp.”
“Your Highness is quite open-minded, hmm…” Xiao Heye reached out from under the blanket and gripped Su Tiyue’s unruly wrist, preventing her from touching his face. He continued, “Repeatedly climbing into a eunuch’s bed—Your Highness is quite bold.”
Su Tiyue chuckled softly. Propping herself up halfway, her voice was tender and delicate: “Not just that, I have even more audacious things I want to do to the Chief Seal Keeper.”
Xiao Heye remained silent. He opened his eyes, only to see her bright eyes blinking in the darkness.
His throat felt dry, and Xiao Heye swallowed hard.
Xiao Heye began to waver and feel uneasy. Su Tiyue now resembled a sticky piece of candy, repeatedly offering herself to him and softly asking, “Chief Eunuch Xiao, is this candy sweet?”
Xiao Heye had tasted it and told Su Tiyue that he didn’t like sweet things. He was repulsed and resistant…
But Su Tiyue remained relentless, clinging to him persistently. This was now Xiao Heye’s predicament.
The two remained silent for a long while. Xiao Heye’s lips twitched a few times before he finally spoke coldly, “Your Highness may do as you please. I have no say in other places, but within my domain, even if you were to overturn the heavens of the Southern Palace, I would not utter a word of dissent. However, I must remind Your Highness not to forget the deal between us.”
Su Tiyue lowered her head and rubbed the tip of her nose against his face, whispering suggestively, “The Chief Seal Keeper is the heavens of the Southern Palace. I am interested in you… I wonder if that is permissible?”
“Heh…” Xiao Heye couldn’t help but chuckle softly. In the darkness, he suddenly pressed his hands against Su Tiyue’s shoulders, turning over with fluid grace, pinning her delicate body firmly beneath him.
“As long as Your Highness is pleased, we servants are born to serve our masters diligently. After all, it was Your Highness who took the initiative. If there is any loss, it is yours to bear—I, as a servant, lose nothing.”
“And,” he leaned down, gently nibbling the soft flesh near her ear, his expression darkly alluring, “since Your Highness enjoys this kind of emotional game, I shall risk myself to accompany you for a round. But let me make this clear—I am a eunuch, and there are certain things that may leave Your Highness feeling… unsatisfied.”
What Xiao Heye referred to as “unsatisfied” naturally pertained to matters of intimacy between men and women. The difference between him and a normal man lay precisely in that missing part, which was why he deliberately reminded Su Tiyue twice.
But Su Tiyue paid no mind to this. At times, she even secretly rejoiced in her heart. The most perfect thing about Xiao Heye was that he was a eunuch—a dead eunuch.
Consider this: in these chaotic times, here was a man who held the power of life and death, wealthy and influential, and most importantly, he had no parents, no descendants, no wives or concubines, and his sole ambition was to climb the ranks and seize power.
Though Xiao Heye was undeniably wicked, imagine if such a man could be conquered under her control, beneath her skirts… Wouldn’t her days in the palace then flourish with ease?
…
Su Tiyue’s ears tingled and burned from his biting, and she struggled to breathe under his weight. “Chief Eunuch Xiao, your attitude has shifted far too quickly. Just yesterday, you earnestly warned me… told me not to harbor any improper thoughts. How is it that tonight, you seem like a completely different person?”
“Was I not provoked by Your Highness’s taunts? Your Highness cast aside all dignity and status, tempting and teasing me in every way. If I refused again, it would be nothing short of heartless.”
Su Tiyue tilted her head back and gently kissed his lips, asking, “Are you afraid, Chief Seal Keeper? If you truly develop feelings for me, the carefully laid plans in your game might end in complete defeat.”
Xiao Heye pursed his lips, his voice low and sinister. “Defeat? I have never lost.”
As his words fell, Xiao Heye’s broad, powerful hand slowly slid down her body, gripping Su Tiyue’s slender waist as he spoke unhurriedly:
“Your Highness may not know how to play chess, but your calculations are quite clever. A pity… a pity that despite all your scheming, you have miscalculated my true nature.”
Su Tiyue’s delicate waist ached and tingled under his grip. “What do you mean by that, Chief Seal Keeper?”
“What I mean is, even if one day in the future, I truly develop feelings for you, what of it? Love and affection are but passing clouds. I am not a man of lasting devotion. No matter how fond I am of something, I can cast it aside without a second thought…”
“Truly, without hesitation?” she asked.
“Not necessarily, there are always exceptions. With Your Ladyship being so clever and charmingly seductive… perhaps you are that very exception.”
Su Tiyue: “Oh…”
Now it was her turn to be completely speechless. Xiao Heye had said that even if it was something he liked, he could bear to discard it.
Su Tiyue had calculated everything, but she had not accounted for this.
The most crucial point… was that Xiao Heye himself was a cold and heartless person.
Hah… how laughable. She was the one who had panicked and lost her way, the one who had desperately sought any remedy. And now, it seemed she could only treat a dead horse as if it were alive.
Seeing that she had not reacted for a long time, Xiao Heye thought she was tired or sleepy. He withdrew the hand that had been wrapped around Su Tiyue’s waist and completely released her.
He turned over, returning to his original position, and for no reason, his heart began to race.
“Chief Seal Keeper, in this world, is there someone you would never abandon?” Su Tiyue lay on her side, curling her body as she softly asked him.
“Yes,” Xiao Heye replied with certainty, closing his eyes.
“Male or female?” she asked again.
“Male.”
“Your… adoptive father?”
“Tsk.” Xiao Heye let out a cold laugh, his voice icy. “No.”
“…”
Su Tiyue frowned. Everyone in Yong’an City knew that the Chief Seal Keeper of the Directorate of Ceremonies was an orphan, with no parents, only an adoptive father. And that adoptive father was said to be an old eunuch in the palace…
Who, then, was the man Xiao Heye spoke of?
And why was the most important person in his eyes a man? Could it truly be as the rumors said—that Xiao Heye had no interest in women, lived a chaste life, and was… inclined toward men?
Su Tiyue frowned. Now the mystery was solved.
Xiao Heye indeed had no improper women around him, but it was likely he had many unsavory men…
Ugh~ it was truly hard to put into words.
Thinking this, Su Tiyue turned over, quietly shifting her body closer to the wall.