“You may all leave.” Tu Shanjin dismissed the palace attendants at his side.
Seeing this, Tushan Ze also sent away the guards accompanying him.
After all, this was a private meeting between an unmarried man and woman. The palace attendants and guards stood some distance away—close enough to keep the two in sight, but far enough that they could not hear their conversation.
Tu Shanjin sat down on the other side of the pavilion. Lowering his eyes, he restrained the chill surrounding him and tried his best to appear gentler.
Yet remaining silent made him seem cold and indifferent, so he deliberately lowered his voice and imitated a woman’s coy tone.
“Prince Ze~”
The resulting voice was so flirtatious and seductive that even he found it disgusting. Tu Shanjin hurriedly shut his mouth, inwardly regretting it.
Tushan Ze, meanwhile, was utterly astonished. The beauty had suddenly shown him two entirely different sides of herself, and even the way she called his name seemed like a tiny hook teasing the depths of his heart.
Suppressing the stirrings in his chest, he asked tentatively, “Consort, did you dismiss the attendants because there was something you wished to say to me?”
Tu Shanjin turned the question back on him. “I was under the impression that it was Prince Ze who had something to say to me.”
With one glance, Tushan Ze saw through her attempt to play hard to get. But an opportunity like tonight’s was rare, so he nodded, his words carrying a hint of ambiguity. “I merely wished to ask after my imperial sister-in-law’s well-being.”
“Imperial sister-in-law, have you grown accustomed to life in the palace?”
Tu Shanjin sneered inwardly. What a flirtatious peacock!
While cursing him in his heart, Tu Shanjin put on a sorrowful expression and said, “The palace is like a prison enclosed by walls on all four sides. Every day, I must face those who harbor disloyal thoughts toward you. I have to be cautious with every word and action, and when accompanying the Supreme One, I’m even more afraid of making a mistake—afraid that one day I might anger him and fall out of favor. As for whether I’m accustomed to it… That is already an unattainable luxury.”
As he spoke, Tu Shanjin raised his eyes. Trying his best to imagine that the flirtatious peacock before him was the ruler of the Yan Chi realm, he fixed him with a deeply affectionate gaze.
“If my engagement to Prince Ze had remained intact, then the one living in Prince Ze’s Manor now, enjoying your favor and protection, would have been me, wouldn’t it?”
Ugh. How nauseatingly sentimental.
Tu Shanjin hurriedly lowered his head and despised himself for two seconds. Then he began admiring Yun Yaoyao’s shameless ability to say whatever was needed to whoever happened to be in front of her.
Beneath the bright moon, the moonlight made the beauty even more dazzling. Having shed her former foolish and timid facade, she was now utterly impossible to look away from.
And after confessing her feelings, she immediately lowered her head shyly. This more than satisfied the conquering desire in Tushan Ze’s heart.
A helpless, defenseless woman had been forcibly dragged into the imperial harem. She could only use coldness and authority as a protective shell, when in truth, this man-eating palace had nearly shattered her.
And whether she had hidden her talents in the past merely to survive or was now putting on an act in the harem, Yun Yaoyao’s feelings for him had never changed.
It did not matter. He would save her.
“Yaoyao.” Tushan Ze’s eyes were filled with pain. “Before the palace banquet, I always believed that you would become my wife. I never imagined that you would end up as my imperial sister-in-law. Every time I think about it, my heart aches unbearably.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a tear splashed onto the back of his hand. He trembled as he tried to wipe it away, but then seemed to be scalded by some painful truth and shut his eyes in agony.
Tu Shanjin: …
His eyes were filled with murderous fury. That flirtatious peacock really was trying to steal his consort. His acting was somehow no worse than Yun Yaoyao’s.
What a pity. Tushan Ze would never have imagined that the soul inhabiting the body he was trying to seduce was precisely the imperial brother he intended to overthrow!
Tu Shanjin put on a moved expression, then added resentfully, “That tyrant may appear gentle and indulgent toward me, but in truth, he has a twisted need for control and all sorts of perverse proclivities. He often torments me at night. I can hardly endure it any longer!”
“A woman who relies on her beauty to win favor will lose that favor when her beauty fades. Who knows when he might grow tired of me and cast me aside? Prince Ze, I believe you are the true enlightened ruler. He does not deserve to sit upon the throne. Even if our fate together has already ended, I still want to help you claim the throne. When that day comes, I will kill him with my own hands!”
When Tu Shanjin was ruthless, he did not even spare himself.
Sure enough, once he cast out the bait, Tushan Ze took it hook, line, and sinker.
A flash of delight crossed Tushan Ze’s eyes. He had not expected Yun Yaoyao to be so cooperative.
He had long since guessed that Tu Shanjin could never truly love a woman. So the reason he had imprisoned Yun Yaoyao at his side was to vent his twisted desires.
This gave him an opportunity to exploit!
Regardless of how sincere Yun Yaoyao’s feelings were, in her current predicament, he was the only path by which she could escape the dragon’s lair and tiger’s den.
“Yaoyao, I don’t care about the throne at all!” Tushan Ze wanted to take her hand, but remembering that others were watching from afar, he thought better of it. “I only want to save you and rekindle the bond between us!”
As Tu Shanjin continued acting, his initial shame and disgust gradually gave way to ease and confidence. He lifted a pair of tear-filled, beautiful eyes and choked out, “My prince~”
Thus, beneath the moonlight, the two brothers proceeded to “confess their deepest feelings” to each other.
Not long afterward, they exchanged a formal salute. Once they had resumed their former coolness and distance, they went their separate ways.
The moonlight stretched their shadows long across the ground.
Tushan Ze walked away with his hands clasped behind his back, feeling pleased with himself. Not only had he brought the auspicious one mentioned by the Imperial Preceptor into his camp, but he had also planted an informant at Tu Shanjin’s side. He had gained quite a lot tonight!
Tu Shanjin curled his lips in mockery. Not only had he won Tushan Ze’s trust, but he had also become the man’s informant. Things were about to become very interesting.
Meanwhile, Yun Yaoyao had waited in the shadows for a long time before finally seeing Zhou Siren emerge from the privy with an expression of complete relief.
Yun Yaoyao’s face turned green with fury. He had spent nearly half an hour taking a dump. Was Zhou Siren constipated?
She was just about to step out from her hiding place when she saw a woman with a graceful figure approaching from nearby. She quickly ducked back into the shadows.
The unfamiliar woman blocked Zhou Siren’s path and said something to him. His reaction soon became rather strange.
Curious despite herself, Yun Yaoyao hurriedly shifted position and hid in a spot even closer to them.
The Dragon Shadow Guard members secretly following her also changed positions accordingly.
As for their emperor’s furtive act of spying, they still had not grown accustomed to it. The image of the domineering, dignified ruler in their hearts was gradually collapsing.
If not for the emperor’s occasional displays of ruthless methods and his complete familiarity with and control over the Dragon Shadow Guard, they would have suspected that their emperor had been replaced by someone else entirely.
Once she drew closer, Yun Yaoyao could finally make out the woman’s face beneath the bright moonlight.
The woman was stunningly beautiful, with a delicate, supple figure. Every frown and smile stirred the heart.
As a breeze lifted her gauzy veil, her allure became boundless. A faint fragrance drifted over, and even Yun Yaoyao found herself momentarily dazed.
Yet the words that came from the woman’s lips were shockingly bold.
“My lord, I have admired you for a long time. I am willing to become your concubine. I have only just reached womanhood, and I am still untouched. I promise I will serve you to your complete satisfaction~”
Zhou Siren was so startled that he hurriedly waved his hands. “I have a tigress at home. I truly cannot enjoy such an extraordinary blessing. Leave at once!”
The woman gracefully knelt and pulled open her thin garment. Two soft, round white breasts sprang free, making the blood race through one’s veins.
“My lord, are you certain you don’t want to give it a try? It feels very good…”
And it was not only men who thought so. Even Yun Yaoyao, hiding in the shadows, felt tempted to try it on Zhou Siren’s behalf.
Who knew what kind of luck Zhou Siren was having today? One moment, someone had been trying to kill him with poisoned wine, and the next, a beauty was throwing herself into his arms.
Yun Yaoyao was still eager to watch the drama unfold when two soft little cotton balls were stuffed into her ears, cutting off the sound.
She turned her head in confusion and saw Xiao Wuzi blushing as red as a tomato. “This woman is utterly shameless! Your Majesty, we absolutely cannot allow such filthy words to sully your pure royal ears!”
Yun Yaoyao: “…”
She had already spent thirteen nights with Tu Shanjin. And he still thought she was pure?
Just how heavily tinted were the glasses Xiao Wuzi wore when he looked at her?
The interruption made Yun Yaoyao look back toward Zhou Siren again. The scene had changed completely. The charming woman had already pulled the hairpin from her head and was thrusting it toward Zhou Siren’s heart!