“Father, this is completely absurd! I refuse!”
Nanzhi knitted her slender eyebrows together in a delicate frown, lifting her head to stare at her father with a look of sheer disbelief on her smooth, porcelain-like oval face. Without a single second of hesitation, she flat-out rejected the notion.
The very idea that her own father was asking her to spend a single night keeping the Crown Prince company was utterly, outrageously preposterous!
“Father, you must have forgotten—I am getting married in just three months.”
“If Father has nothing else to discuss, I shall take my leave.”
Nanzhi’s tone turned frosty and indifferent, her expression chilling as she lowered her gorgeous phoenix eyes. Fighting down a rising wave of physical discomfort, she pushed herself straight up from the chair and turned on her heel to walk away.
“Stop right there!”
Nan Huaimin raised his voice, a sharp edge of displeasure clipping his tone as he glared daggers at her retreating back.
“Zhi’er, Father is only doing this for your own good. How could that useless fiancé of yours ever compare to His Highness the Crown Prince? What kind of future could you possibly expect by following him?”
Nanzhi’s steps stuttered to a halt. She glanced back over her shoulder, her dark-tea pupils constricting slightly. Suppressing the roiling emotions churning in her chest, she looked him dead in the eye, her voice unnaturally calm: “If Father truly has my best interests at heart, you will drop this preposterous notion right now.”
She turned back around and resumed walking, but before she could take more than a few paces, a wave of pitch-black darkness slammed over her vision. She barely managed to crane her neck for one last look of stunned shock at her father, her crystal-clear eyes brimming with absolute betrayal: “Father! You—”
Before Nanzhi could finish her sentence, her limbs turned to jelly, and she collapsed straight to the floor, losing consciousness entirely.
Seeing her crumpled form on the ground, Nan Huaimin felt not a shred of worry; instead, a smug, triumphant smile spread across his face.
“This isn’t up to you anymore!”
“Zhi’er, don’t blame Father for being ruthless. Father is only doing this for your own good.”
“Someone come in! Carry the eldest miss into His Highness the Crown Prince’s quarters.”
Just what kind of exalted, towering figure was the Crown Prince? For him to take an interest in her was an supreme blessing! Countless women would kill for such a chance, yet she had actually sat there plotting how to refuse!
If her looks weren’t striking enough to catch the Crown Prince’s eye in the first place, an opportunity like this would never have landed in her lap.
Only after watching her safely carried off into the Crown Prince’s bedchamber did Nan Huaimin finally let out a breath of relief, a calculating gleam flashing deep within his eyes.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for him to hook his wagon to the Crown Prince. If Zhi’er managed to latch onto this massive mountain of influence, his own future path would undoubtedly be paved with gold and boundless prospects.
As the night grew deeper and the veil of daylight faded, the lanterns across the Nan estate began to flicker on one by one. The guest suite where the Crown Prince was lodging blazed with brilliant illumination, casting a glow so fierce that even the lanterns hanging outside the doorways shone sharper and brighter than usual.
“Awake?”
A voice as cold and crisp as autumn frost broke the absolute silence of the room, rippling through the quiet space like a heavy stone cast into a placid pond, instantly shattering the stillness.
Nanzhi blinked her eyes open, her gaze locking directly into his deep, piercingly frigid eyes.
A wave of dizziness washed over her, and her moon-bright phoenix eyes harbored a faint, hidden trace of panic.
“Your… Your Highness the Crown Prince?” Nanzhi asked in a soft, tentative whisper, her normally gentle and melodic voice laced with an involuntary, wispy hint of seduction and uncertainty.
Before she could sort through her racing thoughts, a sudden, alarming sensation struck her body. Wave after relentless wave of searing heat surged through her veins, turning her limbs burning hot yet completely languid and powerless.
Nanzhi forced herself up, propping her shaking frame into a seated position. As she took in the unfamiliar bedchamber and the presence of the Crown Prince standing before her, it took her only a split second to put the pieces together. Her father truly possessed a heart of stone; he had actually stooped so low as to drug her with such a vile concoction, delivering her with his own two hands straight onto the Crown Prince’s bed.
She had rejected his demands, but never in her wildest nightmares had she imagined her own flesh and blood would sink to such sickening depths.
It was entirely her fault for underestimating her father’s cruelty—even a ferocious tiger would never devour its own cubs, yet he had eagerly shoved her right into the jaws of a wolf.
To Nanzhi, the Crown Prince was nothing short of a raging flood or a wild beast.
Before she could fully steady her racing thoughts, the Crown Prince strode over to the edge of the bed, towering above her like an imposing mountain.
With her field of vision blocked, she had to lift her flushed, petal-soft face—heated to a vibrant crimson by the drug—and gaze upward to meet his eyes.
It really is him. Nanzhi confirmed the terrifying reality, then slowly dropped her gaze. The panic raging inside her swelled exponentially, keeping every nerve in her body strung taut as a bowstring.
Standing over her from on high, the Crown Prince watched her reaction in absolute, brooding silence. Seeing her drop her head, a flicker of apparent displeasure flashed across his dark eyes.
The air grew heavy and still. Just as Nanzhi opened her lips to speak, her chin was suddenly caught in a firm, slender, yet bone-hard grip. A faint, subtle fragrance of agarwood drifted into her senses.
Forced to lift her head once more, her eyes caught the striking string of Buddhist prayer beads wrapped around his wrist. Trembling internally, Nanzhi forced herself to look up and face the cold, impossibly noble Crown Prince.
He was clad in a tea-white brocade robe. With clear, bright brows, a complexion as radiant as the spring dawn, and an air of pure, ethereal refinement, he stood tall and graceful like a jade tree against the wind.
The warm yellow glow of the candlelight played across his sharply chiseled profile, casting a soft, hazy golden halo over his features that slightly tempered his natural iciness.
He was a man blessed above all mortals, the kind whose presence made it impossible to tear one’s eyes away.
Had any other maiden laid eyes upon him, she would have long since gasped in breathless adoration, practically throwing herself into the Crown Prince’s embrace. Unfortunately, Nanzhi didn’t have a single shred of appreciation left in her for sightseeing.
Her gut screamed that this Crown Prince was nowhere near as easygoing as he appeared on the surface—he was someone who must never, ever be provoked.
After a single fleeting glance, Nanzhi cast her eyes downward, her instincts screaming at her to flee.
Yet she was painfully aware of her current predicament. Since the Crown Prince hadn’t simply tossed her out or sent her packing, but had instead sat around waiting for her to wake up, she stood virtually zero chance of escaping this ordeal unscathed. Coupled with the fact that her veins were currently coursing with an aggressive aphrodisiac, her situation was nothing short of disastrous.
“Miss Nan, you seem rather less than thrilled to see Us?”
A playful, elegant smirk flickered across Shen Huaixu’s refined face. Instead of releasing her chin, his fingers tightened their grip just a fraction, a spark of keen, predatory amusement lighting up his otherwise tranquil eyes.
“Your own father proved remarkably generous, didn’t he?”
Nan Huaimin certainly knew how to play his cards right. He had merely offered a single flattery before seizing the moment while the Crown Prince was away to deliver her straight to his doors. Judging by her current state, it was obvious she had been drugged.
Her father had spent the evening during the banquet urging him to drink cup after cup; what kind of game he was playing, Shen Huaixu understood with crystal clarity.
Yet, Shen Huaixu’s eyes remained sharp and lucid, showing not a single trace of intoxication.
“It is simply that Your Highness’s presence resembles that of a heavenly being, and this subject’s daughter dared not look directly.” Nanzhi’s voice trembled slightly.
She didn’t dare look at him, alright—she wanted nothing more than to avoid him entirely!
Despite fighting desperately to maintain her composure, the aphrodisiac coursing through her veins drove her instincts to press closer to him. Especially when Shen Huaixu’s cool fingers gripped her chin, every single fiber of her body screamed for physical contact with him.
Nanzhi dug her fingernails fiercely into her thigh, forcing herself to stay as clear-headed as possible. Clinging to a sliver of hope, she parted her crimson lips: “Your Highness, this subject’s daughter has no intention of offending you. This is not my own will; I already have a fiancé. I beg Your Highness to show mercy, spare me, and let me go. I will be eternally grateful.”
Under the influence of the drug, the moment she spoke, she realized her voice sounded soft, sweet, and seductive—rather than a desperate plea for mercy, it sounded agonizingly like playful coyness.
Nanzhi cursed inwardly, her pale fingers gripping the fabric beneath her so hard that her nails nearly broke the skin.
Yet the potency of the drug was terrifyingly vicious; she could barely hold back the overwhelming urge to throw herself right into his arms.
A crushing panic collided head-on with an excruciating, hollow ache in her body.
The corners of Nanzhi’s eyes burned a fiery red as she tilted her neck back, gazing up at the Crown Prince with a desperate, pleading look. In the depths of her heart, she held onto one final shred of hope that the Crown Prince might show a shred of mercy and release her.
Nanzhi tried to push herself up, only to find her legs turning to jelly the moment her feet touched the mattress, sending her body sliding downward.
As she slipped, a chilling thought flashed through her mind: her father truly hadn’t left her a single escape route.
With her limbs entirely sapped of strength and devoid of even an ounce of fight—let alone the capacity to walk out of this bedchamber—a boundless wave of despair crashed over her soul.
From start to finish, it seemed she had never been granted a single choice.
Though every fiber of her being resisted, the situation left her virtually zero escape unless the Crown Prince willingly changed his mind and let her go.
Catching the flash of amused interest flickering across the Crown Prince’s eyes, she knew instantly that he would never let her walk away.
Was this truly her destined fate? Was there truly no escape from such a cruel hand of cards?
Seeing her tumble, Shen Huaixu reached out and scooped her straight into his arms, deftly halting her fall.
Nanzhi’s face was pressed tightly against the Crown Prince’s solid chest. Before she could even process the embarrassment of the posture, the drug flared with redoubled fury, driving her completely out of control as she sought to press even closer to the man before her.
It’s too hot~ Nanzhi unconsciously tugged at the collar of her robes, unknowingly revealing the breathtaking expanse of pale skin beneath.
Shen Huaixu didn’t push her away. Instead, he watched her clumsy, desperate movements with amused interest. His previously lucid eyes darkened, and he lifted a hand to stroke her flushed, burning cheek.
Had it been anyone else, he likely would have had them tossed out the window without a second thought. But with her, a rare, genuine spark of intrigue had been ignited.
Such a rare beauty was a masterpiece seldom seen in this world. From the fleeting glimpse he caught when they first met, her pure, flawless eyes had branded themselves into his mind, instantly awakening a fierce desire to possess her.
“Miss Nan, your body appears to be far more honest than your mouth.”
Nanzhi’s face flushed a brilliant crimson, her eyes hazy and disoriented. Her naturally ethereal, fairy-like features were now painted with a intoxicating, bewitching flush, radiating a fatal temptation that practically begged to be plucked—an allure no mortal man could possibly resist.
Holding her tight, Shen Huaixu carried her back down onto the bed, pinned her restless, groping hands, and pressed his weight forward.
Lowering his head, he captured her alluring lips in a deep, burning kiss, tangling his tongue with hers in an intoxicating dance as a heavy haze of raw desire clouded his cool, piercing eyes.
“Mmm~” Nanzhi let out an instinctive struggle, giving a feeble push against his chest. Unfortunately, to Shen Huaixu, her strength felt like nothing more than a gentle tickle, resembling a flirtatious invitation far more than resistance.
“Whatever person catches My eye, there is naturally no such thing as letting them go.”
His deep, resonant voice carried a raspy, heated edge, his gaze turning searingly intense.
A corner of Shen Huaixu’s mouth curved upward as an aggressive, predatory look swept over her, laying his absolute, unyielding possessiveness bare.
Watching the normally cold and aloof beauty beneath him break down under his teasing caresses into soft, breathless whimpers, his gaze deepened further. A thrill of dark fascination raced through him as he pressed his body over hers once more.
Within the shelter of the azure gauze bed-curtains, their silhouettes twisted and entwined together, punctuated every so often by heart-fluttering, breathless sighs.
A short while later, a thoroughly flushed Nanzhi muttered in a delirious, disjointed haze: “No more… please, no more…”
Shen Huaixu acted as though he heard nothing. Lowering his gaze to watch the constellations of crimson plum blossoms scattered across her porcelain-smooth skin, his excitement only surged higher, a storm of turbulent passion raging beneath his cold, noble facade.
Gripping her impossibly soft, slender waist, his eyes grew pitch-black and his throat bobbed as he let out a lazy, low murmur: “That simply won’t do. We’ve only just begun.”
Nanzhi’s face burned scarlet, her entire body trembling violently as though floating on a drunken cloud. Her hazy, water-misted eyes were clouded with daze, and a fine film of perspiration coated her brow.
Broken, delicate cries intertwined with low, heavy pants, rising and falling in rhythm.
Outside the bed-curtains, the candlelight flickered and danced; inside the canopy, two figures swayed in an endless embrace.
It was a night where they surrendered entirely to the winds and rains of passion…
The candles within the chamber were not snuffed out until the deepest hours of the night.