Xie Yan raised his riding whip high. His steed, in tune with his thoughts, responded to his subtle gesture by lifting its hooves and accelerating into a gallop.
The guards quickly sped up as well upon seeing this.
Yun Si pressed her lips together tightly. She had never ridden a horse this fast before—it was too crazy, too dangerous… But now she had no choice. She couldn’t fall behind and risk being exposed as a woman disguised as a man!
“Hyah—” Yun Si flicked the reins again, urging her horse to go faster.
The wind on the hunting grounds swept unimpeded across her face, howling in her ears as everything around her flew past in a blur.
Gradually, the tension and fear in Yun Si’s heart dissipated, replaced by excitement and exhilaration!
So this was what it felt like to gallop freely across the hunting grounds!
It was completely different from the feeling of learning to ride at home.
For the first time, Yun Si experienced such freedom and joy. She felt like an unrestrained bird soaring beneath the blue sky and white clouds.
“Whoa—” When Xie Yan reined in his horse, Yun Si actually felt a twinge of reluctance. Fortunately, she quickly snapped back to reality and brought her own horse to a stop.
As soon as she stopped, her heart gave a sudden jolt.
In her exhilaration, she had completely forgotten to control her speed.
Only now did she realize she had overtaken a group of guards and taken second place, becoming the person closest to the Emperor!
She had left her cousin far behind!
Her heart pounded like a drum, and she quickly lowered her head. She was now far too close to the Emperor… Would he notice the traces of her disguise? Would he find her familiar because of those dreams?
Just as Yun Si was pondering how to discreetly distance herself from the Emperor, she suddenly heard him say, “You, come here and massage my shoulders.”
Yun Si looked up in disbelief to see Xie Yan pointing directly at her. “Yes, you, the one who came in first.”
Yun Si regretted coming in first more than anything!
When she disguised herself as a man, she never imagined she would encounter such trouble. Men and women should keep their distance—how could she massage the shoulders of the Emperor, an unrelated man?
Even if they had done things a hundred times more intimate in their dreams, dreams and reality were two entirely different matters!
Moreover, her fiancé, to whom she was already betrothed, was right there watching her!
“Your Majesty, forgive me… This servant does not know how to massage shoulders.” Yun Si lowered her head, pretending to be inexperienced and terrified in the Emperor’s presence. In truth, she didn’t need to pretend—she was already scared out of her wits. What should she do?
How could she massage another man’s shoulders right in front of her fiancé?
Xie Yan watched Yun Si with amusement, feeling as though he were observing a trembling little white rabbit.
Strangely enough, Xie Yan had always avoided women. Whenever the women in the rear palace got too close, their heavy perfume would irritate him.
The only one he was willing to be intimate with was the young woman from his dreams…
But even after issuing an edict to select consorts, he still hadn’t found her.
Xie Yan wondered if perhaps that young woman wasn’t of this world but a celestial fairy from the heavens.
Oddly, this little maid disguised as a boy before him didn’t disgust him either. Maybe it was because, dressed as a man, she wore no perfume?
In any case, Xie Yan didn’t want to drive her away. Instead, he wanted to call her over and tease her.
“Aren’t you a servant from the Prime Minister’s residence? Serving by Prime Minister Yun’s side, how could you not know how to massage shoulders?” Xie Yan asked deliberately.
“Your Majesty, please forgive me, this servant truly does not know how to massage shoulders…”
Xie Yan: “It’s fine. Even if you don’t do it well, I won’t blame you.”
Xie Changze could no longer hold back. He strode forward and approached Xie Yan: “Imperial Uncle, allow your nephew to massage your shoulders.”
Just as Xie Changze’s hand reached halfway, Xie Yan stopped him.
Xie Yan looked at him with a half-smile: “Why trouble my nephew? Let that page boy do it!”
Xie Yan turned to Yun Si: “What are you dawdling for? Do you wish to defy my decree?”
Yun Si’s heart sank heavily. With the Emperor saying this, there was no longer any room for turning back.
Unless she revealed now that she was disguised as a man—but that would also be a crime of deceiving the Emperor!
Seeing that Xie Changze was on the verge of losing control and about to step between Yun Si and the Emperor, Yun Si quickly gave him a meaningful look, urging him to calm down.
She respectfully replied: “Yes, then this servant dares to massage Your Majesty’s shoulders. If it is not done well, please forgive me.”
As soon as Yun Si finished speaking, she gave herself no time to reconsider and quickly walked behind Xie Yan, placing both hands on his shoulders.
The moment she touched the Emperor, she saw Xie Changze’s eyes widen in shock.
Yun Si felt as if her heart had been pricked by a needle.
Seeing Changze-gege’s reaction, Yun Si could no longer escape the reality—at this very moment, she was massaging another man’s shoulders right in front of her fiancé!
What would Changze-gege think of her?
Yun Si’s eyes stung, and tears nearly fell.
Would Changze-gege understand her predicament? Or would he despise her?
“Faster, with more force… have you not eaten?” Xie Yan urged.
Yun Si quickly held back her welling tears and pressed harder as she massaged Xie Yan’s shoulders. The man’s shoulders felt exactly as they had in her dreams—hard and muscular. As she applied more force, the heat from his body seeped through the fabric and into her palms…
Yun Si kept her head lowered, not daring to look at her fiancé before her.
Changze-gege, I’m sorry…
Yun Si forced herself to endure. She could not show any sign of distress now, or all her sacrifice would be in vain. She absolutely must not implicate her parents and family!
If her cousin could not bear it, she would break off the engagement. At worst, she would never marry and become a nun in a convent!
Once Yun Si made up her mind, she focused intently on massaging Xie Yan’s shoulders. She had heard that many palace maids and eunuchs died in the palace every year, and concubines in the inner court also perished annually. Yun Si had no desire to test the consequences of angering a tyrant.
Xie Yan felt the pressure on his shoulders growing steadier and raised an eyebrow in surprise. The performance of this young woman behind him truly astonished him.
“Enough, no need to massage the shoulders. Now, knead my legs,” Xie Yan said.
Knead… knead his legs?
Yun Si trembled all over. Legs were far more intimate than shoulders.
But she had no way to refuse. Yun Si looked helplessly at her fiancé and saw Xie Changze’s eyes reddening, his fists clenched tightly, his knuckles pale and bloodless.
Xie Changze’s face grew even paler.
Yun Si bit her lip hard and, under her fiancé’s gaze, slowly extended her hands to touch Xie Yan’s firm and powerful thighs, feeling the heat through the fabric…
Kneading them again and again.