As Qin Yihuan walked out in a daze, Yufu immediately hurried forward, asking with concern, “Your Highness, what is wrong?”
After speaking, Yufu glanced behind her, but failed to catch sight of Qin Susu.
A look of surprise flashed in her eyes. “Why didn’t the Chengwei come out with you? Could it be…”
Before she could finish, Qin Yihuan shot her a look.
Instantly, Yufu fell silent, swallowing the rest of her words back down.
Yet Qin Yihuan’s expression had already turned ashen.
Just moments before, when Qin Susu had broken that porcelain vase, Qin Yihuan had intended to use the opportunity to make a scene and step on her once more right in front of the Crown Prince.
Never had she imagined that though Pei Xuanyan’s expression was displeased, he did not rebuke Qin Susu at all. Instead, he ordered her to stay behind alone to clean up the shards on the floor.
As for herself—the dignified Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace—she had been inexplicably “invited” out.
Qin Yihuan swept a gaze over Yufu, her eyes filled with irritation. She despised Yufu’s foolishness.
With the situation so glaringly obvious, how could Yufu, having followed by her side for so long, still not know what was appropriate to ask and what wasn’t?
Intimidated by Qin Yihuan’s glare, Yufu’s lips trembled, and she ultimately lowered her head.
Once the two of them were well out of Wei Zheng’s line of sight, Yufu finally mustered up the courage to speak.
“Your Highness, since she dared to seduce His Highness right in front of you, why don’t you teach her a lesson?”
Qin Yihuan glanced at her again.
Yufu’s breath nearly stalled, and she almost thought her mistress had seen right through her inner thoughts.
Fortunately, Qin Yihuan didn’t say much.
“This palace knows.”
Originally, she had intended to let Qin Susu off the hook for these few days—after all, the child took priority.
Yet she never expected the girl to be so ungrateful.
Qin Yihuan recalled the day of her ninth birthday, when her father had brought that woman and Qin Susu home together.
Everyone in the Qin household had been watching her as a joke. From the sole young miss of the Qin estate, she had suddenly become the “eldest miss,” inexplicably saddled with a younger sister even older than her own younger brother, and whose looks clearly surpassed her own!
Qin Yihuan’s breathing grew ragged for a brief second.
She took a deep breath, determination gradually replacing the look in her eyes.
Since her mother had been able to suppress that concubine-mother back then, she could naturally manage a mere illegitimate daughter with ease now, making her useful for her own purposes.
A dark flash crossed Qin Yihuan’s eyes. She beckoned to Yufu and whispered instructions into her ear.
Meanwhile, inside the Eastern Palace study.
Pei Xuanyan looked down at Qin Susu, who was kneeling on the floor.
Illuminated by the candlelight, her long eyelashes drooped, casting shallow shadows beneath her eyes.
Her lips were bitten slightly swollen, revealing a seductive, vibrant red.
Even though her posture was humble to the point of turning to dust, the unconscious allure radiating from her entire being was like a night-blooming cereus quietly opening in the dark, so breathtakingly beautiful that it tightened a man’s throat.
Pei Xuanyan’s fingertips, resting on the armrest, tapped unconsciously against the desktop.
“You went through such great pains to stay behind. What do you want to say?”
Pei Xuanyan’s tone was indifferent, yet it instantly lit up Qin Susu’s eyes. She straightened her posture and boldly met his gaze.
“This concubine…”
She bit her lower lip. “This concubine wished to stay… to thank Your Highness.”
Pei Xuanyan did not speak, but his gaze remained fixed on her, signaling for her to continue.
Qin Susu hesitated for a long while before steadying her resolve and drawing out the pale green jade box from her sleeve.
“This concubine knows that Your Highness and the elder sister share a childhood bond and deep affection. This concubine only had the chance to enter the Eastern Palace by borrowing the elder sister’s fortune.”
She lowered her head, exposing her slender, fair neck to Pei Xuanyan’s gaze—so fragile it seemed it could snap at any moment.
“It’s just that this concubine deceived the elder sister…”
Hearing this, Pei Xuanyan paused. “About what?”
Qin Susu tightly pressed her lips together and pulled a white silk handkerchief from her sleeve.
The bloodstains on it had already dried, yet it wasn’t hard for anyone to guess what the item signified.
That night, aside from Qin Susu, Pei Xuanyan was the only one who knew they had not crossed the final boundary.
His ambitions lay in statecraft; his heart belonged to the court.
Among all the women in the Eastern Palace, Pei Xuanyan held none of them in his heart.
Even today, he had known early on that given Qin Susu’s status, presenting that token would cement her position while simultaneously drawing trouble down upon her.
Pei Xuanyan leaned back, keeping his gaze fixed on Qin Susu’s flushed cheeks without looking away.
That day, it was with this very delicate visage that she had used both hands and feet, clinging softly to him, her cheeks burning red and her breath sweet as orchid.
Pei Xuanyan was not a man given to lust, but neither was he some saint immune to temptation—especially not when she suited his tastes so well.
Yet inexplicably…
Yesterday, he had forcefully pried Qin Susu’s fingers off his sleeve inch by inch before having Wei Zheng summon a physician.
Pei Xuanyan’s brow furrowed. He leaned forward, instantly plunging Qin Susu into his shadow.
“Consort Qin, is this a reminder to Gu that Qingqing wishes to offer herself to my bed?”
Qin Susu’s breath hitched abruptly as the overwhelming scent of dragon-saliva incense flooded her nostrils, wrapping the scholarly atmosphere of the room in an alluring haze.
Her eyes fluttered in panic. “This concubine didn’t mean that…”
Pei Xuanyan did not grant her much time, however. He stood up, his tall, slender figure forcing Qin Susu to tilt her head up to look at him.
He walked right up to Qin Susu, reached out, and pulled her straight into his embrace.
Having practiced martial arts since childhood through all four seasons, Pei Xuanyan’s palms were already layered with a thin coating of calluses.
His large hand brushed across Qin Susu’s waist, making her whole body shiver with a start.
“Y-Your Highness—”
Qin Susu stammered.
Today, she truly had not come with the intention of seducing the Crown Prince, yet inexplicably…
She locked eyes with Pei Xuanyan.
Those eyes, usually covered in a thick layer of frost, were now rippling with a few wisps of desire.
He leaned down, pressing his cool, thin lips against the tip of her ear.
Instantly, her entire body went limp like a pool of spring water. Only her hands retained a shred of strength, clutching tightly at his robes and unconsciously crumpling the fabric.
Yet the next second, a voice abruptly snapped Qin Susu back to reality.
“She wants you to bear an imperial heir. If she were to find out that you haven’t even managed to climb into Gu’s bed… tell me, how would the Crown Princess treat you?”
If Qin Susu had been able to look him in the face right then, she would have noticed that the desire previously glimpsed in Pei Xuanyan’s eyes had long since vanished, leaving behind only an abyss of pitch-black darkness.
Noticing the trembling of the woman in his arms, Pei Xuanyan chuckled softly, gave Qin Susu’s earlobe a heavy pinch, and then released the hand that had imprisoned her waist.
“Go back.”
The man’s words drifted as if from afar, yet they fell crystal clear into Qin Susu’s ears.
“Rest assured, she will never know.”