Heat, a raging, all-consuming heat.
It felt as though someone had tossed her straight into Lord Laozi’s alchemy furnace. Struggling, Qin Susu reached out, desperately wanting to tear off the clothes weighing down her body, but the moment she pulled the collar down past her shoulder, it was firmly pinned in place by a pair of large, heavy hands.
A wellspring of grievance welled up inside her, and tears threatened to spill from her almond-shaped eyes.
“It hurts…”
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, yet laced with a spoiled, coquettish tone she didn’t even realize she was using.
Looking down at her from his height, the man’s cold eyes narrowed, and he shot a sharp, slicing glance toward the side.
Wei Zheng instantly lowered his head. When His Highness had rushed out earlier and scooped Qin Susu up horizontally into the study, it had already caught Wei Zheng completely off guard.
His Highness had always kept women at arm’s length. Aside from his wedding night with the Crown Princess, he had never summoned or favored a single woman in the inner courtyard. Last night, Wei Zheng had been sent away on an errand, and by the time he returned, he could only hear intermittent, sticky sounds coming from within.
At first, Wei Zheng had assumed his master had fallen victim to some scheme. But the scene just now made him harbor private doubts. His Highness didn’t look like a victim of a trap at all; rather, he looked…
No matter how many internal complaints he had, Wei Zheng would never dare voice them to his master. Seeing how fiercely Pei Xuanyan protected the young woman in his arms, Wei Zheng—having served him for so many years—naturally understood his intent.
“Your Highness, rest assured. This subordinate will investigate this matter thoroughly.”
Pei Xuanyan’s expression remained completely unchanged as he watched Wei Zheng withdraw.
Yet the delicate creature in his arms could no longer hear any sounds. A fire in her chest was burning ever hotter, and to Susu, the man before her felt like a massive block of ice—just pressing close to him offered a shred of relief from the surging heat rising from her heart.
Trembling, Susu draped her arms around his neck.
Today her makeup had been minimal, almost plain, yet her cheeks were flushed like rosy sunset clouds, and her tear-rimmed eyes swam with moisture, hanging on the verge of falling—a picture of absolute grievance.
Pei Xuanyan’s gaze lingered on her bare, smooth shoulder for a fraction of a second before he pulled her clothes back up.
Last night he could believe it was an accident, but today… Pei Xuanyan’s eyes darkened momentarily, and the aura surrounding him instantly turned glacial.
Susu possessed the instinctive alertness of a small animal. She shrank her neck back, but when she lifted her gaze to look at him, she still wore that pitiful, heart-wrenching expression.
Though Pei Xuanyan didn’t usually care for women, he was no saint. Right now, the beauty in his arms was soft as boneless water, dripping with fragrant sweat, and the unique scent belonging solely to her swarmed into his nose, making even his throat feel parched.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he reached out.
His fingers brushed across her cheek, pressing against her petal-like lips to force her to relax her grip from biting down on them. Susu’s lips were a bit dry, still marked by her teeth. Pei Xuanyan’s thumb lingered there, clearly feeling the steady wave of heat radiating from her body.
Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, he noticed a faint trace of rouge smeared across his thumb.
He lowered his gaze.
Susu’s original, natural lip color was now exposed.
A dark, murky glimmer flashed through Pei Xuanyan’s eyes, but before he could do anything else, Susu let out a soft, whimpering moan.
“Hot… so hot…”
Her throat felt tight. Sensing that the man before her had stiffened, her gaze grew even more clouded and deep as she looked at him.
Gritting her teeth with the very last shred of her remaining consciousness, she reached out and caught his little finger.
Then, like a tiny kitten, she gave it a light lick.
Feeling the stiffness ripple through the lower half of the man’s body, an innocent voice rang out immediately after:
“Water…”
Having spent the final ounce of her strength, Susu could no longer see the objects or people before her. Her head lolled to the side, and she passed out completely.
The medicine Qin Huan had prepared was originally meant for Pei Xuanyan. Because Pei Xuanyan practiced martial arts daily, ordinary aphrodisiacs had little effect on him and wouldn’t rob him of his reason. Knowing this, Qin Huan had used an exceptionally potent formula.
She had never expected that the pastry would fail to reach Pei Xuanyan’s stomach, and that Qin Susu would end up eating it instead.
Holding the results of Wei Zheng’s investigation, Pei Xuanyan turned his back to the bed.
The candlelight flickered in its bronze cup, stretching his shadow long and lonely against the wall, rugged and desolate like the bare branches of a deep-winter tree.
“You mean, this medicine was originally intended by the Crown Princess for Gu, but she ate it by mistake?”
Pei Xuanyan’s voice was cold and stern, carrying a faint, chilling scoff that made it impossible to tell who or what he was mocking.
Hearing his master’s words, Wei Zheng was momentarily struck speechless.
“Then… what are Your Highness’s instructions?”
Pei Xuanyan turned slightly, his gaze falling upon the bed curtains.
A slender, fragile shadow fell into his line of sight, bringing back the image of the flush burning across Qin Susu’s cheeks.
“No! I’ll be good, don’t beat me…”
Lifting a corner of the bed curtains with his hand, Pei Xuanyan looked inside.
Unconscious murmurs, tightly closed eyes—Qin Susu curled up like a frightened little beast, looking endlessly pitiful.
Pei Xuanyan’s long, narrow phoenix eyes were pitch-black, their depths hiding thoughts impossible to read.
Wei Zheng stepped forward and reported softly, “Your Highness can rest easy. Imperial Physician Li has already administered medicine to the young mistress. With a bit more rest now, she will be completely fine.”
There was a side chamber with a bed attached to the East Palace study, a place where none of the inner courtyard consorts had ever stepped foot. Yet this Imperial Concubine Qin had now stayed here two days in a row, leaving even Wei Zheng clicking his tongue in wonder.
He couldn’t tell if her luck was utterly wretched or frighteningly good.
“When she wakes up, have someone escort her back.”
Pei Xuanyan withdrew his hand, letting the sheer gauze bed curtains drift back down to shroud the half-revealed spring scenery within.
Seeing that Pei Xuanyan had no intention of lingering, Wei Zheng breathed an inward sigh of relief.
“Understood, this subordinate will handle it.”
By the time Qin Susu’s consciousness slowly drifted back to her, the world outside was pitch black. Near the corner of the wall, a spark danced in the candlestick, casting a faint glow through the bed curtains. Susu checked herself—her clothes were still neatly and completely on.
Subconsciously, she let out a sigh of relief.
Jinsui was keeping watch outside. Catching the movement from within, she hastily rushed forward and pulled back the curtain.
“My lady, you’re awake?”
Jinsui’s voice held the distinct tremor of someone on the verge of tears.
Outsiders had no idea what had happened, but Jinsui had seen it all crystal clear. His Highness had—
Struggling, Qin Susu tried to push herself up, the fabric of her garments sliding slightly off with the motion to reveal a pair of white, delicate shoulders.
Jinsui hurried forward to support her into a sitting position.
Susu’s lips parted, just as she was about to speak, when she suddenly sensed a heavy gaze pressing down upon her.
That look was weighty, carrying the supreme pressure of someone accustomed to power, making the skin on Susu’s shoulders tingle.
Dazed, she lifted her eyes.
“Your Highness?”