Facing such a cooperative Tripitaka, Yanwan naturally changed her attitude completely. Holding the teacup in her delicate hands, she offered it to the Emperor with a bright, sweet smile and asked half-playfully:
“Your Majesty, please drink. Would you like me to feed you?”
The Emperor, who already had a guilty conscience, felt a shudder run through his body upon hearing that sweet, melted-butter voice, followed by a crisp sensation tingling up his spine.
This… indeed, nothing is harder to decline than the kindness of a beauty!
Looking at the dazzling beauty illuminated by the candlelight, words of refusal were already at the tip of his tongue, but the response that spilled out went completely against his intentions.
“Very well, I shall trouble you.” His voice, though clear by nature, sounded somewhat raspy at this moment, carrying an obvious hint of infatuation.
Hmm?
The Emperor’s eyes widened slightly in mild shock, feeling utterly baffled in his heart. How had he failed to restrain himself and agreed?
Although as the ruler of a nation he had countless people attending to him, he had never stooped to the point of needing someone to feed him water!
Something was wrong—something was terribly wrong. Whenever he encountered this little maiden, everything felt wildly out of place.
It had been the same with Hailan earlier in the afternoon. Ordinarily, even if Noble Lady Hai had deliberately thrown a fit at a servant, he might have been displeased, but he would never have humiliated a pregnant concubine.
After all, one must show respect for the sake of the unborn imperial child; there was no need to make a scene during her pregnancy and risk triggering a miscarriage.
Yet when he saw Hailan intentionally hurl the teacup to humiliate her, his anger had flared up instantly. He had felt that Noble Lady Hai was utterly repulsive, to the point of dragging him down and making him lose all face.
The deeper he probed his own thoughts, the tighter his brows furrowed, and his expression naturally darkened.
Yanwan, who was holding the tea and putting on an act of thoughtfulness, looked at him with equal shock. This Emperor was truly bold—he had actually dared to agree!
Could he not tell she was only joking? Thinking of this, she shot him a glare with her watery eyes.
She had merely made a passing comment, yet the Emperor truly had the nerve to take advantage of the situation and actually let her feed him.
Did he not have hands of his own? Could he not drink water himself?
Even though this handsome face of the Emperor was to her liking, he could not use his good looks as an excuse to act so unreasonably. She was a palace maid, not a wet nurse!
Bah, wrong—she was a palace maid, not his motherly girlfriend.
For a task like hand-feeding water, he should look for Ruyi instead. Ruyi practically wished she could handle every single affair for this precious son of hers!
Grumbling silently in her heart, Yanwan noticed the Emperor looking at her and immediately put on a hypocritical smile:
“Yes, I shall feed you.”
Before the Emperor could react, he saw her leaning in close. A sweet fragrance rushed over him, a scent that stirred an uncontrollable restlessness in his heart.
In the next instant, the back of his head was gently supported by her. Just as he was about to refuse, the teacup had already been pressed to his lips.
“I will do it my—*cough, cough*…”
The warm tea poured directly into his mouth right as he spoke. However, because the flow had been poorly controlled, the Emperor was instantly choked into a violent fit of coughing.
Yanwan: *Oh no, I hope the Emperor doesn’t blow his top!*
Watching the Emperor cough violently, Yanwan set the teacup aside and quickly reached out her small hand to pat his back gently.
Seeing that his coughing was only getting louder, she glanced back at the inner chamber with a surging sense of panic. If Ruyi woke up and saw this scene, her plan would be completely ruined!
The Emperor could not suppress his coughing either, his handsome face flushed crimson. Sitting up, he raised a trembling hand and pointed at Yanwan, the indignation in his eyes self-evident.
Yanwan parted her lips, looking at the Emperor with a guilty conscience. Just as she prepared to explain, she saw that he was still coughing. Spurred on by a surge of desperate boldness, she dropped to one knee on the daybed and reached out, clapping her hand directly over his mouth:
“Your Majesty, my family has a home remedy! Holding your breath for a short moment while coughing can stop the fit. I take the liberty to try it on you—please do not blame me, Your Majesty.”
Her entire demeanor softened completely, her tone sincere and gentle, sounding as though it were the absolute truth.
The Emperor’s eyes glared round and wide. He had originally intended to pull her hand away, his palm already covering the back of hers, but after hearing those words, he slowly lowered his arm.
Under the moonlight, every nuance of her expression was laid bare. At this moment, her eyes were filled with concern, her red lips pressed tightly together, causing the Emperor’s heart to melt.
Even though he could barely catch his breath, he was subconsciously making excuses for her in his mind.
Yet excuses aside, this little maiden could not actually smother him to death!
He quickly raised his hand to pull away her small hand covering his lips, finally able to breathe smoothly once more.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Yanwan was feeling guilty; she had been careless in her actions and choked the Emperor like this.
Having nearly committed the crime of harming the Emperor, how could she not panic?
After a short pause, the Emperor leaned back against his hands, shooting her a sideways glance with a cold snort, his voice raspy and tinged with chill.
“This home remedy of yours is quite effective—I truly stopped coughing. But your courage is far too great; not only did you choke me with water, but you also nearly smothered me to death.”
Seeing her red lips part as if to offer a defense, he cut her off in a cold voice before she could speak:
“I can choose not to hold these matters against you. But what did you mean this afternoon? Why did you call me a liar?”
A dark light flickered in the Emperor’s eyes as he looked down at her from above, quietly awaiting the answer that had piqued his curiosity for an entire afternoon.
*So the Emperor was still thinking about this matter,* Yanwan thought, her heart instantly settling back into her chest.
Blinking her watery eyes, she looked at the Emperor’s expressionless, handsome face. Instead of fearing him, she found him surprisingly easy to talk to.
Even after all that had transpired, he was still fixated on the deliberate comment she had made in the afternoon—he was simply far too persistent.
Seeing the Emperor’s expression grow increasingly dangerous, Yanwan looked at him innocently and explained in a low voice:
“My cousin guards the Cold Palace, so I merely happened to know a little bit of the truth. Wasn’t Your Majesty just lying?”
After all, that story could not withstand close scrutiny to begin with!
If he knew how many tassels Ruyi had braided, then when Ruyi was bitten by snakes or caught in a fire, did the Emperor know about it or not?
Those words were clearly meant to soothe Ruyi, yet Ruyi had actually believed them blindly.
The Emperor’s face instantly darkened, and with the shame and annoyance of being exposed, he shot Yanwan a fierce glare, warning her in a hushed, cold voice:
“Now that you know this secret, beware lest I execute you to keep your mouth shut and prevent any leak of information!”
With that, the Emperor stared at her intently, wanting to see how she would beg for mercy. Instead, he saw her kneeling submissively at the edge of the daybed, her small hands clasped together, and her watery eyes actually twinkling with amusement!
Yanwan was not afraid of him at all. Not only was she unfazed, but she also wanted to test the waters and flirt a little.
“If Your Majesty wants to execute me to keep me quiet, then I shall just call for help. Running onto my daybed instead of sleeping in the middle of the night—isn’t that a bit improper? Does Noble Consort Xian know about this?”
Her voice was sweet and melting, but the words caused the Emperor’s eyes to widen so much that he almost thought he had misheard.
Is she… is she actually threatening me?
Seeing the Emperor’s shocked expression, Yanwan simply lay down on her pillow, propping her head up with one arm, and bargained with him in all seriousness:
“Your Majesty wouldn’t want Noble Consort Xian to know that you came onto my bed behind her back, right? How about I keep this secret for you, and you pretend I know nothing at all?”
“Absurd! You clearly know the truth, so how can I pretend you do not? How is that any different from burying one’s head in the sand? Only dead people and mutes can truly keep secrets—choose one!”
The Emperor’s face grew even darker. He lowered his gaze to glare angrily at Yanwan, finally realizing the true extent of her audacity.
He had never encountered a woman like this. Was she not afraid of him punishing her?
Yanwan looked at the Emperor’s shifting expressions with amused satisfaction. She let out a fake sigh of regret, her voice laced with innocence.
“The choices Your Majesty offers are far too unfair. Since that’s the case, let’s just suffer together! Your Ladyship, mm…”
Her sudden outburst startled the Emperor so much that he hurriedly reached out with a guilty conscience and clamped his hand tightly over her lips.
His gaze darted toward the door of the inner chamber, terrified that Ruyi might actually be awakened. If she were to catch him here right now, no amount of explanations would ever clear his name.