That night.
Perhaps because Chu Zhao had gone on a rampage during the day, Wutong Courtyard had become a place no outsider dared enter. No one had even brought her dinner.
Chu Zhao hadn’t been human for far too long. After consuming the evil servants’ essence and a drop of the Prince of You’s blood during the day, she’d completely forgotten that this body still needed food.
The original owner, Shen Zhaozhao, had only just come of age when she married into the Prince of You’s Residence. Five years had passed, and she was only nineteen now.
What had Chu Zhao been doing at nineteen?
Oh, conquering the realm. She ate nine meals a day, and needed a basin to hold them.
Back when she’d been conquering the realm in her previous life, Chu Zhao had never deprived herself of good food. She’d found every possible way to get meat. Now that she bore the title of Princess Consort in this life, how could she possibly neglect her stomach?
She rolled off the couch and got up, ready to find something to eat.
It was already the third watch. Chu Zhao had just reached the door when she suddenly stopped.
The moonlight was beautiful tonight. Its glow fell on the snow, and silvery light streamed in through the window, spreading a frostlike sheen across half the room.
There was no lamp lit inside. A tall man’s figure appeared in the moonlight, his shadow clearly cast into the room.
Chu Zhao stopped at the doorway, her dark eyes seeming able to see right through the door.
Creak. She flung it open.
Snow swirled in on the wind. The man’s tall figure blocked the moonlight, shrouding her completely in shadow.
He leaned toward her out of the darkness. As his hair brushed her face, it carried the crisp scent of snow-covered pines, cold and fierce.
Chu Zhao narrowed her eyes. “The Prince of You, coming here in the middle of the night—”
Before she could finish, the shadow pressed straight down over her.
The scent of pine brushed her ear as the man lifted his arms and pulled her into his embrace.
“You brat!”
A cold tide rose in Chu Zhao’s eyes. She pulled out the Black Phoenix Iron Hairpin, ready to bleed the bastard, when a hoarse gasp sounded beside her ear.
“My head hurts…”
The words were slurred and incoherent. He wasn’t awake.
Chu Zhao paused, then tried to shove him away. To her surprise, even with his mind clouded, he was every bit as strong as she was.
This body of hers might not be strong enough to lift a cauldron, as she had been in her previous life, but few ordinary men could match her strength.
But this guy… How could That Bastard’s descendant, Yan Fuwei, have inherited such strength?!
As they struggled, the man came at her with the wind and snow. Chu Zhao turned her head and saw that his eyes were closed.
Was he…
sleepwalking?
“What kind of dog-brat has this many problems?”
Chu Zhao was so furious she laughed. Staring at that face, identical to Yan Fuwei’s, she felt red creep into her eyes.
Should she… kill him while she had the chance?
Cut him open and drain his blood—enough for a full meal?
As she considered it, the man suddenly turned his head, as if he’d found a cure. His cold lips brushed hers—perhaps deliberately, perhaps not—and then parted at once.
Both their bodies went rigid.
Red surged through Chu Zhao’s eyes, and ghostly energy spread around her.
She tightened her grip on the hairpin, about to bleed the audacious bastard dry.
“Mm…”
A deep, muffled groan escaped the man’s throat. Sweet essence flowed from between his lips and teeth, wisps of it burrowing straight into the depths of her soul.
It was far too fragrant.
Chu Zhao’s pupils contracted. The murderous intent in her eyes seemed to be swallowed, bite by bite, until it gradually turned to greed.
Yan Qi’s mind was in a fog. The headache that plagued him every day throbbed dully, his brow furrowed tight—until something drew near.
Soft and warm, like a healing remedy.
He followed it instinctively.
Pressed close. Sucked. Swallowed.
But there was too little of this remedy.
Not enough.
Not enough…
Following his instincts, he pressed closer. His large hand clasped the back of her neck, his thumb rubbing the delicate skin at her nape, burning hot. He lowered his head and forcefully pried open the barrier of her tightly sealed lips.
“Mm…”
Chu Zhao let out a muffled groan as his teeth forced their way apart.
The man’s tongue slipped inside, carrying the crisp scent of snow-covered pines—and the essence that made her soul tremble.
The last of the clarity in her eyes was gradually devoured by desire.
So fragrant…
So delicious…
She swallowed his essence, mouthful after mouthful, a faint sound of swallowing rising from deep in her throat.
His essence was so rich and potent that it slid down her throat like aged liquor, burning from the tip of her tongue all the way to her spine.
But she hadn’t expected him to be even more shameless than she’d imagined.
“Ah—”
A sudden pain stung her lip.
She hadn’t even drunk his blood yet.
How dare he bite her lip first!
Chu Zhao’s pupils snapped tight. She bit him back hard. The man groaned but didn’t retreat.
In the tangle of their mouths, someone’s tongue was bitten; someone’s blood was passed between them. The mingled taste of blood and sweetness filled their joined lips as their breathing grew heavier and heavier.
The instant the blood slid down her throat, Chu Zhao shuddered as though something had struck her head-on. It was so fragrant!
So intoxicating she could barely think!
A satisfied sigh escaped her throat. At last, the starving ghost who’d gone three hundred years without food had tasted the delights of the mortal world~
She could feel her soul being nourished. It was so blissful, like soaking in a hot spring, every inch of her soul soothed and warmed.
Before she knew it, she was nestled in the man’s arms, her head resting against his chest. Just like that, she fell asleep.
The next morning.
After a long-awaited good night’s sleep, Yan Qi was briefly dazed when he woke.
Then he felt something soft and warm in his arms. He lowered his head and looked at the woman curled against his chest.
Her lips were swollen, and dried blood still clung to their corners.
Yan Qi’s gaze darkened. He had no memory of what had happened the previous night, but he certainly shouldn’t have ended up here—much less in this position with this woman!
Just then, the person in his arms abruptly opened her eyes.
Their eyes met.
The air froze for a moment.
The drowsiness in Chu Zhao’s eyes vanished in the blink of an eye, replaced by a teasing glint. “Why the long face? Anyone who didn’t know better would think I was the one who’d offered myself to you and been rejected~”
“What did you do to this prince?” Yan Qi’s large hand clamped around her waist, his voice icy.
“Blaming me for your own behavior? You came here yourself, tried to force yourself on me, and when your offer to share my bed was rejected, you shamelessly insisted on sleeping beside me!”
Chu Zhao watched with relish as the face that resembled her old nemesis turned a kaleidoscope of colors. She’d eaten well last night. That brat’s blood really was nourishing!
For the past three hundred years, she’d often felt so hungry that her soul was about to scatter. Who would’ve thought that a few extra mouthfuls of blood last night would stabilize it?
Delicious. She’d have to eat more!
Now that Chu Zhao was in a good mood, she was willing to show him a little kindness—if only for the fun of teasing her grandchild.
Especially with that face to look at. Teasing her old enemy as if he were her grandson gave her an extraordinary sense of satisfaction.
Chu Zhao simply rested her head against his chest, hooked a finger under his chin, and gave him the most teasing look imaginable.
“You don’t even know how to offer yourself to someone properly. The Prince of You needs more practice. At this rate, you won’t earn a reward.”
Yan Qi’s body suddenly stiffened.
Once, someone had said something similar to him.
—If you can’t serve someone properly, you won’t earn a reward~