Night fell, and the moon rose above the willow treetops.
The main hall of Yilan Palace was brightly lit, with candlelight flickering in graceful shadows.
After the two had finished their evening meal, Ming Hua retired to the inner chamber, where Qingyun and Nuanxue removed her hairpins and unpinned her coiffure before she entered the bathing room to wash and bathe.
Xie Chongyuan likewise went to the bathing room in the eastern side hall to bathe and change.
Steam filled the bathing chamber of the main hall, suffused with a sweet fragrance.
Ming Hua sat distractedly in the flower-strewn, richly scented bath barrel, letting Qingyun and Nuanxue fuss over her as they poured water over her and washed her.
Her mind was filled entirely with the secret intimacy illustrations that the instructress had explained to her in meticulous detail a month prior, along with all the various protocols for attending the emperor in his bedchamber.
Thinking of how she would soon have to lie completely naked on the bed couch, enduring a man in such a shameful manner—and worse, having to let him do as he pleased without resistance or refusal—the budding goodwill Ming Hua had felt toward Xie Chongyuan was suddenly overwhelmed by fear and resistance.
As Qingyun dried her mistress's body, she noticed how the young lady was trembling slightly from nervousness. Blushing, Qingyun whispered words of comfort.
"Your Grace need not be afraid. This servant observed that His Majesty was considerate in every way toward you today—gentle and attentive, nothing like the crude, temperamental man the rumors describe. Surely His Majesty will cherish you tonight…"
Though Qingyun had never married, she had inadvertently overheard many of the older women in the household gossiping about such matters in private.
On the eve of entering the palace, Zhao Xuelan had even sent Nanny Liu to give Qingyun and Nuanxue detailed instruction on how to attend to their mistress before and after the event.
Hearing this, Ming Hua shot Qingyun an embarrassed, annoyed glare. Then, through the bronze mirror, she saw Nuanxue draping over her a nearly transparent, rouge-red gauze nightgown.
Her almond-shaped eyes flew wide in shock, and her voice came out stammering. "Wh-where did this nightgown come from? How could I possibly own something like this? What happened to the one I usually wear?"
The rouge-red cloud-mist gauze nightgown was as thin as a cicada's wing, leaving nothing to the imagination—the peach-pink undergarment embroidered with twin peonies, the pair of snow-white breasts that seemed ready to spill forth, and her jade-white, flawless shoulders and beautiful back all fully visible.
Nuanxue looked at her mistress in this enchanting, seductive attire and blushed deeply, lowering her head as she stammered a quiet explanation. "Th-this was specially arranged by the Madam. She instructed us to have Your Grace wear this for your first night attending His Majesty."
Her mistress's figure had grown increasingly graceful and curvaceous over the past two years.
A slender waist, a pert rear, lithe yet full, with every curve in perfect proportion—the two plump mounds of snow-white jade before her seemed to have already outgrown the undergarment that had been newly made just recently.
"Mother is too wicked! How could she have me wear something so shameful? What difference is there between this and just walking out in my undergarments?"
"It's too embarrassing! I won't do it! How shameless!" Ming Hua stamped her little feet in anger, her cheeks puffed up as she ordered Qingyun petulantly, "Go find my original one and change me into that! I refuse to wear this! It's mortifying!"
Qingyun didn't obey. Instead, she and Nuanxue pushed Ming Hua toward the door, coaxing her with smiles. "Your Grace mustn't be shy. The Madam arranged this for your own good."
"With Your Grace wearing this nightgown, you look so lovely and pitiable, so tender and alluring. Once His Majesty sees you, he'll surely be utterly bewitched!"
And so Ming Hua was half-coaxed, half-pushed by Qingyun and Nuanxue, wearing that tantalizing, eye-catching cloud-mist gauze nightgown as she emerged shyly and hesitantly from the bathing chamber.
The palace maids attending the main hall had already prepared the bed couch and tactfully withdrawn.
Inside the inner chamber, it was so quiet that one could hear the occasional soft pop of a lampwick sparking.
On the carved huanghuali rosewood table before the bed couch, a white jade openwork incense burner released wisps of fragrant aloeswood smoke.
Xie Chongyuan had already returned from his bath in the eastern side hall and was now seated leisurely on the low couch beneath the western window, a memorial in hand, reading with focused attention.
His slightly damp ink-black hair was casually bound with a single silver hairpin shaped like a bamboo branch. He wore a dark, cloud-patterned silk night robe with a cross collar.
The sash of his night robe hung loosely, the long collar carelessly open, revealing his wheat-colored, powerfully built chest and abdomen—the picture of effortless elegance and charm.
When Ming Hua emerged and looked up to see this dashing, debonair emperor, she froze in place, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on his muscular chest and abdomen, still beaded with water, for a long moment.
It wasn't until a single crystalline droplet, dislodged by the emperor's movement as he set down his memorial, slid down his lean waist and disappeared beneath the waistband of his trousers that Ming Hua finally swallowed hard, her face burning red, and snapped back to her senses.
Suppressing the nervousness and shyness in her heart, she moved forward with delicate, lotus-like steps, taking a few slow paces, and asked in a trembling, bashful voice: "Has Your Majesty been kept waiting long by your concubine?"
Xie Chongyuan heard the sound of the inner chamber door opening. He set down the memorial in his hand and looked up, only to see the young lady dressed in a sheer, cicada-wing-thin veil of rouge-red fragrant cloud gauze. Beneath the translucent fabric, her delicate, alluring figure was revealed—warm, fragrant, and exquisitely beautiful.
He only glanced at her once, and already he felt a tightness in his lower abdomen, a strange heat surging through him. His throat was parched, as if he had been walking through a desert for days.
Then, somewhat uncomfortably, he averted his gaze and looked instead at her apricot eyes, which shimmered with autumn water. His Adam's apple rolled involuntarily, and his voice came out slightly hoarse. "It's fine…"
Ming Hua met Xie Chongyuan's burning gaze and felt as though she might as well be completely naked before him.
Her small face flushed crimson. Shy and mortified, she lowered her head, her legs trembling slightly as she stood there at a loss, wishing she could dig a hole and hide herself away. In a small, bashful voice, she murmured, "That's good then…"
Xie Chongyuan noticed the young lady's nervousness and helplessness. He rose and stepped forward, then directly scooped her up in his arms, carrying her toward the sleeping couch.
Lowering his gaze to the shy young lady in his arms, his deep, rich voice carried a hint of teasing as he chuckled softly. "Am I that frightening to look at?"
"We've spent the whole day together, and yet the Noble Consort still seems afraid of me."
Startled by being suddenly lifted into the air, Ming Hua let out a small, soft cry, her lips parting slightly. Instinctively, she raised her hands and tightly wrapped them around Xie Chongyuan's neck.
Wide-eyed with innocent, watery apricot eyes, she looked at his handsome profile—so close, with its sharp features, sword-like brows, and starry eyes—and stammered out her defense.
"N-no, Your Majesty, you are handsome and imposing. You're not frightening at all…"
Hearing this, Xie Chongyuan's thin lips curved up slightly.
Then, he gently laid Ming Hua down on the couch, which was spread with a brocade quilt patterned with clustered flowers. Slowly, he leaned over her, hooking his hand around her slender waist, as soft and pliant as a spring willow. With the solemnity of a promise, he said, "You don't need to fear me."
"What I promised the Duke and Duchess today was no empty words. In the days to come, I will treat you well and never let you suffer the slightest grievance."
Xie Chongyuan's warm, calloused palm rested on the young lady's slender waist.
Through the thin sleeping garment, he rubbed her gently, seemingly absentmindedly, causing Ming Hua's body to tremble involuntarily. She felt both shameful and strangely pleased.
Her voice quivered with a delicate charm. "This concubine thanks Your Majesty for your favor. In the future, this concubine will also devote herself wholeheartedly to serving Your Majesty…"
The young lady's voice, as sweet as an oriole's song, seemed to carry a tiny hook, gently tugging at Xie Chongyuan's heart all day long.
Though he was not a man given to lust, he was still a normal man. When faced with a young lady he fancied, desire could indeed be stirred.
Now, before him lay a peerless beauty—one who resembled Chang'e herself, alluring and moving, with a countenance of such breathtaking loveliness that she had stunned him at first sight. And she was now his legitimately enshrined Noble Consort, the wife he had acknowledged. He could not remain as unmoved and unruffled as the legendary Liu Xiahui.
Xie Chongyuan stared intently at the young lady's lips beneath him—dewy, crimson, and as tempting as cherries. His Adam's apple bobbed as he asked in a hoarse voice, like a traveler who had gone without water for days in the desert, "Huahua, may I kiss you?"
He imitated the way her family had called her today, softly uttering her intimate name with deep affection.
Hearing her childhood name spoken by the emperor's lips with such tender, lingering sweetness, so full of amorous suggestion, Ming Hua's face flushed crimson. Bashfully, she instinctively nodded, her whole being floating as if on clouds, utterly dazed.
Then, nervous and afraid, she closed her eyes. Her fair, slender shoulders trembled slightly with tension—pitiful and adorable, as if offering herself up to be taken at will.
Though her heart raced with fear and the urge to flee, she still remembered that the man before her was the emperor. The instructress had told her that refusing the emperor during intimate service was an act of defying the imperial decree—a crime punishable by the execution of one's entire clan.
Xie Chongyuan's dark phoenix eyes deepened. Looking at the young lady beneath him, who had obediently and softly agreed, his gaze grew as fervent as a starving wolf eyeing a little lamb.
As if bewitched, he lowered his head without hesitation to taste those moist, crimson, tender lips.
Her small lips were as soft as the honey-milk cake she had handed him before dinner—the one that melted instantly on the tongue—yet they were a hundred times sweeter and more delicious, without a hint of cloyingness.
Xie Chongyuan savored the taste, sucking and kissing her. So soft, so sweet. In his entire life, he had never tasted anything so wonderful.
His breathing grew heavier. Beneath him, it was as if a wild beast that had long lain dormant was slowly awakening, roaring madly, desperate to break free from its cage.
He couldn't stop himself, gently biting those lips he had sucked to a slight swelling, utterly lost in passion.
His rough, large hand moved as if by instinct, greedily pushing aside the fragrant cloud gauze sleeping garment on Ming Hua's body, reaching to untie the ribbon at the back of her undergarment.
The young lady's skin was as smooth as congealed fat, snow-white and jade-like, like a peerless piece of warm, fragrant, soft jade. The sensation of touching her bare skin versus through her gauzy robes was like night and day.
Xie Chongyuan's hand, which had been working at the ties, paused. He couldn't help but lower himself, pulling her into his embrace, caressing her delicate, soft, jade-like slender back with unrelenting fondness.
When those two soft, snow-white mounds pressed against his firm chest through the thin peach-pink undergarment, the young lady let out a soft, shy gasp of surprise against his ear.
It was as if a string had snapped in Xie Chongyuan's mind. He stiffened for a moment, a tingling, numbing, soul-stirring sensation flowing through his entire body before gathering in his lower abdomen. His lower abdomen tightened until it ached, as if about to explode.
He let out a pained grunt, and in an instant, he became like a beast that had lost all reason. He roughly tore open the ties of Ming Hua's undergarment.
The moment those delicate ties, too thin to withstand a single pull, came loose, the peach-pink undergarment embroidered with twin peonies hung precariously. Beneath it, snow-white waves rippled, a tantalizing spring scene half-hidden, half-revealed.
Although Ming Hua had long since seen the illustrated manuals of intimacy, when the emperor's cool, thin lips, carrying a faint fragrance of clear tea, touched hers, the strange, unfamiliar sensation still frightened her into a startled flinch. She opened her round, apricot-shaped eyes.
Seeing the man looming over her, having transformed into a ferocious, predatory beast, she quickly squeezed her eyes shut again in terror.
With her eyes tightly closed, her senses of hearing and touch seemed magnified infinitely. Xie Chongyuan's heavy, beast-like breathing, carrying scorching heat, brushed against her ear again and again.
His lips sucked and kissed hers until they were both painful and numb. Her entire body went limp, devoid of any strength. She wanted to break free, yet in her heart, she inexplicably craved more.
Ming Hua trembled in fear, her lashes fluttering. Her small, pale hands clutched tightly at the brocade quilt beneath her, her whole body shivering. Her adorable, snow-white toes, tinged with pink, curled up with effort.
Xie Chongyuan's rough, calloused palms roamed wantonly. It felt as if countless tiny insects were crawling over Ming Hua's body. A sensation that was both pleasurable and shamefully indescribable surged through her heart. Finally, she couldn't help but let out a soft moan.
When Ming Hua realized how shameful the sound she had made was, her face flushed crimson. She was so mortified she wished she could die, as if she had nowhere to hide. Tears welled up in her reddened eyes.
The ties of her undergarment were suddenly yanked open by Xie Chongyuan. The hidden snow-white softness, caught off guard and freed from its restraints, sprang loose. Ming Hua was both shocked and ashamed, her body trembling even more violently. The fear and shame within her felt as if they would drown her.
Then, Ming Hua felt Xie Chongyuan's aggressively possessive body, carrying a faint scent of ambergris, draw closer. When she sensed the fierce thing approaching her, her face instantly turned deathly pale with fright.
Th-this… this didn't match what was drawn in the illustrated manual at all! Something this big… could it even fit inside her there?
If… if it were to go in there, then… then how much would it hurt?
Wuwuwu…
Ming Hua was so terrified she could no longer control herself. With a "wah," she burst into tears.
The tears that had been welling in the young lady's watery eyes for so long broke like a dam, rolling down in large droplets. Her face was streaked with tears, and no matter how she tried, she couldn't stop them.
Xie Chongyuan had long since lost his reason, leaving only the most primal desire of human nature.
It was as if the enchanting young lady beneath him had stolen his very soul. His eyes saw only the tantalizing, half-hidden snow-white softness.
His gaze was as dark as ink. He licked his dry, thin lips, about to lower his head and taste.
Just then, the sound of the young lady's devastating sobs reached his ears. It was as if a basin of cold water had been dumped over his head. He woke from his trance as if from a dream, snapping back to his senses.
In his dazed phoenix eyes, the heavy lust was instantly dispelled by Ming Hua's cries.
He came to his senses and, somewhat at a loss, used his fingertips to wipe away the tears streaming down the weeping young lady's face.
"Don't… don't cry. I was too rash, lost control for a moment, and frightened Huahua…"
Ming Hua's small face was as white as snow, her delicate skin as tender as tofu, so soft it seemed it might break at the slightest touch. Xie Chongyuan's fingertips, calloused from years of wielding swords and spears, were thick with rough skin. Even though he restrained himself and used a very gentle touch, he still managed to rub Ming Hua's snow-white face red in an instant.
As if venting her emotions, Ming Hua sobbed until she was breathless, completely unable to stop herself.
Her slender, snow-white shoulders trembled lightly. On her tear-streaked face, a bewitching red mark at the corner of her eye and her lips, swollen and glistening from being kissed and sucked, made her look even more pitiful and endearing.
Xie Chongyuan couldn't help but feel a surge of tenderness. He pulled over the brocade quilt and covered the pitifully curled-up young lady with it. His voice, still low and gentle with lingering desire, coaxed softly: "Don't be afraid, Huahua, don't be afraid. I won't continue."
Wrapped in the warm, thick brocade quilt, which covered her as if she were completely naked, Ming Hua finally felt less ashamed and frightened. Gradually, her sobs subsided.
She snapped back to reality, realizing she had lost her composure and broken the rules of the imperial bedchamber. Her small hands clutched the brocade quilt tightly, revealing a panicked little face like a child who had done something wrong.
"I—this concubine—this concubine is merely too nervous, and—and does not mean to refuse Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me…"
"This concubine—this concubine can do it…"
With that, as if trying to prove herself, Ming Hua tremblingly pushed aside the brocade quilt covering her, then shakily raised her hands to actively wrap them around Xie Chongyuan's neck, her small face flushed crimson with shame.
But unexpectedly, with that movement, the precarious peach-pink bodice she wore slipped down from her chest, leaving her with not even the last shred of covering. A chill instantly swept across her chest, and a pair of snow-white breasts trembled as they bounced free.
Her jade-like arms still wrapped around Xie Chongyuan, her entire body shook uncontrollably from fear and shame, yet she forced herself to stay calm and did not lower her arms. She gazed at Xie Chongyuan with delicate timidity, her tear-filled apricot eyes like spring water brimming with emotion.
Such a fragrant, delicate, and alluring young lady, bare and vulnerable, timidly throwing herself into his arms—there was likely no normal man in the world who could refuse.
But Xie Chongyuan had already sobered up by now, his reason restored. He forcibly suppressed the filthy desires in his heart and, with great tenderness, removed the young lady's hands from his body.
Then, he picked up the fallen peach-pink bodice and helped the young lady put it back on. After tying the ribbons, he dressed her in her sleeping robes, and finally tucked her back into the brocade quilt.
"Don't be afraid. No punishment will befall Huahua."
"There will be plenty of time ahead. Huahua is still not accustomed to this yet, so let us not continue for now."
"The edict of enfeoffment came suddenly—we only met today. It is only natural that Huahua feels nervous and afraid." His face was filled with regret and self-reproach as he said, "Tonight, I was thoughtless and did not consider this. I lost my composure and acted rashly, offending Huahua."
Hearing Xie Chongyuan's gentle coaxing, Ming Hua no longer trembled in fear, but she still could not quite believe it. Her voice carried a tearful tone as she asked softly, "Is—is it really all right to do this?"
Seeing that the young lady still did not believe him, Xie Chongyuan patiently continued to soothe her. "You and I are husband and wife—regardless of sovereign and subject, this is a matter between husband and wife. We need not follow the palace rules, and we need not in the future either."
"The edict of enfeoffment came suddenly. In truth, I am the one who has wronged Huahua. Tonight, I was rash and offensive. From now on, this matter will be led by Huahua. Without Huahua's permission, I will never act rashly again."
"Tonight, I will sleep in the eastern side hall. In a moment, I will have Li Youfu bring Huahua some calming soup."
"The enfeoffment ceremony was lengthy and tedious, and Huahua has been tired all day. Now I have frightened Huahua as well. Huahua should drink the calming soup and sleep early. Once we have spent more time together and Huahua has grown accustomed to me, we can talk about it then."
With that, Xie Chongyuan rose, making as if to leave.
Hearing Xie Chongyuan coax her with such gentle words, Ming Hua felt deeply warmed and moved.
He was the sovereign. If he had insisted on forcing her tonight, she would have been powerless to resist. Yet not only did he not force her, he even comforted her with such gentle words.
What Father said was right—he truly seemed to be a very good husband.
Watching Xie Chongyuan rise to leave, Ming Hua, as if possessed, reached out and grabbed his large hand. Her small face flushed red as she spoke in a muffled voice, "Your Majesty, thank you. You are truly kind…"
Xie Chongyuan smiled and said warmly, "Tonight, I was thoughtless and rash. Huahua, do not be afraid anymore. Once you drink the calming soup, go to sleep soon."
With that, he turned and left the main hall.
Heaven only knew how much resolve it took for him to pull away from the soft, delicate little hand that the young lady had actively placed in his.