Lu Huaijin’s warm breath brushed against her ear, sending a tingling shiver down her spine.
“Will you choose to be a companion marriage with that eunuch, or will you come with me?”
Su Yao trembled and shook her head, then suddenly seemed to remember something and nodded instead.
Lu Huaijin’s expression softened slightly as he remarked coolly, “You’re not entirely foolish.”
With that, he took her hand and led her out of the room.
At the door stood someone Su Yao recognized—Chang Ting, Lu Huaijin’s personal guard.
Lu Huaijin wrapped her tightly in the black fox fur cloak, his thumb gently tracing the red marks left by the rough ropes on her wrists.
“Does it hurt?”
Su Yao shook her head, though the corners of her eyes were faintly red.
Lu Huaijin knew she was forcing herself to endure it again.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.”
The wind outside was truly fierce!
Around the corner not far away, the little eunuch was shrinking into the shadows, peeking at them.
Su Yao suddenly stopped, and Lu Huaijin asked, “Why have you stopped?”
Su Yao looked up at him and whispered, “That little eunuch… he’ll tell Eunuch Hai.”
Lu Huaijin followed her gaze, and the eunuch quickly lowered his head, pretending not to see them.
“Chang Ting,” Lu Huaijin ordered coldly.
The guard beneath the corridor immediately bowed. “At your command, sir. Please give your orders.”
Lu Huaijin pulled Su Yao closer to him, his eyes flicking toward the eunuch. “Deal with him.”
“Yes!”
Meanwhile, Eunuch Hai was stepping over the unswept snow in front of the Qianqing Palace steps when he suddenly realized he had been tricked.
As he hurried back to his room, he muttered curses under his breath. “Damn that Wang Dexi, ruining my plans.”
He rubbed his hands together, thinking of the graceful beauty waiting for him in his room and the new toys he had recently acquired. He could hardly contain his excitement.
The Chief Grand Secretary’s woman—just the thought was thrilling.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have dared, even with the courage of a bear or a leopard. But this time, he had the Empress Dowager’s backing.
He swallowed unconsciously, imagining the maid’s delicate, charming face and how excited he would be when she cried.
The moment he pushed the door open, a figure under the gauzy curtains shrank back.
The person was covered by a quilt, with only a pair of snow-white legs exposed.
Eunuch Hai quickly locked the door and fetched an iron rod from the shelf.
With a wicked grin, he approached the bed.
The person under the quilt trembled uncontrollably, but with his mouth gagged and hands bound, he had no chance to resist, only able to emit muffled whimpers.
Eunuch Hai eyed the figure beneath the quilt and found it oddly broader than he remembered, stirring a flicker of suspicion.
Frowning, he said coldly, “How did you get so fat in such a short time?”
With that, he yanked the quilt away.
In an instant, his expression changed drastically.
This was not Su Yao, that little maid!
It was clearly the little eunuch he had sent to fetch her!
The little eunuch trembled like a leaf. Once the gag was removed from his mouth, he stammered, “Eunuch Hai, save me! It’s me, your servant!”
His voice was as faint as a mosquito’s hum, trembling uncontrollably.
“Where is she?” the old eunuch’s voice rose sharply.
“I… I dare not say…”
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Hai’s eyes widened in fury, and he snarled viciously, “Useless! You can’t even handle such a simple task. What’s the point of keeping you worthless fools around!”
His pent-up frustration burned like a raging fire, with no outlet for release.
Just as he was growing restless, his gaze fell upon the fair-skinned little eunuch before him.
Suddenly, Eunuch Hai let out a low chuckle.
There was not a trace of warmth in that laughter, sending chills down one’s spine.
He extended a withered, bony hand, his nails digging viciously into the little eunuch’s shoulder blade, muttering under his breath, “Blood will be shed sooner or later. Since that girl can’t be found, why not…”
The little eunuch let out a scream like a slaughtered pig, the sound tearing through the silent night sky.
Eunuch Hai’s grip tightened relentlessly, and the little eunuch’s cries grew weaker and weaker until, in the end, there was no sound at all.
Outside the window, the north wind suddenly intensified, sweeping away the final whimper.
A blood-stained soft whip fell to the ground, and a silver bell rolled into the charcoal brazier, melting into twisted teardrops…
Su Yao was escorted back to her room by Lu Huaijin.
The moonlight, clear as water, spilled over their shoulders, casting two slender silhouettes.
Chun Tao had been overjoyed and was about to step out to welcome her mistress, but as soon as her foot crossed the threshold, she was abruptly pulled back by Nanny Chang.
Nanny Chang frowned slightly, chiding in a low voice, “You foolish girl, where are your eyes?”
With that, she dragged Chun Tao by the arm back to her own quarters.
Inside the room, Lu Huaijin raised his hand, his fingertips lightly brushing the wick of the candle. The flame flickered to life with a soft puff, instantly filling the entire room with a warm, golden glow.
Su Yao’s body stiffened abruptly as she sensed the complex emotions radiating from Lu Huaijin.
He was angry with her.
How could her resolute decision to enter the palace have escaped his sharp eyes back then?
Lu Huaijin turned around, his gaze burning as he looked at Su Yao.
It truly lived up to the saying, “A day apart feels like three years.”
Lu Huaijin was a man of restraint, but at this moment, he did not wish to suppress his emotions.
He strode forward, gently lifting Su Yao and seating her on his lap.
Su Yao instinctively tried to struggle, but before she could make a move, Lu Huaijin pressed her down firmly.
He lowered his head slightly, urgently sealing her lips with his own.
The kiss was fervent and domineering, carrying a hint of punishment.
He resented her cruelty, her decisiveness.
But more than that, it was longing—he missed this heartless woman every moment of every day.
He wanted to restrain himself, but upon seeing her, all reason crumbled in an instant.
Su Yao felt as though all the air around her had been stolen away. Her mind went blank, and she could only passively endure his kiss.
Lu Huaijin’s presence enveloped her completely. Her heart pounded like thunder, and she was kissed into a daze, as if standing on clouds.
By the time she regained her senses, she felt Lu Huaijin’s large hand slowly wandering over her waist.
She jolted awake instantly, urgently protesting, “Don’t do this—we’re in the palace!”
As she spoke, she pushed against Lu Huaijin’s chest with all her strength, but her feeble efforts were nothing more than a mosquito’s gentle scratch to him.
The man’s eyes were now clouded with desire, his gaze filled with intense aggression. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed dryly.
He took advantage of the moment to lift Su Yao’s hands above her head, rendering her immobile.
“Su Yao.”
His voice was low and hoarse, and without giving her another chance to refuse, he kissed her again.
The candlelight in Su Yao’s room flickered.
That night, she was like a small boat adrift, sinking and surfacing time and again, lost and aware in turns.
In a state between dream and wakefulness, Su Yao faintly sensed the person beside her gently rise. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open, her consciousness not yet fully clear, when she heard that familiar voice speak in the dimness.
“I cannot take you away from the palace yet.”
Su Yao felt as if struck by lightning, instantly jolted awake, and stood frozen in place.
Watching Lu Huaijin’s receding figure, his silhouette gradually blurred in the dim, yellowish light, unease quickly tightened its grip on her heart.
Involuntarily, Eunuch Hai’s sinister face surfaced in her mind.
“Why?”