In that instant, Shen Chao’s heart felt as if gripped by a large hand. She wanted to struggle but lacked the courage.
She looked into Xiao Yanli’s eyes, where she saw a ferocity she had never witnessed before.
Pain spread from her lips, forcing her to part them and submit to his invasion.
Xiao Yanli’s palm covered her eyes, and with her vision blocked, her other senses heightened.
She never imagined that the lips of the lofty Crown Prince could also be soft, like the chilled cheese dessert bestowed by the Empress Dowager in summer.
The rich fragrance of osmanthus filled her mouth and nose, aggressively overwhelming her senses. Her body tensed like a drawn bow, unsure how to react. Aside from clutching his lapel, she seemed powerless to do anything.
The osmanthus-scented lips were not as cloying as the sweet drink from that day. Xiao Yanli had intended only a brief taste but found himself craving more.
Only after he had consumed all the lip rouge from Shen Chao’s lips did he lift the hand covering her eyes.
She trembled, her eyelashes fluttering as she slowly opened her eyes. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks.
Xiao Yanli admired his handiwork with evident satisfaction. His thumb traced the outline of Shen Chao’s lips, feeling her tremble.
“I once kept a sparrow,” he said. “I gave it a beautiful cage, exquisite food, and clean water. Yet every time I opened the cage, it tried to fly away. This displeased me greatly, so I wrung its neck and placed it in a box. A pity—mortal flesh and blood, once dead, will always turn to bones.”
“Caichun, you wouldn’t want to become bones either, would you?”
Goosebumps rose on Shen Chao’s skin. Xiao Yanli’s fingers were cold, and the sensation of them gliding over her flesh felt like icy blades, as if they might slit her throat and drain her blood at any moment.
“This servant… this servant knows she was wrong…” Her voice trembled with tears, a stark contrast to her usual composed and mature demeanor.
Xiao Yanli watched her quietly. The narrow bed was cramped for two, and the close proximity of their bodies was uncomfortable.
“Speak slowly. I am listening carefully.”
Shen Chao dared not conceal anything and truthfully reported the identity of the guard.
The young guard was the illegitimate son of a marquis’s household. He had joined the Imperial Guard on his own merit but had nearly been framed by his elder brother.
Two years ago, Shen Chao had helped him once. Thinking it not unreasonable to call in that favor, she had conceived the idea of feigning an affair with him to deceive Xiao Yanli.
Xiao Yanli listened quietly until she finished, then lightly flicked her forehead with his finger.
He rose swiftly from the bed. “Help me straighten my clothes.”
Shen Chao immediately scrambled up to smooth the wrinkles from his robe, noticing a sachet hanging at his waist.
It was the half-finished sachet she had been making. With his movements, it swayed gently, emitting a faint osmanthus fragrance.
Xiao Yanli strode out of the room, where Fu Hai was outside wiping cold sweat from his brow.
It had been a near-death experience. He had suffered a sudden stomach cramp, informed the remaining guards, and hurried off to attend to the urgent matter.
Upon returning, he saw a female official emerging from the room!
These guards truly stuck to their duties—they hadn’t spared a thought for his life!
Seeing his master emerge, Fu Hai proactively offered his backside for punishment.
But the expected kick never came. His master merely cast him a cold glance before striding purposefully toward the main hall of Phoenix Palace.
Fu Hai hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, thinking to himself, Is the one inside that formidable? She even managed to coax His Highness quite well!
In the main hall, the Empress saw her son approaching. Although his expression remained stern, she could detect a faint trace of smugness between his brows.
Recalling the reason for her son’s change in mood, she felt a pang of discomfort in her heart.
Dismissing the attendants in the hall, the Empress glared coldly at her son and threw a handkerchief at his face.
“Wipe your mouth! You don’t even bother to clean up after sneaking a treat!”
Xiao Yanli picked up the handkerchief and dabbed his lips, leaving a faint smear of pink on the fabric—the color of Shen Chao’s lip rouge.
“The Mid-Autumn banquet is just a few days away. By then, the female relatives of various officials will enter the palace to attend. I intend to use this occasion to finalize the selection of your Crown Princess.”
At these words, the Empress noticed the Crown Prince slightly lowering his eyelids, his expression reverent as he replied, “I trouble Her Majesty to take such pains.”
The Empress deeply disliked Xiao Yanli’s attitude—outwardly respectful, yet inwardly already set on his own plans.
What irked her even more was his unwillingness to confide in her. She would busy herself on his behalf in public, only for him to scheme behind her back, leaving all her efforts in vain!
Thus, nowadays, the Empress merely went through the motions when it came to his affairs. After all, her son had his own ideas.
As long as he didn’t cause a catastrophe, his father could always clean up his messes.
Yet his attitude inevitably displeased her, prompting her to remark pointedly, “Once the Crown Princess enters the Eastern Palace, you’ll be at ease. With a principal consort managing the rear courtyard in front and concubines offering tender affection behind.”
The Crown Prince glanced up at the Empress but offered no rebuttal.
Seeing her son so contented, the Empress grew even more irritated. Recalling his frequent recent activities, she cautioned, “With so many matters at hand lately, you need not come to pay your respects daily.”
Xiao Yanli countered, “When will Caichun be able to come to the Eastern Palace?”
The Empress felt a vein twitch on her forehead but replied calmly, “I have already granted her permission to leave the palace.”
The implication was clear: Go negotiate with her yourself. I won’t play the villain.
“Then I shall continue to trouble Her Majesty by paying my respects daily.”
The Empress: “…”
A stifling anger lodged in her chest, leaving her flushed and breathless.
How could she not have known her own son was like this!
To think he would use paying respects to his mother as a pretext to flirt with her female official!
Oh no—it was all his one-sided infatuation!
Even more infuriating!
Thus, the Empress’s words turned blunt, carrying a hint of sternness: “At the Mid-Autumn palace banquet, you must be on your utmost guard! Countless eyes are fixed on the position of Crown Princess in the Eastern Palace. The one in Yongkang Palace has long held a grudge against me for taking her niece’s place and will surely not let you off easily.”
Xiao Yanli nodded silently.
The Empress Dowager indeed wished for her grand-niece to enter the Eastern Palace as a consort. To this end, she had long ago selected a girl of exceptional beauty from her maternal family and, under the pretext of loneliness in the rear palace, kept her by her side for grooming.
When Xiao Yanli paid his respects to the Empress Dowager, he would occasionally encounter this grand-niece, though he seldom paid her any direct attention.
“Her Majesty need not worry. This subject will exercise utmost caution.”
Mother and son spoke a while longer, with the Empress carefully avoiding matters of the court and instead probing his views on the selection of the Crown Princess.
In this matter, Xiao Yanli's cooperative attitude of "You decide" left the Empress deeply uneasy.
It was good for a son to be sensible, but being too sensible could unexpectedly lead to a massive disaster.
"By the way, I have something for you," she said, calling a maidservant to fetch the item and hand it to Xiao Yanli.
Xiao Yanli held a small porcelain bottle, poured out a few brown pills, and looked at the Empress with confusion.
"Before the Crown Princess conceives, no concubine-born sons are allowed in your Eastern Palace."