“Mmm~”
An alluring moan slipped unconsciously from Shen Chu’s lips.
How could this be?
She hadn’t used a woman’s voice in front of anyone for years!
In the dim room, a hand suddenly reached out and clamped tightly over her mouth. It smelled of scallion-oil chicken.
“Shh.”
Outside came the hushed, spiteful voice of her father’s principal wife.
“Hurry and find him! That bastard’s been drugged. He can’t have gone far.”
“Once you find him, throw him into the room of General Li’s concubine-born daughter!”
“At daybreak, I’ll bring the Empress Dowager to catch them in the act. The Empress Dowager brought us to Jingguo Temple to pray for blessings, and the new top scholar has dared to do such a thing on sacred Buddhist grounds. He certainly won’t escape death.”
The principal wife’s footsteps faded into the distance.
Shen Chu let out a soft breath and gestured for her birth mother, Concubine Qiao, to release her.
Concubine Qiao lowered her voice. “That damned old witch! She actually wants you to force yourself on the general’s concubine-born daughter. But you don’t even have the equipment for it!”
“Yiniang, is that really the point?” Shen Chu wanted to crack open Concubine Qiao’s head and see what was inside.
“How is that not the point? Without the necessary equipment, the crime can’t even be committed!”
“Yiniang, shouldn’t the point be that I’ve been drugged with an aphrodisiac and urgently need a man?”
Shen Chu forced out each word, fighting back the heat surging through her body.
Concubine Qiao didn’t think it was a big deal. “Oh, is that all? We’ve been at Jingguo Temple praying for blessings for half a month. Some of the ladies have grown lonely in their chambers and secretly brought young male escorts from Babao House.
“Don’t worry. I’ll go find you a few handsome ones with plenty of stamina and excellent technique!”
With that, Concubine Qiao slipped nimbly out the door.
Shen Chu bit down hard on her lip, managing to squeeze out two words. “Don’t go.”
The new top scholar was a woman. If anyone discovered that, she would be guilty of deceiving the Emperor, a crime also punishable by death.
But in less than a quarter of an hour, the hidden room’s door opened again. A tall, slender figure was shoved inside, stumbling as he entered.
Concubine Qiao’s hushed voice came from outside.
“This one’s the handsomest. He’s incredibly good-looking. You can test his stamina and technique for yourself.”
Shen Chu: …Well, thank you very much.
She struggled to her feet despite her limp body, intending to leave, but instead pitched headfirst into the man’s arms.
“Who is it?”
The man’s body was burning hot, his voice irritable and guarded.
Shen Chu trembled in alarm.
Oh no. This man had been drugged too.
Danger!
She turned to jump out the window.
She had just pushed it open when someone grabbed her arm.
In the moonlight streaming through the window, she cast a curious glance at the man. His features were exquisite, almost wickedly handsome, and his peach-blossom eyes glared fiercely at her.
One look, and her heart nearly leaped out of her chest.
It was her nemesis, the Sixth Prince, Pei Yuan!
Should she applaud Concubine Qiao’s taste?
Pei Yuan, the capital’s most beautiful and notorious playboy—how could he not be handsome?
Oh, wait. That wasn’t the point.
The question was, could she sleep with him? Would she dare?
Shen Chu gritted her teeth and was about to jump out when a sharp gust of wind swept past her ear.
The man had already seized her collar, his slightly cool hand accidentally brushing her neck.
Shen Chu flinched and instinctively let out a soft whimper.
Pei Yuan’s body shuddered violently. A trace of confusion flickered in his bloodshot gaze. “Chuchu?”
Shen Chu’s pupils contracted. “What?”
Had he just called her Chuchu?
Brother Zhan had called her that when they were children, too.
Wait. Pei Yuan hadn’t recognized her as Shen Chu?
She raised her eyes to meet his, only to find his gaze blank and unfocused.
The next moment, Pei Yuan pressed his lips to hers in a kiss filled with an indescribable urgency and demand.
The world spun. Shen Chu was flung onto the bed, and the man’s burning body pressed down hard on hers.
His low, heated breath brushed her ear, sending a tingling sensation through her. “Chuchu, don’t be afraid. I’ll take responsibility.”
Shen Chu’s mind was hazy, her whole body trembling as she lost herself in the intimacy Pei Yuan had stirred.
A breeze rose by the lake, coaxing the budding crabapple blossoms on its shore into bloom.
……
At first light, Shen Chu sat up holding her aching waist and drew in a sharp breath. Her whole body hurt.
It must have been the drug. For one brief moment last night, she had actually mistaken Pei Yuan for her Brother Zhan.
But Brother Zhan had been gone for ten years.
She endured the discomfort and got out of bed, but her whole body ached. She stumbled and slid down onto the footstool.
Unable to restrain herself, she reached over and gave Pei Yuan’s calf a resentful pinch. “For someone with such a notorious reputation, how come you’re so bad at it?”
Pei Yuan mumbled something and rolled over.
Startled, she was about to leave when he woke up.
Shen Chu pushed off on her toes and sprang up onto a ceiling beam. The pain in her body left her barely able to cling to it without falling.
Whoosh.
A tiny, melon-seed-shaped piece of gold struck her ankle with perfect precision.
“Hiss~” Shen Chu fell, landing on her knees and hands, her face pale.
It was over. Pei Yuan had discovered her.
She took a deep breath and pushed herself to her feet.
Pei Yuan approached with his clothes hanging loosely and an outer robe draped over his shoulders. His narrow peach-blossom eyes beneath sword-like brows gleamed with mockery. His muscular chest was covered in reddish scratches, an indescribably suggestive sight.
In that instant, Concubine Qiao’s words inexplicably surfaced in Shen Chu’s mind.
“Handsome, with good stamina and excellent technique.”
Hmm.
He certainly was handsome, and he certainly had good stamina.
But his technique… was truly terrible.
Especially the first time. He’d been so inexperienced that he hardly seemed like the notorious rake of the capital.
Fortunately, she hadn’t come away empty-handed either. Her gaze fell on his exposed chest.
The scratches crisscrossed his skin, a startling sight, but not a single one was undeserved.
A debt of flesh repaid in flesh!
Each time Pei Yuan took her, she left another scratch.
Certain heated images rose in Shen Chu’s mind, and her face flushed. Then Pei Yuan’s voice sounded above her head.
“So, how was this prince’s technique last night?”
Shen Chu’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest: …
He knew he’d slept with her last night…?
Had she guessed wrong?
She’d observed him carefully last night and discovered that Pei Yuan couldn’t see in the dark. Otherwise, he would have recognized her as soon as he’d entered.
As she hesitated over how to respond, Pei Yuan gave a mocking laugh. “Who would have thought that the illustrious new top scholar would have a habit of spying on other people in bed?
“Well? Were you overwhelmed by this prince’s extraordinary prowess last night?”
Shen Chu froze for a moment. “Huh? That’s what you mean?”
“What else? Don’t tell me you were going to claim this prince slept with you.”
Pei Yuan scoffed. “This prince has no interest in men. Even if you’re ranked first on the capital’s list of men who fancy other men, this prince still isn’t interested.”
Shen Chu: …
You’re the one who fancies men. Your whole family fancies men!
“If Your Highness has nothing else to discuss, Shen Chu will take her leave.”
“Stop.”
A jade-ribbed fan came to rest lightly on her shoulder. Pei Yuan took a long stride forward and blocked her way.
“What else does Your Highness require?”
“Since you were here last night, you must have seen who I slept with.”
Shen Chu’s heart skipped a beat. “Your Highness has quite a sense of humor. Surely you should know better than anyone who shared your bed last night.”
Pei Yuan lowered his gaze to the exposed scratches on his chest. “Hmm. She must have been a passionate little wildcat, with some sharp claws.”
Shen Chu flushed to the ears. This scoundrel Pei Yuan frequented brothels all year round; suggestive remarks rolled off his tongue effortlessly.
“But I don’t think I came away empty-handed, either. I left a mark on her neck…”