Just a moment ago, I was still naive enough to think this was just an ordinary social engagement.
Who would have thought that Guo Fu actually brought along the daughter he described as a beauty that could sink fish and shame the blossoms?
Looking at the shy and delicate figure beneath the veil, I felt somewhat ill at ease.
Fortunately, Guo Fu was a smart man. Seeing that both of us were bound by rigid etiquette, he realized this happy match was probably not going to work out.
During our conversation, I could sense that Miss Guo, just like her father, possessed a simple and enthusiastic personality.
I quite liked them, but unfortunately, for the rest of my half-life, I probably wouldn’t be able to get married.
The reason was also very simple.
In this world, which woman would like to see her husband enter the palace once a month to satisfy another man’s physiological needs?
I couldn’t wrong someone else like that.
Guo Fu and I stepped out of the restaurant and exchanged polite pleasantries, preparing to part ways.
Right at that moment, the sunlight at my feet was suddenly eclipsed as a tall and elegant figure walked up behind me.
Instead of brushing past me, he stopped right behind my back.
Guo Fu hurriedly bowed and respectfully called out, “Greetings, Second Imperial Prince.”
Yin Xiao?
I turned my head, and sure enough, it was him.
No wonder I had felt a prickling sensation on my back just now.
There were also two young court officials around Yin Xiao. Judging by the look of it, they were most likely here at this restaurant to discuss official matters.
Guo Fu’s daughter had never seen Yin Xiao before. Hearing her father address him this way, she realized he was the feared and fawned-over Second Imperial Prince of the court.
She stepped forward to bow along with her father, but tripped over her own feet.
If I hadn’t reacted with lightning speed to steady her, she probably would have tumbled right into Yin Xiao.
After finishing her bow, Miss Guo blinked gratefully at me and said, “Thank you, Lord Ji.”
I smiled faintly and replied, “Think nothing of it.”
Once Guo Fu took his daughter away, I also looked for an excuse to make my exit.
Those young officials were on reasonably familiar terms with me. Seeing that I wanted to slip away, they immediately helped cover for me: “Safe journey, Lord Ji.”
However, Yin Xiao raised his hand and said, “Wait.”
Oh boy.
The moment he raised his hand, I knew nothing good would follow.
Sure enough, Yin Xiao’s sinister voice drifted over: “Teacher, you are well aware of what we discussed today. You might as well come along. This prince would also like to hear your lofty insights.”
I sighed.
I thought Yin Xiao dragged me into this because he was annoyed by my idleness and my audacity to go on a matchmaking date.
I was still too naive.
When Yin Xiao casually manufactured an excuse to send those two officials away, I should have realized something was wrong.
Inside the narrow private room, he shoved me down into a chair, and before I could even react, grabbed me through my clothes.
“Second Imperial Prince!”
I panicked and tried to evade him, but he increased the pressure of his grip, forcing me to yield.
“Did Teacher like that woman just now?”
Yin Xiao lowered his gaze quietly, his tone indifferent. Aside from his hand resting in a rather bizarre position, everything else seemed completely normal, as if he were discussing the most mundane trivia with me.
I spoke with difficulty: “It was my first time meeting her.”
My voice cut off abruptly, turning into a breathy gasp that almost slipped out.
I endured it until the corners of my eyes grew slightly damp, my voice carrying a hint of grievance: “Stop rubbing, you, you take a look around and see where this is!”
Even though the private room in the restaurant had its curtains drawn and others had been instructed not to enter, what if someone did?
Who would have thought that Yin Xiao would actually let out a cold chuckle and retort, “This prince knows. So what?”
He played with the fabric-concealed parts with great enthusiasm, offering neither kisses nor any other affectionate gestures, treating it like a pleasurable form of torture.
“It’s useless even if Teacher likes her. You are this prince’s person. Once affected by the love Gu poison, you will only serve this prince for the rest of your life.”
Are you out of your mind?
You’re the one infected with the love Gu poison, not me. If I refused to comply, you’d be the one suffering.
Of course, I didn’t dare voice these words out loud.
After a few minutes, I couldn’t bear it anymore, curling up in the chair and twitching slightly.
He mocked me for coming too fast.
I was so angry I nearly disregarded the safety of my entire clan and started a brawl with him.
The two officials whom Yin Xiao had temporarily dismissed returned to the private room after the space of an incense stick.
One of them was a military officer with great strength, who accidentally broke the door latch while knocking.
If I hadn’t pushed Yin Xiao away in time, they would have witnessed the spectacle of the Second Imperial Prince they supported aggressively devouring his own teacher.
Decorum has collapsed, truly collapsed.
I intentionally spilled wine to conceal the unnatural dark dampness at my crotch.
However, the awkward atmosphere around us was probably still detected by those two colleagues.
They quickly wrapped up official business and hurriedly took their leave.
I prepared to take advantage of the opportunity to slip away as well.
Yet Yin Xiao had no intention of letting me go.
Right in front of those two, he stopped me with a smiling expression: “Teacher, you still have some matters to discuss with me, have you forgotten?”
I: “…”
No, no, absolutely not.
Those two colleagues were entirely too good at reading the room. Upon hearing Yin Xiao say such things, they immediately started flattering our deep bonds as master and student without a second thought.
Then they bolted without looking back.
While complaining that the restaurant’s chair was far too small, Yin Xiao stripped me completely bare.
I panicked.
Even though it wasn’t the first or second time, I was exceptionally, unusually panicked this time.
I pushed away his face, which kept clinging to me for kisses, and managed to force a small distance between us.
“It’s not nighttime, nor is it the full moon. What madness are you up to?”
During the previous two times, we had muddled through in pitch darkness, which at least lessened the sense of shame.
Now, having him do this to me in broad daylight, right inside a restaurant’s private room, was honestly testing my heart a bit too much.
Then Yin Xiao uttered a sentence that made my pupils dilate in shock.
“Who said it can only be done during a full moon? This prince does it whenever he wants.”
A tiny question mark floated above my head: ?
I corrected him, reminding him that he had definitely stated before it would only happen once a month, and I certainly never agreed to doing it multiple times a month.
Yin Xiao directly sealed my lips with a kiss, his frantic movements blocking all my words of refutation.
Cheater!
I was angry, but I didn’t dare bite him anymore.
I was terrified that a careless move would get him excited again.
I felt so wronged.
I had discovered long ago that Yin Xiao possessed a bit of a cleanliness fixation.
Surrounded by the scents of food and wine, he slightly furrowed his brows and made me bend over his lap.
I felt like a child who had made a mistake and was propped up by their parents to get their bottom spanked.
Bad news: Yin Xiao thought the exact same thing.
When his palm came swinging down, my scalp tingled.
“Stop! What on earth are you doing, you wretched kid?!” I forced my tone to sound fierce while wriggling my body, trying to stand up.
Yet Yin Xiao’s palm came down again.
Like a human drum, I was being slapped with crisp smacks, my face burning red with absolute shame.
My scolding gradually turned into pleading: “Don’t, don’t hit me anymore, Second Imperial Prince, everyone outside can hear.”
If he kept hitting me and a waiter barged in, what would I do?
I simply couldn’t afford to lose face like that.
Hearing my pitiful voice of surrender and entreaty, Yin Xiao paused and actually stopped hitting me.
Just as I was feeling relieved, a wave of coolness pressed against me.
Realizing that cool object was Yin Xiao’s finger, I grabbed his leg with a death grip.
I should have known this wretched dog wouldn’t let me off that easily!
Perhaps because he disliked the environment, Yin Xiao didn’t go all the way to the end.
Still, it was enough for me to suffer.
He picked up a clean handkerchief and gently wiped his excessively damp fingers.
After cleaning himself up, he finally turned to deal with the thoroughly disheveled me.
He was born a master; even in his lowest moments, he had never served anyone. Yet now, he was imitating my usual habits, helping me put on my clothes piece by piece.
The way clothing was worn in this era was extremely complex, and dressing oneself versus dressing someone else felt a bit different.
I stared at his clumsy movements and couldn’t help laughing: “The order is wrong.”
Yin Xiao tried fiddling with it a few times more, but still couldn’t get it right, his brows furrowing even deeper.
“Like this.” I hooked his finger, guided him to lightly touch a few spots, and demonstrated to teach him.
Yin Xiao’s gaze froze for a moment, and following the sequence I taught him, he helped me put on my clothes again.
Out of habit, I subconsciously reached out and patted his head: “Good job.”
Yin Xiao froze, and I froze too.
If the innkeeper knew that I had used both hands and feet to reject Yin Xiao and begged him to return to Lanyue Palace before doing this sort of thing, the innkeeper would surely kneel and thank me.
I knew it.
How could Yin Xiao possibly know the meaning of the word restraint?
On the way back to the palace, the moment we stepped into the carriage, he couldn’t wait even a single second before lunging over to tear at my clothes.
I felt the carriage shake with tremendous force.
The clothes I had painstakingly helped him put on moments ago were instantly torn into disarray.
I actually felt a bit of regret.
After all, it was the wretched kid’s first time helping me dress.
However, I quickly lost the capacity to think about such things.
By the time we finished tossing about inside the carriage and then within Lanyue Palace, the sky had turned pitch black.
The moon finally emerged at that point.
It was a waning moon.
Yin Xiao held me from behind as I slumped over the windowsill, squinting sideways at the moonlight outside, zoning out for a moment.
“Does the Second Imperial Prince like me that much?”
The breath Yin Xiao was blowing against the back of my neck suddenly stopped. He was clearly stunned.
I was suddenly grabbed by the chin and forced to turn around, facing him eye to eye.
“Sleepy.” I frowned, speaking with concise brevity: “Stop doing it, I’m genuinely exhausted.”
Yin Xiao ground his teeth for half a moment before spitting out a sentence: “Teacher thinks far too highly of himself.”
“You are this prince’s person, but this prince is not your person. Get that straight.”
I sighed, too lazy to even open my eyes: “Alright, alright, fine. Then when you meet someone you truly love, let’s stop doing this kind of thing.”
Yin Xiao froze once more.
As if he had never expected me to utter such words.
Yin Xiao wouldn’t actually think I intended to serve him for the rest of my life, would he?
Love Gu poison, to put it bluntly, wasn’t it just an aphrodisiac that took effect once a month?
Once he found someone he genuinely loved in the future, someone who wasn’t me, nor that person for Yin Shu, of course this sort of activity should be done with that person.
Besides, I added, “Also, what if you ascend the throne in the future?”
The curve of Yin Xiao’s lips involuntarily drooped down.
His hand grew restless again, though his voice remained sharp and cold: “Hasn’t Teacher ever considered that the one who ascends the throne might be His Imperial Highness the First Prince?”
“Probably not.” I was so sleepy I was about to fall asleep, my words blurring into muffled breathy sounds: “Don’t worry, I’ll help you up there.”
“Without Teacher, I can still get whatever I want.”
“It’s just that…”
Yin Xiao fell silent for a few seconds before speaking again: “Whether the one who ascends is me or the First Prince, Teacher can only ever belong to me alone.”
Right, right, right, okay, okay, okay, mhm, mhm, mhm.
I mumbled a vague response, truly too sleepy to speak any further.
The corners of Yin Xiao’s lips curved slightly upward as his broad chest pressed closer to mine, shifting his arm to lean in.
I curled up, arched my back, and let out a yelp.
He bit my earlobe and repeated the question once more: “Did you hear me?”
I nodded repeatedly: “Heard it, heard it, heard it, heard it.”
Yin Xiao released his grip with satisfaction, though before leaving, he didn’t forget to scratch lightly with his fingertip.
I felt like crying without tears.
Couldn’t you use a normal way to wake me up?!