I seriously asked Yin Xiao if we could do it a little less.
How many days had passed since the full moon night? The moon was already down to just a half-crescent, so why were we still doing it?
It was completely absurd.
If we kept going at his frequency, the muscles in my lower back were definitely going to retire thirty years early.
I argued reasonably, my lips practically worn raw from talking, and finally managed to persuade Yin Xiao.
He promised me that we would do it a little less.
That night, the moment he lifted my quilt, I grabbed right onto his clothes.
“You promised to do it a little less! You promised to do it a little less!”
My expression was one of shock, grievance, and sheer disbelief.
I must have looked just like a young child who handed their New Year money over to an adult for safekeeping, only to discover the adults had swallowed it all.
Yin Xiao, however, merely frowned. “This prince has already held back for a whole day.”
My pupils violently dilated.
Did he mean that while he was reviewing documents, assisting with state affairs, and handling official business, his mind was still completely filled with this kind of stuff?
I flailed my arms, wanting to push this rutting horror movie villain away.
Instead, he used the momentum to yank my arm, kissing and nibbling all the way up until he rolled right on top of me.
Someone who has finally tasted forbidden fruit is truly terrifying.
Afterwards, he held me from behind, kissing the back of my neck and refusing to let go for a very long time.
Lying in his arms, I felt like I was about to ascend to heaven.
In the literal, physical sense of the word.
Yet the unfilial brat was unsatisfied, letting out a wronged sound. “I only did it once today.”
He had quite the air of someone making a painful compromise for my sake.
Still, if it was only once, I really did feel a bit better today.
I patted the hand he had wrapped around my waist, speaking with what little strength I had left. “Well done.”
“It is just, if possible, can we not do it these next two days?”
The cool lips Yin Xiao had pressed against the back of my neck instantly turned into hard, biting teeth.
I also tried to compromise. “Let’s do it less on regular days, and only on rest days. How about that?”
Yin Xiao perked right back up, saying something about how he believed in me.
Hearing his tone, an inexplicable chill swept over me, but because I was too sleepy, I didn’t think much of it.
On my rest day.
I regretted it so deeply my intestines turned green.
Why on earth did I provoke him? Why on earth did I provoke him?
The next day, I climbed out of bed, aching all over.
Next to me were slightly rumpled sheets that felt cool to the touch. The person who had been lying here had clearly left a long time ago.
Rubbing my eyes, I glanced out the window. The sky was only just beginning to brighten.
Yin Xiao left this early?
Vaguely sensing something was amiss, I scrambled up, hurriedly threw on my clothes, and bolted across the threshold of the bedchamber.
As soon as I stepped outside, I grabbed a sweeping palace maid and asked her about Yin Xiao’s whereabouts.
“The Second Prince left the palace early this morning before dawn. It looked like he was heading toward the Hall of Mental Cultivation.”
Hearing that, I instantly grew anxious.
What kind of trouble was the old emperor trying to stir up now?
Unfortunately, no matter how anxious I was, I could only wait for news in the Embracing Moon Palace.
This agonizing suspense lasted until evening, when Yin Xiao finally returned from his imperial father’s Hall of Mental Cultivation.
After such a long wait, I was truly physically and mentally exhausted.
I hurriedly asked him about the situation.
Yin Xiao kept a blank expression, telling me we would talk once we got inside.
I anxiously dragged him straight into the bedchamber, demanding to know what on earth he had heard at the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
“Is Teacher really this anxious?”
Yin Xiao raised an eyebrow at me, the corners of his lips curling upward into a pleased expression as he spoke.
I guessed nothing good was going to come out of his mouth.
Suddenly, Yin Xiao lowered his head, brought his face close to mine, licked my earlobe, and whispered right against my ear. “If Teacher is willing to give this prince a kiss, it is no harm to tell you.”
I shrank my neck back and widened my eyes.
Save me, there is a dog loose.
I couldn’t possibly agree to such an outrageous condition.
After all, since Yin Xiao was in such a good mood and even had the leisure to say things like this, the news he brought back from the Hall of Mental Cultivation must have been good news among good news.
Since it was good news, there was nothing to worry about.
So I politely declined Yin Xiao.
Seeing me refuse, Yin Xiao paused for a moment.
Deciding not to drag it out any longer, he grabbed me and blurted out, “Imperial Father has already set a date with the ritual officials. The ceremony will be held on the first day of the ninth month. Today, Imperial Father discussed this with the ritual officials without summoning the Eldest Prince.”
My eyes lit up.
If that was the case, even if it wasn’t ten out of ten, it was at least nine. The crown prince’s seat belonged to Yin Xiao!
This was truly earth-shattering good news!
Joy bloomed across my face, and I couldn’t help giving Yin Xiao a big hug.
No matter how anxious my mood had been just moments ago, I genuinely felt a wave of deep emotion right now.
The Yin Xiao of today was fully capable of shouldering great responsibilities, even if he were to ascend the throne this very day.
Compared to Yin Shu, the gentle and kind protagonist of the original book who possessed countless golden fingers, Yin Xiao would never fall short.
Decisive, ruthless, and swift in his methods, he would become an even greater emperor than his elder brother.
I sincerely wanted to spread this good news quickly so more people would know.
Yet it seemed I had accidentally triggered some switch in Yin Xiao again.
He clamped a hand around my waist, hauled me onto his lap, and leaned in for a face-to-face kiss.
In broad daylight, and just a second after we had been talking about serious official business, I felt rather embarrassed.
I turned my head to dodge and gave him a gentle push, truly feeling too shy.
“How about we do this tonight.”
Yin Xiao raised an eyebrow, his sharp, slightly cold face wearing a look of grievance that did not match it at all.
“We have finally made it this far today, so why won’t Teacher let me win for once?”
He didn’t even use his royal title, openly acting pitiful with me.
I: “…”
Knowing full well he wasn’t a good person, my damned sense of guilt began spreading pointlessly all over again.
Since the unfilial brat had worked so hard, letting him win this once was fine too.
Sighing, I leaned down and kissed his cheek.
I swear this was definitely the last time I would ever kiss him.
I had originally wanted to contact my colleagues and arrange a banquet for that evening.
I guessed the little palace maid who delivered the bathing barrels must have been utterly confused about why we needed to bathe so many times in a single day.
Before today, I didn’t know either.
Who could have guessed Yin Xiao would drag me through washing and doing it, doing it and washing, washing and doing it again.
Was he playing some kind of system bug with me?
News of the old emperor’s plans to appoint a crown prince quickly spread throughout the capital.
Even though the old emperor hadn’t explicitly stated who would be named crown prince, everyone in their hearts already knew.
Yin Shu’s faction had never experienced such a deflated and desolate time before.
When the imperial court engaged in fierce verbal battles, their momentum was no longer aggressive.
Not only that.
The Su family’s thugs had also been secretly dealt with by me by half, leaving only a few remnant factions whose whereabouts were unknown and lost.
However, I wasn’t worried.
Yin Xiao now had guards shadowing him every moment of the day, so even if there were assassins, there was zero possibility of a successful raid.
Victory and defeat seemed crystal clear.
Meanwhile, constrained by my position, I hadn’t contacted Yin Shu in quite a while.
I heard that after news of the old emperor appointing a crown prince spread, Yin Shu’s birth mother, Noble Consort De, fell ill.
Yin Shu had never had any ambitions for the court to begin with, and now he buried himself entirely in caring for his mother, ignoring all worldly affairs.
Regardless of our respective stances, Noble Consort De had looked after Yin Xiao in the past.
Logically speaking, I ought to pay a visit to check on her.
Just as I was hesitating over whether or not I should go pay a visit, someone suddenly arrived at the Embracing Moon Palace.
The visitor was a young eunuch from the Radiant Sun Palace whom I recognized.
He breathlessly told me that the First Prince was in Noble Consort De’s palace and had encountered some trouble. It was a matter of life and death, and he begged me to remember our past friendship and come help out.
I had been mulling over this matter all along anyway, so hearing him say that, I didn’t hesitate to follow the young eunuch without stopping.
Along the way, my mind raced as I tried to figure out what could possibly have happened to make someone like Yin Shu, who hated inconveniencing others, anxiously invite me over for help.
Could the imperial physicians already be starting to push Noble Consort De into a corner?
That shouldn’t be the case.
As I thought about it, I suddenly realized the scenery around me looked a bit unfamiliar.
This was not the way to Noble Consort De’s palace.
Before I could even speak, the back of my head took a heavy blow, and my vision instantly went completely black.