Qiao Shuyi’s bathing chamber was truly excessively spacious.
Upon entering, one’s eyes were met with a bathing pool built of white jade, measuring a full two zhang in length and width.
The water was drawn from hot springs outside the city, scattered with rose petals, and surrounded by layers upon layers of silk curtains.
Qiao Shuyi stepped into the bathing chamber without pausing her stride.
As she walked, she kicked off her embroidered shoes.
She raised her hands and untied the sash at her waist.
Her nightgown slid from her shoulders and pooled at her feet.
After a few more steps, her inner garments fell away as well.
Finally, only a pale yellow dudou and matching undergarments remained.
Zong Zhengheng followed her in just in time to witness this scene.
His footsteps abruptly halted.
The young woman stood with her back to him, wearing only a thin dudou that revealed a slender waist, her skin as white as snow, glowing softly in the hazy steam.
The ties of the dudou were loosely fastened at the back of her neck, seemingly on the verge of coming undone at any moment.
His pupils constricted sharply.
Then, his eyes darkened, like bottomless ancient wells.
How on earth did the Prince of Jin’an raise such a shameless daughter?!
Qiao Shuyi parted the layers of curtains and walked toward the bathing pool, blocking his view.
Then, she reached up and untied the fastenings at the back of her neck.
Through several layers of sheer gauze, he caught a glimpse of a blurred figure—
Curvaceous and graceful, with shoulders as if carved and a waist as slender as a tied ribbon. The figure flickered in and out of sight, indistinct yet more heart-stirring than if it had been clearly visible.
Zong Zhengheng abruptly averted his gaze.
From beyond the curtains came the sound of splashing water.
One could faintly imagine her stepping into the pool, the warm water rising past her ankles, calves, knees…
Then, from within the curtains, her aggrieved voice drifted out, soft and delicate, as if she had been wronged:
“Zhi Gui—”
“Yesterday was your first day in the mansion. It should have been the day we… consummated our union.”
“The clothes were newly tailored by me, the incense was blended by my own hands, and even the handkerchief of marital bliss beneath the pillow was personally chosen by me from the shop. From the inside out, wasn’t everything a reflection of my heart? So why did you refuse?”
Zong Zhengheng stood outside the curtains. “Miss, we have only just met. We are strangers, with no affection between us. How could we engage in such an act?”
“Hmph.”
“There are countless cases in this world—arranged marriages by parents and matchmakers, where the man and woman have never even met before their wedding. Do they not consummate their marriage on their wedding night?”
“You’re just taking advantage of my fondness for you, of how I can’t take my eyes off your face—and you dare to defy me.”
Zong Zhengheng: …
What she said seemed reasonable.
Using “no feelings” as an excuse did come across as hypocritical.
Zong Zhengheng pressed his lips together and chose to remain silent, simply listening.
From within the curtains, her voice drifted out again, faint and melancholic:
“That’s why, Zhi Gui, I punished you by making you sleep in the woodshed last night and ordering you to heat the bathwater for me today.”
“Zhi Gui, do you think I wanted to? The woodshed was so cold, so hard. With your fine complexion, how uncomfortable it must have been to sleep there for a night…”
“But what else could I do when you wouldn’t listen?”
The corner of Zong Zhengheng’s mouth twitched slightly.
He was the one locked in the woodshed, he was the one punished to heat the water, he was the one suffering from start to finish. Yet, from her mouth, it sounded as though he deserved it, and she was the one who had been wronged.
“Zhi Gui, I don’t want to hurt you. But why—why won’t you just listen?”
Zong Zhengheng took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
“You are right, Miss. It is my fault.”
Hearing him admit his mistake, Qiao Shuyi seemed somewhat satisfied.
With a splash of water, she sat up straight in the pool.
“Zhi Gui, since you’ve admitted your mistake, today, I am yours for the entire day.”
Her voice suddenly softened, sweet to the point of cloying.
“This bathhouse, this pool, my body—all are yours. Do as you wish, look as you wish, if you want… then… I will comply with everything.”
“But if you remain stubborn—”
“If you refuse fine clothes and sumptuous food, if you reject a Beauty in your arms, and insist on coveting the cold of the woodshed and the exhaustion of hard labor—”
“Then I will be—very, very heartbroken.”
Zong Zhengheng pressed his lips tightly together.
What did she mean by coveting the cold of the woodshed and the exhaustion of hard labor?!
She was the one punishing him, and now she was heartbroken?
In his twenty-three years of life, Zong Zhengheng had never encountered such a shameless woman…
“Miss, we are not yet married. Men and women… should maintain proper boundaries.”
“Married? Zhi Gui, I do like your face, but… I also need to verify a thing or two. The matron said that if that matter isn’t pleasurable, the rest of one’s life can be quite miserable.”
Zong Zhengheng: …
Shameless, utterly shameless!
Unaware that Zong Zhengheng was already cursing her in his heart, Qiao Shuyi continued:
“You have already entered my boudoir, you are mine now. We don’t need to marry.”
“You only need to accompany me in passionate union, to enjoy the ultimate pleasures of this world. If you satisfy me… it wouldn’t be impossible for us to marry.”
Raised with the strictest imperial etiquette, Zong Zhengheng had never heard such explicit words. He could only grit his teeth and say:
“Miss, please have some self-respect.”
Qiao Shuyi had only said those things to tease this old-fashioned Emperor.
Take it slow, she wasn’t in a hurry.
“Ah, fine. Since you’re unwilling, let’s first focus on building our relationship. Come in, we won’t do anything today.”
Zong Zhengheng stood where he was, unmoving.
After a long while, he still hadn’t moved—
Qiao Shuyi’s voice sounded again, but it was no longer the lazy warmth from before; it had turned cold:
“Zhi Gui, I’ve already made a concession. Don’t make me angry.”
Zong Zhengheng’s fists clenched and unclenched, unclenched and clenched.
This was the precursor to her anger.
Last night, when he disobeyed, this madwoman punished him without hesitation.
A wise man knows when to yield.
Zong Zhengheng finally took a step forward.
Pushing aside the layers of curtains—
Before him, Qiao Shuyi lay by the edge of the pool, her arms crossed, resting her chin on them, smiling as she gazed at him.
The steam had dampened her hair, a few stray strands clinging to her cheeks, making her face appear even more enchanting.
She spoke: “That’s more like it.”
Zong Zhengheng lowered his eyes, not looking at her, his gaze filled with indifference.
“Zhi Gui, look at me.”
Hearing this, he could only slowly lift his eyelids.
“Am I beautiful?”
Qiao Shuyi asked directly, without the slightest hint of coyness.
Zong Zhengheng looked at her.
Her brows were like distant mountains tinged with azure, her eyes like autumn waters shimmering with ripples, her lips red without rouge, her cheeks rosy without powder.
Amidst the misty steam, she seemed like a noble lady stepping out of a painting, or a seductive spirit from the tales of Liaozhai.
“Beautiful.”
This statement was the truth.
“Zhi Gui, you are the most handsome man I have ever seen in my life. Besides you, no one else is worthy of me.”
“I really like you so much.”
The corner of Zong Zhengheng’s mouth twitched slightly once more.
“I am undeserving of such misplaced affection.”
Qiao Shuyi paid no mind to his coldness. She simply turned over, leaning back against the edge of the pool, revealing a stretch of snow-white nape.
“Zhi Gui, come and massage my shoulders.”
Zong Zhengheng moved behind her and sat down by the poolside.
His hands, bearing faint calluses, settled on her shoulders, beginning a gentle kneading.
Her skin was smooth and supple; once his fingers touched it, he couldn’t help but linger a moment longer.
The pool water barely covered her chest, and from behind, the undulating curves were faintly visible.
He was taller than her by a head, and with just a slight lowering of his gaze, he could see places he shouldn’t.
So he closed his eyes.
But with his eyes closed, the sensation in his hands grew even clearer.
He could only focus more intently on the massage, his serene, meditative appearance resembling that of an ascetic deity.
Qiao Shuyi kept her eyes closed, savoring the pressure transmitted through her shoulders.
Was it pleasant?
Yes, it was.
But the smile at the corner of her lips wasn’t solely due to comfort.
The current Emperor, the Son of Heaven from the highest heavens, the ruler of ten thousand chariots, was now sitting behind her, massaging her shoulders like a lowly eunuch.
This disparity in status, this inversion of power, brought her more profound satisfaction than any massage ever could.
The smile on her lips deepened.
Ah, Zhi Gui, tell me—
When you return to your golden throne and recall all that happened today, will you hate me to the bone, or… will you find it somewhat intriguing?