The tear marks on her cheek were first gently licked away or brushed aside by him. When the tears were gone and only her slightly intoxicated yet still pale face remained, the kiss he had restrained for so long finally descended without restraint.
At first it was soft and lingering, as though it carried some deeply hidden emotion he did not wish to reveal, daring only to wander around the tip of her nose and her forehead.
But when he felt the person beneath him struggling, the faint embarrassment that still remained in his eyes completely disappeared.
It transformed into crimson desire and possessiveness.
In the next moment, Zhao Shu’s head was firmly held in place. She stared in shock as he lowered himself and captured the corner of her lips.
From a hesitant touch to a fierce storm, it happened in the span of only a heartbeat.
It felt as though all the air in her chest was being taken away. She widened her eyes, staring at him in disbelief.
The eyes so close to hers were beautiful like emerald jade, yet within them burned a desire that made her heart race with fear and confusion.
When his arm wrapped around her lower back, Zhao Shu finally came back to herself and began struggling desperately.
The strange feeling of being invaded filled her with shame and fear. Yet no matter how hard she resisted, their difference in strength made her efforts seem laughably insignificant. Whenever she managed to push him away even two inches, he pulled her back three. When those hands gradually moved forward from her lower back, Zhao Shu became frantic and tears spilled from her eyes once again.
The warnings and teachings she had received for over ten years… Even now, what she feared most was still having her identity exposed.
The moment the restraint around her loosened slightly, Zhao Shu bent her knee and kicked him away. Even during her journey as a hostage, she had never suffered such a thing. Without thinking, she raised her hand and struck his face.
“Slap!” The sound was especially sharp in the darkness of the night.
She had actually hit him!?
Within the dim study, Zhao Shu’s thoughts were chaotic. She felt fear and humiliation, yet somewhere deep within her heart there was also an indescribable longing lingering.
She pushed herself halfway upright and leaned against the bookshelf, refusing to look at him again.
Heavy breathing approached beside her ear. Her sash was violently tugged.
Just as she was about to cry out and beg him to stop, a strange scented sachet was raised before her. She heard his suppressed, mocking voice. “When did you learn to use such methods? Pretending to resist while secretly inviting… such a woman’s trick.”
Before Zhao Shu could explain, he leaned closer again. Almost whispering into her ear, the vulgar words he spoke made her face burn. “Doesn’t it feel good? Three years ago you didn’t come to suppress me, only to wait until today and let me…”
“No! I-I… I’ve never seen this sachet before.”
A gaze sharp as a falcon swept across her face. Then Ying Wuji suddenly stood up and threw the sachet out the window. Turning his back to her, he took a deep breath before asking, “When you came tonight, did you see anyone?”
“No… I-I only saw Lord Shaofu, Cheng Wu, at the floating bridge.”
Ying Wuji understood immediately. His handsome face turned cold as ice. The emptiness from visiting the grave and the heat of desire were both replaced by dark shadows in his eyes. Today, his grandfather must have been so occupied dealing with the failed invasion of Zhou that he could not sleep. Ying Wuji knew Cheng Wu had been in the residence.
Before stepping out of the room, his thoughts shifted slightly. Looking at the fragile figure trembling by the wall, he left behind a final sentence. “It’s only an aphrodisiac herb. Tonight I will sleep in the main courtyard. You… go bathe and sweat it out yourself, then sleep early.”
It was not until long after he had left, when Zhao Shu immersed herself in the warm bathwater, that she was finally able to process everything that had happened tonight.
She never would have dreamed that simply drinking and talking with this person would lead to her and him…
He clearly despised people like her who lived carelessly and indulged themselves. And he hated men who favored men even more!
It must have been that scented sachet Cheng Wu secretly slipped onto her. She wondered what punishment Lord Shaofu would receive.
After removing the disguise paste from her face, half of Zhao Shu’s cheeks were flushed from the alcohol, like flowing clouds tinted by sunset. Her originally delicate and youthful features were now dyed with an unexpected charm and beauty.
The scented sachet Cheng Wu had obtained acted more slowly on women. By this point, Zhao Shu found the events from earlier repeatedly flashing through her mind, especially those emerald eyes, deep, restrained, and tonight seemingly carrying a trace of long-hidden fragility and compassion, so completely unlike his usual appearance.
Somehow, they overlapped more and more with the image of her sworn elder brother.
Her waist and knees felt weak. Zhao Shu fiercely pinched her own face, forcing herself awake from those illusions, and could not help lamenting,
Didn’t she come tonight to ask when her eldest uncle would enter Qin!?
***
Inside the secret chamber behind the sleeping quarters of the main residence.
The playful excuses were no longer useful. Cheng Wu knelt on the ground, watching the person behind the desk with his head lowered over his work. The embarrassed smile on his face gradually disappeared.
Bamboo slips were stacked as high as the person seated in the main position. This room contained reports from spies scattered throughout the various states, with the greatest number coming from Zhou and Chu.
Only the spies in Handan had never managed to weave a proper intelligence network.
Cheng Wu lowered his head, feeling resentful. He was just about to speak when he saw his lord replace the brush in his hand with a carving knife, clearly having come across some particularly important report.
So he simply closed his mouth, deliberately straightening his kneeling posture, though his eyes remained full of unwillingness.
After Ying Wuji finished reviewing the urgent matters that had accumulated over the past two days, he did not leave Cheng Wu waiting any longer. He rose and walked over. “Get up. If there is a next time… Lord Shaofu may as well remain by His Majesty’s side permanently. There is no need to return.”
The words were spoken lightly, but their meaning was heavy.
Cheng Wu immediately raised his head and stared directly at him. Forgetting the impropriety of doing so, his eyes reddened as he poured out all the thoughts he had long held inside. “For all these years, you have simply refused to let go and keep tormenting yourself. You said that only after receiving His Majesty’s favor and trust would you be able to choose a noble lady who could lend you support. Do you truly think that way?!”
Like beans spilling from a bamboo tube, Cheng Wu abruptly stood and stepped forward. Though agitated and anxious, he swallowed down the miserable memories of the past and chose his words carefully. “Which noble young master in Xianyang is like you? You will reach adulthood in only three months. Forget about having anyone in your chambers, outside of political aides and officials, do you even have a single person with whom you can speak from the heart? It has already been three years. Wearing mourning clothes for your brother and sister, abstaining from meat for months, that was already more than enough. Yet even now, you continue treating yourself cruelly…”
As though he had struck the deepest wound, Cheng Wu looked at his silent lord and suddenly drew the dagger from his waist, placing it into Ying Wuji’s hand.
With solemn determination, he said, “He’s nothing more than a hostage with an empty title. What does it matter if you keep him around as a little amusement? Even if His Majesty learns of it, he cannot say much. In the future, once you marry a proper legitimate wife, simply choose a few pieces of land from your fief and send him away somewhere distant. With no illegitimate sons or daughters involved, wouldn’t everyone be satisfied?”
He pressed his neck toward the dagger and closed his eyes. “Concealing this from you and acting on my own was indeed this servant’s great mistake. If you must punish me, then simply fulfill this servant’s wish. Supporting you through these years of fighting for power and the throne has truly been exhausting. Why not send me down below to accompany Madam?”
Originally, Ying Wuji truly had been furious today because Cheng Wu had overstepped his authority.
But years of loyalty and affection stood between them.
Tonight, he had already been caught in a complicated mixture of emotions. Cheng Wu’s loud questioning within the secret chamber was like rain striking a fogged mirror, it revealed every scar and exposed every wound. It cleared his mind, but it also tore open a crack in the darkness that had surrounded him for years.
At the age of three, Cheng Wu had been castrated by his own biological parents and sent into the palace. He grew up struggling and crawling his way through the cruel environment of court life, yet he had originally been an upright and honest person.
When he was seven, Ying Wuji’s mother had rescued the young Cheng Wu, who had been beaten half to death. Ying Wuji had no biological brothers, so he had played with Cheng Wu since childhood. At that time, Mi Rong and Wuyou were still young and would occasionally mock Cheng Wu for his disability, but Ying Wuji had always protected him.
Palace eunuchs often had the habit of referring to themselves as “this servant.”
Those two words, “this servant”, completely pierced through Ying Wuji’s years of numbness.
His right hand sheathed the dagger. His left arm firmly gripped Cheng Wu’s shoulder, and with a sigh, he pulled him into an embrace.
The two men were not much different in height. Their chests pressed together. Ying Wuji could not find the words to speak. Amid the solemn grief, he suddenly had the inappropriate thought that embracing this person felt completely different from embracing Zhao Shu. He was, at least, relieved that he had not become as hopelessly afflicted as his younger brother Rong.
He wanted to say something about the promises he would make after taking the throne. He knew Cheng Wu was different. In truth, Cheng Wu was someone who disliked palace intrigue the most and loved the liveliness of ordinary life.
But when the words reached his lips, he felt that making careless promises would be meaningless. So he decided to let the matter pass and abruptly changed the subject. “Have any rare animals from the Western Regions recently arrived as tribute to the palace?”
Cheng Wu, still frozen stiff from being held by the shoulder, had actually long since accepted his own shortcomings. He only wanted to assist Ying Wuji until everything was complete, then retire as a wealthy commoner. At that time, he would find a good woman, adopt a son, and treat his family well. That would be his way of retiring after accomplishing his duty.
Hearing this question, Cheng Wu immediately pretended to be puzzled. He gently removed Ying Wuji’s arm, stepped back a full pace without drawing attention, and bowed respectfully. “Recently there have been no such merchant caravans. May I ask why Your Highness requires rare animals?”
“Nothing has been happening these past few days. I intend to enter Changming Palace to attend to His Majesty’s illness. Lord Hengyuan seemed to mention last time that he wanted to see camels and spotted leopards. When you have time, ask the merchant caravans in Xianyang carefully.”
Ying Wuji walked back toward the desk, then suddenly lowered his voice slightly. “Oh, right. The gardens at Lantai are empty. If there are any gentle creatures that are easy to raise, bring a few over as well.”
Cheng Wu finally understood. He was almost so delighted that he forgot proper etiquette. He did not bother correcting Ying Wuji’s way of referring to his biological father. Instead, he repeatedly agreed and prepared to leave. Only when he reached the door of the secret chamber did he suddenly remember the news delivered from the palace that day.
“If you cannot find any, it is fine. Changming Palace sent word at noon. Isn’t Lord Hengyuan holding the spring hunt the day after tomorrow? Remember to bring hunting equipment. Catching two animals yourself and sending them to Lantai would show the most sincerity.”
Even after hurriedly returning to his residence, Cheng Wu still could not calm down.
He could not understand how he had become so concerned about arranging a match between his lord and someone else. Normally, when he massaged His Majesty’s head acupoints at night, if His Majesty still suffered headaches by the end of the night watch, he would already be too tired to stay awake. Yet tonight, Cheng Wu had only one thought in his mind,
Strike while the iron is hot. He had to get the hostage prince, Zhao Shu, to attend the spring hunt the day after tomorrow.
