Knowing that she was trapped in the palace and had no control over her own life, Zhou Tingyue could do nothing but watch from afar and endure it.

The more you look at it, the more you can't take your eyes off it; the more you want to escape, the deeper you fall; since you can't have it... it becomes all the more precious.

Zhou Tingyue lowered his head and drank three cups of wine in succession. When he looked up again, his eyes were red and his gaze toward Su Tiyue seemed to be burning with a raging fire.

Chen Yuanlin, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, also watched the charming dance with great interest, even clapping and nodding exaggeratedly and swaying to the rhythm of the drums.

...

The calmest person present was Xiao Heye. Like everyone else, he kept his gaze steadily on the girl performing the dance. His expression was calm and composed, showing no signs of being flustered.

His dark pupils, however, revealed no emotion.

Long, elegant fingers tapped the table lightly, once, twice...

He didn't even need to turn around to look at the emperor to know how lewd and obscene his expression would be at that moment.

Xiao Heye glanced at Zhou Tingyue indifferently and noticed that his burning gaze almost never left Su Tiyue.

Xiao Heye had seen Zhou Tingyue in this state at the banquet in Guangming Hall when the Crown Prince returned to the palace, and at the time he found it amusing.

Seeing it again tonight, I didn't find it interesting at all.

It was already strange that Su Tiyue would appear in Tongguang Hall, but what was even stranger was that... her appearance in this way clearly indicated that she wanted to seduce the emperor.

To be precise, someone deliberately made her do that.

This delicate and adorable little thing looks like someone has a knife to his throat...

Xiao Heye understood her. Su Tiyue was terrified of the emperor. If she hadn't been forced into a corner, why would she have obediently delivered herself to his door?

He turned his head and looked towards the entrance of the main hall. In just one glance, he saw the eunuch standing at the door waiting.

It looks familiar.

Han Zhou changed his clothes and mingled with the eunuchs who would be serving him that night.

Xiao Heye knew Han Zhou's temperament; he knew that Han Zhou always liked to probe people's hearts and test their bottom line.

Xiao Heye used to be too lazy to care about him, so he always indulged him and let him do whatever he wanted. But now... it seems that he can't ignore him anymore.

Xiao Heye loosened his grip on the wine glass, and cracks gradually appeared on the edge of the porcelain glass. Just as the glass was about to break under the pressure, he released his grip.

"Good! Well done!" the emperor suddenly roared, his voice deafening.

Su Tiyue was startled by the sudden sound before she finished her dance. She twisted her ankle and fell heavily to the floor.