Chapter 45 [45]

【45】/First release

It seemed as if there were only him and her in the world, and his heartbeat was deafening.

After the initial surprise, the man's thick eyelashes drooped, and a dark color surged in his eyes. He raised his hand and hooked it around the slender waist that was so close to him.

Before she wanted to leave, he held her tightly and kissed her bright red lips again, taking the initiative.

“Hmm…”

"Help, I can't breathe..."

Lu Zhiwan's cheeks flushed. She had never expected the opponent's attack to be so fierce that she couldn't resist it at all.

She subconsciously raised her hands and pushed back against the solid chest, but her strength was no match for a man's, especially since she was so drunk that her hands and feet were weak.

"You... uh... let go..."

Her lips and tongue were tightly blocked, and she couldn't utter a complete sentence. She could only hum and beg for mercy in her heart.

"No, no, no, I really can't take it anymore. Handsome man, please be reasonable."

Xiao Jingting's dark eyes darkened as he glanced at her beautiful ear tips.

I can still distract myself and think about these things. It seems that it is not enough.

His other big hand moved up along her slender back little by little. He held the back of her head, but felt that the crow-like bun and exquisite pearls were in the way, so he simply kissed her lips that had a faint scent of wine, pulled out her hairpin at random, and threw it on the ground.

The bun that had been towering like clouds suddenly loosened, and the long black hair that was like a waterfall hung down slowly, with two strands of hair falling on her fair cheeks.

Black hair, rosy cheeks, there is no more attractive sight than this.

His throat rolled slightly, and Xiao Jingting suddenly felt that this kiss alone could not quench the thirst deep in his heart.

His long, bony fingers inserted into the fluffy black hair. He paused the kiss, raised his head slightly, and looked at the charming beauty in his arms who was breathing heavily with her red lips slightly open.

He remained silent, but his gaze grew increasingly fiery.

Lu Zhiwan was like a stranded fish, greedily breathing in the fresh air. The overly strong kiss just now almost made her faint.

When her breathing slowed down a little, she regained some consciousness. When she looked up, she met the man's deep and dangerous gaze.

"Not good!"

Alarms rang in her head, and her instinct was to run.

But she was almost completely embraced by Xiao Jingting in his arms. As soon as the thought of running away came to her mind, he seemed to have predicted it and covered her lips accurately again.

Outside the side hall filled with warm fragrance, New Year's Eve fireworks are still blooming, and the cold winter night sky is full of colorful colors.

When the rumbling sound of fireworks finally ended, the two of them kissed each other and ended up on the bed.

Their shoes were taken off, and their pearl hairpins fell to the ground. He went up and she went down.

When the four lips parted again, Lu Zhiwan lay on the pillow, looking at the man who had most of his body pressed heavily on her. Her eyes were hazy, with a shimmering watery color. Even her voice was like honey, soft and sticky: "You're so heavy, get off quickly..."

It was clearly a complaint, but because of the unconsciously prolonged ending, it sounded more like flirtation, making people's hearts numb.

Xiao Jingting felt the heat in his body becoming more and more rampant, burning his blood and boiling. He stared at her rosy cheeks and said in a hoarse voice, "I read some books a few days ago."

Lu Zhiwan was stunned for a moment, confused: "What?"

Two long fingers touched her lips, stroking them gently with calluses on them: "I will give you everything you want."

Lu Zhiwan was even more confused. What did she want?

She was already drunk, and after two deep kisses, her brain was too dizzy to think any more. She forced her eyelids open and looked at him. Seeing that he seemed to be waiting for her response, she mumbled a perfunctory response.

"Then I'll begin."

"Hmm."

"Don't be afraid."

“Hmm…”

His lips were kissed again, but this time it was very gentle.

It is like the south of the Yangtze River in spring, with gentle breeze and drizzle, and the water color soaking the moss on the stone street, making it moist, fresh and full of vitality.

In this gentle comfort, Lu Zhiwan relaxed his mind and slowly closed his eyes.

His long fingers untied the laces and touched the delicate skin, but the person under him did not tremble or shrink as expected.

She was motionless, as quiet as if she were asleep.

The pomegranate-red curtains were half-covered, and in the silence, Xiao Jingting raised his head. Amidst the messy piles of brocade, the woman's eyes were lightly closed, her breathing was even, and her fair cheeks were slightly flushed because of this peaceful sleep.

This damn woman is just asleep.

Her forehead was twitching violently, and Xiao Jingting pressed his fingers firmly on her forehead, trying to restrain his urge to strangle her.

It’s the Chinese New Year.

He took a deep breath, but the emotions in his chest became more and more depressed. In the end, he couldn't help it and reached out to pat her face: "Lu Zhiwan."

"So noisy..."

The sleeping person frowned slightly, raised his hand as if to push away, then turned his face away and continued to fall into deep sleep.

"Good, very good."

Xiao Jingting gritted his teeth, moved his palm to her slender neck, and then pinched it. His eyes fell on her cute sleeping face, which was as peaceful as a baby, and his eyes flashed slightly.

After a while, he withdrew his hand.

Wouldn't it be too easy for her to strangle her to death like this?

What's more, she was the one who had been looking forward to sleeping with him. It was her loss if the ceremony failed to take place tonight.

After calming down a little, Xiao Jingting turned over and sat back on the couch.

The dim candlelight flickered, and he lowered his eyes slightly, looking at the unignorable reaction under the red dragon brocade robe. His already bad expression suddenly became even gloomier.

He clenched his long fingers into a fist and tried to calm down and clear his mind.

However, the soft breathing sounds that came and went beside her ears, like the voice that escaped from her lips and teeth when she was weak, made her already difficult-to-calm mind even more confused.

Xiao Jingting had no choice but to get up from the bed.

Before leaving, he looked at the little face that was sleeping soundly, and felt even more disgusted. In the end, he couldn't help but bend over and took a bite.

Lu Zhiwan cried out in pain.

When she half opened her eyes, she saw the dim ceiling of the bed and the pomegranate red curtains that were faintly glowing.

"Could it be a bug bite?"

She raised her hand to rub the moist and slightly itchy spot on her cheek, then hugged the warm quilt, turned over and fell asleep again.

Outside the curtain, there was silence for a long time before the sound of footsteps gradually faded away.

There was a slight creaking of the door, and someone seemed to be talking faintly.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing...?"

"Shut up."

“…”

The dusk fell, everything was silent, only the whistling wind could be heard.

It snowed again in the middle of the night, and the New Year's Day of the 19th year of Tianfeng arrived in this auspicious snow.

**

Lu Zhiwan slept exceptionally soundly this time.

The next day, Xia He and Aunt Qiu Rong took turns to wake her up.

"My dear master, today is New Year's Day, you can't sleep in."

Xia He, dressed in festive new palace attire, pulled her master out of her warm bed. Her round face was filled with New Year's joy, yet also revealed a hint of helplessness. "You must hurry up and get dressed. If you delay in paying New Year's greetings to the Empress Dowager, you'll definitely invite criticism again."

pay a New Year call?

Yes! Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year!

Lu Zhiwan suddenly lost most of his sleepiness and quickly got out of bed. Just as he was about to bend down to put on his shoes, he felt a pain in his waist.

"Master?" Xia He looked at her frowning expression and couldn't help wondering, "What's wrong with you?"

Lu Zhiwan glanced at the side of his waist and muttered, "I don't know why, but my waist hurts a little."

But the pain was not too unbearable, so she didn't take it seriously and continued to put on her shoes.

With the perfect cooperation of Xia He and Aunt Qiu Rong, she finished dressing up as quickly as possible and hurriedly caught up with the large group going to the Cining Palace to pay their respects.

An hour later.

After receiving a bunch of New Year gifts from Empress Dowager Gu, Lu Zhiwan could finally breathe a sigh of relief and spare some time to ask Xia He how he got back to Lifeng Palace from the side hall of the New Year's Eve palace banquet last night.

She clearly remembered that she slept in the side hall last night and slept very soundly.

Not only that, she seemed to have had a beautiful spring dream.

The man in the dream was not only handsome, but also very gentle, and his foreplay was also very good.

She felt so comfortable as if she was in heaven, and after that... she couldn't remember anything?

What a pity.

Lu Zhiwan sighed inwardly, dreaming is so annoying, it always ends at the critical moment.

"Your Majesty was drunk last night, and His Majesty didn't send you back until the palace banquet was over." Xia He replied.

"He brought me back?"

"Yes." Xia He nodded, her face honest. "I returned around midnight. I think His Majesty must have seen that you were sleeping soundly and didn't want to disturb you, so he waited until you were asleep before sending you back."

How could that man be so kind?

Lu Zhiwan's eyes flashed, and she suddenly remembered that he had given her sobering soup last night.

Could it be that after a year, the dog man suddenly changed his nature and decided to be a human being?

Thinking of this, she perked up and said to Xia He with a smile, "Your Majesty is so considerate to me, I should return the favor. Today's grand court meeting is over, and he must be tired after returning. Let's go back to Lifeng Palace and ask the kitchen to make some nourishing soup. Oh, by the way, those relaxing massage techniques you gave me were quite comfortable. Teach me how to do them later."

After hearing this, Xia He readily agreed: "Okay, I will teach you when I get back. I guarantee you can make your majesty feel comfortable."

There is always a lot to do on the first day of the new year.

Before I knew it, the sun had set and the dusk was gazing at the horizon.

Without waiting for Xiao Jingting to summon him, Lu Zhiwan took the initiative to appear in the Yangxin Palace today, carrying cakes and soup.

Yu Mingjiang was startled when he saw her appear in front of the palace. When he realized what was happening, he quickly stepped forward and saluted: "This old servant greets Her Majesty Zhao Fei. May Her Majesty Zhao Fei have a happy new year and may everything go well for you."

Lu Zhiwan was in a good mood and smiled as he replied, "Manager Yu, may you have a happy new year and may you be safe and happy."

"This old servant would like to thank the Empress for her good wishes." Yu Mingjiang bowed gratefully and looked at the food box carried by the palace servant behind Lu Zhiwan: "Empress Zhao, what is this?"

Lu Zhiwan said, "I know His Majesty has been busy all day, so I specially sent him some nourishing soup."

"Tonifying soup?"

Yu Mingjiang's eyes were a little complicated. He first glanced into the hall, then turned to Lu Zhiwan and said, "Please forgive me, Concubine Zhao. Your Majesty will not see anyone today——"

I don’t know if it was Lu Zhiwan’s illusion, but I always felt that Yu Mingjiang’s voice was particularly loud.

She frowned in confusion: "Your Majesty, why is he not seeing anyone?"

Yu Mingjiang: "I dare not speculate what your majesty is thinking. He has given such orders, and I will carry them out."

After a pause, his voice suddenly rose several pitches: "Empress Zhao, you'd better leave, so as not to upset His Majesty——"

Lu Zhiwan: “……?”

Why did Manager Yu become so weird in the new year?

However, since Manager Yu said so, Lu Zhiwan didn't want to make things difficult for him as a servant. Besides, Xiao Jingting didn't want to see anyone, and he might have his own reasons. There was no point in going to see him himself.

"Alright then, I'll be back." Lu Zhiwan nodded and looked at the nourishing soups. "I've been stewing this soup all afternoon. It's very nourishing. Could you please send it to His Majesty, Chief Steward Yu?"

Yu Mingjiang raised his voice again: "Oh, Concubine Zhao, please go back. Don't even mention the tonic soup you worked so hard to stew all afternoon. Now even if it's dragon gall and phoenix marrow from heaven, His Majesty won't want it--"

Lu Zhiwan: “…”

So strange.

Whether it's Chief Steward Yu or the man who has never appeared in the Hall of Mental Cultivation... I thought everything would finally return to normal in the new year, but now it seems that the condition has become more serious.

Lu Zhiwan: "Okay, then I'll take it back and drink it myself."

Chief Steward Yu raised his voice again, "This old servant respectfully sends off Her Majesty Zhao Fei. The roads are slippery in the snow, please be careful—"

Lu Zhiwan: “…” Manager Yu is planning to change his career to become a tenor.

After muttering something in her heart, she turned and left with the help of the palace maids.

I had just walked down seventeen steps when I heard a hurried voice behind me calling out, "Empress Zhao, please stay."

Lu Zhiwan paused and turned his head with a confused look on his face.

Yu Mingjiang smiled and said, "Your Majesty has granted you permission to enter."