Chapter 204: Falling into a Trap

"What did you say?"

Xue Qingyao closed the bronze tripod and turned to look in the direction of Jasper.

Biyu was also very excited and repeated what she had just said, "Master, the Emperor must have seen you in Yonghe Palace today and was mesmerized by your beauty...ah, ah...mesmerized!"

"Since the emperor is coming tonight, we must prepare well." Xue Qingyao raised his hand and stroked his face, feeling somewhat proud in his heart.

She has always been confident in her beauty. If it weren't for Xue Youli in the harem, how could she have suffered such a great humiliation?

As long as tonight passes, Xue Youli will have no chance to jump around again!

Biyu nodded hurriedly, "Yes! I promise to dress the master beautifully!"

In the evening, Xue Qingyao first took a beautiful flower petal bath. After coming out of the bath, she was only wearing a peach pink bellyband and a pair of knee-length underwear, and a large area of ​​her fair skin was exposed to the air.

Biyu fell down in Yonghe Palace today, and fell ill not long after chatting with Xue Qingyao.

At this time, several palace maids from Minghua Palace stood in front of the couch, helping Xue Qingyao to dress up.

One of them held the ointment, and the other scooped the ointment out of the jar and carefully applied it on Xue Qingyao's body.

"Master, the ointment is ready. I will help you change your clothes."

As the palace maid spoke, she put on a gauze dress embroidered with peony flowers.

It was very cold outside, so Xue Qingyao put on a long cloak.

Then she sat down in front of the dressing table, picked up the bronze mirror, and looked at herself in the mirror carefully.

Her eyebrows were as dark as distant black, her eyes were as charming as silk, her hair was as white as clouds and her face was as beautiful as flowers, her skin was as white as cream, and she was as beautiful as the enchanting concubine in the storybooks who brought disaster to the country and the people.

Xue Qingyao was very satisfied with her appearance. She held the mirror and looked left and right, but she couldn't see enough.

"All of you please leave."

Xue Qingyao waved away several palace maids and then picked up the eyebrow pencil to draw her own eyebrows.

After drawing her eyebrows, she felt more confident about her makeup.

With the lover's snake in hand, she will definitely charm Murong Che tonight.

"Xue Youli, from tomorrow on, the harem will be your burial place!"

Xue Qingyao had even begun to imagine Xue Youli kneeling at her feet, wagging her tail and begging for mercy after falling out of favor.

"The Emperor has arrived—"

She was still imagining the scene of Xue Youli begging her for his life when she suddenly heard the eunuch's voice outside.

Xue Qingyao's eyes moved slightly, and he skillfully picked up the tweezers at hand, picked out the Zizhu from the bronze tripod, and put it into the small bamboo joint he carried with him.

This small bamboo joint is only as thick as a finger and is a container for storing crickets.

After she put away the bamboo joints, she untied her cloak and threw it on the couch beside her.

Listening to the footsteps coming from outside the hall, Xue Qingyao raised her red lips, adjusted the smile on her face, and walked towards the door in a thin gauze skirt.

With every step she took, her waist and hips twisted, and her graceful figure was faintly visible under her gauze skirt, with a kind of alluring charm.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

Murong Che looked at the woman kneeling on the ground, raised his hand and gave her a helping hand, "Stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Xue Qingyao was about to raise her hand to hold the man's hand, but Murong Che had already taken his hand back before her.

Xue Qingyao's hand touched nothing. In order to hide her embarrassment, she drew an arc with her hand in the air and then tucked the loose hair around her cheeks behind her ears.

Murong Che seemed not to notice her little action, and said calmly, "I haven't had dinner tonight. I asked Wang Defa to send dinner to Minghua Palace. Ms. Xue, please accompany me for dinner."

Although the man was not enthusiastic about Xue Qingyao, this was the first time he took the initiative to stay in Minghua Palace to have dinner with her.

Compared to the previous indifference, tonight is a great privilege.

However, rather than eating, she actually hopes that the man can get straight to the point.

After all, only in that situation would she have the opportunity to plant the lover's seed on Murong Che.

Xue Qingyao lowered her eyelids, pondered in her heart, and when she looked up at the man, a flattered smile immediately appeared on her face, "It is my honor to have dinner with the emperor!"

Forget it. There is no need to rush. Let me have dinner with Murong Che first and make him happy. It will be easier to take action later.

Not long after, the palace maids presented the dishes one by one.

Xue Qingyao was pleasantly surprised to find that there were many of her favorite dishes.

It seems that Murong Che has really started to care about her and has even kept her preferences in mind.

Thinking of this, she raised her charming eyes and looked towards the man's face.

Murong Che was not wearing a dragon robe, but a moon-white brocade satin casual dress with delicate bamboo leaf patterns embroidered on the collar and cuffs with silk threads of the same color.

He wore a dark green belt around his waist and a translucent mutton-fat jade pendant on his body. Combined with his sharp features, it fully demonstrated the majesty and dignity of an emperor.

As Xue Qingyao watched, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart, wondering why she hadn't realized before that Murong Che was actually more handsome than Murong Ye.

Murong Che was stared at by her so intently, and he suppressed his discomfort and raised his eyebrows, "Mr. Xue, why are you staring at me while eating instead of looking at the food on the table?"

Xue Qingyao had heard from Lu Luo before that Xue Youli relied on sweet words to make Murong Che so infatuated and unable to stop.

So, she also deliberately imitated Xue Youli's usual tone of voice, "Because Your Majesty is handsome! Your Majesty is the most handsome man among all the men I have ever seen!"

After saying this, she realized something was wrong and quickly added, "I discovered this the last time I went on the autumn hunt. Whenever the emperor stands in a crowd, he always stands out."

Even though Murong Che was praised by her, he was not very happy. Instead, he felt a tingling and uncomfortable feeling on his scalp.

If he hadn't come here with a mission tonight, he really wanted to just overturn the table and leave.

However, thinking of Xue Youli's instructions, he could only bite the bullet and serve Xue Qingyao the bird's nest. "Mr. Xue, I remember that you really like this dish of stewed duck with bird's nest."

Xue Qingyao was overwhelmed when she saw the swallow's nest that Murong Che personally brought to her.

She took the bowl with joy. She was in a very good mood and even spoke with more trepidation, "Your Majesty, you should eat too."

As she spoke, she also picked up some food for Murong Che, "This assorted shark fin dish looks delicious."

Murong Che looked at the shark fin she placed on the plate in front of him, but did not pick up his chopsticks. Instead, he continued to serve her other dishes, "This braised deer tendon is also very good."

After a while, the food in front of Xue Qingyao was piled up like a small mountain. "Your Majesty, that's enough. If you give me more food, I will become fat."

She said this, but her eyes and eyebrows were full of smiles.

Obviously, she really enjoyed the feeling of the emperor personally serving her food.

In her opinion, even Xue Youli might not be able to receive such favor.

Murong Che smiled and said, "It's okay. It's better to eat more. It will bring you good luck. You are too thin now. You will look better if you gain some weight."

As he spoke, the man filled her empty glass with wine.

Xue Qingyao gradually lost herself in the man's praises and ate the food in the bowl bite by bite.

She wanted so much to outdo Xue Youli that she didn't notice that Murong Che had been serving her food. Apart from drinking some soup, she didn't touch any of the dishes.

As Xue Qingyao ate, he gradually felt dizzy.

Seeing her press her temples with her hands, Murong Che immediately raised his glass and said, "Ms. Xue, I am very happy tonight. Let me toast you again."

Xue Qingyao waved her hands quickly, "Your Majesty, I can't drink any more. If I drink any more, I'll get drunk!"

Murong Che also deliberately pressed his temples with his hand, "I'm too happy tonight and I drank a lot of wine. Let's finish this last glass and then we won't drink any more."

"good."

Xue Qingyao was straightforward. He raised his head and drank up the wine in his hand.

Murong Che immediately showed an expression of admiration on his face, "I didn't expect Mr. Xue to be so generous."

"I only drank a few more glasses tonight because I was accompanying the Emperor. Normally, I don't drink at all."

Xue Qingyao said, putting down the chopsticks in her hand, "Your Majesty, I have finished my meal. It is getting late. Should we go to bed?"

Murong Che did not refuse and put down his bowl and chopsticks. "Mr. Xue is right. A night of spring is worth a thousand gold."

Xue Qingyao saw this and immediately ordered the palace servants to clean up all the dishes on the table. "After you leave, go and have a rest. Don't come and disturb the emperor and I."

"yes!"

After all the palace people had left, Murong Che extinguished the palace lamps in the bedroom one by one.

Xue Qingyao stared at the suddenly darkened bedroom and was stunned for a moment. He felt a little uneasy in his heart, "Your Majesty, why did you turn off the lights?"

Everything went so smoothly tonight, so smoothly that it made her feel a little suspicious.

Yes, Murong Che usually always ignores her, why is he suddenly so considerate to her today?

Murong Che turned his head and looked at Xue Qingyao, "It's getting late, we should go to bed. Is it the habit of leaving all the palace lights on when you sleep? I remember that I turned off all the lights last time I slept with you, and I thought you would be shy with the lights on. If you don't mind, I'll turn on the lights again."

Xue Qingyao rolled her eyes and said quickly, "No need to order. Your Majesty, you are very considerate. I am indeed shy."

Now that the lights were out, she could take this opportunity to plant a lover's snake on Murong Che.

Xue Qingyao thought about this and reached out to pull Murong Che's sleeve, "Your Majesty, shall we rest together?"

In the darkness, her hand touched the man's belt and said, "Let me help you unbutton your clothes."

"Okay." Murong Che lowered his eyes and glanced at her, and his big hand reached out to touch her belt.

Xue Qingyao immediately hugged the man's waist like an eight-legged octopus and led the man towards the bed.

As she moved, her hand silently touched the small bamboo joint on her waist that contained the lover's snake.

However, before she could take out the small bamboo joint, Murong Che's movement to untie her belt suddenly froze.

Then the man bent down and took a breath of cool air, "Hiss!"

Xue Qingyao saw Murong Che holding his stomach with a painful expression on his face, and asked anxiously, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"

Murong Che replied, "My stomach is not feeling well, I'm going to the toilet first."

Xue Qingyao didn't expect Murong Che to fail at such a critical moment, and immediately felt disappointed.

However, she did not show any impatience on her face. Instead, she said to the man very considerately, "Your Majesty, how about asking the imperial physician to come and take a look at you first?"

"No need. Just wait for me for a moment. I'll be back soon!" Murong Che waved his hand at her and rushed out without looking back before she could say anything else.

Xue Qingyao looked at his anxious back, with a trace of contempt in her eyes, "What a lazy man, he can't do anything when it comes to the critical moment! Is it because he is not good enough that he favors Xue Youli alone? Otherwise, how come Xue Youli has been sleeping with him for so long, but there is no movement in her stomach at all?"

She was alone in her bedroom, talking to herself, and as she talked, she felt more dizzy than before.

It's strange, she didn't seem to drink much, so why does she feel drunk?

Xue Qingyao felt extremely dizzy and just wanted to go drink a glass of water, but before he could take a step forward, his legs went weak and he fell onto the bed.

She pressed her brows, trying to wake herself up, and at that moment, she heard footsteps outside the bedroom door.

"Your Majesty, are you back?"

Xue Qingyao's cheeks became hot unconsciously. Under the steaming heat, his brain seemed to turn into a ball of paste and he gradually lost the ability to think.

A figure walked in from the door. Xue Qingyao tried to open his eyes wide, but his vision became blurry.

She thought it was because she hadn't drunk alcohol for a long time, so her alcohol tolerance had decreased.

But it doesn’t matter, as long as Murong Che comes back, she can plant the dragon on Murong Che.

While she was thinking, the tall man had already extinguished the last palace lamp in the bedroom.

Xue Qingyao's eyes suddenly went dark, and her hands tightly grasped the small bamboo joint around her waist.

As soon as the man stopped by the bed, she stretched out her soft hand from behind the curtain and pulled the man in, "Your Majesty, I have been waiting for you for a long time!"

Her voice was originally very charming, and under the influence of alcohol, it had a hint of coquettishness, which further aroused men's desire to conquer her.

However, Xue Qingyao did not give the man a chance to speak, and she couldn't wait to press her red lips against his.

She kissed the man, put her arms around his neck, and took the opportunity to pour the larvae in the bamboo joints into his collar...

As soon as the dragonfly leaves the small bamboo joint, it will quickly drill into Murong Che's body.

As long as the lover dragon's offspring successfully parasitizes in Murong Che's body, Murong Che's emotions will be affected by the mother dragon, and he will become dependent on Xue Qingyao and fall in love with the person who owns the mother dragon.

Once Murong Che and Zi Gu become one, he will obey Xue Qingyao's orders.

By then, he will become Xue Qingyao's puppet.

Xue Qingyao thought about it and hugged the man in front of him tighter, "Your Majesty~~~"

…

At the same time, Murong Che left the bedroom on the pretext of going to the toilet, then bypassed the palace maids in Minghua Palace and climbed over the wall to leave.

At this moment, Xue Youli was squatting outside the Minghua Palace. When she heard the noise, she looked up alertly, "Your Majesty?"

"It's me."

Murong Che stood in front of her and raised his eyebrows. "Something was added to the food tonight, and Xue Qingyao didn't notice anything unusual. By the way, is the lover's dragon she got from Lan Luo really that scary?"

The incident in which Murong Ye was severely injured by Lan Zheng, who was stabbed by a puppet dragon, made him feel for the first time how terrifying dragon insects were.

However, this was the first time he had heard of the lover dragon and he was somewhat curious.

After Xue Youli revealed the matter of the lover's snake to him, he began to plan how to deal with Xue Qingyao.

After listening to Murong Che's question, she replied, "The lover pig can make people fall in love with the person who owns the female pig unconditionally. But don't worry, Your Majesty. I have swapped Xue Qingyao's lover pig with hers."

Murong Che became even more curious, "How are you going to deal with the real Zi Gu?"

Xue Youli blinked at him, turned around and called out to the person standing not far away, "Xiao Zhongzi."

Xiao Zhongzi immediately dragged a man towards them, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this is the little pillar I caught outside Zhaohua Palace. He is from Minghua Palace, and he just confessed that it was Noble Xue who instructed him to monitor our Zhaohua Palace."

Xiao Zhuzi's face turned pale with fear. "Your Majesty, please spare my life! Madam Concubine Xi, please spare my life!"

In a situation like this where someone was caught spying on the emperor's favorite concubine, according to palace rules, he would be beaten to death with sticks.

However, Xue Youli still had a purpose in saving his life. "I can spare your life, but you must not reveal a single word about what happened tonight, otherwise I don't mind giving you a cup of poisoned wine."

Xiao Zhuzi kowtowed quickly, "I promise that what happened tonight will only rot in my stomach! Please, Your Majesty and Concubine Xi, spare my life!"

While he was kowtowing desperately, Xue Youli glanced at Xiao Zhongzi who was standing behind him.

Xiao Zhongzi opened the small porcelain bottle containing the insects and quickly poured the insects into Xiao Zhuzi's collar.

The lover's egg was very small. It bit open the skin behind Xiaozhu's neck and immediately burrowed deep into the skin and disappeared...