Chapter 74 "Hold me tight".
He held her so tightly, his rough hands firmly locked around her waist, his strength as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones.
Even through their soaked clothes, she could feel the pounding of his heart beneath his burning chest, intertwined with her own rapid heartbeat.
He held Chi Ying in his arms, and her chest throbbed slightly from the tightness of the embrace. But she couldn't bear to break free, afraid that if she let go, everything in front of her would vanish like a bubble. This suffocating pain actually dispelled the dazed and unreal feeling in her heart.
Yan Xue closed her eyes, and the long-lost scent of orange blossoms seeped into her bones and blood, slowly calming the restless and anxious emotions in her veins.
But it's not enough, far from enough.
A single, burning tear slid silently down her pale neck.
Chi Ying felt a burn, and her eyes stung with tears.
The man slowly released her, his pupils reflecting her pale, fragile face. His voice was hoarse and low: "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
Chi Ying lowered her eyelashes, not daring to look at his face, her voice so low that even she could barely hear it: "I...should I...call you Your Majesty?"
"Your Majesty?" Yan Xue smiled wryly.
Chi Ying's chin was lifted, forcing her to look him in the eye.
He seemed to have lost some weight, and his facial features had a more cold and sharp look. His pupils seemed to have darkened a bit, perhaps because he had not fully recovered. They were bloodshot, like rolling, burning dark flames, making him look exhausted and on the verge of collapse.
Chi Ying couldn't fathom his thoughts at that moment, nor did she know when he had seen through Chi Yingyue's disguise, how he had found her here, or whether he knew she also had her own difficulties.
Regardless of any difficulties or reasons, this is the outcome.
His words just now were clearly filled with hatred. She had deceived him first, and then disappeared without explanation, discarding his love like trash...
He was already the emperor, a dignified ruler; how could he easily forgive her deception?
It's unknown what kind of punishment awaits her.
Yan Xuecui saw the longing in her eyes, but also the fear and avoidance that she couldn't hide.
He lowered his head, tenderly cupped her face in his hands, and the moment his thin lips touched hers, his breath trembled uncontrollably.
He held the back of her head tightly and slowly kissed the two soft lips he had longed for day and night. The sweet and hot touch instantly took over all his senses, and his lips and teeth intertwined with hers eagerly.
The transition from unfamiliarity to familiarity seems to happen in an instant.
The kiss deepened, sweeping over her with an almost uncontrollable ferocity until it swallowed all her breath.
The familiar scent of galangal enveloped her completely, and the sweet saliva between her lips and teeth mixed with the salty taste of rain and tears. Even as the air grew thinner and her heart ached from being squeezed, she no longer wanted to struggle. She stopped thinking about anything and instinctively hugged him even tighter.
As they were deeply immersed in each other's love, reluctant to part, the man's body suddenly stiffened slightly.
Yan Xue slowly withdrew from her lips.
Chi Ying looked up blankly, staring blankly in the direction of his gaze, only to see Aunt Xue walking out of the house, staring at the scene before her with a look of astonishment.
She trembled with fright, her cheeks flushing red. "Ah, Mother..."
She was flustered and confused, unsure how to explain that she had been hugging and cuddling with a man in the middle of the night.
At this moment, Yan Xuecui calmly spoke up: "Mother-in-law."
The moment this address was uttered, it was like a thunderbolt from the blue; both Chi Ying and Aunt Xue widened their eyes in surprise.
Ignoring the turmoil in the eyes of the mother and daughter, Yan Xuecui said only, "I have something to say to Aying. Could you take her away for a while?"
Before Aunt Xue could recover from her shock, the word "I" made her pupils shrink again.
Who in the entire world, apart from Emperor Jing'an, would dare to call himself that? The person in front of me is actually... It turns out that the prince whom Ah Ying was forced to marry in place of her is actually His Majesty!
He not only followed her to Jiangnan, but also called her "mother-in-law"!
How dare she, a mere concubine in a noble household, be the emperor's mother-in-law!
Aunt Xue was stunned for a long time before she belatedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty."
His gaze swept over his daughter's red eyes, and he recalled the sadness and longing she had been unable to hide over the past six months. He was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.
Ah Ying was ultimately a substitute bride, and they were guilty of some crime. She wondered if His Majesty would blame them... But he was the emperor, so how could she dare to stop him?
Yan Xuecui held Chi Ying's hand tightly, her voice still relatively calm: "Don't worry, I won't hurt her in the slightest."
Aunt Xue then hurriedly said, "This humble woman dares not."
Chi Ying pursed her lips, about to explain something to her mother, when suddenly her feet lost their footing. Before she could react, he had already picked her up and was striding outside.
The night rain was fine and cool, falling on her forehead. Chi Ying nestled in his arms, her arms wrapped around his neck.
She quietly raised her eyes and looked into his dark pupils, which were immersed in the night, and tears silently streamed down her face again.
The man noticed her gaze, lowered his eyes to meet her moist eyes, and felt as if his heart had been violently squeezed, both painful and tender.
Stepping outside, Yan Xuecui pulled a cloak from beside the saddle and wrapped it tightly around her from head to toe. Then he mounted the horse, leaned down, grabbed her waist, and pulled her onto the horse's back, making her sit facing him.
He commanded in a deep voice, "Hold me tight."
Chi Ying then stretched out her arms and tightly wrapped them around his lean waist.
Yan Xue's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, then she spurred the horse and galloped away.
Wrapped in a cloak, Chi Ying was protected from the bleak wind and cold rain. She buried her cheek in his burning heart and felt the long-lost warmth.
But I still felt uneasy.
What does she mean to him?
She lied to him, did so many wrong things, and left without a word. He must hate her.
But he had just called his mother "mother-in-law." Even an emperor, when facing his empress mother or a first-rank imperial consort, should not be so condescending.
Does he still consider her his wife?
Or was it just to get her out of there and appease her mother that she called her that?
The red-maned horse galloped wildly until it stopped outside a park.
Although Yan Xuecui's trip was secretive, the search for him in Southern Zhili had lasted for nearly half a year. All the officials there had done their best to cooperate and were ready to serve at any time. Upon hearing that the Emperor was coming in person, the Suzhou Prefect hurriedly ordered people to prepare this simple and elegant Danyuan Garden for Emperor Jing'an to rest and stay for a while.
Upon seeing him arrive, the guards hurriedly bowed and opened their umbrellas to greet him.
Yan Xue carried the person in her arms and walked all the way to the bedroom before putting her down.
The maids below tried to help him change his clothes, but he coldly rebuked them and slammed the door shut.
Only the two of them remained in the room, looking at each other. Chi Ying lowered her eyes, but she could still feel that burning gaze falling heavily on her.
Yan Xuecui spoke in a hoarse voice: "Half a year has passed since we parted, and apart from that one 'Your Majesty,' you have nothing left to say to me, is that it?"
Chi Ying's throat tightened, and after a long while, she managed to speak with difficulty: "I'm sorry, I..."
Yan Xuecui gritted her teeth and said, "Besides this 'I'm sorry,' is there anything else?"
Chi Ying's eyelashes trembled. She actually had a lot to say, but she didn't know how to start or what he wanted to hear.
Yan Xuecui: "Aying, look at me."
After a long pause, she slowly raised her head and asked softly, "Has Your Majesty's eye fully recovered?"
Yan Xuecui pursed her lips: "I'm fully recovered."
Chi Ying felt a mix of emotions. She was happy for him, but the thought that he could see her and witness her every move, her joys and sorrows, made her feel uneasy.
His gaze was so direct and intense that it left people feeling completely bewildered.
Yan Xuecui asked, "Just this one sentence, is there anything else?"
Chi Ying clenched her fists. There were some things she shouldn't have interrupted, but she couldn't help asking, "Your Majesty, has everything gone smoothly since you ascended the throne? Has anyone... has anyone hurt you or disobeyed you?"
Yan Xuecui suppressed her calmness and said in a deep voice, "Thanks to you, everything has gone relatively smoothly. Injuries... were inevitable."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Chi Ying's heart tightened. She was about to ask more questions when she remembered that it had been more than three months since his ascension to the throne, and his injuries should have healed by now.
Yan Xuecui: "Is this all you wanted to say to me?"
Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, Yan Xuecui spoke again: "Alright, now it's my turn to ask you."
He suppressed the turmoil in his chest and asked slowly, "Before you left that day, you said you had something to say to me. What was it?"
Chi Ying's face was pale, and she said in a trembling voice, "I originally wanted to tell you the truth."
Yan Xuecui: "Why didn't you say so earlier? Inside the hot spring resort, I gave you chances every day. Every bamboo stick in the wooden box could be your get-out-of-jail-free card. Why didn't you tell me?"
With tears welling up in her eyes, Chi Ying said, "Back then... I was still scared. Even if I had the slightest bit of uncertainty, I didn't dare to gamble with my life."
“You’re afraid to gamble,” he said, his teeth clenched with coldness, “but you dare to betray my sincere heart and disregard all the affection between us. You don’t believe I love you, do you? Even when you’re forced to leave the capital, you don’t believe the secret guards I left for you can protect you, do you?”
Chi Ying was pressed closer by him, and could only shake her head repeatedly. After a long while, she finally managed to suppress a sob and said, "I'm sorry... I had no choice at the time..."
Yan Xuecui: "Do you think I didn't send people to keep a close eye on Liu Mian Lane? Madam Yin lied to you, saying she was going to send Aunt Xue to the Shuntian Prefecture prison. Even if she wanted to, the secret guards wouldn't allow her to harm your mother in the slightest."
Chi Ying was stunned for a moment before she came to her senses: "You...you knew all along? You knew my mother was in Willow Lane? And you knew my identity all along?"
“What do you think? I know every time you go to the Chi residence and every time you go to Willow Lane. Later, I stopped sending people to monitor you and stopped having people follow you every step of the way, which was also to give you the opportunity to see Aunt Xue.”
Yan Xuecui gave a self-deprecating laugh, "But I never expected that this moment of lapse in vigilance would lead to you leaving me forever."
Chi Ying was filled with bitterness, and the pain was so intense that she could hardly breathe.
It turned out that she was just being clever, guarding a secret that everyone knew with trepidation, thinking she had kept it well hidden, but she never expected that she could never escape his eyes.
Indeed, how could someone as intelligent and cautious as him be completely unaware of the person beside him in bed?
She remained silent for a long time, but finally couldn't help asking, "When...did you find out?"
Yan Xuecui: "I confirmed your identity and name when I first called you 'Aying,' do you remember?"
Chi Ying was taken aback again: "A banquet of beauties?"
He seemed to have thought of something ridiculous, "Who do you think I was calling 'Ah Ying' to?"
Chi Ying's eyes were red and tears were streaming down her face.
It was after she was intoxicated by the Warmth Fragrance at the Gathering of Beauties that they had their first time together. It turned out that he already knew her true identity at that time.
She was so foolish that she kept thinking he was calling for Chi Yingyue.
Yan Xuecui said self-deprecatingly, "I was also wrong. If I had been honest with you sooner, none of this would have happened. It was because my love wasn't obvious enough that you never dared to be honest with me. You preferred to stay away from me and generously give me away, rather than trust me even once..."
Chi Ying shook her head painfully: "No..."
Seeing her tearful eyes, Yan Xue felt as if her heart was being whipped.
His eyes were bloodshot, and he spoke in a deep voice: "I'll ask you one last time... what was your intention in giving me the hair tie before you left that day?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
