Chapter 47 "Sister, sister, sister."...
There were people coming and going outside the tent. How did he get here?
Yuan Chaolu said, "How could that be? It's just that Qi Yu, a female official from the Imperial Medical Bureau, is going to give me acupuncture later. If we run into His Majesty, it might not be good."
Xiao Zhuo rested his chin on one hand and said, "She came to take the pulse of me and the Empress Dowager this evening. The Empress Dowager is not in good health, so she was left to serve in the palace on the mountain. I also learned about your nightmare from her. I gave you acupuncture once before."
As he spoke, he placed an ornate silver box on the table, opened it, and inside were neatly arranged silver needles.
Yuan Chaolu had no recollection of this and looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Xiao Zhuo said, "It was at Chanxu Temple the night before you forcibly kissed me."
Yuan Chaolu was slightly taken aback, her eyes flickering involuntarily.
Xiao Zhuo said, "You remember now?"
Xiao Zhuo rose and walked to the gilded incense burner. He took out an exquisite incense box from his sleeve and elegantly added spices into it. The sweet fragrance immediately spread. Yuan Chaolu frowned slightly; this fragrance was completely out of place with the emperor's usual aloof temperament.
The lingering steam from the bath inside the tent mingled with the fragrance, forming an invisible net. Through the misty haze, he turned to look back.
Yuan Chaolu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, did you come here tonight because of my nightmare? May I ask Your Majesty, could you teach me a few techniques for acupuncture?"
Undeniably, that night at Chanxu Temple, her nightmares struck fiercely, yet felt like being pricked and rolled by needles, after which the pain gradually subsided. Since that relief, she had not experienced nightmares until last night when they recurred, but this time they were not as painful as usual.
Yuan Chaolu said, "Your Majesty taught me this acupuncture technique, and now I can also resolve nightmares on my own."
Xiao Zhuo asked, "Are you sure you want to learn?"
Yuan Chaolu nodded slightly, and Xiao Zhuo said calmly, "Then take off your robes, and I will personally teach you."
Yuan Chaolu froze, her ten fingers gripping the hem of her skirt as she hung at her sides, and the tips of her ears suddenly flushed red.
Xiao Zhuo walked to the table, then pushed aside the Xuan paper with his fingertips, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and began to paint.
The drawing depicted acupuncture points on the human body. He lightly twirled his pen and marked several acupuncture points on the paper, saying, "What did you see in your nightmares?"
Yuan Chaolu walked to his side, quietly looking at the contents of the scroll, remaining silent for a long time.
The emperor glanced at her but did not ask any further questions.
"Here, here, and here... these are all acupoints to pay attention to."
Many of the acupuncture points on this scroll are located on the chest. Could it be that the last time the emperor performed acupuncture on her, he did so in this way?
She bit her lip, a surge of annoyance rising in her heart. Just then, a suppressed cough came from beside her.
Yuan Chaolu asked, "Is Your Majesty ill?"
Xiao Zhuo placed the wolf-hair brush on the brush mountain and said, "That day you got lost in the hunting forest. It was pouring rain, and I was delayed for a while in the rain while searching for you. I felt a headache the next day, but I didn't pay attention to it. Only tonight did I realize that I had caught a cold."
He raised his arm. "Not only that, my wrist was also injured that night."
Yuan Chaolu said, "Your Majesty is fooling me. You have a cold and a wrist injury. I think Your Majesty is in very good health and does not seem to be in any serious condition."
"Why would I deliberately deceive you?" he said frankly. "My cousin was diagnosed with a fever by the imperial physician the other day, wasn't she?"
Yuan Chaolu's words stopped on her lips as she met those languid phoenix eyes.
"I want to gain my cousin's sympathy, but that has to be effective first. That cousin..."
The dim candlelight cast shadows on his eyes. He approached step by step, forcing Yuan Chaolu to lean against the table with her back exposed, leaving her nowhere to retreat. Only then did he ask, "Will my cousin pity me?"
Will it...?
His dark eyes were fixed on her, his fingertips hooked around her wrist, and his fingertips lightly caressed her delicate skin. In the cave during the day, that familiar feeling of ambiguity lingered again.
Yuan Chaolu unconsciously held her breath until the raindrops pattered on the tent, making a crisp sound that pulled her back to reality.
It started raining outside, and in a short while, the rain seemed to intensify.
The sound of rain filled Yuan Chaolu's ears. He avoided her gaze and said, "Your Majesty should return."
The Emperor's gentle voice rang out from inside the tent, "It's still a long way back to the palace on the mountain, and the rain is heavy."
"Then Your Majesty may rest in the main tent on the grassy slope today."
"My men had already packed up the main tent, so having the palace guards do it again would be too much trouble."
Yuan Chao revealed his thoughts: If the Emperor truly cares for his subordinates and doesn't want to trouble them, then why is he bothering her?
He sat down on her bed, dressed in a snow-white robe embroidered with gold, exuding an elegant and aloof air. Yet this same young king had pinned her against the stone wall that afternoon, making those ambiguous yet seductive gestures.
The emperor's gaze fell on the headboard. Yuan Chaolu followed his gaze and saw him looking at the whistle bone she had rested while bathing. She quickly stepped forward, grabbed the whistle bone, and also took his hand.
The candle was almost burned out, and the dim light pressed down heavily, cutting his face in the light and shadow. Yuan Chaolu avoided that burning gaze and pulled the whistle bone out of his hand, but it was hooked by his fingertips.
"Does my cousin really intend to send me away?"
Yuan Chaolu pulled out the whistle bone and tucked it into her sleeve, then heard the person in front of her sigh softly, "It hurts so much."
“I accompanied my cousin hunting this afternoon, enduring the slight pain in my wrists, and now my head is throbbing,” he said, pressing his hand to his temples. “Yet my cousin still has the heart to drive me away.”
His eyes held a sorrowful and resentful look, and his face was pale. He was already a beauty as beautiful as a jade mountain, but the slight upturn of his eyes made him even more alluring.
Yuan Chaolu couldn't bear that gaze any longer. She lowered her eyes, trembling, but he grabbed her wrist. "Do you really want to send me away?"
She stood on the edge of the bed, her hands resting on his shoulders, looking down at his face. His eyelashes trembled slightly, and his soft voice lingered in her ears: "If you drive me away like this, I will surely get soaked in the rain, and I'm afraid my illness will only get worse."
He coughed softly, his hand pressed against his lips.
Yuan Chaolu felt that gaze was like a hook, tugging at her and stirring up inexplicable emotions, making her feel as if she were experiencing extreme torture.
The sweet fragrance grew stronger and stronger at the tip of her nose, and her heart pounded. In a daze, she finally managed to say, "Your Majesty can only stay for a short while."
"A while, then so be it." He rubbed his temples lightly, his voice languid, and said softly, "However, have you considered my suggestion from earlier today? How do you intend to repay me?"
Having just been granted permission to stay, he then went even further, taking advantage of the situation.
Yuan Chaolu looked at him with displeasure, but then the emperor suddenly leaned closer and said, "If you haven't thought it through, then first pay off the old debts you owe me?"
"When have I ever owed Your Majesty anything?"
Yuan Chaolu regretted her words as soon as she finished speaking. Xiao Zhuo said slowly, "You've forgotten what you did, cousin? First, at Chanxu Temple, you hugged my waist without saying a word. Second, by Taiye Pond, you mistook me for the Prince of Yan."
Yuan Chaolu's waist was gently pulled in, and she fell against him unexpectedly, her long black hair cascading down to the side of his neck. His handsome face was close enough that their noses almost touched. "These two debts... how do you plan to repay them, cousin?"
She had just finished bathing, and the loose outer skirt draped over her body came undone with the movement, revealing glimpses of her undergarments. He glanced down at her, then looked up.
That gaze was so intense it made one's nose sweat.
He brought his lips close and whispered to her how she was going to repay him. Yuan Chaolu's gaze fell on his lips, and her heart pounded harder and harder in the dark night. Just then, footsteps suddenly came from outside the tent. Yuan Chaolu woke up as if from a dream, leaned against Xiao Zhuo's chest, and stood up.
"Morning Dew, it's me." The voice was steady; the speaker was Pei Xi.
Yuan Chaolu and Xiao Zhuo exchanged a glance, then Yuan Chaolu suddenly leaned over and blew out the candle. Darkness instantly enveloped them. Yuan Chaolu walked around the screen with her head down, while tying the sash of her outer skirt.
"What brings you here, Lord Pei? I was just about to rest."
"It is important, Chaolu. May I come in and have a word with you?"
“No need!” Yuan Chaolu interrupted decisively.
Before she could finish speaking, a warm chest pressed against her from behind. Xiao Zhuo embraced her from behind, saying, "My sister kept me here, but kept her fiancé out. How wonderful."
Yuan Chaolu only then realized what it meant to invite a wolf into the house. He gently wrapped his arms around her waist, rested his head on her neck, and coiled around her like a snake, refusing to let go.
Yuan Chao felt his warm breath on her exposed neck and armpits. She could feel his fingers hooking the sash she had painstakingly tied, giving it a gentle tug. Her thoughts were in complete disarray, and she hastily replied to the person outside, "I really need to rest now. I truly cannot see you, sir, at this moment..."
Her voice suddenly stopped as Xiao Zhuo leaned closer, his magnetic voice brushing against her earlobe, "Have you thought about how to pay off your debt?"
Outside the tent, Pei Xi said, "When I came, I saw candles still burning inside. Are you going to rest after only a short while?"
"Yes, I am not able to see anyone right now. How about I see you tomorrow morning? I have caught a cold these past few days and have been having nightmares at night. I would like to rest well for now."
There was a moment of silence outside. Yuan Chaolu thought the person was finally about to leave, but then she heard Xiao Zhuo chuckle as he buried his face in her neck.
He truly understood his ministers. Sure enough, the next moment, Pei Xi said, "Since you are unwell, you should definitely call the imperial physician to take a look. I will go and fetch the imperial physician for you."
“I really don’t need it!” Yuan Chaolu refused again.
She looked up at Xiao Zhuo with a questioning gaze, but Xiao Zhuo acted as if it were none of his business: "Your fiancé, you'll have to figure out how to get him to leave."
His voice was quite loud. If it weren't for the sound of rain outside the tent, Yuan Chaolu would have been afraid of being overheard. She quickly covered his lips, then pulled him behind the screen. When they reached the bed, she pushed him up and then covered him with the quilt.
"Morning dew, that is me."
Another male voice rang out, and Yuan Chaolu turned around to see that Pei Xi had brought the Prince of Yan with him.
The boy outside the tent was silent for a moment before saying, "There's something I want to ask you. On the day of the martial arts review, was the heavenly horse presented by the Gaoche Kingdom one you rode?"
Yuan Chaolu's hand trembled slightly. What the Heavenly Horse incident concealed was his delicate relationship with the emperor.
"Morning Dew, this matter is very important, please answer me."
“Your Highness, I really need to rest. I will tell you about this tomorrow, but please trust me.”
"Chao Lu, tell me now, or I will not leave."
At this moment of dilemma, the person beside him spoke up: "That's just how Pei Xi is. He won't leave until he achieves his goal. He has also discovered the clues between you and me, and now he wants to drag the Prince of Yan into it."
Yuan Chaolu wanted to tell him to shut up, but her hands were held by him and bound to her sides, and she couldn't break free no matter what she did. Her clothes had already come undone in the struggle, and the skin of her shoulders and neck was faintly visible.
Her two ex-fiancés were outside the tent, while the man next to her seemed to enjoy the spectacle and was calling her "little sister."
"Sister, sister, sister." He called out deliberately, each time louder than the last.
If those two were brought in, it would be a scene of catching him in the act of adultery with the emperor.
Yuan Chaolu, meeting his burning gaze, had no choice but to lean onto the bed, push him further inside, and then silence his lips with a kiss, silencing all his words.
The moment our lips touched, there was an indescribable tingling sensation.
If you don't let him speak, the situation is like a precipice, but if you kiss him, it won't be any better.
In the pitch-black darkness, a sense of taboo and transgression intensified. She straddled him, grasped his hand in return, and kissed him harder with each thrust, not wanting him to make a sound.
"Third Brother," she kissed him for a moment, her face flushed, then released his lips, "promise me you won't speak, okay?"
Her voice was incredibly sweet, and she was breathing softly.
Xiao Zhuo squinted at her, looking up at her without commenting.
The next moment, she sat completely on him, wrapped her arms around his neck, closed her eyes, and kissed him again.
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The author says: Morning dew is good, but dew is bad.
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