Chapter 62 The Femme Fatale Wants the Entire Army to Hear Her Beloved Concubine's Moans? ...
"Be gentle..."
Since he insisted that she bow her head, then she would bow her head to him.
The whereabouts of the prayer beads are still uncertain, and this show of weakness is merely a temporary measure.
She could stage a self-inflicted injury at Taiye Pond, and naturally, she could also turn this love triangle into a bargaining chip.
At this moment, she suppressed her inner resistance and took the initiative to snuggle into his arms, her fingertips gently tracing the dragon pattern on his clothes.
“Your Majesty…” she deliberately sweetened her voice, uttering those flattering words that even she found nauseating, “Your hand holding the bow… is truly captivating.”
Zhou Ling's breathing became noticeably heavier, but he pinched her chin and forced her to look up: "Keep making this up."
"How could it be made up?" She took the opportunity to guide his hand to her heart, feeling the burning heat of his palm. "Your Majesty might as well listen to... how fast it's beating here."
...
In the days that followed, Fangru portrayed Roushun perfectly.
When Zhou Ling wrapped his arms around her from behind, she didn't even need his palms to slip inside her clothes before her shoulders trembled slightly, like a slender willow swaying in the wind, obediently letting anyone pluck it.
That day, he had just finished reviewing memorials, his fingertips still stained with thick black ink, carrying a slightly cool ink scent, when he suddenly touched her lips.
Fangru's eyelashes trembled, and she instinctively furrowed her brows. The undried ink clung to her lips, cool and astringent. "Your Majesty," she turned her head away, her voice barely a whisper, "your hands are still stained with ink..."
Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Ling gently parted her lips with two fingers.
Fangru paused for a moment, then quickly lowered her eyes, hiding her resistance, and obediently took his finger into her mouth.
The tip of her tongue carefully rolled over her fingertips, from the base to the tip, licking away the ink stains little by little, not even missing the remaining ink between her fingers, her movements as gentle as if she were licking a precious treasure.
He suddenly gripped the back of her neck, his knuckles tightening, pushing his fingers further into her groin. Fangru was forced to tilt her head back, a soft groan escaping her throat. Her eyes gradually welled up with tears, which hung on her eyelashes, yet she obediently held them back, not daring to breathe even a little heavier.
“You’re really good at pretending,” he chuckled in her ear, his breath hot. “I love seeing you like this.”
Fang Ruru nestled in his arms, letting his hands roam freely under her clothes, but her gaze drifted past his shoulder and involuntarily toward the furnishings of the imperial study.
Later, when he pressed her down on the mountain of memorials, she tilted her head back to receive his kisses, which were still fragrant with ink, while her right hand quietly slid towards the hidden compartment on the side of the desk, her fingertips tracing the patterns of the mechanism on the cool wood.
Just as her fingertips were about to touch the protrusion, her wrist was suddenly gripped tightly, the force almost crushing her bones. "What are you looking for?" He pressed against her sweaty forehead, his voice as deep as ice. "What does my beloved want? Why don't you just ask me?"
Just then, the soft sound of boot soles scraping the ground came from outside the hall.
He suddenly released his grip, and Fangru immediately stood up, quickly straightening her disheveled clothes with her fingertips. She picked up the food box she had brought and walked steadily toward the screen in the side room.
As several high-ranking officials bowed and left the imperial study, just as the vermilion palace gates were about to close, they happened to see her carrying a food box as she emerged from behind the screen.
Her lotus-root-colored palace dress had been neatly arranged, the hem of her skirt hanging down in perfect order. Only her lips were slightly swollen and red from being sucked, and the pearl hairpin at her temples had loosened a little. In the sunlight under the corridor, it quietly revealed the enchanting spring light that had just dissipated in the imperial study.
Grand Secretary Li quickly lowered his eyelids, and only after that slender figure disappeared into the side hall did he exchange a knowing glance with Grand Secretary Zhang.
The ministers walked silently to the corner of the palace road, until it was Grand Secretary Zhang who finally broke the silence:
"Speaking of the Xuanji Banquet, this old minister still trembles with fear. Shen Fangru colluded with the Baiyang Society in secret, and that throat-locking nail almost pierced Your Majesty's throat. But after Your Majesty awoke, the first decree you issued was to pardon her crime."
He gazed at the shimmering waves of Taiye Pond and continued to sigh, "And that night at Guanyin Pavilion, when she fled with Ma Xian, His Majesty was furious, but still strictly ordered that no one should harm her in the slightest. Such a treasonous act would have resulted in the extermination of nine generations of a family by anyone else, but in her case, it was simply glossed over so lightly."
Upon hearing this, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel sneered: "Do you two gentlemen know that His Majesty actually intends to recognize the child of that traitor Gu Zhou as a prince and include him in the imperial genealogy? Just to make her smile? That child is clearly the descendant of a traitor, yet now he is to enter the Eastern Palace. This... this is utterly outrageous!"
The wind from Taiye Pond swept past the coiled dragon stone pillars, carrying damp moisture that brushed against the official robes of the crowd.
Grand Secretary Zhang suddenly lowered his voice: "The Baiyang Society has been quite restless lately. Last night, the patrol battalion arrested several suspicious individuals..."
Before he could finish speaking, the senior officials understood perfectly.
The Vice Minister of Personnel looked around and, after confirming that no one was there, lowered his voice even further: "In my opinion... it would be better to let her make another big mistake."
"When she helps Ma Xian escape, that will be our chance to close the net. At that time, we will catch him red-handed, and even if His Majesty intends to protect him, it will be difficult to silence public opinion."
“Yes, after betraying her master time and time again, she will eventually let His Majesty see her true nature.”
They believed that as long as His Majesty was still flesh and blood and possessed human emotions, he could not tolerate such betrayal forever.
“If Your Majesty still insists on protecting us,” Grand Secretary Zhang replied in a deep voice, “I am willing to risk my life to remonstrate with Your Majesty at the Golden Steps.”
The shimmering light of Taiye Pond reflected on the solemn faces of the crowd, flickering in and out.
Grand Secretary Li closed his eyes for a long time, and when he opened them again, his eyes were filled with a calm and resolute expression.
At dawn the next day, before the morning light had even pierced through the window, Grand Secretary Li was already waiting in the side hall of the Xuanzheng Hall.
His official robes were neatly made, but his brows showed the weariness of not having slept all night.
“Your Majesty,” he bowed and presented the secret report, his voice low, “the seven secret guards who were sent to track Ma Xian have all died in the line of duty.”
Zhou Ling, dressed in a black casual robe, sat behind his desk and took the report to examine it.
"The Baiyang Society rebels plan to launch a riot in the west of the city in three days," Grand Secretary Li continued. "If it cannot be suppressed in time, it may cause a great disaster. This old minister earnestly requests Your Majesty to personally come to the outskirts of the city to take command."
Zhou Ling raised his eyes and looked at the old minister with graying temples in front of him.
He was well aware of the old ministers' schemes. They had painstakingly set up this trap to make Shen Fangru come into contact with Baiyang Society again, so that he could see the true colors of this woman.
But they wouldn't know that he himself harbored the same thought.
He also wanted to see with his own eyes what choice she would make when she stood in front of Ma Xian again.
These days, Fangru has indeed stopped resisting his intimacy. Every night when they are intimate, she will obediently lean in his arms, and occasionally she will even kiss his Adam's apple. But Zhou Ling always feels that the closer their bodies are, the further their hearts are from each other.
Her obedience and thoughtfulness always carried a subtle hint of aloofness.
Sometimes, when the night is quiet and he looks at her sleeping profile, he can't help but wonder if she gets tired of wearing a mask and dealing with him every day.
If she can maintain this docile facade forever, then all will be well.
But he knew it was just wishful thinking.
She was a living, breathing person, with joys and sorrows, and she felt a deep-seated loathing for him.
Behind those gentle words, who knows how they might be cursing him through gritted teeth.
She is a wild horse at heart, untamed and untamed. Beneath her gentle demeanor lies a fang, and she could break free of her reins at the slightest misstep.
It can neither be nurtured nor warmed up.
"Granted." He put down the report, his voice devoid of emotion. "Order the Imperial Guards to depart immediately."
The driver exited the palace gate.
Fangru sat opposite him, her fingers unconsciously twisting the sash of her clothes.
"Your Majesty brought me here to suppress the bandits?" She looked up at him, her eyes filled with probing. "I can't even hold a bow properly."
Zhou Ling played with the pearl hairpin in her hair, his words carrying a deeper meaning: "My beloved concubine praised my bow-wielding posture the other day, saying it was captivating. Today, I'll let those traitors see it for themselves."
Fangru lowered her eyes, her expression indifferent: "Suppressing bandits is the duty of the soldiers. Why does Your Majesty need to say such things to me?"
“Last month, Bai Yang massacred a village in Yunzhou.” Zhou Ling’s voice deepened. “The blood of the victims soaked the entire field.” He gazed at her slightly trembling eyelashes. “Such atrocities should arouse the indignation of everyone.”
Fangru's face showed panic: "Is the Baiyang Society really this cruel?" But in her heart, she recalled that day in the forest when Ma Xian carefully untied the animal trap for her, and those rough but warm hands.
Zhou Ling did not expose her pretense, but simply watched her act quietly.
Suddenly, a cool hand gently covered his knee.
His breath hitched slightly as he watched her slowly approach, her warm breath brushing against his chin almost imperceptibly.
“In that case…” her voice was so soft it could melt water, “then Your Majesty must protect me.”
Her black hair brushed against his arm as the carriage swayed, and her eyes sparkled with coquettish charm: "I am so weak, I am already overwhelmed by His Majesty's favors, how can I withstand any storms?"
Zhou Ling grabbed her restless wrist and looked at her feigned innocence. Suddenly, he remembered the words "femme fatale" that the old ministers in the court had used.
Even though I knew she was acting, my body still reacted honestly.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear:
"My beloved concubine just said she was overwhelmed, but I feel that you are handling it with ease?"
She gripped the brocade cushion tightly with her fingertips, and her subconscious struggle only resulted in a heavier suppression. When her back hit the soft pillow, the hairpin had already rolled to the ground, making a soft yet alarming sound.
"Your Majesty..." Just as the hairpin fell off, he leaned down and sealed her lips with his.
The ambergris, mixed with the intense heat, penetrated deep into her body, swallowing up her unfinished gasps of surprise.
Outside the carriage window, the crisp sound of the Imperial Guards' armor clashing and the muffled thud of horses' hooves pounding on the bluestone slabs were clear as if right next to one's ear; one could even hear the whispered messages exchanged by the generals in the front row.
Zhou Ling ignored her. When his slender fingers brushed over the jade belt at her waist, he didn't hesitate for a moment. With a crisp "click," the jade belt fell off, and he tore off her outer brocade with one hand.
The sound of tearing fabric exploded in the enclosed carriage, more piercing than the clash of armor.
The cool air enveloped her instantly, sending a shiver down her spine, but the next second, his burning palm covered her, the heat making her almost curl up.
"Shh," his burning lips moved to her ear, his deep voice carrying a dangerous undertone, "Do you want the whole army to hear your beloved's moans?"
Fangru froze, forgetting even to breathe.
Through the swaying gaps in the carriage curtain, she could see the rows of spears and halberds standing in the sunlight, their cold gleam piercing her eyes. She could even make out the backs of several familiar generals in the front row—the very same trusted ministers who had bowed to her the night before.
But the person on top of her had no scruples. His warm fingertips parted her disheveled clothes, his movements so calm and collected that it was as if they were not in the swaying imperial carriage, not under the watchful eyes of the entire army, but in his private bedchamber where no one dared to disturb him, brazenly taking everything that belonged to her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
