Chapter 66 Anhe, you dare to refuse me?
What is she doing!
Anhe froze completely. The soft touch on his lips, belonging to Zhao Liangxu, was the softest and most intoxicating thing he could touch.
He was so surprised that his mind went completely blank. He couldn't do anything for a moment, and all sorts of thoughts were eager to burst forth in his mind, but they were all pushed to the sidelines by the feeling coming from his mouth.
He stared wide-eyed, his eyes filled with astonishment.
Zhao Liangxu didn't close her eyes either. She and An He missed each other by nose, tilted her head slightly, and looked at him with her eyes open. There were no excessive actions with her mouth, just a slight touch.
Therefore, Zhao Liangxu could see An He blinking in surprise, yet she couldn't bear to let a shadow fall over this precious moment.
She left Anhe first, but their heads were still close together, ready to kiss again in the next moment.
She did indeed want to do that.
She had assumed that Anhe would embrace her with his other intact hand, just as he greedily devoured the kiss as he had with money and power.
But more likely, he would try to avoid her, push her away violently, and then angrily point at her, unable to utter a complete sentence.
But none of that was true. In the blink of an eye, aside from a look of astonishment in his eyes, An He made no other move, simply quietly and silently sensing Zhao Liangxu's presence.
Just as Zhao Liangxu tried to get close to him again, An He seemed to snap out of his daze. He tilted his head and avoided Zhao Liangxu.
Then, just as Zhao Liangxu had planned, he pushed her away.
His expression had just changed to one of confusion and fear, and his startled expression caused his mouth to involuntarily agape slightly.
Anhe touched her lips with trembling hands, then abruptly pulled her hands away.
Her guess was right. Anhe was only a momentarily slower than she expected before he skillfully put on his mask of being a nine-thousand-year-old again.
"Zhao Liangxu, do you know what you're doing?" An He's voice seemed to tremble.
Before An He could say anything more, Zhao Liangxu interrupted, asking, "Did you find the food good, Eunuch An?"
Anhe looked at her with a strange gaze, and he subconsciously shook his head slightly, which was an outward manifestation of his surprise and fear at this moment.
"Is it because you don't like it? Is that why Eunuch An is avoiding me?"
"no!"
Anhe immediately denied it.
"Zhao Liangxu, wake up!" he cursed in a low voice, feeling that he should never have let her into the study.
“Eunuch An, I am perfectly clear-headed. Why don’t you understand? I’ve already done all this,” Zhao Liangxu asked him.
Yes, she did that!
Should she have done that? I didn't force her!
Is she trying to say that she likes herself?
No, that's impossible.
An He knew perfectly well how reasonable this reason was, how many interactions between the two could confirm this conjecture, and how fully this reason could explain Zhao Liangxu's eyes, which showed no disdain and were filled with expectation and sincerity.
But he instinctively denied this reason.
"You, you think our family has pushed you to the brink, and you have no way out, right?" Anhe asked.
Zhao Liangxu said, "What?" She didn't understand at first.
"You think that after we talked about you in front of so many people, you've given up and are just throwing caution to the wind?"
Does he want a definite answer?
He certainly didn't want to.
Zhao Liangxu understood a bit more this time, and she felt helpless.
She composed herself, making sure Anhe listened attentively.
"Eunuch An, do you think I'm the kind of person who would give up on myself if my reputation were tarnished?"
She is not; she is a strong and capable person.
"Or do you think I was hurt or sad because of what you said at the banquet?"
Anhe subconsciously wanted to nod.
"So, does Eunuch An think that your so-called 'your woman' is a great insult to me, and that you regret saying that?"
Anhe continued nodding, indicating his agreement with the statement.
Seeing An He's admitting it, Zhao Liangxu almost laughed.
"So, in your eyes, how innocent am I, Eunuch An? Since I returned to Southern Zhou, how many good things have been said about me in the capital?"
An He's lips twitched. Of course he knew that Zhao Liangxu wasn't well-regarded in their eyes. She hadn't left a good reputation when she was a hostage, and after she returned, Zhou Feng had fueled the fire, so the negative impression of Zhao Liangxu was already ingrained in other people's minds.
Sometimes he wanted to kill those blind fools.
"So, Eunuch An's words neither insulted me nor harmed me, so how could they be considered an insult?" Zhao Liangxu said logically.
"Why should I feel sad and hurt, just because of your status? Doesn't Eunuch An know better than anyone what kind of person I am?"
She didn't give Anhe a chance to speak and continued, "Perhaps Eunuch An hasn't had any intimate contact with anyone? But in Southern Zhou, physical contact between men and women is not a big deal. Even extra eye contact can sometimes be harshly interpreted as something between two people. I like Eunuch An's soft hands, I like holding Eunuch An, and the sandalwood scent on Eunuch An is also very pleasant."
She never shies away from using the word "like".
“I also like it when Eunuch An holds my hand, I like it when Eunuch An holds my wrist, I like it when Eunuch An applies less face powder for me, and everything about you when Eunuch An carefully applies pine resin for me.”
"And also, there was that extremely soft and fine stuff that Eunuch An had just given us..."
Zhao Liangxu abruptly stopped, leaving only half a sentence unspoken for the two who both understood to ponder.
"So, does Eunuch An understand? I've made it so clear that I like you, Eunuch An, without the slightest pretense."
She looked at Anhe with a smile, her eyes sparkling. She released his hands, which had been clasped in hers, and rested her hands on her chin, waiting for his answer.
Anhe murmured, feeling dizzy from the incredibly direct and passionate words.
He heard many expressions of affection, and Zhao Liangxu said she liked him, word by word.
Could he really possess so many qualities that could attract Zhao Liangxu?
He should be happy, joyful, and ecstatic to have won Zhao Liangxu's heart.
But... he was a eunuch, a castrated man.
Is he really so lucky to be able to experience the kind of love that people usually praise?
Can he really have the same intimate moments and close relationship as the protagonists in the ancient stories?
No, he can't.
Because he is not the other person in the love story between the two, he is not either of them.
He is not a man; he is a eunuch.
He had never felt so sorrowful and resentful about his identity, not even in those sordid times when he served his master like a dog.
What if he used his identity to take over Zhao Liangxu's persona?
No one dared to say a bad word about him.
He desperately wanted to keep Zhao Liangxu by his side, to make everything she had his.
Zhao Liangxu delivered herself into Anhe's hands.
No matter how respectable and powerful his current status is, he knows that this immense power could be snatched away from him by accident.
If he really loses power, what will Zhao Liangxu suffer because of his selfishness?
Zhao Liangxu eagerly awaited An He's response.
An He opened his mouth and exchanged a glance with Zhao Liangxu. At this moment, he had none of the arrogance and disdain of the Ninth Prince. He concealed his sinister nature and all his dark thoughts, and opened and closed his lips again, managing to squeeze out a few words with difficulty.
"I am not a good man."
He was a powerful eunuch, a high-ranking eunuch whose title was always preceded by the word "power" when he was infamous. Yet, such a prominent man couldn't muster any strength in front of Zhao Liangxu.
Zhao Liangxu's face darkened, and then she heard An He say, "Don't demean yourself..."
He also wanted to say that he would give Zhao Liangxu everything she wanted, just not to force herself to say that she liked him.
Even if he didn't say it that way, he would still spoil Zhao Liangxu...
Before he could finish speaking, a crisp "snap" interrupted everything, silencing all of Anhe's words.
Anhe didn't react at first. He first smelled the medicinal fragrance on Zhao Liangxu's hands, and then felt her soft palms.
When a burning pain started to spread across his face, he suddenly realized what had happened.
He looked at Zhao Liangxu in disbelief.
She hit me?
How dare she hit me?
Anhe was almost enraged by the slap. This was outrageous! Who dared to slap him now?
His shame and indignation were suppressed when he saw Zhao Liangxu's cold expression.
He rarely saw Zhao Liangxu look at him with such an expressionless face. Her usually smiling face had turned cold and indifferent, making him feel a chill in his heart.
Does she hate herself now?
Anhe couldn't help but think.
But when he heard Zhao Liangxu's words, he looked at her in surprise.
She said coldly, "Anhe, I don't care if you're a good man or a bad man, a eunuch or not, you can't refuse me."
What did she say?
Anhe always felt that he was hallucinating because he was too emotional.
Although her tone was cold and assertive, the content of her words was enough to make him lose his composure.
She realized why she had rejected her.
Zhao Liangxu pressed closer to An He, grabbing his collar and saying irritably, "Did you hear me? You can't refuse me, An He."
She was so angry that she stopped calling him Eunuch An and addressed him by his full name for the first time.
She realized that Anhe clearly liked her too, but he always tried to escape or refuse at inappropriate times, just like a cat. If someone pets it comfortably and makes it purr, it immediately realizes that it must remain vigilant and dare not indulge in this comfort.
They'd bite back immediately, yet they stubbornly maintained their cold and distant demeanor.
Faced with such peace and harmony, Zhao Liangxu knew that speaking softly and gently would only make him feel that he shouldn't have these wonderful things, so she had to change her approach.
If the soft approach doesn't work, then the hard approach will.
Zhao Liangxu was also angry, angry that even after she had gone to such lengths, An He still wanted to push her away.
Anhe will have to take this slap well.
The slap mark on her face was still burning, and compared to Zhao Liangxu's slightly cool hand, the pain from that slap was even more pronounced.
He forcefully suppressed his question, even though since he became the Ninth Prince, no one had dared to be so disrespectful to him.
Anhe lowered her voice, probing, "Are you serious?"
She took action not because she disliked him, but because she forcefully wanted him to agree to her request.
"Yes, I'll say it again, I don't care if you're a eunuch or not, why should I bother looking for a good man? And who do you think would be a good man for me?"
"Anhe, you dare to refuse me?"
How tyrannical!
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Author's note: I've had my share of food, so I'm not going to miss out on a slap either. [shrug]
Just bear with it, Eunuch An; you'll have your good days ahead.
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