The Empress had felt a flicker of unease at first, but reconsidering, she realized there were only the two of them — herself and A’Jiu — in this side chamber.

With that thought, excitement surged through her at once, so intensely that her whole body nearly began to tremble.

“A’Jiu, you — you…” Her breathing grew more and more disordered, her face flushed a deep crimson. Something was clearly wrong.

Of course something was wrong. The tea had been laced with medicine — A’Jiu had already said so. He never joked.

The tea truly had been drugged. Only it was… that kind of drug.

The Empress shot to her feet, her eyes brightening: “A’Jiu, if you wanted this, you only needed to tell me — why go through all this… all this trouble!”

Her face was flushed a vivid, startling red — partly from the effects of the drug, and partly from shyness.

At her age, to still feel shy — and only in front of A’Jiu.

She had always known that only A’Jiu could restore in her the feelings of a young girl, that only A’Jiu could set her heart fluttering and stirring with such excitement.

“A’Jiu!” The Empress truly could restrain herself no longer. With a light tap of her foot, she had already crossed the room to stand before Zhan Qingcheng.

She spread open her arms, every last shred of restraint cast aside, and flung herself forward at him.

But just as the Empress’s fingertips were nearly within reach of Zhan Qingcheng, the beautiful man who had been sitting motionlessly in the chair this entire time vanished in the blink of an eye.

He was now standing by the door, his back to the wind. That door — who knew when it had been left open — had not been closed at all.

No — it seemed it had been open from the very beginning. A’Jiu really, only now remembering to close the door!

“A’Jiu, don’t — don’t torment me any further. I can barely hold on. Come here quickly.”

“A’Jiu…”

“Do you know where this medicine came from?” Zhan Qingcheng still stood by the door, his eyes as he looked at her carrying not the slightest trace of feeling.

“Of course… you placed it in my cup yourself.” What a shameless question, when he already knew the answer.

She had never known, all this time, that her A’Jiu could be so playful.

“A’Jiu, quickly close the door, come here — I truly can’t…” The Empress exhaled a low, breathless gasp, her footsteps unsteady. “I can’t hold on anymore.”

Her hands went to the front of her robes, waiting only for him to close the door.

“A’Jiu…”

“This is the aphrodisiac you prepared for Jiu’er.” Zhan Qingcheng’s clear, elegant eyes were as still and cool as cold water — that waveless, expressionless gaze made the Empress begin to feel a slowly creeping unease.

“A’Jiu, those words… what do you mean?” Her breathing was labored, her palms clenched tightly together, her face and forehead drenched in hot perspiration.

Though the aphrodisiac had clouded her mind for a moment, the instant he brought up Feng Jiu’er, her reason began to return. “A’Jiu, is it possible that you invited me here tonight for no other reason than to avenge Feng Jiu’er?”