“This Prince merely wished to let the Empress have a taste of her own medicine.”

With those words cast behind him, Zhan Qingcheng turned and made to leave.

The Empress chased after him, speaking urgently: “A’Jiu, I am now…”

She gasped a breath, unwilling for anyone nearby to overhear their exchange, and so lowered her voice.

“My body is in such a state right now… such a wretched state. A’Jiu, would you truly abandon me like this?”

“Are you truly willing to watch me be treated that way by another man — by some other man?”

Zhan Qingcheng finally turned and cast her a glance, though that glance carried several traces of indifference.

“Has the Empress not been treated in such a manner by the Imperial Elder Brother for years? If not, how did the Crown Prince come into existence?”

How did the Crown Prince come into existence… All of a sudden, the cold and aloof Ninth Prince fell into quiet contemplation.

After a man and a woman shared intimacy, a child would follow — so it seemed with every couple.

In that case, perhaps that little girl’s belly could also carry a child.

If that were to happen… A faint, peculiar flush crept across his handsome and distinguished face. The Empress, utterly astonished, noticed that a flickering light had appeared deep within his eyes.

The Empress recognized that light all too well. It was unmistakably the obsession a man feels for a woman.

He wanted to possess her…

No longer caring about the open door, she rushed toward him: “A’Jiu, I will give you everything — whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. A’Jiu…”

“I have no interest in you.” The man’s voice was ice-cold, cutting to the bone.

At last, the Empress understood. The possessive desire burning deep in his eyes was not directed at her.

But if not her, then who?

This time, she forcibly channeled her inner energy to push down some of that reckless, scorching heat.

Gazing at Zhan Qingcheng’s incomparably handsome face, she said breathlessly: “A’Jiu, my Nanmeng clan holds control over nearly twenty percent of Bei Mu’s military forces. A’Jiu, if you and I were together, we could command the entire nation of Bei Mu.”

“Could you not do the same alongside the Imperial Elder Brother?”

“A’Jiu…” She truly could hold on no longer. Everything before her was growing blurry. She shook her head.

But in an instant — where had that figure gone from her sight? Why had he vanished without a trace?

“A’Jiu!” He had left! How could he simply walk away like that!

He had left — what was she to do?

Could it be that he truly had no desire for her Nanmeng clan’s military power? That old Emperor — for the sake of the military power she held — had not dared show her even a moment of displeasure for so many years.

But A’Jiu — why are you so unlike all others?

And yet it was precisely that difference that made her unable to stop, made her want to consume him entirely, an obsession that had nearly driven her mad!

Yu Jingfeng had a carriage sent over and said to the dazed Empress in a composed tone: “Your Highness, your carriage has arrived. Please.”

Please? A’Jiu had not even come back yet. The aphrodisiac still hadn’t worn off. What did he mean, “please”?

But Yu Jingfeng paid her no heed and simply maintained the posture of inviting her to board the carriage.

In any case, the carriage was one she had brought herself — whether she boarded it or not was her own affair.

“Your Highness, this subordinate has matters to attend to. This subordinate takes his leave!” Yu Jingfeng inclined toward her slightly, then turned and walked away.

Looking at this old woman’s flushed face, those eyes crimson as blood — she was the very image of a female demon.

If he didn’t leave now, what if she, in her desperation, came after him?

Though using such a drug on a woman did seem rather cruel — but one had to consider where that drug had come from. Those who intended harm against Miss Jiu’er all deserved this fate. This time, the Empress had better learn her lesson!