Following her master’s teachings, Jiang Taohua employed all her skills—entangling, seducing, and bewitching. However, inexplicably, the man above her not only remained unmoved but sought to control her, making her follow his pace.
This was infuriating. Was there a man who could maintain his composure in bed? Did this mean her techniques were inadequate?
Angrily puffing her cheeks, Taohua wrapped her arms around the man’s neck, tilting her head to kiss him.
The man stiffened, turning his face away. He said with evident disgust, “Don’t even think about it.”
“…”
Kissing was also a first for her; it wasn’t something she’d do with just anyone. What did his attitude mean?
Her rebellious nature fully aroused, Taohua flipped their positions, pinning the man beneath her. The moonlight streaming through the window accentuated her alluring figure.
The room fell silent for a moment.
“Do you like what you see?” Taohua asked with half-lidded eyes and a seductive smile. “Since you want me to serve you, why not enjoy it fully? Why maintain your composure?”
The man beneath her gazed at her coldly, his hand gripping her slender waist. He said in a low voice, “With your skills if I lost my composure, I’d be handing over my life to you.”
He wasn’t a fool.
Taohua paused, then laughed, “You think a mere kiss would steal your soul?”
“No,” he shook his head.
“Then why avoid it?”
“Dirty.”
That simple, clear word shook Taohua to her core. She stared at him in disbelief, eyes wide.
Did he call her dirty? Yet he willingly entered this room? Was something wrong with his mind?
A fire of anger, more intense than desire, rose in her chest. Without thinking, Taohua headbutted the man beneath her with all her might!
“Ah!”
The impulsive action resulted in mutual injury, with both sporting rising bumps on their foreheads. Unsatisfied, Taohua prepared to strike again, but the man forcefully pulled her down, pinning her to the bed and beginning to ravish her mercilessly.
“It hurts, it hurts!”
“Oh, so you can feel pain?” He snorted coldly, narrowing his eyes. He parted her legs with his own and, without warning, forcefully entered her.
“Ah!” This time it was Taohua who cried out in agony. Her face instantly paled, her body trembling violently, her nails digging into his flesh.
“…” The man above her inhaled sharply as if realizing something. He froze, then fell silent.
Taohua was in excruciating pain. In a fit of anger, she used all her strength to raise her head and, catching the man off guard, bit his lip hard!
A muffled groan escaped him. It seemed he was truly angered now, his body radiating an aura of aggression and fury. Showing no tenderness, his movements became even more brutal and direct.
“No…” Tears streamed down her face. Taohua felt utterly miserable. She had always heard that men turned to putty in her hands, but this creature before her was far from gentle. He was behaving like a beast!
She vowed that when she woke up tomorrow and saw his face clearly, she would have him cut into pieces—dismembered!
The red quilt tossed and turned as sounds of passion, initially intermittent, soon became continuous. Outside, the moon was rising, and distant wolf howls could still be faintly heard.
At 7:40 PM, someone approached the room door and knocked gently three times. The man on the bed sighed softly and was about to get up when he was pulled back by a pair of arms around his waist.
Outside, Zhan Lu frowned, checked the time, and called out with some concern, “Master?”
“…Mm.” The response from inside was hoarse and deep. Without further explanation, it seemed another round of lovemaking had begun, the sounds making that outside blush.
Wiping his face, Zhan Lu coughed lightly and turned to the servant with a serious expression. “Delay Prince Jing for a while longer.”
“Yes!” The servant hurried off.
Getting a woman into bed might be a man’s skill, but keeping a man in bed was a woman’s art. Ignoring her pain, Taohua used every trick she knew to combat the man’s self-control.
After their earlier encounter, the aphrodisiac in her system had dissipated. However, having already lost her virtue, she saw no reason to let him leave easily.
She clung and teased, trying to glimpse his face, but he pinned her hands above her head with one hand and covered her eyes with the other.
“Are you hiding from something?” Taohua asked, slightly annoyed.
“When it’s time to meet properly, we will,” he chuckled. “It would be too impolite like this.”
Taohua was speechless.
They had already been intimate… no, they had already consummated their relationship. What was the point of worrying about politeness now? This man truly seemed to have mental issues.
As she struggled, the man lowered his head to her ear, his breath slightly labored, and said, “Stop trying to beat me. You can’t.”
Taohua frowned, but before she could ponder his words, she was once again swept up in passion, losing all chance to speak.
At 9:40 PM, there was another knock at the door. The man inside rose, methodically dressing himself. He glanced at the bed once before leaving.
Taohua was too exhausted to keep her eyes open or try to detain him further. In her hazy state, she heard a commotion outside, with someone shouting about a grave mistake, but after a few moments, silence returned.
Rolling over, she decided to worry about it later. Since things had already gone awry, she might as well get some good sleep first.
One of Taohua’s strengths was her ability to sleep through anything once asleep, allowing her to rest well in any situation. The downside, of course, was that she wouldn’t notice being moved while sleeping.
For instance, she was now carried out of Hefeng House amidst much noise, yet she merely smacked her lips and continued sleeping soundly for four hours before opening her eyes.
“Your Highness!” A large group of people knelt by the bed. As soon as she opened her eyes, Qing Tai, leading the group, began kowtowing repeatedly.
Rubbing her eyes, Taohua looked at them in confusion for a while. “What’s wrong with you all?”
Qing Tai, her eyes unusually red, bit her lip and said, “We failed to protect you properly. Please punish us, Your Highness!”
Failed to protect? Taohua slowly sat up, wincing at the pain below. The events of the previous night came flooding back.
She had lost her virginity in a brothel!
Her face paled, and she trembled. Frowning, she asked Qing Tai, “Why didn’t you come to find me yesterday?”
Qing Tai gritted her teeth. “After driving away the wolves, we searched for you everywhere, but couldn’t find you…”
“How is that possible?” Taohua said. “Didn’t I leave markers along the way?”
They had agreed beforehand that if she needed to escape, she would scatter small, colorful stones along her path—inconspicuous yet clear indicators of her direction.
“We followed the markers,” Qing Tai explained. “But they ended in an alley. After that, there were no more clues. We searched every household near that alley, but couldn’t…”
Alley? Taohua raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t entered any alley yesterday, nor had she thrown any stones into one. How did the trail lead there?
It seemed suspicious…
Looking around, Taohua realized she was in an unfamiliar place. It was opulent, with valuable paintings and jade ornaments casually placed about. The tables, chairs, and flower stands were all made of fine redwood, exuding an air of wealth.
“Where is this?” she asked.
Qing Tai lowered her head. “The Chancellor’s mansion.”
“Oh, the Chancellor’s mansion.” Taohua nodded.
“Wait.” Realizing something was amiss, she grabbed Qing Tai and pulled her close, eyes wide. “The Chancellor’s mansion?”
Qing Tai nodded gravely.
“Why the Chancellor’s mansion?” Setting aside what happened yesterday, she was a princess from Zhao sent for a political marriage to the Prince Nan. Even if the marriage fell through, shouldn’t she be in a guesthouse? How did she end up at the Chancellor’s residence?
Sighing deeply, Qing Tai said, “This servant doesn’t know what happened in between, but you were found by the Chancellor last night. He said that… you had already consummated the marriage. Because of this, Chancellor Shen and Prince Jing, along with the Prince Nan, went to the palace late last night and haven’t returned yet.”
“What?” Taohua was dumbfounded. The man from the brothel last night was the Chancellor of Great Wei.
What was going on? Why would the esteemed Chancellor visit a brothel, and of all things, consummate with her?
“Although I’m new here and don’t fully understand the situation, something seems off,” she said, narrowing her eyes and rubbing her chin. “What kind of person is this Chancellor?”
(End of Chapter)