Judging by the sounds, the banquet outside hadn’t ended, yet Yin Gezhi had come over midway through. Feng Yue felt uneasy.
With a wave of his hand dismissing Guanzhi to attend the banquet, Yin Gezhi waited until the woodshed door closed and darkness enveloped them before calmly asking, “How did you find your way here?”
Feng Yue gave a forced laugh, trying to stick to her earlier explanation: “I was just passing by to watch the excitement…”
The black pupils gleaming in the darkness startled her into silence. Such a flawed lie might work on Guanzhi, but it was pointless before this formidable figure.
Taking a deep breath, Feng Yue gritted her teeth.
Since deception wouldn’t work, she’d have to act!
“At this point, there’s no use hiding anymore.” With a long sigh, her tone suddenly became sincere. Feng Yue looked up at the person before her, her eyes glistening with tears. “This humble one has long known you are the Crown Prince of Wei, so naturally I knew you resided at the envoy’s mansion. Today, with no nobles visiting Menghui Tower, I recalled our conversation from the other day and came to look.”
Known all along? Yin Gezhi let out a cold laugh, reaching out to grip her chin with unrestrained force, making her face pale.
“How did you know I was the Prince of Wei?”
Sucking in a painful breath, Feng Yue hurriedly explained, “Please let me explain! When I was young in Wei, didn’t you often travel from the palace’s North Declaration Gate to the northern training grounds? My home was along that road, so I saw you many times! You always wore silver armor with your black hair tied high, looking so magnificent!”
His grip loosened slightly as Yin Gezhi pressed his lips together. “Such a coincidence?”
“Not coincidence.” Feng Yue gazed at him with deep affection. “Every dusk, I would wait at my doorstep to watch you pass by. There were too many people around, so you couldn’t possibly have noticed me.”
“I’ve been concerned about your situation since you arrived in Wu, so of course I knew you were at the envoy’s mansion. Coming to find you today was naturally easy.”
Releasing her chin, Yin Gezhi knelt beside her and moved his hand down to grip her throat. “If you knew who I was all along, why didn’t you say so?”
Unable to catch her breath, Feng Yue struggled violently. “You… can’t expect me to answer… while choking me!”
The pressure lessened, though his hand remained at her throat. Yin Gezhi grew impatient. “Speak quickly!”
“Though I knew early on, I never expected our meeting to be so unpleasant, so I didn’t dare say anything.” Coughing twice, Feng Yue lowered her eyes. “You are an exalted prince, while I am just a lowly courtesan. How could I have the courage to tell you I’ve always admired you?”
“Admired me?” His eyes flickered as he drew closer, their breaths mingling in the darkness.
“If you admired me, then why did you try to entice the Crown Prince of Wu that day when you hung your placard at Menghui Tower?”
Swallowing hard, Feng Yue clenched her fists, barely maintaining her smile. “That’s because, although I admired Your Highness, I didn’t dare approach you. With so many noble guests present, I just wanted to choose someone at random. Who knew fate would play such tricks, and I would still end up in Your Highness’s embrace.”
Admired yet didn’t dare approach? Yin Gezhi scoffed. “Keep making up stories.”
She couldn’t fabricate anymore! Feng Yue bit her lip, feeling his warm breath close by. In desperation, she lifted herself and kissed his lips.
Yin Gezhi’s lips were cool, like the man himself. Only after her lips had brushed against his for a while did they gain some warmth.
“Your Highness doesn’t believe me, and I don’t know what else to do. I truly loved Your Highness, but you were surrounded by beauties, so I didn’t dare presume.” Between kisses, Feng Yue didn’t dare venture past this demon king’s teeth, only brushing against them as she murmured, “But now that heaven has given me this chance, I want to stay by Your Highness’s side, never leaving, for all my life.”
Though he knew her words were false and she was suspicious, hearing these words made Yin Gezhi’s heart inexplicably warm.
The woodshed fell silent for a long while.
“You claim not to dare presume, yet you’re hardly behaving properly,” Yin Gezhi finally spoke softly. The murderous intent in his eyes had diminished as he caught her leg trying to wrap around his waist, letting out a cold snort.
She had escaped disaster.
Sweat beaded on Feng Yue’s forehead from extreme nervousness. Her fox-like eyes blinked in the darkness, and once certain he no longer wanted to kill her, she deliberately clung to him more tightly.
A woodshed wasn’t an ideal location—at least for Guanzhi, washing the white robes would be extremely troublesome. But Yin Gezhi hadn’t considered this, removing his outer robe to place behind her before subjecting the injured woman to merciless torment.
Crying out in pain, Feng Yue blushed angrily. “Has Your Highness not had any night visitors since coming to Wu?”
How long had he been holding back?
A cold snort served as his answer as Yin Gezhi took her hand, interlocking their fingers as she had done before, then paused.
Why did holding her hand this way give him such a sense of security?
Their bodies entwined in the darkness like two intertwined snakes. Perhaps because of the provocative location, Feng Yue couldn’t help but cry out.
The man above her paused briefly, reaching out to caress her face. “Make that sound again.”
Blushing to her neck, Feng Yue turned her head away, clenching her teeth tightly.
Yin Gezhi found himself strangely concerned, his fingers trailing over her lips as his movements grew more intense. However, until the end, Feng Yue didn’t make another sound.
After dealing with the officials and seeing them off, Guanzhi returned to check on the woodshed.
Why hadn’t the master returned to the hall?
The woodshed door was wide open, and no one inside, though some red gauze hung on the woodpile looked familiar. The air carried an intimate scent, and Guanzhi understood after a moment’s thought, considerately going to the kitchen to heat some water.
The main chamber was brightly lit. Feng Yue, pressed against the headboard, looked at him pitifully. “It’s so bright, couldn’t we extinguish the lights?”
Ignoring her request, Yin Gezhi pulled off his belt and secured her injured hands to the headboard.
“You know about my night visitors.” This was a statement, not a question.
“Of course I do.” Feng Yue smiled seductively. “Back then, countless girls in Lizhou admired Your Highness and willingly offered themselves, but you declined them all until the Third Minister’s concubine-born daughter killed herself in shame. After that, Your Highness opened the eastern palace side gate, accepting any woman who came.”
“Your Highness was quite kind.”
Kind? Yin Gezhi laughed coldly. Back then, when Third Minister Yang Yi’s daughter died, that old fox had submitted a memorial listing ten crimes against him and made numerous protests. To pacify the situation, his royal father had made him open the eastern palace side gate. These ignorant women thought he was kind and merciful.
Parents raised their daughters for so many years, yet they would casually offer themselves to a man they’d never met, even taking their own lives. Such women—the fewer the better! If not for his father’s pressure, he would have shown them what hell was like, so they wouldn’t mistake him for some gentleman of their dreams.
“Did you also enter the eastern palace?” Coming back to his senses, he asked the person beneath him.
Feng Yue smiled and shook her head. “How could I? I was just a commoner, how could I enter the palace? I only heard from others that Your Highness disliked lights, so I always remembered to suggest extinguishing them.”
The first time she had served him, the lights had been out too. He had thought they shared the same habit, but it turned out she had known beforehand.
With a light snort, Yin Gezhi bit down on her neck.
It was a troubling situation. Whether due to his long abstinence from women or some other reason, the body beneath him was truly addictive. After just a few days apart, he had missed this taste so much.
This wasn’t good.
But even if it wasn’t good, that was tomorrow’s concern. He had never rejected meat that delivered itself to his door.
Their passionate embrace continued, the lights still burning, and Feng Yue rarely got to see Yin Gezhi’s face for an entire night. Only when exhaustion set in did she slowly drift off to sleep in his embrace?
…
“Your voice is strange,” he whispered in the darkness by her ear. “What are you hiding?”
“Mm… everyone knows offering oneself is degrading. I speak this way only because I don’t want Your Highness to recognize and despise me later.”
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “Everyone who comes here wants to marry me. You don’t?”
“I do, but I know it’s impossible, so I don’t covet it.”
The peculiar voice, as if speaking through a pinched nose—Yin Gezhi walked through the dream, listening to these words with a bewildered expression.
“Your Highness!” The strange voice disappeared, but a red fox came running from afar, blinking its eyes and asking, “Don’t you find me beautiful?”
No matter how beautiful, it was still a beast. Yin Gezhi frowned, but before he could wonder why the fox could speak like a human, someone shook him awake.
“Your Highness, breakfast is ready!” Still the fox’s voice.
Opening his eyes, Yin Gezhi sat up abruptly and saw Feng Yue.
She wore only an inner dress with a wrapped bodice, her delicate collarbone exposed and marked with numerous traces.
“Where are your clothes?” He frowned.
The mention made Feng Yue pout. “You tore them yesterday, and I didn’t bring any spare clothes.”
“…” Rubbing his brow, Yin Gezhi pressed his lips together.
He had been a bit excessive.
“Let’s have breakfast first!” Pointing to the food on the table, Feng Yue smiled sweetly, seeking praise. “Guanzhi said his cooking wasn’t good, so I taught him how to cook. Try it and see if it tastes better!”
Did she teach Guanzhi? Looking her up and down, Yin Gezhi’s face darkened. “Even if you are a courtesan, you should have some self-respect. Dressed like this to teach my attendant?”
Her eager, hopeful face hadn’t expected to hit such an ice wall, frozen speechless. Feng Yue lowered her head, tugging at her dress, shrugged, and turned to leave.
“Stop!” Yin Gezhi commanded sharply. “Where are you going?”
“To find clothes, where else?” Standing at the door without turning back, Feng Yue said, “Don’t worry, I’m not yours, I won’t shame Your Highness!”