The Emperor most enjoyed seeing her standing beneath the red plum tree, saying that she resembled a delicate red plum blossom in such moments. Today, her elaborate attire and deliberate attempt to please the Emperor were not without reason.

The Empress Dowager’s words had touched a deep chord within her. Fu Yun Xi’s overwhelming influence over the court would not easily subside, and in this world, only the Emperor could restrain him. The Emperor habitually showed her great favor and had previously implied that Zhuang Han Yan was unworthy of Fu Yun Xi. Since he held little regard for this Duchess of Xuan Qing, matters should prove considerably simpler.

Outside, dusk was settling in, with palace lanterns casting their glow to one side. As Imperial Consort Chen stood there, she suddenly felt a strange sensation within her body. Her entire being grew restless, her body gradually warming, as an irrepressible desire rose from deep within. Being no innocent maiden, she naturally recognized these symptoms – they were signs of arousal. This unprovoked arousal… Recalling the Yan Hua Mei she had specially prepared for Han Yan earlier, her mind suddenly buzzed with realization – she had been poisoned with an aphrodisiac.

Grasping the red plum tree trunk for support, she bent over in unbearable discomfort. Her mind still retained some clarity as she clutched her chest and recalled the day’s events. Strange, wasn’t it? She hadn’t left her palace chambers since returning from the Empress Dowager’s quarters, and the Empress Dowager would never poison her. Imperial Consort Chen was no fool – being afflicted with an aphrodisiac the day after Zhuang Han Ming’s incident was Fu Yun Xi’s doing, turning her scheme against her. How dare he! He must have bribed someone in her household. A chill ran through Imperial Consort Chen’s heart – his influence reaching even into the imperial harem demonstrated terrifying power indeed.

“Chu Chun,” she called through gritted teeth to her maid, feeling the aphrodisiac’s extraordinary potency. In mere moments, her entire body was drenched in sweat, involuntary moans escaping her lips.

A hand steadied her.

Imperial Consort Chen’s head spun as she softly leaned against what she thought was Chu Chun, but immediately sensed something amiss – the body supporting her was hard as iron. Her heart jumped as she saw the dark, large hand gripping her jade-like arm – unmistakably a man’s hand.

She cried out in alarm, trying to push away from the person behind her with what little clarity remained in her mind. However, finding herself completely powerless, she collapsed back into the stranger’s full embrace. The unfamiliar man whispered concernedly in her ear: “Your Grace?”

Imperial Consort Chen felt his scorching breath against her ear, making her entire body tremble. Though her mind screamed to push him away, her body refused to obey, instead filling with endless desire for the male form before her. With a soft moan, one hand helplessly reached up to cling to him.

The man hadn’t expected this reaction, exclaiming in panic: “Your Grace, this is improper!”

The moment Imperial Consort Chen pressed against his body, she felt an overwhelming sense of comfort, the pent-up sensations nearly driving her to the explosion. Her mind now clouded, conscious only of desire, she coyly called out, “Dear brother, don’t let me suffer so.”

Though the man kept protesting “Your Grace, we cannot,” while attempting to push her away, his fingers ghosted across Imperial Consort Chen’s body, the sensation like a feather teasing through clothing. Already at her limit, Imperial Consort Chen found this seemingly provocative action instantly igniting. Throwing all caution aside, like a beast in heat, she pressed her small mouth toward the man’s face.

The man finally succumbed, seemingly unable to resist such an alluring beauty throwing herself at him, and exclaimed: “Forgive me, Your Grace!” He pulled her tightly into his embrace as they fell together into passionate kisses.

As their fervent embrace reached its height, an angry voice suddenly thundered: “What a fine pair of adulterers!”

The man kissing Imperial Consort Chen immediately pushed her away upon hearing the voice. Upon seeing the newcomer’s face, he lost all color and dropped to his knees, kowtowing: “Your Majesty, spare me!”

Unfortunately, Imperial Consort Chen, consumed by desire and entirely senseless, remained oblivious to any mention of the Emperor. Seeing her passionate partner pull away, she immediately moaned and pulled him close again, cooing coquettishly: “Dearest brother, what Emperor? You are my Emperor.”

The attending eunuch blanched – the Emperor’s most favored consort caught in such scandal with some unknown man. Surely the position of Imperial Consort was forfeit now; the palace would surely see upheaval.

The Emperor exploded in fury, striding forward in quick steps. Seeing Imperial Consort Chen disheveled, her hair in disarray, eyes dripping with allure and full of wanton expression, still shamelessly clinging to that common man, his rage became uncontrollable. With a resounding “crack,” he delivered a vicious slap: “Bind this harlot and throw her in the dungeon!” Then, casting a dark glare at the cowering man, he ordered: “Take him out and execute him!”

“Mercy, Your Majesty, mercy!” the man wailed. “This lowly one is innocent! The Consort seduced me, I was momentarily confused. Please show mercy, Your Majesty!” He kept kowtowing, but the Emperor had no intention of sparing him. Several guards dragged him from the chambers. Imperial Consort Chen, still unconscious of reality, entangled herself with the guard trying to remove her, who awkwardly dragged her out.

The attending eunuch, watching the Emperor’s explosive rage, dared not even breathe. To cuckold the Emperor so brazenly in broad daylight – this Imperial Consort Chen truly must have tired of living. Now that the Emperor had thrown her in prison, any chance of returning to favor was impossible. Indeed, no matter how beautiful or talented, a woman tainted by another man had crossed the Emperor’s bottom line and could not be kept. Only poor Seventh Prince – the eunuch respectfully lowered his head while contemplating how the Seventh Prince’s rising status in the Emperor’s eyes, nearly surpassing the Crown Prince, would surely be affected by Imperial Consort Chen’s downfall.

The Emperor coldly surveyed the courtyard and commanded: “Arrest everyone in these chambers!” Then he stormed away.

Imperial wrath was no small matter. Had the Emperor been more clearheaded, he might have noticed the suspicious circumstances – why would Imperial Consort Chen choose such a time for a tryst? Even for an affair, surely secrecy would be paramount. Why was such a large courtyard empty of Imperial Consort Chen’s maids? How had that man entered the palace? But the Emperor could not think clearly. Understandably so – though he was an emperor, he was first and foremost a man. Even for common men, discovering one’s wife with another man was utterly humiliating, inviting mockery if discovered. Such adulteresses who failed to maintain their virtue might face drowning in pig cages or branding punishment, where red-hot iron tongs would brand the character for “lust” upon their faces.