Chapter 254: To Suffocate Him, and to Grant Him Life
Xiao Li enjoyed being the Hunter.
Lou Yan was her prize, to be admired and sculpted.
She watched him suffer, delight, and squirm. She would suffocate him, only to grant him life again.
His voice was a hoarse, broken cry. "Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."
Lou Yan’s frame was larger than Xiao Li’s, and his martial arts skills were superior, yet at this moment, he was utterly powerless to resist. Even as he neared the brink of collapse from the overwhelming sensations, he didn’t dare, couldn’t bear, to fight back.
He could only clutch the hem of her robes, his entire body pressing against hers.
Like a viper transformed into a seductive demon, he clung to her, begging, "Your Majesty, I’m begging you..."
He seized her hand, lacing their fingers together, and tremblingly lowered his head to kiss the cinnabar mark on her arm.
"Your Majesty..."
His narrow eyes burned with desire, greed, and soaring ambition.
His greatest desire had always been to pluck this Emperor Flower with his own hands.
Xiao Li lowered her head and bit down on Lou Yan’s shoulder. Blood blossomed in the water. In the next instant, the brilliant red mark on her arm was gone, its color now burning in his eyes.
Having him completely in her grasp, Xiao Li lifted her eyes slightly, a soul-stealing smile on her lips. "Didn’t you say you’d learned all sorts of ways to serve me? Show me."
Lou Yan’s already dazed eyes instantly plunged into a deeper abyss.
He slowly rose, encircling Xiao Li in his arms, and lowered his head for a soft kiss.
"As Your Majesty commands..." he rasped, his voice deep, sensual, and utterly bewitching. "This servant will naturally give it his all."
In the hot spring, steam swirled and the water trembled.
There were long, melodious moans that stirred the spring waters of March; there were the low growls of a beast that shook the blossoms from the trees.
A soft blanket was spread on the bank, where Xiao Li lay languidly, clad only in a light undergarment.
Lou Yan was like a busy little bee, serving her tea and water, drying her hair, rubbing her shoulders, massaging her waist, and kneading her legs.
It turned out that even for a Martial Artist, certain physical discomforts were unavoidable.
It wasn’t that a woman’s body was weak, but rather a matter of who her opponent was.
A man who’d been a eunuch for over twenty years, finally unleashed... he had the inexhaustible stamina of an ox.
Xiao Li was currently in a state of post-coital clarity, wanting only to lie still without moving a muscle.
Meanwhile, a certain someone, having had his desires fulfilled and his fill of the feast, was being exceptionally fawning and attentive.
He was beaming, the corners of his mouth, which had once seemed incapable of a smile, were now split into a grin he couldn’t contain.
Xiao Li couldn’t stand his smug look and couldn’t resist slapping him.
"SLAP!"
The slap landed on his shoulder. It was loud, but not forceful, and didn’t hurt.
Lou Yan caught her hand and immediately lowered his head to kiss it, his smiling eyes reflecting only the image of Xiao Li. "Your Majesty should rest well. This servant’s endurance is not up to being tested again."
Before he’d had a real taste, he could still hold back. But now he was a wolf who had just had his first kill. Having savored the marrow, he had no self-control left.
Annoyed, Xiao Li kicked at him, but he caught her leg too, and a torrent of brazen kisses fell upon it.
Xiao Li truly had to hand it to him.
He was determined to become a treacherous official, a bewitching concubine. His goal was to beguile the Empress until she abandoned her morning court, utterly enthralled by him.
Unfortunately for him, Xiao Li was a ruler who didn’t hold morning court to begin with, and her will was resolute, not easily swayed.
Even though Lou Yan deliberately dragged things out until nightfall, he still couldn’t convince Xiao Li to stay the night.
’Stay the night? Heh. Do I have a death wish?’
At the door, Rong Qing had long since prepared the carriage, ready to personally guard the Empress on her return to the palace.
The Empress, who just moments before had been lounging lazily inside, shed her languor the instant she prepared to leave. The august bearing of the Empress emerged.
She brushed aside Lou Yan’s proffered hand and walked out on her own, without a trace of fragility.
She was no delicate flower, nor was she weak enough to need a man’s protection.
Lou Yan was once again reminded of what she had said to Wang Yizhu: "They cannot control your life, nor can they dim your light. You are the most dazzling... Your Majesty, the Empress."
’The Empress is as ruthless and charming as ever,’ he thought.
Hong Yue and Lan Yue attended to Xiao Li personally. They could detect the slightest change in her, let alone the vanished guardian sand and the amorous marks all over her body.
’The bad news: That bastard Lou Yan is a fake eunuch! He’s robbed the house blind!’
𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
’The good news: Her Majesty’s attitude has barely changed. She still dotes on us the most.’
When they came out, their bellies full of dissatisfaction with Lou Yan... huh, where did he go?
「Song Mansion」
Song Junzhan was the Prime Minister, and Xiao Li had bestowed a grand mansion upon him. However, he was always so busy he barely touched the ground, and he had no love for extravagance, so the residence was quite cold and cheerless.
He hadn’t found it particularly lonely before, but the thought of the Empress being awake while he couldn’t be by her side suddenly made every corner of the estate feel desolate.
Suddenly, his gaze fell upon a massive Peony bush in the center of the garden.
This Peony, named Wei Zi, was an exceptional specimen meticulously cared for by the previous owner. It wasn’t that its color was unavailable on the market, but that none could match its immense size.
The entire plant was now lush and green, its buds waiting to bloom. It looked like it would begin to blossom in less than half a month. Just imagining it, he knew it would add unparalleled splendor to his home.
’When the time comes... could I perhaps invite the Empress to my home for tea and to admire the flowers?’
It was a truly brilliant idea.
Song Junzhan’s eyes lit up. He immediately gave orders to have a new set of teacups fired and to have the flower-viewing spot elegantly arranged.
Just as he was busy with preparations, a gatekeeper came to report that Mr. Lou had arrived.
For Lou Yan to visit at this hour, Song Junzhan assumed the Empress had sent him with an order. He quickly had him shown in, only to see Lou Yan dressed in casual clothes and empty-handed.
"Mr. Lou, you’ve come. Does Her Majesty have an imperial decree?"
Lou Yan narrowed his eyes. "If I don’t have a decree from Her Majesty, can’t I ask the Prime Minister for a cup of tea?"
Song Junzhan gave him a strange look. Lou Yan, showing up late at night just to ask for tea? It was too bizarre. But a guest was at the door, and there was no reason to turn him away.
"If Mr. Lou is willing to grace my home with a visit, this official is, of course, most welcoming."
Song Junzhan had tea prepared, and the two men sat opposite each other.
Song Junzhan couldn’t fathom Lou Yan’s intentions for a moment, so he simply treated him as an ordinary guest.
When Lou Yan reached out, revealing what looked like scratch marks on his arm, Song Junzhan even asked, "Mr. Lou, why haven’t you treated those wounds?"
Lou Yan gave a mysterious smile. "These wounds can’t be treated. They’re a badge of honor."
’A badge of honor?’
Song Junzhan was completely baffled, but he knew better than to press the issue.
A moment later, Lou Yan stood up. "Thank you for the tea, Lord Prime Minister. I will take my leave."
Even long after Lou Yan had left, Song Junzhan couldn’t understand why he had come tonight.
He’d come and gone in a rush, leaving after just a moment, as if he had simply stopped by for a cup of tea.
But he had no friendship with Lou Yan—one could even call them ’enemies’. Why would he make a special trip to drink a cup of tea today of all days?
This question plagued Song Junzhan, and he was still mulling it over as he fell asleep.
"CRACK!"
A clap of thunder jolted Song Junzhan awake. His cool eyes stared at the lightning flashing outside his window, and suddenly, he understood.
’Your Majesty...’