Chapter 100: Extremely Beautiful, and Then Chewed on by a Dog
Xiao Li thought Lou Yan truly had the most impeccable timing. Her good mood, courtesy of Feng Yin, was tinged with the frustration of a ’look, but don’t touch’ delicacy.
Her interest in Feng Yin might have been three parts fascination, but with Lou Yan’s timely appearance, her emotions shifted, instantly swelling to seven parts.
"Come here."
She didn’t even walk over, just leaned casually against a nearby pillar.
From his seat, Lou Yan’s gaze, cool and complex, fell upon her, making it impossible to read his emotions. Yet, the instant she called out, he rose and walked toward her.
He was half a head taller than Xiao Li, and standing so close in front of her, his presence almost completely enveloped her.
"It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the Princess so elegantly dressed. Purple... suits you very well."
’He often wore purple, a color that, on him, had taken on an air of cold severity and menace. He never knew it could look so soft and alluring.’
Xiao Li hadn’t called him over to hear things like that. She reached up, grabbed his collar, forced him to lower his head, and then tilted her own face up and kissed him.
Lou Yan’s body stiffened for a moment before he suddenly pulled her into an embrace. With one hand around her waist and the other cupping the back of her head, he deepened the kiss with wild abandon.
’Having tasted her once before, and after suffering for days, he would not stop at a simple, fleeting touch like last time.’
’The first taste was addicting. She had become the poison he yearned for in his midnight dreams—a poison he knew he shouldn’t touch, yet one he willingly drowned in.’
The tip of his warm tongue moved with a force that was both invasive and restrained, brazenly plundering her sweet, fragrant taste.
’Only she knew of the wildness and passion hidden beneath his perpetually cold and ruthless facade.’
Only when Xiao Li’s body went uncontrollably soft did Lou Yan give her a chance to breathe. The two of them clung to each other, their breathing ragged.
A stormy frenzy raged within his narrow, dark eyes.
’This can’t go on.’
Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to a flash of crimson.
It was Xiao Li’s arm, draped over his shoulder. Her sleeve had slipped down to reveal a snow-white elbow, and upon that snowy skin, a vermilion dot stood out in stark relief.
’The guardian sand.’
Lou Yan grasped her arm, his kisses falling delicately upon it, unable to let it go.
"That tickles..."
Her voice slightly hoarse, Xiao Li tried to pull her arm back, but to no avail.
Lou Yan held her with a grip that was neither too tight nor too loose, his lips still on her skin. He looked up slightly at Xiao Li. "Princess..."
His voice was low and raspy, seductive to the point of being bewitching.
"What must I do for you to be willing to grant it to me?"
Xiao Li scoffed, chiding him, "Greedy."
She leaned back against the pillar, her waist still in his grasp. His large palm held her securely, and it wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling.
"How old were you when you entered the palace?"
Lou Yan raised an eyebrow, a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Is the Princess trying to get to know me?"
Xiao Li gave him a shove, her gaze dropping. "I’m starting to suspect they didn’t make a clean cut."
It was just a fleeting glance, but it was almost the death of him. His breath caught, and with a sudden pull, he drew her back against him, his fingertips tracing suggestively over her spine.
"So the Princess disdains me for being a eunuch?"
He placed a dangerous kiss on her earlobe, nibbling it with just the right amount of pressure.
"I’ve told you before, I have countless methods to make the Princess unable to resist. Why must you fixate on this?"
’Okay, now she was a little scared of him. With the way he was acting, who was the one unable to stop, really?’
"I’m fine. I’m just afraid that you... the more pent-up you get, the more perverted you’ll become."
’It didn’t matter if Lou Yan was a pervert. But if he became so twisted that he started using his tricks on her, that was a line she wouldn’t let him cross.’
Lou Yan released her slightly, then bent down and swept her up into his arms. He strode over to the chair and set her down on it.
This time, he did nothing more. Instead, he straightened Xiao Li’s clothes, then looked up at her, using the pad of his thumb to wipe away the last smudge of her lip rouge.
Having done this, he seemed to have finally cooled down. He looked at Xiao Li again, his gaze now more measured, yet still intensely aggressive.
"When the Princess started provoking me, did you not know I was no good man? I had assumed you were already aware of that."
’Xiao Li felt a sense of helplessness. This was why little fools like Feng Yin were more fun to play with. You tease him, he blushes. You bully him a little, he cries. It’s all joy, with absolutely no aggression.’
’But someone like Lou Yan, who was already a bit of a pervert to begin with, became a super-pervert when he got excited. He was completely unstoppable.’
Xiao Li kicked him irritably. "You waltz into my Princess Mansion like you own the place. Why are you here today?"
Lou Yan sat back down beside her, his expression stern, but he did not let go of her hand.
"I heard the Princess visited the Wang family today, looking exquisite."
’Was that a hint of jealousy in his tone?’
’Does he even know his own status? Is he in any position to be jealous?’
Xiao Li leaned back lazily against the chair, her eyes languid. She shot him a sidelong glance. "Exquisite, yes. And then I was mauled by a dog."
Being called a dog didn’t make Lou Yan angry. On the contrary, he smiled faintly, looking quite pleased with himself.
"That Wang Shiqi once had a woman he loved dearly, named Jiang Yu’er..."
Before Lou Yan could finish, Xiao Li’s eyes flew open in surprise and sudden realization. "I get it now."
"I knew that servant girl today looked familiar. I can’t believe it was actually Jiang Yu’er."
She couldn’t remember Jiang Yu’er’s face clearly, as she had only seen her twice. But there’s a different feeling you get from someone you’ve met before, especially someone you’ve paid attention to.
"The Princess knows Jiang Yu’er?" Lou Yan asked.
"Not really," Xiao Li said. "I just know she was infatuated with Gu Ling. She was the one who caused that incident during the Mid-Autumn Festival to get revenge for him. She even pushed Liu Xueyin. Afterward, she went into hiding at the Chen Prince Mansion."
"Now that Prince Chen has had his downfall, she’s gone to hide with the Wang family instead. Tsk... she’s quite the cunning one."
’She almost sounds impressed.’
Lou Yan squeezed her knuckles, toying with her hand as if it were a precious treasure. "I presume the Princess now understands why Wang Shiqi has been fawning over you?"
Of course Xiao Li understood. She just found it rather laughable.
"Wang Shiqi likes Jiang Yu’er, and Jiang Yu’er wants to get revenge on me. The two of them are setting a trap for me."
Last time, Jiang Wan’er came to warn her, saying that Jiang Yu’er was a madwoman who would stop at nothing to avenge Gu Ling.
’I thought she’d come after me, but she went for Liu Xueyin first instead.’
’And here I was, thinking she’d only go after Liu Xueyin. Now that Liu Xueyin is missing, she’s turned her attention to me.’
’Wang Shiqi’s affection was so fawning and deliberate, so transparently false, that only he could possibly believe his performance was convincing.’
’I have no idea where he got the confidence to think his feigned devotion could fool me, parading his shabby little tricks in front of me like this.’
’Does he think that because I’m a husband-killing princess with a tarnished reputation, and on my second marriage no less, that I should be grateful for the ’devoted pursuit’ of Mr. Wang? That I should willingly leap into whatever trap he’s set?’
’How noble of him, using my life to win the heart of his dear Jiang Yu’er.’
Xiao Li glanced down at the hand he still refused to release. ’Free labor,’ she thought. ’It would be a waste not to use it.’
"Have someone keep an eye on them. I’m very curious to see what they’ll do next."
Lou Yan stared at her, his gaze slowly traveling down her face before finally settling on her lips.
The lip rouge was gone, but her lips looked all the more tender and flushed.
Xiao Li let out a sudden laugh. The corners of her eyes lifted, her expression turning alluring and seductive, as if reeling him in. Then, her face hardened in an instant, and she kicked out at him.
"Get out!" she said coldly.