Cui Huaiyin pressed her lips together, staring fixedly at Dantai Ji’s feet.
Dantai Ji naturally noticed. Following her gaze, he looked down and, upon seeing the exquisite embroidered shoe beneath his foot, abruptly stepped back. He staggered and nearly fell.
Once he had steadied himself, he saw that the shoe—half-covered in dust—had been crushed halfway flat. It lay there all alone, looking hideous beside its untouched twin.
Regret flashed across Dantai Ji’s face. Only after a long moment did he say, “Tomorrow, I will compensate you.”
Cui Huaiyin had truly not expected that—and truly could not hold back. Watching His Majesty’s awkward expression, she let out a soft laugh, then hurriedly covered her lips, afraid he might notice.
But Dantai Ji had already heard her laugh. He stared blankly at the woman across from him, the corners of her eyes still curved with amusement even as she quickly composed herself.
For some inexplicable reason, a thought arose in his heart: Why did she stop laughing? It would have been better if she had not covered her mouth.
For a while, the room fell silent again.
The silence made one inexplicably want to find something to do.
“Your Majesty, I’m missing one shoe. I can’t get off the bed.”
“It’s all right.”
Cui Huaiyin had barely finished speaking when Dantai Ji hastily answered, as though he feared that replying too late would somehow matter.
Sitting on the bed, Cui Huaiyin drew in her pale foot and tucked it beneath the quilt. Then she looked up at Dantai Ji. “Your Majesty, will you be retiring for the night?”
Only after a long silence did Dantai Ji reply. “Mm. It is late. Let us retire.”
With that, Dantai Ji sat down on the bed once more.
Cui Huaiyin quickly shifted farther inward. Watching him remove his shoes and socks, she saw his distinct-knuckled hand fasten around the jade belt at his waist. With a light tug, the belt fell away, and his dark outer robe loosened. Beneath it was a white undershirt clinging closely to his broad chest.
After doing all this, Dantai Ji’s expression remained perfectly composed. Without betraying the slightest emotion, he pulled the quilt over, lay down, and covered himself, resting both hands over his chest as his gaze settled on the woman huddled in the corner.
It was dark, and he could not make out her expression clearly. He merely said in his usual calm voice, “Consort, it is late. Go to sleep.”
Cui Huaiyin gripped the quilt tightly and tried to straighten her back, striving to calm her thoughts and keep herself from losing her composure.
Yet even so, when her gaze fell upon the emperor’s exceptionally handsome face on the bed, she could not help tensing.
His Majesty truly had a fine face—more handsome even than her second elder brother, who was considered the most good-looking of the family.
She had heard that His Majesty knew martial arts. Seeing him today, she knew the rumors were true. His body was not lean like a scholar’s. With the undershirt wrapped tightly around him, he looked strong and powerful. Compared with him, Zhu Wangbei was nothing at all.
“Yes,” Cui Huaiyin murmured softly. She lowered herself, wrapped the quilt around her, and lay flat on the bed.
The bed was not very large. Their shoulders touched, and both of them stiffened at once.
Suddenly, a draft of cold air slipped beneath the quilt. Dantai Ji turned onto his side, facing Cui Huaiyin on the inner side of the bed.
Cui Huaiyin’s body tensed even more. The stuffy air trapped beneath the quilt left her struggling to breathe.
Cui Huaiyin thought of the Cui family, thought of her daughter outside the palace. Gritting her teeth, she fixed her gaze on those clear, cool eyes. Then, gritting her teeth once more, she turned sideways and threw herself into the arms of the man before her.
Her lips brushed against his open collar.
A muffled groan sounded by her ear.
Cui Huaiyin tightened her hold, not daring to let go in the slightest. She feared that if she did, His Majesty beneath her would run away. If that happened, when would she ever receive his favor? When would she ever earn His Majesty’s regard?
Throwing caution to the wind, Cui Huaiyin climbed onto the man’s body. His white inner robe had long since fallen open, hanging loose around his waist.
As for the man pinned beneath her, his initial pounding heart, shock, and utter bewilderment had gradually turned into helpless confusion. The corners of his eyes were tinged crimson as he held the delicate woman in his arms with a deathly grip.
Their breathing grew ever more ragged, and the bed curtains grew hotter still. Neither spoke, yet neither their hands nor feet remained still as they explored one another.
Outside, the night lay shrouded in darkness, carrying the chill of early spring. Within, however, the disturbance was far from slight, and now and then came a sound of unbearable, indescribable heat.
Inside the bed curtains, Dantai Ji’s eyes were dark as night. He held the woman tightly in his arms and pressed a light kiss to her hair.
“Is this all right?”
The woman gave a soft sound of assent.
The veins stood out along Dantai Ji’s arm as he reached out, just about to proceed—when he suddenly froze!
A figure flashed past the side of the bed. At once, Dantai Ji seized the quilt and wrapped it around the woman, whose entire body had flushed as though fully ripened. Like a crouching lion, he fixed his gaze on the intruder.
The doors were tightly shut, yet someone had appeared in the room out of thin air!
Dantai Ji’s expression sharpened. Moving with utmost speed, he rose, snatched up his undergarment to cover himself, and seized the intruder by the throat.
“Guards! Assassin!” Dantai Ji shouted.
The doors were swiftly pushed open. Eunuch Wang Zhong was the first to rush in, only to see His Majesty half-dressed, most of his chest exposed, his eyes filled with murderous fury as he strangled a man in black.
There truly was an assassin within the depths of the imperial palace!
Eunuch Wang Zhong immediately cried out, “Guards! Seize the assassin! Protect His Majesty! Protect His Majesty! Quickly—”
Before Eunuch Wang Zhong could finish, the imperial guards had arrived and subdued the masked man in black.
Dantai Ji’s face darkened as he stared at the man. He put on the clothes Wang Zhong handed him, then glanced at the tightly concealed bed. Only then did his expression ease slightly.
“Interrogate him.”
One of the guards stepped forward and tore away the black cloth covering the assassin’s face.
The assassin’s face was finally revealed. He looked utterly terrified, kneeling on the floor and trembling all over.
At that moment, Eunuch Wang Zhong spoke up. “Your Majesty! This servant recognizes the assassin. He is Little Niuzi from the Office of Imperial Servants! He used to be honest and dutiful, especially skilled at raising and training horses. Who would have thought he harbored intentions of harming Your Majesty?”
Dantai Ji looked down at Little Niuzi. “How did you enter the hall? Did you come to assassinate Me, or Consort Cui? And who ordered you to do this?”
Little Niuzi trembled violently, then suddenly threw himself flat upon the ground, feigning deafness and muteness without uttering a single word.
“Take him away!” Dantai Ji barked, his patience exhausted.
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Eunuch Wang Zhong replied.
Soon afterward, the assassin Little Niuzi was taken away by the guards and Eunuch Wang Zhong.
Chenxiang and Juxiang, who had long since been frightened out of their wits, had collapsed beside the threshold. Only after seeing the assassin dragged away did Chenxiang force herself to rise and hurry toward her mistress’s bed.
Drawing back the curtains, she saw her mistress buried beneath the quilts, and a fresh wave of terror swept over her.
If His Majesty had not been here today, and that assassin had taken advantage of her mistress’s sleep, wouldn’t he have been free to do whatever he wished?
The more Chenxiang thought about it, the more frightened she became—and the more something felt wrong. As if suddenly recalling something, she dropped to her knees with a thud and kowtowed to the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, please seek justice for Her Highness! That assassin was clearly after my lady! He could not possibly have known that Your Majesty would come today; he must have prepared in advance to harm Her Highness! There must be some hidden passage in Lanyue Pavilion that the villain left behind, or how else could he have brazenly entered the bedchamber to assassinate her?”
Having said this, Chenxiang bowed her head heavily against the floor once more. “Had Your Majesty not been here today, my mistress might have lost her life!”
Dantai Ji’s face darkened. His hand clenched tightly as he stared only at the drawn bed curtains, not sparing Chenxiang so much as a glance.
After a moment, he stepped forward on his long legs and lifted the curtain. Inside, he found the young woman with her face tightly covered, trembling in fear beneath the bedding.
It felt as though a rope had constricted around his heart, squeezing so tightly that he could scarcely breathe.
He sat beside the bed and gently patted her. “Do not be afraid. I am here.”
Only then did the little figure hiding beneath the quilts reveal her face. Her fair cheeks were flushed, the corners of her eyes still red with tears. Clutching his sleeve, she said in a trembling voice, “Your Majesty... I’m afraid.”
