Chapter 64: Entanglement

In the deep of night, the sound of the night watchman echoed through the quiet streets of Jinling city.

Liu Changning tightened her collar and vaulted over the back wall into the residence of the Long Imperial Consort of Mingde.

The residence was heavily guarded, with sentries patrolling back and forth.

She stepped lightly across the roof tiles, darting like a swallow.

Not far away, a group of servants came walking down the corridor, slowly carrying tea and snacks.

“His Highness will likely be sleeping in the Green Bamboo Pavilion again tonight.”

“Ah…indeed. Brother Fude, do you know why His Highness likes to stay at the Green Bamboo Pavilion so much? This month, His Highness has spent half his time there. The gentlemen in the east courtyard have tried everything, but haven’t managed to see His Highness once.”

“Shh…keep your voice down. I heard His Highness’s beloved is buried in the bamboo grove of the Green Bamboo Pavilion.”

“His Highness has a beloved! No wonder he hasn’t even glanced at those dozens of masters kept in the east courtyard. It’s because…”

The voices of the two palace servants grew fainter.

Liu Changning narrowed her eyes and darted towards the bamboo grove in the moonlight.

—

The Green Bamboo Pavilion was on the west side of the Long Imperial Consort of Mingde’s residence, occupying a vast area.

The residence, originally full of corridors, pavilions, arched bridges and multi-story buildings, had a bamboo grove forcibly planted in it, making it particularly eye-catching.

There was a corridor pavilion in front of the bamboo grove.

Inside the pavilion were stone tables and chairs. On the stone chairs were two wine cups, a pot of clear wine, and two bowls of steamed buns.

At this moment, the master of the residence sat on a stone stool, drinking wine under the moon.

The clear wine overflowed from the corner of his lips, flowing down his delicate neck like cream, seeping inside.

He raised his head and drank a cup by himself, glancing at the empty stone stool across from him.

He muttered to himself: “Raising my cup to invite the bright moon, the three of us drink together. I drink one cup, you should sip one cup too, shouldn’t you?”

After speaking, he walked around the stone stool, picked up the wine cup on the opposite side of the stone table, and with a shake of his wrist, the clear wine rippled in the silvery moonlight.

He froze, spilling wine onto his hand, but remained motionless. After staring blankly at the air for a while, he suddenly curved his lips, his tone tinged with melancholy: “You don’t like to drink… shall I help you?”

As he finished speaking, his crimson lips approached the rim of the cup. Unexpectedly, his wrist was suddenly grasped, and he looked up in surprise.

The newcomer wore a moon-white brocade robe, arriving on the night breeze, still carrying a hint of the cool night air.

She frowned slightly, reaching out to snatch the wine cup from his hand and placing it heavily on the table.

“Drinking harms the body. Your Highness should just eat the steamed buns.”

Pei Yuanshao opened his mouth in surprise, looking at the woman who had descended from the sky. He quickly regained his composure, his eyes filling with deep laughter.

Seeing her frowning at the wine cup on the stone table, he hugged her slender waist with a strong sense of self-preservation, draining the strength from his body and collapsing onto her like an octopus.

He tilted his head back, his smiling lips parting as he called out: “Wife-master…”

His ink-black eyes sparkled enchantingly.

Liu Changning opened her mouth, swallowing the rebuke that had reached the tip of her tongue.

In the moonlight, the red-robed man smiled like a demon, his voice lowered. Having drunk alcohol, his tone was deep with a hint of huskiness.

He exhaled the mellow fragrance of wine, which wafted to her nose. It wasn’t as unpleasant as imagined, but carried a faint hint of seduction.

Liu Changning narrowed her eyes, the nausea caused by her disciple earlier dissipating by half.

The person before her, whether intentionally or not, seeing her motionless for a while, was in no hurry. He deliberately raised his chiseled chin, revealing perfect facial contours in the soft moonlight.

He leaned forward very slowly, his lips pausing at her ear, saying seductively: “Wife-master… mmm, the moonlight is perfect tonight. If you stay in the bamboo grove, may I paint bamboo for you?”

Liu Changning’s originally calm heart suddenly trembled, losing its rhythm for a moment.

Grasping his wasp-like waist, she leaned down, her eyes narrowed, her lips maliciously lingering on his jade-white neck: “Your Highness, I thought you were trying to seduce me?”

Pei Yuanshao’s chest heaved, his lips slightly panting. He arched his chest forward, closing the distance between them, and chuckled softly: “Mmm… if Cang Yun says so, then it must be. So, will you stay tonight?”

Though he was asking a question, his slender hands had already climbed to her shoulders.

One hand pulled her outer robe halfway down, his ink-black eyes tinged with a hint of crimson.

“Wife-master said yesterday that tomorrow at the Qionglin Banquet you would marry me. Ziyuan fears he cannot agree. Will wife-master punish me?”

His eyes were alluring as silk. Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, he completely removed her outer robe, letting it fall onto the stone stool.

In the moonlight, the woman wore only a white silk undergarment, her black hair falling across her chest, hiding half of her spring scenery.

Pei Yuanshao’s fingers rested on the collar of her undergarment, trembling like a sieve. Beneath his red python-patterned robe, his body involuntarily reacted.

He clenched his thighs tightly, trying to conceal it, the ears hidden beneath his hair burning red enough to set half the sky ablaze.

His legs weakened, and all his weight fell onto her. He sniffed the cool fragrance in her hair, a thin layer of sweat forming on his forehead.

He panted: “The world, the Master’s kindness, are all heavy burdens on Cang Yun’s heart. Ziyuan alone certainly cannot compare, nor should he try to.”

Pei Yuanshao’s ink-black eyes were tinged with passion, but his stunningly beautiful face held a hint of determination and restraint. He reached out to caress her flawless jade-like face, his lips drawing closer.

He sighed softly: “It seems I won’t be able to marry you tomorrow. What should we do? Perhaps tonight, wife-master should punish Ziyuan by taking his body?”

Liu Changning was somewhat irritated by the man’s teasing. His lips hovered just before hers, his eyes filled with just the right amount of allure and haziness.

She was not one to be swayed by lust. The man bathed in moonlight was clumsily attempting to seduce her, his trembling hands trying to undress her, yet getting tangled in the sash. Clumsy, yet bold.

Liu Changning’s eyes darkened further. She frowned, her jade-white fingertips covering his large hands.

She asked in a low voice: “You want to be punished?”

The man before her stiffened, his parted lips slightly open.