Liu Changning laughed softly. She leaned forward, took his hand, and with a flick and a curl of her slender fingers, untangled the sash wrapped around his palm.

“I’ve never seen such a clumsy man. As the Long Imperial Consort, you can’t even undress a woman. You like to drink, and there are countless male concubines in the residence, but…”

Her cool breath fell on his neck, causing his porcelain-white skin to break out in goosebumps.

Pei Yuanshao came to his senses, his eyes flashing with shame. He hurriedly opened his mouth to explain, raising his eyes to see her expression clearly. As he lifted his head, his slightly parted lips brushed against hers, and he froze.

His heart raced anxiously, the heat in his body intensifying. He couldn’t help but rub against her undergarment.

The woman before him pulled his head down, their lips almost touching.

This was the first time Liu Changning had kissed a man so earnestly. She was in no hurry, taking her time.

As he stared with confused eyes, gasping for breath, she advanced, conquering.

His lips were soft and bouncy, like the jelly she had eaten in her previous life, with a pine and cypress flavor. There was no cloying artificial fragrance, just a rich, natural aroma.

Liu Changning unconsciously sucked on the soft jelly, following it inward, tasting every inch of sweetness within.

Pei Yuanshao couldn’t stop his body from trembling. Unlike their first kiss, the long-haired woman in the moonlight was gentle and lingering. She cupped his bottom, her wide sleeves sweeping the wine cups and fruits off the stone table.

One hand cushioned his head, the other pressing him down onto the now empty stone bench.

She entered softly, inch by inch, possessing him. Compared to that day’s forceful taking, there was now more careful giving.

Pei Yuanshao let her move, his heart vaguely filling to the brim. After the storm, he had thought all flowers would wither, but unexpectedly, the rain fell gently… tender and lingering.

The warmth in his heart grew hotter with her constant ministrations. He couldn’t help but cling to her neck, whimpering, not knowing what to do.

He sniffed, inhaling deeply by her ear, wanting to taste again that intoxicating scent that had reddened his eyes, but the woman before him wouldn’t allow it.

Her lips were in his mouth, grinding slowly, but making no further moves.

Pei Yuanshao panted, a bead of sweat sliding from his forehead onto his raven-black eyelashes. He looked at her clumsily, impatiently grasping her jade-white fingertips and moving them downward, yet confused about where to place her hand.

His eyes, full of bewilderment, met hers. His ink-black pupils were tinged with a hint of crimson, as alluring as red agate.

Liu Changning propped herself up. In the moonlight, a thin, long strand of silver connected their lips.

Looking down at the man beneath her, panting with unfulfilled desire, she smiled faintly and commanded: “Does Shao’er want more? If you want it, agree to two conditions. First, no more excessive drinking from now on.”

The woman, as pure as an ice lotus on a snowy mountaintop, now had a hint of passion in her eyes and a faint smile on her lips.

Pei Yuanshao nodded uncontrollably, his eyes fixed only on her moving lips and the excitement and arousal brought by the softness within.

“Dismiss all the male concubines in this residence! This is the second condition.”

“Mmm…”

Pei Yuanshao responded hazily, his long hair intertwining with her falling strands, fluttering in the evening breeze.

The woman above him seemed very satisfied with his obedience. She soothingly caressed his cheek. Her cool voice carried a hint of warmth, sliding across his heart and igniting the last corner of flame.

“Shao’er is good. You still don’t understand. In this world, the common people and Master Jia’s teachings are important to me. But they cannot control my thoughts. Liu Cang Yun, in this life, fears neither heavenly punishment nor threats. But… you are different from me. Everyone treats you as a pillar of the state, forgetting that even pillars can fall. If I were to marry you, it would place you in a position to be reviled by thousands. Offending the commoners led by Master Jia, offending the gentry led by Jing Huan, offending the pro-imperial faction supporters…”

Liu Changning’s jade-white fingertips compassionately slid across his smooth forehead, trailing downward, parting his collar.

Her cool fingertips peeled away his clothing inch by inch. The man lying on the stone table had a well-defined body marked with dozens of knife scars. Her hand lingered back and forth over his shocking wounds.

Pei Yuanshao suddenly reached out and covered her eyes. His lips trembled: “Don’t look, it’s ugly!”

But her hand didn’t move away, instead tracing along the scars. She said softly: “Not ugly. Shao’er’s body in the moonlight is particularly alluring. I don’t understand love, yet tonight, for you alone… my body has desire. Does Your Highness want it?”

The man beneath her let out a muffled groan. He actively climbed onto her shoulders, his slender hands entangling in her hair, removing her hairpin in one motion. The corner of his lips curled into a hazy smile: “Want… I want it all the time.”

“Mmm… how much do you want it?”

The crescent moon hung high in the sky, surrounded by dazzling stars. The Purple Wei Star and the Anomalous Star overlapped, their starlight so bright it almost blinded one’s eyes.

The evening breeze blew through the bamboo grove, rustling the leaves.

On the stone bench, the two were entangled in passion. In the quiet of the deep night, it was unclear who let out a low moan, who clung to the other’s shoulders, unwilling to let go.

—

After the act was done.

Pei Yuanshao’s expression seemed a bit dazed. He tilted his head back to look at the satisfied woman, his lips moving slightly.

The words he wanted to say, he dared not ask.

During their lovemaking, she didn’t emit the alluring scent that women usually release when aroused. He had only smelled that scent on her twice before, and both times she had been under the influence of drugs.

She had said before that she didn’t understand love, that she didn’t love enough.

So tonight, without the effect of drugs, she couldn’t release that ultimate alluring scent.

Even though he was still lost in her embrace, he felt somewhat unsatisfied. Because she didn’t love enough.

A hint of disappointment in his heart, yet his body honestly held her tighter.

The woman beside him helped smooth out his disheveled long hair, saying softly: “Yuanshao, tomorrow I won’t enter the Hanlin Academy. How about if I go down to Jiaozhou instead?”

Pei Yuanshao suddenly came to his senses. He stared blankly at the whorl of her hair, his face full of shock: “Not good. Jiaozhou is the old lair of the Duke of Ying. Salt merchants and local tyrants run rampant there. Changning, you can’t go.”

The woman in front of him punished him by tugging at his long hair. She raised her eyes, her light tea-colored eyes meeting his gaze steadily: “I had planned to go half a year later, but someone wants to use this world to scheme against you and me, so I can’t wait anymore. One year… give me one year. When I return, I’ll marry you, alright?”

Pei Yuanshao moved his lips, the worry in his eyes not diminishing. He knew the situation in Jiaozhou well. Last year, he had gone there personally and still couldn’t suppress the local officials and gentry… She…

“My people have been setting things up in Jiaozhou for a year already. What is Ziyuan afraid of? The Jiaozhou general is also my person. It won’t be so easy for them to move against me…”

The woman, half-dressed in the moonlight, spoke slowly, her tone casual, as if talking about tomorrow’s weather. But the meaning behind her words was as heavy as Mount Tai.

Pei Yuanshao’s heart tightened. The Jiaozhou general Qi Lian was… her person.

He narrowed his eyes, dazed for a moment, then suddenly relaxed.

His arms embraced her even tighter.

Perhaps he had underestimated her. The future head of the cabinet, Prime Minister Liu. For her to have entered the top of the cabinet back then… her shocking talent wasn’t enough, there was also…

The cool breeze caressed their faces. Pei Yuanshao brushed away her messy hair.

He smiled bitterly: “Mm, if you go, you must agree to three conditions. Don’t look at other men, don’t go to places of entertainment, and don’t marry other men as attendants!”

He gripped her shoulders tightly, pretending to be fierce: “If you break today’s promise, then let me…”

Liu Changning pressed a slender finger to his lips.

Meeting his gaze, not waiting for him to finish, she chuckled softly in response: “Alright! If taking your body and marrying you isn’t enough, then I promise you one life, one world, just the two of us. Is that acceptable?”