Thinking of what was about to happen, an uncontrollable tingling sensation traveled from his toes all the way to his tailbone, a cool feeling gripping his heart, almost stopping his breath.

He extended his slightly trembling hands, carefully yet seemingly with courage, and took the initiative to grasp Qiu Shuzhi’s hands.

When his slightly cool ten fingers touched Qiu Shuzhi’s warm hands, it was like a piece of ice thrown into a fire basin, instantly melting into a puddle of water and then evaporated by the warmth in her eyes, becoming a transparent wisp of water vapor, soft beyond words.

But the more he tasted the feeling of being warmly cared for, the more he wanted to push his luck and get closer, wishing he could serve her gently right there, grateful for the grace she bestowed.

“Qiu Niang-” His tone was trembling almost to the point of shaking, yet because of the excessive ambiguity and intoxicating red candles, it carried a hint of allure. Such allure coming from Yue Guanyi’s mouth was like a noble flower being pulled down from its pedestal: “Qiu Niang, I… may I serve you and help you change?”

After saying this, Yue Guanyi reached out to try to untie the sash around her waist, but he was too nervous. His heart was pounding wildly and violently, and his usually nimble fingers seemed uncontrollable. He couldn’t unfasten a single knot no matter how he tried, and instead tied it even tighter into a dead knot.

Yue Guanyi lowered his head so much it was almost buried in his chest, not daring to look up at Qiu Shuzhi’s expression.

Qiu Shuzhi laughed softly, grasping his hand in return, and said gently, “Are you in such a hurry?”

“Serve… serve…” Yue Guanyi’s ears were red as blood, deeply regretting his actions just now. He only wanted to serve Qiu Niang well, but forgot that on such a joyous day, the new husband should be reserved, letting the wife-master lead in bed matters.

His behavior just now showed no trace of the dignity of a prince from the royal family, but rather like a courtesan raised in a brothel, eager to cling to a woman.

Yue Guanyi was full of remorse, biting his lower lip until it nearly lost color. This must be how Qiu Niang saw him too. Otherwise, why would she say he was in a hurry? How could a man behave as he did just now?

He almost didn’t dare to look into Qiu Shuzhi’s eyes, fearing to see even a hint of displeasure in them. But the more he feared, the more he despised and belittled himself in his heart.

Why, even though he had left the brothel for over a decade, did he behave like a fawning slave in front of Qiu Niang, disregarding all propriety and shame, only wanting to kneel at her feet in the most degrading posture, crying and begging for her favor and pity?

Despicable! Despicable! Yue Guanyi wished he could pull out the gold hairpin from his head and stab his heart viciously a couple of times.

“Overthinking again?” Qiu Shuzhi lifted his chin, forcing him to raise his head and look at her.

A pair of glittering phoenix eyes, twinkling with starlight, a stroke of red at the corners, like spring water reflecting peach blossoms, rippling with emotion. Only a hint of red indicating distress in his eyes made her heart clench.

He was indeed overthinking and torturing himself again.

Qiu Shuzhi didn’t say much. After all, it was their wedding night. She simply leaned forward, one hand pulling his collar, the other supporting the back of his head, her slender fingers threading through his hair, her lips and tongue kissing him gently.

Yue Guanyi’s whole body stiffened at her sudden action, but soon the faint fragrance from Qiu Shuzhi’s body reached his nose. The scent he had longed for day and night, like an aphrodisiac, instantly made his stiff body melt.

He closed his eyes, feeling the soft sweetness in his mouth, his body as soft as a dodder flower clinging to her sleeve, as if grasping the only support, unwilling to let go. He licked between her lips and teeth, intoxicated in his heart, oblivious to all else.

As the long, deep kiss ended, Yue Guanyi felt as if all the air in his lungs had been emptied. He leaned softly against her, his face flushed with an ambiguous tide of red, more intoxicating than rouge.

“On our wedding night, in this beautiful moment, let your wife serve you, Your Highness.” She rested against his shoulder, her thin lips by his ear, her low, soft voice exhaling like orchids. Each word she uttered seemed to tickle his heart like a light feather, making his whole body tremble.

Qiu Shuzhi pulled down the bed curtains on both sides, the thin red gauze creating an even more warm and intimate atmosphere, as if even the air was intoxicatingly peach blossom-colored.

She effortlessly undid the jade belt on his waist. The red robe slowly opened, revealing the light pink inner garment and the delicate lines of his collarbone. Red clothes against snow-white skin, like remnant snow burning in a blazing fire.

Qiu Niang……

The wild heartbeat drummed frantically in his chest, as if about to burst through all barriers, making him unable to control the urge to scream and shout. His chest heaved violently with his frantically beating heart.

A pair of jade hands parted his collar, tracing over his long, slender neck, like frozen snow gliding over blooming red plum blossoms.

On his collarbone

“Mmm…” A tingling sensation spread, and Yue Guanyi let out a muffled groan. His phoenix eyes were brimming with misty tears. How could he be so sensitive, becoming like this just from Qiu Niang’s fingers brushing across the skin of his neck?

Qiu Shuzhi chuckled softly, her warm kiss falling on the side of his ear.

Yue Guanyi bit his lower lip hard, the rouge-like lip color almost biting through to draw blood, trying not to make the vulgar sounds that only brothel courtesans would make.

As Qiu Shuzhi kissed her lowly, she undid the inner ties of his undergarment. The clothes merged with the red curtains, only the wide sleeves barely covering his wrists, revealing the beauty that a man in a female-dominated society would only show before his wife-master.

Without the protection of clothes, as his skin came into contact with the warm air within the bridal chamber, Yue Guanyi’s whole body shivered. His intoxicated gaze towards Qiu Shuzhi had a moment of clarity.

“Don’t!” He called out to stop her, but it was too late.

Qiu Shuzhi’s hand had already touched the characters carved on his chest, which were evidence of his past in a brothel and his entry into the lowly register. Even though he had only carved half of it, salvaging it into the character ‘shu’, the shadow of the past was deeply branded in his heart. The lowly status and slave mentality were also etched in his heart.

He didn’t want Qiu Shuzhi to see such a shameful mark, thinking he could hide it with his clothes, and she wouldn’t notice.

But Yue Guanyi had overestimated his composure when facing Qiu Shuzhi. He seemed born to serve and please Qiu Shuzhi. Just a slight smile from Qiu Niang could make him forget himself with happiness, and a kiss would make him forget even to breathe. He could give up wealth, power, and even his life. He lived for her, letting her do as she pleased, not even knowing when his clothes had been undone.

Qiu Shuzhi’s hand gently caressed the character ‘shu’.

“Don’t, it’s dirty!” Yue Guanyi said with tears in his phoenix eyes, filled with shame and anger.

“This ‘shu’ character is dirty?” she asked calmly.

“No!” Yue Guanyi shook his head, the red jade on his gold crown swaying like a red shadow, within which an inconspicuous tear slid down.

How could Qiu Niang be dirty? He was the dirty one!

His voice was suppressed and trembling as he revealed everything from his past.

“Qiu Niang, my virginity mark was gone when they pulled down my collar and carved characters on my body. The skin and flesh of the virginity mark were dug out by the brothel madam’s knife…”

Suddenly, his whole body trembled, almost shaking as he grabbed her hand, pleading: “Although the virginity mark is gone, my body is clean. What those people said was all false. Qiu Niang, I haven’t been touched by other women. You… you…”

Please don’t despise me!

Yue Guanyi’s eyes were filled with heavy sorrow, but the humble plea for her not to despise him could never be uttered.

Even though the virginity mark was gone, his experience in the brothel was real, his tainted reputation was real. Based on his past experiences alone, what right did he have to beg Qiu Niang not to despise him?

He despised himself immensely, hating his past experiences like a madman, killing everyone in the brothel, not even sparing the customers who had visited there.

Yet he didn’t want to change his past experiences. Although it was as humiliating and unbearable as hell, it was in that endless hell that he met the godlike Qiu Niang. Qiu Niang was his salvation, his everything, his entire reason for living.

Suddenly he raised his head, his phoenix eyes showing an almost sickly red amidst the glistening tears due to extreme excitement.

“If Qiu Niang doesn’t like it, I’ll gouge it out right now. It won’t offend your eyes anymore!”

As he spoke, Yue Guanyi, as if possessed, disregarded his current naked state and was about to lift the bed curtain to find a knife to gouge out the carved characters on his body.

Qiu Shuzhi grabbed his wrist: “Don’t be silly, where would there be a knife in the bridal chamber?”

She thought this might temporarily restore some of his sanity so she could explain to him that she really didn’t mind these things.

“If there’s no knife, we can break a bowl. The porcelain shards will work just as well.” The sickness in Yue Guanyi’s eyes deepened. Qiu Shuzhi’s disgust seemed to make him taste a panic spreading from the depths of his soul, a torment indescribable in words, making him want to grasp the deity he had yearned for all his life.

The characters he had carved on his chest were extremely deep. To gouge them out would almost be like removing bone. But so what? He was willing to do anything to keep Qiu Niang.

“You…” Qiu Shuzhi gripped his wrist tightly, suddenly lowering her head to place a deep kiss on his carved characters.

Yue Guanyi’s whole body shook in shock, as if unable to believe what he was feeling. The almost sickly madness in his eyes cleared a little.

“Qiu Niang,” he murmured.

“I like this carving very much.” She gently caressed the strokes of the carving, speaking sincerely.

“Qiu Niang…” As if an all-encompassing heat wave roared from the depths of his heart, Yue Guanyi’s face turned crimson, a tear falling from the corner of his eye.

A single sentence from Qiu Shuzhi was like salvaging and redeeming him from the torment of drowning at the bottom of the sea. His very soul trembled fragilely.

“Qiu Niang, Qiu Niang, Qiu Niang,” he called her name over and over again. The madness in his eyes hadn’t diminished because of what had just happened; instead, it became more unrestrained, even his body temperature rising feverishly.

He threw himself into Qiu Shuzhi’s arms, his burning skin touching her fully clothed wedding attire, the exquisite embroidery rubbing against his soft skin.

He buried his head in the crook of Qiu Shuzhi’s neck, licking her flawless skin almost frantically. Qiu Shuzhi returned his kisses, but all this was far from enough.

Qiu Niang’s gentleness and tolerance towards him only served to provoke the evil greed hidden in his heart, indulging the insatiable beast within him to want more and more, constantly stimulating and breeding the most base and dirty thoughts from the bottom of his heart, even wanting to demand more endlessly.

“Qiu Niang… please cherish me…” He took Qiu Shuzhi’s hand, intertwining their fingers. His phoenix eyes narrowed seductively, naturally alluring. Imitating the way the top courtesan had taught him to please, his voice soft and husky, his long hair falling in front of him, the smooth black strands entangling in their tightly interlocked fingers, winding around them intimately.

Qiu Shuzhi’s gaze flickered slightly. This side of Yue Guanyi was one she had never seen before. It was as if his previous abstinence and self-control had all been a facade. Now, he seemed to have torn off his former disguise, exposing his true bewitching nature.