Chapter 289: Just Ploys of Seduction

When Your Majesty got angry, the consequences were severe.

She gave them the cold shoulder, and even Li Wei was caught in the crossfire.

Li Wei had been at the barracks inspecting this year’s new recruits, so he was out of the loop. He only found out what had happened upon his return and hurried to see Your Majesty, only to be met with a closed door before he could even say a word.

Li Wei frowned and looked at the three men beside him.

“What’s wrong with Your Majesty?”

“Did you do something to anger Her Majesty?”

The aloof Rong Yin stood ramrod straight, saying nothing. Xu Xingchen just stared dazedly at the tightly shut doors of the hall.

Finally, Mu Yunlian, who was leaning against a pillar, enlightened him.

“Recently, Your Majesty has taken a liking to a male dancer. She went to see him for three days in a row and even rewarded him with one thousand taels of silver each day. We told her not to go, and she got angry.”

At these words, even Rong Yin couldn’t resist glancing up at him.

With that mouth of his, Mu Yunlian could lie someone to death and not bat an eye.

Well, it wasn’t exactly a lie. He had just omitted a few key facts.

‘No one knew better than him why Your Majesty was angry. Of course, he wasn’t exactly innocent himself.’

Your Majesty had designated specific days for each of them to accompany her, but a month and a half of cold loneliness was hard to bear. They had resorted to no small number of schemes to win Her Majesty’s favor.

Li Wei was indeed slow when it came to matters of the heart, but he was a General. War is the art of deception, and there was no stratagem he couldn’t see through.

After dealing with these three for several years, even someone as straightforward as him should have learned a thing or two about their scheming.

‘He knew Your Majesty, and he knew these men even better. If they hadn’t done something to infuriate her, why would they be waiting so obediently outside her door right now?’

They had messed up, and he was being shut out and implicated along with them. Li Wei wasn’t about to accept that.

Relying on his status as an Imperial Consort, Li Wei ignored the guards blocking his way and strode inside.

He saw Your Majesty lying face-down on the bed while two palace maids massaged her lower back.

‘Your Majesty was a martial artist and in excellent physical condition. She barely felt any discomfort even during her menses, so how could her back be so sore it needed to be massaged?’

“Your Majesty…”

Li Wei walked over. “Is Your Majesty unwell?”

Xiao Yang languidly lifted her gaze to him, clearly not in high spirits.

“What are you doing here?”

Li Wei waved the palace maids away, sat on the edge of the bed, and gazed at Her Majesty’s fair, supple waist, his eyes burning with heat.

At the same time, he noticed numerous tell-tale marks, far deeper than any he had seen before.

He used his Inner Strength to warm his palms before placing them on her lower back and beginning a slow massage.

Li Wei’s hands were large enough to encircle the Emperor’s waist. The searing heat from his palms brought instant relief to her sore muscles. As he pressed down, the ache in Xiao Yang’s back melted away.

“Mmm…”

Xiao Yang was so comfortable she couldn’t help but let out a soft moan.

Li Wei’s gaze darkened instantly, but he did nothing, focusing solely on the massage.

Xiao Yang was so comfortable she became drowsy and soon fell asleep.

Li Wei continued the massage for a while longer before applying a medicinal oil and covering her with the blanket.

He gazed at her tranquil sleeping face, leaned down to give her a light kiss, and then walked out.

Xiao Yang didn’t find out until she woke up that Li Wei had given the other three a merciless beating. It was so bad that all three of them were now bedridden.

Of course, the three of them had fought back, so Li Wei had sustained some injuries himself.

Xiao Yang woke up to find it was already evening. She had a meal sent to Li Wei’s palace and went over to eat with him.

“Your Majesty.”

Li Wei came out to greet her, his expression as usual, but there was a faint bruise on his cheek.

Xiao Yang held his hand. “Are you injured anywhere else?”

‘It can’t just be his face, can it?’

Li Wei was unconcerned. “It was just a bit of sparring. It’s nothing serious.”

‘To him, they were just minor injuries; the skin hadn’t even been broken.’

Given Li Wei’s incredible healing ability, they truly were minor injuries, so Xiao Yang didn’t worry too much. The two of them sat down to eat.

Li Wei naturally served Xiao Yang as she ate. After a while, he asked, “Does Your Majesty blame me for taking matters into my own hands?”

After all, he had attacked the other three, and he hadn’t held back. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been forced to fight for their lives and leave him covered in injuries.

Xiao Yang countered, “And you? Aren’t you afraid of offending the three of them?”

‘For years, the four of them had maintained a surface-level harmony, but in reality, each only looked out for himself. Now that Li Wei had offended all three at once, wasn’t he afraid they would team up to get revenge?’

They wouldn’t dare cause trouble in matters of the court, but living together in the inner palace, they could easily make Li Wei’s life difficult with petty tricks.

Li Wei shook his head, his gaze firm as he looked at Xiao Yang. “I only need to be concerned with Your Majesty’s feelings. Others do not factor into my considerations. They bullied Your Majesty, so they deserve to be punished.”

Xiao Yang almost choked.

‘Bullied… well, not exactly.’

‘To be precise, I was the one who was seduced.’

‘They never dared to force themselves on her. They only ever tried to erode her willpower, to enthrall her with pleasure and have her sink into debauchery with them.’

‘Just the usual games of love and lust.’

‘And she had been a willing participant, happy to be seduced.’

It’s just that this time, they went a little too far and managed to truly annoy her.

Still, Li Wei had taught the trio a lesson for her, which made Xiao Yang quite happy. And since she was pleased, she couldn’t very well admit that she wasn’t actually angry anymore.

After their meal, they drank tea and chatted for a while. As the hour grew late, Xiao Yang prepared to leave.

Li Wei got up, gently hugging her from behind. “It’s so late. Can’t Your Majesty stay the night?”

Thinking of her aching back, Xiao Yang wanted to refuse.

‘My willpower is weak. I can’t resist temptation.’

Li Wei said, “I’ll give Your Majesty another massage. I won’t do anything else.”

Xiao Yang didn’t leave, and Li Wei truly did just massage her back. It was so comfortable that she didn’t even realize when she drifted off to sleep.

Xiao Yang rested for several days. Aside from Li Wei, the other three consorts stayed away. They were all trying to save face, too embarrassed to let her see the injuries they’d received from Li Wei.

By the time they had mostly recovered and finally came to see Xiao Yang, everyone slipped back into their old dynamic. No one mentioned what had happened, nor did they tattle on Li Wei for beating them up.

It happened to be Rong Yin’s birthday, so Xiao Yang prepared a small banquet in the palace for everyone to have a drink together and put the matter behind them.

However, she never, ever expected it.

Qu Yang himself actually appeared at the banquet.

Xiao Yang was utterly stunned as she watched the man start to writhe on the stage.

‘Wait, how did he get in here?’

Qu Yang was impressive enough that all four Imperial Consorts had remembered what he looked like, and they recognized him in an instant.

Four pairs of eyes landed squarely on Xiao Yang. She was rendered speechless. “I’m not that desperate, and I have no such intentions.”

She quickly sent someone to investigate, only to learn that somebody was trying to suck up to her.

The man had become an overnight sensation with his risqué performance, and his popularity was soaring. The official in charge of the entertainment, having heard from some unknown source that the Emperor had gone specifically to see Qu Yang, had brought him into the palace to give her a “surprise.”

There was no pleasant surprise, only a whole lot of shock.

‘Sending the Emperor a man at an Imperial Consort’s birthday banquet? Does this person have a death wish?’

Xiao Yang simply waved her hand, and Qu Yang was dragged away before he could even finish his dance.

Only after that strange music disappeared did Xiao Yang breathe a sigh of relief.

“Having the few of you is already more than enough for me. I have no other inclinations, so don’t get any funny ideas. If any of you dares to throw another jealous fit, you can get the hell out of the palace.”