Chapter 41: He Dared to Take Liberties

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: He Dared to Take Liberties

After pressing an acupoint to put the maidservant on night watch in the outer room to sleep, Li Yong withdrew.

Just as he had on the two previous nights, he waited in the shadows.

He had no idea what his master was doing inside.

But tonight seemed to stretch on for an especially long time.

Li Yong’s bowed neck was starting to ache. Just as he glanced toward the door for a third time, it slowly swung open.

A tall, slender figure dressed in dark black emerged.

Li Yong hurried forward. He took something from his sleeve and, without needing to be told, restored the inner bolt.

He made it look as though no one had ever entered.

When he finished and turned back, he found that his master hadn’t left.

He stood with his hands clasped behind his back in the somewhat desolate courtyard, his head raised to gaze at the bright moon.

An air of solitude radiated from him.

For a man who was always so powerful and dominant, to suddenly see him like this was a truly heart-wrenching sight.

Li Yong hesitated for a moment before steeling himself to step forward. "Prince," he urged in a low voice, "you must take care of your health. It is time to return and rest."

Xie Jinbai seemed not to have heard, remaining as motionless as a statue, his head tilted up at the bright moon.

After a long time, his lips finally moved. "Tell me," he said, "if she isn’t Yaoyao, then who is she?"

’Who else could make my heart pound like this from a single glance?’

’Who else could fill me with the desire to kiss her?’

’If she isn’t Cui Lingyao, then that means I’ve developed feelings for a girl I’ve never met, a complete stranger I’ve only seen once.’

Xie Jinbai would rather believe he was dead than accept that he could fall for someone else.

’Fall for a girl I haven’t even spoken a word to.’

He closed his eyes.

"Keep an eye on her."

Li Yong clasped his hands. "...Yes."

...

「The next day.」

Cui Lingyao sensed something was wrong the moment she woke up.

A familiar yet strange scent still lingered in the air.

’He really did come last night.’

She shot up in bed and walked over to the window.

She had closed the window herself last night. As a precaution, she’d used her fingernail to make a scratch on the latch. If anyone had opened it by lifting the latch, the mark would have been slightly worn away.

But now, it looked exactly the same as the night before.

’So... he came in directly through the door?’

’To come in through the main door, he would have had to pass Zhiqiu, who was on watch in the outer room.’

’In the summer, a young woman’s clothes are thin and light. At night, we sleep in just a single layer of undergarments...’

Cui Lingyao’s brow twitched.

’To think that after three years apart, he would become such a lecher.’

’If he snuck into my room at night because he suspected my identity, that’s one thing. But there were two of us girls in here. How could he be so brazen and shameless?’

A man was coming and going from her chambers as he pleased, and she, a proper young lady, couldn’t even stop him openly. Amidst her helplessness, a fine, simmering anger began to build within Cui Lingyao.

This anger peaked when Zhiqiu, while helping her dress, pointed out that her lips looked a little swollen.

Cui Lingyao’s eyes widened. She shot to her feet, bracing her hands on the dressing table. Leaning closer, she stared at her lips in the copper mirror...

They were, in fact, swollen.

Cui Lingyao subconsciously pressed her lips together.

She didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but she could almost feel a faint tingling at the tip of her tongue.

She had been married for three full years; she was no naive maiden, ignorant of the ways of the world.

Thinking of the man’s scent lingering in the air, a series of intimate images flashed through Cui Lingyao’s mind, and the color drained from her face.

"My lady?"

Seeing her lady’s dreadful expression, Zhiqiu was startled. "My lady, are you feeling unwell? Did you eat something that disagreed with you yesterday?" she asked quickly.

Cui Lingyao didn’t seem to hear her.

She raised a hand and pulled open her collar, revealing a wide expanse of pale skin as she stared intently into the copper mirror.

The girl in the mirror had a long, smooth, unblemished neck. There were none of the marks she’d expected to find.

But she didn’t stop. She pulled her robes down to her shoulders, baring her collarbones.

The thin straps of her pink chemise rested on her skin. Her collarbones were slender and delicate, forming a shallow hollow. Cui Lingyao carefully inspected one side, then the other.

’In the past, when they were tangled together in bed, he had loved to bite my collarbones. In our three years of marriage, through three full cycles of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, I had never once been able to wear a chest-high ruqun.’

’The marks on my collarbones had never faded.’

And now, they too were completely flawless.

Further down...

Cui Lingyao pursed her lips. She didn’t feel anything else out of the ordinary.

After a long moment, her body stiff, she slowly sat back down.

"...It’s nothing. I don’t feel unwell anywhere," she said to the worried Zhiqiu behind her. "Only my lips are swollen, but they don’t hurt or itch, and it’s not very noticeable. You can continue with my makeup."

It truly wasn’t very noticeable.

If Zhiqiu hadn’t been the one to do her makeup every single day, she wouldn’t have noticed that her mistress’s lips were slightly more red and swollen than usual.

Hearing her say that it didn’t hurt or itch and seeing for herself that there were no other marks, Zhiqiu finally relaxed.

She arranged her hair and applied her makeup.

Once the glossy lip rouge was applied, her lips took on a crimson hue, completely hiding the original swelling.

Zhiqiu may have been relieved, but Cui Lingyao couldn’t dismiss it so easily.

’At first, I thought he was only sneaking into my room at night to confirm my identity.’

’Knowing his temperament, I was sure that before he could confirm I was Cui Lingyao, he would never do anything so brazen to a strange woman.’

’But I never imagined he would dare to take such liberties!’

’To take liberties with a girl in her sleep, a girl who was completely unaware.’

’We’ve only met once!’

’And yet he dared to kiss me!’

’What in the world is he doing?’

’This is worse than kidnapping a commoner off the street, and yet he did it!’

’Is he treating a young woman’s honor like a joke?’

As much as Cui Lingyao loathed his actions, she also found them difficult to believe.

In her eyes, Xie Jinbai was cold, arrogant, and indifferent. Although he held a high position and wielded immense power, he wasn’t some wastrel who took pleasure in toying with women.

He might not have been particularly respectful toward women, but he would certainly have disdained doing something as furtive as taking advantage of a girl in secret.

If he truly desired someone, with his power and status, who couldn’t he obtain openly and legitimately?

There was no need to be so... absurd.

This behavior left Cui Lingyao feeling flustered and panicked.

’What if Xie Jinbai sneaks over in the dark every night from now on to take liberties with me?’

’Today it’s a kiss. Tomorrow, will he start getting handsy? If this goes on, will he eventually just get into my bed in the dead of night and force himself on me?’

’His personality has changed so much.’

Cui Lingyao, who had always believed she knew him well, couldn’t be sure of anything anymore.

She only knew that she couldn’t just sit back and wait for the worst to happen.

She had to find a way to stop him from ever sneaking over at night again.

’...But how?’

An image of a particular figure surfaced in Cui Lingyao’s mind.

’He said he would help me dispel Xie Jinbai’s suspicions, bit by bit.’

’With his cleverness and resourcefulness, he could surely do it... couldn’t he?’

’Three days.’

’Yesterday, I said I needed three days to consider the marriage proposal.’

Now, after only a single night, Cui Lingyao was already tempted to agree.

’She had already thought it over last night. With Mrs. Shen gravely ill, as long as I’m still living as Pei Shuyao, I can’t avoid getting married.’

’Whether I marry into a humble family of matching status or marry Shen Tingyu, both paths have their own difficulties.’