Chapter 1255: Heart Sinking to the Depths

In her sleep, Chen Yuanyuan let out a soft “Mm~” her delicate brows furrowing slightly, as if she sensed something happening.

Song Qingshu never expected Li Yuanzhi to do something like this. He was both shocked and angry. “What are you doing?”

“Getting my revenge~” Li Yuanzhi replied matter-of-factly, while tearing apart Ah Ke’s tr0users nearby. She scraped the remaining residue into her palm and smeared it messily along Ah Ke’s inner thigh.

“Enough!” Song Qingshu’s eyelids twitched. He quickly pulled her back.

“What, are you mad?” Li Yuanzhi pressed herself against him, rubbing her shoulder against his with a triumphant grin.

Song Qingshu let out a cold snort. He glanced at Chen Yuanyuan beside them. Her lips, rosy and moist, seemed to glisten in the candlelight. His heart pounded wildly, and he quickly turned his face away.

“Oh, they ruined my innocence. I originally planned to return the favor and make them taste what it’s like to lose their purity, but since Brother Song is such an upright gentleman and wouldn’t help me, I had to resort to this instead,” Looking at her handiwork on the bed, Li Yuanzhi lifted her chin, the slightly upturned corners of her mouth betraying her immense satisfaction. “Though I can’t actually take their chastity, using this method to frighten them is just as satisfying. Just thinking about how they’ll be worried and suspicious after they wake up makes me so happy. And thinking that they’ll stay that way for a long time makes me even happier.”

Song Qingshu’s face darkened. So Li Yuanzhi had only pretended to give up on revenge to trick him. Even seducing him into bed had been part of the plan… This girl was indeed a little demoness.

“Alright, you’ve had your revenge. Are you satisfied now?” Song Qingshu picked up the clothes scattered nearby and tossed them to her. “Get dressed. We need to leave.”

Chen Yuanyuan and Ah Ke lay on the bed, their hair disheveled, their cl0thes in tatters, revealing ivory-like skin. They looked like crabapple blossoms ravaged by a storm—yet that only added an strange allure. Song Qingshu was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he might do something impulsive. He quickly pulled Li Yuanzhi to leave.

“Look at you, all scared. And you’re the famous Golden Serpent King,” Li Yuanzhi pouted, though she obediently began dressing. As she did, she giggled, “Why are you so worked up, Brother Song? You’re the one who benefited the most anyway.”

Song Qingshu nearly stumbled. “What benefit did I get?”

“Making the most beautiful woman in the world swallow your… well, there are countless men who’d give ten years of their lives just for that opportunity.” Li Yuanzhi’s almond-shaped eyes sparkled as she spoke, a teasing look on her face.

“Cough, cough~” Song Qingshu was mortified. “In my homeland, behavior like yours would get you labeled a pervert or a deviant. It’s getting late. Let’s go.”

“Wait!” Halfway to the door, Li Yuanzhi suddenly turned and ran back to the bed.

Fearing she might do something truly drastic, Song Qingshu hurried over and asked in a low voice, “What are you doing now?”

“Making it look more convincing,” Li Yuanzhi answered with a giggle. Using both hands and feet, she began pinching and scratching at Chen Yuanyuan and Ah Ke’s bodies.

“Mmm~” Despite having their sleep acupoints sealed, the sleeping mother and daughter still felt everything, letting out pained groans from their throats.

Song Qingshu’s eyelids twitched at the sight. He initially wanted to stop her, but he thought better of it. If he didn’t let the little demoness vent her anger, she might come up with even worse tricks later. He hesitated and let her be. She was measured enough—though she left bruises all over the mother and daughter, they were only superficial injuries. A few days of rest would heal them, and there would be no lasting harm.

Song Qingshu could only silently remind himself, *They did harm Li Yuanzhi first. In this world, a woman’s chastity is beyond precious. Compared to what Li Yuanzhi lost, this is nothing.*

“Mission accomplished!” Li Yuanzhi clapped her hands, surveying her work with great satisfaction.

Looking at Chen Yuanyuan and Ah Ke lying on the bed, looking like deflowered flowers ravaged by @buse, Song Qingshu felt a jolt in his heart. The scene reminded him of the Jin palace, where Empress Pei Man had similarly staged the two Song princesses as if they had been assaulted by Prince Wei. But this scene before him was far more visually striking.

“Brother Song, let’s go!” Having avenged herself, the pent-up negativity of recent days had been completely swept away. Li Yuanzhi had instantly transformed back into the bright, sunny maiden she used to be.

“Better to let it out than bottle it up. This is for the best.” Song Qingshu smiled gently, wrapped his arm around her slender waist, and the two disappeared into the night beyond the window.

*****

Not long after they left, Ah Ke and Chen Yuanyuan woke up one after the other. For one thing, Song Qingshu hadn’t used much internal force to seal their acupoints. For another, the pain from Li Yuanzhi’s pinching had hastened their awakening.

“What happened?” Ah Ke sat up groggily. Because her skin was as smooth as silk, the blanket slid off her naturally. Feeling the chill in the air, she finally realized her clothes were in disarray and let out a startled cry.

“What is it?” Beside her, Chen Yuanyuan also sat up, rubbing her forehead. Her whole body ached. Still muddled from just waking, she swallowed instinctively as she sat up.

“Gulp~”

Chen Yuanyuan’s expression turned strange. She sensed that she had swallowed something. She quickly reached up to touch her lips, just in time to feel a trace of residue at the corner of her mouth. Bringing her fingers to her nose, the strange yet familiar scent nearly made her faint.

As an experienced woman, how could she not recognize what it was? Realizing she had just swallowed so much of it, she felt a wave of nausea in her chest and stomach. She leaned over the edge of the bed and began to retch.

But after heaving for a long while, nothing came up but some clear fluid.

“Mother, what’s wrong?” Ah Ke was startled. She quickly patted Chen Yuanyuan’s back, trying to comfort her.

“Water… I need water~” Chen Yuanyuan’s jade-white cheeks flushed a deep crimson—whether from anxiety or shame, it was hard to tell.

“Your Highness, what happened?” At that moment, the palace maids outside, having heard Ah Ke’s cry, rushed in.

The moment they entered, they saw the mother and daughter—one with a flushed, peach-blossom face, the other with disheveled hair, both in messy, disarrayed clothing. Their eyes widened. Each silently wondered, *Were they playing some kind of game with each other? But they’re mother and daughter…*

Aside from the guards, the only man in the entire palace was the emperor himself, and only a few dozen had ever received his favor. Tens of thousands of palace maids suffered the loneliness of the deep palace, and inevitably sought some form of solace.

Some maids turned to eunuchs, forming “companion marriages.” Though nothing physical could happen, at least they could live together and share meals, giving each other a semblance of a home.

But such relationships were strictly forbidden in every dynasty, with severe punishments. So other maids turned to each other, playing games with one another. Even imperial consorts sometimes dabbled.

These were unspoken secrets. Everyone who survived in the palace knew better than to speak carelessly. Seeing the disheveled state of the bed, they all lowered their heads.

“Quick, bring my mother a cup of water,” Ah Ke urged.

“Don’t—” Chen Yuanyuan quickly stopped them. “It’s nothing. You may leave.”

“Mother?” Ah Ke looked at her in confusion.

“I’ll explain later,” Chen Yuanyuan said in a low voice.

“Yes!” The maids began to withdraw.

“Wait!” Chen Yuanyuan suddenly thought of something. “Did anyone come in just now?”

The maids exchanged glances. The lead one replied, “We’ve been standing guard outside the whole time. No one entered.”

Chen Yuanyuan’s heart raced, though her face remained composed. She waved her hand. “I see. You may go.”

After the maids closed the door, Ah Ke finally gave in to her curiosity. “Mother, why did you send them away?”

Chen Yuanyuan smiled bitterly. “What happened tonight is too bizarre. If even a whisper of it gets out, we mother and daughter will be in mortal danger.” Having weathered so many storms in her life, she had quickly regained her composure after the initial panic. She immediately realized the risk. If those maids had seen anything or smelled anything, what had happened to them could never be hidden.

With Li Yuanzhi’s fate fresh in her mind, she knew well what a tragic end awaited a consort whose chastity was compromised.

As she spoke, Chen Yuanyuan found her mouth still full of that taste. She frowned and said to her daughter, “First, get me a cup of water.”

“Alright!” Ah Ke wrapped a garment around herself and stood to fetch water. But she suddenly cried out in pain and fell back onto the bed, her face contorted in agony.

“What’s wrong?” Chen Yuanyuan rushed to support her.

“It hurts down there.” Ah Ke frowned. If any man had been present, her pitiful expression would have stirred his heart.

Chen Yuanyuan’s face paled. She quickly lifted her daughter’s clothes and saw her originally fair thighs covered in dark bruises. More alarming was the sticky mess smeared on Ah Ke’s inner thighs. The familiar smell made Chen Yuanyuan’s heart sink to the very bottom.

“Wh-what is this stuff?” Ah Ke, being an innocent maiden, and with no modern information at her disposal, hadn’t yet realized the gravity of the situation. She even reached out, wiped some on her finger, and brought it to her nose. A strange, unsettling odor made her freeze.

“Don’t smell it!” Chen Yuanyuan grabbed her hand away, a charming blush spreading across her face. She spat, “It’s something filthy.”

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