Chapter 206: With So Little Skill, and Still Trying to Be a Pervert

Affairs between men and women should be consensual.

Xiao Yang wasn’t one to overthink things. When the atmosphere was right and the mood was set, there was no need to deny herself.

It was the behavior of a shameless flirt, but she never hid it. She was upfront about it: take it or leave it.

She lived a free and easy life, enjoying the calm that came with being on her own.

Xu Xingchen was delectable. Young, handsome, with fair, delicate skin—he was a sweet, tender little cake.

She liked him, but she wasn’t one to force things. Yet, since this little cake had already caught her, it would be a crime against herself not to take a taste.

And sure enough, he was even more delicious than she had imagined.

"There, now. Breathe."

Young Master Xu. Lived to the age of eighteen. Cause of death: suffocated while kissing.

Xu Xingchen’s face was flushed red, whether from embarrassment or lack of air, it was hard to say. He stared straight at her, his eyes wide with the excitement of having a new world opened up to him.

His body pressed against hers, and his hands had already found their way expertly around her waist.

He took a few deep breaths, his head still spinning, but his desire spoke first. "More."

Xiao Yang raised an eyebrow, looking at him in amusement. "Oh?"

Xu Xingchen turned, grabbed the wine pot, and took a swig directly from the spout before leaning in to kiss her again.

He was truly naive, but his naivety was astonishingly direct.

Mere naivety would have been dull.

But this naive boy was also intelligent and resourceful. He might not understand his own feelings, but he knew what he wanted, and he knew how to take it.

The ultimate catch in the "adorable puppy" category.

Sincere and decisive. A lethal combination.

Xu Xingchen had wanted to keep the Emperor all to himself, but two hours later, he was the one to surrender, fleeing in disarray to go wash up.

Watching his retreating figure nearly trip and fall, Xiao Yang chuckled dotingly. "Heh... what a lightweight."

’And with skills like that, he wants to act like some kind of deviant?’

The reason Xiao Yang found Xu Xingchen so endearing was probably that she was quite the deviant herself. And when a master deviant looks at a novice, isn’t it just the most adorable thing?

’Handling a lightweight like him was child’s play.’

Xiao Yang got up and left before Xu Xingchen returned, deciding to give the boy some time to recover so as not to overwhelm him.

The Emperor’s martial arts were formidable, and her entourage consisted of top experts. Thus, during her trip to the Xu Family estate, the only ones who sensed her presence were Grand Tutor Xu’s two highly skilled guards. Even then, they were too far away to know anything more than that someone had come and gone.

Grand Tutor Xu said nothing after hearing the report. As long as no incident occurred, it was fine.

However, the steward had discovered a certain matter.

"My lord, it seems the Second Madam is looking for marriage candidates for the young master. And not just a wife—the Second Madam has also found two maids to be placed with Young Master Xingchen, intending for them to teach him the ways of men and women."

Grand Tutor Xu frowned. Ever since Xu Xingchen had made a show of toasting her at the banquet to vie for her favor, everyone knew he belonged to the Emperor.

Gossip was rampant; there was no way it hadn’t reached Su Rong’s ears.

Grand Tutor Xu immediately had the two maids sent away, lest Su Rong use some unsavory methods on his grandson. As for marriage, any family of status knew that Xu Xingchen belonged to the Emperor. Marrying into the Xu family now? Did they have a death wish for their entire clan?

However, Su Rong wouldn’t stand for it. The moment her husband returned from his court duties, she dragged him along to see Grand Tutor Xu.

Su Rong was clever enough not to mention the maids directly. Instead, she brought up the matter of Xu Xingchen’s marriage.

"Father, Xingchen is no longer a child. Shouldn’t we be scheduling his marriage?"

"I have my eye on two young ladies and would like you to take a look, Father."

Grand Tutor Xu actually glanced at the list she presented: the granddaughter of the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel from the Zhou Family, and Miss Xiao Wanxia of the Prince Jing Mansion.

In terms of family background and status, both young women were indeed excellent choices and a perfect match for Xu Xingchen.

But who would dare agree to such a match? You’d have to be a monumental fool to let your daughter try and steal someone the Emperor has her eye on.

And the Prince Jing Mansion of all places... that entire family is obsessed with the Empress. If the Xu Family dared to make an overture, how would that be any different from seeking their own humiliation?

Grand Tutor Xu tossed the list directly into the brazier.

"Don’t feign ignorance with me. Xingchen’s marriage is for Her Majesty to decide."

Su Rong’s head snapped up. "Her Majesty will decide? Do you think she’ll ever let Xingchen marry and have children?"

"Since time immemorial, marriages have been arranged by parents and settled by matchmakers! What kind of precedent is there for stealing another’s son to be a male favorite?"

Grand Tutor Xu said, "She *is* the precedent."

"As for you..."

Grand Tutor Xu glanced at Xu Yunzhou, who stood beside her. "Seeing as no irreversible mistake has been made, I will give you one last chance. If you still fail to recognize the reality of the situation, you will either divorce your wife and remarry, or you will both be expelled from the family, with all ties severed."

Su Rong burst into angry tears. "Father! Grand Tutor Xu, I’m begging you!"

She dropped to her knees, screaming hoarsely, "Even if you look down on me, Xu Xingchen is your grandson! He has the blood of the Xu Family in his veins! How can you just stand by and watch him become the Emperor’s plaything, to be utterly ruined?"

Grand Tutor Xu erupted in fury. "Who told you he was a ’plaything’? Her Majesty is unmarried, Xingchen is of a suitable age, and their feelings are mutual! Why shouldn’t they be together?"

’And she dares say he’s being ruined? Is she afraid our entire family won’t be executed?’

But Su Rong was still defiant. "I couldn’t possibly accept an Empress as my daughter-in-law! A wife’s duty has always been to support her husband, raise children, and serve her in-laws. She’s the Empress! Who could possibly control her?"

Grand Tutor Xu was so apoplectic his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.

’Su Rong wants to make the Empress her daughter-in-law? Expects the Empress to *serve* her? Thinks she can *control* her?’

’He never knew his family housed such a brave soul.’

’Foolish! Unfathomably foolish!’

He turned to Xu Yunzhou. "And what are your thoughts?"

Xu Yunzhou looked at his wife with a pained expression. "She suffered terribly to bring Xingchen into this world. Everything she does is for his own good. We only wish for him to marry, have children, and live a peaceful life. We ask for nothing more."

"Fine, fine, fine..." Grand Tutor Xu nodded repeatedly, a cold, furious sneer on his face. "A fine ’nothing more’ indeed!"

Grand Tutor Xu closed his eyes. "Men! Pack their belongings and send them to Liangzhou at once. Tomorrow, I will convene the elders and open the ancestral hall to formally expel Xu Yunzhou from the clan. Furthermore, we will sever all ties with the Su Family. There is to be no contact between our families for three generations."

’He was my own son, but he was indecisive, blind to reality, and utterly indulgent of his wife. Left unchecked, he would become a great calamity for this family.’

He had raised this son for more than forty years, giving him free access to all the family’s resources. After Su Rong married into the family, the couple did nothing but travel for leisure. Aside from producing Xu Xingchen, they had not accomplished a single praiseworthy deed.

For twenty long years, the Xu Family had not wronged her. They had even promoted her father and brother from the Su Family, who were nothing more than petty ninth-rank officials, elevating them until one now held a third-rank position and the other a fifth-rank.

The Xu Family had done right by her, and they had more than done right by their son, Xu Yunzhou.

’As far as they are concerned, this old man died today.’

The bond between father and son was severed in this lifetime. From this day forward, they were strangers.

Grand Tutor Xu was utterly resolute. In truth, this wasn’t just about Xu Xingchen. It was the culmination of decades of disappointment in his son, which had finally and completely erupted.

He was foolish as a young man, foolish as a father, and he was still foolish now in his middle age.

After wandering the world for a dozen years, he still couldn’t grasp the political situation. His wife could only see the petty squabbles of the inner courtyard and even dreamed of putting on a mother-in-law’s airs for the Emperor. The foolishness was beyond measure.

Then let them be gone!