Chapter 337: Is It Beautiful, Song Xianxian

"It hasn’t been that many years, and yet I always feel as if I’ve known Your Majesty for a very, very long time."

Song Junzhan poured himself a cup of wine and downed it in one go. His gaze drifted toward the distant lights, his clear, mellow voice now tinged with a hazy, hoarse drunkenness.

"Your Majesty may not know this, but when I first met you, I had been in the Capital City for less than a year."

"I was filled with hatred, so paranoid I was nearly mad. I was single-mindedly determined to find my uncles from back then. I would appeal to their emotions, reason with them, and if that failed, I’d threaten them with what I knew. No matter what it took, I was going to make them petition the Emperor. Ideally, they would unite to form a new power to oppose the aristocratic families, awaken the Emperor, and change the state of the world."

"I dove headfirst into it back then, my blood boiling with passion. I felt I could burn through everything for this cause, even my own life. I was convinced I was right, and that if I was wrong, it was the world that was at fault. Looking back now, I suppose I was more than a little arrogant, unaware of my own limitations."

"If I hadn’t met Your Majesty, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’m afraid I would have died long ago, stubbornly ramming my head against one wall after another."

"At first, I only thought Your Majesty was a beautiful, noble-born young lady. But your speech and bearing were so unique that I was drawn to you against my will. Being with you granted me moments of peace. Later, when I vaguely guessed your identity, I was desperate and foolishly thought of using you."

"Your Majesty sensed my intentions, but instead of anger, you woke me up with a dose of reality."

"Your Majesty offered the Three States as a fiefdom, a chance for me to establish a new dynasty and reshape Imperial Power. But alas... I am not like you. I am incapable of such a grand undertaking."

"And just when I was most lost, Your Majesty showed me a path. I was uncertain at first. I only wanted to follow you for selfish reasons I could never voice, chasing a slim possibility. I never imagined it would be Your Majesty—a woman—who would upend the court and give me everything I ever wanted, and so much more..."

He drank cup after cup, his gaze dropping from the distant horizon to the empty cup in his hand. His voice grew heavy. "Your Majesty was in a coma for four hundred thirty-three days... To protect you, your servant lived in the palace during that time. When I couldn’t sleep at night, I would come here, but I never dared to drink."

He was a poor drinker and feared that getting drunk would lead to a disastrous mistake.

Each day of waiting brought another day of disappointment. He was swamped with work in the court and the palace. At his most exhausted moments, he would always see an image of Your Majesty.

He was terrified of losing his mind back then. How could he possibly dare to drink and cloud his thoughts?

Heh...

Song Junzhan suddenly felt he was being melodramatic. ’A grown man, how have I managed to talk myself into feeling so aggrieved?’

He lowered his head and took another drink, not even daring to turn and look at the Empress’s expression.

BANG!

A loud explosion echoed from the distance. Song Junzhan jerked his head up to see a firework bursting open.

That single firework was like a key unlocking the pitch-black night. It was followed by countless others, rising and bursting in succession, making the dark night bloom with a dazzling display of fiery trees and silver flowers.

Song Junzhan had no time to admire the view; he instinctively turned his head to the side.

He assumed the Empress would also be captivated by the fireworks, that she would surely be looking in their direction. But when he turned, he fell right into her bright, smiling eyes.

She was leaning back in her chair with a casual air, her eyes full of teasing as she watched him with a leisurely smile. Her expression was one of certainty, as if she knew he would look over at that very moment.

Her lips moved, the sound of her voice swallowed by the explosions of the fireworks, but Song Junzhan still made out her words.

She was saying, "Are they pretty, Song Xianxian?"

It felt as if a giant hand had instantly clenched around Song Junzhan’s heart. In a flash, all his feelings of aggrievement were incinerated, his chest filling with a reckless flame that burned higher and higher until it consumed every last shred of his reason and restraint.

’A gentleman’s decorum? The shackles of etiquette? What a fool I’ve been to let myself be bound by such things.’

’What does etiquette matter? Is it more important than Your Majesty?’

He filled his cup but didn’t drink. Instead, he turned, half-knelt before the Empress, and offered the cup to her lips.

In this moment, as a subject before his ruler, his crime was worthy of ten thousand deaths.

But his gaze was scorching, every reservation incinerated by the wildly burning emotions. His eyes saw nothing but the Empress before him, looking down at him with a faint smile.

Xiao Li raised an eyebrow. Song Xianxian couldn’t see his own face, couldn’t know just how tempting he looked in that moment.

The normally cool and self-possessed Immortal Scholar, now tainted by mortal desire, looked as if he were on the verge of falling to the demonic path—unrestrained, scorching, and greedy, his eyes filled with raw, naked craving.

An Immortal Scholar was to be admired from afar, not profaned. But an Immortal Monarch who had fallen to the mortal world... that was a temptation none could resist.

Xiao Li glanced at the cup before her, lowered her head slightly, and drank from it while he held it.

The instant the cup was empty, Song Junzhan tossed it aside, tilting his head up to kiss her with an urgent, forceful passion.

’Was that all just a dream? Did Your Majesty not know any of it?’

’It’s fine. If Your Majesty doesn’t know, then we’ll just have to do it all over again.’

’The fake will become real. Now, this will be a memory we can both share.’

He was committing the highest treason, seducing his sovereign. His crimes were unforgivable, heinous to the extreme.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

In the breathless moments of their kiss, he called out her title again and again, his voice perfectly overlapping with the seductive fox spirit that had once bewitched the Empress.

But this time, he was no mere spirit, and there were no restrictions. There was only the all-or-nothing passion that threatened to burn him to cinders.

He had been to Qiong Snow Palace many times, so he was naturally familiar with the furnishings inside.

Though he had been plagued by chronic illness, he had also practiced martial arts. He looked slender, but he was far from frail.

He lifted the Empress securely into his arms and strode into the palace hall.

A few scattered lamps lit the hall, just enough for him to see the way. But when he carried the Empress to the bed and saw it was covered with a great red quilt, he froze on the spot.

A great red quilt embroidered with auspicious dragons and phoenixes... This was clearly...

In the brief moment he was stunned, Xiao Li leaped lightly from his arms, pushed him down onto the bed, and loomed over him with a devilishly radiant smile.

Her fingertips hooked his sash, a gesture both suggestive and dangerous.

"If the Prime Minister hesitates now, you’ll lose, you know."

The next moment, his sash was undone, and the Empress’s hand descended wantonly.

"Ngh..."

Song Junzhan’s eyes flew wide in disbelief. His pupils trembled, shimmering with a watery light, and the corners of his eyes instantly welled with tears.

And the Empress leaned down, her fragrant, domineering kiss falling upon him.

"The Prime Minister is a delectable sight. We have coveted you for a long time. In a little while... try not to cry, alright?"

Gazing at the dangerously alluring Empress, Song Junzhan trembled from the very core of his being.

This was a side of Her Majesty he had never seen before, utterly bewitching and soul-stealing.

He found it utterly impossible to refuse her.

Trembling, he raised his hands to embrace her, his voice so choked with emotion it was barely a rasp. "Your Majesty... Your servant... could ask for nothing more. I beg Your Majesty to grant me this favor..."

------

Outside Qiong Snow Palace, Yang Jun, Hong Yue, and the others were still on guard.

Practice makes perfect. Everyone was now able to face the situation with considerable calm.

It was just that the Prime Minister was far more reserved; he didn’t let a single sound escape for them to hear, making it impossible to tell whether things were a success or not.

It felt rather strange.

Yang Jun’s legs were getting tired from standing, so he paced back and forth a few steps. Suddenly, a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked closely. Who else could that frighteningly gloomy shadow in the darkness be but Lou Yan?

’That baleful aura is terrifying.’

Lou Yan was facing directly toward Qiong Snow Palace. He obviously knew who the Empress was with inside, and what was happening at a time like this was self-evident.

Given Lou Yan’s wicked nature, Yang Jun was half-afraid he might actually charge in and start killing.

But Lou Yan only watched, from start to finish. He stood there until dawn before finally turning to leave.