Ye Bingshang lay weakly on the bed.
Though the winter in Zhou Kingdom was warmer than in Xia Kingdom, there was not a trace of color on her face.
Xiaohui said indignantly, "Miss, don’t listen to those gossipers. You are the only one in His Majesty’s palace—who else could he favor if not you? You came to Zhou Kingdom for the sake of righteousness and duty. They understand nothing. If His Majesty finds out, he’ll surely have their mouths slapped."
Ye Bingshang coughed twice. "Xiaohui, I’m fine. Go to sleep. It’s late, and His Majesty likely won’t be coming."
Just as Xiaohui was about to speak, she noticed the crystal palace lamps in the hall lighting up one after another.
"Miss, His Majesty is here!" Xiaohui exclaimed with delight.
Ye Bingshang was taken aback and looked up to see a young man in black robes walking slowly into the hall.
Xiaohui whispered, "His Majesty cares for you, Miss." After the two kingdoms ceased hostilities, Tantai Jin had asked for nothing from Zhou Kingdom except Ye Bingshang.
Now, despite the late hour, he had rushed over as soon as he heard she was unwell.
A palace maid took Tantai Jin’s cloak, and Ye Bingshang struggled to sit up and pay her respects.
Tantai Jin said, "There’s no need. Rest well."
The imperial physician, who had followed closely behind, repeated the details of Ye Bingshang’s condition. Tantai Jin listened expressionlessly and, after a long pause, remarked indifferently, "Execute those who gossip."
Xiaohui trembled, never expecting His Majesty to resort to killing so directly.
Ye Bingshang’s face also paled. Perhaps afraid of frightening her, the young man’s dark eyes softened with a touch of tenderness. "Don’t be afraid. I would never harm you."
Ye Bingshang said softly, "This concubine believes you, Your Majesty."
She gazed at him sorrowfully, as if struggling to speak, and after a long while, she mustered the courage to ask, "Does Your Majesty... truly despise this concubine?"
Tantai Jin replied gently, "No. I know your past and am grateful for the kindness you showed then. If I truly minded, I would not have asked for you."
Tears welled in Ye Bingshang’s eyes, and her hand beneath the brocade quilt grasped the young man’s palm.
"But what they say is true. This concubine should have hanged herself the moment Prince Xuan died. I have shamed Xia Kingdom and brought disgrace upon Your Majesty. I have no face to remain in Zhou Kingdom."
Tantai Jin smiled faintly. "How can the words of the dead be taken seriously?"
Ye Bingshang looked at him with red-rimmed eyes.
Her pitiable appearance stirred something in Tantai Jin. After a moment of silence, gazing into her eyes, he felt a faint flutter in his heart, much like years ago. Unable to help himself, his expression softened. "Sleep. I will stay with you tonight."
Ye Bingshang bit her lip and silently shifted inward.
Making room for Tantai Jin.
Tantai Jin remained silent, lay down beside her fully clothed.
The maids in Ye Bingshang’s palace were all very perceptive; seeing this, they quickly withdrew.
Xiaohui could not hide her joy. She had always said that with her mistress’s beauty, how could His Majesty ignore her forever? After tonight, her lady would surely receive a title, and no palace servant would dare to mistreat her again.
Xiaohui hurriedly followed the others out.
Only two dim palace lamps were left burning. Tantai Jin lay with his eyes open, his dark pupils fixed on Ye Bingshang.
Born devoid of emotion, he had learned human conventions from Jing Lan’an. Yet imitation was merely imitation—most of the time, his heart remained as cold as a deep pool in late autumn.
Only when facing this woman did his heart slowly unravel, giving rise to complex feelings.Ye Bingshang’s pale face was tinged with a faint blush. Her eyes lowered, she still carried that chrysanthemum-like elegance, her fingers trembling slightly as she began to remove Tantai Jin’s robes.
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for giving me a place to belong.”
She had just taken off his outer garment when he grasped her hand. Ye Bingshang lifted her gaze, and Tantai Jin smiled as he said, “You’re unwell, there’s no need for this. Rest now.”
Ye Bingshang’s lips quivered, but she nodded obediently and lay down.
Tantai Jin turned his back to her, the smile vanishing from his face, replaced by a shadow of gloom.
His expression was cold, and there was no reaction from his lower body.
From a young age, Tantai Jin had wondered if there was something wrong with him. Growing up in the squalid harem of the Xia Palace, he had understood the ways of the world by the age of eleven or twelve.
He had witnessed not only affairs between men and women but also the sordid dealings between men.
A normal male body would experience nocturnal emissions at the appropriate age, but he never did.
There had been female officials who coveted his looks and tried to seduce him. At the time, he was only thirteen, a lowly and frail hostage, unaware that he could command demonic creatures.
One female official used drugs and eagerly pressed herself against him, panting as she undressed him, saying, “Hostage, I’ll make you happy. Once you’ve tasted this pleasure, you’ll never forget it. You can touch me anywhere you like…”
Her voluptuous body felt like a lump of greasy meat to him, making him nauseous.
The female official’s hands roamed over his body, but after a while, the young boy beneath her, his face flushed, remained unresponsive, like a wooden stake.
She hiked up her skirt, spat fiercely, and kicked him.
Half-naked, he hugged himself silently, listening to her insults.
A wave of nausea slowly washed over him. The boy shielded his head, his dark pupils unblinking beneath his arm.
His fingers twitched slightly.
The female official’s eyes widened in terror. She tried to scream, but no sound came out.
She watched as the boy slowly rose from the ground, picked up his clothes, and dressed himself, staring at her expressionlessly. In her pupils, she saw a black snake tightening around her neck.
Soon, she collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
The boy looked at his hands, lost in thought.
For Tantai Jin, many things had happened over the years. Aside from death, nothing could frighten him. The reason he remembered this incident so vividly was that it was the first time he had been able to summon a demonic creature to kill.
Even if it was just a small, dim-witted snake.
The female official had died horribly.
By the time she was discovered, flies were buzzing around her corpse.
“I should be afraid of being able to summon demonic creatures,” Tantai Jin thought. But though he tried to feign fear, a wicked smile crept into his eyes.
Killing like this… was so simple.
With power, he could be a demon, even a devil. He could become anything.
For any other man, discovering in his youth that he was impotent would likely have been devastating. But Tantai Jin felt nothing. He quickly accepted this reality.
Just as when Tantai Minglang had tried to gouge out his eyes, he remained calm even after going blind.
Whether it was his eyes or his lower body, to him, they were merely accessories.
Yet, as he stared at the flickering candle flame with his pitch-black eyes, resting his head on his arm, he still felt no reaction, even with his “beloved” sleeping right behind him.
Just moments ago, in the Chengqian Palace…
Tantai Jin raised his hand and coldly touched the scratches on his face.
Su Su clenched her legs tightly, her expression grim.The curved jade said, "Little master, what's wrong with you?"
Su Su said, "Nature calls."
So the curved jade grew anxious along with her: "Tantai Jin hasn't returned yet, what should we do?"
Su Su gritted her teeth and said, "I really wish I could kill him."
"Maybe you should call for someone, little master."
Although Su Su could use breathing techniques to delay her body's reactions, a mortal body had many inconveniences. After enduring for a while, she called in a palace maid.
The palace maid said awkwardly, "This servant cannot untie the rope binding the young lady's hands."
"Where is Tantai Jin!"
Hearing this name, the palace maid became very frightened. Seeing Su Su angrily call the emperor by his name directly, the maid glanced at her fearfully: "His Majesty is in Princess Zhaohua's palace."
Su Su said, "Then get Nian Muning! Please bring Nian Muning here!"
Nian Muning entered shortly after.
The woman with the same cold expression as Nian Bai Yu glanced at her and frowned impatiently: "What does Third Miss Ye want now?"
"Untie the Ruoshui rope."
"No."
The young girl on the bed said with utter despair, "If you want me to pee on Tantai Jin's bed, you can just keep watching."
Nian Muning was stunned for a moment, then finally said, "Such vulgar language!"
Su Su: "..."
Despite her words, Nian Muning also realized Su Su's current predicament. As someone who had cultivated Daoist arts and wouldn't betray Tantai Jin, she naturally knew how to undo the Ruoshui rope.
She made a series of complex hand gestures, her lips moving slightly, and untied the rope from the bedpost. Su Su hopped up and ran off.
After a while, Su Su returned, lay back on the bed with a long sigh, and thought how difficult it was to be human.
Nian Muning tied the Ruoshui rope back on her.
Su Su didn't object, watching Nian Muning leave with her cold expression.
As soon as Nian Muning left, a smile appeared at the corner of Su Su's lips.
The curved jade said, "Little master, quickly undo it."
Su Su's slender fingers formed several hand seals, exactly mimicking Nian Muning's earlier movements.
Muttering incantations, she tried a few times, and soon the Ruoshui rope came undone.
Though young in the immortal world, Su Su was very clever at learning things.
She could memorize hand seals after seeing them once, and as for the incantations, she could deduce them from Nian Muning's occasional lip movements.
After untying the rope, Su Su lay back down.
It was so late outside that she couldn't accomplish anything by leaving now. She would assess the situation tomorrow.
Free from restraints, Su Su felt somewhat more at ease.
The curved jade sighed, understanding why Tantai Jin was so wary of its little master. Compared to them, she was indeed a formidable existence.
After daybreak, an imperial decree spread throughout the entire palace.
A eunuch holding a black decree smiled obsequiously at Ye Bingshang and said, "Congratulations, Madam, congratulations."
Ye Bingshang rose from the ground, her eyes soft like spring water, and thanked him gently.
The systems for conferring imperial consorts differed between the Zhou Kingdom and Great Xia.
The ranks of imperial consorts, from highest to lowest, were: "Empress, Madam, Zhaoyi, Jieyu, Ronghua, Meiren."
Tantai Jin had left before dawn.
Then the imperial decree arrived. Ye Bingshang had thought she would at most be made a Zhaoyi, never expecting Tantai Jin would directly confer upon her the title of "Madam Zhaohua," a position second only to the empress.
Holding the decree, she felt complex emotions.
The youth she hadn't thought much of before had now become her future support, a transformation that left a bittersweet taste in her heart.
At such a moment, she inevitably thought of Xiao Lin.
If Xiao Lin had ascended the throne, what he would have given her would probably have been similar.Everyone outside said Tantai Jin was a tyrant—cruel and indifferent—yet when facing Ye Bingshang, his expression always softened, his voice carrying a youthful clarity.
Xiao Hui said cheerfully, "This is wonderful! No one dares bully you anymore, Miss. Oh, no—Madam. Look at my tongue, Miss is now Madam."
A faint sorrow lingered between Ye Bingshang's brows as she gave a bitter smile and remained silent.
Everyone assumed Tantai Jin had favored her the previous night, but in truth, the young man had been as cold as his clothing.
She had stared blankly for half the night, suddenly missing Xiao Lin a little.
Loneliness and unease settled in Ye Bingshang's heart.
These things had come too quickly, making her feel it was all unreal. She had genuinely cared for Xiao Lin, but she couldn’t possibly follow him to death.
The current young emperor held more power than Xiao Lin and was more ruthless. Though she grieved, she knew this man’s temper was nothing like Xiao Lin’s gentle nature.
Even though… Ye Bingshang sensed that Tantai Jin seemed to be imitating how Xiao Lin had treated her.
Even the curve of his smile resembled Xiao Lin’s.
This did not comfort her; instead, it weighed heavily on her heart. Remembering that there was still a third younger sister in the palace who had disliked her since childhood, she felt even less at ease.
Gazing at the lotus pond in the palace, she tightened her grip on her sleeve.
Tantai Jin propped his chin lazily, watching the person kneeling below.
"Ye Chu Feng, how many days has it been? And you tell me you haven’t found anyone?"
Ye Chu Feng remained silent for a long moment before lowering his head. "This subordinate is incompetent."
"No, you’re not incompetent," Tantai Jin sneered. "You’re disloyal. A disloyal dog truly vexes me."
Ye Chu Feng’s shoulders trembled.
"Do you think I actually trust you, hmm?"
From behind Ye Chu Feng, the Soul Devouring Banner released the old Taoist’s Soul. Heavy with baleful energy, the old man cackled, "Your Majesty, we’ve found Pang Yi Zhi’s whereabouts. They’re actually hiding in the old woman’s courtyard!"
The "old woman" the Taoist referred to was Old Madam Ye, Su Su’s grandmother.
"Our men have surrounded the courtyard, but that old hag still refuses to hand them over."
Tantai Jin remarked mockingly, "Truly a woman from a military family."
Ye Chu Feng, pale-faced, kowtowed and pleaded, "I beg Your Majesty to spare my grand… Old Madam Ye."
Just as Tantai Jin was about to speak, Nian Bai Yu suddenly shouted, "Who’s there!"
His long sword flew out, and a figure outside the window nimbly dodged.
Ye Chu Feng exclaimed, "Third Sister!"
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