Shen Qing's body trembled uncontrollably. At this moment, she deeply felt that in the face of the powerful imperial power, all her will was so insignificant.
The man in front of her could not only decide her life and death, but also the fates of her mother and the Protector Duke's Mansion were just at his whim.
To him, she was just a plaything...
She closed her eyes. Well, being a plaything also had its advantages, didn't it?
Since it was inevitable, she didn't need to hide anymore. As long as he still had a bit of interest and pity for her, she could remain firmly in the Guangping Marquis Mansion.
From another perspective, if she could please Ji Junye well, then in time, it would be much easier for her to get a divorce from the marquis, and take revenge on the marquis's mansion.
"So, have you made up your mind?"
As soon as Shen Qing looked up, she saw Ji Junye looking at her with a half - smile.
Ji Junye also found it funny. It was the first time he had seen someone try to scheme against him so obviously.
Moreover, he was actually curious about her rather clumsy schemes.
Shen Qing realized she had been distracted, and her face flushed uncontrollably. Unable to bear his intense gaze any longer, she closed her eyes and nodded gently.
She heard a pleased chuckle.
"Tonight, I'll send Zhuxing to pick you up. I'll be waiting for you."
With these words, Ji Junye strode away.
Without support, Shen Qing's legs gave way, and she slid down the door and sat on the ground. She couldn't get up for a long time.
It was not until Yingxiu ran in with tears still on her face. "Madam, are you okay?"
Shen Qing shook her head. "I'm fine. Help me up first."
Yingxiu sniffed and helped Shen Qing up and sat her down in the room.
Shen Qing held Yingxiu's hand. "Are you okay?"
Yingxiu shook her head. "Madam, this servant is fine. He locked this servant in another room and wouldn't let me come over..."
As soon as Shen Qing heard this, she knew that the "he" Yingxiu mentioned was Ji Junye's man.
Yingxiu hesitated. "Madam, they..."
Shen Qing nodded. "It's the person you're thinking of."
Yingxiu's tears flowed even more freely.
"Don't worry. I'm fine, aren't I?"
Shen Qing wasn't worried that the fact that she had come to Yan Chunqiu today would be spread. Since Ji Junye had said he would wait for her tonight, it meant he wouldn't let her be discovered for the time being.
His willingness to protect her was beneficial to her in any case.
As for what he wanted, wasn't it just that?
She'd just give it to him.
That night, Shen Qing got into a low - key carriage. The carriage swayed into a deserted alley and stopped in a small courtyard.
As soon as Shen Qing entered the bedroom, she was firmly pressed onto the bed.
Kisses rained down on her, and his breath enveloped her. He was much more aggressive than at noon.
Shen Qing's body suddenly stiffened. Without the effect of the drug, her consciousness was extremely clear at this moment. A huge sense of shame, nervousness, and fear wrapped around her tightly.
Ji Junye felt her tension and used a finger to pinch the soft flesh on her waist.
"Relax."
Shen Qing was extremely sensitive around her waist. Almost instantly, her tense body softened.
Ji Junye seemed quite satisfied with her compliance. His movements became gentler, but it didn't affect the storm he brought at all.
Shen Qing felt like a small boat on the sea, rising and falling with the waves.
She endured it passively, but couldn't help but sink into it.
Outside, Yingxiu blushed and listened to the sounds inside nervously. She glanced at Zhuxing, who was standing upright beside her. She wanted to say something but didn't dare to open her mouth in the end.
The commotion in the room gradually subsided until the second half of the night. When it was all over, Shen Qing couldn't hold back her overwhelming drowsiness and fell asleep.
Before falling into a deep sleep, she only had one thought: There were women in the tyrant's harem. Couldn't any of them satisfy him?
The next day, Shen Qing woke up in Ji Junye's arms.
It was already late in the morning. As soon as she moved, Ji Junye woke up too.
Ji Junye impatiently pressed her head into the quilt.
Trapped inside, Shen Qing struggled a bit but to no avail. She asked in a muffled voice, "Doesn't Your Majesty need to go to court?"
There was no response for a long time.
Shen Qing: "..."
Well, he was a tyrant with a bad temper in the morning.
Just when she thought Ji Junye wouldn't answer her, the man's voice came from above her head. "I've been feeling unwell these days. I don't want to go to court."
Shen Qing couldn't help but mutter to herself. Unwell?
Then who was the man who was so energetic last night that she cried herself hoarse but he still wouldn't stop?
Who would have thought that right after she muttered to herself, she was lifted up. Her face was pinched and pulled out. She didn't need to look to know that her face was deformed. "Don't scold me under the quilt!"
"I didn't..." Shen Qing's eyes were full of tears from the pain.
Ji Junye snorted. He wasn't that stupid. The way she had just been acting, she was clearly scolding him secretly.
But it wasn't entirely his fault. He had always suffered from insomnia and light sleep. No matter how the imperial doctors treated him, it was of no use. Since the day they parted at the Grand Princess's Mansion, he hadn't slept well for some time. After thinking about it for a long time, he decided to try if only Shen Qing could make him sleep well.
As a result, when he saw her yesterday, some forgotten memories suddenly came back to his mind, and he unconsciously indulged himself a bit more.
In the past, he had hated women and wasn't very interested in the affairs between men and women. But after having contact with Shen Qing, he found that this feeling was actually so fascinating.
He had slept well in the second half of the night. It was the first time he had slept so soundly since leaving the Grand Princess's Mansion.
The irritability and gloom that had accumulated for many days were swept away, and his headache was also gone.
This discovery made Ji Junye's mood much better. So when Shen Qing finally managed to stick her head out of the quilt, he gave a hard tug and imprisoned her in his arms again.
"Stay with me and sleep a bit more."
Still sleep?
It was already late in the morning.
Did the tyrant like sleeping so much?
Shen Qing recalled her memories of Ji Junye.
Ji Junye was really an odd king. He didn't like to attend the morning court. He had changed the court sessions, which were originally held once every three days, to once every ten days.
When there were matters, he would ask the ministers to submit memorials directly. And the memorials were not allowed to be wordy. If he found that someone had written a long and useless memorial, he would directly send it back for rewriting.
Previously, some people had opposed not attending the morning court, saying that it violated the ancestral system. Ji Junye said that from then on, they could go to court every day. If anyone was absent without reason, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor.
In order to show their diligence, those officials went to the Golden Luan Hall very early the next morning. But they waited for the whole morning and didn't see the emperor or their colleagues.
This stalemate lasted for a month. Those officials couldn't bear it anymore and gave up. Since then, no one dared to mention the morning court again.
While Shen Qing was in a daze, the gentle and even breathing sound came from beside her.
Shen Qing felt a bit indescribable at this moment. Could it be that the reason he didn't attend the morning court was simply that he liked sleeping and couldn't get up in the morning?
Shen Qing quickly threw this thought out of her mind.
What was she thinking? How could she make up stories about the tyrant?
But then she remembered that when she saw him yesterday, there were indeed dark circles under his eyes. Could there be some thorny issues recently?