Helian Qi watched as the woman opposite him was walking towards him step by step. His heart tightened involuntarily, and he felt nervous for some reason.
"Dongfang Yi?" he called out softly.
He rarely addressed her by her full name. Usually, he just distantly called her the Empress.
Now, hearing him call her name one syllable at a time, Dongfang Yi's heart couldn't help but pound wildly.
She couldn't remember who had said that if you like someone, you should call them by their full name.
As if bewitched, she took two steps and stood in front of him, calling out, "Helian Qi?"
It took her a while to come to her senses after that. Realizing that she had been a bit out of sorts just now, she quickly lowered her head and bowed slightly, asking, "Your Majesty, what brings you here so late?"
This distant manner made it seem as if all the passion just now had been an illusion.
Helian Qi frowned unhappily. He seemed very dissatisfied with the current situation, so he reached out and pulled her into his arms.
Dongfang Yi didn't expect the man in front of her to do this suddenly. When she came to her senses again, she was already in his arms. She turned back in surprise and just looked into his eyes.
How could she describe those eyes? It was as if the originally calm ice - lake was suddenly filled with the moonlight, full of endless tenderness.
All her words got stuck in her throat at that moment. She could only stare fixedly at the man in front of her.
Helian Qi seemed very satisfied with her infatuated look. So he continued in a bewitching voice, "Why did you lend the night - pearl I gave you to someone else?"
He had left angrily this morning because of this matter. But he was still fuming after he went back, so he decided to come over at night to get to the bottom of it.
Dongfang Yi replied after a pause, "Concubine Shu really likes it. Anyway, it's mine. It's good to lend it to others to have a look."
She said it confidently, and she really thought so. No matter how good a thing was, one would get tired of looking at it every day. It was better to lend it out for everyone to enjoy.
But Helian Qi was not satisfied with her words. After all, it was a gift from him. All her words were just excuses.
Thinking of this, he gently pinched her lower back.
Tickled, Dongfang Yi struggled. Her body, which was sitting on him, began to wriggle uncontrollably.
"Ouch... It tickles!" she couldn't help but say.
Helian Qi looked at the woman in his arms. Her body was constantly rubbing against him, and his eyes began to darken.
A burning desire was surging up from the bottom of his body.
"Stop moving!" he said in a deep voice.
Only then did Dongfang Yi notice something unusual about the man under her. She saw his blood - shot eyes and the strange reaction of his body.
Immediately, she understood what was going on. Her ears turned red right away, and the blush was spreading to her cheeks.
She didn't dare to move anymore, and the parts of her body that were touching Helian Qi began to feel hot.
"I'd better get up," she murmured softly.
"Shut up!" Helian Qi said a bit reproachfully.
There was a bit of panting in his voice. Sitting there, he tightly hugged the woman on him and rested his chin on her shoulder.
He could clearly smell the fragrance of her hair, which was the elegant scent of jasmine. And the soft touch under his hand and the warmth it brought made him unable to move at all.
The two of them stayed in this position for about a quarter of an hour.
Dongfang Yi could feel the sweat oozing from her forehead. Her body became stiff because she didn't dare to move.
Only then did Helian Qi let her go and slowly stood up.
"Don't lend out the things I give you again in the future!" he said after a pause.
Dongfang Yi obviously didn't expect him to say such a sudden thing. Immediately, the corners of her mouth curled up uncontrollably, and her mood became even better.
She had never seen the cute look of the man in front of her before, but she liked it very much.
"Okay!" she replied softly.
"Go and get the night - pearl back tomorrow and put it in the main palace," he said again.
It was as if he was declaring his sovereignty.
"Okay, okay, okay," Dongfang Yi nodded and continued to reply.
This man who was asking her like a child showed a kind of innocence that was not like his usual self.
After saying these words, Helian Qi walked towards the outside of the palace. Just as he was about to step out of the imperial bedroom, he turned back and took a deep look, saying, "I'll come again tomorrow."
Then he left the Empress's palace.
Dongfang Yi stared fixedly at the back of the man who was walking farther and farther away in front of her. She could clearly feel that something between them had completely changed.
It seemed that she had fallen in love with him all over again.
Just as she was immersed in her own thoughts, the window in the imperial bedroom was suddenly opened, and the cold wind poured in from outside.
Immediately afterwards, a man in black climbed in.
Dongfang Yi looked at the figure warily. Just as she was about to call Donghua, she saw his turned - around face.
It was Situ Qing!
"Why are you here?!" she asked in surprise, with a tone full of disbelief.
She quickly ran over to close the window, then looked out in front of the imperial bedroom door and closed it tightly.
Situ Qing felt a warm current in his heart when he saw the worried look of the woman in front of him because of him.
"Why are you here?!" she asked again.
"I came to pick you up and leave," he said to the woman in front of him word by word.
Those peach - blossom eyes that were always covered with a layer of mist seemed to be shining at this moment.
"I won't leave. My father..." Dongfang Yi was about to say something more when the man in front of her interrupted her.
"Stop making excuses! You don't want to leave because of Helian Qi, right?" he stared at her and asked.
There was a hint of loss of control in his tone, and the smile on his lips became self - mocking.
He had seen everything from outside the window just now.
The two people hugging each other in the palace. He hated himself for not coming a bit later, so that he wouldn't have to see their affectionate looks.
But even if he didn't see it, these things would still happen. When did he become such a self - deceiver? He didn't even know himself.
The way the woman in front of him lowered her head and said nothing made him even more out of control.
"Do you like this big birdcage of the palace so much? Or have you fallen in love with the life here?" His words became unpleasant.
Hearing this, Dongfang Yi looked up in disbelief, as if she had never expected Situ Qing to say such things to her.
"Shut up!" she said angrily.
She never expected the man in front of her to say such words to her.
"Is this what you think of me in your heart?!" she asked coldly, and couldn't help sneering at the end.
She had always regarded him as her best friend, but now it had come to this. Her heart began to ache sharply.
Hearing her question, Situ Qing's eyes began to dodge, and he was no longer aggressive.