Is She Here?

Whenever an imperial clan member of Great Yan was born, the Court of the Imperial Clan would meticulously select a child of exceptional talent and constitution from across the realm, placing them under the care of the Director of the Imperial Clan to be raised from an early age. Once the prince or princess reached the age of ten, this child would be sent to the inner palace to serve at their side, bound to the royal scion in prosperity and adversity alike. A loyal subordinate for life, devoted to a single master. The trust an imperial scion placed in their senior attendant often surpassed even the affection between blood siblings. And now, for the Crown Prince to dispatch his own senior attendant across tens of thousands of li to meet Li Qingyan spoke volumes about the gravity of tonight's affair. On a grander scale, this secret discussion tonight might even sway the ultimate outcome of the battle for the throne. Thinking up to this point, Xu Yuan poured himself a cup of fine wine and watched the ripples in the cup. "I don't think this is an affair suitable for me to get involved in." While conventional thought in this era dictated that once a man married into another family, his ties to his birth clan were effectively severed, the issue was that after everything the two of them had been through together, Li Qingyan had to know his standing in the Prime Minister's Manor was far more than that of a simple profligate playboy. Unbothered, Li Qingyan replied in a soft, measured tone, "There are some matters I wish to make clear to the Crown Prince tonight." "..." This ambiguous answer made Xu Yuan's brow knit slightly. He couldn't quite see what medicine she was peddling. Make matters clear... If she brought him along, a real discussion would be out of the question. After all, in an affair of such gravity within the imperial clan, dragging him—the third son of the Prime Minister's Manor—along to watch up close was utterly preposterous. Was she planning to reject the Crown Prince outright? Looking at her placid expression, Xu Yuan broke off his train of thought and sighed quietly. For the moment, he couldn't figure out what Li Qingyan was thinking. But since she wanted him there, she must have her reasons; he would know once they arrived. "Heh, since you don't mind, Qingyan, I certainly don't either. I just wonder what expression the Crown Prince's senior attendant will have when he sees you bringing this young master along." With a chuckle, Xu Yuan stood up and casually untied the sash at the waist of his brocade robe. The fine, supple silk parted and slipped down, exposing the padded undershirt soaked with spilled wine. Li Qingyan's eyes narrowed slightly as she watched his movements inside the carriage. Disrobing, Xu Yuan tapped the wine stain on his chest. "My clothes are soaked in wine. Going to meet the heir apparent's senior attendant like this would be terribly rude, wouldn't it? It isn't as though we haven't seen each other stripped bare before. If you're shy—" "It's fine." Li Qingyan inclined her head. There was none of the embarrassment expected of a young woman in her eyes; instead, an elusive, wry smirk flitted across them. With that, she sat straight-backed upon the cushioned couch, her gaze unblinking as she took in his undressing. "Tsk." Their eyes met, and Xu Yuan clicked his tongue softly. Sometimes he truly felt this woman was utterly infuriating. The word "bashful" didn't seem to exist in her dictionary. Actions that would have any proper lady drawing her sword to strike down an impudent rogue didn't faze her in the slightest; she might even turn around and tease you right back. Growing somewhat uncomfortable under her stare, Xu Yuan paused. "Could you stop staring?" "Why? Didn't you say it yourself? It isn't as though we haven't seen each other stripped bare before..." Li Qingyan tilted her head, her beautiful eyes gleaming with a perfectly timed flash of realization before her plump red lips parted slightly. "Ah... Changtian, are you shy?" "..." Xu Yuan couldn't be bothered to entertain her any further. He shed the brocade robe completely and tossed it onto the couch beside him. His once emaciated, skin-and-bones frame was long gone, replaced by sharp, defined lines. Taking a fresh set of clothes from his Sumeru ring, he draped the undershirt over his shoulders. Before he could tie the sash, he felt an icy finger trace across his waist and abdomen. Looking down, he saw her seated upright on the cushioned couch. Her delicate fingertip slid lightly along the contours of his chest down toward his abdomen. Her eyes were half-lidded, her long, dense lashes trembling faintly. The cool touch of her finger left a tingling trail in its wake. Incense smoke drifted lazily; silence pooled like still water within the carriage. Xu Yuan's lips tugged down into an odd smile. "What are you doing?" Li Qingyan lifted her phoenix eyes, her smiling expression clear as autumn waters. "I thought it looked nice. I've been wanting to try it for a while." Xu Yuan suddenly felt an urge to laugh. After moments of intimacy, the girlfriends he'd had in his past life often enjoyed doing this sort of thing. It seemed that whether in his previous life or this one, women shared a fond weakness for it. "It seems even our Princess Wuyuan is not above worldly tastes." "Worldly tastes?" The wandering fingertip paused. A flash of displeasure crossed her eyes. "It seems you've seen quite a bit of this, Changtian." With that, she moved to withdraw her finger. Xu Yuan gently caught hold of her slender index finger. "I've only heard about it. You know me, Qingyan. Before I began cultivating, my constitution was frail. Calling me a skinny monkey would hardly have been an exaggeration." With that, abandoning any intention to tie his sash, Xu Yuan held her hand and leaned down slightly to whisper into her ear, "This is the first time anyone has touched me like this." "..." Li Qingyan started slightly, then cut him a sidelong glance, her tone tinged with amusement. "After you started cultivating, you visited brothels so many times, and you traveled with Ran Qingmo for months... So this is the first time tonight, isn't it?" Xu Yuan raised one hand, his voice earnest and solemn. "I, Xu Yuan, swear to the heavens, this is absolutely the first time." Well, if one didn't count his past life, past memories, or illusions. "Words like that might work to coax naive young ladies raised in luxury," Li Qingyan said, looking at the man before her with a teasing lilt. "As for this princess—" "So, Qingyan, by doing this, are you planning to fulfill your promise?" Xu Yuan cut her off. If he let her keep talking, he'd fall right into this wicked woman's rhythm. Li Qingyan paused slightly. "What?" Xu Yuan took her fingertip and guided it across his chest again, repeating her motion from earlier, before saying as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Don't you know what this gesture means?" Li Qingyan looked up at him, a trace of provocation lingering in her eyes. The tip of her moist tongue lightly licked the corner of her lips. "Mmh... To you men, does such behavior mean granting permission for the same in return?" "..." As their eyes locked, an inexplicable fire surged in Xu Yuan's chest. An urge seized him to reach out and pull her head close. Grinning, he said, "Right. It seems you understand after all, Qingyan—" "Then do you wish to do it to this princess?" Cut off mid-sentence, he watched her lean back, propping herself up on both arms as her supple hair spilled across the cushioned couch. The motion teased out the alluring curves beneath her garments, and a delicate coquetry flickered in her eyes. Holding her gaze, Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes, then chuckled smoothly. "You seem to be referring to yourself as 'this princess' again?" Li Qingyan raised a hand to tuck stray strands of hair behind her ear, looking up into his eyes with a low, sultry voice. "Isn't it because of you, Changtian?" "Hm?" "I discovered that calling myself 'this princess' seems to excite you far more..." Whoosh— The cushioned couch dipped. Red robes like blood spread out as the woman was pushed back, lying flat upon it. He leaned over her, their faces inches apart, their warm, fresh breath mingling against each other's cheeks. As they locked eyes, Li Qingyan turned her face slightly aside, exposing her pale, bare jawline and slender neck to his breath. Her expression remained serene, save for her earlobes, which flushed a delicate pink from sensitivity. Yet looking at her calm demeanor, the fire in Xu Yuan's chest gradually cooled. He realized something. Even though this wicked woman wore an attitude of being his for the taking, if she truly wanted it, there was no way she would choose to pull this stunt on the way to meet the Crown Prince's senior attendant. First, there simply wasn't enough time. Second, given this breast-bound princess's reserved and guarded temperament, if she genuinely intended to give herself to him, she couldn't possibly remain this composed. Third, his cultivation was too weak; he might not even be able to break her defenses. In the end, she would most likely offer a taste of sweetness, only to cut it off midway. Tantalizing hints and occasional morsels of sweetness provided far more emotional leverage than surrendering herself all at once. Don't ask how he knew; ask his past experience. Back when he had been a naive youth in his previous life, he had frequently fallen into the traps of scheming women without even realizing it, even rejoicing over taking another step forward. In the end, he'd not only been used physically, but bled dry of both money and affection. But thanks to those wicked women of his past life, Xu Yuan was now thoroughly immune to such tricks—in fact, he found them distasteful. Leaning down slowly by her ear, Xu Yuan said in a low voice, "Li Qingyan, I don't know what excuse you plan to use to stop me next, but let me tell you: once or twice is fine, but not three times. Get fooled too often, and a man gets sick of it. Teasing without following through is truly obnoxious." With that, Xu Yuan braced himself on the couch to get up. As his body began to rise, he suddenly felt a hand clamp onto his wrist. She gripped him tightly, causing a dull ache. But before he could speak, his body was yanked straight back down. Bang! A dull thud. Foreheads collided, and his body crashed down directly onto her soft, supple form. Xu Yuan was left seeing stars from the impact. Li Qingyan didn't even blink. Staring at him, she said softly, "Xu Yuan, assuming things on your own isn't a good habit." With that, her eyes darted toward a corner of the carriage. "Tianyan, if you've seen enough, go outside." "..." Xu Yuan was struck speechless. His pupils shrank slightly, and a sudden chill ran down his spine. What... Tianyan had been sitting right beside them watching this whole time? Tentatively sweeping the carriage with his spiritual vision and finding nothing, Xu Yuan snapped, "Are you out of your mind? Let go." "Let go? Weren't you doubting this princess?" Li Qingyan's eyes curved into two crescents as she murmured softly, "Before getting into the carriage, I already told you: this princess is not joking with you tonight." Saying so, she glanced at the corner of the carriage once more, the corners of her lips curling slightly. "Still not leaving?" "..." Her convincing performance made Xu Yuan reflexively glance in the direction of her gaze. The carriage of the black dragon coach was spacious, fully furnished with almost every comfort. In his line of sight were a tea tray holding a tea set and a kneeling cushion. Yet there was nothing there. His spiritual vision reached out and swept the area repeatedly, yielding nothing. There were only the tea tray and cushion; not a trace of the washboard Saintess's qi or figure could be found. Right. This drama-queen wicked woman was trying to play chicken to scare him off. After all, in her eyes, there was no way someone in the Soul Condensation Realm like him could detect Tianyan's qi. As he pondered, the woman pinned beneath him seemed to hear some reply. With a clear, pleasant laugh, she answered, "Lady Saintess, if you have something to say, speak aloud. Why bother with voice transmission?" A beat passed, and her husky, laughing voice sounded again: "True, this carriage belongs to Changtian, and this princess has no right to order you about. Very well. If Lady Saintess wishes to stay and watch an erotic show between this princess and Changtian, this princess certainly doesn't mind." "..." Xu Yuan was speechless. Watching Li Qingyan's dead-serious act, Xu Yuan suddenly felt less certain of his deduction. After all, the Heaven-Deducing Art was far too mysterious; he had no way of knowing whether it contained techniques capable of shielding against his spiritual vision. Licking his dry lips, Xu Yuan kept his expression steady, deliberately adopting an odd look as he stared down at the woman beneath him. "Heh... If you're unwilling, then you're unwilling. There's no need to put on a show. Given Tianyan's temperament, if she truly wanted to do something, she would never beat around the bush like this." Hearing this, Li Qingyan slowly turned her gaze back, looking at the man pressing down upon her, her eyes curving in an ambiguous arc. "That's true as well. Since she refuses to show herself, let us simply pretend she isn't here." With that, she gently pushed him back a little, a flicker of fiery light blazing in her eyes. In the next instant, her blood-red robes shattered into countless silk fragments dancing through the carriage. A gracefully contoured belly, the tempting curve of her waist and hips, and snow-white skin marred only by that hideous scar linking the black cloth binding her chest to her undergarments... "..." Xu Yuan's gaze instantly hardened with utmost gravity, his expression serious, his eyes glued to her without blinking. Li Qingyan propped herself up with one hand behind her, while the other reached slowly toward her chest, her fingertips trembling with an almost imperceptible flutter. "It seems... our Saintess truly wants to watch." With that, the tip of her forefinger lightly grazed the top edge of her breast wrap, slicing a tiny tear along its black cloth border. Rrrrriiiip... The cloth strained and tore, the sound exceptionally stark in the quiet carriage. Seeing this, Xu Yuan's gaze turned even graver, though his mouth didn't stop: "Actually... there's no need to speak out of spite. This is only the second time." As he spoke, his solemn eyes observed every detail with even greater care. The specially crafted black fabric was of fine quality, and the faint tearing sound was delightful to the ears. Beginning from the center of the upper hem, the tear crept downward bit by bit, and the alluring, supple curve began to swell out from beneath the parting cloth... Time seemed to freeze in this moment. After slitting the wrap, her face remained calm, yet the heart within her chest pounded faster and faster as the fabric split. Xu Yuan couldn't hear her deliberately suppressed heartbeat, but seeing that she made no further move, he had a pretty good idea. Tianyan probably wasn't here. It seemed that compared to the wicked women of his past life, this princess was still lacking in experience. If she had been just a bit more decisive, she might truly have bluffed him. With that in mind, Xu Yuan decided to lend her a hand. Amidst the dead silence, he suddenly raised a forefinger and slid it into the slowly tearing black wrap. "..." Li Qingyan's breath caught. That exquisite softness transferred through his fingertip, just as the sensation of his finger shot straight into her mind...