Free Web NovelChapter 228: Chapter 228: Really Tired? Really Drunk
They were no longer in a position where Ji Qingwu was on top.
Their gazes were now perfectly level.
As his eyes bore into hers, her invisible, perked-up tail immediately drooped.
Her face grew so hot she couldn’t speak.
Her breath became even hotter than his.
Emperor Wu Su’s voice was always on the deeper side, but now, in the quiet night, it sounded as rich and full-bodied as a fragrant, strong wine.
"Beg you."
Each word was enunciated with extreme clarity.
’What is he begging for? For my kiss.’
The power of those two simple words made Ji Qingwu forget her current predicament—that she was the one trapped, hemmed in impenetrably by the tree branches and by him.
She leaned forward, her hands reaching up to touch his face.
The fire in his heart burned fiercely, and Emperor Wu Su’s breathing grew more and more ragged.
The upward-tilting corners of the man’s eyes, flushed red from the heat of the wine, had lost their usual sharpness, leaving only an impatient desire.
In the depths of his eyes was a dark glint, deliberately suppressed, like fireworks on the verge of being lit, about to burst into the sky.
But as long as Ji Qingwu didn’t give the word, he wouldn’t move.
The softest corner of her heart began to give way, melting into a pool of water.
Ji Qingwu pressed a light kiss onto those lips that so bewitched her.
At such a fleeting kiss, Emperor Wu Su let out a muffled grunt and pursued her in dissatisfaction, but she pressed her index finger to his lips, easily pushing him back.
His lips parted slightly.
’How strange,’ Ji Qingwu thought.
His whole body was hot, but his lips were cool to the touch.
’And there was something even stranger.’
Ji Qingwu gazed at the slender finger she had pressed against his lips. ’He would never normally stop just because I wished it.’
A glint appeared in Ji Qingwu’s eyes. She tested the waters, "Your Majesty, please put me down. My legs are getting sore."
Emperor Wu Su had been holding her for so long without his arms feeling sore. He said, "So delicate."
He stared at her lips, asking reluctantly, "Are you really tired?"
Ji Qingwu quickly lowered her head, turning her face to the side, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Seeing her reaction, Emperor Wu Su furrowed his brow. His grip loosened, and he was just about to put her down.
But Ji Qingwu suddenly squeezed his waist with her legs, and when she looked up again, her eyes were filled with a smile that glittered like shattered stars.
Through this, she finally confirmed it: Emperor Wu Su was well and truly drunk.
’A drunk Emperor, however, is surprisingly agreeable. He actually listens to my requests.’
Emperor Wu Su stared at her with his dark eyes, unblinking, as if trying to understand which was her true intention: her words from a moment ago, or her actions now.
Ji Qingwu cupped his face and kissed him again.
Her back was no longer pressed against the tree trunk. She was no longer running away. She leaned her full weight against him, willingly entering his domain.
*
Princess Qingyun was in a frenzy of activity in the front hall, completely oblivious to the fact that a fire of a different sort had been lit in her own backyard.
「A quarter of an hour ago.」
Emperor Wu Su and Wei Ting, sovereign and subject, were downing cup after cup of wine, trying to outdrink each other.
The table was littered with overturned wine jugs, a sight that made her heart pound with anxiety.
Princess Qingyun mustered up the courage to go forward and say a word of caution, only to be driven back into a corner by the Emperor’s cold glare.
When the drinking contest finally had a winner, Wei Ting was slumped over the table, out for the count.
Princess Qingyun had just breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed someone else sitting at the empty tables to the south.
She said, displeased, "Who is that over there? Didn’t we clear the hall? Why is someone still here?"
The maid replied, "Your Highness, it is Prince Yong."
’Why hasn’t my third brother left yet?’
Princess Qingyun looked around but didn’t see Princess Yong anywhere. ’What is Prince Yong doing here by himself?’
It was only when she got closer that she discovered her third brother was crying...
And he had been crying for a long time. She hadn’t noticed before because Emperor Wu Su had been there.
By the time she found him, several tear tracks had already dried on Prince Yong’s face.
’Could it be because of my wedding? Is he sad to see his little sister get married?’
Princess Qingyun walked to Prince Yong’s side and said gently, "Third Brother, Beili doesn’t have a tradition of crying at weddings. You should stop crying."
Prince Yong’s eyes were vacant. He mumbled nonsensically, "It’s a joyous day. I’m smiling."
Princess Qingyun said, "I only got married, I’m still in Lin’an City. We can still see each other whenever we want, just like before."
For some reason, these words seemed to trigger another one of Zhao Minghong’s tear ducts.
From his hollow eyes, two streams of hot tears suddenly gushed forth.
Zhao Minghong said, "We can’t go back to how things were."
Princess Qingyun glanced at Li Chengxun, who was standing beside Wei Ting. ’What kind of newlyweds spend their wedding night dealing with difficult guests?’ she thought.
She sat down in a chair next to Prince Yong and urged, "Third Brother, I know you’ll miss me, but tonight is my wedding night. You should hurry home. We can get together another day."
Princess Qingyun said to the little eunuch beside Prince Yong, "What are you waiting for? Help your Prince back home."
"I am not going back to the Prince Mansion!"
Zhao Minghong sat still, and the little eunuch didn’t dare pull him, only able to offer a few words of persuasion from the side.
Seeing that half the night had already passed, Princess Qingyun couldn’t hold back her frustration any longer.
She said angrily, "Should I invite you to spend the night in my bridal chamber, Third Brother?"
Zhao Minghong looked up at the moon in the sky. "I won’t stay there. I’ll just sit here."
Seeing his expression, Princess Qingyun understood. He had been like this since he was a child—whenever he wanted something but was too embarrassed to say it, he would become exceptionally difficult.
"Third Brother, just say it. What is it that you want?"
Zhao Minghong finally spoke. "Tell the Princess Consort to come back and get me. Otherwise, I’m not leaving."
So it turned out that Princess Yong had taken her people and returned to the Prince Mansion first, forgetting to take Prince Yong with her, and now he was throwing a tantrum here.
Princess Qingyun sighed and waved her hand, giving an order. "Quick, go get my third sister-in-law to come back. Go at once!"
With Prince Yong’s problem solved, there was still Wei Ting left in the front hall.
Wei Ting’s situation was even more dire. Anyone who dared to try and pull him away ended up as the Great General’s punching bag, taking quite a few hits.
Li Chengxun was a civil servant, so he could only stand behind the drunken General and try to talk some sense into him.
"General Wei, the tables in the Princess Mansion are hardly as soft as the beds in the Wei Family estate. If the General likes this one, we can have it carried back for you."
Wei Ting had sobered up a little. He propped his head up, his gaze falling on a large potted thousand-year-old orchid in the front hall.
"I like that one."
Li Chengxun followed his gaze and replied placatingly, "Then General Wei should take it with you."
As Wei Ting stared at it, he frowned and said, "It should be bicolored. This one is too monochrome. I don’t like it."
Li Chengxun had never studied flowers and plants, nor had he ever seen a bicolored thousand-year-old orchid.
He remained silent.
The night wind was chilly. Wei Ting remained slumped over the table.
He spoke again, "I heard the Prince Consort was once in marriage talks with Qingwu. Did she ever give you a uniquely colored thousand-year-old orchid?"
No one asked him, but Wei Ting continued talking to himself.
"She gave one to me."
"It was much more beautiful than the one in this mansion."
Standing behind Wei Ting, the muscles in Li Chengxun’s face tightened, and he clenched his fists.
