EWRN - Chapter 56
Chapter 56: Temptation
In the blink of an eye, the seven-day Autumn Hunt was over.
The Fourth Prince of the Northern Kingdom's injuries were too severe. After resting in his room for a day, his guards arranged for a massive carriage so that he could lie down inside. Without even taking the time to demand an explanation from the Great Yuan Kingdom, they set off, the wheels rumbling on the road back to the Northern Kingdom.
The Northern Kingdom had suffered a heavy loss on this trip. A Ferghana horse, the likes of which was seen only once a century, was lost, and the Fourth Prince, a strong candidate for the future crown prince, had nearly been lost as well.
The guards' hearts were in their throats. Heaven knew if the Wu Clan Chieftain would fly into a rage upon their return and take it out on them. This was an offense that could cost them their heads!
Thus, more than half the guards deserted along the way. In the end, only two personal guards persevered, escorting the Fourth Prince of the Northern Kingdom and the corpse of a horse back to their country. As for how furious the Wu Clan Chieftain was, that is a story for another time.
Before the Autumn Hunt concluded, Huo Jinyu had a eunuch announce the final results. The son of the Great Yuan Kingdom's Minister of War took first place. Huo Jinyu rewarded him with an incomparably precious set of seven-colored glazed cups, which the minister's son received as if it were a priceless treasure.
Before the return journey, Huo Jinyu made a point to hunt a batch of snakes with Yan Xi. After some simple processing, they were loaded onto a carriage.
The princes and kings of the various kingdoms bid farewell to Huo Jinyu and returned to their respective homes.
After a few days of self-adjustment, Di An had also recovered. She had accepted the fact that Hua Ying was gone.
Over the past two days, the clingy affection between Yan Xi and Huo Jinyu had left Di An speechless. In her eyes, there was something truly strange about the two of them. It wasn't that they didn't love each other; their every move, every frown, and every smile was filled with affection. Yet, they had taken no further steps in their relationship. Even after being married to Yan Xi for so long, she had never heard of Huo Jinyu spending a single night with her. How very strange.
She had never heard of men from the Great Yuan Kingdom being so self-possessed, so capable of remaining unperturbed with a beauty in their arms.
Di An decided to create more opportunities for the two of them. Before they set off, Di An told Huo Jinyu that she wanted some time alone. Since Di An couldn't ride a horse, she would naturally have to occupy a carriage by herself.
As a result, Yan Xi could no longer take a carriage. Adhering to the principle of traveling frugally and saving money, Huo Jinyu happily decided that they must reduce their expenditure on horses and that she would share a mount with Yan Xi.
Yan Xi, for her part, did not have so many complicated thoughts. After Huo Jinyu mounted the horse, she habitually extended a hand.
A warmth spread through Yan Xi's heart. She placed her hand in Huo Jinyu's, using the leverage to swing herself onto the horse and settle in front of her.
Huo Jinyu gently wrapped an arm around Yan Xi's waist, flicked the reins, and squeezed her legs lightly, urging the horse forward. The convoy followed behind them, slowly beginning to move.
The party headed north, returning to the imperial city. They quickened their pace on the return journey and reached the capital by dusk. The city guards slowly opened the heavy gates, and the grand convoy entered. The ministers and young masters dispersed, each returning to their own residence.
It was already late. Huo Jinyu had sent a rider ahead to instruct the cooks to prepare dinner in advance, so they could eat the moment they returned to the palace.
After a day of jostling on horseback, although they had eaten dry rations and snacks on the road, it was not enough to sate their hunger. By the time Huo Jinyu returned to the palace with Di An and Yan Xi, all three were so hungry their stomachs felt stuck to their backs.
Huo Jinyu had Di An stay for dinner at the Hall of the Slumbering Dragon. Throughout the meal, Huo Jinyu frequently placed food on Yan Xi's plate, and their intimate gestures were enough to make Di An feel full from their public displays of affection alone.
After dinner, Di An took her leave, and Huo Jinyu was about to escort Yan Xi back to Jinxiang Palace.
It was already late. Any normal man would have his wife stay the night in his chambers, not send her back to another room.
Since ancient times, which emperor was not surrounded by beauties, choosing a different one each night, or even favoring several women in one evening? But the current emperor of the Great Yuan Kingdom was exceedingly strange. Not only was his harem empty, with only two consorts, but ever since Yan Xi had entered the palace, no one had ever heard of Huo Jinyu favoring any consort, including the former Noble Consort Bai.
This was just too strange.
Huo Jinyu stood up to get her robe, but Yan Xi stopped her.
"Jinyu, it's late tonight. Won't you let Xi'er stay the night with you?" Yan Xi said, a little awkwardly, a blush creeping up to the roots of her ears. After all, for a woman to say such a thing was far too brazen.
Huo Jinyu froze upon hearing this. A moment ago, she had been feeling guilty, trying to figure out how to quickly send Xi'er back and muddle through the night.
But clearly, there was no escaping tonight.
After a moment of shock, Huo Jinyu collected herself and said, "If Xi'er wishes to stay, of course you can. We've just eaten. Why don't you and I take a walk in the garden to aid our digestion and admire the moon before we rest?"
Yan Xi looked at Huo Jinyu's somewhat unnatural expression, and a sliver of doubt entered her heart again. Could it be that Huo Jinyu was truly afraid of spending the night with her? Or could it be that Huo Jinyu really had some unspeakable secret?
And what unspeakable secret could a man have, other than impotence? Yan Xi simply couldn't figure it out.
And so, Huo Jinyu really did take Yan Xi's small hand and stroll with her through the garden.
The night wind was a bit cool, and Huo Jinyu carefully fastened Yan Xi's robe. Looking at the healthy, rosy-cheeked Huo Jinyu before her, Yan Xi could see no signs of weakness or deficiency. Her heart was filled with confusion.
"The moon comes out, bright and clear; my lovely lady is so fair." Huo Jinyu looked up at the moon, and Yan Xi's every smile and frown unconsciously appeared before her eyes. She gently tightened her hand around Yan Xi's and turned her head, only to see Yan Xi lost in her own thoughts.
Her Xi'er was truly beautiful. The moonlight on her lovely face made it seem as if her entire being was emitting a soft glow. Huo Jinyu knew that as a woman, she was unworthy of possessing a woman as wonderful as Yan Xi. She had long since become aware of Yan Xi's feelings for her, as well as her own feelings for Yan Xi. She knew that Yan Xi had developed feelings for her because she saw her as a man, her husband. Over time, Yan Xi had truly settled into the role of a wife. But for her, it was different.
Huo Jinyu herself was a woman. She had never heard of women being together, so she did not understand if her feelings were right or wrong. But looking at the situation tonight, her deception alone was already a mistake. She had deceived Yan Xi's feelings under the guise of a man, unable to give Xi'er the happy life she desired, unable to give her children. There was too much she could not give, and her identity left her with too much powerlessness.
Heaven had allowed her to live again, likely because her resentment was too deep. She was here in this life for revenge, not for romance, not to interfere in the normal lives of others.
I can't keep making this mistake, Huo Jinyu thought. I must speed up my plans. When the time is right, I must send Yan Xi back to where she belongs.
Huo Jinyu never considered that while she did not want to interfere in another's normal life, Yan Xi's previous life had ended prematurely on the border of the Great Yuan Kingdom. In this life, her intervention had changed Yan Xi's fate. Through countless unintentional actions, their destinies had become intertwined, now difficult to separate. And Yan Xi was no longer just "another."
A cool breeze blew past, startling the two of them from their daze. Yan Xi vaguely heard Huo Jinyu say something, but she didn't catch the words and didn't ask again.
Perhaps it was truly too cold outside. Huo Jinyu decided to take Yan Xi back to the hall; it would be terrible if she caught a cold. She also resolved to face the awkwardness of sharing a bed.
Back in the hall, palace maids attended to them as they washed up, then withdrew. Yan Xi began to disrobe. Outer robe off, outer clothes off, middle layer off, inner layer off. Huo Jinyu stared, utterly dumbfounded. Why did this woman strip down to nothing but her dudou?
Huo Jinyu, still in her inner clothes, did not undress any further. Yan Xi undid her hair, and three thousand strands of black silk cascaded down. The gracefully beautiful woman turned and saw Huo Jinyu still fully clothed.
"Jinyu, are you going to sleep like that?" Yan Xi asked curiously. She reached up to brush the long hair from her face, the strands falling against her high chest, tracing a beautiful curve.
Truly alluring. Huo Jinyu secretly swallowed. She felt a little thirsty.
"It's fine, I'm used to it," Huo Jinyu said perfunctorily. Normally, she wouldn't sleep with so much on, especially with the layers of cloth binding her chest, which was truly uncomfortable.
Yan Xi didn't press the matter. There were too many suspicious things about Huo Jinyu already; this was just one more.
Huo Jinyu, without undoing her hair, was about to blow out the lamp and get into bed. Yan Xi found this strange. It seemed that the last time they shared a bed, Huo Jinyu hadn't let down her hair either. Could that possibly be comfortable?
"Jinyu, why don't you let down your hair? Won't it be uncomfortable to sleep like that?" Yan Xi asked, sitting sideways on the bed and half-pulling up the quilt.
Yan Xi had no idea how captivating she looked at that moment, but Huo Jinyu couldn't afford to be mesmerized. The troubles were coming one after another. How did she not know her Xi'er was such a curious creature?
There was no excuse not to undo her hair. Huo Jinyu felt a headache coming on. She knew exactly what she looked like with her hair down.
With some hesitation, she reached up and undid her hair. The inky strands fell, softening the sharp lines of her face and instantly giving her a more androgynous look. Huo Jinyu tried to stand up straighter, tensing her facial muscles in an effort to appear less feminine.
But it was futile. For the first time, Yan Xi was stunned by Huo Jinyu's appearance. The person before her had red lips and white teeth, clear brows and fine eyes, a face like polished jade and eyes like lacquer. She was like Pan An reborn, handsome and dashing. Even if she had never seen the legendary Pan An, Yan Xi felt at this moment that Huo Jinyu was far more beautiful. Even more beautiful than a woman.
Perhaps using "beautiful" to describe a man was inappropriate, but Yan Xi couldn't think of a more suitable word at the moment. Seeing Yan Xi stunned but without a hint of suspicion in her eyes, Huo Jinyu breathed an inward sigh of relief. She had managed to get away with it.
Huo Jinyu extinguished the lamp, and the room fell into darkness. Only then did Yan Xi realize what had happened—she had been struck dumb by a man's beauty. It was incredible. Huo Jinyu got into bed, and a unique, fresh scent washed over Yan Xi, a scent she seemed to notice whenever she was especially close to Huo Jinyu. So, men didn't smell of sweat as rumored; their scent was actually so pleasant. Yan Xi blushed and gently moved closer to Huo Jinyu. Huo Jinyu turned her head and her lips met Yan Xi's, catching her by surprise.
Yan Xi reached out and gently wrapped her arms around Huo Jinyu's neck, startling her. Fortunately, her hands didn't slide lower. Huo Jinyu kissed Yan Xi's lips, then reached up and pretended to casually stroke her head, soothing her to lie down. In a low voice, she said, "Sleep. It's late." Then she took Yan Xi's hands from her neck, carefully placed them under the quilt, and lay down herself. "I have the morning court tomorrow. Let's sleep early."
Yan Xi felt a little helpless. She had stripped down this much, and this blockhead still hadn't made a move. Could it be… he really was impotent?
Yan Xi's seduction: failed again.
Comments
Post a Comment