Playing Big

Lu Jingsi was traveling discreetly today, and had not used a carriage from his princely residence.

Its exterior was utterly ordinary, with no luxurious canopy, no exquisite windows, and certainly no wooden plaque identifying it as belonging to Prince Cheng'an's Residence.

The carriage was not nearly as spacious inside, either.

And now Su Luoqian, alluring, clingy, and barely conscious, was hanging on him.

The brocade quilt wrapped around her made her feel even hotter and more miserable. With a wave of her slender, pale hand, the quilt embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water fell away.

Her collar had come looser and looser amid all her struggling, and the sight of her delicate, luminous skin made Lu Jingsi dizzy.

Su Luoqian was terribly uncomfortable. She leaned limply against him, both hands pressed to the exposed skin of his neck.

The cool touch made her sigh, her eyes hazy as she leaned closer.

But it still wasn't enough.

She wanted more.

Su Luoqian raised a hand to brace herself against his shoulder and gazed at him through dazed, shimmering almond eyes.

The guard driving the carriage had received Lu Jingsi's orders. He lashed the horses hard, sending the wheels racing along and the carriage rocking back and forth.

Amid the rocking, the woman's delicate fragrance suddenly descended upon Lu Jingsi, enveloping him in layers.

Her lips were especially soft, carrying a sweet fragrance.

Su Luoqian nuzzled against him, but could not find her way. Annoyed, she wanted to bite him.

Just as frustration welled up in her, she suddenly found an opening, and her soft little tongue slipped inside.

Lu Jingsi went rigid, a trace of desire coloring his habitually cold features.

He squeezed his eyes shut, gripped her slender waist with one hand and held the back of her head with the other, taking control.

He drove straight in, pressing forward at every step.

Su Luoqian's whole body was driven by that burning heat and desire, and even kissing could not satisfy her.

Her little hand slipped into the collar of his brocade robe, burrowing inside and pressing against him.

The hand making mischief against his chest was as soft as if it had no bones, and Lu Jingsi's breathing grew impossibly heavy.

The brief, hasty memory of their wedding night suddenly sprang into his mind. He gritted his teeth and held her a little farther away.

"Su. Luo. Qian."

Su Luoqian's eyes glistened with moisture, and her cheeks were flushed crimson.

Beneath her coarse servant's clothes was a goose-yellow brocade undergarment, with the fullest bloom of spring hidden within.

She was soft and bewitching, without knowing it herself.

Still unsatisfied, she whimpered, "Lu... Lu Jingsi..."

A vein throbbed insistently on Lu Jingsi's forehead. When he felt her reaching to undo his sash, he could bear it no longer—

A chop of his hand came down.

Su Luoqian went limp and unconscious in his arms at once.

The carriage fell abruptly silent, save for his breathing, still heavy and uneven.

After a long while,

Lu Jingsi pulled her clothes back into place and forced himself to ignore the woman's fragrance that seemed to linger in his mouth. Then he shouted outside, "Back to the residence, quickly."

Prince Cheng'an's Residence stood on Ankang Street in Yujing City, a street lined mostly with the homes of high officials, dignitaries, and noble clans.

At that moment, an utterly inconspicuous carriage stood beside the eastern side gate of the vast residence.

Lu Jingsi kept Su Luoqian tightly wrapped as he carried her back to the main courtyard.

"Send for the residence physician. Hurry."

Eunuch Fulin of the residence had just received a report from a guard who had ridden back at speed. His face changed drastically as he came out to meet them.

"Your Highness, this..."

The brocade quilt was wrapped tightly around Su Luoqian, so Eunuch Fulin could not see her clearly.

Only when Lu Jingsi entered the main room and laid her on the bed did he get a good look.

"This... What happened to Her Highness?"

Lu Jingsi's face was cold and stern as he ordered, "No one is to speak carelessly about what happened today. If word gets out, cut out your own tongues and bring them to me."

He had spent several years in officialdom, and his formidable official bearing, combined with his innate nobility and arrogance, sent the residence's attendants and maids trembling to their knees.

Fulin hurriedly acknowledged the order and signaled for the maids in the main courtyard to prepare hot water.

The residence physician arrived quickly and took Su Luoqian's pulse through the silk bed curtains.

"How is she?"

After a few breaths, the physician's brows drew together slightly.

Just as he was about to speak, Chengying returned with Zelan, Su Luoqian's personal maid.

Zelan had been so anxious on the way back that she was close to tears. She had repeatedly questioned Chengying, but his mouth was like a clamshell clamped shut, unwilling to reveal the slightest bit more.

As soon as she entered the main room, she caught sight of Lu Jingsi's stern expression and dropped to her knees in fright. "Y-Your Highness, Her Highness..."

Lu Jingsi glanced at the servant's outfit she wore, identical to Su Luoqian's, and frowned slightly. "Take good care of your mistress," he said in a low voice.

Having received his order, Zelan hurried to her feet and entered the inner room.

In the outer room, the physician said quietly and respectfully, "Fortunately, the dose of this incense was not strong. Once this humble servant prescribes a few doses of calming medicine for Her Highness to take, she should be all right."

Lu Jingsi gave a slight nod. The physician wrote out the prescription, and Fulin hurriedly took someone to prepare the medicine.

Chengying had been waiting outside the door without entering since his return. Lu Jingsi looked at the physician. "Come with me."

"Yes."

In the study of the main courtyard,

Lu Jingsi sat upright behind the stately golden nanmu desk, his expression giving away neither joy nor anger.

The physician stood to one side, examining the burned-out incense powder Chengying had brought back.

A moment later, he cupped his fists in salute and said, "Your Highness, this is incense powder used in Yujing City's pleasure quarters."

"It is usually burned in a room to enhance pleasure during the act. But what was brought back is much weaker than what is ordinarily used in such places."

"Presumably, Your Highness's constitution is strong and unlike that of ordinary people, so the incense powder had no effect on you."

But as for the princess consort...

Hearing those last few words, Lu Jingsi narrowed his dark eyes and tapped his long fingers lightly on the desk. "Enough. You may leave."

"Yes."

The physician accepted the order and hurried out of the study.

Chengying stepped forward and bowed. "I have already made the arrangements at the opera garden as you instructed. The heir of Prince Jin believes the person you took away was a performer who entered the villa today."

"On the way back, Zelan mentioned that Her Highness disguised herself and slipped inside to investigate Peilan's death. But a steward discovered her not long after she entered the villa, and while trying to hide, she stumbled into the eastern side room by mistake."

Lu Jingsi rose and went to the pearwood shelf beside the desk, where some case files and clues uncovered earlier had been placed.

Each and every one pointed to Lin Yonghong, the heir of Prince Jin. That was also why he had gone to the villa discreetly today.

But he had not expected to catch the less than well-behaved princess consort of Prince Cheng'an's Residence before he had found out much of anything...

At that thought, Lu Jingsi frowned again.

"Keep a close watch on the villa. Don't beat the grass and startle the snake."

Today's trip had yielded nothing, and he would have to make another visit to the villa.

As if something had occurred to him, Lu Jingsi gave a cold laugh.

Pleasure-enhancing incense, a jade phallus.

Lin Yonghong really was playing big.