This Prince Is Not Easily Appeased

The beauty couch was spacious, with more than enough room for the two of them.

Even so, they were in an unfamiliar place, and Zhou Jingmi nestled extremely close to Su Luoqian.

One hand hooked around Su Luoqian's arm, while the other rested in front of her. Just a little higher, and it would have touched the curves of Su Luoqian's chest.

Lu Jingsi's eyes suddenly turned cold.

Yet when he looked farther down, he saw that Zhou Jingmi had also thrown a leg over Su Luoqian's.

Like some kind of tentacled monster, she was clinging tightly to her and refusing to let go.

Lu Jingsi pinched the bridge of his nose with his long fingers, his expression less than pleasant.

Outside the pleasure boat, someone gently knocked on the curtain.

It was the crown prince, Zhou Xuheng.

Only then did Lu Jingsi bend down, pick Zhou Jingmi up, and carry her around the screen and out.

The crown prince had come in person to collect the little princess. When he saw Zhou Jingmi sound asleep and drooling in Lu Jingsi's arms, he could not help finding it funny.

He reached out and took her from Lu Jingsi.

The movement made Zhou Jingmi blearily open her eyes. "...Crown Prince Brother..."

Zhou Xuheng lowered his gaze to her, his expression gentle. "Mm. I'll take you back to the palace."

Reassured, she fell asleep again.

After Zhou Xuheng left, Lu Jingsi turned and went back into the cabin.

Su Luoqian had turned over on the beauty couch and was lying on her side, her breathing light, the curves of her figure alluring.

She was fast asleep and had not noticed at all that Zhou Jingmi had been carried away from her side.

There were still several small plates of unfinished pastries on the table beside her, and quite a bit of green plum wine remained in the wine pot.

Lu Jingsi poured himself a cup of wine. Only after drinking it did he rise and go over to the beauty couch.

The cabin windows were wide open, a gentle breeze drifted in, and the bright moon hung high overhead.

It was late, and outside was not as lively as it had been earlier, though bursts of laughter still came from time to time. It must have been nearly time for the fireworks, for crowds of visitors were making their way to higher ground.

Lu Jingsi sat down beside the beauty couch and looked her over from head to toe.

His dark eyes were deep and shadowed, as though hidden currents lay beneath them.

She carried a distinct fragrance of green plum wine; she must have drunk quite a bit more after he left.

Her skin was as white as porcelain and jade, yet tinged with flecks of pink. Her rosy lips were slightly parted, giving a glimpse of the red within.

After a moment.

Lu Jingsi raised a hand and removed the jeweled dangling ornaments from her coiffure one by one. Her dark tresses spread across the beauty couch, making her features look all the more delicate and captivating.

Something stirred in Lu Jingsi's heart. At last, he slowly bent over her, enclosing her beneath him.

A kiss followed.

In her sleep, Su Luoqian felt only that she was hot.

Her body was hot, her chest was hot, and her head felt heavy and muddled.

She was tired and wanted to keep sleeping, but the heat in her chest spread through her, leaving her no choice but to open her eyes.

Her fluttering lashes lifted slightly, and the man's lips met hers squarely.

"Awake? Just in time."

Still half-asleep, Su Luoqian raised her arms around his broad, strong shoulders and instinctively tipped her head up to respond.

But as soon as she moved closer, she smelled an unfamiliar scent of powder and perfume on him.

Her heart sank sharply, and she came fully awake. Turning her head, she dodged him.

Lu Jingsi's swordlike brows drew together slightly. He caught her chin between his long fingers and turned her face back to meet his gaze.

Displeasure lay beneath his words. "What's the meaning of this?"

His arm was braced beside her head, and when Su Luoqian turned her face away just now, she had smelled the faint fragrance on his cuff more clearly.

It was a woman's scent, but it was not hers.

She recalled how he had hurried away earlier, and a sense of hurt at the humiliation suddenly welled up in her heart. She pushed him with all her strength, but could not budge him in the slightest.

She could only widen her almond-shaped eyes and glare at him, her voice cold and hard. "Don't touch me with those hands that have touched brothel courtesans."

If he wanted to take a concubine, he could simply tell her so.

But what he was doing now was undoubtedly an insult to her.

At her words, Lu Jingsi narrowed his eyes, his tone hostile. "Explain yourself. What brothel courtesans?"

Su Luoqian had been drinking, and although she had taken a short nap, the effects of the wine had not fully worn off.

Now, with the wine rising to her head and hurt filling her heart, her almond-shaped eyes had turned completely red.

Yet she still glared at him stubbornly. "Does Prince Cheng'an dare do it but not admit it?"

"Smell the fragrance on your own clothes. I'm afraid you embraced more than one courtesan just now."

Hearing this, Lu Jingsi raised his sleeve and sniffed the cuff. Sure enough, there was a cheap scent of powder and perfume on it.

He must have picked it up while investigating the case at the Pavilion of Fragrant Flowers.

There were many courtesans at the Pavilion of Fragrant Flowers. Once through its doors, even the air was thick with fragrance.

His brow knotted tightly. He released his hold on her, straightened up, and immediately shrugged off his outer robe.

Watching his swift, decisive movements, Su Luoqian felt not the slightest bit comforted. Instead, she felt even more insulted.

"Lu Jingsi, one moment you're in the soft embrace of the pleasure quarters, and the next you come back to be intimate with me. Don't you find it disgusting?"

Having said that, she reached out to push him again, and even her feet would not keep still as she tried to kick him.

But Lu Jingsi restrained her with ease. His voice was icy, and unmistakable anger lurked in his eyes.

"I'll say this only once. There were no damned brothel courtesans."

"There was a murder at the Pavilion of Fragrant Flowers, and it concerns the son of a prominent clan. I went there just now to investigate."

For Lu Jingsi, who had followed his heart and done as he pleased since childhood, with no need to concern himself with what others thought, such an explanation was an unprecedented first.

He disdained frequenting that sort of place. He never had before, and he never would.

At his words, Su Luoqian blinked blankly, then turned her head to sniff the sleeve of his inner robe.

Sure enough, though a trace of fragrance still lingered on the cuff, it was very, very faint.

Stronger were the fresh scent of the fabric itself and the clean, crisp scent that belonged to him alone.

If he had really gone to a brothel to meet courtesans, there could not possibly have been so little fragrance on him.

At that thought, Su Luoqian finally understood that she had misunderstood him.

Biting her lip, she looked up at him, a little embarrassed.

They were still in the same position as before, with him hovering over her, no more than half an arm's length between them.

She raised her arms around his neck, intending to use the leverage to lift her head and kiss him.

This time, it was Lu Jingsi's turn to dodge.

The man's expression was cold and grave. Clearly angry now, he simply stared at her.

"This prince is not easily appeased" was written all over his face.

Seeing that he would not cooperate, Su Luoqian lightly tapped his shoulder with a slender finger. Copying what he had done before, she gently took hold of his ear.

She said softly, "Lord Lu has a thousand matters to attend to each day, yet I misunderstood you. Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against me."

At the soft touch, Lu Jingsi's tall body visibly stiffened.

Noticing the change in his body, Su Luoqian seized the chance to pull him down by the neck. She tilted her head up and kissed his jaw.

She blinked and asked, "Lu Jingsi, don't you want to kiss me?"

The words had barely left her lips when Lu Jingsi's kisses came down on her like a storm, mingled with anger that had yet to fully dissipate.

His kisses were fierce and heavy, nearly smothering her.

At first, Su Luoqian thought Lu Jingsi was actually quite easy to appease, that a single kiss would do.

Gradually, however, she realized that was not the case. What he wanted was far more than a single kiss.

She struggled and twisted on the beauty couch, a muffled sound escaping her, but at some point he had caught her hands and pinned them above her head.