Fang Wenshi had once sworn to the Dragon King that his heart no longer stirred for the Queen. Yet as he walked toward the small courtyard, he still couldn't control his nerves. His mind kept turning over how he ought to face the Queen, even imagining which foot he should step in with first.
As it turned out, his anxiety was entirely unnecessary. The Queen didn't see him at all; Xu Yanwei relayed every message back and forth.
While the Queen wrote a letter, Xu Yanwei stood in the courtyard, sizing Fang Wenshi up. "What happened to you?"
"Huh?" Fang Wenshi had just breathed a sigh of relief, and was also a little disappointed, so he didn't understand what she meant.
Xu Yanwei circled him. "Tsk, tsk. You really are a good-for-nothing glutton. You gain weight when you're told to, and lose it when you're told to. Don't the people of Beiting eat meat every day? How'd you get so thin?"
Compared with Xu Yanwei's true personality, Fang Wenshi preferred the pitiful, demure mask she used to wear. Back then, that was the face that had moved him and led him astray. He'd regretted it ever since.
"Uh... well..." Fang Wenshi had been thinking only about how to face the Queen and had completely neglected Xu Yanwei. Looking a little flustered, he said, "I was in a hurry to get here..."
Xu Yanwei giggled and moved closer, speaking to him in an intimate whisper. "Tonight, I'll have the kitchen make something delicious and bring it to your room myself."
"Huh?" Fang Wenshi was caught off guard. His usual silver tongue and endless schemes were no help at all; he couldn't think of an excuse to turn her down.
A maid inside said, "The Queen has finished her letter."
Xu Yanwei