Xiao Guanyin's hand was exceedingly soft, and the small stretch of jade-white arm faintly exposed beneath her sleeve was even more distracting. But Song Qingshu was no longer some inexperienced young man, so he was not bewitched out of his senses. Instead, he carefully studied her, because he kept feeling an oddly familiar sensation from her.
Her features were as picturesque as a painting, her cheeks flushed like peach blossoms. Especially those long, narrow phoenix eyes, which revealed a distinctive allure. Combined with her enticing, curvaceous figure, she truly was the bewitching beauty the palace maids and eunuchs had described—a demoness who could charm men to death without paying for it.
"Hmm?" Song Qingshu found it strange. He had clearly never seen her before, yet that sense of familiarity grew stronger and stronger.
Xiao Guanyin pulled him into the inner room and said in a low voice, "Hide here for now. If you don't want to die, don't make a sound." Without waiting for his response, she hurried off to receive the emperor.
"How strange," Song Qingshu muttered. Breathing in the room's enchanting fragrance, he could not understand why she had led him into her bedchamber. Was she not handing others a weapon against herself? If Yelü Hongji discovered him, the two of them might be innocent, yet unable to explain themselves even with a hundred mouths. He had no idea how she intended to clean up this mess.
A burst of hearty laughter came from outside. Yelü Hongji strode in with great steps, opening his arms to embrace her. "It has only been a few days, yet the Empress has grown even more beautiful."
But Xiao Guanyin deftly avoided him and said resentfully, "These past few days, Your Majesty has been busy favoring the newly arrived Consort Hui. How