A little drunk

That pale, soft, sweet face imprinted itself in the depths of Jun Chenyu's eyes, and for a moment, the emperor's heart beat for her.

He was dazed for a moment before his large hands, slightly callused from martial training, closed around Wen Yunmian's slender waist and drew her in front of him.

Her delicate body pressed against his broad, muscular chest. Jun Chenyu gripped her chin with chilly displeasure. "You're quite a sly one, my consort. You even dared deceive me?"

Wen Yunmian looked at him with watery eyes. Only up close did he notice her flushed cheeks and the deep intoxication in her gaze. She wanted to say something, but her head was muddled, so she began pondering foolishly again. "Did I deceive you? What did I deceive you about...?"

Jun Chenyu raised a brow. His phoenix eyes swept toward the bank and spotted the toppled bottle. "Have you been drinking?"

"Yes!" Wen Yunmian could barely stand, her little face resting against his chest. "I drank so much! But I'm not drunk."

She came just up to Jun Chenyu's chest. Looking down, he could see her lovely, fair profile and the reddened tip of her delicate nose. He laughed despite his irritation. "Not drunk?"

Wen Yunmian raised her head, still trying to look sober, and widened her glistening, lychee-like eyes. "I really am not drunk! If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you, all right?"

"All right." Intrigued, Jun Chenyu leaned his tall frame lazily against the bank, watching Wen Yunmian quietly with his sharp eyes.

Yet he never expected the soft, delicate woman who had promised to prove herself to fling herself straight into his arms the very next moment.

Jun Chenyu truly had not anticipated it. He was just about to speak when her soft red lips gently kissed his Adam's apple.

That warm, tender touch darkened Jun Chenyu's phoenix eyes almost instantly.

He narrowed his eyes dangerously, but his heavier breathing could not lie.

The veins in Jun Chenyu's neck stood out. He leaned back with a cool expression, allowing the woman in his arms to roam her hands over his body, though his phoenix eyes lowered to watch her.

Then those hands slowly slipped beneath the water and touched something, and Jun Chenyu's cold gaze abruptly darkened.

He gave a muffled groan, caught her waist, and turned her around, pressing her against the bank and forcefully enclosing her in his arms. "Does Noble Lady Yun know what she's touching?"

Wen Yunmian raised her moist eyes and wrapped her arms around Jun Chenyu's neck, nuzzling his chin like a little fox. "Your Majesty, I'm timid. I don't dare approach you, but I do dare when you're in my dreams..."

"Your Majesty, I love you so much. Don't be so fierce in my dreams."

Jun Chenyu looked down at her through his phoenix eyes, the chill in his gaze slowly fading.

She nestled against him, but the wine seemed to have caught up with her. Just as Jun Chenyu's gaze grew deeper and he was about to take things further, Wen Yunmian leaned languidly into his arms and fell fast asleep.

Before falling asleep, she even mumbled like a little chatterbox, "Dreams are so lovely. I can hold His Majesty."

Realizing that the woman in his arms had fallen asleep, Jun Chenyu swallowed and let out a helpless laugh, his voice husky.

Yun Yang and Yun Fei were still waiting outside the Peony Pavilion when they heard Eunuch Lu's startled voice. Everyone turned to look and saw Jun Chenyu returning with their mistress in his arms!

Jun Chenyu had already dressed her. As he walked inside, he instructed Yun Yang, "Change your mistress's clothes. Also, tell the small kitchen to make her a bowl of sobering soup."

Yun Yang nodded nervously. "Yes, Your Majesty. I'll see to it."

Jun Chenyu did not stay the night. He left after giving a few brief instructions.

The palace maids and eunuchs hurriedly knelt. "Farewell, Your Majesty!"

Once the emperor had left, Yun Yang and Yun Fei quickly rose, excitement shining in both their eyes.

"His Majesty carried our mistress back just now. It seems he does care about her."

"I think so too!"

While the two were still discussing it excitedly, Wen Yunmian woke on the bed.

Putting on that performance had utterly exhausted her.

Seeing Wen Yunmian awake, Yun Yang hurried over. "My lady, you're awake? I'll tell the small kitchen to make some sobering soup right away."

"No need." There was not a trace of drunkenness left in Wen Yunmian's lovely eyes. Her lips curved. "I'm not drunk."

Yun Fei's eyes widened. "Not drunk? But just now, I saw you so drunk you'd lost consciousness."

Wen Yunmian smiled without explaining.

Recalling Jun Chenyu's reaction earlier, she let out a radiant laugh.

Only by failing to have her time and again would Jun Chenyu remember this feeling. The morsel one could never taste was always the best.

But this tactic of letting go to capture required knowing how to capture. That was the most important part, and the one that demanded the finest sense of balance.

Though she disdained such schemes, she had learned plenty from her male favorites back then. Of course she had to put what she had learned to use.

Inside the Palace of Prolonged Happiness.

Crash! A teacup shattered into pieces. Consort Shu's expression was ghastly, and the eunuch kneeling on the floor to deliver his report trembled in terror.

"You're saying His Majesty abandoned me and went to the Peony Pavilion?"

The eunuch bowed his head. "Yes, Your Highness. But His Majesty... he did not stay the night."

Consort Shu's eyes reddened. "How could His Majesty treat me this way?"

Beside her, Consort Chun and Noble Lady Yu watched her cautiously.

Consort Chun waved the eunuch away before saying angrily, "Your Highness, in my opinion, those two Wen sisters are each more of a fox-spirit seductress than the other. Before Noble Lady Yun entered the palace, when had His Majesty ever abandoned you? I fear half of your abundant favor will have to go to her in the future."

Consort Shu's gaze turned vicious, her well-tended, red-painted nails digging into her palms. "If you don't know how to speak, shut your mouth! You only make me angrier."

Seeing this, Noble Lady Yu hurriedly gave Consort Chun a meaningful look, then soothed Consort Shu. "Your Highness, she is merely a palace candidate from a fallen Marquis's Residence. It would hardly be worth damaging your precious health over her. In my opinion, plucking a flower before it has fully grown is quite simple."

Consort Shu paused. "You have a way?"

Noble Lady Yu leaned closer and whispered her plan to Consort Shu.

Upon hearing it, Consort Shu's tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed. She chuckled softly. "Very well. I'll leave this matter to you."

Because the empress was frail, the consorts had been excused from paying their morning and evening respects. Wen Yunmian did not go out that day and specifically sent Yun Yang to the Imperial Medical Bureau to fetch several medicinal ingredients.

Since Wen Yunmian was newly favored, the staff at the Imperial Medical Bureau dared not slight her. After recording the ingredients requested, they supplied everything to the Peony Pavilion.

"My lady, why are you brewing medicine when you're perfectly well?" Yun Fei looked at her in confusion.

Before going into the kitchen to brew the medicine herself, Wen Yunmian dismissed all the palace maids, including Shukui and the others, and instructed Yun Fei, "You must not reveal that I've known medicine since before I married. If anyone asks, say I had someone bring the prescription from outside the palace."

"Yes, my lady." Yun Fei nodded, bewildered.

Yun Yang cautioned her, "You must keep those words firmly in mind. If others learn everything about our mistress, they'll steer clear of her skills when plotting to harm her."

Hearing how serious it was, Yun Fei hurriedly covered her mouth and said in a muffled voice, "I won't breathe a word."

Only then did Yun Yang smile and stroke Yun Fei's short bangs. "Good girl."

Listening to their conversation, Wen Yunmian could not help wanting to laugh.

Still, what worried Wen Yunmian most at present was the empress's illness.

A year later, the empress would suddenly pass away, and someone would be responsible for her death.

She had suspected Consort Shu at the time, but every indication suggested that it had not been her.

However, the emperor had ordered the matter closed. Wen Yunmian's rank had been low, and in her previous life, she had possessed no means of investigating further.

In this life, she would protect the empress, no matter what.