Chapter 48

Pei Qing, Pei Qing...

"Pei Qing."

The woman called softly, her attachment, tenderness, and love threading into the young man's heart and soaking into his marrow.

"Ah!" The young man abruptly threw his head back. Lou Yun keenly seized the opening and bit his exposed Adam's apple.

"Mmph!" Pei Qing sprang up like a bird startled by a bowstring. His body's reactions could not lie. Having never experienced such intense stimulation, he trembled uncontrollably, sweat soaking the hair at his temples.

Uncertainty and helplessness swept over Pei

Qing. He desperately wanted to find his own patch of duckweed, his own oasis. He felt like a boat battered mercilessly by the waves, unable to find his way to shore.

"Lou Yun, Lou Yun." He choked out his beloved's name, his only comfort at that moment.

"Wrong." Lou Yun stroked the young man's head, soothing him again and again.

What was wrong? The young man's eyes could no longer focus, and his mind was such a muddled pot of porridge that he could not make out what she had said.

"Fangyi, please, please let me go."

The young man clasped her shoulders with both hands and offered his lips to her ingratiatingly, hoping to trade this small favor for his tormentor's mercy.

But he seemed to have underestimated Lou Yun's ruthlessness. She merely stared at him with darkened eyes, showing no intention of rescuing him.

"Lou Yun, Fangyi, ooh..." The young man sobbed quietly, yet his tormentor's heart still did not soften or show him any mercy.

"Wife, wife, have mercy on me." For some reason, Pei Qing suddenly called out those words.

Those very words restored a little reason to Lou Yun, whose head had been filled with heat. Looking at the utterly disheveled young man beneath her, she showed a trace of compassion.

Now it was clear who had been indulging in empty bravado.

"Be good. Bear with it a little longer."

Wanting to teach the young man an unforgettable lesson, Lou Yun deliberately stopped at the brink. Sure enough, it provoked a violent reaction from him.

"No, don't do this, Lou Yun, save me."

Pei Qing clutched her arms with both hands and pleaded, "I was wrong. Save me, please."

The imperial tutor lying on the bed bore no trace of his rumored aloofness and self-restraint. He was like a flower in its most dazzling bloom, carrying the scent of decay.

"It'll be over soon. Just a little longer."

Lou Yun kissed Pei Qing's cheeks softly, over and over, soothing and coaxing him, but her hands were those of a tyrant. No matter how the young man cried or begged for mercy, she persisted in her original plan.

"Mmph!"

By the time Pei Qing relaxed completely, reason had returned to Lou Yun's eyes as well. Pei Qing looked at her dazedly, his chest rising and falling, clearly still not recovered from what had just happened.

In the end, Lou Yun had not taken the final step, but the young man's pleasing expressions had left her sated merely watching his enjoyment.

He had not even been the one taking the initiative, yet now he was so tired that he did not want to move a single finger.

Looking at the sweat-drenched imperial tutor, Lou Yun bent down to take him to wash, only for him to begin struggling weakly the moment she gathered him into her arms.

Perhaps he had cried too hard earlier, for his voice now carried a pitiful rasp. "No more, I can't, Lou Yun."

"Be good. No more. Shall I take you to bathe?" Feeling thoroughly refreshed, Lou Yun was in a very good mood. Her deliberately softened voice made it hard not to fall under her spell, much less for Pei Qing, who had no resistance to her at all.

He nodded obediently in her arms. "Mm, I want to be clean."

The imperial tutor voiced his demands in a daze, unaware of what an embarrassing predicament he was pushing himself into.

As for just how embarrassing it was, perhaps only the imperial tutor, who suddenly came to his senses halfway through washing in the bathing pool, knew.

Chapter 48

The consequence of going too far was that, for some time afterward, the imperial tutor scarcely dared look Lou Yun in the eye.

After being avoided several times, Lou Yun felt helpless. She had barely sighed when an iron palm came swinging toward her shoulder.

"Your Highness, how about a few rounds at the barracks today?"

Lou Yun staggered from the blow. Honestly, her older cousin's strength made him a perfect fit for the army. Even without using internal energy, he had given her quite a blow.

Pei Qing was too embarrassed to see her these days anyway. Giving him a few days to adjust would be good.

"Let's go."

Over this period, Lou Yun had thoroughly won Su Ren over with her martial prowess. It had been a while since she had sparred with him, and now his hands were itching so badly that he had come in person to challenge her.

The two walked down the street, one behind the other. Though Su Ren was boorish, he was also a chatterbox, and his mouth never stopped along the way. After listening for so long, Lou Yun had grown used to having such a noisy person beside her, responding to the few topics that interested her.

"Hey, Your Highness, let me tell you..." Su Ren was getting into his story when he suddenly realized that the person beside him had not kept up.

Lou Yun had been answering Su Ren distractedly while casually surveying the pedestrians passing along the street. Who knew that this glance would actually turn something up?

Pei Qing? Though the man had covered himself tightly from head to toe, Lou Yun was all too familiar with the young man's figure. How could she fail to recognize the disguised imperial tutor?

Why was Pei Qing dressed like this? The palace examination was already over, and he no longer needed to sneak out to see those students he was always thinking about. Why disguise himself like this?

Curious, Lou Yun gestured to Su Ren. "Cousin, wait here for me a moment."

"Huh?" Su Ren first let out a rising note of inquiry, but his outstretched hand failed to catch her, and he finally withdrew it sheepishly. Reluctantly, he answered, "Oh."

Lou Yun quietly followed the young man. Seeing him enter a bookshop only made her more puzzled. Never mind that the imperial tutor's residence already held numerous volumes-even if his residence truly lacked something, as imperial tutor, Pei Qing could enter the palace at any time to search the imperial library. If even the imperial library did not have the book he wanted, there would be only a handful of places in all of Great Yan that might, much less a little roadside shop like this.

What book was worth Pei Qing dressing like this to seek out?

Lou Yun watched Pei Qing say something into the shopkeeper's ear. A very strange expression appeared on the shopkeeper's face, and he glanced furtively around several times before crouching down to rummage through the cabinet. Only then did he sneakily conceal the book's title and quickly stuff it into the young man's arms.

Pei Qing's behavior was rather strange as well. Taking the book, he tucked it into his robes without so much as a glance, briskly tossed a banknote onto the counter, and fled at top speed.

This only made Lou Yun, watching from the side, more curious. Covering her face, she approached the shopkeeper, whose sudden windfall had made his smile bloom like a chrysanthemum.

"Shopkeeper, give me a copy of the book that man just took."

The bookshop owner tucked the banknote into his pocket with a grin. At her words, he looked Lou Yun up and down suspiciously, clicking his tongue in wonder. "I thought that last fellow was already the limit. To think you're a fellow enthusiast too, brother."

Having missed the title and having no idea what the shopkeeper meant, Lou Yun gave a couple of vague responses and urged, "Give it to me first."

Delighted by his unexpected windfall, the shopkeeper became considerably more talkative. "Of course, of course. For that last brother's sake, I won't charge you for this copy, young brother. Here, here, keep it safe."

The shopkeeper handed Lou Yun the book in the same manner. After she put it away, he leaned toward her ear and teased, "Here's wishing you a happy life, brother~"

Lou Yun glanced at the shopkeeper without speaking and opened the book without the slightest concealment. Just then, Su Ren, impatient from waiting nearby, leaned his head over to investigate.

An illustration of two little figures entwined flashed before their eyes.

Snap! Lou Yun shut the book with the speed of lightning before thunder could reach the ears and tucked it into her robes.

Though it had only been an instant, Su Ren seemed to have noticed that this was different from ordinary erotic illustrations.

Why... why did it look like the woman was on top and the man underneath?

No. Su Ren shook his head sharply. How could my younger cousin possibly take the initiative to buy something like this? I saw it clearly just now. Someone else bought it first, and she only took a copy out of curiosity.

Speaking without thinking, he spat in disdain, "Sneaking around to buy something like this shows that man just now wasn't an upright fellow either!"

The words had barely left his mouth when a chill ran down his spine. Looking up, he saw Lou Yun cast him a sidelong glance, her eyes cold.

Su Ren's burly frame shuddered, and he instantly changed his tune. "Perhaps he wanted to take it back to please his beloved? Heh, heh..."

Those words seemed to please Lou Yun, and her expression visibly relaxed. Taking it all in, Su Ren muttered inwardly, So this is the sort my younger cousin likes?

After a brief struggle, Su Ren's expression suddenly cleared. Well, I'd been wondering what sort of man could be worthy of her. If this is her taste, then it's no surprise. A woman as strong as my younger cousin should take a husband into her household, rather than be confined to the rear courtyard because of one.

Lou Yun rested her hand over the erotic illustrations through her clothes, a faint smile at her lips. A closer look would have revealed that her eyes, icy just moments before, had long since melted into spring waters.

So Pei Qing had secretly dressed himself like this to buy this book and take it home to study?

Truly, she could hardly hold back anymore. She wanted so badly to see the young man come to her after mastering it.

Her fingertips stroked it repeatedly as warmth rose in her heart. She gazed into the distance, the tenderness in her expression seeming to reflect the sight of Pei Qing clutching the book, unbearably embarrassed yet still plucking up the courage to seek her out.

Immersed in her beautiful fantasy, Lou Yun forgot that there was still a great big oaf beside her who could ruin the mood.

Seeing Lou Yun suddenly stand rooted to the spot, grinning foolishly, Su Ren thought his younger cousin had been possessed by some evil spirit

and unceremoniously shattered Lou Yun's dream with a slap, adding a mouthful of blood for good measure as he brought her back to reality.

Thus, Su Ren found that today's sparring hurt especially badly. But the big oaf knew only the exhilaration of fighting. Even after being knocked to the ground dozens of times, when Lou Yun pulled him up again, he merely grinned foolishly. "Your Highness is incredible! I really had a great fight today! Hahahaha!"

Having beaten out every last trace of resentment in a one-sided thrashing, Lou Yun now felt wonderfully refreshed as well. She laughed along with him. "Cousin, if you ever want to spar again, you can call on me."