I Told You to Kneel. Didn't You Hear Me?

As the mist gradually dispersed, Qiao Shuyi finally rose from the bathing pool.

Zongzheng Heng had his back to her.

Behind him came the splash of water, followed by the rustle of robes.

When he turned around, she had already put on her sleeping robe.

Barefoot, Qiao Shuyi crossed the bluestone floor, polished to a mirror-like shine, and walked toward the cushioned daybed by the window.

She tilted to one side and reclined on it.

Zongzheng Heng stood where he was, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

"What are you standing there for? Come here."

He paused, then walked over and stopped beside the daybed.

Qiao Shuyi raised one foot, pointing her toes to show their rounded tips and the nails dyed bright red.

"Look, it's all peeling from the soak."

Zongzheng Heng lowered his eyes to her foot and said nothing.

"Fuzhi-" she called toward the outer room.

Fuzhi answered from outside. "Miss?"

"Bring me that box of nail dye I had made recently, the one that's... pomegranate red."

Before long, Fuzhi came in carrying a celadon box. She respectfully set it on the small table beside the daybed, then withdrew without a sound.

Qiao Shuyi picked up the celadon box and toyed with it for a moment before handing it to Zongzheng Heng.

"Apply it for me."

Zongzheng Heng did not take it.

"Miss," he said in a low voice, "I don't know how."

"You don't? Then you can learn."

She thrust the celadon box into his hand, then raised her foot higher, nearly touching his chest.

"Zhigui, look at these toenails. They were dyed so beautifully before. It's all the fault of that bathwater of yours. They've soaked until they've lost their shine."

"You ruined them, so you make it up to me."

How could there be such an unreasonable woman?

When she wanted to pick a fight with someone, she could come up with any excuse.

How shameless.

But Zongzheng Heng could only keep those thoughts to himself.

He looked down at the celadon box in his hand, then at the foot she had extended in front of him.

Her toes were rounded and her nails neat. The dye already on them was indeed somewhat patchy, lifting slightly at the edges to reveal the natural pink beneath.

He took a deep breath and lifted the lid.

He dabbed a little on his fingertip and paused in front of her, seemingly unsure where to begin.

When had I ever used such a woman's item?

Let alone on toenails!

"You're so stupid."

Qiao Shuyi scolded him with a laugh, withdrew her foot, and demonstrated with her own finger.

"Like this. First the middle, then the sides. Apply it evenly and carefully. Don't get it on the skin."

After finishing one toenail, she examined it for a moment with considerable satisfaction, then extended her foot in front of him again, her toes nearly touching the front of his robe.

"There. Do it the way I did. The rest are yours."

Zongzheng Heng's gaze darkened.

Forget it. It's only painting toenails.

He promptly lifted the hem of his robe and sat at the foot of the daybed. With one hand, he lifted her ankle and placed it on his knee, preparing to apply the dye with the other.

But the next moment-

"How dare you!"

The smile froze on Qiao Shuyi's face.

She yanked her foot back, nearly knocking the celadon box from his hand.

In the next instant, her foot slammed into his shoulder. The kick was not hard, but it was full of arrogance:

"Did I give you permission to sit?!"

Zongzheng Heng swayed slightly.

"Kneel beside me."

She lifted her chin, indicating the blue-brick floor beside the daybed.

Zongzheng Heng slowly stood up.

But his gaze darkened inch by inch, like storm clouds bearing down before a tempest.

"I told you to kneel beside me. Didn't you hear me?!"

Zongzheng Heng still did not move.

Something churned beneath his lowered eyes.

Murderous intent.

Murderous intent so thick it could not be dissolved.

It nearly broke through his thin eyelids and spilled out.

"An Yi."

No sooner had she spoken than a dark figure landed soundlessly before the daybed.

"Miss," the man said, lowering his head.

"Make him kneel."

Zongzheng Heng had no inner power at the moment and was unable to resist An Yi. He could only kneel.

Seeing him kneel, Qiao Shuyi gave him a searching look.

"Zhigui, I've already given way so much. Why are you still so disobedient?"

"You didn't want to consummate the marriage, so I agreed."

"You said men and women shouldn't touch, so I only had you massage my shoulders and paint my toenails. I thought... we could take things slowly and grow closer in time."

"But what about you? I only wanted to be a little closer to you, yet you had to sit so far away from me. What, are you so unwilling to kneel beside me?"

"You've made me so sad."

The shock and resentment in Zongzheng Heng's eyes were impossible to conceal.

She's the one humiliating me!

Yet she makes herself sound so pitiful. What a venomous woman, twisting black into white!

Qiao Shuyi, however, did not care what he was thinking.

She simply carried on with her performance.

"I've treated you so well. From the day you entered this residence, I wanted to give you the best things under heaven. Fine clothes and delicacies, silks and satins, my heart, my person, my standing-whatever you wanted, I would give you. I've never loved anyone like this before."

"But what about you? You'd rather go to the woodshed, rather be punished."

Zongzheng Heng: ...

Qiao Shuyi shook her head, looking utterly disappointed.

"Forget it."

She turned her face away, looking heartbroken.

"An Yi, take him to the water dungeon. Make him... more obedient."

Zongzheng Heng clenched his fists.

Is this woman truly mad, or is she playing the fool?

She's the one whose moods change without warning. She's the one who wants to punish me, yet she makes it sound so righteous.

Ha.

But before he could think further, An Yi's hand had clamped onto his arm.

At that moment, Zongzheng Heng truly wanted to kill her.

He wanted to strike with all his might before An Yi could act.

Even if the power-dissolving powder had sealed eighty percent of his strength, even if she was surrounded by hidden guards, even if they perished together-

His inner power surged wildly, trying to break through its restraints.

Then a sharp pain exploded in his dantian, as though someone were twisting a knife in his belly.

Blood surged up, straight into his throat.

He clenched his teeth and swallowed the metallic sweetness back down.

Pain was the best sobering agent.

Qiao Nanyu, the Prince of Jinzhou, had held the northern frontier for decades. With three hundred thousand elite soldiers under his command, he watched like a tiger eyeing its prey and relied on his troops to defy authority.

And he-the emperor of Great Zhang-had been on the throne for only a year.

The dragon throne had yet to warm beneath him, and his foothold at court was not yet secure.

The mess the late emperor had left behind was piled as high as a mountain. The treasury was empty, factional strife was unending, and the regional princes everywhere were stirring.

If he sent troops against Jinzhou now, leaving aside whether the three hundred thousand elite soldiers could be defeated in a single campaign, even victory would mean killing a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of his own, merely letting others profit.

He could not take that gamble.

Thus, finding evidence of Qiao Nanyu's rebellion and dealing with him openly in the court's name was the safest and simplest course.

With a single indictment, he could rightfully strip the prince of his fief and power, confiscate his property, and exterminate his clan.

Without losing a single soldier.

And in the prince's residence, the only person he could approach without restriction, allowing him to come and go freely-

Was Qiao Shuyi, the Prince of Jin'an's legitimate daughter.

He had to win her trust.

He was not the emperor now, only Qiao Shuyi's male favorite. He should not keep defying her.

Otherwise, when would he ever obtain the evidence?

With those thoughts, Zongzheng Heng lowered his eyes and let An Yi step forward and seize his arm.

His face showed nothing but calm.

But beneath that calm, the name Qiao Shuyi was being carved into his bones, inch by inch.

When the day came that he razed Jinzhou and bathed the prince's residence in blood, he would surely cut her into ten thousand pieces.

In the next instant, An Yi led Zongzheng Heng out of the bathing room.