Taming

Inside the bedchamber, red candles burned bright, and a warm fragrance filled the air.

Qiao Shuyi held Zongzheng Heng's hand and led him all the way to the bathing room.

"Zhigui."

As she walked, she looked back at him, her eyes clear and brimming with a smile:

"I heard from An Yi that you were very obedient in the water dungeon today, and that you memorized the rules of Jinglan Garden very quickly."

"I knew you couldn't bear to make me sad."

"When An Yi told me you were out just now, I went to fetch you at once. I didn't delay for a moment."

As she spoke, she looked up at him, her eyes sparkling.

Zongzheng Heng did not know what to say.

All he knew was that the woman before him was a lunatic.

And there was no reasoning with a lunatic's logic.

He could not contradict her, defy her, or displease her in the slightest.

Because every time she was displeased, he paid the price.

So he merely lowered his eyes and answered in a flat voice:

"Thank you, miss."

Qiao Shuyi smiled with satisfaction and continued leading him forward, chattering as they walked:

"Zhigui, look, I even had someone prepare bathwater especially for you before you came back."

"And you alone are worthy of sharing this bathing pool with me."

The corner of Zongzheng Heng's mouth twitched slightly, but in the end, he could not manage a smile.

What, was he supposed to kneel and thank her for her grace?

"You are kind, miss," he said.

Qiao Shuyi's smile grew even sweeter.

As they spoke, the two arrived at the bathing room door.

She released his sleeve, turned to face him, and reached up to undo the sash at his waist.

"Once you've finished bathing, I'll apply medicine to your wounds myself."

The sash came undone, and his outer robe slipped off.

She peeled away his inner garment, revealing the crisscrossing whip wounds on his back.

Qiao Shuyi frowned:

"Really, An Yi, how could he be so heavy-handed?"

"If he'd come to tell me sooner that you were so obedient, I would have fetched you out of the water dungeon much earlier."

Zongzheng Heng: ...

Did she believe that herself?

Zongzheng Heng simply stood there, letting her strip off his clothes without resisting.

Because resistance meant punishment.

It was not that he was afraid.

He had simply learned to wait.

"Zhigui? What are you thinking about?" She tilted her head and looked at him.

"I was thinking... how good you are to me, miss."

Qiao Shuyi smiled in complete satisfaction.

She raised a hand and gently patted his face:

"As long as you know."

"Go on, go bathe."

"Wash yourself well. I'll apply medicine to your wounds in a little while."

Zongzheng Heng stepped into the pool.

The warm water enveloped him inch by inch.

The moment his entire body sank beneath the water, he nearly let out a sigh.

It felt so good.

His icy bones were warmed through, and his stiff muscles relaxed little by little.

He leaned against the edge of the pool and closed his eyes.

He did not even want to think, did not want to wonder what that lunatic was doing outside right now.

He only wanted to soak like this, to keep soaking.

Qiao Shuyi reclined on a daybed in the outer room.

With one hand propping up her chin and the other playing with the dark hair draped over her chest, she gazed pensively at the layers of curtains in the direction of the bathing room.

The corners of her lips curved, but her thoughts had already drifted far away.

To leave this Son of Heaven of Great Zhang with memories he would never erase in this lifetime, these flesh wounds alone would naturally not suffice.

What she wanted was-

For him to think of her, Qiao Shuyi, whenever he awoke from a dream in the dead of night, even if he were sitting in the imperial throne hall directing the affairs of the realm, even if he were holding his white moonlight in his arms.

But one month.

Only one month.

Zongzheng Heng had carved a bloody path through the other princes to ascend the throne. How could an ordinary man compare to the strength of his resolve?

Making him fall in love with her was a fool's dream.

Then she would not make him love her.

Instead, she would tame him.

Tame an emperor.

If she failed, then she would die.

In any case, she had lived these sixteen years freely and flamboyantly, had everything she wanted, and done as she pleased. Even if she died, she would have lost nothing.

If she succeeded-

Her eyes brightened slightly, and her smile deepened.

Then she would rewrite the plot of the so-called original book.

The ancients played at schemes and military strategy, holding that "taking a city is the lesser victory; taking a heart is the greater."

But she came from the modern world. What she played at was psychology.

With Pavlov's dog, a bell was rung before each feeding. Over time, the dog would drool whenever it heard the bell-even when there was no food at all.

That was classical conditioning.

And Zhigui was her dog.

She would bind "obedience" and "comfort" tightly together in his mind.

The cold of the water dungeon and the pain of the whip were her punishments for him.

A warm bath, gentle caresses, and the tender application of medicine were her rewards for him.

After one or two times, he might still struggle, still hate.

But what about ten or twenty times?

Humans were creatures that sought benefit and avoided harm.

Zongzheng Heng, all the more, understood what was to his advantage.

She wanted Zongzheng Heng to relax instinctively when she was gentle, and to feel an instinctive chill when her face turned cold.

What was taking a heart?

A heart could be tamed.

Like those girls she had seen in her previous life, tortured beyond recognition by PUA, those wives who suffered domestic abuse yet refused to leave no matter what, those children who both hated and depended on their abusers.

She would also make Zongzheng Heng believe that her occasional gentleness was her true heart, and that she punished him because he had hurt her feelings.

Make him convince himself that whenever she was good to him, it was genuine.

Then-

Make him begin to look forward to her gentleness and fear her indifference.

Make him begin to take the initiative to please her in order to receive her kindness.

Turn his "having to obey" into "wanting to obey."

Turn his hatred of her into an inability to leave her.

In the original book, Zongzheng Heng did not stop after eliminating the Qiao Family.

Those at court who had been in secret collusion with Qiao Nanyu, those who had sided with the wrong prince in the struggle among the princes, those who held power and refused to submit-

He dealt with them one by one.

Some he demoted or killed; others he stripped of rank or power. It took him a full two years to cleanse the imperial court from top to bottom and truly hold the vast realm in the palm of his hand.

During those two years, the female lead Su Yunyan had a difficult time.

It was true that Zongzheng Heng held her in his heart.

But his heart also held the realm, power, and the factions he had no choice but to balance.

What could Su Yunyan do?

She could only wait, only endure, only hope that one day, once his hold on the realm was secure, he would cherish her in the palm of his hand.

And during those two years, Zongzheng Heng's thoughts truly were not on romantic love.

If, during this one month, her taming of Zongzheng Heng worked and caused him to develop different feelings for her, even if it was only that his hatred had not faded and his obsession had not broken-

Then she would have to prepare to fake her death.

Before faking her death, she also had to let him know that she carried his flesh and blood in her womb.

Qiao Shuyi raised a hand and gently pressed her lower abdomen, her gaze pensive.

What would Zongzheng Heng do after she "died"?

He would hate her, naturally.

After all, the humiliation he suffered this month would surely be etched into his bones and heart.

But he would not yet have taken revenge on her, would not yet have tortured her with his own hands, and she would have died just like that-

Where would his hatred go?

He would keep thinking about her.

Thinking about her punishments, her mad words, her gentleness that ran hot and cold.

And as he kept thinking, the good things would surface bit by bit.

And those "good things" would be magnified a thousand, ten thousand times by her death and the child in her womb.

He would wonder, had she truly loved him?

Beneath her madness, had she hidden genuine feelings?

When she was carrying his child, had she ever felt joy?

She would make him think.

Think for two years.

Perfect.

For those two years, Su Yunyan, his white moonlight, would have to suffer grievances. She would not wade into those muddy waters.

And in the book, two years later, Zongzheng Heng, with power firmly in his grasp, would make Su Yunyan Consort Shu, one of the four consorts, and travel south on an inspection tour.

That would be her chance.

When the time came, she would appear before him as someone who had "lost her memory."

What would he do then?

Hate?

But the person he hated would have forgotten everything.

Qiao Shuyi laughed softly, suddenly looking forward to the exciting and dangerous life ahead.