The skin of her chin, caught in Emperor Wu Su’s grip, ached.
Ji Qingwu’s body trembled and her legs grew weak. She wanted to escape this feeling of being on the verge of being devoured.
Her mind was a muddled ss. The distant sound of chanting sutras, the nearby entanglent of lips and teeth, the ragged breaths—it all reached Ji Qingwu’s ears with painful clarity.
The hand she had clutching his arm was about to lose all its strength.
He finally pulled away slightly, his gaze fixed on her lips, which were swollen and crimson from his kisses.
"Compared to Li Chengxun, how am I?"
Ji Qingwu’s mind was still reeling, and she subconsciously blurted out her true thoughts. "How could he possibly compare? The two of you are as different as the heavens and the earth."
Emperor Wu Su looked into her glistening eyes and knew she was telling the truth.
A light ignited in the depths of his dark eyes, making them shine like a river of stars. A delighted laugh rumbled through his chest, and the vibration made Ji Qingwu, who was leaning against him, grow even dizzier.
Emperor Wu Su’s tone held a trace of tenderness he rarely showed. "Then what about compared to your previous man?"
Ji Qingwu said dazedly, "What other man...?"
’The story of a "late husband" was just an excuse to fend off outsiders, sothing Mrs. Qiao had insisted on. There was only him. What was the point of comparing him to himself?’
Monts like these were when Ji Qingwu was at her most defenseless. Her docile, dazed appearance was utterly captivating.
Emperor Wu Su lowered his head, pulled her soft body closer, and cupped the back of her head with his palm. He took a few more rewarding bites of her lips.
His breath washed over her swollen, burning lips.
"There’s no one else."
After that, it was no longer a tempestuous storm that swept her away, but a series of soft, light kisses.
Ji Qingwu let out a soft, unbearable whimper.
「Outside the small gate.」
Mo Lingling kept her head bowed, not daring to et Duan Mingfeng’s vicious gaze. Suddenly, she heard a short, yet sweet and coquettish whimper.
She looked up and t Duan Mingfeng’s eyes, surprised to find none of the malevolence she had expected.
So, Mo Lingling forced herself to sound calm and said, "There must be a stray cat in Hanshan Temple. Did you hear that?"
Duan Mingfeng’s terrifyingly cold deanor returned. "Don’t talk nonsense," he warned in a low voice. "Shut your mouth."
Mo Lingling fell silent for a mont, but the "little cat’s" cries grew more delicate, as if it were being subjected to brutal tornt.
She touched her ear and whispered, "Did you happen to overhear my conversation with Fifth Miss Ji?"
"What if I did, and what if I didn’t?" Duan Mingfeng frowned.
"You must not tell anyone, or else Cheng—" Mo Lingling saw his dark expression and quickly changed her words. "Or else I’ll truly be a dead woman."
"You’re the one who courted death. How dare you ask soone else to keep your secret?"
Mo Lingling knew he looked down on her for what she’d done and fell silent for a long mont.
Then, she said nervously, "For the sake of us being from the sa town, and for the favor the Mo family once did for you... can you please help this one ti?"
Mr. Mo had once saved Duan Mingfeng’s life. She was ashad to use a favor done for soone else to demand a reward for herself, but she truly had no other choice.
Hearing her bring up the past favor, Duan Mingfeng sneered. "Do I need to remind you? I repaid the Mo family’s kindness long ago. I owe them nothing, and I certainly owe *you* nothing."
Mo Lingling’s eyes widened in astonishnt. ’How did I not know he’d repaid it? What does he an he certainly owes nothing? Does he despise that much?’
She took a step back.
Duan Mingfeng’s gaze was as vicious as a cold blade as he watched her retreat.
"Stop thinking about protecting Li Chengxun. The man inside is the current Holy Emperor. It’s not even certain you’ll survive the night."
Learning that the man was the Emperor, Mo Lingling’s face turned ashen, and her legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
"It’s too late to be scared now," Duan Mingfeng said.
A knot of misery ford in Mo Lingling’s heart. Li Chengxun was going to marry a Princess; there was no longer any possibility between them. Her foolish fantasies had to end. ’But must my life end today as well?’
But she hadn’t yet had the chance to clear her father’s na. She touched her lower abdon, her lips pressed tightly together, terror filling her eyes.
Duan Mingfeng narrowed his eyes. "If you still want to live..."
Mo Lingling hastily looked up at him.
Duan Mingfeng’s gaze felt like a cold snake slithering over her skin. Mo Lingling had feared him since they were children, but for the sake of survival, she asked with a tremble in her voice.
"Can you help ?"
Leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, Duan Mingfeng let out a cruel scoff. "I can’t help you."
Instantly, Mo Lingling’s heart filled with despair.
A long ti passed—so long that she had already decided where she wanted to be buried after she died.
The man’s cold voice cut through the silence. "Your only choice is to beg Fifth Miss Ji. That might be your only sliver of hope."
’Beg Ji Qingwu?!’
’But even if she’s from the Ji Family, she’s just a young widow from Lin’an City with a bad reputation. How could she possibly help ?’
Mo Lingling’s eyes trembled violently. Duan Mingfeng’s aning was...
...this Fifth Miss of the Ji Family could actually sway the Emperor’s will.
Listening again to the sounds from inside, Mo Lingling finally understood. That wasn’t so stray cat.
When Ji Qingwu erged from behind Emperor Wu Su,
Her face was like a peony glistening with dew, her eyes moist. She clearly looked as though she had been thoroughly bullied.
Ji Qingwu had thought that when Emperor Wu Su said "there’s no one else," he ant there was no one around them.
But as soon as she ca out, she found both Duan Mingfeng and Mo Lingling waiting outside the gate.
Ji Qingwu wanted to avoid their gazes. Duan Mingfeng, ever proper, didn’t spare her a single glance. But Mo Lingling’s eyes seed to be glued to her.
Wherever she went, Mo Lingling’s adoring, star-struck gaze followed.
Her stare caused the heat that had just faded from Ji Qingwu’s ears to rush back, her face flushing like a vibrant peach blossom.
’To think they heard the sounds that escaped my lips!’ Ji Qingwu shot several glares at the back of the Emperor’s head.
She lowered her head and quickened her pace, trying to leave them all behind.
Emperor Wu Su grabbed her hand, his voice still hoarse.
"Where are you going?"
Having her hand held by him right in front of Duan Mingfeng and Mo Lingling felt as if it were being seared by tiny flas.
Ji Qingwu took a breath. "I’m going ho."
Emperor Wu Su said, "Do you know the way?"
They were surrounded by waist-high weeds; she might just wander off to so unknown place again.
It wasn’t really Ji Qingwu’s fault that she didn’t know the way. The area around the small gate was protected by a formation. It had been easy for her to stumble in by mistake, but getting out would be difficult.
Ji Qingwu cleared her throat and said, "My elder sister and Jiu Jiu are still waiting for . I’ve been gone for so long, they’ll be worried."
She secretly glanced at Emperor Wu Su’s expression. ’He can’t let his own daughter wait too long, can he? He should let go quickly.’
Emperor Wu Su saw her furtive little expression and teased, "Jiu Jiu didn’t even wander off, yet you, a grown woman, got lost. You’re more trouble than a child."
What he said was the truth. Ji Qingwu had ddled in business that wasn’t hers and ended up getting caught in it herself. She had no way to argue.
Emperor Wu Su glanced at the two people behind him and opened his lips as if to say sothing.
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