The day unfolded as though nothing extraordinary waited beneath it.
Lingxi rose before dawn, as she always did. Cold water steadied her hands as she washed, the faint chill sharpening her senses. She dressed in the muted garments of a servant, tied her hair neatly, and stepped into the corridor while the palace still breathed in half-sleep.
Morning duties claimed her first. She moved between the kitchens and storage rooms, carrying messages, arranging trays, responding when called. Steam rose in pale clouds around her, scented with rice and broth. Senior Chef Nian observed her work with the same reserved calm he always wore, offering no praise and no rebuke — which meant she had done everything precisely as required.
Her body followed routine with ease.
Her mind did not.
Thoughts drifted, again and again, to two nights ago she tried not to remember too clearly. The garden. The quiet. The way time had slowed without warning. She recalled not his words so much as the pauses between them, the sense of being seen without being weighed.
It unsettled her.
Not because it frightened her — but because it did not.
She had lived long enough with hardship to recognize danger when it approached. This was something else entirely. A subtle tension, sweet and restrained, tightening whenever she allowed herself to think of it.
She returned to the garden after the kitchens, tending roots and leaves with careful attention. Sunlight filtered through branches, warm on her sleeves. Xiao Lan appeared more than once, her voice sharp, her remarks delivered openly and without disguise.
"You missed a corner."
"Work faster."
"Don't let your stupidity dull your sense."
Lingxi corrected what was pointed out and continued without reply. She did not flinch. She did not slow.
Behind her composure, awareness remained coiled and alert.
By the time evening descended, lanterns were lit early. Clouds gathered, dimming the moon. The palace softened into shadows and hushed footsteps.
In the servants' quarters, Yuerong slept deeply, her breathing loud and uneven. Jinglan muttered once before turning still. Mingzhu lay with her back to the room, unmoving, already claimed by sleep.
Lingxi waited longer than usual.
She sat on the edge of her bed, listening — not only to their breathing, but to the silence between sounds. She counted the space between footfalls in the corridor outside, waited until even the guards' patrols drifted farther away.
Only then did she rise.
She moved slowly, deliberately, easing the door open without a sound. Tonight, she was careful in a way she had never needed to be before. Each step was measured. Each breath controlled.
The night air greeted her like a held secret.
The garden lay quiet beneath a veiled moon, lanterns dim and distant. Shadows stretched long between stone paths. Lingxi stepped beneath the archway and halted.
A figure emerged from the darkness.
"Lingxi."
She lowered herself immediately, kneeling. "Greetings Papa Eunuch ."
He regarded her briefly, his expression unreadable. Without a word, he removed a dark cloak from beneath his sleeve and draped it over her shoulders.
"Cover your face," he instructed quietly.
She obeyed. Another garment followed — a plain male eunuch's outer robe, worn but clean.
"Change," he said, turning away.
Her fingers worked quickly. When she finished, her hair was hidden, her figure obscured, her presence reduced to anonymity. She no longer looked like herself — and that, she realized, was the point.
"Follow closely," Eunuch Gao wei said.
They moved through paths she had never walked, slipping between shadows and stone. Doors opened where she had never noticed seams. Guards glanced once, then turned away without question.
She did not speak.
They reached a secluded chamber within the emperor's residence. Eunuch Gao wei paused.
"Wait," he said.
Lingxi stepped inside moments later and immediately knelt, bowing deeply, her forehead nearly touching the floor.
The chamber was softly lit, the glow of lamps diffused by silk screens. Incense burned low, clean and restrained. Shelves of books lined one wall, scrolls stacked neatly beside bound volumes. The space felt removed from the palace — quieter, older, untouched by ceremony.
At the center sat a carved chair.
The emperor occupied it,he wore a white beautiful Robe made of fine silk, a book resting loosely in his hand. He looks so handsome and elegant she thought.
"Rise," he said — before her bow was complete.
She stood.
He set the book aside, his gaze lingering longer than before, as though noting details he had not noticed previously.
"Come closer."
Her steps were slow, controlled. When she reached him, he drew her in and guided her down onto his lap.
Lingxi's breath caught — just once — before she steadied herself. She felt tied knot in her belly, she couldn't tell why she is feeling this bitter sweet tension within since two nights ago.
He paused, surprised by his own action.
Why am I doing this, I could just take her directly to bed he thought. But this girl is really so cute can't help but just admire her slowly Not without intent. Not without restraint.
— she fits in my lap with unsettling ease.
Her warmth settled against him naturally, her posture composed despite the intimacy. In the lamplight, her features appeared softer, her eyes clearer, reflecting the glow like polished glass.
Has she grown more beautiful… or has my gaze changed?
His hand lifted, removing the band in her hair and letting it fall down loosely fingers brushing along her hair where it fell against her shoulder. The texture was soft beneath his touch, warmer than he expected. He leaned closer, his lips grazing her temple, then her cheek — slow, exploratory, unhurried.
Lingxi felt the contact ripple through her awareness. She felt down there clenched with this small movement, she has never felt this way before, what was this feeling she thought.
Her lashes fluttered.
She did not pull away.
Her hands rested lightly against his chest, uncertain, her heartbeat no longer calm but not frantic either — simply alive. When his thumb brushed beneath her chin, lifting her face, her eyes met his.
The moment stretched.
His lips met hers softly, a tentative press that asked rather than claimed. When she did not retreat, the kiss deepened — gentle, deliberate, tasting of restraint rather than hunger.
Her fingers curled slightly into his robe.
That small response unraveled something deep inside of him.
He kissed her again slower this time and she tried to respond as best as she could and this made his Little brother harden even more such euphoria found in the slightest thing , his hand tracing the line of her jaw, then her neck. Each touch lingered just long enough to be felt, never rushed, never careless.
Lingxi's awareness narrowed to sensation — warmth, closeness, shared breath. The world beyond the chamber faded, leaving only the hush of silk and the low glow of lamplight.
When he finally lifted her, carrying her beyond the screen into the inner chamber, the lamps burned lower still.
The curtain fell closed behind them.
He helped her undress and she did the same for him despite her shaken hands.
He directly her to lay gently, trailing kisses on her neck and sucking slightly ensuring not to leave a mark, he moves to her twin peak sucking on her mound this causes slow beautiful moans to come from her mouth he was enchanted and even continue more and intense this time and then he used his finger to touch her down there and felt how soak she is and knows she was ready.
He slowly started trying to enter her " so she is still untouched he thought, even better he smirk"
You will have to bear with me alittle with what I am about to do he said.
Lingxi— yes your majesty.
And with a cautious powerful thrust he entered her, lingxi screams alittle.
The emperor—- hey it okay it will subside soon.
Lingxi—- okay your majesty
He kisses away the tears from her face and starts to move slowly.
Soon they were both engulfed in the flames of pleasure, each grunt and moan was filled with sweetness and deep pleasure.
And the night claimed its silence.
Dawn arrived without announcement.
Lingxi was already dressed when Eunuch Gao wei returned. No words were exchanged as he escorted her back through hidden corridors, the cloak once more concealing her.
She returned to her quarters before the first bell rang, slipped into bed, and closed her eyes as rest finally claimed her.
By morning, she rose again — composed, diligent, unchanged to any eye that looked upon her.
Only she knew that something within her had shifted.
Not loudly.
But irrevocably.