Chapter 6: Mangosteen
Sang Zhi's head snapped up, her eyes going wide with shock.
She was half convinced her ears were playing tricks on her.
Had Xiao Yan been possessed by some demon?
How could such shameless, scandalous words come out of his mouth?!
Sang Zhi's thoughts were a tangled mess.
Xiao Yan, by contrast, looked utterly unruffled.
Sang Zhi tried to put up one last fight. She bit her lip and retorted, "Why is Your Highness so certain it was me who kissed you? Do you have any proof?"
"Doesn't the bellyband count? I remember Zhizhi loves begonia flowers the most."
Not to mention, the bellyband still carried Zhizhi's scent.
Fragrant.
Sweet without being cloying.
His words sent an even deeper flush rushing to Sang Zhi's cheeks.
A clear, faint pink spread across her fair skin—the kind that made a man want to pinch her cheeks and tease her.
He thought it, so he did it.
He lifted his hand and caught her soft cheek between his slightly cool fingertips, rubbing gently.
The touch was smooth and delicate, like stroking mutton-fat jade.
Sang Zhi startled and dodged away from his caress, her damp eyes glaring at him.
"That doesn't count."
Her rich, heady fragrance filled his nostrils. Xiao Yan's gaze darkened abruptly, his tone turning intimate and gentle. "Zhizhi, if the bellyband doesn't count, then what about this?"
He opened his palm. A pale begonia-colored glass earring lay in it.
Sang Zhi panicked, her hand flying instinctively to her earlobe.
One was still there.
The other—identical—was lying in the man's palm.
What rotten luck. She might as well go bash her head against a block of stinky tofu and be done with it.
Sang Zhi gave an awkward laugh.
"What a coincidence, haha. Did you pick up an earring just like mine too?"
Xiao Yan looked at her and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Doesn't Zhizhi know? You're a terrible liar."
She hadn't known before. She knew now.
Sang Zhi's lashes trembled. "Even if it was me last night—"
"I only wandered into the wrong bedchamber by accident and offended Your Highness.
Your Highness is kind-hearted. Why don't we just let this matter slide?"
A low chuckle rolled from Xiao Yan's throat.
"Wrong bedchamber?"
"Zhizhi, my Eastern Palace and your Yueli Palace aren't exactly close."
"You bypassed the near path and took a deliberate detour. How is brother supposed to believe that?"
Sang Zhi felt her luck had hit rock bottom.
Xiao Yan truly lived up to his role as the male lead—sharp as a demon, brilliant beyond measure.
Going against him was the stupidest possible move. Better to beg.
Sang Zhi immediately put on a pitiful look. "Your Highness, since you already know everything, please just let me off the hook."
Xiao Yan stared straight at this adorable little rabbit, his heart stirring, his voice hoarse.
"Zhizhi, you wounded me, and we've already shared the intimacy of husband and wife."
"You have to take responsibility for me."
Sang Zhi's round eyes widened. "That's completely wrong! We didn't go all the way—your purity is still intact!"
Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow. "It seems Zhizhi knows quite a lot about the pleasures of the bedchamber."
"Which step is 'all the way'?"
Sang Zhi's face went bright red. She twisted her fingers, choking on her words for a long moment with no idea how to explain.
Watching her flounder, Xiao Yan only grew more excited.
"If Zhizhi won't say, then I'll have no choice but to ask Mother Empress."
He rose, making as if to leave.
Sang Zhi panicked. How could he ask the Empress about something like that?
Was he insane?
Sang Zhi blurted out in a fluster, "Your Highness, w-wait, don't go yet."
Xiao Yan ignored her.
Sang Zhi had no choice but to lunge forward and grab his sleeve. "Brother! I was wrong. I'll listen to whatever you say."
Only then did Xiao Yan turn back, his tone softening a fraction. "Really?"
Sang Zhi nodded stiffly.
Xiao Yan sat back down on the soft couch. His long, sharp fingers tapped twice on the empty space beside him. "Sit here."
Sang Zhi steeled herself and sat. Her fingertips clutched nervously at the fabric over her knees.
A few loose strands of hair fell across her cheek, lending her a touch of messy beauty.
A flicker of possessiveness passed through Xiao Yan's eyes.
He spoke slowly, deliberately.
"Has Zhizhi considered what Father Emperor would do if he learned you seduced me?"
Sang Zhi's face went white as a sheet.
She remembered—the marriage alliance matter at court still hadn't been truly settled. Her heart felt like it had been doused in ice water, cold from head to toe.
Seeing the panic on her porcelain face,
Xiao Yan couldn't bear to frighten her further. He changed tack.
"As long as you agree to become my Crown Princess, I can help you keep this hidden.
After all, you and I have already been intimate. You must stay by my side."
Sang Zhi froze.
Xiao Yan really meant to... marry her? But she didn't want to marry him. What was she supposed to do?
"Can I refuse?" Sang Zhi asked timidly, her voice thin as a mosquito's buzz.
Xiao Yan sat beside her. Hearing her question, he slowly leaned in.
He braced one hand on the table behind her, trapping her in a small, cramped space.
He bent lower, his hot breath fluttering against her cheek, though his voice stayed gentle. "What do you think?"
Sang Zhi's body went rigid. She didn't dare move or breathe.
She thought of the book—after their one night together, Xiao Yan had agreed to marry her to take responsibility for her honor.
But their wedding came at her capping ceremony, three months later.
And she remembered there was another event that could block her marriage to Xiao Yan.
Either way, it wasn't time yet. First, keep Xiao Yan steady. Deal with the marriage alliance afterward.
Sang Zhi looked up at Xiao Yan.
His expression was indifferent, impossible to read—as if he truly were acting out of helplessness, forced to make her take responsibility.
Those frantic, red-eyed actions last night had all been because he'd been drugged.
It seemed his views on chastity really were that rigid.
After a moment's hesitation, Sang Zhi gritted her teeth and nodded. "Your Highness, I agree."
"That's a good girl."
The man's voice softened. He reached out and pinched her delicate, snow-white earlobe. "Be good, and I'll treat you well."
Sang Zhi's body gave a small shiver, her ear tips burning fiercely.
Ever since she'd hit him on the head, he'd turned downright strange.
Could she have knocked him silly?
No. She had to get out of the imperial palace.
Sang Zhi lowered her lashes. "Understood."
"From now on, stop calling me Your Highness."
Sang Zhi: "...Yes."
A faint sting came from her earlobe. Sang Zhi hissed and couldn't help looking up.
The man's eye corners tilted slightly, but his gaze was focused. His nose bridge was high and sharp, his lips pressed into a thin, cool line.
He was putting the glass earring back on her—the one he'd been holding.
"Does it hurt?"
His cool fingertip brushed over the sensitive skin, like striking a tiny spark.
Sang Zhi's heart gave a violent lurch.
Worthy of a smut novel's male lead—he really did look wild and wicked...
Remembering last night, he'd kissed her with that same focus...
Sang Zhi couldn't help swallowing hard, nearly choking on her own spit.
Xiao Yan watched the young woman suddenly cough, her tender face tinged with faint pink, her full, soft chest rising and falling with her breath.
Her indigo dress set off skin whiter than snow. She looked like a freshly bloomed begonia—soft, pure, delicate.
Truly... every part of her grew right on the tip of his heart.
Such a wonderful girl, and she was actually going to become his Crown Princess.
Xiao Yan was so pleased his tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek, suppressing the surging urge to crush her into his very bones.
He drew a deep breath, sat up straight, and shifted back a step.
Any closer, and Zhizhi would feel it—it would scare her.
"Since you've agreed." He slowly slid his gaze away, his throat feeling dry. He cleared it once, then continued,
"Then I'll find an opportune moment to tell Father Emperor and Mother Empress."
Xiao Yan added, "Of course, I'm in no rush. How about today?"