Chapter 10

With a deep kiss, Qin Xiyi dissolved all of Vice Minister Cheng’s grievances and anger.

Before long, Cheng Mozhi took the lead, pulling Qin Xiyi down into the grass with him. Soon, they were both damp with the night dew.

Ignoring the grass and mud clinging to them, Cheng kissed her eyes, nose, lips, cheeks, and neck with desperate urgency, his lips trailing slowly down her jade-like skin.

Just as he was about to tear away her final layer of undergarments, Qin Xiyi caught his hand.

“Cheng Mozhi, how many more times do you intend to indulge in such absurdity?”

His hand trembled in her grip. He looked up at her, his eyes filled with confusion. “Absurd? Is that what you call this?”

Qin Xiyi’s expression was unreadable. “Now that you know who I am, continuing this would not only be an act of insubordination but would make you the laughingstock of the capital. There’s no need for guilt, Vice Minister Cheng. I was only looking for a bit of fun, and after three months, I’ve grown tired of it.”

“Guilt? How rich, coming from you.”

Cheng Mozhi’s voice turned raspy, tinged with self-mockery. “The Princess can grow tired whenever she pleases, but I’ve become addicted. What am I supposed to do about that?”

Qin Xiyi looked away, her words still sharp. “It was nothing more than a passing fling. You’ve just been ordered by imperial decree to take a wife, Vice Minister. Being ‘passionate’ will do you no favors.”

She had expected her words to cut deep, specifically targeting his sense of propriety and honor. She thought this top scholar, raised on the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, would flush with shame and storm off in a fit of indignation.

It would be a clean break—a swift strike to sever the tangled threads of their relationship once and for all.

But instead of being shamed, the self-mockery vanished from Cheng Mozhi’s face. He turned and pulled her back into his arms, murmuring “Nian’er” over and over until her knees went weak.

“Even if you’re tired of me, we should see this through to the end. Right, Nian’er?”

That night, with the sky as their roof and the earth as their bed, Qin Xiyi allowed herself one last moment of abandon.

She was more swept up in the moment than she had ever been before.

In a fit of frenzy, she bit him—a single, sharp bite that drew blood, making him wince in pain.

But Qin Xiyi only laughed. She gave the row of teeth marks a gentle pat, and Cheng Mozhi drifted into a deep sleep.

After dressing herself, she wrapped Cheng Mozhi in his clothes and sprinkled insect repellent around him.

Then, she mounted his horse and rode back toward the capital without a single backward glance.