The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

"Dusk falls."

Tang Xixue's soft voice fell like clouds, like a hot spring flowing over cold jade.

"Give that little madman's mouth a plug."

Before the voices had faded, a dark shadow, as black as flowing water, silently emerged from the shadows of the beams and pillars, so fast that only a fleeting image remained.

In an instant, Feng Zhuo's furious curses in the bath turned into a series of muffled, almost bursting "whooshes," losing all their melody.

Only those eyes, wide open, bulging with fury and humiliation, seemed poised to burn the golden palace to the ground.

Tangxi Xue didn't even glance at her.

Her gaze was fixed solely on the person beneath her—He Lichen's face, so close yet breathtakingly beautiful.

Under his suddenly constricted gaze, her fingertips, like butterflies exploring a flower, hooked around the plain jade belt with cloud patterns at his waist and gently lifted it.

The silky ribbon, like a tamed moonlight, slipped silently from her palm and slumped onto the thick, gold-embroidered carpet.

Immediately afterwards, she raised her hand and unfastened the pearl buttons on her palace dress.

Her clothes were slightly open, revealing a glimpse of her snow-white collarbone and the subtle curves of her soft, undulating skin, which caught his already confused vision.

Before He Lichen could react, she leaned down and pressed herself tightly against his waist and abdomen.

Through their thin clothes, the warm, soft, and undeniable touch and weight struck him like a final thunderclap, shattering the string of reason in his mind into dust.

"presumptuous--!"

His voice suddenly became sharp, but due to the effects of the medicine, it lost its usual icy clarity and instead became tinged with a hint of disbelief and trembling.

The Imperial Preceptor is a clean freak and has always been known for his chastity.

When have I ever been so close to a woman?

"Princess Mirror!"

He tried to sit up, but his body went limp, and she pressed him down firmly.

"Go down... don't make another mistake..."

The girl looked down at him, her rosy lips curving into a very faint smile.

"Your Excellency, Imperial Advisor..."

She spoke softly, her breath almost brushing against his tightly pursed lips.

"You're so noisy."

As the last word faded, she suddenly bent down.

Warm, soft lips unexpectedly covered his thin lips that uttered cold, disciplining words.

All the unresolved criticisms were silenced.

"Ugh—!"

He Lichen trembled violently and gasped, only to inhale her fragrance, which was as faint and serene as spring snow and intoxicating crabapple blossoms.

The sensation on my lips was terrifyingly clear: warm, soft, and even with a slight crushing pressure.

Their intimate posture at that moment made every bone and muscle in his body stiffen like iron, causing his blood to surge backward and breaking down all his defenses.

He thought he would loathe her to the extreme, but at this moment he only felt his heart pounding wildly, pounding painfully in his chest.

Her scent was clean and pleasant.

She was as soft as spring water.

"..."

A very low inhale was heard.

The Divine Physician Si Xingxuan gripped the cold willow-leaf hilt of his knife tightly, covering his lips with his other hand, afraid of revealing any more breath.

Those eyes, usually smiling and azure like the sky after rain, now shimmered with an unbelievable light, reflecting the faint light seeping through the gaps in the bed curtains.

Snow in Tangxi!

She's really crazy!

She actually dared to lay a finger on He Lichen.

At that moment, even the air seemed to freeze, as if seized by that astonishing kiss.

Feng Zhuo, whose mouth was gagged, froze in her struggle by the bathtub, her eyes red with anger.

Si Xing, who was under the bed, held his breath.

The world fell into an eerie, chilling silence.

The only sounds that could be clearly heard were the extremely faint friction between their lips and teeth, and He Lichen's suddenly heavy and disordered breathing.

until--

"Knock, knock."

A knock on the door, neither too loud nor too soft, broke the deathly silence with a steady yet penetrating sound.

Immediately afterwards, a young yet naturally dignified and emotionless male voice rang out outside the tightly closed doors of the Hall of Longevity:

"Snow in Tangxi".

"Open the door."

Emperor Tang Xiye stood with his hands behind his back, his dark robes embroidered with gold gleaming dimly under the palace lanterns.

He didn't speak harshly or raise his voice; those two calm and even unwavering words were enough to make all the palace servants and eunuchs standing around lower their heads and feel a chill run down their spines.

He reached out, his fingertips about to touch the palace gate carved with ice, snow and cloud patterns.

Those were hands that held the reins of power and dictated the course of the world, yet now they seemed poised to personally break down this door.

His phoenix eyes were a deep, unfathomable black, and he was gazing at the palace gate.

There was no anger in his eyes, only a deep, cold indifference, exuding a tangible sense of oppression that could freeze one's blood.

His lips were habitually pressed into a cold, hard straight line, exuding an air of authority without anger.

The majestic imperial might of the Nine Heavens Dragon Roar and the unfathomable depth of the Still Abyss were perfectly integrated within him.

"His Majesty."

Shen Cuo, the commander of the Imperial Guards, followed half a step behind the emperor, holding an umbrella for him. His handsome face was filled with barely concealed anger and anxiety, and his voice was low, fast and urgent.

"This time, Princess Mirror has really gone too far!"

He seemed to be holding back for a long time, but in the end he gritted his teeth and continued.

"She—she actually dared to have her bodyguard Mu Liang forcibly kidnap Feng Zhuo, the young general of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion!"

"That's not all. She also ordered Mu Liang to sneak into the Medicine Valley and steal the Drunken Immortal Elixir newly concocted by the Divine Physician Zhe Yue! Even the most important and unique copy of the Divine Physician's elixir formula was drowned by Princess Jing."

"The divine physician must be furious by now; that medicine is said to be extremely difficult to prepare..."

His voice trailed off, carrying an unbelievable sense of absurdity.

"And the most absurd thing is... according to intelligence, the princess... she actually used that medicine... on the Grand Preceptor!"

Shen Cuo's every word was like a heavy block of ice, falling into Tang Xiye's deep eyes and stirring up an increasingly chilling coldness.

five years.

Princess Jing, who was once so bright and intelligent, who would tug at his sleeve and softly call him "Royal Brother," her eyes filled with starlight and dependence, the princess he placed his hopes on, the one he loved most...

When did it become like this?

Strange, absurd, and incomprehensible, it gradually wore down the royal family's dignity, his patience, and the last remaining hope.

Tang Xiye's eyes darkened, and the hand resting on the door slowly tightened.

The knuckles are turning white.

"Squeak."

Just then, the carved wooden door was suddenly shaken open by an external force.

In the blink of an eye, the emperor, his robe embroidered with dark gold dragons, was about to step into the inner chamber—

"Splash!"

A layer of soft, cloud-like gauze curtain was suddenly ripped off by a hand with distinct knuckles but a slight tremor, and hung perfectly in front of the brocade couch, just enough to block the light that suddenly flooded in from outside the door, and also to blur the enchanting scene on the couch.

The gauze curtains, like smoke and mist, were half-transparent and half-transparent, which only added to the ambiguous and suggestive atmosphere of the scene inside.

The palace gates were completely opened.

A cold, long wind, carrying flying snow, swept into the room.

The emperor's figure, silhouetted against the light of the palace lanterns in the corridor, was tall and majestic, like a mountain pressing down.

The wind and snow danced wildly behind him, and he was at the eye of the storm.

When his gaze pierced through the thin veil and he could vaguely see the overlapping figures on the bed, especially when he recognized the slender yet unrestrained figure above, the chill emanating from him was as cold as ice.

"Tang, Xi, Xue!"

Emperor Tang Xiye's voice was as deep as muffled thunder, each word carrying suppressed anger and unbelievable, icy disappointment.

That handsome face, which was usually so composed, was now so gloomy it seemed to drip water, and a storm was raging in his eyes.

"You are truly...reckless and lawless!"

He stepped forward, the sound of his dragon-patterned boots on the floor tiles heavy as if stepping on the tip of one's heart.

The accompanying guards had already wisely lowered their heads and held their breath, retreating to the outside of the corridor, not daring to even breathe loudly.

"If I do not punish them severely today..."