The abstinent prince, practicing Buddhism, is seduced by a voluptuous beauty into breaking his vows.

On the carriage returning to the East Palace, the wheels rolled over the bluestone road with a dull thud.

Only a small lamp was lit in the carriage, casting a dim and ambiguous light.

Su Yaoyao sat by the window, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the brocade box behind her, a smile playing on her lips.

As she was thinking about Anar's daring "dance outfit," she suddenly felt a heavy gaze fall upon her from the side.

Turning her head, she met Xiao Chenyuan's deep eyes.

He stared at her for an unknown amount of time, his eyes dark and unfathomable in the dim light, like thick ink that could not be dissolved.

"Your Highness?" Su Yaoyao blinked.

Xiao Chenyuan suddenly reached out and pulled her up from the seat.

Before she could react, she had already fallen onto his lap and was pulled into his arms.

"What did Anar give you?"

He held her waist, his voice low and husky, tinged with obvious jealousy, "You've been staring at Gu Xiao ever since just now. You...like him that much?"

Su Yaoyao's heart skipped a beat at his sudden action, but she quickly smiled, placing her hands on his shoulders, her voice as soft as honey:

"It's hard to refuse the princess's enthusiasm..."

"You can't resist the passion? I see you're really enjoying it."

He held her waist with one hand, and raised the other, his fingertips lightly tracing the side of her neck.

"Where else did she touch you?"

"Did I put my arm around your waist? Or...?"

Su Yaoyao's heart skipped a beat, but her smile grew even sweeter: "Your Highness, she's a woman! Why are you jealous again... um!"

A slight, sharp pain suddenly came from my collarbone.

Xiao Chenyuan lowered his head and took a light bite on her snow-white skin.

The pressure was perfectly controlled, with a slightly tingling and tingling sensation that made her tremble all over.

Xiao Chenyuan opened his mouth, looking at the faint red marks left on that snow-white skin, his eyes deepened, and a hint of satisfaction appeared.

"Is Your Highness born in the Year of the Dog?" Su Yaoyao said playfully, poking his chest with her fingertip.

Xiao Chenyuan grabbed her mischievous hand and pressed it against his chest, where his heart was pounding like a drum.

His eyes were slightly red at the corners, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice was muffled:

"It belongs to you."

After saying that, he paused for a moment, and his ears turned bright red at a visible speed.

But she still maintained her aloof and noble demeanor, and said with a stern face, "You are not allowed to accept gifts from others in the future."

Su Yaoyao was amused by his contradictory behavior.

"What about Your Highness's gift? I danced today, but Your Highness hasn't rewarded me yet."

Xiao Chenyuan remained silent for a moment, then suddenly buried his face in the crook of her neck and took a deep breath—the faint scent of sweat from her dancing still lingered on her body, mixed with the cool fragrance of white plum blossoms, warmly wafting towards his nose.

Then, in an almost self-destructive tone, he muttered:

"...I am a gift in myself."

Su Yaoyao was stunned.

Immediately, it felt like something had gently bumped into my heart, leaving me with a bittersweet feeling.

She reached out and cupped his face, making him lift his head, and looked at him with a smile: "Your Highness, where did you learn to say that?"

Feeling embarrassed by her gaze, Xiao Chenyuan decided to go all out and kissed the corner of her lips: "Self-taught."

He raised his hand and tucked a stray, damp hair behind her ear, his fingertips lingering on her earlobe, his voice low, almost a whisper:

"Today is beautiful."

Su Yaoyao looked at him: "Just today?"

Xiao Chenyuan stared at her for two seconds, then suddenly leaned closer.

Their breaths mingled instantly.

He lowered his gaze, his eyes sliding from her smiling eyes to her slightly parted lips. His Adam's apple bobbed again, and his voice became terribly hoarse.

"daily."

He paused, then added:

"But today is especially so."

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head and placed a very light kiss on her forehead. Unlike the previous kisses, which were aggressive, this kiss was devout and gentle, as if touching some fragile treasure.

Su Yaoyao's heart skipped a beat, and the hand on his shoulder unconsciously tightened.

The carriage fell silent, with only the sound of wheels rolling over the stone pavement and the increasingly clear breathing of each other.

Xiao Chenyuan looked at her lips, so close to his own, and his Adam's apple bobbed again. He raised his hand, his fingertips gently tracing her lips, his voice so low it was almost inaudible:

"Beautiful...I..."

He spoke, but his voice was so low it was almost inaudible.

"...Would you be willing...?"

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

The words "Would you marry me?" were on the tip of his tongue, but for the first time in his life, the usually aloof and decisive Crown Prince felt fear.

He fears.

Afraid she would refuse,

I'm afraid she's just teasing me.

I'm even more afraid she'll find out—find out...

His unspeakable, sensual thoughts in the dead of night...

Those moments when he gazed at her almost greedily and touched her while she slept.

Those desires that even he himself felt were excessively intense, almost blasphemous.

"What does Your Highness wish to say?"

Xiao Chenyuan's Adam's apple bobbed, but he ultimately didn't say anything.

He simply tightened his arms, holding her even closer in his embrace, his chin resting on the top of her head, and said in a low voice:

"...It's nothing."

Su Yaoyao smiled.

Teasing him is really addictive.

She liked it this way—she liked watching him lose control, watching him struggle, watching him shed his aloof and cold exterior for her.

I prefer to save the most delicious snacks for last and savor them slowly.

She hooked her arm around his neck, leaned close to his ear, and breathed softly into his ear:

"Your Highness..."

"Um?"

"I have another dance," she whispered in his ear, her voice as light as a feather, "it's a dance I'll perform especially for you..."

Xiao Chenyuan's body visibly stiffened for a moment.

Su Yaoyao felt his waist and abdomen tense up instantly, and his breathing suddenly become heavier, and the smile on her lips deepened.

She continued to breathe into his ear, her voice soft and seductive:

"Your Highness...would you like to see it?"

Xiao Chenyuan closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, the struggle and restraint in his eyes had been replaced by a burning desire.

He stared at her, his Adam's apple bobbing heavily, his voice hoarse and barely audible:

"……think."

Su Yaoyao smiled and pressed her advantage.

Her fingertips gently traced his burning earlobe, sliding down his neck, feeling the rapid throbbing of his pulse, and then, in an almost innocent tone, she softly asked:

"Then...may I go to His Highness's Buddhist temple to dance?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Chenyuan froze completely.

Buddhist hall.

That was the place where he cultivated his mind for ten years, a symbol of his seclusion from the world and his desire for a life free of worldly desires.

It was also the only place in the Eastern Palace that he had explicitly forbidden her from setting foot in.

Su Yaoyao looked at his suddenly deep eyes, at the turbulent waves surging within them, and her heart pounded.

She was testing his limits.

She was also gambling, gambling on how much she meant to him.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice low and hoarse, almost broken:

"Su Yaoyao..."

Do you know what you're saying?

Su Yaoyao met his gaze.

"I know."

She moved closer, her lips almost touching his, her breath light and airy:

"I just don't know... whether Your Highness dares to look."

The carriage stopped at that very moment.

We've arrived at the Eastern Palace.

Ling Feng's respectful voice came from outside the carriage: "Your Highness, we have arrived."

Xiao Chenyuan did not move.

He just stared at Su Yaoyao, the emotions surging in his phoenix eyes almost devouring her.

After a long while, he suddenly let go of her and got out of the car first.

Su Yaoyao thought he was angry and was about to follow him when she saw him standing by the carriage shaft, reaching out his hand to her.

The moonlight fell on his handsome profile, making the lingering blush on his earlobe exceptionally clear.

He looked at her, his voice calm.

"get off."

He paused, then added:

"Tomorrow... I will be waiting for you in the Buddhist hall."