The bright moon hangs high, beckoning him down from his pedestal.

In the outer hall of Taiji Hall, Chief Steward Wu Tian stood with his hands at his sides, his head bowed and his eyes downcast, appearing calm and composed.

But in reality, the cold sweat constantly dripping from his forehead betrayed the turmoil raging within him.

The sounds could be faintly heard inside the inner hall.

At first, it was the woman struggling and pleading with a sob in her voice.

Gradually, the voice changed tone, mixed with an irrepressible coquettishness, like a flower bud broken by wind and rain, emitting a sweet and seductive sob.

Wu Tian lowered his head even further; he knew that what was happening inside had completely gone off track.

That usually aloof and reserved emperor has probably already tasted that delicate body inside and out.

He took a breath, forcibly suppressing the fear in his heart. He was the most trusted chief eunuch of His Majesty, and he had to stabilize the situation at this moment.

Wu Tian quickly beckoned, summoning four trusted eunuchs, all of whom were extremely tight-lipped and absolutely loyal.

He lowered his voice: "Guard all entrances to the Taiji Hall. Without His Majesty's order, no one—and I mean absolutely no one, including the Empress and the Princess—is allowed to enter!"

"Yes!" The eunuchs' faces hardened, and they left to carry out their orders.

Wu Tian then pulled over his apprentice, a quick-witted eunuch, and hurriedly instructed, "Go to the Thousand Autumns Banquet immediately, find the Empress, and tell her that His Majesty drank a few too many cups, has a headache after drinking, and has already gone to rest."

"His Majesty specifically ordered that no one should disturb him."

"You will personally escort Her Majesty the Empress back to the Jiaofang Palace, and make sure she returns to the palace safely."

The apprentice understood immediately, bowed, and hurried toward the noisy banquet.

At the Celebration Banquet, Wulan Yun forced a smile as she accepted the final compliments from the noblewomen. A sense of emptiness filled her heart; His Majesty had not yet returned, and she felt a growing unease.

She was also hoping that he would come to Jiaofang Palace after the banquet, or that she would go to Taiji Palace.

Just then, Wu Tian's apprentice stepped forward respectfully and said, "His Majesty is suffering from a headache due to alcohol and has already retired for the night..."

Wu Lanyun's smile froze, and she could no longer hear what was said next.

Drunk? Headache? Wu Lanyun felt very disappointed and aggrieved. Since arriving at the Central Plains Imperial Palace and establishing the Great Zhou Dynasty, he had never touched her again.

Three months have passed, and today she dressed up in her finest clothes, full of anticipation, only to receive such a cold message in return.

Looking at the meek eunuch, Wulan Yun suppressed the bitterness in her heart and said, "I understand. Thank you for conveying the message."

However, the inner hall of the Taiji Hall presents a completely different scene at this moment.

Inside the tent, the air was hot and chaotic, and a violent storm ravaged the delicate flowers.

Many red marks have already been left on Shen Qingruo's fair skin.

She had exhausted all her strength and was now powerless to resist. Her watery eyes stared blankly at the top of the tent, tears streaming down her face.

For the first time, Shen Qingruo realized that some men were simply not people she could afford to mess with.

Shen Wangxi...

It was past midnight.

Outside the hall, Wu Tian listened to the increasingly blush-inducing commotion inside, which never subsided. He slowly closed his eyes and silently recited in his mind:

The situation in the Great Zhou imperial harem is likely about to change.

-

At midnight, the inner hall of the Taiji Hall finally returned to silence.

Shen Wangxi sat up, casually pulled on a pair of underpants, and sat on the edge of the dragon bed with his muscular upper body bare.

He rubbed his forehead, his brow furrowed, a headache raging, but what unsettled him even more was the glaring red stain on the bed.

Shen Qingruo curled up deep inside the dragon bed, the brocade quilt had long since slipped to the ground, and he only covered her with a white velvet blanket, barely covering her vital parts.

Her exposed shoulders and arms bore his marks, and her body was still trembling slightly as she sobbed.

Looking at her pitiful state, Shen Wangxi suppressed her irritation and felt a pang of heartache.

He got up, went to the table, poured a glass of warm water, returned to the bedside, bent down to help her sit up, and pulled her into his arms. "Drink some water."

Shen Qingruo was startled, thinking he wanted to continue, and resisted in a hoarse voice, "No, don't touch me..."

She pushed against his strong chest, but her strength was negligible, which only made her seem more delicate.

Shen Wangxi didn't let go, but firmly half-embraced her, softening his voice and coaxing her, "It's my fault, be good, drink some water, your voice is hoarse."

He wrapped one arm around her slender shoulders and back, and with the other hand, he brought the rim of the cup to her lips.

The little girl was extremely thirsty, so she calmed down and drank very obediently. Occasionally, she would cough slightly because she was drinking too fast, which would make him unable to resist patting her soft back and coaxing her to drink more slowly.

As she drank the water, she stopped crying. Her delicate face was fair and tender, her lips were rosy red, and her long eyelashes were wet. She looked incredibly fragile.

Shen Wangxi's heart softened completely.

She was too delicate and couldn't withstand him. If she didn't get some water, he was really worried that she wouldn't be able to hold on.

The glass of water was quickly emptied.

Shen Qingruo breathed a soft sigh of relief, leaning wearily against his chest, her voice weak and delicate: "I don't want to sleep here, it's so dirty..."

Shen Wangxi followed her gaze to the unsightly dragon bed and understood what she meant.

He put down his teacup, carefully wrapped her in the white velvet blanket, and then picked her up in his arms.

Shen Wangxi placed her on the soft couch by the window, which was covered with a soft blanket. As soon as Shen Qingruo touched the comfortable spot, she immediately fell asleep, but her eyes were still red and she looked aggrieved.

Shen Wangxi stood by the couch, looking at her eyes and brows, which were different from usual, now exuding an irresistible allure.

He stared at her silently for a long time before turning back to the dragon bed, his eyes deep as he looked at the red figure.