Chapter 4
When I returned to the banquet, Lin Feizhi had already left.
I had power, influence, and beauty, yet I’d still managed to scare him off.
I didn’t understand.
But I thought he’d come back.
I couldn’t think of a reason he wouldn’t.
For the sake of his face, I could wait a few days.
That had been the plan.
Unfortunately, although my mind agreed, my body grew restless first.
An erotic-fiction heroine. If you know, you know.
The crown prince had recently sent me a group of guards.
He’d delicately suggested that I select someone from among them for entertainment.
And stop harassing his court officials.
The nerve.
I hadn’t wanted to listen to him.
But one of the young guards happened to be exactly my type.
He had dark skin and striking features. At barely twenty, he was already broad and powerfully built, with a stern, sharply defined face. Always dressed in black armor, he stood silent guard outside my chambers.
Sometimes, when I called him over to ask a question, a blush would creep onto that handsome, angular face.
He was impossible not to tease.
Reclining on my couch, I called him over to put on my stockings and shoes.
He awkwardly waved his hands, saying he wouldn’t dare offend me.
I simply raised an eyebrow at him.
He pressed his lips together, as though making some monumental decision, before finally saying, “All right.”
Adorable.
He knelt on one knee before me, his tan fingers lightly supporting my pale ankle while his gaze stayed carefully averted.
I smiled and tipped up his chin with my toe. “Young guard, pay attention to your work.”
His breathing seemed to quicken. His earlobes were red enough to bleed.
Just as things were getting interesting, a maid announced that Lin Feizhi was requesting an audience.
Honestly. What terrible timing.
I sat up, drew my clothes together, and fluttered my lashes at my young guard. “Am I beautiful?”
He blinked, then immediately lowered his head. His answer was quieter than a mosquito’s buzz. “You are.”
Today, Lin Feizhi wore a black robe. Tall, graceful, gentle, and composed.
He rose to greet me.
I waved him back down, took my place above him, and regarded him with a smile.
He met my eyes without flinching. “Does Your Highness’s offer still stand?”
“Of course.”
“I am willing to marry Your Highness.”
Hm?
Marry me?
When had I said anything about marrying him?
But I looked at the painful resolve on Lin Feizhi’s face.
Even becoming my consort had required all this agonizing before he could agree.
If I told him I only wanted a male favorite,
I was afraid he’d dash his head against something and die before my eyes.
Oh, well. Favorite, consort, whatever.
I’d get him first.
Once he’d lost his chastity, he wouldn’t have a choice, even if he objected.
And if we truly couldn’t agree in the end, a consort it would be.
He had no power or influence, anyway.
Even if I started a harem, what could he do to me?
Keeping him under control would be child’s play!
Zhao Heche’s face suddenly came to mind.
If he became my consort, I probably wouldn’t even be allowed to keep male guards.
A shiver went through me.
I’d spent my whole life doing good deeds. Surely I didn’t deserve that.