“The Li Family members that traveled with us are settling into the Capital City as you requested, Your Majesty.”
Li Changyu nodded to Shen Pei who was at his right. They walked side-by-side along the wide walkways between the courtyards of the Harem. Trailing behind them was Su Ao and a small retinue of servants, thus they had to speak in this way.
“Good, good. Zhen wants them to be comfortable.”
Truthfully, he hadn’t expected Li Yunxi and the others to follow them back. The protective streak shown by them was very obvious, especially from the open glares they cast his way. Li Changyu liked to think he perfected the indifferent air Jin Xiyan could carry himself in, so he paid them no mind. Still, it was a nuisance.
The pair remained silent until they stood at the large open archway that led to Qian Jing’s courtyard. Li Changyu gave Shen Pei a subtle signal and then looked over his shoulder at Su Ao.
“Dismiss the servants.”
Su Ao, who was used to his Master’s habit of being stubborn, did not refuse. He flicked his horsetail flog as he shoo’d them away. The maids bowed and walked backward away from them before turning and leaving. Su Ao straightened and looked quite satisfied, but his confidence deflated when he saw the Emperor arch his brow. The Eunuch blinked, then looked at Shen Pei. Ah! He finally understood.
He stepped towards Shen Pei and slowly craned his neck back to look at her while he spoke, “His Majesty has…ordered…”
Su Ao’s voice trailed off when he finally looked up at Shen Pei’s face. His head was tilted so far back he had to catch his rounded cap before it fell off. Shen Pei’s slow blink and uninterested face was still just as intimidating as a scowl. The mountain of a woman was indeed scary!
His voice wavered now, “H-h-his Majesty dismisses–”
“Miss Shen will remain with me.” interjected Li Changyu. He lifted a hand and waved it. “You are dismissed.”
Su Ao’s crestfallen face was downright pitiful. Li Changyu had half a mind to take back his words and let the young man stay, but it was better this way. Su Ao, though loyal, probably couldn’t hold a secret as big as this. Li Changyu waved his hand once more and Su Ao finally saluted and followed the path the other servants took. He waited for a few more moments before he entered the courtyard with Shen Pei in tow.
As he walked, Li Changyu vaguely acknowledged the servants he passed. There were enough servants to help manage a smaller courtyard like this. Li Changyu could not come up with a lot of information about Jin Xiyan’s marriage or relationship with Qian Jing, other than it seemed that he did not sleep with her often – which was probably why she went to Qin Yuze to begin with.
When he reached the main building, a maid who exited stopped in her tracks. Her eyebrows flew up to her hairline, making her round eyes look even bigger, and moved to bow. Li Changyu put a finger to his lips so she would be quiet. She did so, but bowed repeatedly while going back into the room.
“Hai Tang, I asked you to prepare a bath. Did you leave something behind–”
The sentence cut off abruptly as soon as Li Changyu stepped over the threshold. Qian Jing looked just as surprised and bug-eyed as her maid. She rose from her seat and fell to her knees almost immediately. Li Changyu wasted no time and strode over to the largest chair in the neatly decorated room. It was not extravagant, which was expected of a concubine that had no Family backing, but she did not look like she wanted for anything.
“You may rise. Shen Pei, if you may escort Hai Tang away and guard the door?”
Shen Pei nodded, then Qian Jing lifted herself back up. She remained on her knees and politely asked, “This Wife greets His Majesty. To what does this lowly one owe the pleasure of receiving Your Majesty?”
Li Changyu watched Shen Pei leave the room with the maid before looking at Qian Jing carefully. “We wanted to speak privately. There is a grave matter at hand,” he said as he put his hand inside his sleeve. They made the briefest of eye contact and Li Changyu saw the quick flash of concern in Qian Jing’s eyes before they went wide as he pulled out the all-too-familiar satchel with the incense.
Qian Jing quickly lowered her gaze down to the floor, staring at it unblinkingly. How did His Majesty find it?! She panicked internally. It was lost that day when Qin Yuze gave it to me. Did…did he betray me?! At her knees, her long fingers curled into tight fists, balling up some of the nice fabric of her robe.
“So I am correct…this item is familiar to you?”
Qian Jing’s eyes darted left, then right, and instead of answering she bolted up onto her feet and made a run directly for a column situated at a nearby alcove. Li Changyu was quick to act, because he expected this possibility, but he was still injured, so his reflexes were still shot. He barely had the chance grab the back of her robes and yank her away from her attempted suicide. She fell back against him and he wrapped his arm around her midriff and hoisted her up off her feet. With a small pivot he tossed her to a long chair where she landed with a light scrape of the legs against the wooden floor as it shifted from the impact. Her hair had come undone in the process, her shoulder exposed. She pushed a shaking hand up against her falling hair to shield her face, which she turned up towards Li Changyu.
Her mouth hung open slightly as he panted for breath. She got up, her knees wobbling and she fell to the floor on them. She prostrated herself before him, her voice cracking.
“Your Majesty, please punish this one! This Wife knows His Majesty is just and kind, and will not treat our Daughter poorly!”
“If you are going to speak to us, get up.” Li Changyu watched as she slowly sat back up, but she did not move from the floor. Huffing, Li Changyu flicked his sleeve. “You act like we are some sort of Barbarian. Are the conditions of this marriage that poor?”
“No!” Qian Jing reached out and grabbed at his sleeve, her painted nails digging into the fabric. “No, of course not! Your Majesty has treated me with utmost respect! This Wife could not want for anything!”
“Clearly you did!” Li Changyu shook the pouch at her but was careful to not spill any of the contents. This substance had the potential to affect them both.
Qian Jing crumpled in on herself once more. Releasing his sleeve, she slumped her shoulders forward. Tears smeared her makeup, leaving behind two long streaks that were like rivers. She covered her mouth with the back of her hand and she choked back a sob.
…Fuck. How could someone not be moved? Sighing, Li Changyu knelt down in front of her and she startled.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“We will speak plainly – we know who the mastermind behind this is.” He indicated to the bag again, “Why would you stoop to this level? You know we have lost some of our memories, so enlighten me. Did our marriage start so horribly?”
After being reminded of Jin Xiyan’s condition, Qian Jing at least looked willing to answer. It took a few more rounds of sniffling until finally, through her tears, she answered.
“Your Majesty has never mistreated me. We were married shortly after Your Majesty married Qin Yuze as Princess Consort…”
That sounded about right. From the documents he read, Li Changyu was able to more or less paint a timeline of the marriages. Just a few weeks after marrying Qin Yuze for what appeared to be political reasons, he picked Qian Jing’s portrait from a pile of previous candidates.
“Did we ever tell you why we married you so quickly?”
Qian Jing shook her head, “I always assumed it was because Qin Yuze could not have children, but it seemed strange to find out so soon into a marriage that a Wife couldn’t have children. Shortly after I married Your Majesty, I was pregnant with Jin Lim. Your Majesty’s rut was shortly thereafter and a concubine was pregnant. Then the Chen twins came, but…”
“But?”
Her tears had long since dried and one last sniffle remained. She wiped the mess of her makeup with a handkerchief she pulled out of her sleeve. “Your Majesty did not seek our beds. Even Qin Yuze.”
Li Changyu frowned. This seemed very counter to the lovey-dovey romance that Qin Yuze deluded himself into so hard that he went as far as to manipulate Jin Xiyan.
“Then our other children?”
“Your Majesty often suffered from having a rut…those were the only times Your Majesty sought a companion and made a Harem.”
Multiple ruts? A rut was something that happened once, marking the change of an alpha into adulthood. They were more unpredictable than an omega’s heat, which generally could be tracked if an omega was regular. Some even didn’t reach a heat until they were almost twenty, like his Brother Li Jiuxing. But they only happened once in an alpha’s life, except perhaps under extreme duress. Li Changyu’s heart squeezed.
Was Jin Xiyan suffering even before he became Emperor? But it couldn’t have been Qin Yuze, because if Qian Jing was to be believed, Jin Xiyan hadn’t slept with him since they first married!
“If this was the case, then why did you go to Qin Yuze to obtain this dangerous aphrodisiac?”
Shame made Qian Jing’s face fall again. “…shortly after Your Majesty had the accident, the only bed you visited was Qin Yuze’s. It was quite a shock that Qin Yuze did not become an Empress, and only Huang Guifei. Then Your Majesty’s Mother took control of the Harem, but still, in order for any of us to seek Your Majesty, we Wives had to go through Qin Yuze…”
Li Changyu’s aching heart hardened at those words. Was it possible that Qin Yuze was behind the accident all along? He knew he couldn’t jump to conclusions without all the evidence, but he was sorely tempted to rake Qin Yuze over flaming hot coals. Li Changyu shook his head to clear that image from his mind and focused back on the conversation.
“…if this Wife may ask a question?”
“Certainly…”
“Was this incense truthfully dangerous?” She finally met his gaze, her lip quivering. The concern in Qian Jing’s eyes looked genuine.
“…Yes. It would have hurt you as well and we suspect Qin Yuze knew that.”
Qian Jing dropped her head into her hands and let out a shuddering breath. Feeling a bit awkward, Li Changyu tried to console Qian Jing with a gentle rub on her back. Tears always made Li Changyu uncomfortable, since it was much easier to punch your problems than to talk about it. Granted, his life before did not have nearly the amount of troubles he collected since coming to the Palace.
“This Emperor has not done their best for the Harem these years…” Li Changyu tried to sound diplomatic, or at least as much as he remembered Jin Xiyan sounding when they were young. “Things will change, but we require you to do two things.”
She lifted her head and looked up at him wide-eyed, her mouth slightly ajar. “Your Majesty will not punish me?”
Li Changyu shook his head, “Not if you agree to these two conditions.”
“Anything!” Qian Jing forgot herself and reached out to her Emperor and grabbed his robes by the lapels. She did not hold on for long, because she quickly reminded herself who this was and yanked her hands back like she’d been scalded.
In truth, Qian Jing was not exactly in love with the Emperor. He just seemed like the best option because he asked. She had no prospects, and she got a lovely daughter from it. She had no complaints until the past two years, but how His Majesty was behaving, it seemed like things were going to change for the better.
“Of course, anything for Your Majesty.”
“First, you must look after Li Changyu. I am now aware of the dynamics within the Harem, and it is imperative that Li Changyu has support. You are also an alpha, so do not be afraid to show it. Next, you must write down what you told me and the details of you receiving this incense from Qin Yuze.”
Though Qian Jing had questions, she thought it best to not ask them. She nodded her head, “Yes, Your Majesty. I will do my best.”
“Good.”
Li Changyu did not want to linger, because how could he make small talk with a Wife as her Husband? Unsure again about how to proceed, Li Changyu gave a gentle pat on her back and rose at the same time Shen Pei burst into the room, startling them both.
“Your Majesty, it’s–”
By the alarm in Shen Pei’s voice, Li Changyu did not need an explanation. He rushed past her and said over his shoulder, “Let’s go.”
——–
Li Changyu pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes. “Please repeat what you said, very, very slowly.”
Meimei twisted a slightly damp rag between her hands, wringing it together as tight as her anxiety. She kept her head down as she answered him, “It-it-it appears…that His Highness took…took some type of aphrodisiac.”
I am going to kill him. I am going to kill my Mother. Li Changyu opened his eyes and glanced at the ceiling to make sure that lighting was not going to suddenly strike him for cursing his dear Mother. He wanted to take a deep sigh, but he could smell the pheromones pouring out from the other side of the door easily. It was bothersome, the way the cloying scent took hold of his nose and made his heart beat faster, but he could control himself well enough.
He bent down so he could look Meimei in the eye. The young girl startled, but it didn’t soften Li Changyu’s tone any. He spoke as he tapped on the vial in her hand, “You will find Madame Li and find out exactly what was in this bottle.”
Meimei’s looped tails bobbed as she shook her head up and down. She skirted around Li Changyu and rushed towards the exit. Li Changyu followed her movement until she was gone, then shifted his focus to Shen Pei. She was by the door looking similarly distressed, but a notable flush was on her face. Sighing, he shook his head.
“Get out, you are no use to me like this.” Li Changyu shook his head and muttered under his breath as he opened the door. “Fucking alphas.”
Pushing the door to the side, a literal wave of heat pushed back against him as he entered. He nearly staggered from the scents alone, but the blazing hot temperature in the room put a summer’s day to shame. On the bed was Jin Xiyan, looking like a moving blob of cloth underneath a heavy blanket. Among the scent of pheromones he could smell the culprit for the stuffy heat in the room – a bunch of charcoal warmers were placed in the room.
“Who the hell thought of this?” Li Changyu grumbled and removed his outer robe before closing the door behind him. “It’s an aphrodisiac, not a fever!”
A hoarse whisper came from the lump on the bed “…–yu?”
A tiny sliver of sympathy towards Jin Xiyan arose. Clearly, he was suffering. “I am here.”
Li Changyu quickly snuffed the burners and proceeded to remove them from the room. More noises and half-words rambled out of Jin Xiyan, but he ignored them while he worked. When he was ready to get the blanket off Jin Xiyan, he tentatively approached the bed. Li Changyu only had three heats ever in his life because he religiously took his heat suppressants. After his first one when he was a teenager, he only had two instances where he didn’t have them on hand. In both those instances, it was his Brother Li Guangzhu then Shen Pei who helped. He’d never actually seen himself during a heat, and the idea of seeing his body under the control of an aphrodisiac that caused a heat was…
Li Changyu shuddered so hard his teeth chattered.
Slowly he stretched his hand out, reaching for the blanket, but before he could grab a hold of it, Jin Xiyan popped up. Li Changyu jumped back, genuinely in fright. Jin Xiyan’s hair was a mess, slick with sweat and disheveled so much that his hair stuck every which way. His underwear was askew, partially undone and equally soaked with sweat. Jin Xiyan, though sitting upright, swayed slightly. His gaze was unfocused and glassy, but a brief glimmer of clarity came after he took a deep breath. Like he’d just realized another person was in the room, Jin Xiyan lifted his face up and looked at Li Changyu.
Jin Xiyan’s lower lip trembled and the corners of them twitched upward into a smile, “Changyu…it really is you…”
“Of course it’s me. Who else would be able to help, hm?” Li Changyu motioned in Jin Xiyan’s general direction with a sweeping hand. “I barely trust you in my body, let alone someone else to not take advantage of the situation.” Jin Xiyan’s weak smile faltered and his lip jutted out in a pout. Damn his bleeding heart, the pity for Jin Xiyan grew. Li Changyu sighed and shook his head. “What mess did you get yourself into?”
The moment he dropped his hand, Li Changyu felt the full impact of a body slamming into him. Caught off guard, he landed completely vertical, the back of his head hitting the wooden floor beneath him.
“Ack!” he cried, his hands going to his pained head at first but he froze when he felt a writhing body on top of him. It all happened so quickly that he hadn’t realized Jin Xiyan somehow launched himself from the bed at him, clinging to him in a choking hold.
“You smell…so good!” Jin Xiyan’s panting breath tickled Li Changyu’s exposed neck. He could hear the deep, sighing breaths and Jin Xiyan nuzzled his nose along Li Changyu’s throat.
Li Changyu tried to not cringe. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and lightly patted Jin Xiyan on the back. “There, there. Ease up a bit, you’re getting me dirty.”
It was true that one of the reasons he came was to help settle this aphrodisiac induced heat. Alpha pheromones could help, and he figured he was the safest bet since he already knew his own smell that he wouldn’t have the typical reactions an alpha had. So far, it proved to be true, but feeling Jin Xiyan’s body press against his and create a friction with his hips was definitely leading him towards the typical reactions.
Li Changyu pushed on Jin Xiyan’s shoulders to create a bit of distance between them but Jin Xiyan growled and wrapped his thighs around Li Changyu’s hips and squeezed them tightly. Feeling a hot, wet thing slide towards his collarbone, pushed Li Changyu to put more force behind his actions.
“Hey! Snap out of it! That is my body you are in!”
Jin Xiyan spoke between growls, “Want to…be in…your body right now!”
He felt all the blood drain from his body. Did the Emperor even understand the words he was saying right now?! This idiot alpha!
“If you think you will get a chance to violate your own body with my body, you have another thing coming to you, Jin Xiyan! AH!”
Li Changyu managed to pry Jin Xiyan’s face away from his neck, which he bit down on. He kept the surprisingly strong and persistent Jin Xiyan at bay and kept him at an arm’s distance, putting Jin Xiyan at a sitting position on his abdomen. Still, Jin Xiyan grinded against him and his hands clutched the seams of his robes and pulled them open, exposing Li Changyu’s chest.
“Let me just have a taste!”
“Absolutely not!”
They grappled like this for a few moments, with Li Changyu grabbing at Jin Xiyan’s wrists and hands, only for him to wriggle free and reach for him again. He managed to get close one more time and bit Li Changyu’s earlobe before letting out a husky purr. Crimson spread across Li Changyu’s cheeks and a surge of panic rose from his belly. He turned the situation around by flipping them so he was on top and pinned Jin Xiyan’s hands above his head with a firm hold on his wrists.
“Have you gone mad!? Not even omegas are this bad during a heat!”
Jin Xiyan whimpered and thrashed his head side to side, “Then you can be on top!”
“WHAT!” shouted Li Changyu. It was quite possible that this entire half of the palace could have heard his cry.
Again Jin Xiyan tried to make a move, this time lifting his legs up high and wrapping them around Li Changyu’s waist. The shock was almost enough to make Li Changyu lose his grip on Jin Xiyan’s wrists – almost.
“Whatever my Mother has given you has turned you mad! Let alone the fact I would never want to touch my own body in that way…” Scrambling for more, Li Changyu was unaware that Jin Xiyan knew of his potential infertility. In order to scare Jin Xiyan out of his heat-induced madness, he mocked him. “And! You might end up pregnant! Who has ever heard of that, hm? A pregnant emperor?!”
Jin Xiyan stilled, and it appeared the chaos had passed, but the way Jin Xiyan smiled up at him with a twinkle in his eye made his breath catch.
“That is fine! I can carry it! There will be no harm in touching now that I agreed, right?”
Poor Li Changyu’s brain broke. He flinched away, jerking his hands back, and Jin Xiyan took this opportunity to once again leap up and crash into him. What made Li Changyu come out of his momentary stupor was seeing Jin Xiyan’s lips nearing dangerously close to his own.
This is nonsense! Li Changyu ground out a growl of his own and wrapped his arms tightly around Jin Xiyan. In one swift motion he was on his feet, cradling a squirming Jin Xiyan in his arms and trying to avoid his kisses. He marched his way to the door and kicked it open. Li Changyu’s thumping strides knocked away everything in his path as he went straight to the bathing room which had a small pool. It was normally heated up with a coal system that came from the outside, but it was thankfully not on.
Without a second thought, Li Changyu took a deep breath and walked over the edge. The water was so chill that the initial touch sent pinpricks across the skin. He kept hold of Jin Xiyan and completely submerged both of them. Bubbles gurgled up from Jin Xiyan’s open mouth cry and still Li Changyu kept them under for a few more heartbeats before letting go. He pushed his head up towards the surface, breaking it at the same time Jin Xiyan did so. Jin Xiyan gasped for breath and furiously wiped at his face to push his clinging hair away.
Li Changyu’s teeth chattered as he spoke, “You settled down yet?!”
Jin Xiyan looked a little more conscious now, his confused stare flitting around the room. Instead of answering, he asked a question of his own, “W…what are we doing here?”
“It’s called a heat, you moron!” Li Changyu swam a little closer and smacked the top of Jin Xiyan’s head. “It is better to cool down during one!”
“Ow!” hissed Jin Xiyan. He winced and rubbed the top of his head but quickly abandoned that to wrap his arms around himself and shiver while in the water. “I…I did not know that!”
“Well, now you do!”
They fell silent, save for the sound of their teeth hitting together and their shuddering breaths. The clearer that Jin Xiyan’s eyes grew, the more relief Li Changyu felt. A few more moments stretched out until Li Changyu finally grabbed Jin Xiyan and made way to the edge of the pool. Jin Xiyan did not protest as he was led there and Li Changyu hoisted him up to sit on the edge. He pulled himself out of the pool completely.
“After you get out of those wet clothes, keep your feet in the cold water. The temperature will spread through your body faster that way.” Li Changyu felt like he was giving ‘the talk’ to a little omega. He grabbed a nearby towel and scrubbed at his face. “I will stay in the guest room. I will try to make sure this news reaches no one, but if word does spread to the rest of the Harem that you are in heat, it makes the most sense for me to stay here.”
“…are these things this bad?”
Li Changyu assumed by ‘these things’ that Jin Xiyan meant heats. Li Changyu shrugged and tossed a towel to him. He would wait until he was alone to get out of the soaking wet clothes. To answer Jin Xiyan, he shrugged.
“I didn’t have many, but they aren’t fun. You are the moron that took an aphrodisiac, so I expect the effects would surely be heightened.”
“Does…” Jin Xiyan’s face looked flushed again. “Does that much really…come out of there?!”
“Tch!” Li Changyu covered his ears with his hands and glared at Jin Xiyan. “I am not having this kind of talk with you! Go ask my Mother when she comes back. Yes, I sent for her again. She’s going to fix this…this…” Like before, Li Changyu gestured wildly at Jin Xiyan and then turned away. “I am going to prepare the guest room. You dry off and do what I said until Meimei and my Mother return.”
Li Changyu stomped out of the room before Jin Xiyan could ask another embarrassing question. All that came to mind was a new mantra of his:
Stupid alphas!
To give some more context/make it clearer for folks:
Jin Xiyan married Qin Yuze first when they were sixteen. Just one month later he marries Qian Jing (who is a little older than him, by the way). Before the year is done, he is again married, this time to the Chen twins. Why the sudden swing of marriages, and multiple ruts? And Qin Yuze was not favored until recently, too. Hmmmm! Suspicious!
Thanks for the chapter 🤣
You are welcome!
Thank you for the food!
‘If you think you will get the chance violate your body with my body …. ‘ still thinking like he’s top 😂
‘Stupid alphas’
I hope you know this won’t be the only shameless thing JXY does in this story.
That was the best! I wonder if either of them can just not think about that now 😂
I loved this chapter! And tho my little selfish wish was for the emperor to become pregnant and carry a child it would have been rough on LCY. I really can’t wait until the mystery around the harem and who’s behind it all is revealed.
I was feeling down today and seeing the notification for a new chapter made me so happy. Thank you so much for posting!
True facts, JXY would totally carry a baby. He loves babies. He thinks they are so amazing. It would have hurt LCY yes because he SECRETLY does feel the urge for a baby
Finally.. Thank you for the chapter and yes it is really suspicious now
Thank you for your patience!
Jin Xiyan’s first marriage wasn’t long after he had escaped marriage talks to hang out with Li Changyu. He had also awkwardly explained the elders’ concern about Li Changyu approaching his first heat. My guess is that he was pining when Li Changyu left, and not interested in anyone else, so someone induced ruts and someone (maybe same maybe different) erased Li Changyu.
Jin Xiyan really didn’t think through that other alphas might come huh?
In Jin Xiyan’s defense, alphas are typically not allowed in the area the Harem lives in. Shen Pei has been the exception because of Li Changyu. But poor Shen Pei! Having to deal with her friend in another body, and the one occupying his body having an alluring scent. She has to put up with so much!
Oh yeah, I guess he would know better than anyone that the place he keeps his wife is secure 😅
Secure from everything but Li Changyu himself. Remember when he escaped?
Haha can’t keep him in, can’t keep him out!
Really loved how LCY handled the situation with airhead JXY …no nonsensical act n keeping both their dignities..!!
On a different note,feeling good to know JXY originally was not insincere to LCY even when he was forced to do many meaningless marriages..!!
But seriously, the Omega villains in his harem all shld be ban ished asap for such heartless n selfish abuse to the emperor..!!
There will be no violating LCY’s body, not on his watch!
I am glad you are starting to see that JXY is a poor emperor – look at him. Truthfully pitiful. He can only function with his empress there!
Thank you so so much for the new chapter!
Enjoying your story so much
Thank YOU for reading! I hope you enjoyed seeing the Emperor be shameless.
So each time he gets a rut, he’s marrying an asshole? 😏
I meant, so many wives in his harem, but none of them have some human decency
That is pretty much the sum. Qian Jing is probably the most understandable wife, but yes, the harem isn’t really that great.
Dang it, that head slap keeps making me giggle at inappropriate times. Eh, he’ll get over it.
I hope you can forgive the silly emperor
Haha I adore the silly Emperor! My inappropriate times person might not be so fond of him 😆
Thanks for the chapter! I was missing this beautiful novel.🥰
I am so glad you liked it!