Chapter 5 — Daytime Succubus

What on earth is going on here?

A night of enfolding intimacy that stretched until exhaustion. When the first pale light of dawn began to seep through the window, the space beside my pillow was entirely empty. A wave of sullen frustration washed over me. I threw an outer garment over my shoulders with careless haste and stepped out into the corridor, just as Green Silk was carrying in the morning meal.

Where is your master?

My voice carried a sharp edge of irritation.

Reporting to the young mistress, the master entered the palace before dawn.

She said the Empress dowager summoned him for an urgent matter, and he left in a terrible rush. Before he departed, the master specifically instructed this servant to let you rest properly and not to wait for him to break your fast.

I bit my lower lip. My patience, constantly tested by Shen Zhu’s erratic behavior, was finally wearing paper-thin. By day, he was aloof, distant, and calculating to a fault. By night, he underwent a bizarre transformation, becoming clingy, obstinate, and utterly insatiable. This grotesque contrast defied all natural reason. Damned fool. What kind of wicked potion did Xie Little Tower actually give me? Could it be that it genuinely muddled the man’s mind? I gritted my teeth, hastily washed my face, changed into fresh attire, and strode out the door. Green Silk hurried after me, asking where I was headed.

Going to settle accounts with someone!

The guards at the Xie family estate were already accustomed to my impulsive arrivals; they bypassed any formal announcements and led me straight into the inner courtyard. Xie Little Tower was reclining languidly by the window, sipping tea while holding a piece of delicate pastry in his hand.

Oh, why has the newly wedded bride graced me with her presence? I am quite remiss for not welcoming you from afar!

I swung the door shut behind me, whipped around, and stared fixedly at him.

Xie Little Tower, what kind of drug did you actually give me?

Xie Little Tower took a bite of his pastry, mumbling indistinctly that it was merely an aphrodisiac, and asked what was the matter. I snatched the pastry right out of his hand and flung it down onto the stone table.

An aphrodisiac? Is that what you told me it was?

Do you have any idea what Shen Zhu turns into after taking that drug?

By day he acts like a normal human being, but the moment night falls, he behaves like a relentless ghost crawling into my bed!

A single dose lasts for two whole days, yet it only ever takes effect at night. Do you call that an aphrodisiac?

Xie Little Tower abruptly spat out a mouthful of tea. He stood frozen in place, looking as though he had been struck by lightning. After a long moment of stunned silence, he finally managed to squeeze a single sentence out of his constricted throat:

Repeat that. What did Shen Zhu do?

I carefully selected the most crucial details and recounted the events of the past two nights. The longer Xie Little Tower listened, the wider his eyes grew. When I finally finished, he fell silent for a short while, then slowly opened his mouth to speak.

What kind of person do you take me for? Hand you a conventional aphrodisiac?

Am I truly so devoid of virtue?

My Xie family has generations of an unblemished reputation. Though I, Xie Little Tower, may not be considered a paragon of righteous virtue...

Spare me the useless nonsense.

I rolled my eyes.

Get to the point!

Xie Little Tower rubbed his nose and hastily assumed a serious expression.

Second Miss Ning, this man named Shen Zhu is definitely hiding something from you.

Furthermore, it is a matter he cannot control himself. He manages to suppress it during the day, but once night falls, or when he sleeps and relaxes his guard, he simply cannot keep it under control any longer.

Xie Little Tower stood up and leaned in close.

In the box I gave you earlier, there is also a vial of truth serum.

That is the very last of my personal stock, which I originally intended to keep for my own use.

Go back and search for it, and find a way to make Shen Zhu swallow it.

You will never be able to unravel the secrets he carries simply by guessing.

It would be far better to ask him directly.

I lowered my head and drew in a deep, steady breath.

Xie Little Tower, if this method fails once again, I am going to pluck out every single hair on your head!

If it fails yet again...

Xie Little Tower gave me a rare, solemn look.

Then you had best start praying for your own survival right now.

I whipped my horse into a relentless gallop all the way back to the Shen estate. Among the sixty-four chests of my dowry, I rummaged frantically for nearly half an hour before finally unearthing the wooden box. Just as Xie Little Tower had described, a small porcelain vial was hidden at the very bottom. I pulled out the red fabric stopper. A pill roughly the size of a soybean, coated in a thin layer of sugar, rolled out into my palm. I brought it closer to my nose and sniffed. There was no scent at all, matching Xie Little Tower’s description precisely. The truth serum he mentioned must undoubtedly be this very pill. I picked up the pill, turning it over and over in my fingers, racking my brain to figure out how on earth I could trick Shen Zhu into ingesting it. He had adamantly refused to eat the red bean pastry yesterday; clearly, he was already on his guard against me. It seemed slipping the medicine into his food was entirely out of the question. What was I to do then? Just as I was lost in thought, the door behind me suddenly pushed open. Startled, I hurriedly concealed the pill.

What are you looking for?

Shen Zhu stood framed in the doorway. Having presumably just returned from the palace, his dark gaze was currently fixed directly upon the wooden box resting on the table. I followed the trajectory of his line of sight. My mind instantly exploded. The scroll of erotic paintings lay brazenly right on top. The artwork depicted two figures entwined in a posture that was utterly scandalous. A burning heat rushed straight to my cheeks. I slammed the lid of the box shut and hugged it tightly against my chest. Without even pausing to utter half a word of explanation, I whirled around and bolted. I had completely forgotten that a light drizzle had fallen earlier, leaving the bluestone pavers along the corridor slick with moisture. My foot slipped, and my entire body, along with the box, pitched forward. Shen Zhu, standing right by the doorway, reacted with lightning speed and reached out to catch me, only for me to collide squarely against his chest. The two of us tumbled down together onto the stone steps outside the threshold. The wooden box rolled off to one side, and the erotic scroll slithered unrolled across the ground. Shen Zhu slanted his head to glance at the scandalous painting lying on the floor, then slowly turned his gaze back, his pitch-black eyes staring straight into mine.