Chapter 8 — Daytime Succubus

I drew a deep breath, leaned in closer, and lowered my voice.

"I want to ask you something."

"Go ahead, ask."

"Between you and Her Majesty the Empress, did something... intimate ever happen?"

The question was altogether too bizarre. My elder sister was plainly dumbfounded by my inquiry. I steeled my resolve and gently pressed my fingers against her lips.

"I mean... did you ever accidentally touch right here? For instance, when you were sharing quarters in the palace, or when you drank too much at a banquet and made a careless mistake..."

At that, my elder sister abruptly sprang to her feet. Her chair crashed hard against the table, emitting a harsh, creaking screech.

"How do you know?"

The words slipped past her lips before she could catch them, and she instantly clapped both hands over her mouth, looking for all the world like a cat with its fur bristling. The thunder that had been rumbling in my heart finally struck dead center. Just as I had suspected. I knew it all along. These two siblings of the Shen family... they were cut from the exact same cloth!

17

"It happened during the imperial maiden selection."

My sister's voice was no louder than the buzz of a mosquito.

"Back then, both she and I had just entered the palace. We hadn't received our official titles yet, and we were assigned to the same room."

"Late one night, I woke up thirsty. I didn't light a lamp, just groped my way blindly toward the table. And as it happened, she woke up at the same time..."

My elder sister lifted her hands to shield her face, her voice growing fainter and fainter.

"To make a long story short, we bumped into each other and accidentally kissed."

"And then?"

"And then, from that very day onward, her attitude toward me completely changed."

"Before that, though we weren't particularly close, we never crossed paths or interfered with one another. But ever since then, she has treated me with absolute chilliness."

"Even after both of us attained the Emperor's favor, whenever His Majesty flipped my bamboo tally, she always loved to snatch away my chance to attend the imperial couch."

"Yet now, she has changed again."

My sister knitted her brows slightly, her voice laced with profound bewilderment.

"After ascending to the position of Empress and taking control of the entire inner court, she ought to have completely suppressed me and trampled me beneath her feet."

"Why on earth is she protecting me on all sides now, caring for me in every little thing?"

"She used to be as cold as ice, but now she is endlessly gentle."

"Such erratic shifts in attitude... I simply cannot understand them at all."

I stared into my sister's face, which was full of utter perplexity. I opened my mouth, then snapped it shut again. This whole affair was entirely too absurd. How on earth was I supposed to explain this to her? Sister, the Empress doesn't actually hate you. She carries the bloodline of the mythical demon clan, and after you kissed her, she unconsciously recognized you as her master. She only steals your bed-nights out of jealousy. She only interferes with what you wear and what you eat because she cannot restrain her instincts. Could you possibly accept something like that? With my sister's marshmallow-soft disposition, she would probably pass out on the spot.

"Fei Fei."

My sister spoke up abruptly, a hint of suspicion coloring her voice.

"You rushed over here specifically to ask me about this just now. Do you know something about all this, don't you?"

"I..."

For the very first time, I felt my tongue tie itself in knots.

"I... don't know a thing."

About this matter, I truly needed to sit down and ponder carefully just how to break the news to my sister without scaring her out of her wits. After all... her situation was far more complicated than mine!

18

By the time I returned to the Shen residence that evening, I immediately hauled Shen Zhu into our bedchamber. Shen Zhu endured my intense scrutiny for a moment before looking thoroughly awkward and asking what on earth was the matter with me.

"Shen Zhu, I have a question for you."

"Go ahead and ask."

"Your sister and my sister... did you know about this all along?"

Shen Zhu froze. He neither denied it nor offered any explanation. I drew a deep breath and recounted every single word my sister had said today, leaving nothing out. When Shen Zhu finished listening, he remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking.

"My eldest sister certainly knows where to draw the line."

"Draw the line? You call stealing someone else's turn at the imperial couch knowing where to draw the line? Delivering medicine and incense every single day is knowing where to draw the line?"

"My eldest sister..."

Shen Zhu paused, seemingly weighing his choice of words.

"Life in the palace has never been easy for her. There are certain things she has never explicitly told me, and it is not my place to pry too deeply. But she has always exercised restraint in whatever she does, and she possesses far greater endurance than I do. You can rest assured."

I recalled the frantic, wild look in Shen Zhu's eyes late at night, and I immediately shook my head repeatedly.

"I cannot rest assured. Not in the slightest."

If a situation like this was supposed to be reassuring, just how broad must one's heart be? Shen Zhu fell silent once more. As I looked upon his exquisite features, another thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

"Shen Zhu, my sister and your sister kissed entirely by accident."

"What about you?"

"When I kissed you beneath the crabapple tree... you clearly could have dodged."

"Why didn't you?"

He lowered his gaze, the tips of his ears gradually turning crimson.

"I didn't want to dodge."

Just those few brief words left my mouth and throat utterly parched. I probed cautiously:

"Shen Zhu, have you harbored feelings for me for a very long time?"

"I have."

The person before me fluttered his eyelashes slightly and gave a slow nod. In that very instant, I was utterly dumbfounded. No matter how hard I racked my brain, I simply could not fathom it. For three whole years prior to this, I had bullied him, stirred up trouble for him, and tormented him unceasingly. I had been truly atrocious. And yet, Shen Zhu had still loved me all along? Could it possibly be... I stared at the man before me, who still looked thoroughly embarrassed, and took a deliberate step forward. Shen Zhu instinctively retreated half a step. His back bumped against the desk, and his frame trembled slightly.

"Wife?"

I paid him no mind. Raising my hand, I grabbed him by the collar and forced him to bend down toward me.