Chapter 70

The next day, Yun Pianpian woke up.
She slowly opened her eyes and directly met a pair of dark, deep ink-black eyes.
The man's eyes were profound, his thin lips slightly pressed together.
It was unclear how long he had been staring at her.
Yun Pianpian felt that Xiao Changyuan's cold, aloof iceberg, like face seemed to carry a hint of resentment.
That expression…it seemed like dissatisfaction from unfulfilled desires.
No, it must be her misconception, her amnesiac Yuan was pure.
He didn't even know what “desire” was, let alone understand what dissatisfaction from unfulfilled desires meant.
So, Yun Pianpian simply brushed it off as her eyes playing tricks on her.
She even began to doubt herself, wondering if she had become corrupted, making her see everything in a twisted light.
Yun Pianpian blushed and reflected on herself for three seconds.
The two got up and washed up, while the palace servants brought delicious dishes.
After the meal, Yun Pianpian took Xiao Changyuan for a leisurely stroll around the palace, wanting him to familiarize himself with the new environment.
The Mo Kingdom's palace was vast.
Even after so many days, Yun Pianpian hadn't fully explored it.
There were many side halls she hadn't visited.
But it was more than enough for her to act as Xiao Changyuan's guide.
The palace servants had prepared a royal carriage for Yun Pianpian, but she preferred to walk, so she declined their offer, dismissed the attendants, and did not allow the servants to follow.
The two strolled from the Imperial Garden all the way to Xide Gate.
Yun Pianpian pointed at Moon-Snatching Tower and introduced the jade, tiered high, rise to Xiao Changyuan: “This is Moon-Snatching Tower, the tallest pavilion in the palace. Standing atop it, you can overlook the entire palace. Would you like to go up and see, my husband?”
Xiao Changyuan recalled unpleasant memories.
He slightly furrowed his brow.
“No.”
Last night, Yun Pianpian had nearly fallen from this jade tower.
Now, he only wished to raze it to the ground.
A faint crimson glow gradually tinged Xiao Changyuan's cold eyes, his pale jaw tightened.
Yun Pianpian did not notice anything amiss.
Seeing that Xiao Changyuan did not want to go up, she simply assumed he had no interest in the jade tower.
The two wandered around the palace all morning.
At noon, they returned to the bedchamber for their meal.
After finishing the meal, they took a short stroll outside the bedchamber. Yun Pianpian always took a nap after lunch, and now drowsiness washed over her. She yawned, her clear, bright almond eyes veiled with a hazy mist. Sleepily, she said to Xiao Changyuan, “Husband, I'm a bit tired. I'd like to go back to the bedchamber for a nap.”
Xiao Changyuan replied, “I'll accompany you, wife.”
As he spoke, the man reached out, scooped Yun Pianpian up in his arms, and carried her toward the bedchamber.
Yun Pianpian wrapped her slender, delicate fingers around the front of Xiao Changyuan's robe. She did not find his action inappropriate, as the amnesiac Yuan had often held her like this before.
Xiao Changyuan carried Yun Pianpian back to the bedchamber.
He lowered the bed curtains, drew her soft, fragrant body into his embrace, and closed his eyes, feigning sleep.
After some time had passed, Yun Pianpian's breathing became steady and light.
He knew she had fallen asleep.
Xiao Changyuan opened his dark, profound eyes, not a trace of sleepiness in them.
He released his hold, placing Yun Pianpian's delicate form back onto the dragon bed.
As if the dragon bed wasn't soft enough, the young woman frowned slightly in her sleep and let out a soft murmur. That delicate, enchanting sound reached Xiao Changyuan's ears like a spark igniting a prairie fire, setting his eyes ablaze.
He nearly lost his composure.
Xiao Changyuan struggled to restrain his wild desires.
He knew he could not act on them now.
It was not fitting for his position.
If Yun Pianpian discovered he had not lost his memory, all his efforts would be in vain.
He had to restrain himself.
He had to endure.
Xiao Changyuan held back until his eyes turned bloodshot, his brows deeply furrowed, like a trapped beast in a cage.
He possessed the power to destroy everything.
But before this delicate, soft being, he could only endure, restrain, and suppress. In the end, when he could bear it no longer, he dared only to lower his head and carefully kiss the corner of her lips, afraid of waking her.
As if afraid of startling a butterfly resting on a petal.
She was so fragile he could crush her with one hand.
Yet she held the power to command him and he willingly savored it.
Xiao Changyuan reluctantly released Yun Pianpian.
He still had many matters to attend to.
He rose from the bed.
In the corner of the palace, ice blocks provided coolness carried by the breeze.
Worried Yun Pianpian might catch a chill, Xiao Changyuan draped a light quilt over her waist, carefully arranged the bed curtains, and tiptoed out of the chamber.
He exited the bedchamber.
The palace servants lowered their heads, not daring to look up at him.
Xiao Changyuan's voice was icy as he commanded, “No one is to disturb the Empress during her nap.”
The servants trembled with fear. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Xiao Changyuan headed in the direction of Xide Gate.
As he walked, he coldly instructed Liu Shun beside him, “Have the Construction Department send people immediately to tear down the Moon-Snatching Tower. I don’t want to see it again.”
Liu Shun bowed his head and replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Construction Department was specifically responsible for the maintenance and repair of the palace. Upon receiving the order, the chief supervisor personally led three hundred palace workers to dismantle the tower. Most of these workers were seeing Xiao Changyuan for the first time. Noticing the emperor’s gloomy eyes and displeased expression, they all turned pale with fear, their legs trembling.
Xiao Changyuan’s voice was icy as he commanded, “Do not make any noise while dismantling the tower. If you disturb the Empress’s afternoon rest, I will have your heads.”
Trembling with fear, the workers replied in unison, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Because Xiao Changyuan forbade any noise from the Construction Department, the workers dared not use heavy hammers directly on the Moon-Snatching Tower. They placed thick, soft padding on the jade stones to absorb vibrations and muffle the sound. Striking the jade through the padding, they waited until a small crack appeared before carefully using tools to pry the stones apart, piece by piece. The dismantling process was as slow and painstaking as ants moving a hill, fraught with tension and caution.
Xiao Changyuan then proceeded to the Pavilion of Literary Profundity.
The Pavilion of Literary Profundity was the palace’s repository for books, housing rare texts from across the land and serving as the largest library in the Mo Kingdom.
Xiao Changyuan dismissed his attendants.
With a cold expression, he entered the pavilion.
He knew that since this place collected all the books in the world, it must contain those kinds of books, the ones describing the rites of marital intimacy.
Yun Pianpian had refused to tell him the truth about the demonic arts.
He was determined to force her to reveal it.
Xiao Changyuan quickly found a stack of such books in a corner of the bookshelf. Flipping through them casually, his dark lashes lowered and his expression indifferent, he not only remained unfazed but also learned many new positions. Eventually, his focus shifted to how to please a woman.
His gaze suddenly sharpened.
Xiao Changyuan narrowed his phoenix eyes, a glint of keen interest flickered in their depths.
So it could be done like this.
With a pleased expression, Xiao Changyuan brought the books back to his bedchamber.
In the bedchamber, a cool breeze gently rustled the curtains.
Yun Pianpian was still asleep on the dragon bed.
Xiao Changyuan placed the books into the brocade box and set it on the bookshelf behind the imperial desk. He removed his shoes and socks, climbed quietly into bed, and drew Yun Pianpian’s soft, delicate body into his embrace.
Closing his eyes, he feigned sleep, a faint smile playing on his lips as he thought of what was to come. On his cool, jade, like handsome face, that trace of a smile was impossible to conceal.
Yun Pianpian slept until dusk before waking.
The sun had set, and the sky was filled with evening clouds and sunset hues.
Yun Pianpian lifted the bed curtains.
Gazing at the dense clouds and twilight outside the window, she froze for a moment.
She hadn’t expected to have slept for so long.
Yun Pianpian reached out and nudged Xiao Changyuan.
“Husband…”
Xiao Changyuan had sensed her breathing as she began to stir. Now, as she pushed him, he pretended to have just woken up, his expression weary as he asked, “What is it, wife?”
Yun Pianpian frowned. “The sun has already set. How is it that you slept so late today as well?”
Xiao Changyuan’s gaze darkened. “With you by my side, I didn’t want to wake up.”
His words made Yun Pianpian blush.
Since losing his memory, this man had become even more skilled at sweet talk than before.
Yun Pianpian ordered the palace attendants to serve the evening meal.
After they finished eating, Yun Pianpian moved about the palace for a while before taking fresh sleeping robes to bathe and wash up in the white jade bathing pool.
Xiao Changyuan sat on the dragon bed, quietly waiting for her to finish her bath. As the faint sound of water reached his ears from the bathing pool, his gaze grew somewhat obscure.
When Yun Pianpian emerged dressed in her sleeping robes, Xiao Changyuan’s dark eyes fixed on her.
Perhaps it was her imagination, but Yun Pianpian felt that Xiao Changyuan’s eyes were especially dark today.
Like a bottomless black abyss.
Once fallen into, one would vanish without a trace.
Yun Pianpian’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Xiao Changyuan glanced at her, then gathered his sleeping robes and went to bathe in the pool.
He finished quickly and emerged from behind the screen.
Yun Pianpian thought his bathing speed was even faster than yesterday.
Xiao Changyuan still carried the dampness of his bath, his dark lashes misted with moisture, making him appear exceptionally pure and docile.
“Wife, let’s review the memorials.”
Yun Pianpian was taken aback. Xiao Changyuan was not one to diligently attend to state affairs. Though his suggestion struck her as odd, considering how late he had slept today and the time wasted, she didn’t question it further. She nodded and followed him to the outer chamber of the bedchamber.
In the past, when Xiao Changyuan reviewed memorials in the bedchamber, he had never avoided Yun Pianpian. He had even taught her how to handle them, guiding her hand, then toying with both her and the memorials in his palm.
Today, Yun Pianpian could finally return what she had learned back to him.
Xiao Changyuan walked to the imperial desk but ignored the memorials, instead turning his gaze to the bookshelf behind it.
“Wife, what are these brocade boxes for?”
Yun Pianpian recalled the blood, stained phoenix seal and that madman, a pang of sorrow rising in her heart. Distractedly, she replied, “The boxes seem to contain some jade pieces…”
Xiao Changyuan reached out and opened one of the boxes, feigning surprise.
“My lady, this isn’t jade, it’s a book.”
Yun Pianpian froze, then walked over.
Just as Xiao Changyuan opened the book, their eyes fell together upon the vivid and sensual illustration.
Yun Pianpian’s eyelashes trembled, her heart racing wildly.
Her small face instantly flushed crimson to the tips of her ears.
She could hardly believe it, why would the tyrant Xiao Changyuan collect such books?
Xiao Changyuan lifted his dark, profound ink, black eyes.
“Wife, isn't this a demonic cultivation manual?”
Yun Pianpian's cheeks flushed crimson as she stammered, “Let me explain.”
Xiao Changyuan's gaze grew obscure. “Alright, I'll listen to your explanation.”
Yun Pianpian didn't dare look into his eyes.
Her voice trembled slightly as she said, “This actually isn't a demonic cultivation manual.”
Xiao Changyuan feigned ignorance. “Then what is it?”
Yun Pianpian bit her red lips, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, too shy to speak.
Xiao Changyuan reached out, swept her into his arms, and carried her toward the dragon bed.
“No rush, wife, you can take your time explaining.”
He drew the bed curtains, a faint, almost imperceptible smile curling his pale lips.
“We have the whole night ahead.”
The long night stretched on, filled with tender intimacy.