Chapter 19:- Wanting to Kiss Her

At those words, Jiang Rao’s expression froze abruptly; she could scarcely even maintain the faint smile she’d been forcing.

The blood-deep enmity that could never coexist under the same sky was like needles embedded in her heart, piercing down to the bone; pain she could never forget.

The naked, blood-soaked hatred lying before her eyes, how could she possibly speak in the tender, intimate tone of a lover to please this man before her, the one who had slaughtered her entire clan?

Jiang Rao clenched her fists tight beneath her sleeves, hating her own weakness in this moment,
hating that she could do nothing yet, because the road of lying low to taste bitterness and bide her revenge was still one she had to walk, step by step.

Mu Ling, getting no response from her, grew impatient and leaned closer.

“Rao’er, can’t you even grant your Crown Prince Brother this one little request?”

“I…” Her eyes lost all light; despair was already filling her heart.

At that moment, with no one else around, Mu Ling became utterly unrestrained, he had long since come to regard Jiang Rao as his possession, and teasing her, to him, was nothing out of place.

With the mask of a benevolent, modest heir now slipping away, his true base nature surfaced from beneath, and even the image he’d carefully cultivated that of a man untouched by beauty was completely cast aside.

He toyed idly with a strand of her hair, his gaze heavy with barely hidden desire.

Jiang Rao suddenly realized, this man must have been drinking earlier!

“Your Highness, are you here?”

A voice came from behind them. Someone had spotted them.

Jiang Rao froze at the sound, her expression blank with shock and disbelief, because that voice was all too familiar.

To her surprise, Mu Ling reacted even more violently than she did, the instant the words were spoken, he straightened sharply, moved away from Jiang Rao, his face calm, as though nothing had happened.

Of course. How could the heir to the throne allow his virtuous image to be tainted?

With all the courtiers gathered nearby, for him to abandon the viewing stands and hide away here
to indulge in lust, such scandal, if it spread, would be disastrous.

“Who’s there?”

Mu Ling’s tone was taut; there was a flicker of wariness in his eyes.

Seeing his two-faced hypocrisy, all righteousness in public, filth in private; Jiang Rao couldn’t help but sneer coldly in her heart.

Daring to act but not daring to own it; is this the bearing of the future ruler of the Eastern Palace?

Footsteps approached around the corner. Jiang Rao’s heart pounded like a drum, and in the next instant, she saw Chen Lian stride in, leading a horse, expression calm as ever.

She stood frozen, staring at him, a sudden unease tightening her chest.

How long had he been standing there?

How much had he heard? How much had he seen?

Mu Ling, too, turned his gaze on him, his eyes faintly hostile.

But Chen Lian’s pace was unhurried. When he drew near, he said evenly, “The Marquis’s General instructed me to teach the young lady riding. I came searching here, I didn’t expect Your Highness to be present.”

Mu Ling’s tightly furrowed brow eased a little. Without the slightest suspicion, he hastened to explain himself, “Rao’er and I met by chance. We merely stopped to speak so it delayed us somewhat. Where are the others?”

“Before I came,” Chen Lian replied, “I heard that Prince Chen wished to compete in riding with the General. Perhaps right now they’re…”

Before he could finish, the Crown Prince impatiently interrupted him.

“Prince Chen and the General? They’re together?”

“Yes.”

Listening from the side, Jiang Rao felt tense but at the same time, she wondered if Chen Lian had said that deliberately.

Everyone knew how delicate the relationship was between the Crown Prince and Prince Chen.
The Emperor was a man of deep and suspicious mind and he feared any one prince’s power becoming too great.

So, even though Mu Ling held the position of Crown Prince, his authority was not as solid as Prince Chen’s military command. While he had his mother’s clan supporting him and in many ways held the advantage, he still lived in constant caution.

Hearing Chen Lian’s words now, Mu Ling instantly lost all interest in flirting with Jiang Rao; his mind filled instead with suspicion, wondering whether Prince Chen was plotting something right under his nose.

He didn’t linger further.

After glancing once at Chen Lian, he turned toward Jiang Rao, his tone gentle, his gaze tender and practiced to perfection.

“Rao’er, your Crown Prince Brother shouldn’t stay here too long. I must keep an eye on the race. Since your brother sent someone to accompany you, I’ll return to the stands.”

Jiang Rao wished more than anything that he would leave quickly but she still had to play the part of reluctant affection.

“Your Highness should hurry along. Don’t trouble yourself over me.”

“Next time, I’ll be sure to spend longer talking with you.”

Saying this, he actually reached out a hand and gently patted her head; a gesture of fond intimacy.

Jiang Rao could only endure it. The instant his hand touched her, a chill rippled down her spine.

Mu Ling quickly withdrew, then glanced at Chen Lian again and said, “Rao’er is delicate. Teach her with care.”

Chen Lian’s eyelids lifted slightly. “Your Highness may rest assured.”

His manner was neither overly deferential nor humble, even his bow was perfunctory but Mu Ling didn’t bother to pursue it.

He turned and left in haste, anxious to make his entrance at the arena before Prince Chen could steal the limelight.

Mu Ling had gone no more than a few paces when Jiang Rao suddenly felt a wave of warmth
brush the back of her neck.

Chen Lian had slipped up behind her, pulling her into his arms, his wrist tightening around her waist. The sudden movement shocked her so badly her heart nearly leapt out of her chest.

Instinctively, she pressed her hands over her mouth, terrified she might cry out.

The Crown Prince was still nearby!

How dare he…

If Mu Ling so much as turned his head, he would see this outrage…Chen Lian openly embracing and defiling his future Crown Princess right before his eyes.

Such insolence would mean immediate execution.

Jiang Rao stood frozen, not knowing what to do until she heard Chen Lian’s low voice at her ear, his breath stirring against her skin.

“I missed you.”

His voice was hoarse beyond belief.

For a moment, Jiang Rao nearly lost herself to the spell of his words but reason returned in a flash.

“Chen Lian, the Crown Prince is still—”

He cut her off impatiently, his nose brushing along her right cheek, again and again, as if releasing some suppressed emotion.

He was displeased.

“He told me,” Chen Lian murmured, his voice like a feather brushing her heart, “to pay more attention to you.”

Jiang Rao’s heart fluttered violently, the tremor running all the way down to her knees.

As he spoke, his arms tightened further. The ticklish warmth of his breath left her limbs weak, and in moments she was melting entirely against him.

Chen Lian seemed utterly without restraint, but Jiang Rao was frightened, what if they were caught?

“The Crown Prince hasn’t gone far…” Her soft, boneless hand slowly pressed down over his, her tone faintly coaxing. “I’m afraid he’ll turn around…”

“Yes,” he said calmly, “if he turns around, I’ll be guilty of a capital crime.”

His tone was flat, as if speaking of something utterly inconsequential. He simply continued breathing in the fragrance at her neck, his voice as tranquil as still water.

After a moment, he added, “But you should be safe enough. He covets the Marquis Household’s military power so he wouldn’t dare harm even a single hair of the Marquis’s daughter.”

“But I don’t want anything to happen to you,” Jiang Rao countered in mild protest.

Even so, she still didn’t try to pull away on her own.

She had to admit it, she couldn’t seem to resist Chen Lian at all.

No matter how many worries filled her heart, the moment she felt his warm breath against the back of her neck, she couldn’t help wanting to yield to him.

But if she didn’t push him away, how could he possibly let go?

Jiang Rao stood there, flustered, secretly blaming her treacherous body for betraying her when suddenly, the man behind her drew her even closer. His voice, when he spoke again, carried a tone she couldn’t quite decipher.

“The Crown Prince just now especially reminded me,” he said, “that you’re delicate and told me to take extra care of you.”

He paused, then pressed his hot palm to the small of her back, as if truly savoring the soft warmth in his arms.

A teasing lilt entered his tone. “This assignment puts me in a hard spot. I don’t know exactly how delicate you are, so perhaps I should feel it for myself, just to report properly afterward?”

Delicate, he says…

Jiang Rao’s face flushed scarlet. His words made her feel both mortified and ….well, a little breathless.

As for reporting back, if the Crown Prince knew this was how Chen Lian was “reporting,” he’d probably vomit blood on the spot.

Just imagining that made Jiang Rao feel secretly pleased.

When she saw the Crown Prince finally turn a corner and vanish from sight, she let out a long breath of relief. No longer needing to resist, she turned to face Chen Lian directly.

Her hands rose to circle his neck.

With the danger of discovery gone, Jiang Rao had no need to hold herself back. She wrapped her arms around him freely and in an instant, the timid rabbit under the wolf’s gaze transformed into a sly fox who knew exactly how to sway her tail.

But she hardly needed to move at all. Her eyes, shaped like a fox’s, lifted ever so slightly, paired with the peach-blossom makeup she’d so carefully applied.

That look; shy, soft, and yet glimmering with hooks was enough to make any man willingly drown in it.

Knowing full well how tempting she appeared, she still deliberately provoked him with her words.

“You’ve held me before,” she said teasingly. “So, do you think I’m delicate enough?”

Sure enough, Chen Lian’s eyes darkened.

Sensing his reaction, Jiang Rao pressed closer again, a little to the left, a little to the right, as if determined to make him feel for himself just how soft she was.

“How about this? Is it enough?”

Chen Lian said nothing, but his Adam’s apple shifted noticeably, a small movement Jiang Rao caught instantly.

“Hmm?” she purred, her voice light as breath; sweetly seductive, urging him for an answer.

“Soft,” he said finally, one single, low word, as though in surrender.

Satisfied, Jiang Rao blinked at him mischievously, her eyes sparkling like starlight.

But she’d forgotten that Chen Lian was a wolf.

How could a fox ever hope to tame a wolf?

Her brief advantage lasted no more than three seconds before Chen Lian suddenly caught her chin, his grip rough and forceful, enough to leave the pale skin beneath reddened in an instant.

“Chen Lian…”

Her head tilted back slightly under his hand, her earlier confidence vanishing without a trace.

The tail tucked away again, she was once more the soft, helpless rabbit beneath the hungry wolf’s fangs.

“Does the young lady always have to dig so deep,” he murmured, “so sharp and pressing in her questions?”

“I do not…” Jiang Rao muttered; her voice small and hazy.

Her eyes filled with a fine mist of tears, so delicate it made one ache to bully her more, to bully her harder.

Chen Lian looked away, refusing to meet her gaze.

He leaned in closer…closer still… then suddenly moved his thumb upward, pressing it firmly against her lips.

The motion was slow, stroking and the meaning…far less innocent.

“You ask so seriously,” he said, his tone perfectly composed, “so I shouldn’t draw conclusions too hastily.”

He spoke with straight-faced calm, but Jiang Rao, rubbed by the rough pad of his thumb, could hardly stand upright. She would have fallen if not for the arm he’d slipped around her waist, holding her firmly against him.

Half dazed, half trembling, she managed to ask, “What conclusion?”

Chen Lian paused, his movements stilling. His gaze dropped to her lips; rosy, faintly swollen from his touch, blooming with forbidden allure.

A storm of emotions flickered in his eyes. Then, voice husky, he asked softly, “It seems this place might be even softer. Would the young lady permit me… to find out?”

Jiang Rao’s mind went completely blank.

Chen Lian… Was he asking to kiss her?

Author’s Note:

Rao’er: (dazed) “Wait…wasn’t I the one doing the flirting?
Why does it feel like this went the wrong way…”

A Lian: (smiling) “Mm. You won.”