The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 407 - 340, Pounce on the Empress

"Sure, sure..." Zhao Douan subconsciously wanted to nod, agreeing readily.

But the Empress knew without looking back what the filthy thoughts this guy harbored, adding another sentence:

"You can have the warm room tonight, just don't overstep your bounds."

Saying that, the dignified female sovereign moved with graceful footsteps, stepping on the plush carpet, her light figure passing through the curtain that separated the "bedroom" from the "living room," entering the inner bedroom.

When the curtain lifted, the fragrance from the beast-shaped purple-gold incense burner wafted out from the room.

"How fragrant..."

This thought uncontrollably surged in his mind, and then Zhao Douan saw the Empress's retreating figure disappear behind the curtain.

The scene behind the curtain was muddled, barely making out Xu Zhenguan walking to the dragon bed.

It seemed she had considered having a man there tonight; she didn't take off her gossamer robe, merely snuffed out the candles and laid down on the bed fully clothed, silent.

"..."

Zhao Douan opened his mouth, sighed softly, and understood what the Empress meant.

There was still some time before his "episode," and it was not like she could always accompany him for conversation, so she left him to his own devices.

When the time came, with the Empress's cultivation level, even in a light sleep, she could wake up instantly to deal with it.

So...

"Your Majesty? You're not speaking in opposites, are you? As in, saying not to overstep bounds, but actually allowing it..."

Zhao Douan tentatively whispered, but while his words started at a normal volume, they were barely audible by the end.

Xu Zhenguan ignored him.

"Your Majesty? Should I not stay closer to you? I could just sleep on the floor; the main concern is losing control later and rushing out of the bedroom, potentially hurting the maids outside..."

Mr. Zhao blinked and craned his neck, dangerously probing at the edge of disaster.

"Out."

One word came from the other side of the curtain.

"..." Zhao Douan resignedly closed his mouth.

He didn't dare ask for more, afraid that Zhenbao might throw him out, leaving him to the mercy of Eunuch Hai, the old eunuch—that would be truly upsetting.

When in the courts of power, one must know how to stop before going too far.

Entering the bedroom was a small step for Zhao Daan, but a significant leap for Zhao Eran.

The night deepened, and it was now the second half of the night; the bedroom seemed to be divided into two different realms of yin and yang.

Inside the bedroom, there was no light except for the moonlight streaming through the window lattice, giving the room a somewhat chilly air.

On the warm side, there was bright lamplight.

The bedroom was so well insulated that Zhao Douan couldn't hear the movement of the maids outside, not even the sounds of the night insects.

He sat cross-legged beside the tea table, nibbling and sipping, killing time while his thoughts drifted aimlessly.

"Ah, I wonder if the plan to net the Kuangfu Society is done. Gongshu Tianyuan should be visiting each location with the information he has, and even if some escape, it shouldn't be a problem to destroy the rebel sub-branch after tonight... That matter isn't finished; I still need to personally see it through..."

"Zhuang Laodeng, oh Zhuang Laodeng, I can't find you for now, so first I'll take down one of your branches to collect some interest. Let's wait and see; a villain seeks revenge all day long, and our old grudges aren't settled yet."

"Listening to Zhenbao's intention, does she mean to have me visit the commercial conference at Hu Ting? It sounds dangerous, but if I go, could I meet Prince Jing? That's right, I also have people arranged there, the concubine that Young Master forcibly married; I gave her the option to become an imperial merchant, I wonder how that's going..."

Zhao Douan sprawled on the floor of the warm room, his hands behind his head, staring at the dragon relief on the ceiling.

He sighed.

There were the Eight Princes, the Kuangfu Society, and the three major organizations of Evil Mages outside.

Inside, there was the scholarly family group represented by Li Yanfu and the complex situation of the Divine Dragon Temple.

Right, and those old generals appointed during the Old Emperor's era guarding the borders, like Duke Tang Daren in the west, and General Zhao Shixiong of the border army to the southwest... all were hidden threats.

Not to mention the ancestral home of Western Regions Buddhism, the Alien Races in the southwest who were rumored to frequently clash with Great Yu's border army, and the unruly Liao Clan.

Roughly counting on his fingers, Zhenbao had numerous enemies.

"I really wonder how she, a woman, has managed to withstand all this for three years..." Zhao Douan turned his head, his gaze following the carpet pattern, stretching towards the curtain.

He could faintly see a corner of the dragon bed and Xu Zhenguan's long hair shimmering blue in the moonlight.

"Why bother with all this? If I had such cultivation, I would've run away long ago; to roam the world freely, wouldn't that be joyous? Why bear the heavy burden of a great Yu Country on her shoulders? Yu Meiren... Yu Meiren... Heh, pah, think of something serious!"

Zhao Douan's thoughts fluctuated chaotically, gradually succumbing to drowsiness.

After a night of tossing and turning, now sated and tired, his eyelids slowly closed.

In the two rooms, one bright, one dark, only the soft sounds of breathing from the man and woman remained.

Perhaps half an hour later, Zhao Douan, already asleep, started to turn red, his breathing growing heavy.

Beneath his skin, pale blue veins bulged, adding a touch of ferocity.

Suddenly.

His closed eyelids abruptly flew open!

But within his eyes surged pure darkness; he sat upright, his handsome face shrouded in malevolent energy.

In this moment, the pill's potency could no longer suppress the desires, and Zhao Douan rose in a daze, filled with uncontrollable passions.

"Hisss..."

"Sssss..."

Zhao Douan felt that searing heat again, as if he were being burned by fire.

His fingers instinctively curled like hooks, beginning to tear at the clothes on his chest. Soon, his intact clothing became tattered, and deep scratches marred his robust chest.

"Huff..."

"Huff..."

Breathing heavily like an ox, Zhao Douan's nostrils flared rapidly, as if he was catching a scent that ignited a strong desire.

He turned slowly, staring at the curtain-like drapes. Driven by instinct, he walked straight towards them, step by step.

The moment he passed through the curtain, he stepped from light into darkness, and in the moonlight-draped bedroom, Zhao Douan approached the dragon bed step by step.

On the bed, the Empress lay on her side, legs slightly bent, with her delicate bare feet exposed to the air.

Her long black hair lay carelessly across the bright yellow pillow. From the exposed, pale nape of her neck, it cascaded down to the slender curve of her back and peaked in a perfect arch.

"Huff... Huff..."

Zhao Douan's eyes turned a predatory green, his legs tense and feet gripping the floor, ready to pounce.

He seemed to have regressed to an instinct-driven beast, bent on tearing away the obstructive gauze dress.

On the dragon bed, Xu Zhenguan, who had been in a light sleep, suddenly opened her eyes and heard the onslaught of sinister wind behind her, a hint of cold light flashing through her pupils.

"Snap!"

A chain of golden sparks flew through the dark room.

Having leapt into the air towards the dragon bed, Zhao Douan was struck as if by an invisible whip, howling in agony as he was flung backward like a cannonball through the curtains, rolling several times on the ground before banging against the tea table hard enough to open a gash on his forehead.

Zhao Douan was dazed for a moment, shook his head fiercely and, ignoring the door leading outside, stood up again and resolutely walked towards the curtains.

"Ah—"

Visit fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm for the best novel reading experi𝒆nce.

Seconds later, he was flung out a second time, crashing against the tea table with a clatter, scattering dishes and breaking the teapot in two.

After a while, Zhao Douan, regaining his senses for the third time, stumbled determinedly towards the curtains again.

On the dragon bed, Xu Zhenguan still lay on her side, too lazy to move throughout the ordeal, when she heard the approaching footsteps in the warm pavilion for the seventh time.

Finally, she couldn't bear it any longer.

Xu Zhenguan sat up huffing with anger, and without expression, she stared at the nefarious grinning Zhao creeping closer to her. She suddenly, with very unemperor-like demeanor, stood up.

Striding forth, she raised her long leg and delivered a powerful kick:

"Get out! Can't you let me sleep!?"

...

...

The same night, thousands of miles from the Capital, within a chaotic graveyard.

Bathed in moonlight, the graveyard suddenly agitated a flock of crows that screeched eerily and circled in the sky.

A disheveled man cloaked in a dark red robe and a matching face mask covering half his visage, his black hair loose and a copper coin sword slung on his back, approached from afar.

As he walked, pieces of paper money floated down from the sky, only to vanish upon touching the ground.

The man with unkempt hair passed between the graves, stopping by a newly made one at the edge.

This grave was fresh, with no stele at its head; instead, a dry branch pierced the dirt, with a red string tied around it, strung with a copper coin.

The man let out a sigh, bent over to pick up the coin and muttered,

"Earning money for a life is not easy."

As he spoke, the copper coin sword on his back suddenly soared into the air and cleaved the space, causing the wind to howl and a fog to envelop the entire graveyard. Within the fog, the trajectory created by the sword split open, revealing a dark and gloomy river from which white bones occasionally leaped out.

"Come back!"

The man reached out and grabbed, and a phantasmal ribcage emerged from the surging "Styx." The river seemed to writhe with fury, eager to burst forth, causing the disheveled man to hastily slash with his coin sword, closing the rift.

Meanwhile, the bone in his hand seemed to sense something, urgently wrenching free and plunging into the new grave before him.

In an instant, the fog dispersed, and all anomalies disappeared. The earth of the new grave crumbled and split.

A Taoist with a somewhat chiseled face laboriously pushed up the coffin lid with his hands and back, pried open the earth, and climbed out bit by bit.

"Bang!"

Before heading to the Capital, he had already built a grave here and buried a fresh corpse resembling himself.

The cunning Master Gu Huo, who had torn a significant portion of his Divine Soul and forcibly stuffed it into this body to resurrect, sat on the ground gasping for air, looking extremely weak.

"Tsks, what killed you this time?" the disheveled man taunted.

——

The next chapter updates at midnight.