Volume 1, Chapter 159 – An Excessive Demand

Gu Han: “…”

Her eyes widened as she stared in disbelief at the exquisitely beautiful, smiling face mere inches from her own.

Fair?

How was this fair?!

This was clearly… clearly taking a mile after being given an inch!

“You… stop messing around!”

Gu Han’s ears instantly flushed scarlet, and even her neck began to burn.

She instinctively tried to retreat, only to discover that Qingxuan had somehow taken hold of her wrist.

Her grip was gentle, yet possessed a supple strength that brooked no escape.

“How am I messing around?”

Empress Qingxuan blinked, the picture of innocence, though a triumphant gleam of mischief danced in her eyes.

“I gave my little sister two choices.”

“Either you let me return the favor, and we’ll call our old score settled.”

“Or you take the initiative and give me a kiss. That will settle it just as well.”

“Which will you choose, little sister?”

As she spoke, her other hand rose to caress Gu Han’s cheek. Her fingertips were warm, their gentle strokes sending a tremor through Gu Han’s heart.

“I recommend the second option.”

“Just one kiss. So simple, and so… intimate.”

She breathed the final two words almost against Gu Han’s lips. Their breaths mingled, the moment unbearably suggestive.

Gu Han’s mind went blank.

Choose?

How was she supposed to choose?!

The first option was completely out of the question!

Let Qingxuan hit her there? Not a chance!

But the second…

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Kiss her of her own accord?

That… that was simply…

Gu Han’s thoughts descended into chaos. Her cheeks burned fiercely, and her heart raced beyond her control.

Empress Qingxuan watched Gu Han flounder between embarrassment and indignation, unable to advance or retreat, and reveled in it.

Those eyes, usually so cool and composed, now shimmered with mortification. It made her look especially lovely and especially… tempting.

Qingxuan knew she was going a little too far.

But this little thing was forever affecting that cool, distant air, as though nothing in the world could touch her heart. How could anyone resist teasing her, shattering her composure, and casting a stone of their own into the tranquil lake of her heart just to watch the ripples spread?

“Still haven’t decided, little sister?”

Empress Qingxuan heaved a theatrical sigh, but her fingertips slid slowly down Gu Han’s cheek to her chin and gently tipped it up.

“If you don’t choose soon, I’ll take that as your acceptance of the first option.”

As she spoke, she made as if to pull Gu Han into her arms. Her other hand rose once more, its target unmistakable.

“Wait!”

The word burst from Gu Han’s lips.

Empress Qingxuan stilled, the amusement in her eyes nearly spilling over.

“Oh? Have you made your choice, little sister?”

Gu Han bit down hard on her lower lip. Her eyes brimmed with conflict and mortification, along with a trace of helpless resignation.

She looked at Empress Qingxuan’s smug expression, which plainly said she had Gu Han right where she wanted her, and then at that poised, ready hand…

Fine!

It wasn’t as if this would be the first time!

Something had happened between them in the bedchamber before…

Gu Han tried to find some reasonable excuse for the “absurd” thing she was about to do.

She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes as though making a momentous decision.

Then, quick as lightning…

She darted forward and lightly brushed her lips against the corner of Empress Qingxuan’s mouth.

The touch was soft and warm, accompanied by a faint, delicate fragrance.

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Their lips parted the instant they met.

It was as fleeting as a dragonfly skimming the water, almost too quick to have been real.

The moment it was over, Gu Han retreated a full step, her cheeks so red they looked ready to bleed.

She did not dare meet Empress Qingxuan’s gaze. Turning her face away, she spoke in a voice barely louder than a mosquito’s hum, every syllable thick with embarrassment:

“Th… that’s enough, right?”

Empress Qingxuan stood frozen.

She had not expected Gu Han to actually kiss her.

It had only been the corner of her mouth, and it had happened too quickly for her to savor it.

Yet that soft, faintly cool touch and Gu Han’s crisp, clean scent from so close were undeniably real.

An indescribable thrill shot through her entire body like an electric current.

She slowly raised a hand and brushed her fingertips over the corner of her mouth where Gu Han had kissed her. The fleeting coolness and softness seemed to linger there still.

Then a triumphant smile of utter delight slowly blossomed across her exquisite face.

Like a frozen river thawing at spring’s return, it was breathtaking enough to steal one’s breath.

“Of course it is.”

A faint, almost imperceptible huskiness entered Empress Qingxuan’s voice, her eyes brimming with laughter.

She stepped forward, once more closing the distance between them.

This time, she did nothing else. She merely reached out and tenderly cupped Gu Han’s burning cheeks.

“What a good little sister.”

Her thumb gently stroked Gu Han’s flushed cheek, her gaze tender enough to drown in.

“I always keep my word. As for that slap, consider the score settled from this moment on.”

“From now on…”

She paused, her gaze deepening as though she meant to carve Gu Han’s image into the very depths of her soul.

“Any scores between us will be new ones.”

Gu Han was left somewhat dazed by her tender touch and words.

New scores?

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What new scores?

Before she could think any further, Empress Qingxuan released her.

She stepped back and resumed her languid, regal bearing, though the smile in her eyes could not be concealed.

“It’s late. You should get some rest, little sister.”

“I’ll… come see you again tomorrow.”

With that, she gave Gu Han a radiant smile and turned away, the hem of her purple sleeping robe sweeping through an elegant arc.

Her bare feet made no sound against the spirit-jade floor. As silently as she had arrived, she disappeared beyond the palace doors.

Silence returned to the main hall.

Gu Han stood alone where she was, her cheeks burning and her heart pounding like a drum.

She slowly raised a hand, her fingertips unconsciously brushing her own lips.

A trace of Qingxuan’s warmth seemed to linger there.

“What did I just do?”

Gu Han murmured to herself, her voice filled with disbelief and belated mortification.

She had actually kissed Qingxuan just because she had been told to?!

Could it be that after spending so long as a woman… even her personality had changed?

“No… impossible… That woman must have infuriated me so much I lost my head…”

Gu Han muttered under her breath, her voice heavy with chagrin.

The moment replayed uncontrollably in her mind.

Empress Qingxuan’s smiling eyes mere inches from hers, her warm breath, and the kiss Gu Han herself had given…

Her heart was still beating a little too fast, and the heat in her cheeks had yet to fully subside.

Gu Han gazed at the empty palace doorway, bewilderment flickering in her eyes.

She understood Qingxuan less and less, and she was beginning to understand herself less and less too.

Everything Qingxuan did seemed flirtatious and provocative, yet she always knew exactly where to draw the line, leaving Gu Han unable either to get angry or to refuse her.

And as for Gu Han herself…

She raised a hand and brushed her fingertips over her lips again.

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Why had she made that choice?

Was it really because she was afraid Qingxuan would “return the favor”?

Or could it be…

A thought she did not dare examine too closely surfaced faintly in the depths of her heart.

“Impossible.”

Gu Han immediately shook her head and forced the absurd notion back down.

She had simply… panicked. She’d had no other choice.

Yes, that was all.

At the same time, in the Western Courtyard’s guest quarters.

Empress Qingxuan stood quietly in the courtyard.

Moonlight spilled like water over her purple gauze robe, outlining her breathtaking curves.

Her fingertips lightly stroked the corner of her mouth, where Gu Han’s faintly cool touch seemed to linger still.

A smile of pure delight slowly spread across her exquisite face.

“Even sweeter than I imagined…”

She murmured to herself, her voice carrying both the satisfaction of getting her way and a deepening interest.

This little thing might seem cool and aloof, but beneath the surface, she was adorably innocent.

A little pressure was all it took to reveal her flustered, mortified side. It was utterly captivating.

However…

Empress Qingxuan’s gaze shifted toward the main hall, a thoughtful look passing through her eyes.

She had tested the waters enough for today. There was no need to push any further.

After all, there was still that ice-faced woman watching covetously from the sidelines.

At the thought of Lingshuang, the smile on Empress Qingxuan’s lips faded slightly, and a chill flashed in the depths of her eyes.

That woman had clearly set her sights on Gu Han as well.

It seemed Qingxuan would have to move a little faster.