The abstinent prince, practicing Buddhism, is seduced by a voluptuous beauty into breaking his vows.

Chapter 168 Mini-Theater: Crane Qingzhang

[This is unrelated to the main text; it's a short skit about He Qing in a female-dominated country. Those who ship Yuan Yao can skip this.]

[Female-dominated Western Liang Kingdom setting]

[Su Yaoyao: The Prince of Xiliang has a principal husband]

[He Qing: Princess of Xiliang, notorious for her seductive charm and bewitching the prince, only wanting to climb into his bed.]

The Western Liang matriarchal society

The back garden of the Prince's Mansion

He Qing leaned against the balustrade of the pavilion, waving a gold-flecked folding fan in her hand.

He wore a light gauze robe with the collar slightly open, revealing a patch of fair chest. His long hair was loose, and the crimson beauty mark at the corner of his eye was alluring and captivating.

"Princess," Mu Yun said, standing to the side expressionlessly, "you've been lying here for two hours."

He Qing gave a lazy "hmm".

"Wait for the prince."

Mu Yun's lips twitched.

"The prince accompanied his wife to admire the flowers outside the city today, and they probably won't return until evening."

He Qing paused in the motion of waving his fan.

"Accompanying the husband to admire the flowers?" He sat up, his brow furrowing slightly. "That blockhead who only knows how to chant Buddhist scriptures?"

"Princess," Mu Yun said cautiously, "the prince already has a legal husband. Isn't it inappropriate for you to do this?"

He Qing looked up at her.

"What's inappropriate about it?"

Mu Yun forced a smile and said, "Princess, the prince already has a legal husband; you can't possibly marry her!"

He Qing raised an eyebrow.

"Don't keep saying you're going to marry me." He spat, "You're really going to do it."

"Can't I just get married?!"

After He Qing finished speaking, she leaned back against the railing, her fan covering half of her face, revealing only a pair of smiling peach blossom eyes.

Mu Yun stood there, bewildered in the wind.

Princess, you are the Princess of Xiliang!

Getting married?!

If this gets out, the eldest princess will probably be furious.

But looking at He Qing's self-righteous face, she swallowed back the words she was about to say.

Forget it.

The princess is a person who never listens to reason.

---

As evening fell, Su Yaoyao's carriage finally returned to the Prince's Mansion.

She wore a black brocade robe, a jade belt around her waist, and her dark hair was tied up high, exuding a heroic and dashing air. As she stepped off the carriage and walked inside, she suddenly smelled a fragrance of perfume.

Looking up, I saw Heqing leaning against the corridor.

He dressed up especially... carefully today.

The neckline of her gauze dress was an inch wider than during the day, revealing two patches of crimson. A gentle breeze blew, scattering a few strands of long hair at her temples, making her look like a captivating enchantress.

He was holding a cup of tea in his hands. When he saw her looking over, he smiled and his eyes crinkled.

"Master is back?"

Su Yaoyao paused in her steps.

What are you doing here?

He Qing stepped forward and handed her the teacup.

"Waiting for Master," he said softly. "I heard Master went out to admire the flowers with Masafusa. Are you tired? Have some tea, it's warm."

Su Yaoyao took the tea and looked at him suspiciously.

"What are you up to now?"

He Qing looked completely innocent.

"What could I possibly do? I just...missed you."

Su Yaoyao didn't speak, and lowered her head to drink her tea.

The tea was indeed warm, neither too hot nor too cold, just right for drinking.

She put down her teacup and looked at him.

"Heqing, what exactly do you want?"

He Qing took a step closer.

"Can't I come to see my master if there's nothing wrong?"

He Qing took another step closer, reducing the distance between them.

He looked down at her, his peach blossom eyes filled with grievance.

"My master accompanied the husband to admire the flowers today, but didn't take me with him..."

Su Yaoyao: "..."

"I've been waiting here for my master for two hours, and my back is aching..."

Su Yaoyao: "..."

He Qing placed her hand on his open chest.

"Master, feel it."

Beneath his palm, through the delicate skin, his heart pounded rapidly.

"Here, my master is with me all day long." He looked at her, his gaze deep and unsettling. "But in my master's heart, there's only that blockhead."

Su Yaoyao's heart skipped a beat.

She withdrew her hand and coughed lightly.

"Stop fooling around."

He Qing, however, persisted and pressed herself against him again.

"I wasn't joking." He wrapped his arms around her waist, rested his chin on her shoulder, and said in a muffled voice, "Yaoyao, I really, really missed you."

Su Yaoyao was held in his arms, her nose filled with his sweet fragrance.

She turned her head to look at him.

His eyes were wet, like a puppy begging for a pat.

"Master..." he called her softly, his voice both gentle and seductive.

This man is truly a bewitching charm.

"Let go."

He Qing shook his head.

"Not loose."

"So many people are watching."

He Qing glanced at Mu Yun beside her.

Mu Yun immediately looked up at the sky.

"The weather is nice today..."

He Qing withdrew her gaze and buried her face back in Su Yaoyao's shoulder.

"Nobody's watching."

Su Yaoyao was both annoyed and amused.

"What exactly do you want?"

He Qing raised his head and looked at her.

In those peach blossom eyes, there was grievance, expectation, and a deeply hidden...longing.

"I want to..." He leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words.

Su Yaoyao blushed.

"Nonsense!"

He Qing felt wronged again.

"What's wrong with that? Master, I'm not trying to steal his position as the main husband. Can't I be a concubine? I just... want a little bit of everything."

He held up the tip of his little finger.

"Just this little bit."

He Qing continued, "Master, look, I'm good-looking, I can talk, I can give gifts, and I can also—"

He paused, then lowered his voice, "Serve people."

Su Yaoyao looked at him, and her heart suddenly softened.

This person could have fought for it openly and honestly, but instead chose to beg so cautiously.

"Heqing," she said.

He Qing looked at her, her eyes shining.

Su Yaoyao sighed, "I already have a husband."

"I know," He Qing said, resting her chin on her hand. "But I don't mind. What does Master mind?"

Su Yaoyao was stumped by his question.

He Qing leaned closer and spoke in a low voice.

"Master, I don't ask for any title, I only ask that... that I have a place in your heart."

He looked at her, his peach blossom eyes filled with seriousness.

"Will it work?"

Su Yaoyao's heart skipped a beat when he looked at her.

"Come in."

---

The door to the sleeping quarters closed, and He Qing was pressed against the door panel.

Su Yaoyao looked up at him.

"Satisfied?"

He Qing blinked, looking completely innocent.

"What did Master say? I don't understand."

Su Yaoyao smiled.

"Don't you understand?" She hooked her fingers around his collar and slowly slid them down. "Then who was it that said they missed me just now?"

He Qing's breath hitched.

The hand had already reached inside, gently circling his chest.

"Master..." his voice trembled.

Su Yaoyao raised an eyebrow.

"What? You don't want to?"

He Qing nodded vigorously.

"May you wish, may you wish, may you wish, may you wish!"

He suddenly reached out and pulled Su Yaoyao into his arms.

"Master," he whispered in her ear, "I'm not a block of wood."

Su Yaoyao was taken aback.

The next second, the world spun around.

He Qing pinned her to the bed, and the man looked down at her, the beauty mark at the corner of his eye appearing alluring in the candlelight.

"My master teased me," he said, his voice low and hoarse, "so I have to take responsibility."

Su Yaoyao looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Fine." She raised her hand and wrapped it around his neck. "I want to see how you're going to make me take responsibility."

He Qing lowered his head and kissed her.

The kiss was deep and urgent, filled with a long-suppressed desire. He pried open her lips and teeth, thrusting deep inside, kissing her until she could hardly breathe.

After a long while, he finally released her.

Their foreheads touched, their breaths mingling.

He Qing looked at her, her eyes slightly red.

"Your Highness," he said softly, "I've been waiting for you to say those words for a long time."

Su Yaoyao's heart softened.

"Fool." She raised her hand and stroked his face. "If I didn't want you, I would have kicked you out long ago."

He Qing was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

That smile was as bright as a child's.

"real?"

"Um."

He Qing lowered his head and kissed her lips again.

"Well... what about Masao...?"

Su Yaoyao raised an eyebrow.

"What? You want to compete with the legal husband?"

He Qing thought for a moment and said seriously, "I won't argue. I'll let him have his way."

Su Yaoyao smiled.

"let?"

He Qing nodded.

"Yes. He'll be the big boss, and I'll be the small one."

Su Yaoyao was amused by him.

This person is really...

"Alright, alright," she pulled him down, "Let's not talk about this tonight."

He Qing lay on top of her, her eyes sparkling.

"Then what should I say?"

Su Yaoyao looked at him.

"What did you say?" Her fingers traced his collarbone, slowly moving downwards. "Tell me how you're going to make me take responsibility."

He Qing's breath hitched.

"Owner……"

Su Yaoyao rolled over, straddled him, and hooked her arm around his chin.

"Still calling me master?"

She leaned down and whispered in his ear:

"Call me 'sister'."

He Qing blushed.

"Sister, older sister..."

Su Yaoyao smiled with satisfaction.

"good."

"Good boy?" He Qing raised an eyebrow.

He rolled over, pinning her beneath him.

Su Yaoyao looked up at him, her peach blossom eyes burning with a scorching fire.

"Sister," he lowered his head, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Although this is a matriarchal society, you are the queen, and I am a princess—"

He paused.

"But when it's time for a man, I still need a man."

Su Yaoyao's heart skipped a beat.

He Qing lowered his head and kissed her.

The kiss was deep and urgent, carrying a hint of long-planned desire.

He kissed her passionately, so passionately that Su Yaoyao was breathless.

From the forehead to the eyebrows and eyes, from the neck to the waist and abdomen, all the way down.

The clothes had been removed at some point.

skin to skin,

"No...there..."

He Qing restrained her hand.

"You can't even take it? Sister..."

Su Yaoyao's body went limp from his ministrations.

He looked up at her, a smile in his eyes.

"Sister, tell me if it hurts."

Su Yaoyao glared at him.

"Enough with the nonsense..."

"Ugh—"

That night, he was extremely gentle and tender.

She melted into a pool of spring water beneath him, her fingers twisting the blankets tightly, her breathing rapid and disordered.

"Heqing..." she called his name, her voice incredibly soft.

He Qing bent down and kissed away the tears at the corner of her eyes.

"Master," he whispered, "no—"

He paused, then his smile widened.

"My lady, call me husband."

*****

Su Yaoyao let out a sob.

"Husband, my husband..."

"I'm here," he said softly. "I'm here."

The curtains fell, obscuring the spring light inside.

Only Su Yaoyao's voice could be faintly heard.

"Be gentle..."

"It won't be any less..."

"you--"

"Yaoyao, don't send me away..."

The night was deep.

The moonlight sneaked in through the window, illuminating the intertwined figures of the two.

That night, the spring light was just right.

---

The next morning, Mu Yun stood outside the bedchamber for half an hour.

Finally, the door opened.

He Qing came out, his clothes neat, but the dark circles under his eyes betrayed the fact that he hadn't slept all night.

He saw Mu Yun and smiled, his eyes crinkling.

"Mu Yun".

Mu Yun remained expressionless.

"Princess".

He Qing walked up to her and lowered his voice.

"Mu Yun".

"exist."

"you're right."

Mu Yun was taken aback.

"What?"

He Qing smiled, her eyes crinkling.

"Getting married is a good thing."

After saying that, he walked away leisurely.

Mu Yun stood there, bewildered in the wind.

Princess, do you even know what you're saying?!

In the distance, He Qing hummed a little tune, in an extremely good mood.

He raised his hand and touched the fresh hickey on his neck.

So satisfying~