Becoming the Queen by Serving as Prime Minister | Chapter 29 | A Narrow Escape | Novela.app

Chapter 30 - A Narrow Escape The air within Zhaohua Palace was thick and stifling, heavy with the cloying scent of ambergris that usually signaled imperial favor but now felt like a suffocating shroud to Yin Zhuli. The flickering candlelight cast long, distorted shadows against the silk hangings, mirroring the predatory tension radiating from the man before her. Shen Tingyao was a man possessed. His fingers, trembling with a mixture of frantic anticipation and a dark, simmering resentment, worked at the fastenings of his own imperial robes. He cast them aside with a reckless disregard for his station, his gaze never leaving Yin Zhuli. When he leaned down to undo the intricate buttons of her bodice, his breath was hot against her skin, smelling faintly of the wine he had consumed earlier. He looked at her, searching for a spark of passion, a tremor of fear, or even a flash of anger. Instead, he found only a vast, chilling indifference. Her face was a mask of marble, beautiful and utterly unreachable. This lack of reaction only served to stoke the fire in his veins. His eyes, usually sharp with the calculations of a monarch, were now clouded and tinged with a frantic crimson. "Tell me," he rasped, his voice thick with a jagged edge of jealousy, "did you and Tingjiao never find pleasure together? Did he never teach you the delights of the flesh?" He leaned in, pressing a forceful, wet kiss against her cheek. Yin Zhuli’s jaw tightened, her teeth grinding together so hard they ached. A wave of visceral nausea rolled through her, threatening to break past her composure. She had spent a lifetime learning to bury her true self beneath layers of artifice—as a merchant, as a daughter of a general, and now as an Empress. Every muscle in her body screamed to recoil, to strike out with the lethal precision she possessed, but she remained still. She was a master of the impenetrable facade, ensuring that not a single ripple of her internal disgust reached the surface. Shen Tingyao, blinded by his own lust and the desperate need to prove himself superior to his brother, failed to see the storm raging behind her eyes. "Do not be afraid, Zhuli," he murmured, his voice dropping to a deceptive softness. "You will learn to like this. I will make sure you love it." He moved to capture her lips with his own, but with a subtle, fluid motion, she tilted her head. His kiss landed uselessly against the air. Her voice, when she spoke, was as cold and sharp as a winter stream. "The hour grows late, Your Majesty. If you intend to proceed, I suggest you be quick about it. I suspect it will not be long before the Empress comes looking for you." The mention of Qu Lingyu was a calculated gamble, a cold splash of reality intended to dampen his fervor. Shen Tingyao paused, his hands hovering over the silk tie of her trousers. He let out a low, frustrated growl, but the physical urge was too great to be quelled by words alone. He undid his own belt, revealing the evidence of his arousal—that 'rogue general' standing tall and hard as stone. He reached out, seizing her hand and forcing it to touch him, wanting her to feel the heat of his desire. Yin Zhuli bit her lip so hard that the metallic tang of blood filled her mouth. She closed her eyes, drawing upon every ounce of her stoicism to endure the contact. "Zhuli, look at me," he commanded, his voice a mix of pleading and demand. "Don't be like this. After a time or two, you will crave this sensation." He reached for the drawstring of her inner garments, his intent clear. But just as the silk began to give way, a frantic commotion erupted from the outer hall. The heavy silence of the palace was shattered by a cacophony of raised voices. "Ninth Prince! Your Highness, you cannot enter!" Eunuch Huang’s voice was high-pitched and desperate. "The King and the Empress are discussing matters of state within! You must not barge in!" Shen Tingjiao, however, was clearly in no mood for protocol. His voice boomed through the doors, laced with a childish, petulant fury. "Imperial Brother! Imperial Brother! Look at this dog of a servant! He actually dared to strike me!" The sound of the scuffle outside grew louder. Eunuch Huang sounded as though he were on the verge of tears. "My Prince, how could I ever dare to strike you? It is simply that His Majesty is occupied! Please, let me go inside and announce you first!" Inside the bedchamber, the spell was broken. Shen Tingyao’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, the sudden intrusion acting like a bucket of ice water over his head. He looked at the door, then back at Yin Zhuli, his expression a mask of thwarted rage and lingering heat. Realizing that his brother would not be easily deterred and that a scandal was brewing just outside the silk curtains, he stood up with a sharp, dissatisfied huff. With trembling hands, he began to rearrange his disheveled robes. Yin Zhuli, moving with a silent, predatory grace, sat up and began to refasten her own clothing, her expression remaining as unreadable as a frozen lake.