"You did not." Ye Jiuge shook her head. She feigned a worried expression as she said, "I was just thinking that it has been some time since we came back from the palace. However, Father still hasn't sent anyone to ask me about it. I have no idea what the situation is right now. As you know, when I entered the palace this time, I offended the Empress. I'm afraid that Father won't forgive me."

"I will head to the main residence now and inquire," Qing Mama responded in a worried tone.

There was a taut expression on her aged face. Even when nothing eventful was happening, Old Master still showed utter disdain for Eldest Miss. Now that Eldest Miss had upset the Empress and also a.s.sociated herself with the Dongling Prince, it was highly probable that Old Master would want to skin Eldest Miss alive. She needed to ask around so that she could keep tabs on Old Master.

After Ye Jiuge ensured that Qing Mama had left, she walked into her room. As soon as she shut the doors, Zi Shang's wicked, charismatic, feral, yet dignified voice rang out beside her ear, laced with a hint of coldness: "When I wasn't around, Little Jiuge really became more daring."

Then, she slid into the familiar embrace. A distinct fragrance, which belonged only to Zi Shang, filled her nose and alluded to a sense of coolness. Ye Jiuge realized that Zi Shang's voice didn't sound quite right. She turned around and asked, "What are you hinting at?"

"I warned you before not to leak information about the Heart of the Celestial Tree."

This girl did not heed his advice. She'd even used the Heart of the Celestial Tree to save a human prince's life. If he didn't wake up in time to subdue the Celestial Tree's aura, it was very likely that the old farts, who hid in the imperial palace, would instantly appear before her and eat her alive.

Ye Jiuge looked at Zi Shang's cold, handsome face. His pupils, purple vertical slits, were wholly fixated on her, along with repressed anger. Under Zi Shang's forceful stare, out of nowhere, she experienced a guilty conscience. It was as if she were being caught red-handed having an adulterous affair by her husband, who had returned unexpectedly from a trip.

Ew, ew, ew! Zi Shang is not her husband! Ye Jiuge threw this horrible thought out of her mind before explaining, "It was an emergency. If I hadn't saved Dongfang Que's life, the Empress would have implicated me in the murder of a prince. If that had happened, I wouldn't have survived, and it would have been useless to debate whether the Heart of the Celestial Tree should be kept a secret or not."

Zi Shang narrowed his eyes at Ye Jiuge; they gleamed as if they were able to see through everything. He appeared to be evaluating the truthfulness of her words. Ye Jiuge looked him in the eyes calmly and said, "I am neither a relative nor a friend to Dongfang Que. There is no reason for me to risk my neck to save him. When all is said and done, I am merely trying to save myself."

"Is that so? If you are unrelated to him in any way, why are you still willing to let him touch you like that?"

Danger emanated from Zi Shang's eyes. The one thing that he could not stand was another man l.u.s.ting after his woman. The Heart of the Celestial Tree was secondary.

"Pah! Who said I wanted to be touched? He was poisoned with Lingering Affection Herb!"

Ye Jiuge really felt that she'd been wronged. Groped by one man, accused by another. Now, even this demon was interrogating her! D*mnit! Does justice still exist?

When Zi Shang saw that Ye Jiuge was so furious that her face flushed with anger, he finally believed that she'd not been a willing partic.i.p.ant. However, he did not want to let this willful girl off the hook so easily. He moved closer to Ye Jiuge's ear and whispered into it in a husky voice, "In that case, I am currently experiencing the effects of an Aphrodisiac. Will you let me touch you?"

"Haha. Who could possibly have such impressive capabilities that they are capable of poisoning our Zi Shang, an absolute pervert, with an Aphrodisiac?"

Ye Jiuge rolled her eyes. Even when he was lying, he did not bother putting much thought in.

"Other than you, who else?" Zi Shang's snake tail coiled around Ye Jiuge tightly. One hand wrapped around her waist, while the other trailed along her back before moving toward her stomach and stilling. "Where did he touch you? Was it here?"

Earlier, when Dongfang Que had stroked her skin and kneaded her body, Ye Jiuge hadn't felt anything. Now that Zi Shang was caressing her, her skin felt like it was being scalded. Her entire body was on fire.

Ye Jiuge's face reddened. Suddenly, she slapped Zi Shang's hand away. She put on a brave front and rebuked him, fiercely, "Don't put your hands where they don't belong."

"Let me ask you once more: did he touch you here?" Zi Shang's hand remained on Ye Jiuge's stomach, unmoving.

"It's none of your business." Ye Jiuge turned her head away. She refused to answer this absurd question.

"Little Jiuge, don't forget that you are mine." Zi Shang felt that he needed to make that clear to Ye Jiuge.

"If you want to f*ck me, tell me. Don't be so long-winded with such nonsense," Ye Jiuge provoked him intentionally. Even if she had to prost.i.tute herself to Zi Shang, she did not want him to dictate her actions.

"Stubborn little thing."

Zi Shang's eyes darkened with a menacing glint. He reached out and deactivated several of Ye Jiuge's main acupressure points. After that, he threw her on the bed aggressively. Then, from nowhere, he yanked out a silk scarf and tied her hands firmly to the bedpost.

"Are you mad? Let go of me!"

Ye Jiuge was infuriated. She wanted to lift her leg to kick him, but she was pinned under his body.

"If you are obedient and do what you're told, I will be gentler with you."

An austere expression appeared on Zi Shang's incredibly gorgeous face. His coldness was laced with an alluring thirst for blood. Ye Jiuge was so shaken that her entire body quivered. When she collected her thoughts, she realized that there was a dissonance between Zi Shang's expression and actions. He took off her upper outer garments, piece by piece, tenderly. Ye Jiuge could not help but tremble slightly. She'd never thought that Zi Shang, who always smiled at her mischievously and had never got angry with her regardless of what she said to him, would be so terrifying when angered. He frightened her, she who had always flaunted herself as a tough, strong woman.

When her upper garments were entirely peeled off, leaving only her close-fitting underwear, tiny gooseb.u.mps rose on her smooth skin. She tried her best to regain her composure. She shot a fierce glare at Zi Shang, silently vowing in her heart, If this guy really forces himself upon me, I will sever all ties with him and ignore him for the rest of my life.

"Where did he touch you? Here?" Zi Shang rubbed the smooth skin of Ye Jiuge's stomach and watched her closely.

"That's right." Ye Jiuge wanted to provoke Zi Shang, so she said haughtily, "He touched me everywhere. Now you should be satisfied with my answer!"

Zi Shang's eyes instantly darkened. Contrary to Ye Jiuge's expectations, he did not lose his temper. Instead, he lowered his head and kissed her stomach deeply. Then, he used his sharp snake teeth to nibble her lightly, before switching to sucking on her skin. Determined to leave a red mark, he kissed Ye Jiuge until she ached and felt numb all over. She wanted to scold him, but when she opened her mouth, her voice came out soft as cotton candy: "Don't touch me!"

Zi Shang lifted his head and locked his eyes on her. His moist, red lips curled upward. His raspy voice was filled with resolve as he said, "I want to brand you on every spot where another man touched you so that you will forever remember who you belong to."

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head once more and kissed her again and again, moving his mouth up from her stomach. His kisses were a.s.sertive and demanding. He left a line of red marks on Ye Jiuge's smooth skin, arrogantly staking his claim to her.