Chapter 12: Unbuckling

Chapter 12: Unbuckling

In the dimly lit chamber, Lu Changping, with his back to the candlelight, clumsily worked on untying the tyrant's belt.

The belt, unique to Bei Wei, featured an intricately made silver beast head and tail seamlessly joined together.

After fiddling for a long time, Lu Changping still couldn't figure out how to open it.

Seeing the drunken tyrant standing vulnerably before him, like a lamb ready for slaughter, yet he had no idea how to shear it.

After several failed attempts, Lu Changping, in frustration, yanked at the belt, hoping to loosen it for a better plan.

The trouble was, the tyrant dressed impeccably every day, with even the belt tied tightly.

The slender belt, adorned with silver, instead of loosening, accentuated the tyrant's slender waistline clearly when Lu Changping tugged at it.

Pity that tonight, Lu Changping's mind was entirely focused on how to assassinate the tyrant, with no interest in appreciating this inadvertently revealed beauty.

Xie Xuan Yuan, seemingly pained by the sudden tug, glared at Lu Changping with his drunken, blurry phoenix eyes and forcefully swatted away the hands fumbling at his waist, scolding:

"Which palace trained you, being so clumsy? If you can't serve properly, get out; I'll do it myself."

He was so drunk that he didn't even recognize the "Consort Lu" he had personally appointed the day before.

The heat from the alcohol made Xie Xuan Yuan oblivious to everything else. As he unbuckled his belt, he staggered towards the bed.

Being mistaken for a clumsy palace maid, Lu Changping received a round of scolding, his expression turning exceptionally vivid.

In Southern Chu, he was revered just like the tyrant, a sovereign in his own right, never before having humbly served anyone in such a manner.

Yet, this one time of serving with ulterior motives was mercilessly scorned by the tyrant.

He watched as Xie Xuan Yuan treated the place like his own sleeping chamber, removing his belt and outer robe as he walked, leaving only two layers of clothing underneath.

Without the broad outer robe, his figure appeared even more slender and lean. At first glance, there was indeed a pitiable charm about him.

It seemed the tyrant wasn't wearing any protective soft armor...

With a stirring thought, Lu Changping no longer cared about the scolding and approached the tyrant once again.

Now leaning against the head of the bed, Xie Xuan Yuan showed a hint of surprise upon seeing Lu Changping follow, asking, "Why are you following? Do you wish to serve me in bed so badly that you're not afraid of dying?"

Although his eyes were blurry from drunkenness, the threat in his tone was undiminished.

It appeared that there had been many before who attempted to climb into his bed in the middle of the night, all of whom met with a tragic fate.

Lu Changping silently sympathized with his "predecessors," unabashedly nodding under the tyrant's murderous gaze.

It wasn't just about "serving in bed"; he also had to send this tyrant off to the western paradise tonight.

Seeing him nod, Xie Xuan Yuan's face broke into a chilling smile. He casually pulled the brocade quilt around his body and unceremoniously issued an eviction order:

"Get out, I have no desire to kill tonight."

The tyrant's attitude was uncooperative, but Lu Changping was not offended in the least.

Xie Xuan Yuan's words often needed to be interpreted in reverse. Despite his verbal command to leave, the latter part, "not wanting to kill," was the point to be noted.

Such an attitude clearly indicated he was in a good mood tonight, and his tolerance for fatal mistakes had significantly increased...

Lu Changping silently interpreted this in his mind, amused that in just a few days, he had already mastered the art of dealing with the tyrant.

He picked up the paper and pen prepared for him earlier, approached the tyrant, and wrote word by word: "But Your Majesty, this is my chamber, where do you suggest I go?"

After drinking, Xie Xuan Yuan's reaction was slightly delayed. He stared at the written words for a while before realizing this was not his Zichen Palace.

The beauty before him, somewhat familiar, was not the palace servant he remembered who wished to soar to great heights overnight...

He rubbed his temples with some effort, his gaze clearing up a bit, and instructed Lu Changping: "Go get some more paper, I came tonight wanting to talk with you."

In the middle of the night, after drinking and undressing, he just wanted to chat with this "mute"?

Lu Changping was infuriated, almost snapping the brush in his hand.

He had serious matters to attend to and had no time to indulge the tyrant in nonsense.

Seemingly perceiving Lu Changping's reluctance, the tyrant continued to threaten, "If you're unwilling to speak with me, then vanish from my sight. I care not where you spend the night."

The entire Northern Guard's palace belonged to the tyrant alone; where else could he possibly stay if not here?

Under the shameless coercion of the tyrant, Lu Changping silently acquiesced and turned to fetch paper and ink.

He had always thought the tyrant was driven by lust, but at this critical moment, the other showed an unexpectedly innocent side.

Which emperor would arrive at a concubine's chamber at this hour, thinking not of conjugal duties but of conversation?

If it's conversation he wants, then conversation it shall be. Lu Changping doubted Emperor Xie Xuan Yuan would stay awake all night.

According to Lu Changping's observations over the past days, although a tyrant, the emperor never missed an early morning court session. It seemed unlikely he would break this routine just for a chat.

He decided to wait until Xie Xuan Yuan was tired and resting his eyes before making his move.

With this in mind, Empress Lu's demeanor became noticeably more eager. He prepared ink, paper, and brush on a small rosewood tray and moved a stool to the front of the bed.

He wrote on the paper: "What does Your Majesty wish to discuss with your servant?"

Xie Xuan Yuan stared at his face, his gaze flickering, remaining silent for a long moment.

Just as Lu Changping was growing impatient, the emperor slowly said, "Were the words you wrote on our wedding day sincere?"

It was rare for the tyrant to speak in such an ambiguous, insinuating manner. For a moment, Lu Changping couldn't understand which "words" he was referring to.

He had written many words yesterday; which of them had caught the tyrant's attention to such an extent?

Unclear on the tyrant's intentions, he could only exchange a long look with Xie Xuan Yuan.

Seeing Lu Changping's delayed response, merely staring off into space, Xie Xuan Yuan's gaze quickly darkened.

He scoffed coldly, "As expected, your declaration of affection was merely to placate me! You never truly cared, did you?"

Lu Changping watched as Xie Xuan Yuan went from slightly shy to angrily embarrassed in the blink of an eye, feeling increasingly frustrated.

Now he finally understood what the tyrant wanted to hear!

Xie Xuan Yuan truly is narcissistic, coming here in the middle of the night out of boredom, just to hear those cheesy confessions again.

Unfortunately, Lu Changping realized this a bit too late.

By the time he hurriedly picked up the brush to offer another insincere declaration of love to the tyrant, his hand was already restrained.

Xie Xuan Yuan straightened up, blocking the warm yellow candlelight by the bed: "You needn't say anything now. No matter how eloquently you phrase it, I will no longer believe a word."

Seeing the situation take a sharp turn for the worse, Lu Changping dared not stay silent. With a slight effort, he freed his hand from the tyrant's cold grasp and wrote on the paper:

"Your Majesty misunderstands, my heart towards you has never changed."

As he wrote, Lu Changping tried to ease his conscience a bit.

After all, saying this wasn't exactly using flowery language to deceive the tyrant, right?

His feelings towards the tyrant had indeed never changed; he had always wanted to kill him...

Contrary to Lu Changping's expectations, this sentence worked wonders. Xie Xuan Yuan was rendered speechless, all his prepared venomous words losing their place.

Clutching the big red brocade quilt embroidered with dragons and phoenixes, his pale cheeks flushed once again.

A blatantly false declaration of love managed to matter so much to the tyrant. Could he truly be that starved for affection?

Lu Changping couldn't help but feel a bizarre sense of pity in his heart.

Unfortunately, this pity didn't last long. Soon, the tyrant returned to his usual self, mockingly saying with his venomous tone:

"Calling you foolish is an understatement. Had you stayed in Nan Chu, you could have remained the beloved Princess, living in luxury and honor. Yet, you chose to come here, not only becoming mute but also to serve me. Do you really enjoy seeking out misery for yourself?"

Lu Changping thought to himself that even the tyrant had some self-awareness.

But if he agreed now, it would only show his feelings for the tyrant weren't strong enough, and he wasn't foolish enough to fall into a trap set by the tyrant.

Lu Changping narrowed his eyes, earnestly writing word by word on the paper: "Your Majesty, sometimes gains and losses aren't so easily quantified."

Just as now, although he's playing a lowly, affectionate role under the tyrant's scrutiny, soon enough, the tyrant would entrust his life into his hands.

By any account, it seemed Lu Changping was the one gaining more.

After a moment of contemplation, Xie Xuan Yuan appeared to be persuaded by this argument, sighing somewhat helplessly, and continued to ask, "I want to know, why do you like me?"

Author's note:

Dear angels, I'm very sorry for the delay in this chapter.

With the end of two courses over the weekend, the procrastinating author was forced into a death march, writing two essays and a myriad of miscellaneous assignments in two days.

Now that the deadlines are met, I've finally managed to adjust my schedule back, and it would be inexcusable to delay any further.

As compensation, I will distribute red packets in this chapter. There will be an additional update tomorrow.

From now on, I will fix the update time to 12 AM. If I delay again, feel free to pelt me with moonstones, QAQ.