Chapter 13: The Empress's Passion in Linglin Palace
Beneath the dim glow of lanterns in Linglin Palace, the fragrant tendrils of incense wafted through the air, weaving an atmosphere that lured the mind into deep contemplation. Empress Liu Zhangli sat poised upon a golden-inlaid, intricately carved wooden throne, her elegance radiant yet cloaked in an aura of icy detachment. Her gaze flicked toward Minister Liu Shang, her elder brother and the steadfast pillar of the Liu clan, who stood with serene composure, though his eyes betrayed a glint of ambition.
"The contest between the states of Chu and Qi is set for tomorrow…"
she began, her voice steady, her eyes shimmering with thoughtful deliberation.
"…Do you believe they can uphold the honor of Qi?"
Minister Liu Shang let out a soft chuckle, his cunning gaze likening the world to a chessboard where every piece was his to maneuver.
"The prowess of Chu's generals far surpasses ours. No prince, no commander, no soul has ever triumphed against them. Does His Majesty not see that Chu provokes us to despair?"
"Qi must not fall!"
the Empress declared, her tone sharp and resolute. As the mother of the Second Prince, Qi Feizhen, and the supreme authority within the inner palace, a defeat for Qi would trample the dignity of the royal house.
Liu Shang stepped closer, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
"Empress, consider this carefully. A loss for Qi is not a calamity. Should the Emperor's power wane, the reins of the court will fall to nobles like us. And more crucially…"
He paused, his eyes piercing into hers.
"…it is an opportunity for the Second Prince."
Her heart jolted at his words, the implication dawning upon her instantly.
"Qi Dongyang…"
she murmured, her voice laced with venom, recalling the past when that boy left a scar upon her son's forehead. Feizhen had been marked, compared endlessly to him by the Emperor, forced to witness his triumphant return to the palace as though nothing had ever transpired.
"If he fails in this contest…"
Liu Shang continued,
"…the Emperor's hopes pinned on him will crumble. And if General Yao Lijun meets his end, there will be none left for His Majesty to trust. In the end, who will rise above the throne?"
"My Feizhen…"
The Empress swallowed hard, aware that the current Crown Prince still held his title. Yet, if the Emperor's authority faltered, the Second Prince's path to seize the throne would be far smoother.
Her eyes gleamed with a chilling resolve. A faint smile curved her lips as she whispered,
"Then let Qi Dongyang and General Yao Lijun fall."
"It shall be so," Liu Shang replied.
Under the moonlight filtering through the carved wooden windows of Linglin Palace, the Liu siblings conversed, witnessed only by the flickering lantern light.
"Have you released General Yao Lijun yet?"
Empress Liu Zhangli asked, her tone even but tinged with suspicion. She leaned back against the throne, her profile illuminated by the moon's touch, revealing her cold demeanor.
Minister Liu Shang chuckled softly, sipping from his teacup.
"Not yet."
"Why the delay?"
Her brows furrowed.
"The Emperor has already commanded his release. Do you dare defy His Majesty's decree?"
"Defy? Hardly."
Liu Shang's lips curled into a sly smile as he gently set the cup down.
"I will release him tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow morning?"
The Empress straightened, her eyes flashing with displeasure.
"Do you intend to provoke His Majesty's wrath? If he questions why General Yao Lijun was detained longer than necessary, what will you say?"
"Simple,"
Liu Shang replied with a frosty smile.
"I'll blame the guards. A misunderstanding, a miscommunication—they thought the release was for tomorrow, not today."
"Are you certain His Majesty will believe such an excuse?"
the Empress asked, her voice calm but probing.
"It matters not whether he believes it,"
Liu Shang said, stroking his beard.
"There is no evidence to prove it was my intent. Besides, if we release General Yao Lijun tonight, he might confer with Qi Dongyang and prepare a counterstrategy. Tomorrow is the contest. I will ensure they have no chance to conspire."
The Empress fell silent for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"You are ever meticulous…"
A faint smile graced her lips.
"…Very well, proceed as you have planned."
Liu Shang gave a soft laugh and stepped back with graceful poise. She gazed at the quivering flame within the lantern, mirroring the turmoil in her heart.
This night heralded the Emperor's defeat and the dawn of a new power rising in its stead… or so it seemed.
High above the palace, atop the shadowed roof where no eyes could pierce the darkness, a solitary figure sat motionless, silent as the night itself.
Qi Dongyang, or rather Li Feitian, clenched his fists until his knuckles whitened, his icy gaze fixed on the Liu siblings below.
"How cunning…"
he muttered through gritted teeth.
They deliberately detained General Yao Lijun to prevent him from coordinating with the general. Their actions betrayed no concern for the royal house or the state of Qi—only a ravenous hunger for power… and his destruction.
But they underestimated him.
If they sought to wield deceit, he would find a way to strike back.
---
After Minister Liu Shang departed, the chambers of Linglin Palace fell into serene stillness.
Exhausted from the day's endless reports of court affairs, the Empress summoned her handmaid to prepare her bath. The maid swiftly arranged a large tub filled with warm water, infused with the fragrant essence of flowers and herbs.
The cool, soothing scent of jasmine and rose permeated the room.
The Empress slowly shed her heavy ceremonial robes, the golden silk pooling softly on the floor.
She stepped into the warm bath, the water enveloping her, easing the tension that had long accumulated within her.
Closing her eyes, she let the warmth seep into her very sinews.
But soon, a strange, fervent heat began to creep through her body. Restlessness stirred within her, as though a fire blazed in her core.
"Come, massage me,"
she called to her handmaid, her voice faint. Yet, instead of the maid, a man's strong yet gentle hands rested upon her smooth shoulders.
Startled but soothed by the touch, the Empress did not turn to look.
Li Feitian stood silently behind her, his hands kneading her taut muscles with care. Unbeknownst to her, the bathwater had been laced with an aphrodisiac poison, secretly added by Li Feitian.
Before long, the heat within her intensified, a burning inferno consuming her chest.
Her breaths grew shallow, her skin flushed a delicate crimson.
Li Feitian knew the poison was taking effect. He leaned closer, his breath grazing her ear.
"Empress… I know you suffer,"
he whispered, his voice thick with desire.
"Without an antidote, your blood will seep from every orifice, and you will perish."
"Who… who are you?"
she gasped, disoriented and weakened by the poison's grip.
"Oh… Dongyang, Ninth Prince, is it you?"
"How… how did you enter? What do you want?"
Her voice trembled, her mind clouded by the aphrodisiac's sway.
Li Feitian, cloaked as Qi Dongyang, offered no reply. His hands glided down her silken shoulders, caressing the full curves of her matured form.
"Oh… Dongyang, save me… I can't bear it… Please, cure this poison… I'm fading…"
Beneath the moonlight streaming into the opulent palace, the veiled shadows of gossamer curtains revealed the graceful form of Empress Liu Zhangli, the exalted figure of the court.
She, accustomed to the cold formality of the throne room and the silence of her chambers, had long been deprived of passion.
For over two decades, since birthing the Second Prince, her husband, the great Emperor, had distanced himself from her fervent touch, leaving her to drown in unspoken yearning.
Yet tonight, the dormant embers of desire buried deep within her heart were ignited by the touch of a man cloaked as the Ninth Prince, Qi Dongyang—Li Feitian, a stranger from a distant world.
"Save… save me…"
Her faint whisper quivered like a winter breeze, her exquisite eyes fluttering shut under the spell of the poison and the torrent of desire threatening to consume her.
Li Feitian regarded her with a cold gaze, yet he understood the storm raging within her.
Gently, he lifted her soft form from the warm bath.
The fragrance of blossoms mingled with the delicate haze of incense. The Empress's body was laid upon an ornate bed, draped in deep crimson silk, vivid as spilled blood.
She, Empress Liu Zhangli, who had long forgotten the taste of passion, clung desperately to his sturdy frame.
The turmoil in her heart erupted like an uncontrollable wildfire. Without release, the aphrodisiac's poison might claim her life. The virtues and decorum of the court were cast aside, leaving only the overwhelming longing spilling from her ample bosom.
Upon the wide bed, her voluptuous form, glistening with smooth, radiant skin, writhed like a lotus swaying in a heated gale.
The tender peaks of her breasts, softened by time, were claimed by Li Feitian's lips, suckled and teased with fervent intensity, matching the rhythm of her untamed desire.
"Oh… please, I beg you, save me…"
Her sweet moans escaped her crimson lips, her eyes glazed with the fire of passion.
"Am I not saving you already?"
he replied, his voice low and resonant, his body moving with practiced grace. Her curvaceous form clung to him tightly, her slender waist rising to meet his powerful thrusts, the sounds echoing through the silent palace.
Her hidden valley, adorned with delicate, muslin-like wis_STR and found to be in disarray under his touch. She cradled her full breasts, offering them to him without restraint.
Movements untamed, never before experienced, carried her into a realm of indescribable bliss.
Li Feitian knew that when she reached the pinnacle of ecstasy, her cries would resound, risking discovery by the court. He seized a large pillow, pressing it over her delicate lips, and drove into her with renewed vigor.
If she did not find release, the poison could claim her life.
"Aaahhh…"
Her muffled scream was trapped beneath the pillow, her lithe legs coiling around his waist like taut cords, signaling her escape from mortal peril.
He released a warm flood of healing essence, enveloping her within.
The Empress's warm, voluptuous form lay sprawled upon the bed, drained of strength. Her beautiful eyes lingered in a heavenly haze, unable to return to earth.
"Oh… what has befallen me? Why do I feel such overwhelming joy?"
she murmured, her voice frail, like a flower exhausted from its full bloom.
Yet a faint smile upon her lips revealed a satisfaction too profound to erase.
"You have soared to paradise. The poison within you is vanquished,"
he whispered, stirring her senses. She opened her eyes, gazing at him anew.
"Ninth Prince, Dongyang… what have you done to me?"
"I saved you from the poison's grip. Did you not find it pleasing?"
"Oh… Dongyang, you've toyed with me,"
she sighed.
"Why did you do this? Do you not know the gravity of this sin?"
"If neither of us speaks, who will know?"
he countered.
"Have you not been estranged from passion for years? Or does His Majesty still visit your chambers?"
"No, no… he has not come for ages, so long I've forgotten the taste of desire."
"Then may I take his place?"
"Oh, speak not so, Dongyang. This sin is grave. If word escapes…"
"As I said, if we hold our silence, who will know?"
The handmaids, though they might have heard strange sounds, dared not intrude without summons, lest they invite calamity upon themselves.
The Empress felt as though she were sinking into a dream from which she could not awaken. She was ensnared by the allure of long-forgotten passion, unable to resist.
Entwined in the arms of the Empress, whose beauty brimmed with seductive charm upon the soft bed, the modern lover sought to leave an indelible mark.
He began to knead her ample breasts, rekindling her desire.
"Oh… Dongyang, your touch is so fierce… Ohhh, I… I feel it… such ecstasy…"
she moaned, her voice trembling with delight.
Li Feitian surmised that this beauty of an ancient world had likely never tasted such intimacies.
He reclined, letting his proud member stand tall like a ship's mast.
"Use your lips and tongue upon it, and you'll feel a new sensation."
Empress Liu Zhangli's eyes widened. She rose to her knees, her hands grasping and stroking, her tongue delicately tracing the flushed tip before enveloping it fully, learning without instruction, guided by instinct alone.
"Is this a dance learned from courtesans or sirens?" she asked.
"No, Empress, ask not. Discover it for yourself,"
he urged, prompting her to delve deeper, her lips embracing him to the hilt.
After a time of exploration, Li Feitian shifted, lifting her voluptuous form, her legs draped over his shoulders, her head hanging low. Though inverted, she remained engrossed with his member, while the Ninth Prince reveled in her delicate petals with his tongue, standing upon the bed.
Soon, she writhed and moaned, prompting Li Feitian to let her crawl, her face pressed into the mattress, arms pinned beneath.
"Mmm… mmm… Dongyang, Dongyang, so good… so divine…"
she murmured, lost in the continuous waves of pleasure.
Their bodies collided in a primal rhythm, her loosened hair tugged as he drove from behind. In mere moments, the game of passion in Linglin Palace reached its crescendo, drenched in the remnants of love and the purged poison's haze.
To be continued…