Chapter 45

Your author made a mistake of calling Cai Wenjin, Cai Weinjin, in the last 3 chaps. This has been corrected though.

Bai Shen Hong
Emperor Huizhong
The Dragon Palace

"Heed my decree," Shen Hong instructed his scribe. "Consort Wang failed to select the right entourage for Princess Cai Wenjin. She has failed to fulfill her duty and is not worthy to raise a royal princess. Noble Consort Qi will henceforth raise Princess Cai Wenjin and assume her as an adopted child. The princess' entourage committed a felony by hitting the royal princess of Nevoria. Therefore, every person who was in the palace garden and accusing Imperial Concubine Wei will be decapitated and have their heads on the city gate for a total of three days."

"His Majesty is wise!" The scribe began to write as Shen Hong stepped out of the study room.

He let Consort Wang go but next time, there wouldn't be a second chance. Killing the consort would result in Cai Wenjin blaming herself for the rest of her life. She did say she was afraid to tell him because he would murder her mother after all. And the other miscellaneous reasons included the disturbance of political factions in the court.

The decree would do for now, while he had serious matters to discuss with Li Lian.

Bloody woman. He felt betrayed by her. Why was she so unpredictable and capable of doing silly things like this?

"No one is to go wandering around the bed chambers for the whole night," he ordered. "Everyone to wait on me from the welcoming chamber."

Eunuch Nam was quick to protest. "But Your Majesty―"

"You dare?"

"Forgive me, Your Majesty!" Eunuch Nam hurriedly kowtowed.

They then didn't follow him as he stormed into the hallway.

"Li Lian!" He yelled like a madman as he approached his bedchamber. The double doors were hit open as he charged in like a tornado set to destroy anything on his way.

He kicked the stack of military books aligned for him, flipped the table of night snacks, but still he was angry.

Why did she like playing him? Didn't she understand how much he cared for her?

Love was hellish fire he despised, burning him to the core till he became ashes. He hated feelings. Someone should exorcise the demons haunting him with all the pain. He was in the pits of fire, smelling of smoke like the devil himself.

He couldn't see straight. Yuwen Hong slammed the wall with his fist, his bones cracking. But that didn't work because after that he was still mad. Thus, he went on to arrogantly rain all sorts of profanities, and turned on to Li Lian who worked on something while sitting on his bed.

She didn't falter but continued with her sewing. In her hands was a blush pink garment she fashioned.

"Damn it, Li Lian. When I think you have done the worst, you keep pushing me!" The small upside down table was further kicked by him that it ended up crushing on the wall.

And yet, Li Lian's eyes focused on the garment, her hands narrating prowess skills by the use of needle and thread.

"Will you stop that and look at me!" he yelled.

She sighed. "What have I done now?"

Her nonchalant behavior made him feel like a three year old throwing a tantrum. He would be damned, if he cared. He was mad because of her, thus it was her responsibility to sort him out―give him all her attention.

"What have you done?" He mocked. "Should I not be asking you that?" He pointed in accusation. "What have you been doing, busy drinking buckwheat?"

She stopped, as if surprised.

"Ha-ha!" He derided. "You didn't think I would find out, did you?"

"Yuwen Hong," she exhaled. "Calm down. Princess Cai Wenjin is sleeping in the other chamber."

"Calm down? Huh? Calm down?" He picked the teapot of wine that had bled all the blood-red wine onto the carpet.

Smash!

She winced a little, shaken by his madness. "That is what I can do to you, so you better listen, and listen sharply to whatever I will say today." He pulled the case of buckwheat from his sleeves and threw it onto her lap.

Her eyes widened. "What is my case doing here?"

He just stared at her, withering inside. Who did he fall for? And why did he? She was really the mistress of deception. The devil didn't deceive like this.

"Yuwen Hong―"

"Stop acting like the goddess of this empire, I'm punishing you today." He pulled his wooden stool by the wall and sat. "Start talking."

"Huh? What is even there to talk about when you have made up your mind that violence is the answer?" Li Lian put aside the case and proceeded with her work. "You are such a drama queen." She tightened the thread and snapped it, before tying whatever it was.

That was a low blow. A very big one that allowed another flood of anger to take over. He rammed the stool across the room, over the bed, smashing the window and falling outside. Yuwen Hong took the garment from her and rumpled it up, wishing to tear it into pieces.

"Now that is enough!" She hurled herself up, shouting her lungs out. "What is wrong with you?"

"Shut up! You don't talk to me like that!" He pushed her back on the bed, his hand twitching and trembling with pent up rage.

"Ow!" She held her back, tenderly.

He reflexed with concern for a mere bit before the sea of anger and frustration flooded him again, causing him not to care.

She got up and picked her discarded garment and a pillow.

"Where are you going?" he howled.

"To sleep."

"I'm not done with you."

"I won't sleep with a monster!"

"Oh well, then I better be sending you to hell!" He pulled her by her arm and tossed her back on the bed.

"Yuwen Hong!" She finally snapped. "This is what you want, right? Me screaming back like an unhappy child?" She pushed on his chest, now on the same tidal wave as him.

"Respect me," he commanded.

"You deserve no silver stone of respect from me!" She lashed. "And I am so glad I took the buckwheat, you don't deserve to be the father of my children!"

His hand hurriedly lifted toward her, but quickly hesitated to slap her quiet.

Li Lian laughed, taunting him. "What? You are going to slap me again?" More laughter before she took on her fierce look. "Do it! It wouldn't be the first time anyway!"

He seizedher by the back of her neck. "I need to stitch that small mouth shout."

"I forgot neck choking was another of your shelved threats. Go on, kill me!"

He bit his lip. "Shut up."

His other hand shifted to her hair, which he harshly pulled to tip up her face to him.

Her eyes pierced him with amber. She was angry. Furious with him. Emotional.

He liked her emotions because it turned him on. Emotions meant he affected her, she cared, and he mattered. All that played the strings of his heart.

Her breath wavered on his lips, panting and caressing his ego. It was excellent. Now he wanted her even more.

"To hell with it all," he whispered, just before pulling her forth and violently sucking on her lips.

Her mouth was closed but was there anything he couldn't work with?

"Open for me." He demanded, his tongue sweeping her lips and forcing its entrance.

She didn't relent, however. Anger possessed her. Her hands fisted his garments to get him off. But to her demise, he excruciatingly tugged on her hair that she gasped.

There. The entrance.

His tongue thrust into her mouth and reigned control in the midst of mating and rummaging her mouth. She resisted by punching his chest, but rather than turn him off, it riled him up. He wanted her. He wanted to be deep inside her tonight and prove to her, her submissiveness.

Li Lian should break under him. Because why not? He was the alpha in her life. No one else but him. And she had to know he owned her, leave a mark for any bastard who dared think of taking his place.

This time she pushed him away with all her might.

"You are despicable!" She wiped her mouth.

Still determined to have her, he reached for her, only to be pushed away further.

"Stop it! Sex won't fix your madness." She again picked the disposed garment.

"Where are you going? This is my palace, you will only sleep wherever I want you."

"I'm sleeping with Princess Cai Wenjin."

"A princess does not sleep with anyone. She has her own quarters she will go back to tomorrow." He blocked her from leaving.

"Tell someone who cares."

"Wen'er was accusing you falsely and you still want to sleep with her?"

"She told me she gets scared at night, the poor girl has never been permitted to sleep with her mother. And who cares if she lied? It was obviously not her idea."

He raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Wait, so you already knew the truth?"

"Why wouldn't I? It concerns me." She corrected her hair that he just ruffled in his persistence. "Besides, we spent all day together."

"If she told you, then why did she still come and lie to me?"

"I told her to do what she desired. Do I control her?" Li Lian lay her hand on his chest. "Get out of my way."

He didn't budge. "All right, since that's resolved. Now stay."

"You are insane. Why should I?"

"Because." He tipped her chin by his index finger and bit his lip. His eyes danced with lust. "We have something to finish."

She looked down at his erection and shook her head, dead set on her ways and not his. "Step aside."

"I have had it with you, Li Lian." Yuwen Hong simmered in annoyance.

She laughed to herself. "Now that you have realised begging won't work with me, you are back to the tantrums? Aiya..." Her head shook in disapproval. "Get this, Your Majesty. It is my body and not yours."

"Your body, my body. You are mine."

"You have control issues. But reality is you can't control everything. I need space to breathe."

"It's just bloody sex!" He ran his hand through the loosening locks of his pinned hair. "Unless you forgot, husband and wife have sex all the time! It's normal!"

"Then go and find your wife! I'm just a concubine, Your Majesty." She wailed her hands in the air, spelling it out for him. "A concubine is an unofficial wife." Li Lian went on to also pick the pillow, again.

"Li Lian―"

"Give me freedom, Yuwen Hong. I'm tired of you abusing me with your title." She dropped her voice by a notch to sound manly. "I decree this and that. Enough, all right?"

"So you are using sex to prove a point. Isn't that childish?"

Li Lian groaned. "Not everything is about sex! I just don't feel like being with you after those mean words. It hurt me, I am not well and I need to be alone. Do you not understand?" Her eyes blinked rapidly as if covering up her tears.

'Not the tears, not the tears.' He panicked.

"Sleep here," she commanded.

"You can't tell me what to do. I can sleep wherever."

"I CAN tell you what to do. Sleep here."

"Because you are?"

"Empress." She said in the tone he liked using when he called her that.

"Emperor rules over empress."

"No."

"Meaning?"

She realigned the scattered books. "You can't rule over me."

"Why on this earth not?" He challenged.

She passed him, taking her nightwear from the bed. "You are the king in this bedroom. While I'm the empress."

"May the heavens open up, what are you saying?"

She assembled the clatter of plates into the same area. All this she did with the one free hand. "I rule here."

"I am the son of heaven. Never will I be ruled―"

"Do you want this?" Her hands wavered up and down her body.

That had him speechless.

She nodded. "Then you are king in the bedroom. Sleep well."

Li Lian slammed the door.

~Author's Note~

Aaah, guys! How hot is Li Lian? I love her, I really do. I normally love on Yu'er but this one goes to her.

S.V