novelAbuy Chapter 268 Qin Mu Slept on Empress Li Yang's Dragon Bed
Chapter 268 Qin Mu Slept on Empress Li Yang's Dragon Bed
Zhao Qingxue felt a sudden lightness in her body as he held her in his arms.
She instinctively tried to struggle, but those arms held her tightly like iron clamps.
The next moment—
She felt her body sink, and she landed on a soft surface.
That was her bed.
That light pink canopy bed.
That was the bed she had slept in for over a decade, a familiar bed.
Zhao Qingxue's mind went completely blank for a moment.
But the next second—
A deep, instinctive sense of danger surged over her like a tidal wave, engulfing her completely!
She lay on her familiar bed, but at this moment, the bed filled her with an unprecedented fear.
Because there was a person sitting on the edge of the bed.
Qin Mu.
He just sat there, looking down at her.
Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating him and casting a soft, half-lit glow on his handsome face.
A dangerous light, one she couldn't decipher, was gleaming in those deep eyes.
Zhao Qingxue's heart suddenly raced!
one more time.
So fast it almost burst out of my chest!
She sat up abruptly, hugged her knees, and huddled in the corner of the bed.
Those deep purple phoenix eyes were filled with vigilance and fear.
"What...what do you want to do?" Her voice trembled slightly, carrying a hint of nervousness that she herself was unaware of.
She was really in a hurry just now.
To provoke him at this moment.
This is not—
Isn't this giving Qin Mu an opportunity?
Zhao Qingxue wanted to slap herself.
But it was too late to regret it then.
She could only huddle in the corner of the bed, staring intently at him.
The smile on his lips grew deeper and deeper.
The light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
She watched as he slowly stood up and took a step closer to her.
step.
Another step.
Every step he took touched her heart.
one more time.
Zhao Qingxue's body tensed up even more.
She hugged her knees, curling herself into a small ball.
But she knew in her heart—
On this familiar bed, in the place where she has slept since she was a child.
What awaits her?
Morning light streamed in through the carved window, casting dappled shadows on the pale pink bedding.
The light and shadow swayed gently in the breeze, moving across the bedding like living things.
Zhao Qingxue huddled in the corner of the bed, hugging her knees with both hands, looking like a frightened little animal.
Her face was still burning hot, and her deep purple phoenix eyes were filled with vigilance and fear.
Qin Mu stood on the edge of the bed, looking down at her.
Looking at that flushed, peerless face, at those deep purple phoenix eyes filled with vigilance, at that slender body trembling slightly.
The smile on his lips deepened.
"What do you want to do?" he repeated her words, a hint of amusement in his tone.
He stretched out his hand.
Long, slender fingers gently touched her cheek.
The touch was scalding hot and as smooth as cream.
Zhao Qingxue's body stiffened slightly, but she did not dodge.
Qin Mu's smile deepened as he looked at her.
"What do you think?" he countered.
Those three simple words made Zhao Qingxue's face burn even hotter.
She opened her mouth, as if to say something.
But it felt like something was blocking his throat, and he couldn't say a word.
All I could do was look at him, at his smiling, handsome face.
Qin Mu's fingers slid down her cheek and landed on her chin.
Gently lift it up.
This forced her to look up and meet his gaze.
"Zhao Qingxue," he called out.
The sound was very soft, yet exceptionally clear.
Zhao Qingxue looked at him.
Looking into the deep light in his eyes.
Looking at the meaningful curve at the corner of his mouth.
My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of my chest.
Qin Mu looked at her and said, slowly and deliberately:
"This is your bed."
Zhao Qingxue's pupils contracted slightly.
Qin Mu continued, each word like a sharp blade tempered with ice:
"This is where you've slept since you were a baby."
"This is your most private space."
"Now--"
He paused, his gaze sharp:
"I am here too."
Zhao Qingxue's body trembled violently.
She looked at him, at the undeniable light in his eyes.
The complex emotions in my heart were so intense that they almost overflowed from my chest.
Fear. Nervousness. Shame.
There is also a deep sense of powerlessness, almost resigned to fate.
She knew what was going to happen next.
On this bed where she has slept for more than ten years.
In the place where she grew up.
In her most private space.
Qin Mu looked at the changes in her eyes and smiled gently.
He didn't say anything more.
He simply leaned down and whispered in her ear.
A warm breath brushed against her earlobe.
"Don't be afraid," he said.
The voice was very soft, yet it carried a strange gentleness.
Zhao Qingxue's eyelashes trembled violently.
She closed her eyes.
Take a deep breath.
Then--
Open your eyes.
Meet his gaze.
In those deep purple phoenix eyes, the fear was gradually fading away.
Instead, a complex, indescribable emotion arose.
Accepting my fate. Feeling at peace.
There is another type—
An expectation that even she herself was unwilling to admit.
Seeing the change in her eyes, Qin Mu's smile deepened.
He reached out and gently put his arm around her waist.
He pulled her into his arms.
Zhao Qingxue did not struggle.
She simply let him hold her, letting herself lean against his chest.
Feel the warmth emanating from him, feel his steady and powerful heartbeat.
Like some ancient rhythm.
She closed her eyes.
Let that warmth envelop you.
Morning light streamed through the window, casting dappled shadows on the two people embracing.
The light and shadow swayed gently in the breeze, moving like living things across the pale pink bedding.
In the distance, the faint chirping of birds could be heard, clear and melodious.
A new day has just begun.
This moment will forever be etched in Zhao Qingxue's heart.
It became one of the most unforgettable memories of her life.
........
Sunlight streamed through the carved window frames, moving slowly across the floor.
It moved from the east wall to the west wall, from the dressing table to the desk, and from the desk to that pale pink canopy bed.
The bed curtains were half-drawn, and two figures embracing could be vaguely seen.
Zhao Qingxue lay on her side, her face turned toward the window.
The sunlight shone on her face, casting her stunning beauty in a mixture of light and shadow.
Her eyelashes were long and drooping slightly, casting two small shadows on her eyelids.
The shadow trembled gently with her steady breathing, like two feathers swaying in the wind.
The flush on her cheeks still lingered.
The blush spread from her cheekbones all the way to her ears, then to her neck, and burned deep into her collar, leaving faint pink marks on her fair skin.
Like peach blossoms in early spring, or clouds dyed by the morning glow.
Her lips were slightly pursed, their color even redder than usual, carrying a languid air of contentment.
A few stray strands of hair fell across her cheeks, damp with sweat, clinging to her skin and making her face appear even more alluring.
She looked out the window.
Outside the window is the back garden of the Liyang Imperial Palace.
That landscape she had seen since she was a child.
It was early winter, and most of the trees in the garden had already withered, leaving only a few wintersweet bushes with pale yellow buds on their branches, gleaming warmly in the morning light.
The artificial hill remains, the pond remains, and the little pavilion she used to climb up to play in as a child still stands quietly by the pond.
Everything felt so familiar.
It felt so familiar, as if I had never left.
Yet everything felt so unfamiliar.
It was so unfamiliar that she almost didn't recognize it.
Because at this moment, she wasn't the only one lying on this bed, the bed she had slept on for over a decade.
And him.
Qin Mu.
Zhao Qingxue's eyelashes trembled slightly.
She remembered what had happened two hours earlier.
She recalled those scenes that made her blush and her heart race.
Remembering how he pulled her into his arms, how—
Her face flushed again.
The blush reappeared, even deeper than before.
She quickly took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.
But that image was etched into her mind like a brand, impossible to erase.
She never expected it to be here.
In this bed she has slept in since she was a child.
In this space that she knows best and is most private.
She imagined that if that day ever came, she would be in a strange chamber in the Qin Dynasty palace, facing those magnificent yet emotionless golden splendors.
She will be there, enduring what she cannot escape.
He would be there, enduring those humiliations and torments alone.
It will be destroyed there, bit by bit.
But she never imagined—
It will be here.
In her own bed.
In the place where she grew up.
In the place she knows best and feels most at ease.
Zhao Qingxue's fingers slowly tightened on the bedding.
But that tightening motion wasn't due to fear.
Rather, it was because of a complex emotion that she herself couldn't explain.
Yes, it's complicated.
She had thought that when that moment came, she would feel humiliated, angry, and wish she were dead.
But in fact—
She didn't.
She did not feel humiliated.
I did not feel angry.
I didn't even feel much resistance.
There was only a strange, indescribable feeling.
That feeling was very unfamiliar.
So unfamiliar that she could hardly recognize him.
But it does exist.
What is that?
Zhao Qingxue didn't know.
All she knew was that she was lying on this familiar bed, being held by that man.
Surprisingly, she didn't feel much resistance.
It was as if everything here—the familiar bed curtains, the familiar bedding, the familiar view outside the window—instinctively relaxed her body.
This made her feel that all of this wasn't so hard to accept after all.
This realization made Zhao Qingxue blush even more.
She remembered all the things she had done on this bed since she was a child.
Reading, daydreaming, having nightmares and waking up in fright, occasionally sneaking a peek at those vernacular novels.
Countless nights she lay here alone, gazing at the tent ceiling, pondering the endless political affairs and the unsolvable problems.
At that time, she thought that this bed was the only place in the world where she could completely relax.
It was her safe haven.
It was her last stronghold.
But at this moment—
This last fortress has fallen.
By that man.
By the husband she was about to marry.
Zhao Qingxue closed her eyes.
A thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
This thought stunned her completely.
Her civil and military ministers—
At this moment, they should be in the imperial court or council hall not far away.
They discussed how to rescue her and how to fight against the Qin Dynasty.
Zhang Julu's usually composed old face must be tense right now, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly.
With Gu Jiantang's fiery temper, he must have slammed his fist on the table several times, yelling that he wanted to lead his troops to fight against the Qin Dynasty.
That old Taoist priest, Li Chunfeng, probably still looks like a wise and venerable immortal, but who knows how anxious he might be inside.
They must be racking their brains to come up with a solution.
He wanted to rescue her from that "tyrant".
They wanted her to return to Liyang, back to her dragon throne.
I want her to—
But they didn't know that.
They were unaware of the Empress they so desperately longed for.
Right now, we are in the Liyang Imperial Palace.
In her palace.
In this bed she has slept in since she was a child.
And the Emperor of Qin—
Such an absurd thing is happening.
Zhao Qingxue's face instantly turned bright red.
The blush spread from her cheeks to her ears and then to her neck, making her look like a boiled shrimp.
It’s ridiculous.
That's absolutely absurd.
Those ministers, those loyal old ministers.
They must be extremely worried about her safety right now, and they must be thinking about how to rescue her from the fire.
They must have thought she was suffering, in pain, and being tortured.
But actually?
She is here.
In her own bed.
He was being held by the "tyrant" they called him.
The flush on her face still lingered.
His scent still lingered on her.
The images that made her blush and her heart race still lingered in her mind.
A self-deprecating smile slowly curved Zhao Qingxue's lips.
She suddenly wanted to laugh.
Laughing at myself.
They laughed at the ministers.
Laugh at this absurd fate.
But she couldn't smile.
Because it's so absurd.
It was so absurd that even she found it hard to believe.
"What are you thinking about?"
A lazy voice rang in her ear.