CH 61

The Gilded Cage Chapter 61

Choppy- It was really his first time (2)

He stopped half a step away from her, stretched out his fingers and gently stroked the line of her lower right jaw on the right side. As goosebumps prickled on the back of her neck, he transferred his fingers to tugging on her earlobe. She tensed, shrinking into herself.

After getting her all worked up, the hand slid down her neck to her chest, untying the straps little by little.

The heavy cloak floated to the ground, revealing the thin body wrapped in lace underneath.

The gazes of the two were intertwined, and neither of them made a sound.

Today, her hair was let down, and she had no makeup on. She looked like a pure and innocent maiden instead of the dignified woman she usually dressed up as.

Under her outer garment, striking colors could be seen.

His eyes became darker and darker, and finally he couldn't bear it any longer.

Garments were flung onto the bed one by one, causing waves after waves of heat.

...

Even in the fog of passion, Chu Ning finally could no longer ignore the choppiness of his actions.

And Xiao Kezhi was also staring at himself, as if shocked by his sudden loss of control.

It was really his first time.

Chu Ning couldn't tell whether the feeling in her heart was a surprise or something else, so she could only ignore it temporarily. She took the initiative to raise her head and place a kiss on his Adam's apple, immersing him into the experience bit by bit.

This was probably human instinct, especially to someone like Xiao Kezhi who was naturally gifted and learned unexpectedly fast.

As if he were trying to prove himself, he manipulated her until she was nothing more than a puddle of water, begging for mercy.

The red candles in the hall had already melted down, and in the darkness, Chu Ning leaned on Xiao Kezhi's shoulders with half-closed eyes, strength completely drained.

However, Xiao Kezhi still seemed to be eager. While stroking the extra smooth and delicate skin behind her neck, he kept bowing his head, looking for her lips to kiss.

"Your Majesty—Uncle, don't..." She was afraid that he would get interested again, so she hurriedly reached out to push him away.

"Did you get tired so soon?" he murmured vaguely while biting her chin. Although the passion in his eyes didn't fade, he didn't torment her anymore, but turned his head and called for someone to bring water in.

The candles were lit again, and a copper basin filled with warm water was put on the bedside table. An attendant handed over a freshly wringed, warm towel. He reached his hand out for it, but she braced her exhausted frame and grabbed it, getting on her knees to wipe him down.

This was a habit she had long developed - in the East Palace, no matter how tired she was, she had to force herself to clean Xiao Yu up before she could take care of herself. He didn’t like others to serve as long as she was by his side. He would never accept the hand of others.

Today in the Ganlu Palace, she naturally served Xiao Kezhi like she did Xiao Yu.

But when such a subconscious behavior fell into Xiao Kezhi's eyes, his expression changed.

"What are you doing?" He grabbed her wrist and asked with a frown, "Weren’t you still tired just now?"

Chu Ning lifted her weighty eyelids and glanced at him, not knowing why he suddenly turned cold. She could only say, "I will wipe Your Majesty’s body."

However, his eyebrows wrinkled even tighter. "When you are in the East Palace, is this the case?" She was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open but still had to kneel and serve others?

She looked away and didn't speak, and this was taken as a confirmation.

This was something she had become used to doing in the past two years. She didn't feel how unfair it was before, but now that he asked her so frankly, she suddenly felt a little sad and condescended.

She wasn't like that before.

It was just that, in following Xiao Yu for the past two years, her wayward, innocent, and proud edges had been smoothed out. She suppressed who she was to the point of forgetting in order to show him a woman who satisfied him the most.

If it weren’t for the belief in her father's innocence, if she didn't suddenly learn the truth of that year, she would have already become a lifeless puppet.

"That's it." Xiao Kezhi looked at her suddenly stunned appearance, and for some reason, a soft feeling flashed in his heart, "I will do it by myself."

He let go of her wrist, took the towel, and wiped himself down. However, he didn't stop, but wringed out another clean towel and handed it to her.

Chu Ning squeezed the warm and moist towel in her hand but didn’t react for a while. She laid there limply and watched him get dressed and walk out of the inner room as she slowly came back to her senses. She wiped herself down and put the messily strown clothes back on.

Probably because they were afraid that the room would be too cold after the charcoal basin was extinguished, the attendants lit the ground-dragon*, and the originally cool room became much more warm and inviting than before.

Chu Ning quietly walked out of the inner room with her black hair loose and streaming down her back.

The incense burner on the desk was full of new incense, and it was belching green smoke.

Xiao Kezhi was reclining at his desk again, annotating his decrees with a calm and solemn look. His attitude looked completely different from the excitement and enthusiasm he showed when he was in bed just now.

She watched for a while, then walked slowly next to him, saluted respectfully, and said softly, "It's not early. It's time for this niece to go back."

Xiao Kezhi put down the brush in his hand, raised his head and stared at her quietly and impassively.

After a long pause, he suddenly asked, "Is there anything you want to say to me today?"

After Chu Ning glanced at him quickly, she lowered her head again and replied softly, "This niece knows herself and does not dare to speak without permission. If Your Majesty wants to know in the future, it will not be too late for this niece to speak."

Without awaiting his answer, she re-tied her cloak, lifted up the hood, turned around, and stepped out of the temple, leaving the the Ganlu Palace on foot.