244: Shang Jise vs. Ling Xia Hui

[Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect you to be this kind of Secretary-General.]

...The candle flames in the lamps of the side hall hissed, spitting out sparks. For the umpteenth time, Hei Jing craned his neck to peer into the inner hall.

He couldn't help but poke Bai Xuan's lower back. "Brother Xuan, do you trust your brother?"

Bai Xuan was using his saber to trim his nails. Hearing this, the tip of the blade paused, and he glanced at him sideways.

"Don't poke me with your elbow. Just wait patiently for Her Majesty's summons."

Hearing this, Hei Jing jumped up.

His head almost hit the beam, startling the copper bells on the eaves into a "ding-dong" chime.

"I bet five hundred thousand incense offerings." Hei Jing clung to Bai Xuan's shoulder, his eyes shining like a black rat that had stolen lamp oil.

"If we barge in now and interrupt Her Majesty's good time, the Secretary-General will definitely have to treat me to champagne!"

"That woman is so strong-willed. Before she met Her Majesty, her combat moves were all about trading injuries for injuries. When she's not thinking clearly, how could she just lie there and be a 'pillow princess'?"

Bai Xuan's scabbard thudded heavily against the stone steps, sending up a few sparks. "You brat, looking for gossip again?"

Although he said that, his fingers unconsciously stroked the hilt of his saber.

Hei Jing was right.

The strong-willed Secretary-General always acted with a purpose. She indeed wouldn't let herself be at someone's mercy when her limbs were weak.

Seeing him wavering, Hei Jing simply squatted down and started counting on his fingers. "Think about it, Brother Xuan. The barrier at the entrance to the Demon is still thirty percent away from being cracked; Jiao Pengze and Jiao Rong are still waiting at Chenfeng Palace."

"If we delay the report, our Subordinates will have to suffer through several months with us."

"After all, they're both our trusted aides. If you don't feel bad for them, I do!"

He suddenly lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Her Majesty is the most clear-cut between public and private matters. At most, we'll get a couple of glares, which is better than delaying official business."

"Besides, the two of us have long been used to being scolded. Our skin has thickened quite a bit by now."

"Anyway, Her Majesty can scold us all she wants; it's not like we'll lose any flesh."

Bai Xuan stared at the closed Lily Flower Doors of the inner hall, his Adam's apple bobbing. He raised his hand to check his mechanical watch; it was already the third quarter of the Xu hour.

He stood up abruptly, his saber making a clear dragon-like hum as it entered the scabbard. "Let's do it! At worst, I'll just forfeit this month's performance bonus."

Then, he kicked the dazed Hei Jing. "What are you staring at? Tell the maid to go announce us."

"Oh!" Hei Jing scrambled up and whistled at a young maid in the distance.

As he turned, he caught a glimpse of Bai Xuan's reddened ear tips and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Hahaha..."

Clearly, he wanted to see the spectacle even more than himself, yet he still had to act all serious.

A gust of chilly wind blew through the side hall.

Hei Jing rubbed his hands, thinking he'd have to ask Ling Qi for a few bottles of wine in a few days... Shang Wan Ning carried the limp Ling Qi and kicked open the door to the inner hall, taking three steps in two to lay her on the bed.

She knelt on the bed on one knee and shook out the brocade quilt to wrap Ling Qi in it.

As her fingertips brushed against the other's bare ankle, her throat tightened and she swallowed hard.

Ling Qi leaned her head against the headboard, her hair ribbon half-undone, with a few strands of hair falling over her butterfly bones.

Shang Wan Ning stared at the corners of her reddened eyes, her hand rubbing against the edge of the bed.

Suddenly, she had an urge to press the person into the bedding... Before she could act, a cold fingertip touched the tip of her nose, and she looked up to meet Ling Qi's half-smiling gaze.

"Her Majesty was just carrying me and crashing around; Bai Xuan and Hei Jing must have seen." Ling Qi's breath brushed against Shang Wan Ning's chin as she spoke.

"Seeing doesn't interfere with getting things done." Shang Wan Ning leaned in closer, her knee making the bed creak.

"Hei Jing's mouth..." Ling Qi didn't finish her sentence.

Shang Wan Ning bit her neck, tasting a faint hint of blood as her teeth ground against the skin.

Before she could enjoy it for even two seconds, a sharp pain came from the back of her neck—Ling Qi grabbed the soft flesh there and pulled back.

Shang Wan Ning was forced to tilt her head back, meeting the other's gaze, which seemed both angry and not.

"A Ning, I told you my legs are weak; I don't want to do it." Ling Qi increased the pressure in her hand.

Shang Wan Ning flipped her hand to pin Ling Qi's wrist against the pillow, then lowered her head to lick her palm.

"I'll give you a massage, how about that?"

"Don't, don't... Not today, I'm really tired." Ling Qi's heart felt as if it had been struck by something.

[The Empress providing a foot massage? Is there such a good thing? ٩(*´◒`*)۶]

Her heart throbbed as she rolled toward the inside of the bed, only to have her ankle caught by Shang Wan Ning.

When the palm pressed against the sole of her foot, Ling Qi shrank back slightly.

Shang Wan Ning knelt by the bed, her fingertips pressing on the acupoints on the soles of Ling Qi's feet. "Still being stubborn? When I carried you back just now, your Spiritual Energy was a total mess."

She lowered her head and bit Ling Qi's ankle. "If you try to push yourself again, I'll lock you to the bed and not let you go anywhere."

The Empress muttered while massaging, "If it weren't for your Spiritual Energy being depleted, who would be in such a hurry for Dual Cultivation right now?"

Ling Qi tried to pull her foot away, but it was held even tighter.

Shang Wan Ning's thumb kneaded back and forth, a numbing sensation shooting straight up to her knees.

The Secretary-General curled her toes, her ear tips turning red.

"A Ning, gentler... It's my fault for being ungrateful, okay?"

"You know you're wrong now? Too late!"

Shang Wan Ning rested Ling Qi's calf on her shoulder, her teeth lightly grazing the ankle bone. "If I don't 'punish' you properly, will you think I have no temper?"

(Censors, please let this pass; the author has already hit the brakes. (つд⊂))

...Just then, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside. "Tap, tap, tap..."

"Your Majesty! Ministers Hei and Bai have an urgent report from the Demon!" The young maid outside's voice cracked from shouting.

Shang Wan Ning's movements instantly froze.

Ling Qi took the opportunity to flip over and pin her down, her fingertips Pick openher collar. "Go handle your official business, darling."

The corners of her eyes still held a lingering redness, but her smile was exceptionally serious. "When you return, your Subordinate will slowly make it up to you."

The urging from outside grew more and more frequent.

Shang Wan Ning huffed and pinched Ling Qi's slender waist before sitting up to straighten her collar.

Before leaving, she turned back to glare again.

Ling Qi leaned against the headboard, dangling her feet. The brocade quilt had slipped to her waist, and the bite mark on her collarbone was strikingly red.

"Wait until I get back, Ling Fox!!!" Shang Wan Ning slammed the door, and her footsteps quickly faded away.

Silence returned to the bedroom.

Ling Qi touched her burning neck and suddenly laughed out loud.

She rolled over and pulled the quilt over her head, though her ear tips were still flushed.

What urgent report could there be from the Demon?

Most likely, that fellow Hei Jing had gotten the wrong idea—she'd have to treat him to champagne next time.

[Hmm~ the kind that's 9.9% alcohol diluted with water.]

[But, Her Majesty's massage technique—is quite good.]

Thinking about it, her fingertips unconsciously stroked the embroidery on the quilt, and Ling Qi drifted off into a groggy sleep... The gilded phoenix chair reflected the cold candlelight.

Shang Wan Ning's fingertips toyed with a jade pendant, the chill emanating from her pressing the hall into a dead silence.

Bai Xuan and Hei Jing exchanged a look outside the threshold.

Hei Jing's Adam's apple bobbed as he steeled himself to step into the hall.

"Your Majesty! Regarding the Demon barrier—"

"Enough." When Shang Wan Ning looked up, the second half of Hei Jing's sentence got stuck in his throat.

She tossed the mutton-fat white jade pendant up and caught it; the jade pendant struck the desk with a phoenix-like cry.

"Is it because I've assigned too few people, or are the incense offerings for your consumption not enough? Do you have to choose this hour to be so noisy?"

Bai Xuan "thudded" onto one knee, his forehead almost touching the jade tiles. "Your Majesty, please forgive us! This concerns an anomaly at the entrance to the Demon; we truly did not dare to delay."