Три мандариновые утки и полторы пары

Глава 11

Gazing at the bright moon beyond the towering cliff, the entire starry night sky is contained within that small, visible patch of sky.

Plum petals drift onto the spring water, and the wind from the cliff blows back down, creating shallow ripples.

"These past few days you've been gazing thoughtfully at the moonlit sky. What are you thinking about?" I often see her with her hands behind her back, gazing at the sky, her brows furrowed in thought.

"Those trapped inside the cliff naturally think about the world outside," she said to the person descending the stone steps without turning her head.

"Outside the cliff lies a world of ice and snow. If my beloved brother wishes to travel to the world beyond the cliff, when spring arrives, I, the prince, will take you south. The scenery in the south is beautiful everywhere."

"A spring trip to the south!" she exclaimed upon hearing this. "I am truly a prisoner, destined to miss the splendor of winter. Can't you kindly shorten this sentence?"

"Let me think it over."

"Think clearly about what?"

She looked at Zhu Yu, who had come to her side and was also looking up at the moon.

"How can I be sure that you truly belong to me without any worries?"

"Since Shao Chu is already under the Third Prince's control, why bother with all this trouble?"

"Are you in my grasp?" Zhu Yu looked at her helpless smile, her demeanor as if discussing someone else with nonchalance. "Why do I always feel like I've never truly grasped you, never truly understood you?"

Upon hearing this, Su Shaochu sighed again. "The Third Prince seems to have a thorough understanding of Shaochu's body these past few days."

These past few days, apart from Wuyou and Wuchou bringing her three meals a day on time, and the two girls continuing to act coquettishly by her side, Zhu Yu spent almost all her time with her in this "Snow Jade Pavilion".

Previously, he only stayed at the "Snow Jade Pavilion" for a long time during the first few days when she was trapped there; afterwards, he only stayed for a short while, occasionally for most of the day.

He no longer aggravated her injuries, and even took careful care of her body. At the same time, he held her and cuddled with her every day. Almost after feeding her the medicine, he would pick her up and begin to explore the pleasure of her body. And at the last moment, he would release his pent-up desire in another way, without actually possessing her.

Su Shaochu suspected that he knew more about every inch of her skin, whether visible or invisible, and whether the texture was fine or rough than she did.

"When I entered the palace today, I heard something interesting that my beloved brother might find interesting."

It was rare to hear him mention entering the palace, and Su Shaochu raised an eyebrow with interest.

"People in the palace say that a few days ago, the Fourth Young Master Su visited the Princess. He had a cold expression on his face, unlike his usual cheerful demeanor. He simply nodded slightly to people he recognized and left."

"Sigh!" This underling has the same unchanging personality and expression.

"Shao Chu," Zhu Yu called softly, lifting her chin and kissing her.

Lately, he has been kissing her unexpectedly, sometimes while she is speaking, sometimes while she is frowning in thought. At first, Su Shaochu did not resist and just let him kiss her.

He loved to kiss her, loved to suck on her lips, to see her soft lips turn red from his sucking, to see her breathless. Only then would she reveal her true self, biting her lip, a hint of annoyance rising in her eyes, unwilling to let him kiss her again and again.

Just as Zhu Yu finally released her lips and gently stroked her, a bird's chirping rang out.

"The Kingfisher".

A graceful bird with a pale yellow tail and a bluish-green tail was circling in the air. Just as she was lost in thought, another bird called out and flew to Su Shaochu's shoulder.

"This is……"

"Young Master Su, Young Master Su—" Wuyou and Wuchou's joyful voices rushed down the steps.

The birds in the air and the little bird that had perched on her shoulder immediately spread their wings and flew up to the outstretched arms of Wuyou and Wuchou.

"Isn't it cute? His Majesty bought it for us again."

They shouted at her joyfully.

"His Majesty said we can raise them without worry, and the little birds will not die again."

"They even said we could often bring our little birds to play with you!"

Su Shaochu looked at Zhu Yu.

"What? Are the spirits of those two dead birds coming to haunt you?"

"The bird spirit didn't bother me, but there were two chirping and jumping creatures who, though they didn't dare to accuse me, kept looking at me with resentment." He watched Wuyou and Wuchou excitedly teasing the birds.

"So you bought it to apologize?"

"Perhaps I have been suddenly inspired by the will of Heaven and feel that killing is a sin." Unaccustomed to this, he could only look at the sky above the cliff.

"It's rare to see someone do something to make people happy."

For a moment, Su Shaochu found Zhu Yu to be rather cute and couldn't help but laugh.

"Perhaps, if my younger brother Shao Chu smiles at me more sincerely, I will do more things to please him."

The first time Su Shao Chu smiled at him, her smile was genuine and sincere, which touched his heart.

"Your Majesty—"

Zhu Yu suddenly reached out again, and before Su Shaochu could react, and before Wuyou and Wuchou could cover their mouths and gasp in surprise, he kissed her again!

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The moon is already high in the sky, and the enchanting spring scenery is unfolding behind the sheer curtains.

"Hmm..."

Su Shaochu, nestled in You Fuyi's arms, could only gasp for breath as You Fuyi's hand touched her.

"Shao Chu..." she whispered, her voice tinged with desire.

As she allowed her partner to remove her clothes, the gradually revealed fair and radiant skin would always elicit a low moan of desire from the person behind her, along with an even more unrestrained desire to conquer.

The suffocating kiss made her close her eyes. Seeing this, Zhu Yu's hands caressed her smooth, snow-white body even more. Watching his hair brush against her hazy, slightly flushed face, he became even more intoxicated and unable to extricate himself. It was an extremely sweet and intoxicating feeling.

"Open your eyes, Shao Chu...look at me..."

As he half-forced her into a low moan, her eyes, which had been closed to receive his desire, slowly opened, revealing a dazzling brilliance to him.

"Third Prince... um—" Her low, hoarse moan turned into a soft groan as the body covering her pressed his thick desire tightly against her breasts once more, grinding intensely and repeatedly until the burning desire poured out of his body!

"Shao Chu..." He cupped her slightly sweaty head and kissed her again, his lips entwining and sucking deeply, almost causing her to become dizzy with a dazed look.

She didn't ask him why he wouldn't truly possess her; she simply accepted his demands in silence.

After another passionate embrace, she was still panting beneath him when Zhu Yu took her hand and led her to the piano stand.

"I present you with the Wulan Guqin; it may touch your heart."

He had mentioned it before, but she had politely declined. Now that he was bringing it up again, she understood his implication.

"Third Prince, I'm in your hands, isn't that enough?"

"Are you truly in my hands? Then give this prince an answer!"

Compared to his increasingly inability to remain calm, Zhu Yu even had a misconception that it was she or he who was imprisoned!

Seeing his resolute and determined expression, Su Shaochu casually plucked a few notes from the strings, a complex expression forming on his handsome face as he softly murmured—

"When silk and paulownia wood are combined to form a zither, it contains the sound of antiquity. The ancient sound is bland and tasteless, and does not suit the feelings of modern people."

Upon hearing her recite this poem, Zhu Yu frowned slightly, for it was a poem about a "broken zither".

"The jade zither's brilliance has faded, the crimson strings are covered in dust. Long abandoned, its lingering sound still chills." A clear, resonant voice rang out, and slender fingers once again plucked the strings with an air of endless reluctance, then smiled to herself as she smoothed the strings with her palm. "I would gladly play for you, even though no one listens. What has caused this? The Qiang flute and the Qin zither."

Gathering his energy in his palm, Su Shaochu unleashed his power and resolutely covered the rare and famous zither, causing the strings to shatter one by one!

Just as she was about to unleash another powerful strike to destroy the zither, an even stronger force seized her wrist!

"Why?" Zhu Yu clenched his wrist, trying to keep himself from breaking it, the voice bursting out through his teeth.

"A broken string means the instrument is ruined; it will never be able to play any music again."

The Wulan Guqin uses ice cicada silk as strings, but ice cicadas have long since disappeared from the world. This guqin is now just a body without a spirit, and is like a useless instrument.

"This prince asks, why?"

"Third Prince, your affection is too much for me to bear." Su Shao Chu's eyes were calm and clear. "My body and heart are temporarily entrusted to another; my heart's true belonging and aspirations lie elsewhere, not in the Central Plains."

What does this mean? "Your heart and soul are temporarily entrusted to someone else?!" Your heart belongs to another! Zhu Yu's expression darkened with anger. "Are you telling me your heart belongs to someone else?"

Su Shaochu neither nodded nor shook his head, but remained silent.

"Speak!" He gripped her shoulders, his face contorted with rage!

Who is in her heart?

He would never allow anyone to see that expression that belonged only to Zhu Yu, whether it was a leisurely smile or a seductive charm with teasing and lust. It belonged to Zhu Yu, and he would never allow anyone to have her, never allow her to have anyone else in her heart. She, Su Shaochu, was Zhu Yu's person!

The wrist that was suddenly gripped almost crushed her wrist bone. The pain made Su Shaochu raise her head and meet those deep, calm eyes. The eyes, which were always hidden with laziness and gentleness, revealed a cruel and ruthless cold-bloodedness. She had seen this person all the way to the present. In the end, who should hate or resent this person?

"If the Third Prince wants to kill me with one blow, or satisfy your desires, Shao Chu has only one thing to say: he has nothing to say."

Su Shaochu met his gaze, her expression so ethereal it was almost otherworldly. This very rejection only fueled Zhu Yu's fury.

"If you have nothing to say, then why bother saving your words?"

He grabbed her chin and kissed her again without mercy, biting and tearing at her, causing her to cry out in pain and push him away forcefully, blood streaming from her lips.

"Young Master Ai, you once said that understanding me, or even just me, is difficult." Zhu Yu looked at his bitten lip and said coldly, "I think this prince should return that sentence to you!"

Watching the figure leave in a huff, Su Shaochu reached out to wipe her lips as usual, but instead stroked them. She lightly tasted his lingering flavor on her lips with her tongue and murmured, "Even I don't know what to do anymore."

Stepping out of the draped gauze curtain and down the snow-white jade steps, I arrived at the plum tree again, gazing at the moon high in the sky above the cliff.

"I'm sixteen already, time is running out!"

A cool breeze swept down from above, brushing against her. Su Shaochu felt the coolness, which calmed the lingering burning desire within her and cleared her mind.

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Before dawn, the silence was deeper than the darkness of night. Lifting the curtains, Zhu Yu looked at the sleeping face in the bed, the slender and graceful body resting peacefully in the silk pillows and blankets.

Because of the passionate encounter in the first half of the night, her clothes were still disheveled. The pale yellow bodice contrasted with her half-exposed skin, and even the bodice straps were loose. Her breasts were faintly visible and alluring, making his gaze deepen.

Sitting by the bed, I watched her quietly, reaching out to stroke her but pulling my hand back as she slept soundly.

He desperately wanted the person in front of him, someone whose heart and personality were so unpredictable. How could he keep her by his side forever?

A fierce glint flashed in her eyes, and a sinister smile rose on her lips. Perhaps, just like the ancient zither, she could break the strings, so what if she became a cripple!

In this way, Su Shaochu would be a plaything that he could truly control, wouldn't that be a pleasant thing?

He had spent too much time and energy on her, yet she remained beyond his control. A sense of unease began to rise within him, and he lost patience.

There is no one Zhu Yu cannot get...

As long as you can be ruthless...

He began to channel his energy into his fingers and palms, staring intently at her elegant and slender limbs. He would first break one of her legs, then one of her arms, until she was crippled... But the image of her suffering from internal injuries kept flashing through his mind.