ATPnovel Chapter 330 The night is still long, take your time learning.
Chapter 330 The night is still long, take your time learning.
A moon-white robe, a handsome face, and that familiar, ambiguous smile at the corner of his mouth.
He was all alone.
Qin Mu stood on the threshold, the moonlight shining in from behind him, bathing him in a pale golden halo.
He smiled and stepped inside.
Qin Mu stopped three steps in front of her.
Liu Hongyan's knees had already bent, slamming heavily onto the gold bricks with a dull thud.
She knelt down, lowered her head, her forehead almost touching the cold ground, and her long hair slipped from her shoulders, spreading out on the ground and covering half of her face.
"This humble woman greets Your Majesty." Her voice was hoarse, with a slightly sticky, nasal tone characteristic of someone who had just cried.
Qin Mu looked down at her kneeling figure.
"Well done."
The moment Liu Hongyan heard those four words, the string that had been taut suddenly relaxed, like a string that had been stretched for too long finally drooping limply.
"Your Majesty's orders are of utmost importance and I dare not neglect them."
Qin Mu didn't say anything more and walked past her.
The hem of her moon-white dress brushed against her long, flowing hair, creating a very gentle breeze, before she sat down on the edge of the bed.
Liu Hongyan turned around, moved her knees on the gold bricks, changed direction, and knelt down again, facing him.
He sat on the edge of the bed, his posture languid. His moon-white robe gleamed warmly in the moonlight, and the collar was slightly open, revealing a small section of his collarbone.
He just looked at her like that, a familiar smile playing on his lips.
Liu Hongyan knelt three steps in front of him, head bowed, not daring to look at him.
"He's quite infatuated with you and even wants to marry you."
Liu Hongyan's body stiffened abruptly.
The words Xu Longxiang had said before leaving flashed through her mind: "After this great event is accomplished, marry me."
The voice still echoed in her ears, hoarse and as light as a fallen leaf drifting across the water.
She thought it was a secret between them.
But Qin Mu knew everything.
Liu Hongyan bit her lower lip so hard that it almost drew blood.
She spoke almost instinctively, her voice urgent, carrying an almost suppressed sense of defense:
"This...this is just wishful thinking on his part. I have long since lost all interest in the Northern Frontier—"
"Come over and talk to me."
Qin Mu interrupted her, his voice soft but firm.
Liu Hongyan's words stuck in her throat.
She knelt on the ground, looking at his smiling, ever-composed face, wondering what awaited her.
But she knew she had no right to refuse.
She lowered her head. "Yes."
She crawled forward on her knees, her knees moving on the blue bricks, making a soft scraping sound.
She crawled on her knees for a long time, covering a distance of three steps.
She stopped right next to his legs, no more than a foot away.
Qin Mu looked down at her kneeling figure beside his legs, and at her slightly trembling shoulders.
He reached out, his slender fingers gently landing on the top of her head, running through her loose long hair, slowly sliding from the top to the ends, his movements so gentle they were almost tender.
Liu Hongyan's body stiffened, the stiffness starting from the top of her head, spreading down her spine to every inch of her skin.
She knelt there, motionless, her breath stopped.
His fingers moved away from the ends of her hair and landed on her cheek, his fingertips gently brushing against her skin.
"It's no wonder Xu Longxiang would have such thoughts about you. When I first met you, I also liked you very much."
Liu Hongyan was stunned.
She knelt there, her mind blank.
She recalled that day in the Northern Territory, at the banquet in the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion.
He sat in the guest seat, one hand supporting his chin, his posture languid. His deep eyes swept over everyone, casually, with a hint of a smile.
When that gaze fell upon her, she clearly felt a chill, as if she were being stared at by something terrifying.
Later she heard that the emperor of the Great Qin was very interested in her and even proposed to take her as a concubine.
She was startled, thinking that the man was just having a passing fancy and would forget about it soon.
He hasn't forgotten.
He always remembered.
Liu Hongyan knelt there, head bowed, her eyelashes trembling violently.
She didn't know what to say or do; only one thought was echoing wildly in her mind.
Tonight, she can't escape...
Qin Mu removed his fingers from her cheek, withdrew his hand, leaned against the bedpost, and looked down at her.
"I'm not leaving tonight."
Liu Hongyan suddenly raised her head.
My mind went completely blank.
Just as she expected.
Although she hadn't experienced it, she wasn't an ignorant girl.
She lowered her head.
"Yes."
Qin Mu leaned against the bedpost, looking down at her.
The moonlight slanted in through the window, illuminating half of his face while the other half remained in shadow.
Those deep eyes gleamed with a cold light between the light and shadow, like the surface of a deep pool illuminated by moonlight, yet the bottom could never be seen.
"I've heard that Liu Hongyan from the Northern Border is quite skilled."
His voice was soft, with a hint of languor and a nonchalant smile.
"Tonight, I will see for myself."
He paused, and the smile on his lips deepened.
"Do as you see fit. I won't interfere."
Liu Hongyan knelt beside his legs, her knees pressed against the cold gold bricks. The chill seeped into her knees and spread along her bones, making her tremble slightly.
But his face was burning hot, the heat intertwined with the coldness of his body, like a branding iron thrown into ice water, hissing and emitting invisible white smoke.
Her mind went blank.
They are very skilled.
The way he said those four words carried an indescribable, ambiguous, and heart-pounding quality.
Of course she knew what methods he was referring to.
But what methods does she have?
In all those years in the North, she learned to analyze intelligence, to set up spies, and to dance on the edge of a knife.
She had learned how to lie without batting an eye in front of the enemy, how to deduce the core secret from a few words, and how to take a life with the shortest knife, the fastest speed, and the most precise angle.
But she hadn't studied this.
there has never been.
Her lips parted slightly, and a voice squeezed out from her throat, so hoarse it was almost inaudible: "Your Majesty is joking."
She kept her head down, not daring to look at him.
Their eyelashes trembled violently, like two butterflies trapped in a spider web, desperately flapping their wings, but unable to fly.
"I am still a virgin."
Her voice became even softer, as soft as a leaf drifting across water, barely causing a ripple.
"What means are you talking about?"
The moment she said those words, her face burned even hotter.
The heat spread from her cheeks to her ears, from her ears to her neck, and then all the way into the depths of her collar.
She didn't know what she was saying or doing; only one thought occupied her mind.
She was explaining to the man that she didn't know those methods, that she had no experience, that she was a blank sheet of paper, clean and untouched, with nothing painted on her.
Qin Mu remained silent.
He simply leaned against the bedpost, looking down at her, the smile on his lips still there, neither deep nor shallow, neither strong nor weak, like a painting framed in a frame, showing no change whatsoever.
But when his gaze fell upon her, it was light and faint, yet like a thin, transparent net that enveloped her completely, leaving her nowhere to escape.
Liu Hongyan knelt there, waiting.
She waited for him to say something, for him to do something, for him to give her an instruction, a direction, a path she could follow.
But he didn't.
He just looked at her and waited for her.
Liu Hongyan took a deep breath.
The breath she inhaled, carrying the cool, stagnant air of the hall, made her feel more awake.
She recalled his earlier words: "You can do whatever you want. I don't care."
She got it.
He won't give her instructions, he won't give her direction, he won't give her any path to follow.
He wanted to see her walk on her own, to see how she walked, and to see where she could go.
Like a cat, placing a half-dead mouse on the ground, not in a hurry to eat it, but just poking at it with its paws to see which way it runs.
Liu Hongyan closed her eyes, then opened them again.
"There may be shortcomings later," she said, her voice hoarse but each word clear, "please forgive me, Your Majesty."
After saying that, she supported herself on the ground and slowly stood up.
A sharp, piercing pain shot through her knee, causing her to stumble. She managed to steady herself by grabbing the edge of the bed.
She stood in front of him, no more than a foot away, close enough to smell the faint scent of ambergris on him and feel the warmth emanating from him.
She lowered her head and looked at him.
He leaned against the bedpost, his posture languid, a moon-white robe loosely draped over his body, the collar slightly open, revealing a small section of his collarbone.
He just stared at her, a smile playing on his lips that she could never decipher, saying nothing, remaining still, simply watching.
Liu Hongyan's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest.
She bent down.
The movement was slow and awkward, with a cautious, tentative feel, like someone who had never been in the water before standing on the edge of a pool, stretching out a foot and using their toe to test the water's temperature.
Her hands were on either side of him, her palms pressed against the cool brocade mattress, her fingertips slightly clenched.
Her face drew closer and closer to his, so close that she could see the curve of his eyelashes, so close that she could see her own reflection deep in his pupils.
She closed her eyes.
Then he kissed her.
Her lips touched his lips.
It was very light and soft, like a petal falling onto the water, barely causing any ripples.
She didn't know what to do, how much force to use, how long to stay still, or when to breathe.
She simply pressed her lips to his, remaining motionless, like a butterfly perched on a flower's heart, its wings folded, holding its breath.
She was trembling all over, like a leaf in the wind, like duckweed on the water, like a bird whose wings had been soaked by a storm, desperately trying to fly but unable to take off.
She didn't know if what she was doing was right, if what she was doing was good, or if she had satisfied him.
All she knew was that her lips were pressed against his, and his lips were warm, unlike him, who seemed so cold, so distant, so unreachable.
She didn't know how much time had passed.
It may be just a moment, or it may be a long time.
She felt her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to explode, her face burning hot, and her breathing rapid, as if she had just run ten miles of mountain road.
She finally backed away.
The movement was slower and more careful than when it was applied, like a petal being blown up from the water by the wind, drifting and swaying, never to return to its original place.
She opened her eyes and saw him still leaning against the bedpost, his posture unchanged, his expression unchanged, and the smile on his lips unchanged.
Only in those deep eyes did something glimmer slightly.
Liu Hongyan stood there, her hands still supporting her on either side of him, her palms pressed against the brocade quilt, her face burning hot, and his warmth still lingering on her lips.
The heat spread from her lips, burning across her cheeks, her ears, her neck, and all the way into the deepest part of her heart.
She didn't know what she was doing.
All she knew was that she had just kissed him.
The thought exploded in her mind, like a firework blooming in the night sky.
She lowered her head, took a step back, and knelt down.
Her knee slammed into the gold brick with a dull thud, and the pain brought her back to her senses.
"Your Majesty," she began, her voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible, "I have made a fool of myself."
Qin Mu looked down at her.
He reached out and gently lifted her chin with his long, slender fingers.
Liu Hongyan was forced to raise her head and meet his gaze.
"No rush."
He said it softly, with a hint of a smile.
"I have plenty of time. You can learn at your own pace."
Looking into his deep, smiling eyes, Liu Hongyan felt a complex mix of emotions welling up inside her.
But she didn't say anything, she just lowered her head.
"Yes."
Qin Mu withdrew his hand and leaned against the bedpost.
Liu Hongyan remained kneeling there.
The moonlight slanted in through the window, shining on her and making her pale, slightly swollen face exceptionally clear.
She lowered her head, her long hair slipping down her shoulders, covering most of her face, revealing only a small section of her pale chin and her slightly trembling lips pressed into a line.
Length of night.
The moonlight outside the window moved inch by inch, from one end of the window frame to the other, and then from the other end of the window frame to the windowsill.
The candlelight had long since died out, leaving only the moonlight, a thin layer, spreading across the gold bricks and along the edge of the bed.
Then the lights went out.
It reignited.
I don't know who put the new candles on or when, but the flames flickered gently in the night breeze, casting a thin layer of warmth into the otherwise cool room.
Later, everything quieted down.
Only the sound of the drum came from afar, one beat after another, muffled like a heartbeat.
They started striking the bell from 9 PM to 11 PM, then from 11 PM to 1 AM, and then stopped sometime later.
........