Aromatic Flesh

More than a month had passed since they got married, and Gu MingYue’s life at the Qin Palace¹ was extremely relaxing and enjoyable, with the only downside being that she had not been able to meet with her mission’s target.

In fact, on the next morning of her wedding, she was told that it was not required of her to visit and give respects to her mother-in-law, nor does she need to do so in the coming days²

Gu MingYue understood that her mother-in-law, being royalty from birth, looked down on her illegitimate origins, but this suited her needs, as it was less trouble for her to skip this particular daily routine.

As for her dear husband, it was as if he had vanished into thin air, with the reason being “not wanting to pass on the illness to her”, even sending his personal maid to bring her carriages of gifts to express his apologies for not being able to accompany her home.³

Gu MingYue glanced coldly at the lack of respect from the maid, before raising her head up in smiles as she expressed her regrets for not being able to personally take care of her husband. Insisting that her husband was too considerate and kind to her, she commanded the men to return the gifts, as she should not be enjoying lavishly while her husband is still bedridden.

But the truth was that she did not want to return to her maiden home alone, as she was not the real Lu ShuYan, and returning home means there was a risk that she would be exposed…

Throughout the entire month, Gu MingYue had been slowly and steadily emitting an aura and grace befitting of a consort princess, to the point that even her mother-in-law was surprised, thus successfully securing a nod of praise from her. She took extra care to make it seem like she had developed it through the month in the Qin Palace that not even her personal maids noticed that Lu ShuYan was no longer herself.

Other than that, she had also been carefully counting down her days to the fateful meeting of the original protagonists, and noticing that it’s near, she quickly submitted a request to be allowed to take a trip to the temple to pray for her husband’s wellbeing.

And of course, her mother-in-law had gladly approved of it.

One should always been dressed plainly and humbly when visiting a temple, hence this was Gu MingYue’s reason as she firmly refused to be escorted by the Qin Palace’s guards. Instead, she insisted to be sent there in a simple-looking carriage while being accompanied by merely two maids.

HongLong Temple was not far from the prime minister’s residence, and behind the temple was a dark alleyway. An injured man dressed in black jumped over the high wall as he escaped from that place, his exhausted eyes instantly noticing an unguarded carriage at the entrance of the alleyway.

This was all thanks to Gu MingYue’s plans.

Having read the entire story plot earlier on, there was no way she would allow the male and female protagonist to meet each other easily. Instead, she would replace the heroin and appear at the correct timing.

Although her carriage might look cheap on the outside, the inside was actually much more larger and comfortable than the average carriage, easily accommodating at least three men to lie down horizontally. Furthermore, there were also scented sachets hanged on the four corners of the roof, while the curtains were made from pink silk. It was obvious that though Gu MingYue did not attained her mother-in-law’s affections, she had not been treated harshly in her new home, as the carriage and the accessories provided were all new and in good condition.

She had quickly go through the entire set of procedures for the burning of incense and prayers, and by the time she was done, the sky was already completely dark, as she had calculated.

She had took her time approaching the carriage that she had previously ordered to be parked near the exit of the alleyway. This was, in fact, the perfect place to park her carriage, as it would block Liu Yi’s way and at the same time, attracting his attention to it. Furthermore, it would also safely block the alleyway from the heroin’s view, just in case she was nearby too.

As soon as Gu MingYue entered her carriage, she instantly took off her outercoat, only to notice that she had left her jade pendant behind. Quickly leaning out of the window, she sent both of her maids to go bank into the temple to retrieve her belongings while she waited alone inside the carriage.

Her luscious black and long silky hair were tied up in a delicate bun⁴, and being held in place by a jeweled hairpin, while her yellow silk dress was like layered glass, flickering across her body as she moved every once in a while. And under the dimly lit place, it was almost as if she was half naked.

Now that she had prepared her bait, all she needed to do was wait patiently for the big fish to arrive.

Gu MingYue found a comfortable spot on the cushioned walls to lean against as she waited, and before long, a man rushed into her carriage.

He was extremely fast, and before she could react, Gu MingYue was already being held at knifepoint.

Liu Yi had been escaping from the prime minister’s house when his presence had been found out, and though he was an extremely skilled martial artist, one man could not win against many equally skilled guards. In no time at all, he was already injured and exhausted, but as soon as he ran out of the place, he noticed that his only way out of the alleyway was blocked by a carriage.

He had already lost too much blood, and he had no confidence that he could jump over the carriage at this state, and the fact that there was a huge group of skilled guards chasing after him. Hence, without hesitation, he had entered the simple looking carriage, confident that he would be able to handle whoever that was inside.

And the first thing he saw was a young lady resting against a cushion, “Miss, please allow me to hide here for the time being, and I do hope that you won’t scream, otherwise…” He rasped deeply as he pressed the knife slightly deeper against her smooth and delicate neck, threatening her viciously while feeling the panicked trembling from the woman beneath him.

Due to the dimly lit carriage, and the fact that his huge frame was blocking most of the light, he wasn’t able to see the woman’s face in detail, but he was somewhat surprised that she did not scream, together with the whiff of aroma coming from her body.

“Kind sir, would you be willing to move the knife from my throat.” The woman’s voice trembled slightly, but it was surprisingly melodic.

The first thought that came to Liu Yi’s mind after hearing her speak was that this was a married woman with a pretty voice. After considering her words thoroughly, he decided that no sheltered married woman could win against him in a one-on-one battle, hence he swiftly removed the dangerously sharp knife from her skin before laying down to rest on the other side of the carriage.

Releasing a sigh of relief, he finally glanced at her way, only to gasp in surprise.

On the other side, Gu MingYue was actually beaming with glee at the fact that she had finally moved one step closer to her target, though on the outside, she was still keeping up her weak and scared demeanor, while glancing at the intruder cautiously.

Liu Yi was truly handsome, with his sharp features and firm eyebrows. The fact that he was always pretending to be bedridden had taken a toll on his skin, making it much smoother and paler than the average men here. Furthermore, he would also occasionally emit the studious sort of vibes, hence giving him the gentle and patient demeanor.

If she had not witnessed him stealing from the prime minister’s residence, who would have thought that such a gentleman looking man would be a top-notch martial artist?

When as she was sizing him up, he too, was doing the same. Being one born in royalty, it was not an exaggeration to say that he had met plenty of beautiful woman, but still, he was still utterly captivated by her beauty and grace!

To the point that if she claimed that she was the second beauty in the entire country, no one would’ve dared to claim the first spot!

Both man and woman stared at each other in silence, Liu Yi being lost in thought, and Gu MingYue being due to not knowing what to say to an intruder. Fortunately, her maids returned with her pendant moments later, and after eyeing the man inside her carriage, she raised the curtains slightly to let the maids know that she wished to return home.

“Sir, are you okay?” Knowing from the story plot that he was injured, she asked worriedly as the carriage moved.

In fact, this was her attempt at pretending to be a kindhearted and gentle person, as this was how the main heroin had captured Liu Yi’s heart in the original story.

But before he could give her an answer, the carriage had come to a stop suddenly, and being a weak woman, Gu MingYue had not been able to grip onto something, hence she had allowed her soft body to fall towards Liu Yi, even taking the effort to land her twin bunnies right onto his face.

He grunted softly at the impact, as though he was an injured man, this was not something one could enjoy everyday.

It was noisy outside, and they could hear the city guards’ voices as they demanded to check the carriage. Gu MingYue was clearly flustered, as her face was burning with embarrassment as she tried to move away from this awkward position, but her panicked movements only seemed to make things worst, as her fingers would inadvertently graze through his chest and abdomen.

Being a man in his prime and the fact that he had usually stayed away from women in his daily life, such teasing actions from a beauty such as her was enough to fill him thoroughly with desire.

After forcefully reminding himself many times that this was a married woman, he finally held her up by the waist promptly, allowing her to finally steady herself. But even after she did so, he could not bear to let go of her soft and tiny waist.

His thoughts and desires were clearly shown on his face, while her entire face was furiously reddened as she blushed in shame, “What’s the commotion!?” She quickly steadied herself before calling to the outside.

“Princess consort, the prime minister had lost one of his belongings and he is personally leading the city guards to search each and every house in the city. The city guards are demanding to check our carriage, claiming that it is under the orders of the prime minister.”

“What?! I do not mind allowing them to check my carriage, but do they have the guts to do so? If nothing was found here, I wonder if the prime minister could bear the name of disrespecting the royal family?” At this point of time, Gu MingYue’s original demeanor had fully replaced Lu ShuYan’s, her expression hardened and her voice was firm.

And as expected, their carriage was quickly allowed free access to leave as soon as her maids relayed her words to the guards. Meanwhile, as if her remaining strength was drained fully from the act of courage, her body went limp and her legs gave way under her. But before she could fall to the ground, a pair of firm hands reached out and pulled her into a hug.

“You are a princess consort? Who is your husband?” Liu Yi lifted up her chin to take a clearer look, in fact, he had vaguely guessed who she was, but his voice carried an obvious hint of eagerness.

He knew not why he would feel such feelings for a woman he just met, perhaps it was because of her striking beauty, perhaps it was the way she had tried her best to stay calm in such a stressful situation, or perhaps it was because of her kindhearted nature.

Gu MingYue’s eyes were half-closed as her long eyelashes trembled at their closeness, she could clearly smell the minty scent from his body, “My husband is Qin Wang.” Her cherry lips moved as she whispered softly.

Her eyes were lowered as she answered his question, henceforth missing the gleam within Liu Yi’s eyes.

And as if something funny had crossed his mind, he chuckled deeply before continuing, “So, you’re the rumored bride of that sickly man. To think that such a beauty like you are wasted on the likes of him.” He rasped deeply as he trailed his fingers across the smooth silky skin around her neck.

“S…so what? Even though he is ill, he is gentle and considerate to me. We are very much in love.” Gu MingYue retorted his words anxiously as she struggled against his grasp.

Her stuttered rebuttal sent him into a happy smile.

“Of course. This one wished for the wellbeing of your married life.” He whispered softly into her ears, before striking her sleeping acupuncture point, and as she fell into slumber, she could vaguely hear his words before she lost conscious entirely, “I will remember this, and I will repay you in the future.”

Translator’s Notes:

Fateful meeting of the cannon fodder and the male protagonist!

Please enjoy~!