Longing for Love (Twice Reborn) - Chapter 12
Juchen was kissed into a daze.
During the brief moments Song Mi allowed her to catch her breath, he exhaled deeply above her head.
To avoid straying from his original intention of letting her enjoy the hot springs, he seemed to be exercising extreme restraint even attempting to make conversation while kissing her.
Yet the topic he chose was cherries.
“Were you really fighting over cherries?”
Juchen had never realized he was this curious before.
“Is that so wrong?” Juchen laughed.
Song Mi said, “You’re not that kind of person.”
“How would you know?”
“You don’t have the talent for it.” He lifted her chin, gazing at her flushed face.
In bed, she was always passive, completely lacking in the skills to truly seduce a man.
At most, she might tease a little, but when things got serious, she could bolt faster than anyone.
Juchen pursed her cherry red lips. “I doubt you’d believe me even if I told you.”
“How would you know unless you try?”
Seeing his determination to get to the bottom of it, Juchen fell silent for a moment before sighing. “I don’t actually like cherries.”
Song Mi frowned. “Then why were you fighting with your sister over them today?”
Juchen: “Because you gave them to me?”
A rare, genuine smile appeared on Song Mi’s face.
When he smiled from the heart, he looked exceptionally gentle and handsome.
His warm gaze gave Juchen the courage to speak the truth.
“At the time, the young master of Yongchang Earl’s family was indeed discussing marriage with another girl from our private school. But behind the scenes, he kept making advances toward me.”
Song Mi: “He wanted to marry you?”
Juchen scoffed. “He wanted to take me as his concubine.”
“I’m just the daughter of a minor official. No noble family would ever consider me as a proper wife. But he claimed marrying that girl was just for appearances that once I entered his household, he would dote on me exclusively.”
Juchen shrugged. “I’ve heard too many lines like that, so I didn’t take it seriously at first. Then, to prove his sincerity, he even confessed that he was only marrying her out of necessity to seize her family’s wealth and fill his own family’s financial gaps.”
“It had nothing to do with me, and that girl had always been at odds with me.
But later, when the Marchioness took me to visit her home, I saw her mother preparing an extravagant dowry, fretting over her daughter’s insistence on marrying the young master. She worried her daughter would suffer in a high status marriage, fearing she’d end up with the wrong man.”
“Her father had passed early, and though the family held a noble title, it was her cousin who inherited it. Her mother raised her alone, managing their vast estate and numerous shops single-handedly.”
Song Mi: “So you couldn’t bear to see them deceived and ruined their marriage.”
Juchen: “More or less.”
Song Mi pulled her into his arms, his chin resting against her forehead. “And yet that girl still pushed you into the water. Truly ungrateful.”
Juchen chuckled. “I did provoke her on purpose. She kept calling me a fox spirit behind my back.”
By her early teens, Juchen’s breathtaking beauty had already begun to blossom like a delicate flower in bud, drawing the attention of many young nobles in the capital.
She was not the overtly seductive type more like a Jiangnan landscape painting that had wandered into a world of opulence. The longer one looked, the more one became entranced.
Naturally, she quickly amassed a crowd of admirers and just as many envious rivals.
They always accused her of pretending to be pure and delicate, putting on a pitiful act only in front of men.
The girls’ taunts, though untrue, felt like walking through dewy grass damp and uncomfortable, lingering unpleasantly.
At this, Juchen raised her brows and pursed her lips, retorting crisply, “I didn’t even use the stack of love letters her fiancé shoved at me to provoke her. That’s mercy enough.”
“You used to receive a lot of love letters?” Song Mi asked.
Juchen laughed. “Is that the point here?”
Song Mi pressed on, “Were any of them well written?”
Their eyes met, and in his starlit gaze, Juchen suddenly recalled a yellowed page tucked inside a bamboo tube.
“Of course.”
“Which one?”
She blinked playfully at him. “The one I’ve yet to receive in this lifetime.”
The beauty smiled, her starry eyes curving into crescents, untouched by worldly dust.
Her fair lotus-like face, bathed in the glow of night pearls, seemed to radiate a divine light one that beckoned souls, yearning for her salvation.
Song Mi’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his restraint clearly at its limit.
His hand around her waist slid lower, giving a light pat as his voice deepened, barely containing the storm within. “Sit up.”
Juchen’s lashes fluttered, her pale cheeks flushing crimson.
As she leaned into his neck, the man’s eyes darkened like midnight pools, his broad chest tensing.
The gates of paradise were within reach one step closer, and he’d be saved.
Yet Song Mi clung to the last shreds of patience, guiding her with his long, elegant fingers, drawing her deeper into the haze.
He seemed meticulous about mutual pleasure, never rushing until she was ready.
Juchen adored this considerate side of him, her body burning hotter beneath the thin silk.
Perched on his lap, she tugged at his collar.
Beyond the translucent screen, the palace door creaked open.
A maid carrying pastries froze in the doorway, her pupils shrinking at the sight jade crowns and embroidered robes tangled with eunuch garments, strewn wantonly toward the steaming pool.
Before she could set down the lacquered tray, a cold, authoritative voice cut through from within: “Out!”
The maid dropped to her knees in fright.
Only when the soft click of the door echoed through the beaded curtains did Juchen release her resisting hands, letting him pull her up from the depths.
Even with Song Mi’s absolute assurance that no one would dare enter again, Juchen, ears burning red, refused to play along in the water.
Relenting, Song Mi followed her ashore, wrapping an arm around her shoulders from behind with a smirk. “That scared?”
Recognizing his teasing, she shot him a glare, mimicking his tone. “If we’re caught, will you marry me?”
His fingers, tracing her lips, stilled.
Juchen quickly added, “Just joking.”
To avoid suspicion, she even curved her lips into a light, flirtatious smile, her inky hair swaying as she glided past the beads.
Song Mi’s gaze darkened. In three strides, he blocked her at the door, sweeping her onto the bed.
In the dead of night, silence enveloped everything.
Outside the courtyard, Yuan Ruo stood guard at the palace gates under orders, ensuring no one dared approach Huaqing Palace.
Yet by the next morning, rumors of Prince Pengshan frolicking with a young eunuch in the hot springs had already reached the Empress Dowager’s ears.
At dawn, the mountain was still veiled in mist.
Song Mi had just returned to his study when Yuan Ruo hurried in from the courtyard and whispered a few words in his ear.
Frowning, Song Mi’s eyes darkened with a sigh before he turned and obediently made his way to the Empress Dowager’s temporary palace.
The moment that familiar, tall figure stepped inside, the Empress Dowager set down her ginseng tea with a sharp clink, her expression stern.
At the sound, Pei Duzhi swiftly signaled to the attendants, and the room emptied in an instant.
Song Mi stood straight before her, hands clasped behind his back. “What does Your Majesty wish to discuss?”
The Empress Dowager took a deep breath, eyeing him. “Where were you last night?”
Song Mi replied leisurely, “Nowhere special. Just in the mountains.”
“Just in the mountains,” she echoed coldly, scrutinizing him. “Yesterday, you claimed you had piles of documents to review. What sudden whim led you to the hot springs at midnight?”
“Needed a break. Went to unwind.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Unwind? By entertaining yourself with a man?”
Her usually gentle voice dropped several degrees, the hidden authority and sharpness now fully unveiled in her accusation.
Song Mi remained silent, but her anger was genuine.
This year, Song Mi would turn twenty-three. In an ordinary family, he would have given her several grandchildren by now. Even his younger brother, the current emperor, already had a six year old illegitimate eldest son. Yet Song Mi showed not the slightest urgency about his own marriage.
After the New Year, to her relief, he had stayed dutifully by her side. For days, she had personally screened candidates, finally settling on the County Princess of Ruyang. Yesterday, she had intended for them to meet only for him to evade the encounter, claiming official duties kept him in his study.
And then, he had taken a young eunuch into Huaqing Palace and stayed the entire night!
The Empress Dowager slammed the table. “Who was that eunuch?”
Song Mi touched his nose, feigning recollection with a frown. “Just someone I picked at random. Can’t remember.”
“What did you do in there?”
The corner of his lips twitched. “Whatever you imagine we did, we did.”
Stunned, she stared at him. “The County Princess of Rongcheng waited for you in the garden all evening! How could you….”
“I never asked her to wait,” he cut in coldly, his tone making it clear he resented her meddling in his affairs.
Exhaling sharply, she snapped, “If you disliked her, you could have said so! Why ruin your own reputation, making people think the reason you’ve remained unmarried is because you prefer men?”
Song Mi paused briefly, meeting her gaze. So, she hadn’t uncovered the truth she didn’t even know the person’s gender.
The Empress Dowager gasped. “Don’t tell me you truly have such… inclinations?”
Instead of denying it, Song Mi smirked coldly. “If you hadn’t sent spies after me, who would know of my ‘preferences’?”
The palace maid from last night had acted on the Empress Dowager’s orders. No one else could bypass Yuan Ruo and enter his chambers.
And she knew full well how much he despised overreach.
The Empress Dowager choked back her words, staring into his cold eyes. She opened her mouth several times but ultimately swallowed her explanations.
Clenching her fists, she glared at him. “You were the one who lied to me first. Was I not allowed to send someone to see what you were doing? Even if you’re angry, was this necessary?”
“What have I done?”
“You’re utterly absurd!”
“Absurd?” Song Mi let out a derisive laugh, looking at her. “More absurd than your own mother remarrying your elder brother? Sister-in-law?”
“You…”
Her beautiful eyes widened in fury. Stuttering with rage, she grabbed a porcelain cup from the table and hurled it at his feet.
Unexpectedly, Song Mi did not even flinch. With a loud clang, the cup shattered, and a shard sliced through his sleeve, leaving a deep red mark on the back of his hand.
The Empress Dowager froze, her expression shifting from anger to concern. She instinctively stepped forward to examine his injury.
Song Mi shoved her hand away and strode off without a backward glance.
At the doorway, Chief Steward Pei intercepted him, glancing at the hesitant Empress Dowager behind him. While gently urging the prince to stay, he called for a physician.
Song Mi coldly refused, “No need. I can take care of myself.”
At these words, the Empress Dowager swayed slightly, watching his tall figure disappear through the door. Her shoulders slumped, and her eyes reddened.
Chief Steward Pei hurried to support her.
With a heavy sigh, she beat her chest in frustration. “Truly a debt from a past life, giving birth to such a stubborn son!”
“Your Majesty, why didn’t you explain to the prince? Yesterday, when you sent someone, it was clearly just to….”
“What’s the use?” she interrupted bitterly. “He’s never believed I truly care for him. From the moment I left him alone at Pengshan, he decided his mother had no place for him in her heart…”
Otherwise, why would he so habitually say he would take care of himself?
Juchen was quietly returned to her residence early in the morning by the man.
She slept soundly until midday before finally waking.
Yawning and stretching, she made her way to the dining hall, gracefully taking a seat among the female disciples.
A palace maid poured her tea. As Juchen lifted her cup and leaned toward Xue Wan and the others, she heard the most sensational gossip currently buzzing through Mount Li.
“Prince Pengshan quarreled with Her Majesty again.”
Juchen blew lightly on the tea leaves and took a sip, thinking to herself that their mother-son spats were nothing new commonplace, really.
“Prince Pengshan was caught fooling around with a young eunuch last night! He even took him to Huaqing Palace for a romantic bath. Who would’ve thought someone so noble and upright was actually a cut-sleeve…”
Juchen spat out her tea in shock.