Immediately after, he swiftly walked out of the Imperial Library and vanished into the night.
~~~
When Su Xi-er arrived at the book depository, she saw that a few books had already fallen to the ground. She bent down to tidy them up, and by the time she was finished, it was almost 9 pm. Just as she was dusting off her sleeves and preparing to leave the room, a strong arm hooked itself around her waist, and the thick smell of wine assailed her nostrils.
Su Xi-er swiftly raised her hand to retaliate, but quickly realised that the person holding her was Pei Qianhao.
She immediately put her hand down, her slender eyebrows scrunching up. “Why did you drink so much again? Drinking will cause one to make a botch of matters.”
Pei Qianhao gave a low chuckle with a trace of playfulness. “Su Xi-er, I have already drunk, and moreover, I’m going to make a botch of matters right away.” He moved close to her and planted a trail of kisses on her neck.
“Su Xi-er, your body smells very nice.” Pei Qianhao’s hand moved from her waist to her torso, beginning to unbutton her clothes.
Just as he was about to continue, the frigid wind caused Pei Qianhao to furrow his eyebrows. He temporarily let go of Su Xi-er and kicked the door shut.
Su Xi-er was perplexed. Why is he so rash today? What happened?
“Pei Qianhao, what’s wrong?” She directly called him by his name, expressing the seriousness of the issue.
Pei Qianhao walked to her and raised his hand to stroke her hair. “Princess Consort Hao, just give yourself to me tonight.”
As soon as he said that, his left hand pulled at her belt, while the other held on to her waist. Soon, a court lady’s attire, light purple robes, inner shirts, and inner pants landed on the floor.
Contrary to the frigid wind howling outside the book depository, the interior felt like an inferno had ignited.
A slender hand tightly gripped the leg of the shelf as pain shot through her whole body. She tried her best to bite her lips, but finally couldn’t refrain from letting a sound escape from her throat.
Neither of the two were in a state to notice a woman sneaking around outside of the book depository. When said woman heard the sounds from inside the room, she immediately understood what was happening.
Hearing the woman’s voice, her complexion turned pallid. It’s Su Xi-er! She didn’t die, but is in the book depository instead. Who is that man?!
She mustered her courage to slightly push the door open. Moonlight shone on the man’s face, revealing the answer to her question. It’s actually… Prince Hao!
Su Xi-er was currently facing away from the door, but just as the man was about to raise his head, the woman immediately dodged to the side in fright.
When she passed by Su Xi-er’s room, she noticed that the door was open! She couldn’t help but look inside, only to discover Chao Mu lying on the ground.
The woman’s face was full of shock and dismay as she immediately ran in.
Chao Mu raised her right hand to grab the woman’s hand. She feebly muttered as if her life was slipping away by the second, “Tan Ge… there’s poison in the water. Someone wants to harm Su Xi-er.”
Tan Ge’s mind was swarmed with Chao Mu’s hearty laughter, and she immediately felt her heart contract in agony. It’s so painful. So painful. The tears uncontrollably streamed down her face, dropping on Chao Mu’s face like beads from a broken necklace.
“Tan Ge, the Imperial Library is no longer safe. Don’t cry. Tell Grand Tutor Kong… You and Su Xi-er should quickly leave this…” Chao Mu’s face suddenly flushed red, her breathing becoming more rapid as her chest heaved up and down.
Chao Mu blinked her eyes and smiled. “Tan Ge, I’m about to die… I’m scared of death. I used to think that death was very painful. But now… it doesn’t seem so painful anymore…” She continued to mumble as she tightly grasped Tan Ge’s hand. “Tell Shu Xian, no one will quarrel with him in the future. He can be happy now…”
Tan Ge kept shaking her head desperately as if her life depended on it. “Chao Mu, you won’t die. Don’t die.”
