Chapter Thirty-Three: A Side Unknown to Others

The abrupt voice startled Hua Rong so much that her whole body stiffened in place. Mechanically, she turned her head, meeting Jun Yeli’s narrow eyes directly. Those pitch-black pupils revealed nothing of his true emotions; instead, being caught in their gaze made her feel an inescapable fear.

Hua Rong swallowed hard, forcing a smile onto her lips. “Your Majesty, what a coincidence...”

Her gaze swept down, seeing the man with disheveled hair, half-naked, his eight abdominal muscles as neat as cultivated fields—tempting, to say the least. She couldn’t help herself; she swallowed again, feeling a restless stirring she couldn’t quite describe. Her eyes drifted downward, only to see a white cloth covering him.

“So, you want to look?” Another casual tease, and Hua Rong’s cheeks flushed scarlet, as if painted with layers of rouge, utterly flustered and at a loss.

She hurriedly retreated a step, lowered her head, and shook it vigorously. “No, no, Your Majesty’s noble body is not something I could ever dare desecrate!”

“But just now, I thought I saw a hint of disappointment in your eyes as you looked away,” Jun Yeli smiled, watching her trembling form with amusement, moving toward her step by step.

Each inch closer was like a specter drawing near, and Hua Rong’s heart raced, a cold sweat breaking out on her back.

Suddenly, her back hit something hard—whatever it was, she couldn’t retreat any further. “Who said heaven never blocks a path?”

She truly had reached a dead end. Watching Jun Yeli approach, fierce as a wolf or tiger, she wished she could dig a hole and vanish.

“Your Majesty, I truly didn’t mean to disturb you. Please, be magnanimous and let me go—as if I were nothing but a passing breeze!” Hua Rong squeezed her eyes shut, regret flooding her.

Had she known Jun Yeli was still so energetic during the day, frolicking with his concubines in the water, she would never have foolishly come here to court disaster.

She took a deep breath, shrinking her neck.

Seeing her frightened expression, Jun Yeli’s mischievous side emerged. Suddenly, he placed one hand against the wall beside her neck, his body looming over hers.

His powerful presence enveloped her, and Hua Rong, petite as she was, felt completely trapped—like a hunted rabbit with nowhere to hide.

“A wall slam?”

Hua Rong was a little embarrassed. But in this situation, there was no escaping injury or death!

“No, even if I must die, I won’t die so humiliated!” she thought. Who gets killed for catching someone in the act? If she really died like this, she’d be branded a lecherous thief—how mortifying!

Jun Yeli, oblivious to her internal monologue, stared at her moving lips, as if they held some kind of magic that drew him in.

Whether it was sweat or condensed mist, droplets rolled down Hua Rong’s fair cheek, landing right on her lips.

It was as if something stirred deep within Jun Yeli; his Adam’s apple rolled as he gazed at her. Half-dressed, in this steamy atmosphere, a restless energy rose within him. He leaned in closer, his lips brushing Hua Rong’s ear. “Consort Rong, do you know how tempting you look right now?”

Like a starving man seeing a feast, he could hardly control himself.

His gentle breath caressed her ear, and Hua Rong’s body trembled. “What nonsense is he talking? How is this not embarrassing...”

Without another thought, Jun Yeli felt a sudden urge to bite her delicate ear. Just as he opened his mouth, Hua Rong shrank back as if she’d seen a ghost, vanishing from his grasp.

Jun Yeli’s lips met nothing but air. He looked down, puzzled, only to see Hua Rong kneeling in terror, hands spread wide. “Your Majesty, I truly know I was wrong... Please continue with your lady; I’ll take my leave now!”

Thinking of the beauty in the pool, Hua Rong was mortified—how could she interrupt such a moment?

Keeping her resolve to remain discreet, she finished speaking and tried to leave.

But Jun Yeli’s voice stopped her. “Stand up. What beauty?!”

Hua Rong froze at his command, torn between turning back and risking seeing something forbidden or not turning and thereby disrespecting him.

After weighing her options, she turned her head but kept her gaze fixed downward, determined to act blind.

She hurried to explain, “Your Majesty, I shouldn’t have disturbed your romantic bath at this moment. I know I was wrong; don’t waste your time on me—go enjoy your happiness!”

The more she spoke, the stranger it sounded. Jun Yeli felt his head foggy, matching the steamy atmosphere.

He couldn’t help but twitch his lips. “There is a beauty, but what romantic bath... Are you hinting at something?”

With casual words, Jun Yeli glanced around. There was a beauty, indeed, wasn’t there? A romantic bath... Was she suggesting they bathe together?

He sized up Hua Rong, then burst into laughter. “I never expected you to be so timid, yet so cunning. Tired of playing hard to get, now you’re switching to passionate boldness?”

He had to admit, she was full of tricks.

Pleased, Jun Yeli strode toward Hua Rong, but she sensed something was off. “Wait, Your Majesty, aren’t you misunderstanding? What passionate boldness, what hard to get?”

It felt like they were speaking on different wavelengths.

But as soon as she finished, Hua Rong found herself suddenly lifted off the ground—Jun Yeli had picked her up by the waist and was headed toward the bath.

“No, what are you doing?” Hua Rong struggled, but his strong arms made it futile.

The steamy air enveloped them, and Jun Yeli smiled calmly, “Of course, we’re taking a romantic bath.”

He called this a romantic bath? Was he mad?

“Your Majesty, do you really have such unusual tastes? I don’t have any special preferences!”

She clearly remembered seeing a beautiful woman in the pool moments ago. Now he wanted to put her in as well—wouldn’t that make three?

She had always thought Jun Yeli was a man of restraint, but never imagined he could be so exuberant!