Chapter 171: Chapter 171: Willing to Die a Thousand Deaths for the Princess

Whispered tenderness, tossing and turning at dusk.

Her eyes were tightly closed, refusing to look, yet her trembling lashes were consistently wet.

Zhao Jing kissed her for a while, finally losing control, seduced by the warmth and softness in his arms, taking a deep breath, he pressed her down beneath him.

She suddenly opened her eyes and pushed him: "What, what are you trying to do?"

He caught her hand, pressed it against her forehead, and said softly: "Ah Yao, as long as you are willing, I can take you away right now. I can give up everything, and we can fly away together, staying together forever..." As he spoke, feeling her chest rise and fall with her breaths, Zhao Jing couldn’t help but feel parched.

Although they were married for two years in a past life, they never consummated the marriage, especially later on, she was with Qin Xiao—

Thinking of this, Zhao Jing’s eyes suddenly turned red, he pinned her hands down, leaned in, and kissed her.

Li Yao turned her face away to avoid him.

His gaze darkened, he lowered his head and bit her neck.

Li Yao closed her eyes, with a hoarse voice she said: "How can you think that living one more life would mean nothing ever happened?"

The person on top of her paused. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Ah Yao..."

"You clearly did everything, why do you think living one more life somehow makes you innocent?"

He leaned against her neck, panting heavily, and said: "I don’t think I’m innocent, Ah Yao, I regret it, I want redemption—"

"What gives you the right to redeem?" Li Yao suddenly became agitated, "What makes you think you can redeem yourself? What gives you the right for redemption? You clearly saw how I never wanted to see you until I died back then, what makes you think living another life means you can act like nothing ever happened and redeem yourself?"

"Even if I haven’t experienced it, you have! You knew how much I..."

She closed her eyes.

"What gives you the right... Zhao Jing... What right do you have?"

"Why can you do all those things and still... still live one more life, why can you receive another chance..."

At the city gate’s first meeting, she seemed enchanted, no matter how indifferent he was, she kept deceiving herself it was just disposition.

Later, exposed by Tang Jiaojiao, she resolutely renounced the world to become a Taoist, severing ties with him, yet her determined heart went with him.

Seeing him return at risk, she was stunned but secretly joyful.

Being embraced by him, she didn’t even have the strength to resist.

Zhao Jing to her, seemed to be a calamity across lifetimes.

Didn’t expect, there really were past lives...

"Ah Yao... Ah Yao..." He kissed her frantically and greedily, "None of that has happened yet, we still have time..."

Zhen Su hasn’t died yet, the Capital City hasn’t fallen, there’s no one else beside her, they still have time!

Li Yao laughed through tears: "It’s too late, Zhao Jing... We can’t go back..."

Zhao Jing lifted his head, looked at her intently: "Why?" Is it possible she—

"P-Princess, Gongsun Yi requests an audience..." A maid timidly reported outside the door.

Li Yao’s face changed instantly: "Tell him to get out!"

In panic, her voice was unusually sharp.

"Yes! Yes!" The maid replied frantically.

"Wait—" Zhao Jing suddenly spoke.

The footsteps outside stopped abruptly.

"Who is Gongsun Yi?" Zhao Jing asked, looking down.

Li Yao sneered: "Just someone who curries favor for gains."

As she spoke, her face still looked outward, seemingly unwilling to look at him.

He pinched her chin to turn her face back, and asked again, "In what way does he curry favor?"

His eyes cold and threatening, seeing this made Li Yao shiver unknowingly, she forced herself to calm down, saying: "He just writes flattering poems to please me, wanting my recommendation for his imperial examinations to become an official."

Zhao Jing uttered an "Oh," then turned to order outside: "Let him in!"

The maid hesitated for a moment, but being glanced coldly by the knife bearer nearby, she immediately responded: "Y-Yes..." and ran out hurriedly.

"What do you plan to do?" Li Yao watched him nervously and warily.

Zhao Jing raised himself up, gently straightened her clothes: "Want to see how he flatters you—"

...

Gongsun Yi came running in, leaving the guiding maid far behind.

Once at the front of the hall, he immediately knelt down with a thud: "Princess, save your servant!"

Li Yao was feeling annoyed, scolded before he could bow: "Save what! I’m not your mother! Solve what you caused yourself!"

She had been stuck in Pingyang Temple these days, unaware of the trouble Gongsun Yi had gotten into.

But with Zhao Jing glaring from behind the screen, she didn’t dare keep Gongsun Yi for long, afraid he might say something he shouldn’t, after her scolding she didn’t give him a chance to speak but directly ordered: "Someone, take Gongsun Chief out!"

How could Gongsun Yi go out?

He had already heard about the affair at Huntian Academy’s gate, didn’t expect Tang Xiao to be the one presenting "Ten Strategies for Flood Control in Hedong!"

He also heard the emperor had ordered to see Tang Xiao, maybe that little slave was about to soar, how could he escape the reckoning from Tang Xiao and Duke Yan Mansion as the accuser?

The only one he could rely on was Pingyang Princess!

Before Pingyang Princess had finished speaking, he went and knelt at the bed, crying humbly: "Princess, I followed your words and didn’t provoke Second Miss Tang, I just... just... that Tang Xiao was only a servant of Duke Yan, I really didn’t know Duke Yan Mansion would protect him like this!"

Li Yao was furious with his foolishness, couldn’t help but kick him away: "You didn’t know? You spent quite a few days at Huntian Academy, didn’t you know Tang Xiaobai favored that little slave greatly? I asked her several times and she wouldn’t give him—" She suddenly stopped, uneasily glanced at the screen next to her.

She could feel Zhao Jing’s frenzied possessiveness toward her since his return.

On the day of his arrival, he searched all over Pingyang Temple to see if she kept any men.

Indeed, she had a few guests writing poems for her, but since Tang Jiaojiao threatened not to let Tang Family’s young maidens come over to play, she had to keep them outside, not to come unless necessary, thus dodging Zhao Jing’s scrutiny.

Who’d have thought Gongsun Yi would be so disobedient and insist on coming.

Gongsun Yi hearing she once had intentions towards Tang Xiao, thinking of Tang Xiao’s beauty, couldn’t help panicking inside, crawled back over: "Princess, your servant really didn’t know Tang Xiao was Second Miss Tang’s favored slave, otherwise, even if Tang Xiao embarrassed your servant a hundred times on the street, your servant wouldn’t dare trouble you, Princess, on my behalf!"

Li Yao laughed in anger: "What favored slave! How old is Second Miss? Duke Yan Mansion would not be wrong to want you dead!"

Gongsun Yi’s face again lost color.

Before, whatever he said, Pingyang Princess would only chuckle, whatever he asked, she easily granted.

This noble, seductive woman was tender and kind to him, indulging his every request, he had long been deeply infatuated, unable to extricate himself.

Just thinking that Pingyang Princess might abandon him, he felt overwhelming fear.

"Princess, I beg you to save your servant—" he kneeled forward several more steps, and looking up saw beneath the bed’s edge a partly exposed toe, resembling crystal and jade, curling slightly, alluring and enticing.

Gongsun Yi suddenly recalled how she had kicked him with that foot just now, instantly feeling hot all over, involuntarily reaching towards that toe.

"Princess, save your servant, your servant... willing to die a thousand times for you—"