Chương 622: Serving the Emperor

Cao Cao glared at him, his eyes capable of killing:

"I'm not eating! I'm already full of anger! Why would I want to eat candied hawthorns!"

The vendor scoffed, pushed his cart away, and muttered to himself:

"What a stingy person... You're not happy even though you got a share of the beauty... And you call yourself a general... You're not even as open-minded as us ordinary folks..."

Sunlight streamed down Zhuque Street, making it golden and bright. The osmanthus blossoms along the street had fallen and covered the ground in a thick layer, filling the air with their fragrance.

Who would have thought that the famous Cao Mengde would be robbed of his possession of beautiful women and fine wine by a group of generals in the street, losing everything!

......

As night fell, the Ganlu Palace was warmed by candlelight, with orange glows filling every corner. Liu Ce had half of the elaborate decorations removed and replaced with carpets and tapestries in the style of the Western Regions. Thick, soft wool carpets were laid on the floor, making it feel soft and fluffy underfoot.

On the table were grapes, cantaloupe, and two jars of wine; the aroma of fruit mixed with the fragrance of wine was intoxicating.

A short while later, the beaded curtain on the side of the hall rustled softly, and Reyina walked in.

She changed into a vermilion-colored dance dress, the sheer fabric swaying gently with her steps, revealing glimpses of her skin. Silver bells were tied to her ankles, tinkling with each step, sending a shiver down one's spine, like ants crawling on one's heart.

Her curly hair was loosely tied up in half, with the rest draped over her shoulders. Two red agate beads dangled from her ears, shimmering in the candlelight. Her eyes shone as if they held stars, twinkling brightly.

"Your Majesty, I will dance for you the Hu Xuan dance of our Loulan." Her Mandarin was still a bit stiff, soft, with a foreign rolled 'r' sound at the end, as if coated with honey, each word as if dipped in sugar.

Liu Ce nodded and said, "Alright, jump! Let me see what you're capable of!"

The musicians nearby immediately began to pluck the pipa, and the erhu followed suit, the tunes light and lively, full of rhythm, making you want to twist your neck just listening to it.

Reyina twirled lightly to the beat, her skirt spreading out like a blooming pomegranate flower, bright red. Her wrists flipped, so soft they seemed boneless, each movement perfectly timed.

The silver bells jingled and jingled, accompanying her dance steps. Liu Ce stared in disbelief, not even noticing that he had crushed the grapes in his hand, the purple juice dripping down his fingers.

Liu Ce was inwardly marveling, "This dance should only exist in heaven; how often can one see it on earth?" But then she got carried away, taking bigger and bigger steps and spinning faster and faster, and with a flick of her sleeve, she swept the fruit plate on the table with a "smack."

With a loud crash, grapes and cantaloupes rolled all over the floor, gurgling and splashing everywhere. Even Liu Ce's unfinished glass of wine overturned, the red liquid spilling onto the wool blanket and spreading out.

Reyina was also startled. She slipped and fell forward, letting out a cry of surprise.

Liu Ce reacted quickly and stood up to catch her, but she was too strong and the two of them stumbled backward. Finally, with a "thud," Liu Ce fell solidly onto the wool blanket, and she fell into his arms, her hair covering his face.

The music in the hall stopped abruptly.

The air was silent for three seconds, and even the crackling of the candlelight could be heard clearly.

Liu Ce held the soft, fragrant woman in his arms, his nose filled with the wonderful scent of flowers emanating from her body.

Reyina nestled against Liu Ce's chest, looking up at him with her cheeks as red as her dance dress, even the tips of her ears were bright red, her eyes were wet, she was flustered and embarrassed, her lips trembled as she almost cried.

"I'm so sorry, Your Majesty!" She stammered, her Chinese tongue choked with anxiety. She frantically tried to get up, but her elbow tripped and landed squarely on Liu Ce...

"Cough cough cough... It's nothing, it's nothing!" Liu Ce quickly waved his hand, enduring the pain as he helped her up, pretending to be fine on the surface while cursing inwardly.

"Great dance! Absolutely fantastic! It's just... it wasted a lot of fruit. Next time, please remove the fruit platter before the dance."

Reyina blushed even more, lowered her head and tugged at the hem of her skirt like a child who had done something wrong, her fingers almost tearing a hole in the skirt.

Liu Ce, however, found it amusing. He pulled her to sit next to him, handed her a piece of cantaloupe, and said with a smile:

"It's nothing, you just tripped and fell. I'm not going to eat you. Here, have a piece of melon, it's sweet."

Reyina took a bite of melon and slowly recovered. With bright eyes, she told Liu Ce that the girls in Loulan were all about spinning faster and faster when they danced. She had just wanted to show Liu Ce the most difficult move and hadn't been careful with her feet. She never did that when she danced in Loulan.

Liu Ce laughed heartily upon hearing this, thinking to himself that this girl was too honest and had no guile at all.

After this incident, the two of them became less reserved, and the distance between them suddenly shortened.

After drinking a couple of glasses of wine, Reyina became a bit more talkative, gesturing and speaking as she told Liu Ce about the desert and camels of Loulan, as well as the starry night sky, saying that the stars in Loulan were brighter than those in Luoyang.

Liu Ce listened and found the girl interesting; she was not only beautiful but also had a good personality.

The commotion lasted until late at night, when the palace maids helped them change into their nightgowns and enter the inner palace.

In the stillness of the night, the candles in the sleeping quarters of Ganlu Palace were dimmed to their lowest setting, leaving only two. The warm orange light shone through the silk curtains, spreading into a soft, blurry glow, like a thin layer of golden gauze.

The palace servants on night duty outside the palace had long since held their breath, and even the copper bells under the corridor had fallen silent. The room was so quiet that only the faint crackling of the candle wick and two increasingly erratic breaths could be heard.

Reyina's curly hair lay loosely on the pillow, enveloped in its usual light fragrance, rising and falling gently with her breath, like ripples on a lake.

As Liu Ce leaned down, the ends of his hair brushed against Reyina's cheek, causing her to tremble violently and clench her fingers tightly around the brocade beneath her.

Her already red ear tips were bathed in warm light, like cinnabar dipped in honey, and even her drooping eyelashes trembled violently, like butterflies fluttering their wings.

"Your Majesty..." she began, her voice trembling softly, the last syllable tinged with soft, panting breaths.

His already somewhat broken Mandarin became even more fragmented, leaving only indistinct breaths that stung his neck, burning his fingertips.

He responded softly, his voice deep and husky, his palm pressed against her back, feeling her subtle trembling, like a startled fawn.

The soft rustling of fabric was like the wind rustling through sea buckthorn, mixed with her soft, breathless gasps and his soothing whispers in her ear, each breath a gentle, yet powerful sound, lingering in the quiet air.

The red candle flickered, blurring the overlapping shadows inside the tent into a single mass.

At first, she bit her lip and refused to make a sound, but her breathing became more and more disordered. Later, when he held her waist and pulled her into his arms, she finally couldn't hold back and a soft moan escaped from her lips. It was weak but clear, and it swirled in the quiet hall where you could hear a pin drop before crashing back into each other's breaths.

His kisses landed on the top of her head, the tips of her ears, and then moved downwards...

She couldn't quite make out what he was saying, only the warmth of his breath brushing against her skin, making her tremble all over. She snuggled even tighter into his arms, her soft breaths nestled against his chest, mingling with her gentle, trembling breaths, softening into a pool of spring water.