17. Entering the Dragon’s Den

The next day, Mai was on her way to work but at the exit of her building, she was met by a eunuch from the palace.

"Emperor Jinling has invited you for tea, Young Master Luo Tian."

Mai was surprised and didn't feel like visiting the emperor, but unfortunately, she had no choice and silently followed to the palace.

In the Investigation Bureau, Lin scribbled away, occasionally glancing towards the main door as if expecting something. Minutes passed, and he stopped writing, looking at his subordinate sitting to his left.

"Where is Junior Luo Tian? He hasn't shown up yet."

"I heard someone say this morning that the emperor would reward him after the incident in the forest and hence he's been invited for tea." the subordinate replied.

Lin became skeptical, waving his right hand, summoning a guard who was immediately sent to monitor Mai.

The subordinate looked at him with a surprised expression, "Was it really necessary, Inspector?"

"It's Luo Tian. I'm afraid he might do something foolish. I can never be at ease when I can't see him physically." Lin replied, holding his forehead, and sighing deeply.

Later, Mai arrived at the palace, and they walked through many corridors until she stood in front of a large door. Two guards stood outside, whom the eunuch immediately shooed away, leaving her puzzled.

The eunuch knocked on the door and announced her arrival. Nervously, she slowly stepped inside, finding herself in a huge, luxurious bedroom. At the end of the bed, there was a large oval wooden table where Emperor Jinling sat with a tea set. Mai focused only on his feet and heard the door close behind her.

"Soldier Luo Tian has arrived, Your Majesty." she said in a low voice.

"Mmm. Come here and sit." Emperor Jinling said gently.

She hesitated, saying, "Your Majesty, I am not worthy to sit on that chair. My butt will soil it and bring shame upon you."

Emperor Jinling chuckled, "Where did you learn to speak like that? Look at me and sit here."

Mai hesitated again, thinking carefully. She had to be cautious with what she said to him. Suddenly, he started pouring tea into the two cups, and a lovely fragrance filled the room, which she inhaled. It reminded her of her favorite tea. She smiled and approached the table, still not looking at the emperor's face. She sat down and, coincidentally, her gaze fell on Emperor Jinling's crotch. She took her teacup and sipped the tea. It tasted wonderfully of green tea, quince, and rosehip. She broke into a smile and enjoyed the tea to the fullest.

"You seem happy. What do you think of my tea?" Emperor Jinling suddenly asked in a crisp voice.

Mai hesitated for a second but chose to look at him because she couldn't have a conversation while staring at his crotch. She slowly moved her eyes up and was met by a divinely beautiful face. He had medium-length loose black hair and was clad in a white robe, and although it was plain, he exuded something powerful. There was a golden glow around his body resembling small flecks of gold dust swirling around. She was astonished and at first thought she had seen wrong and blinked. They were still there. She looked at his face again. I've seen him before, but where? Suddenly, she saw the man from the Blooming Flower in front of her. Argh! It's him!

Mai choked on her tea, coughed, and quickly wiped her mouth while her heart raced loudly. She became nervous and suddenly sweated profusely, now afraid to speak. Damn my luck! Her cheeks slowly became burning hot.

Emperor Jinling furrowed his brows and said, "You seem surprised. Do I look strange?"

"You are divine." Mai replied immediately without thinking.

Emperor Jinling's cheeks slowly took on a reddish hue; he coughed and shyly looked away, which she immediately noticed.

He's quite cute. Like her dog from her other life. Mai felt butterflies in her stomach and took deep breaths to relax.

"It's a delicious tea, Your Majesty. I can taste quince and..."

"Can you speak normally to me?" Emperor Jinling interrupted in a pleading tone.

"I cannot, Your Highness. If it's discovered, I'll be punished." Mai replied, becoming nervous again.

"If you don't obey, I'll assault you, and no one will question it." He suddenly said, sending shivers down her spine.

She had never heard of an emperor threatening so directly, but it worked on her.

"Could you refrain from that? I haven't been married yet." she said in a small voice.

He chuckled and said it was only meant as a joke, which made her nerves relax.

"Let's play a game."

Mai loved games. "A game?"

"If you can arouse me, then I won't mention anything to anyone about what happened between us today." Emperor Jinling replied in a playful tone.

"To what extent?" She asked, already knowing she couldn't refuse.

Arouse meant only one thing in her mind, which she was sure he was alluding to.

"It depends on you." he replied, sending her a charming smile.

Mai didn't know what she was getting herself into. She didn't know how to arouse a man without touching him there. Wait a minute. I'm a man now. In that case, she could go all out.

There were other ways to arouse a man than just touching him there. She broke into a beautiful smile, which Emperor Jinling misunderstood, and his eyes widened.

Mai pointed to the bed and said in a playful and teasing voice, "Lie down there and don't move your hands."

At those words, Emperor Jinling abruptly stood up and lay on his back in the bed, looking curiously at her and eagerly waiting for what she would do to him.

"Lie on your stomach." Mai said, walking over to him.

Emperor Jinling raised his eyebrows and asked, "What do you intend to do to me? I said arouse."

Mai showed him her hands and bit her lip playfully.

"I have magical hands. Can I touch you all over?"

He nodded several times like an excited child, rolled over, and lay on his arms.

Mai climbed onto the bed, sat on him, began massaging his shoulders, and channeled her energy into her fingertips as she pressed all over.

"Mmm. You're good at this. Who taught you?"

"My master taught me." She replied, feeling both happy and sad at the thought of her master.

When she reached his buttocks, she asked, "Have you ever tried buttock massage before?"

"No, never." he replied immediately.

"Would you like to try it? Not everyone likes it, and it's always ticklish the first time." Mai said, stretching out her fingers and warming them up.

He made a humming sound, indicating she could continue with her massage.

When Mai finished, she gently patted Emperor Jinling on the left buttock and began to move slowly out of bed, but suddenly he grabbed her right hand and pulled her down to him. Their heads bumped into each other, and he pulled her closer to him. He turned, lay on top of her, and looked deeply into her eyes.

"Your Highness, what are you doing?" Mai asked, confused.

She could smell his jasmine scent. It was pleasant, and she felt her heart beat faster. Her cheeks grew warm, and she suddenly felt awkward.

Emperor Jinling held her hands down and replied in a playful voice, "You smell good. Do you know that? It's dangerous to smell like that."

Mai didn't understand what he was implying. Is it my sweat? She suddenly felt embarrassed and felt her cheeks burning up.

She studied his beautiful flawless face and asked, "Are you into men?"

Emperor Jinling's eyes scanned her body, and a confident smile spread across his lips.

"No. The only man I like is you."

His words were cryptic, which confused Mai even more. Hadn't he somewhat contradicted himself and admitted something in one sentence? She was a woman, so if he was into men, did she have to prove she was a woman to get away? 

She furrowed her brows and said, "This is inappropriate. You have consorts lying horny and waiting for you, ready to bear your children, so why would you settle for a random lowly soldier?"

Emperor Jinling smiled and shifted to the side. He leaned against a pillow, looked at her, and furrowed his brows.

Mai sat up and looked at him. He looks pitiful!

She sensed he was holding something in and said, "Is there something you want to talk about? I'm a good listener."

"My grandmother was strict. She used to take me out to a field of lilies. I hated it, but when she passed away, I missed her every day. She was cold and always spoke the truth. Everyone is fake when they speak to me. It's sickening." Emperor Jinling said.

Mai felt sorry for him and felt a knot in her heart. It must not be easy to be emperor in these times. With those eyes, he looked like a stray dog, and she loved dogs. She was reminded of Kenta, her shiba inu from her past life. She suddenly missed him terribly and felt pain in her heart again.

She stretched her arms out to the sides and smiled kindly at him. "Come. You seem lonely."

Emperor Jinling raised his eyebrows and leaned towards her. He buried his face between her breasts and hugged her. He sniffed her, broke into a smile, and closed his eyes.

Mai hugged him and said in a soft voice, "Being strict was your grandmother's way of showing you love. Deep down, she loved you dearly. She was probably the type who found it hard to express herself emotionally. Everyone wears a facade because of all the expectations placed on us. Even when we're with our closest ones, we still can't fully be ourselves. Everyone hides something, and those who say they have nothing to hide are lying. It's a rotten world we live in, but it's also not built on honesty."

She suddenly felt like she was giving Emperor Jinling a lesson, but in truth, she was talking about herself.

"Mmm. You're right. It's not easy to rule when I don't really have much to say. All they're interested in is my bloodline, and they couldn't care less about the rest." Emperor Jinling said, sniffing her neck.

It tickled, and Mai burst into giggles as he rubbed his nose against her.

"You smell like my grandmother." he mumbled and bit his lip.

What the heck? Who in the world wants to smell like grandma? Mai suddenly felt awkward and didn't know how to respond.

"I am honored to smell like your grandmother, but I can't possibly compare to her."

"Mmm. I feel comfortable in your company. I could get used to this." Emperor Jinling said, hugging her tightly, which surprised her.

"I can listen to your problems in the future if you need someone, Your Highness." she said, hoping he would let go at her words.

He looked up at her with a surprised expression and asked, "Really? Would you do that?"

Mai was suddenly reminded of her words and stopped herself. Damn it! Why am I so good at digging my own grave!

Suddenly, Emperor Jinling leaned forward and kissed her neck, sending electricity through her. She was surprised, and before she could say anything, she felt him grab the knot at her belt.

"What do you look like without clothes?" he mumbled and slowly loosened the belt.

Mai's alarm bells rang, and she panicked.

"Your Highness, stop!" she said in a low voice, holding his hands to stop him.

He continued and pulled the belt aside, and as he was about to open her robe, she quickly had to think fast. She put her hands on his cheeks, lifted his head, kissed him on the lips, stuck her tongue in, and gave him a long hot kiss. When she felt him relax his body, she took the chance and hurried out of bed. She quickly grabbed her belt, tied it on quickly, adjusted her clothes and hair, and looked at Emperor Jinling, who still sat with a confused expression. It looked like he had a brain fart. He stared into space with wide eyes.

"You have consort ladies and palace maids who would do anything to get into bed with you. Don't settle for someone like me, Your Highness. I'm not worth it. Have a good day."

She bowed deeply to him and hurried out where the same eunuch from earlier was still standing. He stood to the right of the door, staring at her with a curious look. He looked at her up and down, nodded, and broke into a gleeful smile.

Mai shivered down her spine and forced a tight smile and bowed deeply to him. She hurried home while her heart raced.

Thoughts swirled around, and she didn't know if her method had worked.

Emperor Jinling licked his lips, broke into a big smile, sniffed his hands, and licked them.

"Now I can start the next step."

Mai crossed the large courtyard while biting her lip. She was nervous, irritated, and confused.

"How could I be so stupid? He gets me every time."

She sighed deeply and suddenly saw Emperor Jinling's beautiful face in her mind with a cunning smile on his lips.

"I thought I was the clever one fooling the less clever. He's not an emperor for nothing."

In the same area, Lin and two subordinates were on their way to the Investigation Bureau when suddenly one of the men stopped and spotted Mai.

"Grand Inspector, isn't that Junior Luo Tian over there?" He nodded towards Mai, who was walking with quicker steps while muttering and adjusting her clothes several times.

"He looks frustrated. His face is as red as a tomato." commented one of them, also looking at Mai.

Lin spotted her, and when his gaze fell on her neck, he noticed her collar was slightly askew. His eyebrows twitched, and he clenched his right fist.

When the men saw his reaction, one of them asked, "He had tea with the emperor. Did the emperor scold Junior Luo Tian?"