CHAPTER 125: CHAPTER 125 - YU XIANG BIT THE HOOK

While Zhao Tianlong was purchasing the gift he meant for Chen, Yu Xiang barely seemed to care about the pathetic apology of Zhao Chen.

Her attention was fixed on the Emperor’s face as he, after looking towards his table, finally looked back at the woman in the doorway.

Once again, that expression returned. Soft. Warm. Loving.

The sharp edges of his authority melted away like ice in summer, replaced by something so tender it made Yu Xiang’s chest ache with an emotion she couldn’t name.

’Why are you making that face again?’ she thought desperately. ’That weak, pathetic expression... are you kidding me?’

It felt like some joke.

How could this man—shrewd enough to orchestrate Chen’s humiliation, calculating enough to see through her own manipulations, powerful enough to remake the political landscape of the entire continent—how could he simultaneously act like some lovesick fool?

The contradiction was maddening.

One moment he was the terrifying Emperor who could erase sects with a thought, and the next he was... this. Vulnerable. Human.

Completely at the mercy of whichever woman happened to walk through his door.

’How many of them are there?’ Yu Xiang wondered, her strategic mind reeling from the implications. ’How many women can make him look like that?’

She’d been so certain of her understanding. She’d thought his weakness was singular—one beloved wife who held his heart.

But now...

"Not at all, Mei," the Emperor said gently to the woman, his voice carrying none of the deadly authority it had held moments before. "You’re not disturbing anything important."

’Not disturbing anything important.’ The casual dismissal of her presence, of Chen’s presence, stung more than Yu Xiang wanted to admit.

She watched as the newcomer—Mei, based on how naturally the title ’husband’ had fallen from her lips—smiled with genuine affection and stepped fully into the room.

The way she moved spoke of complete comfort in the Emperor’s presence, no fear of his power, no calculation in her approach.

This wasn’t political. This wasn’t strategic.

This was real.

And apparently, it wasn’t unique.

Yu Xiang felt her carefully constructed plans crumbling around her like a house built on sand.

If the Emperor had multiple wives, multiple women who could influence him, multiple sources of that inexplicable weakness...

How was she supposed to manipulate a man who was simultaneously the most dangerous being in the realm and completely helpless in the face of womanly affection?

If Yu Xiang had to compare herself, initially she had thought, maybe due to her being much younger, she had a chance. Because that woman earlier was voluptuous and mature-bodied.

So, like wanting a different taste, the Emperor might want someone petite and such.

But now looking towards the other woman, who was screaming of that maidenly innocence and wifelyhood that completely contradicted the woman she had seen at that time—

’What kind of monster are you?’ she thought, staring at the Emperor with growing fascination and terror. ’How can you be so calculating and so naive at the same time?’

Yu Xiang was confused; she had never met a man like him.

Beside her, Chen was still staring at the floor, sweat continuing to bead on his forehead from the earlier threat.

But Yu Xiang could see the way his hands clenched into fists, the slight tremor in his shoulders.

’You stupid fool.’ She felt how idiotic Zhao Chen could really be.

’All men are the same—’ She wanted to say what she normally did every time she saw a man lusting over the body of a woman.

But she halted the moment her eyes looked towards the Emperor. Stretching his hand, offering it as that woman placed hers on his.

Her lips parted before pursing together as she realized. ’Maybe not all.’

And right at that moment, her perception that a strong man always collects women as trophies, never shows his weakness to them, trying to dominate in the relationship—

While the kind and gentle one becomes fooled by the same woman—instantly shattered.

She thought either a man could be crude to his woman or be gentle.

And both had the disadvantage of the crude one becoming hated by the woman and the gentle one being used by them.

But he was different.

A man can be strong and vulnerable to his women at the same time.

’How can I use you... you pathetic man.’ She could only bite down on her lips, eyes softening without her knowing why she was feeling irritated for not being able to see any loophole in him.

He literally had everything: beauty, power, gentleness that was exclusive to his wives.

"What are you all doing here? Leave."

The dismissal was so casual, Yu Xiang felt her breath catch in her throat as those golden eyes swept over their group without even a flicker of interest.

Zhao Chen’s face flushed red with humiliation and rage, his bronze eyes blazing with the kind of fury that came from wounded pride.

His hands clenched into fists at his sides, the artifact at his waist pulsing faintly as his emotions threatened to overwhelm the calming enchantment.

Chen’s jaw worked soundlessly for a moment, caught between his fury and the very real memory of that sword at his throat.

"Bastar...." Finally, with a strangled sound of frustration, he spun on his heel and stalked toward the door.

Yu Xiang watched him go with a mixture of contempt and calculation. ’Fool. Even now, he doesn’t understand the profit he can get.’

Yu Xiang moved more slowly, her violet eyes drinking in every detail of the scene before her. The way Mei’s face lit up when Tianlong’s fingers intertwined with hers.

The complete transformation in the Emperor’s expression—from authority to tender devotion in the space of a heartbeat.

She was halfway to the door when Tianlong’s voice made her pause.

"Wait."

[System Purchase: Bottleneck Loosening Pill - Cost: 500 Harem Points]

[Effect: Temporarily removes cultivation barriers, allowing breakthrough to next major realm]

[Duration: 7 days maximum effectiveness]

[Warning: Single use only - subsequent pills have diminished effect]

"Catch."

Yu Xiang’s reflexes kicked in before her mind could process what was happening. Her hand shot up, fingers closing around something small and warm that pulsed with concentrated spiritual energy.

She looked down at her palm and felt her world tilt.

’!’

A pill. Not just any pill—it was a bottleneck loosening pill.

Her violet eyes flew to his face, wide with shock and confusion. "Your Majesty, I... I don’t understand. Why would you—?"

"It will help you," he said simply, his voice carrying that same casual authority he’d used to dismiss them. "I can’t just abandon you, can I?"

Yu Xiang could only blink, staring at the pill in her hand, then back at him. His words didn’t match his expression. Normally, when men said that word, they had gentle expressions towards her, which was completely different from the pattern she had found in them. But he...

But before she could speak, he moved.

Tianlong just wanted to sow a seed in her heart, and he did by letting his tender side come over, to let her see what she was missing. But now he should show her his other side too.

He reached out and yanked Mei into his lap, his arms encircling her curvy form as she let out a soft gasp of surprise and delight.

"Husband, anh~!" Mei, who was feeling suspicious about that woman, found herself caught off guard, falling with her hands immediately coming up to rest against his chest, her body melting into his embrace as her eyes widened. She felt a hard bulge pressing on her ass as if it could tear her robe beneath.

But before she could process his perverted side, a gentle one landed like a thrust.

"I missed you, wife," he murmured, burying his face against the nape of her neck, giving a suck on her soft skin but his eyes, without being obvious, noticing Yu Xiang’s body language.

She was riled up.

And to enhance—

She stood frozen in the doorway, pill clutched in her trembling hand. ’Wait, he has lust too?’

Yu Xiang was shocked beyond her mind. She thought he was gentle and like a loyal dog towards his wife, but he could act like most men too?

"Mhm~" Mei’s soft moans, the way her fingers tangled in his hair, the complete trust and affection radiating from both of them... it was as if Yu Xiang was just a stone in their session.

’Don’t be a fool,’ she told herself fiercely, forcing her feet to carry her toward the exit. ’Didn’t you get the pill you need? Power, remember that. You need to reach the upper realm.’

But her hand clenched around the precious pill, and she couldn’t shake the strange hollow feeling in her chest as she turned to leave. She didn’t know why, but even receiving such a treasure didn’t seem to satisfy her.

It was something else entirely. Something that made her want to look back, only for her to press her lips as Tianlong, using his Qi manipulation, closed the door on her face.

’I need power,’ she repeated to herself like a mantra as she stepped into the corridor beyond. ’That’s all that matters. Power to ascend, power to control my own destiny, power to never be at anyone’s mercy again... even that man is my stepping stone.’

The pill pulsed warmly in her palm, a promise of advancement she’d never dared dream of.

So why did she feel so unsatisfied?

’Let’s cultivate first.’ She moved out.

"Aahnn~! Don’t press my breast~! Mhhn~ it hurts—!"

And as if the last nail in the coffin, something just snapped after hearing that voice echoing out of the walls of the room.

Yu Xiang clenched her jaws before she jumped, swiftly turning into a light streak as she left the palace.

While noticing something inside of her, she rejected it as if telling herself something that was a realization.

’No, it’s impossible!’