Seduce the Emperor to Surrender - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

My father gave me a few things,

then had me accompany Yan Zhao to the capital.

Because of what he had experienced as a child, Yan Zhao had almost no sense of security.

He treated me as his only support.

Every night, he had to fall asleep in my arms.

At first, once he was asleep, I would leave.

But before long, Yan Zhao would wake from a nightmare and curl up in the corner, crying.

When the palace servants attending him called me over,

I found him huddled there in a tiny ball,

his voice hoarse from sobbing.

After it happened several times,

I simply began sleeping in his bedchamber.

Though we slept on separate couches,

he would still climb into my arms every night, light-footed and careful.

“Teacher, Zhao’er is scared.”

When he choked out those words,

I could only gather my arms around him with a sigh. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

“Today, the Yanbei Commander-in-Chief came crying poverty to me. He said Yanbei was about to run out of food, and that he’d already taken out all his family fortune to help the people. But I clearly heard others say he was the one squeezing the commoners dry, and that he lives better than anyone knows…”

“Teacher, why do people say one thing and do another?”

He frowned in confusion.

I explained patiently, “The human heart is complicated. Words can be disguised, but actions often reveal a person’s true nature.”

Yan Zhao nodded, half understanding.

“What about you, Teacher? Would you lie to me too?”

I paused for a moment, then smiled. “I won’t lie to you.”

His eyes curved with his smile. “Teacher, I won’t lie to you either.”

Chapter 7

Yan Zhao had always been extremely gentle by nature.

I was forever worried he would be bullied.

Only once did he truly lose his temper.

My colleagues had just invited me out for drinks.

When I heard about it, I could not care about anything else and hurried to find him.

Whenever he felt wronged, he liked to curl up in a corner.

Like a big dog that had been abandoned.

I asked, “What happened?”

He said in a muffled voice, “Teacher, do you not want me anymore?”

“Why would you say that?”

“I heard someone say they wanted to arrange a match for you.”

“That you were going to marry someone else.”

His voice hitched, and he truly looked as aggrieved as could be.

I crouched down in front of him and smiled. “I didn’t agree.”

My only goal was to assist Yan Zhao in becoming a wise ruler for the ages.

As for marriage, there would be no harm in considering it later.

Hearing this, Yan Zhao lifted his head. “Really?”

“Of course.”

In an instant, his face lit up with joy.

Chapter 8

When Yan Zhao realized he had ruined my drinking party,

he brought out his treasured fine wine as an apology.

He kept urging me to drink.

Completely unguarded, I got drunk and collapsed into his arms.

“Teacher.”

The seventeen-year-old youth was tall and straight,

his arms strong and solid.

He was no longer the child who needed me to coax him to sleep.

He held me and gently laid me on the couch.

Then something soft and warm pressed against my lips.

My drunken eyes were hazy.

I could not quite tell what had happened.

All I knew was that his gaze

was like a pool of spring water.

He whispered by my ear,

“Yun Chaojiang.”

“When will you finally notice?”

“Notice what?”

I answered without thinking.

My palm came to rest against his firm chest.

His heart was pounding violently.

“My feelings…”