Chapter 185: When Do You Think They Should Be Brought into the Manor?
Chapter 185: Chapter 185: When Do You Think They Should Be Brought into the Manor?
Xie Jinbai closed the door behind him, shrugged off his cloak, and strode to the desk.
He was tall and slender, with a commanding presence that made him difficult to ignore.
But Cui Lingyao was long accustomed to his presence, so she had no instinctual fear of him. She didn’t notice a thing until he was standing right in front of her.
Her gaze was lowered, her eyes fixed on the ledger.
Xie Jinbai stared at her for a long moment. When she paid him no mind, he finally reached out and knocked on the desk.
The long, broad knuckles of a man’s hand entered her vision. Cui Lingyao started, her focus snapping away from the accounts.
She looked up and met a pair of deep, quiet eyes.
She blinked in surprise. "You’re back so early today?"
They hadn’t seen each other at all in days.
The man was incredibly busy. Ever since that night he’d clung to her in a frenzy, he had been leaving early and returning late every single day.
He often wasn’t back by the time she fell asleep.
And by the time she woke up, his side of the bed was already empty.
If it weren’t for the lingering warmth and the occasional marks that appeared on her neck, Cui Lingyao might have thought he hadn’t come home at all.
Thankfully, he hadn’t repeated what he’d done that night—recklessly waking her to ravage her without restraint.
With so many days passed, her anger had long since faded. Seeing him back so early still felt a little strange to her, and she asked, "Have you had supper?"
Xie Jinbai hummed softly in acknowledgment. His gaze fell on the stack of ledgers, which was as tall as a person’s waist. "You have staff for a reason. Don’t take everything upon yourself."
"I know," Cui Lingyao replied, then added casually, "You go on and get busy. I just have a few more accounts to get through, then I’ll go rest."
The ledger in her hands only had a few pages left; she had to finish reconciling them.
Despite being dismissed, Xie Jinbai didn’t leave.
He stood there in silence, eyes downcast, his gaze falling upon her slender, pale wrist. Abruptly, he reached out, took the ink stick, and began to grind it slowly.
’For Prince Yu to personally tend to one’s ink... not even his own father, the Emperor, necessarily received such treatment.’
Cui Lingyao froze. She glanced up at him, but seeing his placid expression, she said nothing more and returned her focus to the accounts.
A long while passed in this manner. When the last page was finally reconciled, Cui Lingyao closed the ledger. The moment her slightly aching fingertips lifted from the abacus beads, her wrist was seized.
"All done?"
Gripping her wrist, Xie Jinbai leaned in, trapping her in the chair.
Their bodies overlapped. They were so close their breaths mingled.
His chest was before her, his arms were on either side, and the chair was at her back. With her wrist still in his grasp, Cui Lingyao had nowhere to go. She was completely enveloped by him, and it was getting hard to breathe.
She placed a hand on his chest and gave a slight push. "Move back a little. I need to put these things away."
"What are you so nervous for?" Xie Jinbai scoffed. "Am I going to eat you?"
"..." Cui Lingyao’s lips thinned as she looked up at him.
Their gazes met in midair.
Just one look.
Xie Jinbai’s body went taut.
’He wanted to kiss her.’
’But not yet.’
His eyes darkened, and his Adam’s apple bobbed sharply. He leaned in even closer. "Let’s have a talk."
His voice was low and husky, laced with a thread of unnerving seduction.
’Is he trying to seduce me on purpose?’ Cui Lingyao wondered.
She averted her gaze. "About what?"
The words had barely left her mouth when she heard him say, "I’ve already finalized the candidates for the concubines you requested. When do you think they should be brought into the residence?"
...
The air went deathly still.
Cui Lingyao’s expression went blank for a moment, as if she hadn’t heard correctly. "...What did you say?"
Xie Jinbai’s gaze remained fixed on her face, not missing the slightest shift in her expression.
At her question, he repeated himself patiently. "I’ve been very busy lately and have had no time to concern myself with such trivialities. The candidates for concubines have been selected. I’ll leave the matter of bringing them into the household for you to arrange."
He was, indeed, very busy.
He had left the capital to pursue his wife and win her back, all while severely injured.
He’d even deliberately exposed his location, using himself as bait to force a reckoning with his enemies at court.
Then there was everything that happened in Pingzhou, where he had slaughtered so many people.
In the aftermath, the Empress and several Princes were implicated in a case of treason and colluding with the enemy.
Although most of the evidence had been gathered, the powers behind them were extensive—the maternal clans of the various Princes, their wives’ families, and of course, the Empress...
These were not forces one could simply cut down the moment evidence was in hand.
To pull one thread would unravel everything; he had to proceed slowly.
Especially...
He had insisted that the last Hundred Diseases Pill was taken by Chen Minrou. The Emperor, however reluctant, couldn’t press the issue too aggressively. But he must have suspected that his own trusted son was withholding a priceless medicine, perhaps hoping he would die sooner and make way for him on the throne.
In any case, the matter of the Hundred Diseases Pill had inevitably created a rift between the Imperial father and son.
Now that he planned to move against the Empress and three Princes, his Imperial Father would likely be his greatest obstacle.
Even with conclusive evidence of their treason.
For days, he had been leaving early and returning late, so busy his feet barely touched the ground.
Cui Lingyao saw it all.
She could only see a small part of the whole picture.
Even confined to the inner residence, she could guess that the situation he faced was incredibly precarious.
Before, his enemies had been the Empress and several of the Princes.
Now, his own Imperial Father had perhaps been added to that list.
That was why he was so busy—too busy to arrange for concubines to join the household.
He needed to have his wife do it for him.
Cui Lingyao pieced her thoughts together, her mind still reeling. "How many? And from which families?"
Her head was still turned away.
The curve of her cheek was pale.
Xie Jinbai’s brow furrowed. He grabbed her chin and forced her head around to face him. "We’ll take six for now. They are all daughters from the families of several of my subordinate officials. What do you think of that?"
It was, after all, to be expected.
When courtiers chose a Prince to back in the war of succession, offering up the daughters of their house was a common way to demonstrate loyalty and curry favor.
If Xie Jinbai were any other master, he would have gladly welcomed them into his household long ago, granting them titles and bestowing favor based on the ability and loyalty of their fathers and brothers.
This would not only put his followers at ease but also solve his problem of being without an heir.
After all, only when bound by tangible interests would subordinates be willing to risk their lives for you.
Few would dare dream of their daughter becoming the future Empress right now.
But if one of their daughters were to give birth to a Prince, that would be another story entirely.
Unfortunately, the Xie Jinbai of the past had not been normal. A Prince raised in the heart of feudal tradition, holding immense power and a high station, had instead stubbornly clung to a single woman, suffering for it.
Fortunately, it now seemed he had come to his senses.
’Six...’
Cui Lingyao’s expression was stiff. She slowly nodded, her voice strained. "I have no objections."
As the words left her mouth, a sharp pain shot through her jaw.
Before she could react, Xie Jinbai had already released her and stood up straight.
"Li Yong has the list. I’ll have him bring it to you tomorrow."
His cold, deep voice still ringing in her ears, the man pushed open the door and walked out.
Leaving Cui Lingyao all alone.
The door was left open, and a cold wind slowly crept in.
It was startlingly cold.
Cui Lingyao sat frozen for a long time before slowly raising her hands to rub her face. Then, she picked up a new ledger and opened it.
The characters on the page were perfectly clear, but she stared as if faced with an unsolvable puzzle, her gaze fixed and unseeing...