Physician, Not A Consort

The empress stayed in the main hall, her mind filled with a whirlwind of thoughts. The gentle and graceful man rarely occupied her mind over the past few years, but ever since she met Lin Haihai, she’d been seeing his adoring eyes quietly staring at her in her dreams. It’d been years since she last received news about him. She might never get to see him again in her lifetime!

Back in the emperor’s bedchamber, Yang Shaolun gently stroked the dried blood on Lin Haihai’s neck with a finger. She had torn away the gauze once the bleeding stopped, revealing the red angry cut. Trembling, he stared at her with obvious pain in his eyes, his voice almost careful when he asked, “Does it hurt?”

Lin Haihai shook her head, her hands finding their way to his handsome sculpted face and gliding through his thick and ink-black eyebrows. The man was as passionate as fire and as gentle as water. He pulled at her heartstring like the most beautiful poem, and was the perfect man she had envisioned for herself in her past life. Alas, they had met at the wrong time, and they were forced to part ways. Their paths would never cross again!

“Why did you tell me you like spicy food if you can’t have any?” Lin Haihai’s lilting voice reprimanded shyly. She poked him on the forehead with leering eyes, portraying the image of a volatile tigress. Yang Shaolun smiled faintly and placed her delicate hand on his own waist before putting his arms around her, pulling her into a heated and irresistible kiss.

Lin Haihai’s mind blanked. She responded just as passionately, her hands clutching his back and her body leaning close into his, leaving no room between them. His kisses left a burning trail down her fair and delicate neck, and his dark eyes were just as heated. Hot wet breaths scattered on her skin as he tightened his arms around her. Their bodies pressed together with their pounding hearts trapped between them. Their hearts raced so fast that it felt as if they would jump out of their chests.

Yang Shaolun untied her waistband and gingerly pulled her shirt down from her shoulders, raining kisses all over her body and cupping her soft, supple breasts. Lin Haihai closed her eyes and let him suck red marks into her skin. The sounds were almost offensively clear and loud, driving her to a frenzy of want and desires.

She looked up at him with mist in her sparkling eyes. Yang Shaolun put her on his bed before climbing on top of her, his gaze dark with concealed desires. There was nothing he wanted more than to take this woman. He’d thrown all reservations out of the window after almost losing her. He wanted to have her, have her for real.

He took off his dragon robe and said in a voice hoarse with repressed feelings, “May I?”

Lin Haihai looked at him with bright eyes, her lips curled into an alluring smile. She took his hand and placed it on her chest. She had had sex in the modern time. Although she wasn’t exactly experienced, she knew what would happen next. The empress was keeping watch outside, and no one could enter. She wanted to give her first experience in ancient times to the man she loved. What would happen in the future wasn’t her concern at this moment.

Eyes dark, Yang Shaolun leaned in to kiss her. He tried to yank her bodice free, but it refused to surrender to his force. He stared at the red piece of clothing in confusion. He’d seen this back in the cavern. Was it not a bodice?

Noting his moment of distraction, Lin Haihai realized belatedly that she was wearing a modern undergarment today. She hurriedly unhooked her bra, and her shapely breasts pressed into him. He growled before lowering his mouth to her revealed skin. His kisses left Lin Haihai a mess of desires. She clutched at his shoulders as unfamiliar pleasure tore through her like lightning, and a weak moan escaped her lips.

Yang Shaolun tore away the rest of their clothes before pressing their naked bodies together, his breathing heavy and quickened. He lost his self-control and dropped kisses all over her beautiful body, and Lin Haihai arched up to press into his burning skin, moaning, her eyelashes fluttering.

He looked up from a kiss and met her eyes. In a hoarse and suggestive voice, he said, “I want you!”

Trembling with pleasure, Lin Haihai opened her desire-filled eyes to meet his heated gaze. There wasn’t much she could give him. She wanted to seize this moment they shared.

He captured her lips and swallowed her moans, while Lin Haihai held onto him to brace for the moment of his entrance. This body was still a virgin, and she remembered how much it had hurt like it had been yesterday.

Yang Shaolun propped himself up and drove himself into her, entering her with a low growl. Her warmth enveloped him snuggly, almost painfully. He moaned and put more force into his movement. Then he noticed that something was torn open.

Pain shot through Lin Haihai like lightning. She bit her lips to smother her cries. Yang Shaolun was stunned. She’s still a virgin? Hasn’t she shared a bed with Imperial Brother? Lin Haihai opened her eyes to reveal her tears. Yang Shaolun stared at her in shock. Beaded sweat covered her flushed red face. Her hair stuck to her damp forehead, and she had bitten into her bottom lip. This woman. She was his woman. The woman he loved the most in his life. It was the first time he ever felt like he actually had her, and his heart clenched painfully all of a sudden.

Lin Haihai tipped her head up and said in a voice as cool as water, “It hurts, be gentle!”

Assaulted by a whirlwind of emotions and love, he hurriedly leaned down to kiss her on her reddened lips.

Under the low-hanging canopy, he grabbed a silk blanket to cover their entangled bodies. Outside, the sun was bright and the breeze was gentle. Inside, the brilliance of spring had flooded through the room!

Yang Shaolun held Lin Haihai tight. Her body was still flushed from their love-making, and she looked alluring enough to eat. She caressed the scars on his body with sympathetic pain in her eyes. He caught her hand and pulled it to his lip for a gentle kiss.

“I have to go. The empress is waiting for me outside!” But she didn’t get up.

Yang Shaolun felt a pang in his heart, his arms tightening around her. His voice was rough as he asked, “What’s going on with you and Imperial Brother?”

“As you can see, we didn’t consummate our marriage!”

“Why?”

“Because the man who has lodged himself into my heart isn’t him!”

She sat up, and her black hair ran down to cover her breasts. Her fair skin was still covered in marks he had left on her with kisses. Some were fainter than the others. Some were red. Some had turned a light violet. She picked up her clothes and put them on, but he rose and grabbed them from her. “Don’t leave!”

Lin Haihai turned to him and asked, “How can I not?”

Again, he had lost his calm. Lin Haihai sighed inwardly. They had to be very rational in order to maintain their relationship.

“Since you haven’t consummated your marriage, you are not yet his wife. You’re mine. I’m not going to let you go!” His declaration and his stubborn tone left no room for discussion.

“If that’s the case, I’ll consummate my marriage with him tonight!” Lin Haihai retorted coolly. The empress’s warning still echoed in her mind. They had made a mistake. If they didn’t turn back now, things would only get worse. Imagining the brothers becoming bitter enemies, her heart turned icy in fear.

“You mustn’t!” Yang Shaolun grabbed her by her wrist and forced her to look at him. Lin Haihai turned away, averting her gaze. She couldn’t look at him. If she did, she wouldn’t be able to contain her tears.

“You will not return to him. I won’t let you go. I’ll go to Imperial Brother now and tell him the one you love is me. I’ll have him divorce you!” Yang Shaolun growled in fury. He didn’t want to think about reality, and didn’t want to worry about anything but this woman. Lin Haihai was his. He would not let her go.

“Hand me back my clothes!” She took a deep breath and turned to him. He shook his head, his handsome face wrought with pain.

“Have you forgotten about what we’ve said in the cavern?” LIn Haihai hardened her heart with self-hatred. “If you continue like this, you’ll never see me again!”

Her cold expression tore Yang Shaolun’s heart to pieces. He knew she meant it. She would leave his life forever. His eyes darkened with storms of emotions as they landed on her. “Do you mean I should let you throw yourself into another man’s arms and do what we’ve just done? Do you want me to coldly call you my sister-in-law when I see you in the future? If nothing has happened, I may be able to convince myself to let go, but now, do you really think I’ll be able to give up on my woman and let another man have you?”

His voice trembled like fallen leaves swept by the wind. Lin Haihai thought about how the brothers might turn against each other, and about the hundred thousand soldiers under Yang Hanlun’s command. Not to mention, the overbearing Prince Pingnan. Once the passion receded, all that was left in her rational mind was regret.

“Isn’t that what we’ve agreed upon? I’m his wife whether I’ve consummated my marriage with him or not, and you’re the elder brother he looked up to the most. Are you going to tell him that you’ve fallen in love with his wife? Are you going to say, ‘We’re already together!’ and have him surrender me to you? Is that what you’re going to say? Do you think he’ll accept it?”

“He will! You don’t love him, and we’ve made ourselves husband and wife with action. He has to accept our relationship, doesn’t he?” His heart pounded painfully. He didn’t want to hurt his brother, but he couldn’t live without her.

Lin Haihai stubbornly held her tears in and took her clothes from him. She leapt off the bed before quickly getting dressed. He was unable to listen to reasons at this moment. She would have to wait until he calmed down.

Watching her running away from him as quickly as she could and leaving without sparing even a glance at him, Yang Shaolun balled his hands up into fists, all rationality burned away by sorrow and fury. He got to his feet and quickly put his clothes on as well before running after her.

The empress could see plainly what had happened when she saw the unkempt state Lin Haihai was in. She wasn’t surprised at all. In fact, she had foreseen what would happen. Nevertheless, there was no joy on Lin Haihai’s voice. The sorrow in her expression was so thick she could almost cut it.

The empress went up to her to help make her presentable, while Lin Haihai stood rooted to the spot, her heart spasming with a dull pain. She had run away, unable to lay her eyes on him again.

The empress sighed and led her slowly to the door, but Yang Shaolun had caught up with them. He yelled before she could leave the palace, “Don’t go!”

Lin Haihai shuddered, but she didn’t stop walking. Yang Shaolun went up to her and grabbed her, pulling her into his arms. Tears fell from his eyes as he buried his face into her hair, begging, “Don’t go, don’t leave me!”

Lin Haihai felt as if her heart had been shattered to pieces. She could no longer contain her sorrow, and her tears fell as well.

The empress covered her mouth, eyes brimming with tears as she watched everything unfold. The emperor had been through hell and back. Never had he even let out a pained grunt with blades cutting into his body. However, he was now crying for the woman he loved.

Lin Haihai’s heart softened. This was the man she loved. It hurt her seeing him in pain. She reached out to hold onto him, but just when she was about to relax all her guard, Baizi’s lazy voice said in her mind, “I just heard that Prince Pingnan has approached the Sixth Prince for the hundred thousand soldiers under his command!”

Baizi disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared, and his words dropped a bombshell in Lin Haihai’s heart. She had no other choices. She really didn’t!

She struggled out of Yang Shaolun’s arms and looked at him with sorrowful eyes. “What if I stay? What will happen then?”

Yang Shaolun met her gaze and took her hand. The jade ring glowed faintly of an antique light. His eyes were bright with faint traces of tears, and his sculpted features hardened. “This ring is now on you. The forefather told me to give this ring to my future bride, and you are my bride! What do you think should happen, hm?” His voice was forceful, and his gaze crazed with love.

“Then I’ll return it to you!” Lin Haihai did her best to take the ring off, but the more she tried, the tighter it became. No matter what she did, it refused to budge. She looked around to find an inkstone, and in a fit of anger, she grabbed it and smashed the ring with it. Once, twice, thrice. The ring didn’t shatter, but her hand was left a bloody mess. Shocked, the empress rushed to her to take the inkstone from her. She slapped Lin Haihai on the face and snapped, “Why are you being such a fool?”

Yang Shaolun stared at the blood on her hand in disbelief, the sight almost offensive to his eyes. The pain in his heart grew numb. He wanted to walk up to her, but his feet were as heavy as lead. It felt as if the blood had come from his heart, drip by drip. Was this her way of warning him? But she had told him that she wanted him. That she was willing.

That’s right. She’s willing to give herself to me once in exchange for me staying away from her in the future. She was so rational, so calm. She cared about everyone, but not him. But she said she loved me! How shallow must her love be?

Yang Shaolun pressed his palm into his chest, where numbness had been replaced by pain so sharp it threatened to tear his heart to pieces. He didn’t give her another glance, or he wasn’t sure what he would be capable of. Slowly, step by step, he made his way back to his bedchamber. His very being radiated loneliness, and the empress had to struggle to hold in her tears.

Lin Haihai collapsed to the floor and bawled like a child. The empress held her tightly, her heart breaking in sympathy, but she didn’t know what she could say.