Chapter 11: In a conscious state.
Xu Changle wondered if he had misjudged. Could the drug’s effect still not have worn off?
If so, then everything he had done earlier was like throwing flirtatious glances at a blind person!
Damn it. Xu Changle temporarily took back his previous comment that Xiao Tan’s strong medicine was useless. Just judging by its duration, it really was potent!
Xu Changle let out a heavy sigh.
“Don’t be impatient, Empress. Even if you will hate me even more after you regain clarity, I still cannot bear to see you in pain.”
“No matter how long it takes, and no matter whether you will hate me for it, I will help you.”
Xu Changle gently stroked the top of Xiao Linyue’s hair with his left hand to soothe her. After a soft sigh, he once again took on the responsibility of a teacher and guided Xiao Linyue to save herself.
He did not know how much time had passed. Xu Changle was already tired from being a teacher, but Xiao Linyue remained full of energy and enthusiasm.
The moment Xu Changle rested for a while, she would start rubbing against him urgently in his arms, urging him on.
…This really isn’t right, is it?
Xiao Tan, just what kind of medicine did you feed her!
No, this could not continue.
Even though repeatedly letting Xiao Linyue save herself could not completely eliminate the drug’s effect, it should have weakened it somewhat.
The proof was that during each break, the time she paused grew longer and her urging became gentler.
He did not know how much time had passed. Xu Changle was so exhausted that he could barely lift his hands, and his whole body was drenched. Yet Xiao Linyue was still “full of enthusiasm.”
The moment Xu Changle rested for a while, she would start rubbing against him urgently in his arms, urging him on.
…This really isn’t right, is it?
Xiao Tan, just what kind of medicine did you feed her!
If he had not used his substitution plan, would he have been sucked dry into a corpse by now?
No, this could not continue.
Even though repeatedly letting Xiao Linyue save herself could not completely eliminate the drug’s effect, it should have weakened it somewhat.
The proof was that during each break, the time she paused grew longer and her urging became gentler.
Perhaps she actually had a bit of consciousness now, just not much.
That little bit of consciousness could only let her vaguely feel that her current state was not good, but it was not enough to suppress her instincts.
In that case, as long as he could awaken more of her consciousness — enough to suppress Xiao Tan’s drug — he could be freed. At the same time, he could狠狠 give Xiao Tan some trouble.
Although doing so carried some risk, and letting Xiao Linyue witness her own wretched state while conscious might increase her hatred toward him.
But the hatred value on Xiao Tan would only be much higher than on him, this insignificant little character!
If that was the case, what did he have to fear?
Then, what should he use as the breakthrough point? Something natural, without any sense of dissonance, yet able to immediately stimulate Xiao Linyue and restore her sanity to take the lead?
A name surfaced in Xu Changle’s mind.
—Noble Consort Shu, Ji Ruxue.
Just as he did not understand Xiao Linyue well, Xu Changle actually knew almost nothing about this noble consort of his either.
In the more than a year since he transmigrated, he had spent most of his time supposedly recuperating, but in reality he had been confined by Xiao Tan.
His surroundings were filled with Xiao Tan’s eyes and ears. They worked together to block Xu Changle’s eyes and ears, making him no different from a blind and deaf person.
If not for the fact that he was a man and they naturally looked down on him, combined with his terrifying appearance stat of 10 that silently won him the favor of the surrounding servants, allowing him to indirectly obtain some barely useful information, his situation would have been even worse.
At least now Xu Changle knew the names of the high-ranking concubines in his harem, their basic appearance features, and the families they came from.
If Empress Xiao Linyue represented Xiao Tan and the interests of the Xiao clan, then Ji Ruxue undoubtedly represented the will of the Ji clan.
But unlike Xiao Linyue, who was the most favored female sovereign of the Xiao clan, Ji Ruxue was merely a lowly concubine-born daughter. Although she had some reputation in noble circles for being good at socializing, it could not change the fact that her birth was humble.
Xiao Linyue had once angrily called Ji Ruxue “a frivolous woman with an eye-catching figure” when provoked by Xu Changle.
Xiao Linyue looked down on Ji Ruxue — on her sociable and flirtatious personality, and even more on her overly eye-catching voluptuous figure.
The mainstream aesthetic in this female-dominated world was the slender, light, and unobtrusive figure like Xiao Linyue’s. Slenderness was generally considered beautiful. Because they did not need to breastfeed offspring, it had even evolved into a trend of “the more delicate, the more elegant,” with a faint emerging preference for flat chests.
An overly voluptuous figure was almost synonymous with vulgarity in noble circles. The fuller one was, the more one was seen as “lacking elegance.”
Not only was it inelegant, it was also viewed as “lacking dignity.”
Because an overly voluptuous figure would make them think of vulgar reproduction and nursing. In this world where women were supreme, any woman with even a little status disdained to nurse personally and would use various supernatural abilities to ensure her own comfort, shifting all the trouble and discomfort onto others or other things.
And Ji Ruxue was publicly recognized in noble circles as someone “overly voluptuous.” In the circle of noble ladies who valued elegance and slenderness, this was already considered “improper,” and some even viewed it as “vulgar.”
Moreover, Ji Ruxue was at least an F!
In the circle of noble ladies, this was already ugly enough to offend both gods and mortals — practically a disability.
Xu Changle held a reserved opinion on this point.
No one in this female-dominated world knew his true preferences, and he did not care.
But the Ji clan’s aesthetic was clearly very much in line with female supremacy. If so, why would they send such a publicly acknowledged “ugly woman” into the harem to become the noble consort second only to Xiao Linyue?
With the information and political literacy Xu Changle possessed, he could not analyze much useful information.
He only knew one thing: the Xiao clan and the Ji clan were definitely not on good terms!
These two families most likely had conflicts of interest. The current layout of his harem was probably the result of a compromise after various parties had fought.
The one who ultimately became the head of the harem was Xiao Linyue, and the one forcing him to reproduce offspring first was also the Xiao family. It was not hard to see that in this game, the Ji clan was the weaker side.
But being able to send in Ji Ruxue as noble consort meant that although they were weaker, it was not a complete one-sided weakness.
Xu Changle only saw four big words: There is an opportunity to exploit.
Xu Changle had not responded for a long time, and Xiao Linyue in his arms grew increasingly anxious.
The drug’s effect on her had flared up again, and she urgently needed relief.
She was no longer satisfied with just rubbing her head against him.
Xu Changle let her do as she pleased, but his mouth cried out in pain.
“Hiss… Empress, you’re hurting me.” He pretended to accidentally speak his true thoughts because of the pain. “My chest feels so sore. Is it really because the Empress is too thin? If it were Noble Consort Shu, the feeling would probably be much softer. With Noble Consort Shu, maybe it wouldn’t hurt at all…”
“…!?”
Noble… Consort Shu?
Ji, Ji Ruxue!?
He actually said she was inferior to Ji Ruxue!
The keyword triggered. Xiao Linyue, who was biting Xu Changle’s neck, fell into a dazed state.
All kinds of chaotic images and emotions ran wild in her mind. A nameless rage suddenly surged from her chest.
“Don’t… compare me with that woman!”
She spoke with great difficulty, as if her will and instincts were still fighting.
Xu Changle suddenly heard her voice and panicked.
“No, that’s not what I meant! I— Hiss! It hurts! You bumped me again, Empress…”
“You… said it again!”
He kept provoking her!
In an instant, Xiao Linyue’s will seized the high ground, and even the drug’s effect seemed to be temporarily suppressed.
In the darkness, the corners of Xu Changle’s mouth curved up slightly.
Success.
Xiao Linyue had woken up.
But after the awakened Xiao Linyue loudly announced her clarity, she suddenly fell silent again.
Her body was extremely tense. She remained pressed on top of Xu Changle, enduring with all her might.
She endured and endured.
Xiao Linyue suddenly grabbed Xu Changle’s wrist tightly, almost crushing his bones, and said through gritted teeth, “…The drug’s effect… has not been dispelled yet.”