BEE_sylver
Stories
4
Chapters
109
Words
187.0 K
Comments
0
Reading
15 h, 34 m
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Everything was fire.Everywhere burned ablaze in her eyes. The wind howled, carrying with it embers and the stench of blood. Smoke filled her lungs until she choked, until her throat tore with ragged screams. “Mother… Mother, where—” Her voice cracked. She stumbled forward, clutching at her chest, as though the pain inside could rip her open. She wailed, clawing the dirt with trembling hands. This earth, the earth that once bore witness to her laughter, her daily joys, her village filled…-
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The rolling of the carriage wheels on the rocky dusty road rose dust to the bright humid air, with the occasional blowing wind carrying the fragrance of marigolds swaying on the roadside. Aveline took a deep sigh as she recalled what transpired hours ago. "What do you mean, sir?" "Meaning I can hire you as maidservants, but I'll only take one with me to the capital." Aveline and Bridget both looked at each other. "Then please take Bridget—" "Sir can take Aveline—" Both spoke at the…
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A few days passed, and Aveline hadn't encountered the Grand Duke again, nor had she been asked to serve him directly. Her work kept her confined to cleaning rooms on the first and second floors—however the east wing, where the Grand Duke's chambers and study were located, remained under the care of a dedicated senior maid. It occurred to her later why the Grand Duke had known she was new despite having spent years at the borders: Romanof had briefly discussed household matters with him upon his…
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"Ave… Ave… Aveline!" "Huk." Aveline inhaled sharply and jolted from her stupor. Looking up, she found Clara staring at her with furrowed brows, worry etched across her face. They were having dinner in the servants' hall, seated at a long table that could accommodate ten on each side but now held only the two of them. The others had already retreated to their respective rooms, with a few stragglers scattered at other tables across the dimly lit space. "What's wrong with you? You've been…
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After that incident, whenever Aveline saw the Grand Duke—which was only occasionally, as he preferred to shut himself in the study—she would sneak furtive glances or stare intently for brief moments. However, that black mass she had seen that day never appeared again. 'Perhaps it really was just my imagination?' She tried to convince herself of this, though the memory of those blood-red eyes refused to fade entirely. Days passed, then became a month. Aveline had already familiarized…
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Aveline's first morning at the Estonia estate began before dawn. A sharp knock at the door jolted her from uneasy dreams—fleeting images of smoke and fire that dissolved the moment she opened her eyes. "Up, up!" Clara's voice was annoyingly cheerful for such an early hour. "It's half-past five. We've got thirty minutes to wash up and get to the servants' hall." Groaning, Aveline pushed herself up from the thin mattress. Her body ached from yesterday's long journey, and the unfamiliar bed hadn't…
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As they made their way back along the walls of the Cold Palace, just as Yongning Hall was coming into sight, Xie Yan suddenly pulled her back. "Let's walk for a while." Su Jiao was unwilling and lifted her foot to head back inside. Xie Yan grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her back. "Walk." He brooked no argument. The two of them walked along the dark path. Palace attendants hurried back and forth on their tasks; occasionally a few would encounter them and bow in greeting. The night was quiet,…-
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The Emperor and Empress's faces changed drastically at once. "Unfilial wretch!" This was practically cursing him outright! Xie Yan carried Su Jiao and walked out. "Today's Goddess of Rebirth was broken by this one. If the assassin can't be caught, that's the fault of your Imperial Guards. Whoever slanders my Prince's Consort again had better mind their head carefully." The black-clad figure strode away boldly into the night, leaving Emperor Jia standing there alone, his expression ugly to…
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She wouldn't leave — so Xie Yan thought… "Your Majesty!" Su Jiao jolted awake from her sleep, a startled cry tearing through the silence of the pitch-black night. Xie Yan, who had been sitting at the table, turned around in an instant. "What's wrong?" Su Jiao's expression was dazed. She had dreamed of a scene that should never have appeared in her dreams. It seemed to be the same rainy day she had died — the imperial palace, inside and out, draped in white mourning cloth, black lacquered…
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Her hand brushed against his palm, and what she touched was something sticky and wet. Su Jiao hurriedly lowered her head to look and saw that his fair, pale hand was still gripping a small shard, the fragment having cut his palm until it ran with blood. "What happened?" She was abruptly pulled out of her thoughts, her tone turning tense. Xie Yan pulled her toward the room. "I accidentally broke a teacup." The shard had gone in deep. Su Jiao couldn't imagine what kind of "accident" could cut this…
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A damp sensation trailed down her neck, leaving a faint stinging in its wake. This man actually seemed to be in earnest, bowing his head to leave marks on her, spot by spot. From light to dark, in no time at all the fair skin was covered in marks, and where he'd pressed harder, faint bruises even showed. This was perhaps one of Xie Yan's rarer preferences on the bed—he loved seeing the marks he left on her body. Watching his breathing grow heavier, his hand beneath her clothes gradually creeping…
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His anxious expression, the moment he saw her, had eased rather than worsened—even as physicians rushed about urgently inside and palace maids ran back and forth fetching water, the Emperor himself stood at the door of Cining Palace, teasing her. "Indeed, what should we do. This time I fear the Empress Dowager is truly enraged—she'll likely have your head on the spot." She had been even more terrified, sniffling and tugging at his sleeve. "You must save me. I... I didn't mean to. I'd just knelt for…
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The husband and wife walked back together along the path, when suddenly the quiet lane erupted with screaming and commotion. "Trouble — an assassin! Someone come protect His Majesty!" Countless torches blazed to life across the darkened path, Imperial Guards poured out from every direction, flooding the lane with light. Su Jiao hurriedly pulled Xie Yan forward. "Let's get back quickly—" "Third Prince! Prince's Consort!" Someone called out from somewhere, and the patrolling Imperial Guards all…
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The richly seductive floral nectar stained the corner of his lips, its thick fragrance so heady it made one's head swim. Warm lips and tongue licked and suckled the flower juice, leaving imprints on that snow-white skin. Scattered kisses fell upon her chest. Su Jiao's mind went suddenly and completely blank. Her hands instinctively moved to push him away, but instead he caught both her hands and pinned them to the edge of the bed. With her eyes unable to see, everything else became all the more…
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The moist sensation, mingled with a tingling numbness at the tip of her tongue, was followed by a sudden sharp sting in her fingertip that made her instinctively pull back. She looked down. Xie Yan's lips were stained with the lychee juice that had dripped from her hand, his deep eyes fixed directly on her. Noticing her gaze, he curved his lips and drew that lychee juice back into his throat. "Xie Yan!" Su Jiao's entire face turned red in an instant, the tips of her fingers burning as though they had…
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Su Jiao was jolted awake by a sharp, nauseating smell of blood. The moment she opened her eyes and lifted her head, a faint but piercing sting at her neck made her draw a sharp breath. "Hiss..." She raised her head and instinctively pressed her hand to her neck. Exhale... still there. Then why does it hurt so much? Su Jiao's hand brushed against the gauze wrapped around her neck, and she immediately moved to tear it off. "Don't." A cool hand closed around her wrist. Su Jiao looked up to find Xie…
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